Wood Constructions vs Stone Constructions in History

There have been many buildings in history made out of wood and stone. Which material is better? Is wood inferior to stone?

For example, Japanese castles (城 shiro) were fortresses constructed primarily of wood and stone. They evolved from the wooden stockades of earlier centuries, and came into their best-known form in the 16th century. Castles in Japan were built to guard important or strategic sites, such as ports, river crossings, or crossroads, and almost always incorporated the landscape into their defenses.

The castles were certainly built to last and used more stone in their construction than most Japanese buildings. However, the castles were still constructed primarily of wood, and many were destroyed over the years. Castles from mostly stone would be harder to destroy than mostly wood.

Roman concrete or opus caementicium was invented in the late 3rd century BC. This is when builders added a volcanic dust called pozzolana to mortar made of a mixture of lime or gypsum, brick or rock pieces and water. Portland cement was invented in the 1800s.

Wood is used very often in construction. Hardwoods are commonly used in the construction of walls, ceilings and floors. Softwoods are often used to make doors, furniture and window frames.

Wood has advantages as a building material. Its thermal, acoustic, electrical, mechanical, aesthetic and working properties are very suitable for building a comfortable house using only wooden products. With other materials, it is almost impossible.

However, wood has some disadvantages. Transportation of wood to urban areas can be expensive. Wood energy likely produces green house gases. Wood is hygroscopic and it will absorb surrounding vapors loses moisture below the fiber saturation point. Wood can decay with mold fungi, bacteria and insects. Deterioration of wood can also happen with sun, wind, water, fire and certain chemicals.

Stone as a building material has advantages. It is durable and resistant. It has low environmental impact. It’s a low maintenance material. It ages well.

These are the disadvantages of stone. It is poor insulation. The cost of building with stone can often be a lot higher than other materials.

There are pros and cons to building high rises with wood. Wood is definitely a cheaper material than steel. Wood also offers lower labor costs, because more professionals have experience with wood than metal.

Stones are more difficult to transport because of their weight and often large size. Cutting stone into smaller pieces is pretty difficult. Civilizations in history have benefited from creating small bricks.

China will be the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics

China (中国) will be the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics (冬奥会). The 2 Chinese cities hosting will be Beijing and Zhangjiakou. These cities experienced an increase of activity in winter sports investment when it was announced that China will be hosting the games. The China country is putting billions into infrastructure and other needed investments. China is increasing its number of ski resorts. Winter sports businesses are being encouraged right now to invest in the regions of the games.

These games will increase tourism to China. It will be interesting to see more ice hockey games in China. Right now, the numbers of winter sports schools are being increased.

Beijing (北京) is China’s capital. It’s known for modern architecture and ancient sites such as the grand Forbidden City complex and the imperial palace during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Zhangjiakou (张家口) is also known as Kalgan and several other names. It is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southwest.

Here are the major cities near Beijing, China:
以下是中国北京附近的主要城市:

53 km to Langfang 距离廊坊
110 km to Tianjin 到天津
137 km to Xuanhua 距宣化市
141 km to Hangu 距离汉沽
142 km to Baoding 保定市
147 km to Tanggu 塘沽
162 km to Zhangjiakou 距张家口
178 km to Chengde 承德市

More interesting translations:

China pours billions into infrastructure and talent.
中国向基础设施和人才投入数十亿美元。

Winter sports become more popular.
冬季运动变得越来越流行。

Beijing has introduced various measures to incentivize winter sports businesses to invest.
北京采取了各种措施来激励冬季运动企业进行投资。

A Chinese ski resort town may not be ready for guests yet.
中国的滑雪胜地小镇可能尚未准备好为客人准备。

Spain Economy is held back by a population slowdown

The economy of Spain is the world's 13^th largest by nominal GDP. Spain is a member of the European Union. Spain is also a member of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Trade Organization. Spain has an interesting capitalist mixed economy. Following the financial crisis of 2007–2008, the Spanish economy plunged into recession. The country entered a cycle of negative macroeconomic performance. The economic boom of the 2000s was reversed, leaving over a quarter of Spain's workforce dangerously unemployed by 2012. Nowadays 5 languages are spoken in Spain: Galician- Portuguese, Spanish (Castilian), Basque, Catalan and Occitan (aranès). Madrid is the capital city of Spain.

Unfortunately, Spain GDP contracted by almost 9% during 2009–2013. The economic situation started improving by 2013–2014. Fortunately, Spain could reverse the record trade deficit which had built up during the boom years. Spain attained a trade surplus in 2013 after 3 decades of running a trade deficit. The surplus continued strengthening during 2014 and 2015.

Catalonia is different from Spain. Catalonia is an autonomous community on the northeastern corner of Spain. It self-designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy. Catalonia has 4 provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. The capital and largest city is Barcelona. It is the second-most populated municipality in Spain. It is also the core of the 6^th most populous urban area in the European Union. The official languages are Catalan, Spanish, and the Aranese dialect of Occitan.

The history of Spain is marked by many waves of conquerors who brought their distinct cultures to the peninsula. After the passage of the Vandals and Alans down the Mediterranean coast of Hispania from 408, the history of medieval Spain begins with the Iberian kingdom of the Arianist Visigoths (507–711), who were converted to Catholicism with their king Reccared in 587. Visigothic culture in Spain can be seen as an interesting phenomenon of Late Antiquity as much as part of the Age of Migrations.

Now in the modern times, a population slowdown is holding back Spain’s economy. Spain has a low birth rate. New migration trends pose questions about the country’s ability to create significant growth. The effort of paying back debt is increased when the country’s population size decreases. The Bank of Spain predicts that the Spanish economy will grow annually at about 1.25% a year. In the recent years, job creation has been slowing down. The Bank of Spain forecasts that the Spanish economy will go on a gradual path of deceleration until 2022.

Above: Beautiful Nature in Spain

Above: Map of Spain

Above: Beautiful Architecture in Spain

Above: Beautiful Bridge in Spain

Above: Beautiful Beach in Spain

Above: Medieval Spanish Armor

Above: Ancient Spanish Artifacts

Above: Spanish Shipwreck

Above: Buried Roman treasure found during construction in Spain

Swedish Grammar

Swedish Grammar is pretty interesting. Swedish is descended from Old Norse. Compared to its progenitor, Swedish grammar is much less characterized by inflection.

Modern Swedish has 2 genders and no longer conjugates verbs based on person or number. Its nouns have lost the morphological distinction between nominative and accusative cases that denoted grammatical subject and object in Old Norse in favor of marking by word order. Swedish uses some inflection with nouns, adjectives, and verbs.

Above: Swedish Alphabet

Here are some interesting translated phrases:

Sweden fears it may have created a negative-rates monster.
Sverige är rädda för att det kan ha skapat ett monster med negativa räntor.

In Sweden's Arctic, ice atop snow leaves reindeer starving.
I Sveriges Arktis löper isen på toppen av snöarna som svälter.

Hockey night in Sweden
Hockeykväll i Sverige

Cabinet approves India-Sweden pact on seafarer.
Skåpet godkänner Indien-Sverige-pakten om sjöfolk.

Bank and ATM closures: what the UK can learn from Sweden
Bank- och ATM-nedläggningar: vad Storbritannien kan lära sig av Sverige

Manhole explosion compilation

I almost could not believe it when I saw these manhole explosions. Some of these parts that cover the ground, they fly more than 10 meters after the explosion. Amazing manhole explosions caught on camera show brutal explosions. I am sorry for the people that got injured in this video.

Remember, never throw a fire cracker into a manhole. A lot of these people were playing with fire. I think they knew the thing could explode.

A manhole is a small covered opening in a floor, pavement, or other surface to allow a person to enter, especially an opening in a city street leading to a sewer. An example of a sentence: "they were to go down a manhole and then search the sewers."

Sweden Economy will continue to slow down next year

The economy of Sweden is a developed export-oriented economy. It is aided by timber, hydropower, and iron ore. These are the important resources of an economy oriented toward foreign trade. Time zone in Sweden is Central European Standard Time. Stockholm is the capital and largest city of Sweden. Stockholm is located at the junction of Lake Mälar (Mälaren) and Salt Bay (Saltsjön), an arm of the Baltic Sea, opposite the Gulf of Finland. The city is built upon various numerous islands as well as the mainland of Uppland and Södermanland. These are the biggest cities in Sweden: Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Uppsala and Västerås. The population of Sweden is about 10 million people.

The government of Sweden is interesting. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Riksdag. The ministers (statsråd) are appointed by the Prime Minister. The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden (Swedish: Konungariket Sveriges regering) is the national cabinet and the supreme executive authority of Sweden.

Sweden and Switzerland sound similar, but they are different. Sweden is 450k square kilometres in size, while Switzerland is only 41k. Sweden has a long coastline along the Baltic Sea and the Kattegat. Switzerland is landlocked. Both countries have mountains, but the Swiss Alps are newer and higher than the Scandinavian Mountains in Sweden. The Swiss Alps make up more of the country.

Swedish is the official language of Sweden. Almost the entire population of Sweden speak Swedish with most speaking it as a first language and the rest as a second language. The Swedish language is a North Germanic language that closely resembles Norwegian and Danish.

The Swedish Krona is the official currency of Sweden. Swedish cuisine is mostly cultured dairy products, crisp and soft (often sugared) breads, berries and stone fruits, beef, chicken, lamb, pork, eggs, and seafood. Potatoes are often served as a side dish, often boiled.

Sweden’s economy will continue to slow down next year. The inflation will slip further. The economy remains vulnerable to possible negative outcomes from the trade conflict between USA and China, Brexit and other global issues. After several years of operating well, the Swedish economy has entered a slowdown phase. Many analysts say the phase is normal.

Inflation is below target. It will drop further in the next few years. Inflation is expected to be about 1.6% next year.

Sweden’s central bank, the Riksbank, has ended its 5-year experiment with negative interest rates. Negative interest rates might have been a bad economic idea.

India Economy is growing at slow pace

The economy of India is a developing market economy. It is the world's 5^th largest economy by nominal GDP and the 3^rd largest by purchasing power parity. The long-term growth potential exists for the Indian economy. It has a young population and good savings and investment rates. The country is increasing the integration into the global economy. The economy slowed in 2017 due to shocks of demonetisation in 2016 and introduction of Goods and Services Tax in 2017.

Demonetization was initiated with a wide array of motives, such as stripping the Indian economy of its black money, pushing people to pay taxes for the unaccounted pile of cash, curb terrorism, promote the digital India movement and make India a profitable cashless economy.

About 60% of India's GDP is driven by domestic private consumption. It continues to remain the world's 6^th largest consumer market. India's GDP is also fueled by government spending, investment, and exports. In 2018, India was the world's 10^th largest importer and the 19^th largest exporter.

The economic history of India began with the Indus Valley Civilization (3300–1300 BCE). The economy of that civilization appeared to have depended significantly on trade and examples of overseas trade. The Indus-Mesopotamia relations are notable. The Vedic period saw countable units of precious useful metal being used for exchange.

Here are the largest Companies in India: Rajesh Exports Limited, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, Tata Motors, State Bank of India, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited, Reliance Industries Limited. Industry: Conglomerate and Indian Oil Corporation.

FedEx has expanded its service in India. The coverage went from 4,000 postal codes to over 19,000 in India. FedEx now offers end-to-end logistics solutions, including international and domestic air express services, domestic ground services, warehousing and supply chain management.

The British imperialism of India was a certain time when the British ruled Colonial India. The British came to India with plans to use their land and products for profit. In doing so, there were certain economic and ethical issues that caused many conflicts.

India ranked 4th in terms of growth in the share of the ICT sector's value added in GDP between the years of 2010 and 2017.

India’s economy has been growing at its slowest pace in more than 6 years between July – September. Unemployment remains quite high. India was once among the fastest growing large economies. It has significantly slowed. The country is grappling with rising debt and falling tax revenues.

India’s government must take quick steps to reverse the economic slowdown of the economy. It was before one of the faster engines of global growth. The problems are declining consumption and investment. There is also falling tax revenue.

Urgent policy actions are required to return India to a high growth situation. Cutting debt would be a good idea. They need to free up financial resources that can be used for investment.

India's economy grew at its slowest pace in more than six years in the July-September period. It fell to 4.5 percent from 7 percent a year ago.