Time ⏳

One of the most frustrating things is watching how slowly time is passing by while at the same time going by so quickly.

All things take time to accumulate. Good and bad things compound. But compounding is not an instant phenomenon – it takes time.

I was looking at my portfolio today, my retirement, investments and savings and was disappointed on how little money there was in there especially compared to my goals and how I want to have one day to buy land. My plans are solid, and things are growing as expected – minus a temporarily sluggish economy – but it’s not tomorrow yet and the future is a long way off. Each week saving and investing is another big bite of money but in the grand scheme of things isn’t much.

Likewise, my efforts to be healthier are progressing slower than I would hope. I’m not instantly skinny or strong, at one level besides my increasingly sunken face, legs and arms I’m not there yet. My emotions are far better regulated. But I haven’t gotten my BMI below 30 though I fully expect by the end of summer if I keep to my plan I’ll get there, losing a pound a week. But a pound doesn’t look like much. And my scale is broken. But I wish it could happen faster, not be so much work.

Change takes time. Change is not easy if you want it to amount to anything. But I’m doing a lot to automate change, from automating investing to only buying simple, healthy groceries at the store. I’m doing the right thing but it is annoying on how long it truly takes to see change in action.

German cabinet approves bill to phase out oil and gas heating systems | Reuters

German cabinet approves bill to phase out oil and gas heating systems | Reuters

- The German cabinet on Wednesday approved a bill that bans most new oil and gas heating systems from 2024, the economy minister said, a policy designed to cut greenhouse gas emissions but that critics warned could be costly for poorer households.

Berlin's ruling coalition last month agreed that almost all newly installed heating systems in Germany should run on 65% renewable energy from 2024, both in new and old buildings.

World Population 2023

India is estimated to be the most populous country in the world, more the 4.2 times larger then the United States of America.

World Population 2023
Rank Country Population in Millions Population annual doubling time, years Percent of World Population Relative to US Population
1 India 1,428.6 75 17.76% 420.2%
2 China 1,425.7 17.72% 419.3%
3 United States of America 340.0 129 4.23% 100.0%
4 Indonesia 277.5 84 3.45% 81.6%
5 Pakistan 240.5 35 2.99% 70.7%
6 Nigeria 223.8 29 2.78% 65.8%
7 Brazil 216.4 121 2.69% 63.6%
8 Bangladesh 173.0 68 2.15% 50.9%
9 Russian Federation 144.4 1.79% 42.5%
10 Mexico 128.5 94 1.60% 37.8%
11 Ethiopia 126.5 28 1.57% 37.2%
12 Japan 123.3 1.53% 36.3%
13 Philippines 117.3 46 1.46% 34.5%
14 Egypt 112.7 45 1.40% 33.1%
15 Democratic Republic of the Congo 102.3 21 1.27% 30.1%
16 Viet Nam 98.9 105 1.23% 29.1%
17 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 89.2 94 1.11% 26.2%
18 TΓΌrkiye 85.8 132 1.07% 25.2%
19 Germany 83.3 1.04% 24.5%
20 Thailand 71.8 0.89% 21.1%
Andy Arthur, 4/19/23. Data Source: unfpa.org/data/world-population-dashboard

RenΓ©-Levasseur Island

René-Levasseur Island is a large island in the centre of Lake Manicouagan in Quebec, Canada. Its highest peak is Mount Babel, at 952 m (3,123 feet), which is contained in the Louis-Babel Ecological Reserve. With a total area of 2,020 km2 (and a diameter of 50.7 km), the island is larger in area than the annular lake in which it is situated. René-Levasseur Island is the world's second largest lake island (the largest is Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron).

The geological structure was formed by the impact of a meteorite 214 million years ago. The meteorite is believed to have been about 5 km in diameter, and would have hit Earth at a speed of 17 km/s, the fifth most powerful known impact that Earth has seen. The impact of the meteorite formed a crater roughly 100 km in diameter, the centre of which forms the island known today. It became an artificial island when the Manicouagan reservoir was flooded in 1970, merging two crescent-shaped lakes: Mouchalagane Lake on the western side and Manicouagan Lake on the eastern side.