Medical: How environmental temperature affected #SARS outbreak?

How environmental temperature affected #SARS outbreak and how might this affect #WARS? Let's have a read.

#StandWithMedics

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1733040/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2870397/

Medical: Size of #SARS vs #WARS virions

Is WARS virions really bigger than SARS'? If so, by how much? The following references will give us some clues.

#StandWithMedics

References:
https://www.jbc.org/content/281/25/17134.full

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/immunology-and-microbiology/sars-related-coronavirus

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(20)30211-7/fulltext

Academic Research: [回應訴求 during #WARS?]

Image from BYU BNC

Image from BYU COCA

[回應訴求 during #WARS?]

Maybe it is just me and my poor Cantonese / Chinese + translation, but the expression 回應訴求 doesn't sound right to me (and always irritates me every time I hear it).

Given that

回應 (vb) = to respond to;
訴求 (n ) = (public / popular / - ) demand(s);

Asking HKGov to 回應訴求 (in Cantonese) does not seem to imply that a positive outcome is expected, which may explain why HKGov officials almost always claim that "we have responded, and the answer is 'no'".

Statistically, in UK / US English at least, "to meet demands" and "to satisfy demands" (滿足訴求 in Cantonese) are much more frequent (FYI: by the multiples) than "to respond to demands".

So maybe it is time to start using 滿足訴求 instead of 回應訴求 from now on.

Just saying.

#StandWithMedics

#CorpusLinguistics
#NotACantoneseExpert #CantoneseLinguistsPleaseFeelFreeToComment

Living: Sliding wardrobe door opens by itself [SOLVED]

Sliding wardrobe door opens by itself [SOLVED]
Image from Locky's English Playground

Back in January, my sliding wardrobe door had been refusing to close, opening by itself automatically. Tried climbing up to the top of the wardrobe and lying flat on the floor looking up to see if there were any broken parts, but still failed to see anything wrong with it. What I am certain of, is that there is no ghost doing this. It has to do with science.

Looking up, door is slightly tilted downwards on the right side
Image from Locky's English Playground

Took me a while to figure out what the issue really was. Apparently, it has to do with the weight of the sliding door (and gravity, if you like). 

Looking from the top, door is slightly tilted downwards on the right side. 
Using L-wrench to tighten the nut to relift the right side
Image from Locky's English Playground

Because the sliding wardrobe doors are made of heavy wood, the weight it exerts on the nuts and bolts is immense! Repeated use of the doors from pulling the door handle from left to right adds extra force to the nuts and bolts, causing the door to dip to the right side over time.

A graphical look of the sliding wardrobe doors (Blue arrow is the weight, red arrows are component forces)
Image from Locky's English Playground

This dip plus the weight of the door create a side-way force from left to right, making the door sliding open on its own. After tightening the nut from above the door, the problem was finally solved.

Now, at this point, I am thinking, why has no one ever linked the learning of free body diagram in Mathematics or Physics to realistic cases like this? This will give meanings to students as to why they have to learn resolving forces?

Techonology: Samsung Galaxy Note 4 emmc failed, no pit, DIY fix [SOLVED]

Note 4 Europe version
Image from Locky's English Playground

My mum left me this Note 4 Europe version a year ago and it just kept refusing to be switched on. Sometimes it flashed the logo for a split second, sometimes it just froze on the boot screen, most of the time, nothing happened.

So I searched the internet, and found the craziest advice which I tried because there was nothing more to lose. It was the advice of freezing the phone in the freezer with a plastic bag over it. Hyperskeptical I was, I froze the phone in a Ziplock bag for 10 minutes and tried switching it on. It worked!!!! It booted up once smoothly into its usable state for like a minute before it crashes again. So I redid the process, this time, it booted up till it hit some EMMC error that I can't recall any more and stopped. I then tried to freeze the battery and phone separately, as well as freezing just one of them. The battery-only freeze didn't work, the phone-only freeze got me as far as the EMMC error and it could never boot to any usable state again.

EMMC chip on Motherboard in the centre of the photo
Image from Locky's English Playground

Desperate for more fail-worthy attempts (Wow! Can't believe I just thought of this word. Really like it. I am not the creator of this word though.), I found the following YouTube video and followed it, and WOW! I fixed my phone!!! So it was all because that the EMMC was designed and placed so close to the metal frame that somehow the electrical signals got disrupted, placing thin pieces of cardboard paper did the magic trick and the phone is resurrected! I gave the phone to my elder daughter and she is having fun with it! So if you have similar problem with your Note 4, this is the ultimate video guide.

Huge thanks to the creator of this video!

As to why the freezer method works, I am not quite sure, but I guess maybe freezing the phone's EMMC  long enough shrinks the chip just enough to separate itself from the metal frame temporarily. When the chip starts to expand again, the phone returns to its inoperable state.

All I know for sure is, I can put one more skill on my CV. What should I call this skill? Any suggestions?

References:

[FIX]Emmc failure , phone restarting and fre… | Samsung Galaxy Note 4

https://forum.xda-developers.com/note-4/help/fix-emmc-failure-phone-restarting-t3707979

100% Fix galaxy note 4 Samsung, Emmc fail, Emmc error, deep sleep fix, emmc repair, mmc fail,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLPHWtb0StI

Auto & Environment: EV Numbers and Growth In Hong Kong As Of Oct 2018

New Tesla EV price after reduction
Image from Tesla HK

I haven't published any EV numbers and growth in Hong Kong since the figures of Aug 2016 was released. The fact is, there is nothing to report, and we all know the situation of EV is bleak. Ever since Financial Secretary Paul Chan mo-po's removal of EV FRT waiver, EV sales in Hong Kong have not recovered to the slightest. Even after the “One-for-One Replacement” Scheme was launched on 28 February 2018, buyers' confidence remains low. How low?

Data from Transport Department Hong Kong
Image from Locky's English Playground

Ever since that final wave of EV sales back in March 2017, over a period of 19 months till October 2018, only a total of 351 private EVs have been registered, compared to 35,483 ICEVs added in the same period, which is approximately 1 EV in every 101 ICEVs sold. (In another comparison, 351 private EVs is about two times of units sold in Tesla HK's worst months.)

Data from Transport Department Hong Kong
Image from Locky's English Playground

Still, there is no way that the Hong Kong government will admit their fault for driving EV growth to an early grave. They didn't admit when EV taxis didn't work, not even till the last one ended up on scrap heap. In a city that considers electric scooters as 'a car' but has no driving licence to apply for, there is little reason for the EV-hopeful to remain...well... hopeful. They know the government officials' rhetoric too well, and no longer want to argue with the wall of deaf ears.

Maybe this is why Tesla decided to take matters into their own hands and reduce the price of Model S and X by 8-20% starting from today Will this help? I do hope so, but 8-20% reduction (tax reduction included) is still far from the cost saving compared to the good old days when EV FRT waiver was still waving and smiling. Tesla Model S and X 75D is still over a million Hong Kong dollars with tax. This means the used inventory is still the most attractive and will remain so until the US$35,000 Tesla Model 3 arrives.

As for our EV enthusiast friends of Singapore, you are not alone.

Govt has been unwelcome

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 3, 2019

Image from Tesla HK

References:
Promotion of Electric Vehicles in Hong Kong | Environmental Protection Department
https://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/english/environmentinhk/air/prob_solutions/promotion_ev.html

Last HK e-taxi ends up on scrap heap
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news.php?id=203711&sid=11

Police arrested a man on electric scooter for five traffic offences in Tin Shui Wai - Dimsum Daily
https://www.dimsumdaily.hk/police-arrested-a-man-on-electric-scooter-for-five-traffic-offences-in-tin-shui-wai/

Tesla香港調整價格及推出全新配置 - 香港經濟日報 - 理財 - 商業 - D190103
https://wealth.hket.com/article/2242653/Tesla%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E8%AA%BF%E6%95%B4%E5%83%B9%E6%A0%BC%E5%8F%8A%E6%8E%A8%E5%87%BA%E5%85%A8%E6%96%B0%E9%85%8D%E7%BD%AE

Model 3 Will Boost Tesla Cars Go Mainstream In 'Beacon City For Electric Vehicles'
https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkang/2016/04/02/model-3-boost-tesla-cars-go-mainstream-in-hong-kong/#3d8a692370ee

Elon Musk's official Twitter
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1080829741056159744