K's Learning Diary

Using mushrooms to build houses and furniture sounds like something out of a fantasy novel, but this innovative approach is quickly becoming a reality. Mushroom-based materials are an incredible way to create sustainable and eco-friendly building supplies without cutting down trees. The burgeoning field of mycology architecture involves growing mushroom roots (mycelium) to form a matrix that can be shaped into rigid panels, bricks, and more. Binding the mycelium with agricultural waste products creates a sturdy and fire-resistant foam material that can be manufactured into furniture, insulation, and even whole building foundations and walls. In contrast to traditional lumber and masonry, mycelium is renewable, compostable, and requires way less energy to produce. When I first heard of architecture using fungus-based materials, I couldn't help but smile at the sheer novelty of the idea. But using mycelium for construction is so much more than just a quirky concept - this biomaterial

Today I want to quickly share with you one very useful brainstorming software that I have come across recently. It is extremely handy for organizing and planning tasks, making notes, exploring ideas and brainstorming in a very visual way. Here is one brilliant tutorial to get you started: I find it quite useful for summarizing books that I have read, helping me to memorize new ideas. It is completely free. So download one and have a go.    

Following my earlier rant on Negative Interest Rates by Central Banks, it is perhaps worth mentioning that many Government  and Corporate Bond rates are also negative these days. This means that effectively if you lend to these governments or companies, at the end of the term after a few years, you will have to pay them for the privilege of lending them the money (instead of  earning any interest). This sounds really silly, so why are those bonds selling so well? There are perhaps two sane explanations.. or are they? - People may buy government bonds with negative interest rates in the hope that the currency the bonds are denominated in will appreciate substantially in value, thus still make a good return for investors. - People may buy bonds with negative interest rates as long as they can find buyers later on that are willing to pay even more for it. When a good number of people are making investment decisions not based on the value of the underlying assets but in

Is negative interest rate really wise? Many Central Banks around the world are now penalizing commercial banks for holding too much deposit with negative interest rates, hoping to encourage more lending to companies and enterprises, which can then hopefully hire more people and thus economic growth for the country. However, apart from a few cases where counties with relatively more stable currencies (e.g. Switzerland) are trying to fend off too much currency appreciation, there is something very unnatural about penalizing saving and encourage debt creation. Does negative interest rate really work as a stimulus? Here are some food for thoughts based on my limited knowledge: Impact on Capital Capital is not simply cash at the banks, but money that are used to fund economic activities (the machine) to create products and services (added value). In an era of negative interest rate, lenders would rather use up their capital rather than saving it, which attract negat