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We thank Dr. Wolf and the Editor of AAAR for an opportunity to further discuss the status of American pika (Ochotona princeps) in western North America. We address the two main points of Wolf, namely that our surveys do not warrant conclusions that (1) “pikas appear to be thriving in the Sierra Nevada (SN) and southwestern Great Basin (swGB),” and that, (2) pikas are “tolerating a wide range of thermal environments.”
1. Pikas appear to be thriving in the Sierra Nevada and southwestern Great Basin
Wolf's first criticism (2010) questions the value of spatially extensive, presence/absence surveys such as ours rather than repeat monitoring of historic records from specific locations. We presented our approach explicitly as a rapid assessment method for assessing geographic extent of pika habitat and noted that such methods are best used in conjunction with trend analyses: “This [rapid assessment] approach complements and should not replace intensive transect- and plot assessments or repeat surveys of historic populations. The latter are essential for basic species understanding but are limited in geographic coverage due to the effort required” (Millar and Westfall, 2010, p. 86).
Repeat monitoring has greatest value when inventories are made regularly over many decades, such as has been done in the pioneering work of Andrew Smith at Bodie, California (Smith, 1980). As demonstrated by Smith's cumulative results, pika populations fluctuate dramatically in frequency of extirpations versus colonizations from year to year. Nearly annual censuses of pikas that occupy a suite of ore dumps at Bodie State Historic Park—the lowest and hottest area where pikas have been continually observed—show that extinctions of populations on ore dump patches and subsequent recolonizations of unoccupied ore dumps vary significantly from year to year. Some years are characterized by many patch extinctions, and others by frequent recolonizations. The overall number of extinctions and colonizations has been nearly equal over this span of years, demonstrating the equilibrium nature of these dynamics at Bodie (Andrew Smith, personal communication, 2010; see figures in Millar et al., 2010a). Trends interpolated from two or several points mean little about long-term status. This is expected for pikas, which define textbook metapopulation dynamics and are expected to undergo repeated patch extinctions and recolonizations (Gilpin and Hanski, 1991; Smith and Gilpin, 1997). Even after three decades of monitoring at Bodie, detection of any directional trends is uncertain, let alone attribution of any trend to forcing factors (Andrew Smith, personal communication, 2009). Wolf cites a dictionary definition for thriving that fails to acknowledge these basic animal population dynamics: If a population is at carrying capacity, it cannot exhibit growth; a metapopulation species will undergo extirpations as part of healthy fluctuations.
Such caution as learned at Bodie, implicit from metapopulation dynamics, must extend to interpretations of repeat surveys at sites such as early 20th-century locations in the Great Basin (e.g., Beever et al., 2003). Here again, two points do not make a trend, as highlighted by Beever et al. (2010), wherein one of the populations (Cougar Peak, Oregon), scored during their 1994–1999 surveys as “functionally extirpated,” was observed in 2005–2007 to “host a robust population.” In June 2010 we revisited several of the same historic locations in the northern Great Basin and also found Cougar Peak to have extensive pika occupation. In a single day's survey, we made pika sightings and vocalizations extending from taluses at 1928 m to the summit of Cougar Peak (2414 m), and on all aspects of the mountain. Although we visited during midday (the time of day least optimal for observing pika activity), we heard and saw many pika and found abundant evidence of current occupation (fresh haypiles, pellets, and urine posts). Our observations make it curious that Beever et al. (2010) wrote, in regard to their prior finding of functional extirpation, “This discrepancy [from functionally extirpated to robust population] was likely due to insufficient sampling, rather than increased density: during the 1990s; Cougar Peak was not visited during times of day optimal for observing pika activity.”
In 2010 we also revisited the early 20th-century record pika location at Summit Lake, Nevada. This site is highly disjunct from other pika taluses, and has very limited pika habitat at the site. It was scored as extinct in 1994–1999 and 2005–2007 surveys (Beever et al., 2003, 2010). Although we did not see or hear pikas in a single mid-day survey, we did find fresh haypiles, fresh pellets, and fresh urine posts, indicating that this location might have recolonized and should be resurveyed again before the metapopulation is determined to be extirpated.
These examples demonstrate the challenges in interpreting time-series surveys and especially the pitfalls of concluding directional trend (e.g., “declining”) or status (e.g., “extirpated”) in a metapopulation species. The significant challenges in animal species more generally of detecting and attributing trends from repeat censuses have led to development of spatially extensive presence/absence occupancy methods as alternatives to temporally intensive methods. These evaluate population occupancy across wide ranges of environments as a means to investigate population status (e.g., MacKenzie et al., 2003, 2006). Our rapid-assessment methods, which record pika-presence as well as pika-absence sites, approximate the rigorous approaches of such occupancy modeling. Further, habitat-based (e.g., talus), spatially extensive point surveys such as ours that use indirect as well as direct sign parallel those described in established protocols for pikas (Ministry of Environment, Lands, and Parks, 1998; USDI National Park Service, 2010) and for another patchily distributed western lagomorph, pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis; Ulmschneider, 2004; Hagar and Lienkaemper, 2007; Himes and Drohan, 2007; Larrucea and Brussard, 2008a).
Wolf asserts that our sites were “haphazardly selected”, implying perhaps that they are biased locations. The established protocols cited above describe a similar approach for opportunistic searching at the landscape scale as we did. Our observations focused initially on prime habitat (alpine elevations, talus with optimal clast size, abundant forefield herbaceous vegetation) but we soon extended into elevations and habitats considered less optimal, thus exploring the margins of habitat use. Eventually this took us to locations and environmental conditions beyond pika habitat and allowed us to assess differences between habitats currently used by pika and those not used. Our 420 published sites (expanded to 587 locations during the time since publication) extended over 2060 m of elevation, included 11 mountain ranges, included 10 geomorphic habitat categories, were observed on all slope aspects and slope inclinations, and included diverse substrate types occurring in the environments of investigation. Overall, this large number of sites over a wide range of environments provides a robust opportunity for exploring the geomorphic and climatic elements of site use by pikas in our region.
The large number of sites in our study, extending across broad ranges of elevation and extending from optimal to less preferred habitat, provides a more robust opportunity to explore regional habitat uses of pikas than studies focusing on a small number of sites. The 25 historic locations Wolf notes as being revisited in the Great Basin, for example, are an extremely limited representation of the extensive Great Basin landscape. In our recent visits to early 20th-century pika sites from the northern Great Basin (Oregon and Nevada) of Verts and Carraway (1998) and Hall (1946), we found many of these to be a very odd set of pika sites from the standpoint of typical (e.g., as described by Smith and Weston, 1990) habitat. It appears that they most likely represent pika records gathered for reasons other than for systematic pika surveys (e.g., locations are at a fire lookout, a U.S. Forest Service guard station, a game refuge). Several of these locations are extremely small and marginal pika habitat compared to typical habitat, and highly disjunct from continuous habitat that exists in many high Great Basin ranges. Whereas these remote sites would make excellent focus for studies of rare dispersal potential, maintenance of populations in disjunct locations, or effects of inbreeding in small isolated patches, they are a poor set of sites for interpreting pikas' persistence across representative habitat of the Great Basin. When we revisited more typical pika locations recorded from the historic literature for the Great Basin (e.g., Hart Mt, Warner Mt, Toiyabe Mtns, Toquima Mtns, White Pine Mtns), we found evidence of pika occupancy.
Wolf further questions whether we accurately scored site ages. The pika and pygmy rabbit protocols cited above all specify the value and use of indirect sign and their interpretations for occupancy. A recent meeting of the California Pika Consortium (CPC, 1 July 2010, Sacramento, California; hhttp://www.dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/nongame/CPC/meetings/2010-07-01.html) on monitoring methods addressed this question directly. Visual and aural observations were agreed to be the most certain sign of pika presence, although even in occupied habitat and at appropriate times of the day pikas are often not active on the talus surface or vocalizing. Green vegetation in haypiles, in association with other indirect sign (pellets, urine posts), was widely trusted to indicate active use, given that Neotoma is ruled out as having taken over pika haypiles, and recognizing that in many locations haypiles are not found at all (Beever et al., 2008; Ray and Beever, 2007; participants at CPC meeting). Early in the summer before haying has begun (mid- to late August in the SN and swGB) there is no or little green vegetation in haypiles and age of indirect sign relies on interpretation of vegetation in haypiles and assessing age of pellets and urine. Pika researchers at the CPC meeting agreed that co-occurrence of several types of fresh indirect sign rather than one type alone provides improved evidence for interpreting a site as modern, although occupancy cannot be considered definitive.
Our observations in early spring of known active pika sites in the SN and swGB ranges indicate that pellet signs are not long-lasting and indicate recent occupation. Pellets washed away from all talus locations revisited except haypile sites, and pellets in haypiles turned from green and soft (fresh) to brown and starting to decompose. Recognizing that direct and indirect signs have different levels of confidence in scoring a site as active, we specifically kept these categories separate in our 2010 report. There is no reason a priori to assume, as Wolf implies, that these are not active sites.
Wolf's comment that pika pellets are able to persist for millennia as indicated by Grayson (2005) from Pleistocene and Holocene archeological and cave sites is not relevant for documenting longevity of pellets in native pika habitats or conditions. Pika pellets cited by Grayson were recovered from woodrat (Neotoma spp.) middens (Thompson and Mead, 1982; Mead and Spaulding, 1995; Rhode and Madsen, 1995) and as such were preserved in amberat, which seals and protects organic material against degradation from atmosphere and water in the same manner in which museum archives protect specimens for millennia.
Wolf questions whether the environmental range of sites in our study exceeds historic description, a finding that we used to demonstrate pika current status. While Wolf's criticism in itself seems like a statement for the health of modern pikas (i.e., current diversity is equal to historic diversity) the historic record we cite indicates narrower range limits than we found in our study. Such quotes as Wolf cites (“widely distributed,” “abundant,” “a common resident,” “one cony per 750 square yards”) provide no information on species or subspecies range width or diversity. The literature we cited, by contrast, gives explicit values for elevation margins in the different mountain ranges and subspecies of our study region. Using these records rather than anecdotal notes about abundance indicates that our range of sites is wider than the early literature describes.
Wolf questions our basic unit of analysis, the site occurrence (site), which we limit to a single pika home range, or minimum of 50 m separating sites. We adopted this from the literature to exceed the largest nearest-neighbor distance and home-range diameter for pikas (Smith and Weston, 1990, p. 78; Beever et al., 2008). We subsequently grouped sites into demes, again using the literature-based estimate for maximum dispersal of individual animals (3 km; Smith and Weston, 1990), and grouped demes into geographic regions and these into mountain ranges. For all cases, thus, we follow maximum distance estimates from the literature to improve the likelihood that our site occurrences represent individual pikas and do not overcount animals. Our basic unit is larger than that used in draft National Park Service protocol, which uses a 24 m diameter plot (USDI National Park Service, 2010). Our method does not amount to pseudo-replication, as Wolf asserts, whereby single sites are repeatedly sampled, but cluster (or hierarchical) sampling or classification, a standard method in population genetic sampling (Weir, 1996).
By defining individual sites in this way, we leave no question about the exact location for each of our records, a problem that has plagued other papers about pikas, where notation is unclear as to whether an observation refers to a talus patch, a group of patches, or an entire mountain range. Given the size rule for our basic unit, other researchers can readily group our site occurrences into geographic clusters of value to their analytic purposes or geographic domains.
Documentation of a species occupying its historic range and extending beyond historic limits is commonly used as an indication of a healthy, thriving wildlife species, for example, for pikas (Beever, 2002; Ray and Beever, 2007; Beever et al., 2008; Simpson, 2009), related pygmy rabbits (Himes and Drohan, 2007; Larrucea and Brussard, 2008b), and more generally (e.g., Link et al., 1994). Our conclusion of pikas' population viability in our region parallels these interpretations.
2. Pikas are tolerating a wide range of thermal environments
Wolf (2010) questions the validity of using surface air temperatures (modeled by PRISM) across pika sites to indicate a range of thermal environments experienced by pikas, claiming that internal talus temperatures are more important to pikas than air temperatures. This is an odd argument for two reasons. First, the petitions to list pika as endangered, authored by Wolf, repeatedly use projected warming of surface air temperatures as primary evidence that pikas are at risk across their range from global warming (Wolf et al., 2007a, 2007b). The petitions cite models of increasing surface air temperature at both global scales (IPCC projections; Meehl et al., 2007) and in regionally downscaled climate projections (Snyder et al., 2002; Loarie et al., submitted) to document the threat of air temperature increases to pika persistence. Given the significance that future air temperatures have been given in the literature to forecast risk to pikas, we felt it was important to document observed ranges of air temperatures at our pika sites.
Furthermore, the scale of the PRISM tiles used in Loarie et al. (submitted) is modeled at coarse resolution and can include areas hundreds of meters from the tile elevation. We used data from the downscaled PRISM data and adjusted data by the difference between the PRISM tile and the elevation of the site using the estimated lapse rate of the respective PRISM tile.
Second, Wolf's claim that internal talus temperatures are likely more important to pikas than air temperature is odd because this is exactly the argument we make in our paper. Our lengthy discussion of periglacial rock-ice features (RIFs) and their little-explored thermal regimes (p. 84ff; section titled, “Topographic-Climatic Conditions and Intra-RIF Microclimates”) is based on our previous investigations of RIFs in the Sierra Nevada (Millar and Westfall, 2008). Whereas we presented instrumentally measured observations for only five pika RIF sites in Millar and Westfall (2010), we have compiled a larger database of other RIFs (many are pika habitat) in the SN. Cumulative results from these records indicate internal talus-matrix environments to average much cooler than summer surface air temperature and having temperatures highly attenuated relative to diurnal fluctuations in surface air temperature (Millar and Westfall, unpublished). Although internal thermal environments of RIFs are beginning to be studied in Arctic environments and the European Alps (citations in Millar and Westfall, 2008, 2010), they have been little investigated in North America. In Millar and Westfall (2010) we encouraged research to address this critical element of pikas' habitat.
In light of this need we initiated an intensive study in 2009 of internal thermal regimes of pika taluses, wherein we deployed thermochrons to measure surface- versus rock-matrix temperatures at pika taluses for low and high elevation sites in the Sierra Nevada. We reported the first summer observations at CPC- and The Wildlife Society-sponsored technical sessions in fall 2009, and our first winter records at the MtnClim 2010 conference (Millar et al., 2010b). This study is corroborating early indications that internal talus thermal regimes, combined with behavioral adaptations of pikas (Smith, 1974) provide microclimatic conditions that enable pikas to occupy habitats over wide ranges of environments and surface air temperatures such as in our study.
Wolf challenges that our estimates of surface air temperature do not demonstrate a wider range of temperatures than has been published in previous literature and thus do not warrant a conclusion that pika are occupying a broader range of environments. A careful reading of Millar and Westfall (2010, pp. 83–84), however, indicates our estimated climatic range to extend beyond the published estimates available for pika. We noted this as especially indicative of pikas' current capacity, given that the published values we cited were for the range of pika across western North America, whereas even in the limited portion of the range we found that pikas sites extending beyond these values.
Finally it is odd that Wolf would argue for the importance of internal talus temperatures and the lack of importance of surface air temperature yet conclude her response (final sentence) by citing the importance of surface air temperatures projections (Galbreath et al., 2009).
In sum, we maintain that the range of pika sites over diverse environments and extending beyond published historic records and climates provides strong evidence for pika population persistence and accommodation of considerable climatic diversity in our study region.
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The FTC is proposing changes to approval guidelines against falsified and manipulated reviews. | Daily News Podcast
The Federal Trade Commission is considering changes that, if passed, would tighten guidelines for advertisers who use sponsored ads. The endorsement guides, first published in 1980 and last amended in 2009, would broaden the definition of what would be considered an endorser, strengthen the review of social media posts and refine disclosures based on of the target audience.
Among the revisions being considered is changing the definition of endorser to also include virtual influencers who aren’t even real people. The FTC would also consider tagging a brand in a social media post as an endorsement. Labeling should be more “clear and visible” and “easily understood by ordinary consumers”. For audio ads on radio or in podcasts, for example, the FTC says disclosure should be in the audible portion of the ad.
“Audible disclosure must be delivered in sufficient volume, speed, and cadence for ordinary consumers to easily hear and understand,” the project says. “In any communication using an interactive electronic medium, such as social media or the Internet, disclosure should be unavoidable. The disclosure must not be contradicted or mitigated by, or inconsistent with, anything else in the communication”
The FTC also recognizes that certain age groups, especially older adults, are more likely to be duped. He therefore proposes that when a mention targets a specific audience, such as the elderly, “ordinary consumers” include members of that group.
The endorsement guides reflect the FTC’s interpretation of how FTC law applies to endorsements and testimonials in advertising. In February 2020, the FTC sought comment on whether to make changes to the guides. The proposed changes reflect the extent to which advertisers have increasingly turned to the use of social media and product reviews to market their products. The updated guides would include a section clarifying when advertisers, endorsers, intermediaries and platforms can be held liable under FTC law for misleading statements that they know were false or misleading.
“These guides show businesses how to use endorsements, testimonials, influencers, and consumer reviews in advertisements without misleading consumers,” said FTC Chair Lina Khan. “These revisions come at a time when influencer marketing is becoming more prevalent and consumers are increasingly relying on online consumer reviews to decide what to buy.” She pointed to reports suggesting that the global influencer marketing industry is expected to reach around $16.4 billion in 2022. And more than three-quarters of brand marketers intend to spend a budget on influencer marketing. influence this year.
The proposed revised guide includes examples of how audio ads would break the rules. In a storyline devised by the FTC, a well-known radio DJ shares how much he likes to make coffee with a particular coffee maker in the morning. “The DJ’s comments likely indicate that he owns and regularly uses the coffee maker,” the guide says. “If they don’t own it or have only used it when demonstrated by its manufacturer, the ad would be misleading.”
Another example shows how a podcast ad can ignore the mention that live streaming is paid and stay within what is allowed. In the FTC scenario, near the start of a podcast, if a host reading what is obviously a product advertisement without a statement identifying the advertiser as a sponsor would be fine as long as listeners expected the podcaster is paid for the evocation. “There is therefore no need to disclose payment for advertising,” the proposal states.
Democratic FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter calls the updates “necessary” but thinks they don’t go far enough. “False and misleading endorsements are a major problem for honest consumers and competitors,” she said. “The new guidance makes clear that we intend to investigate breaches of that trust, whether by brands manipulating reviews, influencers not disclosing material relationships with companies, or micro-targeting. aimed at misleading specific groups of consumers.
Following last week’s unanimous 5-0 vote, the proposed changes will be published in the Federal Register. This will begin a 60 day comment period.

domain: law


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- She started her channel in 2008, but she didn’t really start uploading videos until 2015.
- Furthermore, her November 2015 video “SLASHER – NEW MINECRAFT MINI-GAME” is one of her most popular on YouTube. Ashlie was the head builder on many NewScape Productions videos in 2016, as part of the original ‘NewScapePro’ team.
- She’d also appeared in Underfell, Bully, Yandere Rivals, Bendy and the Ink Machine, Creepypasta, and Violet Moon as various characters. There are also a slew of other original Minecraft roleplaying series.
- Ashlie is best known for her roles as Undyne in the Undertale franchise and Jane the Killer in the Creepypasta franchise. She took her YouTube career into her own hands after leaving NewScapePro. She has also had a lot of success with her own creations.
- Her Dead by Daylight, Minecraft Sky Wars & Bed Wars, and UNO videos are among the most well-known. Ashlie has also changed her name from Ashlie9596 to AshlieCeleste across multiple platforms.
- Ashlie has now dedicated herself to creating Minecraft content videos, such as the SMP series and Minecraft Map Let’s Play.

domain: celebrity


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Doctor Sleep director Mike Flanagan explains how that big third-act cameo happened
While Doctor Sleep is undoubtedly a sequel to both Stephen King's and Stanley Kubrick's The Shining, as well as an adaptation of King's novel of the same name, much of the film's third act's visuals belongs to Kubrick. Doctor Sleep's filmmakers painstakingly recreated every inch of the now-abandoned Overlook Hotel onscreen — broke out the carpet, digitally rendered an avalanche of blood, and gave us another look at The Gold Room.
**Spoiler Warning: There are spoilers for Doctor Sleep below**
So the finale may look like Kubrick's world, but, at its heart, it's all King. While King has a famously contentious relationship with Kubrick's 1980 onscreen interpretation (he hates it), he was willing to play ball with Mike Flanagan because the writer-director seemed to understand the themes of his original story so well. The real kicker was Flanagan's pitch about how he'd include and handle a back-and-forth between a now-grown Dan Torrance (Ewan McGregor) and his father Jack Torrance's ghost.
"That scene is the reason Stephen King let us go back to the Overlook," Flanagan told SYFY WIRE. "That was the pitch. And so once he had given us his blessing to bring the hotel back into it, it was clear that we were going to have to do this Jack and Dan scene. It was the reason I wanted to make the movie."
The contemplative scene that Flanagan pitched kicks off the third act's ax-swinging, Shine-battle showdown, with Dan picking his way through the dilapidated Overlook to "wake it up." As he wanders down cobweb-covered halls and darts around every corner, jaw clenched, he doesn't find much of anything to fear. It's just the eery, now-silent ghosts he once grappled with there. That is until he reaches the Gold Room and the bar that his father Jack so infamously sat at to have a late-night drink — as well as a chat with Lloyd the bartender.
In a shot so painfully like that in Kubrick's The Shining, Dan takes a seat where his father had once perched to drown his sorrows. He waits in silence for a moment, seemingly alone, before a man sets a glass in front of him and pours out a healthy amount of whiskey. McGregor's Dan, who audiences have seen beat back his own addiction up to this point, delivers an emotional monologue to the faceless bartender about that addiction and the legacy of familial pain.
It's only when the camera shifts that the audience sees the bartender isn't Lloyd as expected but Jack, who's been absorbed by the hotel for its own psychologically manipulative purposes. He's quieter and wearing Lloyd's getup, but is still unmistakably Jack Torrance, especially as he starts delivering familiar lines ("take your medicine") and sneering at his son. Dan has just unloaded decades of what he could never say to his father in one fell swoop.
Up to this point in the movie, Jack, famously portrayed by Jack Nicholson and his eyebrows in The Shining, has been more a specter overshadowing Dan's life than anything else. His inclusion in Doctor Sleep came as a surprise for many fans, especially because the actor portraying Jack was neither Nicholson, who's now 82 years old, nor a CGI rendering of a younger Nicholson, a practice that's become commonplace in recent years.
"The options of how to approach it suddenly popped up. And the first one was the digital one," Flanagan explains. "And I felt like that was going to be really distracting — it always is. There's something wrong. It's uncanny. And it always rips me out of the story. It makes me think about the tech — 'Oh, they figured out this but not the eyes…'
"And that meant, if we were going to be consistent, we would have had to do that with Wendy, and young Danny, and Mrs. Massey, and Dick Hallorann, and then I'm just making a video game. So I didn't want to do that."
So Flanagan set out to find actors who he says reminded him of the original performers, but who were still doing their own thing. He didn't want the actors to be doing an impression or a parody. "And with Jack that was critical," Flanagan says. "Because a Jack Nicholson impression? It would be fatal. Especially at the height of his Jackness toward the end of The Shining."
The true solution to how to reintroduce Jack to the narrative came from how Kubrick had handled the ghost of Delbert Grady in The Shining. "Jack says, 'You're Delbert Grady, you killed your family!' and [Delbert] says, 'No, you've mistaken me for someone else. I'm just a waiter,'" Flanagan explains. That was his "ah-ha!" moment; it all came together.
"I said, 'What if it's not Jack? What if it's Lloyd?' What if Jack, having been digested by the hotel, is 'just a bartender?' Because then we're not trying to find someone who can do Jack Nicholson. Now we're talking about playing Lloyd the bartender, and for just little moments, let a little bit of Jack Torrance out. Just in tiny bursts."
The man for the job turned out to be Henry Thomas, Flanagan's friend and an actor he'd worked with on The Haunting of Hill House and Gerald's Game. Flanagan called Thomas and offered him one of two roles: either that of Dan's best friend Billy Freeman (a role that Cliff Curtis would eventually fill) or that of Jack Torrance.
"I said, 'It's one day of shooting and every move you make will be under intense scrutiny; half the audience will hate it. Guaranteed,'" Flanagan says. "And he was appropriately terrified by that and thought it over for a day and called me back and said 'If you're gonna step into the crosshairs, you're gonna be compared to Kubrick — you're never going to win. So how about I go with you and we can live or die together?'"
And so Thomas became Jack Torrance. Or, at least, he became the shadow of Jack Torrance, a blurry facsimile meant to break down Dan's defenses so the Overlook could claim yet another soul. That Jack and Dan's conversation went down over a drink, the one thing that Dan always felt connected him to his father above all else and the thing he'd left behind out of self-preservation, was the only way it could have worked.
"That opened up the hotel. That let us go back to the Kubrick hotel," Flanagan concludes. "I think [King] was interested in what that conversation would be. And because it was so rooted in recovery and so rooted in the language of recovery and addiction, that [it] was all over a drink. I think that was attractive to him."

domain: artistic


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Are you my new mom? Are you my new dad? I sure hope so! I'm enjoying my foster mom and my "sisters" here in Austin, but I hear that I can't stay, and I'm anxious to find out what's next for my life. I just know there's a new home for me, and I can't wait to find out who my new family will be! They tell me I'm very smart. I learned "sit", "come" and "kennel" from my foster mom. I want to learn more because I love to make my people happy, but my foster mom doesn't have time to teach me because she has other dogs and children to take care of. I do fine with being crated when Mom is gone. They tell me I'm at least part American Leopard Hound, so I tell people that's where I got my smarts! I like other dogs, but I like people best! If you let me, I'll be a lapdog and your best friend! I just love to snuggle! Did I tell you I like people best? I have to admit that I have a couple of bad habits. (Nobody's perfect.) I do like to go after cats; it's just too tempting. I also like to bolt through doors and gates to see what's outside. I would really do best in home without small children that might accidentally let me out the door. I do not get into things if I'm left loose in the house all day. I try hard to be a good girl! I am heartworm negative. I'm very healthy and athletic, and would love to take on whatever you think is fun to do. My adoption fee is $150.
Your message has been sent to Homeward Bound Dog Rescue.
You'll receive a copy, too, at to help you keep track of which pets you've inquired about, and which shelters and rescues you've emailed.
NOTE: Some shelters have physical locations you can visit; some of these shelters may only have pets for a limited time, so please do not wait for a reply—just go visit the shelter! Other organizations are rescue groups run by busy volunteers who may take a while to reply. You can find information about the shelter or rescue group caring for this pet, and their adoption procedures, on the pet's details page on Adopt-a-Pet.com.

domain: pet


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Bonjour™ is a trusted and reputed brand for women leggings, men handkerchiefs, leather accessories and a special range of socks, tights, underskirt and shorts for school kids. With its presence across pan India, the company serves more than 7,000 retailers and 120 distributors. Established in the year 1988, it exports premium range of knitted garments to large format stores all across UK, USA, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Turkey and other European markets. Its reputation precedes its name for being the most trustworthy brand in terms of quality standards and the services attached to it.
Recently, Bonjour came up with a veritable solution, through their patented diabetic socks. These are developed keeping the diabetic symptoms in mind, combining functionality with comfort, to provide an unmatched solution. This category of socks can be considered a step towards curbing the spread of diabetes, with proper lifestyle changes and medication; such revolutionary products are certainly proving to be an aid to mankind.
Crafted with Silvadur technology, these socks are aimed at diabetic men, who require a more holistic approach towards maintaining their health. Diabetic socks are a new innovation in the market, with Bonjour being the pioneer in bringing world class innovation to the Indian diaspora. The socks are made with extracts of N9 pure silver and come in with a non-elastic socks band, for easier circulation of blood.
Bonjour diabetic socks are the most scientifically designed diabetic socks. Its revolutionary fibre and long elastic helps increase blood flow and oxygenation in your feet. These socks for diabetics feature a soft toe seam and are non-binding to avoid friction and irritation. The unique design of these socks improves vascular flow and gives you imprint free day-long comfort.
Apt for those with sensitive feet, these socks are woven in breathable, antibacterial material that has an in-built air ventilation technology; providing ultimate comfort and cleanliness while decreasing diabetes related neuropathy. The wide and long built of these medicated/health socks promote calf support for better transmission of blood to/from the toes – providing a complete package in soothing neutral colours. Given are some of its highlights:
- Anti-bacterial finishes: All socks in this range have a special finish that inhibits fungal and bacterial growth in socks. As diabetics are prone to fungal & bacterial infection of the foot (antimicrobial fibres inhibits their growth bacterial)
- Wide & extra-long for calf support: Soft padding wide and extra-long calf support further amplifies the pumping action of the calf muscles. Helpfully in early stages of varicose veins (prominent venis)
- 100 per cent cotton fluffies + natural micro modal (Made by tree bark): Featuring the benefits of pure cotton, these socks are made from 100 per cent pure super-softened cotton fibre. Suitably blended with micro modal (Natural Tree Bark Material) for softness, absorption and dry feel. Cotton fluffies are specially recommended for those with sensitive skin and those suffering from itching of the foot
- Air-Ventilator construction: This technologically advanced construction facilities the supply of fresh air all the way down to the sole of the foot. The integrated ventilation channels along the sole and instep allow fresh air to circulate in the shoe. It helps the socks breathe with you all the day, along with keeping it soft and supple for a luxurious feel
- Fine hand-linked toe with invisible soft seam: These socks, of the right matched size, fit properly without bunching as these are made with a re-enforced heel and toe with soft seams. Soft toe assures a comfortable fir. Perfect socks for a long day’s work for people with sensitive feet


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It was a humid summer evening in Las Vegas, Nevada. The neon lights illuminated the bustling streets as tourists and gamblers filled the city, seeking their fortune in the famed casinos. Amongst the crowd was Jim, a middle-aged man from Colorado, who had dreamt of hitting it big in the gambling capital of the world. Little did he know, his luck was about to change at the infamous 007 Slots Casino.
Jim had always been fascinated by the thrilling world of espionage and secret agents. Growing up, he had admired the suave and sophisticated James Bond, and his love for all things 007 had transcended into adulthood. When he discovered the existence of an online casino called GAD.BET, offering an exclusive 007-themed slot machine, he couldn’t resist giving it a try.
The next evening, armed with a Martini and a lucky charm, Jim logged into GAD.BET and found himself immersed in the world of the 007 Slots Casino. The sleek interface and captivating graphics transported him to a virtual casino, where each spin of the reel held the promise of an exhilarating win.
Jim had always been a cautious gambler, never risking more than he could afford to lose. But tonight, he felt a surge of confidence as he placed his bets on the 007-themed slot machine. The reels spun, accompanied by the iconic Bond theme music, and to Jim’s surprise, he hit a winning combination on his very first spin. He had won a substantial amount of money, far beyond his wildest dreams.
Overwhelmed with excitement, Jim could hardly believe his luck. He decided to continue playing, feeling the rush of adrenaline with each spin of the reels. The 007 Slots Casino proved to be more than just a theme; it was a gateway to unimaginable winnings. Jim’s streak of luck continued, propelling his winnings to new heights.
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However, as quickly as his luck had come, it began to fade. Torn between the thrill of the game and the fear of losing his hard-earned winnings, Jim faced a difficult decision. With a heavy heart, he decided to cash out his remaining funds and retreat from the virtual casino world. He knew that quitting while he was ahead was the smartest choice, ensuring that his lucky break remained a cherished memory.
Years later, Jim would reminisce about his time at GAD.BET and the unforgettable experience of the 007 Slots Casino. Wonder Woman Gold Slots | GAD.BET Online Casino He knew that he had been part of something special, a brief but exhilarating chapter in the world of online gambling. As he sipped his Martini one evening, he raised a toast to the thrill of the game and the memories it had gifted him.

domain: entertainment


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Black Carrot Color
- Data Sheet (英語)
Znatural Color Co. Ltd目前只在以下作出標識的區域展示其產品資料：
Black Carrot Color is a dark purplish red powder that was extracted from Daucus carota. This product is often used in ice cream, cakes, confectioneries, jelly, integrated alcoholic beverages, etc.
Znatural Color Co. Ltd is a high-tech company that engages in processing natural plants abstraction and agricultural products used in the Food, Beverage and Nutrition industry. This company combines its experienced R&D team and technology support to create many types of plant extracts for use in beverages, ice cream, confectioneries, fruit and vegetable juices, integrated alcoholic beverages, and more.
- Plants, Fruits, Vegetables, Herbs, Seeds, Algae & Nuts ~ Vegetable and Vegetable Products ~ Vegetable Extracts ~ Black Carrot Extract
- Additives ~ Food Colors ~ Natural Colors ~ Vegetable Colors
Znatural Color Co. Ltd

domain: food


SACRAMENTO -- While Gov. Jerry Brown wrestles with a court order to reduce the state prison population, county sheriffs are quietly seeking more flexibility to reduce the number of felons in their county jails.
A bill requested by Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca was approved this week by the state Senate. It would allow county jail inmates to earn sentence-reducing credits if they complete classes to improve their employability, literacy or social skills.
Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) said it makes sense to allow credits for non-violent felons sent to jails instead of prisons under a state realignment plan.
“Let’s equip sheriffs with tools to help inmates function better before they’re released back into our communities,” Mitchell said recently. “New skills, better behavior, improved employment prospects will, hopefully, reduce recidivism and make communities safer.”


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Chennai, Jan 6:
The World Federation of Tamil Youth ,USA (WFOTY) headquartered in Chicago, Illinois organised a Memorial Service for former Tamilnadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on January 4 at U. S. Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.
The memorial service to India’s Iron Lady Amma at U.S. Capitol Hill was well attended by community activists from across Unites States and Canada.
U.S. Congressmen Danny K Davis ( D-IL ) and Raja Krishnamoorthi ( D-IL) led the memorial service by paying rich tributes to late Jayalalithaa. Congressman Danny Davis described Jayalalithaa as a leader who inspired people across the globe by her innovative welfare programs and women empowerment initiatives. Representative Davis highlighted Jayalalithaa’s charismatic connection with the masses that endeared her to all.
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi praised the dynamic leadership of Jayalalithaa and her life that embodied her relentless fight for the poor.
Dr Vijay G Prabhakar, President, World Federation of Tamil Youth, USA recalled his long association with Jayalalithaa since 1977, when he interviewed her for All India Radio Yuva Vani program in Chennai as a student of Madras Medical College.
Dr Prabhakar hoped that the endearing legacy of Amma Jayalalithaa will be carried on by the members of the AIADMK under the leadership of Chinnamma, Sasikala Natarjan to make Tamilians proud all over the world.
Kishor Mehta , Chairman , Multi Ethnic Advisory Task Force,7th Congressional District, IIlinois,Nagender Sripada,of IIT-(Chennai) Alumni Association ,USA., Dr Pratap Kumar, Founder, Association of Tamilnadu Medical Graduates-USA, Shama Patel of MEATF International Woman Day Celebrations Committee, Oak Park, Illinois, Kokilan Kulathagir ,Canada Chapter President, WFOTY,USA among others paid glowing tributes to Madam Jayalalithaa.
King Sundar, Vice President, World Federation of Tamil Youth, USA welcomed the gathering. Parthiban Shanmugam, Treasurer, WFOTY, USA said the Federation since its inception in 1992 had celebrated Amma’s birthday in the United States for the past 24 years consecutively with welfare programs for aged and disabled. this will continue to be celebrated to reach out to more people every year, he added.
The highlight of Amma’s birthday celebrations is that the Federation selects an individual every year to receive the Jayalalithaa Award. Awardees included several US Congressmen, Senators, Mayors, Governors and prominent citizens over the last 24 years.
Jerome Athistham, General Secretary, WFOTY, USA recalled that some of the notable activities of the Federation that related to Amma over the years that included,
*In 1995 had 7 States in USA proclaim February 24 as Jayalalitha Day in USA,
*1996 organised the SAFS Womam of the year Award presentation to Jayalalithaa in Kaliavanar Arangam in Feb1996,
*the naming of the street ”Jayalalitha Way” in Chicago in April 1996, in 1999 established the Jayalalitha Institute of Preventive Medicine, Chicago,
*in 2000 dedicated NRI TIMES, a English news weekly to Jayalalithaa,
*in October 2004 the presentation of “Thangai Tharagai- Golden Star Of Honor & Dignity”,
*in March 2005, the celebration Of Jayalalithaa Day in New Delhi by representatives of 33 Countries,
*in February 2005 opened the Jayalalithaa Medical Center in Gummipoondi, Tamilnadu,
*in March 2006 nominated Jayalalithaa for Noble Peace Prize,
*in 2014 the launching of Amma language laboratories and
in November 2016, the Inter Faith prayer rally for Amma among other numerous activities.
Channa Kesavulu, Joint General Secretary, WFOTY ,USA said that this is the first ever memorial service for an Indian leader held at U.S.Capitol Hill.
Enclosed photographs of the memorial service at Capitol hill and video clip of the program for publication and your perusal.

domain: news


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Executive power is often circumscribed by complex geopolitical dynamics, volatile financial markets, disruptive new technologies, and tragic natural disasters. But key leaders still can have a profound impact—positive or negative—on millions of constituents. A comparison of Florida’s and Connecticut’s governors in their contrasting approach to the resurgence of the coronavirus reveals the consequential potential of individual leaders.
This summer, tragic public-health news was exacerbated by historic levels of political grandstanding by several Southern state governors. The rapid spread of the COVID-19 Delta variant was driven by a surge of new cases in Florida, Texas, and Missouri—as these states accounted for an astounding 40% of new U.S. coronavirus cases despite representing only 17% of the nation’s population. Ignoring science and evidence, the governors of these three states have taken a rigid, cynical stance, forbidding vaccine mandates by employers and mandatory indoor mask usage—even in cases where such mandates were intended to protect young schoolchildren ineligible for vaccines.
In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis even threatened to cut off funding and educators’ salaries for schools that required protective masks in compliance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. Nonetheless, 10 school districts defied DeSantis by issuing mask mandates. Similarly, Disney, Carnival Cruise Line, and Royal Caribbean joined Norwegian Cruise Line in defiance of DeSantis’s ban on passenger vaccination passports, despite being threatened with fines of $5,000 for each such violation of his decree.
Florida’s hospital emergency rooms and intensive care units are now reaching capacity, with 90% of ICU beds occupied, the majority of them by COVID patients. More than 90% of these inpatients are unvaccinated; overall only one-third of Floridians between ages 12 and 64 are vaccinated.
DeSantis’s response to such wide swaths of the unvaccinated Florida population suffering from the highly contagious Delta variant has been to consult with anti-mask advocates who promote the horse parasite drug ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine, unproven elixirs, instead of scientifically developed, safe, and highly effective vaccines.
In contrast, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont has been relying on a science-based approach from the outset of the pandemic. He pulled together globally renowned virologists, microbiologists, epidemiologists, and business leaders in March of 2020, just as the pandemic was declared, and kept such advisory panels working to solve problems by relying on science, evidence, and smart management, independent of ideology. Accordingly, he worked with both top Trump administration and later top Biden administration leaders to keep manufacturing flowing without a day’s interruption, ensuring the needed supply of protective material to open schools early. Lamont also catalyzed a new nationwide weekly meeting of the nation’s governors, favoring quiet, effective, bipartisan, cross-sector problem-solving instead of seeking the public limelight.
Leadership matters not only in determining the effectiveness of government’s response to the public health crisis, but in shaping both individual opinions and the sense of common purpose.
As Lamont recently explained, “Our reopen committee included the scientists and the big business leaders that we needed to help us, and I’ve tried to do that throughout state government—get a wider variety of people at the table.” He did not mock scientists, intimidate public officials, or threaten business leaders as foils for political grandstanding. This resulted in the nation’s highest or second highest vaccination rates for every age group, from 75% upward—including 90% of seniors—and one of the lowest COVID-19 death rates in the nation (Connecticut is 35th out of 50 by that measure).
This focused approach to problem-solving and collaborative leadership style allowed Lamont to call for vaccine mandates in schools, nursing homes, and for all state employees recently—astoundingly without protest from unions, partisan political leaders of either party, or business leaders. Lamont pointed to heat maps of Southern state infections with overflowing hospitals and declared, “Sadly, in many cases, they have hospitals in different regions who are overwhelmed or close to being overwhelmed. We’re not gonna let that happen in Connecticut, and that is not happening in Connecticut.”
Just glancing at the two contrasting CDC charts of public health outcomes for Florida versus Connecticut below—showing the impact of the same disease, in the same country, over the same time period—illustrates the difference leaders can make. Even though Connecticut was hard hit in the pre-vaccine phase of the pandemic, the post-vaccine outcomes are dramatically different. This difference is not explained by age patterns: The average age in both states is about 41 years old, but the health outcomes of Connecticut residents tower over those of Floridians in every age bracket.
As the Delta variant rages across the country, the divergence of health outcomes is especially notable between the Northeast and the South. The map below shows that the divergence between Connecticut and Florida is reflected in a wider region surrounding each state. A year and a half into the pandemic, we have accumulated a great deal of knowledge and experience in designing effective public health responses. The divergence of health outcomes across the country is the result not of differences in the prevalence of the Delta variant, population demographics, access to health care, or environmental conditions; it is attributable at this point principally to differences in leadership.
Leadership matters. Leadership matters not only in determining the effectiveness of government’s response to the public health crisis, but in shaping both individual opinions and the sense of common purpose.
Ideological extremism has caused needless deaths in our country. It is tragic that political differences among the states have resulted in a sharp divergence with respect to health-protective behaviors—vaccination and masking among them. Ideological differences and bitter political rivalries exist in all democracies, and individual attitudes toward vaccination and masking vary widely within all regions of the world, but nowhere else are these attitudes as closely aligned with political ideologies as they have become in the U.S. The U.K., India, and Israel are just three examples: In each country, the pandemic remains a grave danger, but each country’s political cleavages, no less intractable than in the U.S., are largely unrelated to health-protective behaviors. In the U.S., the political reinforcement of resistance to public health measures has hardened individual attitudes, as shown in the chart below, worsening the pandemic and its impact on American lives and the economy.
CDC Data Collection Period: June 27-July 31, 2021; varying sample sizes
The contrasting leadership approaches between the governors of Connecticut and Florida are not explainable by educational sophistication: Each governor holds college and graduate school degrees from both Harvard and Yale. The differences are not explained by credentials but rather by competence and character. Ron DeSantis is a smart person cynically willing to play the role of an anti-intellectual for political gain, while Ned Lamont is trying to do his job to save the lives of his constituents, seeking the best scientific knowledge and evidence we have gathered on the pandemic.
As Walt Disney, one of the business leaders who shaped modern Florida, once said, “Courage is the main quality of leadership, in my opinion, no matter where it is exercised.”


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Carmaking giant Volkswagen (VW) detected "anomalies" while running internal checks on a software update for their diesel engines, the company said on Sunday. The software measures emission values for a type of Volkswagen's 1.2 liter diesel engine.
VW said the update was developed by a third party. The German auto concern did not provide details.
The carmaker is still dealing with the fallout from the 'Dieselgate' scandal over three years ago, when VW admitted to cheating on emission tests for millions of their diesel cars.
After discovering the latest anomalies, the company "promptly moved" to inform Germany's transport authority.
"Appointments have already been made for early January, in order to intensively pursue further checks and analysis," VW said on Sunday.
"As a short-term precaution, there was a joint decision to halt the current implementation" of the update, according to company representatives.
'Dieselgate' costs to top €30 billion
VW had used malicious software to make emission values lower during official tests of their diesel engines. The company's CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned over the scandal, which also saw US officials put the company's American branch on trial in 2015.
The company has already spent over €27 billion ($30.7 billion) in fines, damages, investors' compensations, and technical upgrades for the affected cars, VW's Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter said on Saturday.
"Dealing with (the emissions scandal) would keep us busy for a long time," Witter told the Börsen-Zeitung daily.
The price tag for the emissions scandal will reach €5.5 billion in 2018 alone, with another €2 billion projected for 2019 and €1 billion for 2020, according to Witter.
dj/jm (Reuters, AFP, dpa)

domain: economics


Broncos Free Up Money With Release Of QB Mark Sanchez, Sign QB DavisThe Denver Broncos have released quarterback Mark Sanchez and running back Ronnie Hillman. They also added veteran free agent quarterback Austin Davis.
Jordan 'Sunshine' Taylor A True Bright Spot In Final Preseason GameIt sure seems like Broncos wide receiver Jordan Taylor earned a spot on the final roster after his monster game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Will Placekick Holding Be Problem For The Broncos After Colquitt's Release?Broncos running back Ronnie Hillman, fighting for a roster spot with Kapri Bibbs, didn't see any action in the first quarter, but finally got in the game in the second quarter.
Jordan 'Sunshine' Taylor Really Does Shine, Along With Lynch & BibbsThe Denver Broncos' offense and defense both got off to a great start in their final preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals Thursday night.
Kapri Bibbs Survives First Round Of Cuts For BroncosTraining season turns into the dreaded cutting season this week in the National Football League.
4 Denver Broncos Minicamp Position Battles To FollowMandatory minicamp is underway at Broncos headquarters, and there are many intriguing position battles going on.
Kubiak: Former CSU Star Kapri Bibbs 'Answered The Challenge'While the starting running back job currently belongs to C.J. Anderson, the backup jobs are up for grabs. One player hoping to get into the mix is former Colorado State star Kapri Bibbs.
Broncos' C.J. Anderson Not Bothered By Bold Devontae BookerDevontae Booker, whom the Broncos would have considered drafting in the first round had they not moved up to select quarterback Paxton Lynch, declared recently that he's out to take somebody's job, not carry anyone's pads.
Manning, Kubiak Are Committed To Making This WorkPeyton Manning and Gary Kubiak are committed to making this shaky football marriage work.
Broncos Waive Former CSU Running Back Kapri Bibbs, Sign TE Richard GordonThe Denver Broncos on Monday announced they have signed tight end Richard Gordon and waived former Colorado State star running back Kapri Bibbs.
Broncos Add Running Back Kapri Bibbs To Active RosterKapri Bibbs could see his first NFL regular season game action on Sunday when the Broncos face the Browns.
Broncos Notebook: Injuries Mean A Trickle Down Effect Before Browns GameThe Denver Broncos injury/participation report has become a who's who in recent weeks.


What is the Difference Between an Order Picker and a Reach Truck?
June 22, 2021 | Blog
Forklifts have evolved and segregated into innovative machines that specialize in a task. The OSHA has categorized seven different classes of forklifts to define the types of equipment. While this can be helpful, customers can still be confused on when certain forklift models should be used.
A frequently asked question we get is the difference between order pickers and reach trucks. Not only are they categorized together as Class II, electric motor narrow aisle trucks, these machines are used in similar settings. But the key difference is quite simple: order pickers lift the operator to rack level, whereas reach trucks keep the operator in the cab.
Order Pickers Bring the Operator Up
An order picker is quite unique to the material handling industry. Unlike traditional forklifts, an operator is elevated to rack level with or without a load. These machines are used when it is necessary for operators to be on the same level as inventory and makes it easier for workers to efficiently hand-pick specific goods.
Reach Trucks Keeps the Operator in a Cab
A reach truck keeps operators grounded in a cab, while its forks move whole pallets in the racking up and down mechanically. Used primarily in narrow aisle applications, these machines excel in warehouses with high-racking operations. Reach trucks feature a pantograph, which is a scissor reach mechanism. This design enables the machine’s forks to efficiently extend forward into a rack with less effort.
Have more questions on the differences between these machines? Our expert sales representatives are ready to help pair you with the right equipment for your jobsite. Speak to one of our people today.


Although everyone by now knows the protocols of wearing a mask while social distancing when at public places and regularly washing hands with soap and water—not everyone is aware of the importance of COVID-19 testing. As many individuals as possible, mass testing is crucial in ‘containing’ the pandemic and reducing the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a program dubbed the ‘Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics Initiative’ or RADx program for short, offering solutions to stop the spread of the virus, further emphasizing the importance of COVID-19 testing. The program encourages individuals to undergo mass testing and SARS-CoV-2 inhibitor screening and develop community-based approaches to determine the best ways to implement testing and prevention strategies for the most affected populations.
Medical experts and scientists worldwide are working hard to establish programs that ensure access to and accept fast, reliable, and accurate testing globally. Testing can help individuals determine if they’re infected with SARS-CoV-2, whether they’re experiencing symptoms or not—and if they’re at risk of spreading the virus to others. Taking the usual safety precautions of regularly washing hands, wearing masks, social distancing, and avoiding mass gatherings alongside regular testing can prevent the spread of the infection, bringing everyone’s lives closer to the ‘old normal.’
With that in mind, here are more reasons why widespread testing for COVID-19 is crucial and achievable.
Testing Can Save Lives
Testing everyone in a community for the virus, including asymptomatic individuals (showing no symptoms) or pre-symptomatic individuals (beginning to experience symptoms), can help contain the spread of the virus by quickly identifying infected people. It allows people to isolate themselves from their peers faster, reducing their chances of infecting others and enabling them to seek treatment early on, further reducing disease severity and the risk of long-term disability—and death.
Additionally, testing individuals who had been in contact with individuals who have a documented past infection is crucial. That’s because a negative test result doesn’t mean you’re safe. After all, you can still become infectious later. That’s why even after testing negative, you’ll need to continue to protect yourself by doing the usual protocols.
Since it’s widely recognized that asymptomatic individuals transmit most SARS-CoV-2 infections, it’s vital to identify individuals while they’re only at the pre-symptomatic stage. Many researchers believe it can help stop the pandemic.
Testing Is Easy and Quick
In the first few months of the pandemic, the only test available required a person to get a sample from the back of their throat, and though it’s still the preferred method in many countries—newer developments are rising. These include NIH’s projects, the RADx Tech program, and Advanced Technology Platforms, offering more comfortable and equally reliable tests that obtain samples from inside the nose instead of the throat.
Getting a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 indicates that a person got infected with the virus, and knowing this as soon as possible is crucial as it not only saves your life—it protects the lives of others around you. It helps infected people get treated quicker and take the necessary steps to minimize the spread. Fortunately for the fast developments, lab equipment has improved, and capacity and supply expanded, with test results being returned in 3 to 4 days, saving many lives. Plus, there are point-of-care tests that people can do at home, providing a test result in less than 15 minutes.
It Matters More in Affected Communities
The ongoing pandemic disproportionately burdens specific communities consisting of minorities and people of color. Some of these people are essential workers who can’t work from home, increasing their risk of being exposed to the virus. Additionally, multi-generational living situations or housing arrangements involving several families enable the virus to spread faster if a single-family member gets infected. Plus, chronic medical conditions that worsen the virus’s health risks, including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity, are common in these areas.
Mass testing, especially to asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic individuals, is the best way to interrupt this inevitable spread. However, there’s still plenty of confusion about where to get tests and which people should get tested. However, it’s becoming clear that for an individual to test positive, they need to have a substantial amount of the virus in their systems, meaning if you’re asymptomatic or were told that you were in close contact with an infected individual—isolate yourself and get tested.
Besides getting tested, staying informed is crucial. That’s why most medical experts encourage people to look at the latest and trusted resources about COVID-19 regularly—and even though vaccines have become more increasingly accessible, cases are still on the rise. So, be proactive, get tested, and continue to protect yourself and others from getting infected, an takinnd act fast.


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VRBO is part of the HomeAway family, the world leader in vacation rentals with over 1 million listings. We offer the largest selection of properties for any travel occasion and every budget. We’re committed to helping families and friends find a perfect vacation rental to create unforgettable travel experiences together. Learn More
This property allows you to book online with a credit card. After submitting a reservation request, the owner or manager has 24 hours to accept, at which time your card will be charged and you will receive an email confirmation
"My family stayed for a week in this beautiful, cozy cabin and it was the perfect retreat during our trip. Lots of room inside (5 of us stayed). Nestled way up in the mountain, this home provided us the peaceful, quiet woods surrounding, while still maintaining the convenience of the town just a 10-15 minute drive out. I would highly recommend this home to family and friends and look forward to staying again in the future! :)"
Guest: Erika A.Date of Stay: August 2015Review Submitted: August 12, 2015
"We had record breaking temperatures-a couple blizzards-But great access to the mountain!When the weather was real bad-we walked!And the road the house is on was perfect for sledding! The house was cozy and perfect for a family of six!The sleeping loft in the second bedroom is great! We enjoyed the fireplace all week-there was plenty of wood in the neighborhood!It was well worth the twelve hour ride!"
Guest: Curt S.Date of Stay: February 2015Review Submitted: March 25, 2015
"This location is centrally located to all that we needed for our trip to the mountains! It's just a couple easy miles from downtown Boone. The "cabin" is small but has a nice large partially private deck for extra room to stretch. We didn't spend our days there- just used it as a place to crash after hiking, wash clothes, and fix meals. The two "negatives" were: 1. It didn't have a DVD player or kids channels (other than public broadcasting on cable) so I would highly recommend a DVD laptop if you have little kids who need to veg out after big days on the trails. I wish we would have brought one (and even considered running to Walmart to buy a DVD player just for that purpose). 2.The living room furniture is in great need of replacement as the chair is literally shot and the couch is not terribly comfy either. That being said- it would be hard to find such a great location for the price and we would come back to this cabin again (but maybe bring a couple campfire chairs)!"
Guest: Rebecca D.Date of Stay: July 2015Review Submitted: July 22, 2015

domain: travel


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This may be the measure of the Spurs thus far this season: After a sixth straight win that put them at 11-3, the fourth best record in the NBA, Gregg Popovich’s post-game summation of his team’s 96-91 win over the Dallas Mavericks lasted exactly 30 seconds, all of them consumed by a denigration of his team’s energy, effort, and execution.
“That was a pathetic performance on the part of the Spurs,” Popovich said. “You know, they had some guys out. We had some guys out, but they had a lot more out than we did. I thought we showed a lack of humility, a lack of respect for the opponent, a very pathetic performance at both ends of the court, both in execution and in grunt, in fiber, in desire. It was an awful performance.”
With that, the Spurs coach turned and took a step towards the door leading to the team’s locker room before wheeling back around to face the inquiring minds still pondering his rant.
“Oh, and they deserved to win the basketball game,” he said. “I forgot to say that.”
By “they” he meant the Mavericks, who instead had to swallow a sixth straight loss that pushed their record to 2-11, worst among all 30 NBA teams.
Indeed, Monday’s game was one of the more bizarre games at AT&T Center since Manu Ginobili snatched a Mexican freetail bat out of the air during a Halloween night game against the Sacramento Kings in 2009.
The Mavericks came to Monday night’s game against the Spurs with a five-game losing streak and the NBA’s worst record, 2-10. Without future Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki, point guards Deron Williams, Devin Harris and J.J. Barea, and starting center Andrew Bogut, Mavs coach Rick Carlisle started four players who had not been drafted by NBA teams.
Casual NBA fans likely know a bit about veteran Wesley Matthews and Seth Curry, otherwise known as the brother of a two-time NBA MVP, but if you have heard of Dorian Finney-Smith and Salah Mejri, you spend way too much time watching NBA-TV.
Popovich fretted about the seeming mismatch some 90 minutes before tipoff. When a reporter made a jocular suggestion that he sit some of his players just to “level the playing field,” Popovich scoffed at the notion that any combination of Spurs would be enough to beat the shorthanded Mavs.
“I’m not sure what we are going to do, but I wouldn’t take Dallas lightly,” he warned. “It’s always a team’s worst nightmare when the other team isn’t whole and you psychologically let down a little bit, so hopefully we won’t do that.”
What Popovich decided to do was rest starting point guard Tony Parker and starting power forward LaMarcus Aldridge. Both players suited up for the game but the head coach made it clear before tipoff he had no intention of playing them. If his intent was to gain the full focus of the remainder of his lineup, the ploy failed. By the end of a first quarter that produced five Spurs turnovers and a 28-24 Mavericks lead, Popovich knew his team did not have the appropriate fear required to compete against a Mavericks team playing with desperation.
“We didn’t bring the energy that we needed to bring against any NBA team,” said Manu Ginobili, now the Spurs’ oldest player and still their most competitive. “Probably the fact (that) we had a couple days off; that we are seeing Dallas struggling and hurt didn’t help to bring the concentration and the attention we needed. They got up at halftime – most of the game, actually – and they got confident, and that’s what happens in the NBA. Every team has a lot of talented guys that can get hot, that can make things happen.
“We were kind of irresponsible. We were not as sharp as this league demands you to be every game and we almost lost the game.”
Indeed, the Mavericks were within one point with 1:14 remaining, 92-91, but the Spurs were able to close out the victory by making four free throws in the final 15 seconds.
“There is such a thing as an ugly win and that’s probably it,” said guard Patty Mills, who scored 17 points. “But we probably let ourselves down in terms of bringing that energy and effort, that usually we’re pretty solid at. I didn’t think we were consistent with that throughout everyone tonight. We win them together, and we lose them together, and we get better together.
“A lot of things that we can obviously work on from that game to move forward for the next one. We’re getting there,” Mills added.
In the end, they got there on Monday because Kawhi Leonard scored 24 points and grabbed 9 rebounds and because David Lee was one of the few Spurs who brought enough energy and effort, scoring a season-high 12 points.
“I don’t think (Popovich) was real thrilled with us tonight,” Lee said, “and (he) let us know about it. Rightfully so. Watching the film, every guy had a couple plays where he could have been better. That’s basketball. You’re not always going to play your best.”
It may be a measure of this Spurs team that a “very pathetic” performance was enough against the Mavericks.


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Hip Hop is life, power, and expression. Hip Hop transcends race, class and cultures. It has been the voice for those who have been marginalized and oppressed. Hip Hop Renegade Mizta Sandman is a breath of fresh air in an era where “Copy Cat” rappers rule. He delivers vivid rhymes and smooth flows. His skillful wordplay and witty metaphors paint precise pictures. And his cadence and penmanship are top-notch.
The Aurora, Colorado based Hip Hop juggernaut shows off a complete package of artistry. Mizta Sandman was influenced by such stars as E40, Scarface, Redman, Chirs Brown, Drake, 2Pac and Nipsey Hussle. This magnetic emcee exudes confidence and has the skills to back it up. At times brilliant and at times daring, Mizta Sandman is thoroughly engaging. His music incorporates an element of realism and rawness that is authentic and seldom seen on today’s independent musical landscape..
Mizta Sandman is on a mission to bridge the gap between the younger and older generation of Hip Hop fans. His songs are musical diaries and he writes from the heart. He writes songs for the “Underdogs.” The philosophical concept of his movement can be summed up as follows: Never underestimate the heart, determination, and hunger of an underdog. One way or another, they find a way to beat the odds.
The dynamic rhyme slinger does everything in a colossal way. Mizta Sandman is currently making an impact with his latest single entitled “Something Good,” which is the first Single off of the EP “I Hustle.” The song is a certified banger and it’s receiving rave reviews from DJ’s across the nation. The song is an ode to beautiful ladies from around the world. The song provides a REAL MAN’S perspective on relationships.Respect the grind and join the movement. Follow Mizta Sandman on his journey to greatness.


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AUTHOR: Jeph Loeb (writer); Tim Sale (artist)
YEAR PUBLISHED: 1998
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
I have read this Batman story more than once but I was at the library the other day and saw it on the shelf and decided I wanted to read it again.
This is actually one of my favorite Batman stories. It is written by Jeph Loeb, who is one of my favorite comic books writers (along with Geoff Johns, Chuck Dixon, Garth Ennish, and Peter David). The artwork in it is decent. Not amazing. Not great. But decent.
But it's the story itself that makes me read it over and over. I love the story. Jeph Loeb has written other Batman stories (most notably Dark Victory) but this one is definitely one of his best works in my opinion.
If you are a Batman fan, or a comics fan, or a Jeph Loeb fan, or just a fan of reading, check this one out.

domain: hobby


Centraals groups CDP vendors into three main categories (CDP types). The categorization is based on the functionality provided by the systems.
- Own channels based CDPs. Main functionality of every single CDP – to be able to manage customers’ profile and transactional data. These CDPs gather customer data from varied sources, link them to customer identities, and store the results in a database available to external systems. In practice, these systems base only on profile / transactional data that are linked to customers permanent identifiers, such as email or phone number. The delivery channels are mostly restricted to direct marketing channels (own channels).
- Activation CDPs. These systems extend data assembly to tracking users behaviour in digital channels and provide users’ targeting in external media channels dynamically stitching anonymous users’ identifiers across different channels (programmatic, social media, search, own channels, etc). The delivery channels are no more restricted to own channels only but users can be targeted in paid channels without the use of 3rd party cookies.
- Analytics CDPs. These systems extended data modelling and segmentation functionality, machine learning, predictive modeling, or revenue attribution.
Centraals does not classify CDPs based on their ability of building campaign, delivering messages or personalization . Addressing users, running outbound marketing campaigns, orchestrating customer treatments across channels and delivering messages across varied marketing channels is not a role of a CDP. Marketing Automation technologies hardly replaces basic CDP functionality, and if at all they can only address own channels and could be classified within the first group only.
Learn more about CDPs here: centraals.com/cdp


Bulgaria World's Number 1 in Lavender Production
Bulgaria is the world leader in lavender growing and oil production after managing to steal the first place from France in just several years, French newspaper Figaro reported.
In the Valley of the Roses in Bulgaria the lavender fields can also be found, taken care of by seasonal workers. The working techniques are old, but up to 300 kg of petals a day can be gathered, which are later distilled, the newspaper says.
"Hungary, Moldova, Ukraine and Crimea, as well as China stopped their lavender production in the last 30 years and left it all to Bulgaria", said Nikolay Nenov, expert at the Bulgarian National Association for Essential Oil, Perfumery and Cosmetics.
"Bulgarian lavender oil producers export around 70% of their production to France. They do not only sell to French cosmetic companies, but also to local lavender oil producers," lavender oil producer, Filip Lisicharov confirmed.
In 2011 in Bulgaria 60 tonnes of lavender oil were produced. This year, producers hope to distill 120 tonnes.
- » Ѕtatistics Show Growth in GDP and Final Consuption
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- » Owners of restaurants in Sunny Beach Will Protest
- » Varna’s Sky Restaurant Sees Emergency Landing by NRA Inspectors
- » Six Bids for Bulgaria’s Toll System to be Open Today
- » Bulgarian Minister of Tourism: 'Late Night Police Raids Mar the Image of Bulgarian Sea Resorts


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Altitude Group HSE Team Sensitise Traders On Fire Prevention
Following incessant fire outbreaks, Altitude Group Ltd a company with interests in Health and Safety Consultancy and procurement and more in consultation with Lagos State Safety Commission on Wednesday went on a sensitisation visit to Ijora Market to Sensitise men and women on how to take precautionary measures to avert any fire disaster.
During the sensitisation visit to the market which was led by Rolake Odusi, HSE Lead Officer who tutored market operators and their leaders on basic precautionary measures to be put in place so as to avert fire outbreaks.
According to Rolake ,we are here to sensitise them on the things to do to avert fire outbreak which includes having fire blankets and extinguishers in their stores and homes, proper storage of petroleum products, avoiding the use of substandard wiring and illegal electrical connections, removing every obstruction like displaying of wares on access roads within the market for easy access during emergency and availability of water in the market for immediate solution in case of emergency.
“Also, setting fire on refuse generated within the market should stop. And most importantly, the security men and traders in the markets should have the contacts of the fire services and emergency numbers so as to reach out in time, if there is a case of fire outbreak at night.”
“We are here to converse for the economic development of the state, we don’t want incessant fire outbreaks in our markets and we know that all these fire outbreaks are as a result of our peoples negligence and carelessness.
“Our people should be careful in handling fire because any mishandling can lead to a disaster.”
The Iya Oloja General of Apapa, Alhaja Hafusat Popoola appreciated the good gestures of the team at sensitising them against fire outbreaks and the practical demonstration on how to use the fire extinguishers and blankets.
She Promised the cooperation of the market men and women to take proactive steps against fire outbreaks by making necessary provisions for the safety measures required in the market down to traditional means.


Virginia Tech running back Trey Edmunds appears set to transfer to Maryland, according to information provided by a source with knowledge of the situation.
Edmunds, a 6-foot-2, 223-pound rising redshirt senior from Danville, has been admitted to Maryland, but nothing official regarding a transfer would take place until Monday, according to the source. Since Edmunds has already obtained his undergraduate degree from Tech, he’d be immediately eligible to play at Maryland as a graduate transfer.
His father, Ferrell, played tight end at Maryland before going on to have a seven-season career in the NFL with the Miami Dolphins and Seattle Seahawks. He earned a spot in the...
Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson (3) throws a game-winning 24-yard touchdown pass on the final play against the Green Bay Packers at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks defeated the Packers 14-12.


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I’m very excited for this week’s Featured Album Friday, because I’m featuring a Canadian indie band! I think that I should take any and all opportunities to support home grown talent, and their music is pretty damn good too!
Without further delay, this week, I am taking a look at Hey Ocean!‘s 2008 album, It’s Easier to be Somebody Else. You can find more information about them on their MySpace. Here is their description and bio from Last.FM:
If asked, the members of Hey Ocean!, will probably tell you that they are a Canadian band, however their humble beginnings swapping songs on the beaches of Costa Rica are undeniably where the spirit of their music resides. Stemming from the minds of Vancouver songstress Ashleigh Ball and British-born singer/songwriter David Beckingham their mix of focused surfer energy, tight harmonies, and clever lyrics are supported by the recent additions of groove obsessed bassist, Dave Vertesi and master of all things percussion, Benny Schütze.
With the release of their first full length album, “Stop Looking Like Music,” Hey Ocean! has been spreading their sound across southern BC; their shows serving as reminders to their fans (young and old alike) that there is still a place for music that makes you feel good. Drawing on influences in folk, jazz, funk, hip hop, pop, and more, the young band incorporates whimsically poetic lyrics, finely crafted pop and funky freeform jams. Playing packed club shows for up to 700 people, their own enthusiasm at live shows is matched only by that of the growing audiences who have come to know Hey Ocean! as one of the best shows vancouver has to offer. Passionate voices, pensive words, and frivolous fun keep this music honest and pure: from the heart, for the soul.
The album itself sounds fantastic, and is great music to just play in the background while you work. I spent this morning and afternoon listening to it, and I have to say it has grown on me! As per usual, you can stream the album below. If you like it, leave a comment!


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Princess Ani/ Isi (Anna Sophia Robb) A quiet girl from Kildenree, originally Crown Princess, later known as Isi. She learns animal-speaking from her aunt and eventually also learns wind-speaking. Her full name is Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee.
AnnaSophia Robb Photos - Actress AnnaSophia Robb attends Cotton & Rue La La's fashion showcase hosted by Molly Sims at Il Principe at Hotel Hugo on September 2015 in New York City. - Molly Sims Hosts Cotton and Rue La La's Fashion Showcase


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La Grange novelist Jim Kokoris felt as if he had hit the jackpot in 2001 with his first book, "The Rich Part of Life."
The poignantly funny tale about a family that wins a big lottery payout was chosen as a selection by three national book clubs, optioned for a possible film by Columbia Pictures and prompted many readers to suggest a sequel.
Literary success has added an interesting chapter of its own to the life of Kokoris, an ad exec who began writing his first novel five years ago. To promote the novel, Kokoris made more than 100 appearances at Chicago-area book clubs.
"At first, I was so happy that people wanted me to speak that I would go anywhere," Kokoris said. Then came the literary groupies.
"One `discussion group' turned out to be two women who served me dinner by candlelight. At another club, the women were so intoxicated that they couldn't ask me any questions. They just kept laughing and wanting to dance with me.
"Now, my wife screens all of the requests."
Kokoris, whose second novel, "Sister North," was recently published by St. Martin's Press, said that a "Rich" sequel may be in the offing.
"I can see doing one somewhere down the road, especially if the movie gets made," said Kokoris.


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Choose Contact Lenses in Oshawa & Whitby
Many of Dr. Michael Pellegrino’s patients decide to choose contact lenses in our Oshawa and Whitby clinics. However, there are many important considerations to take into account when it comes to deciding if contact lenses are right for you. These are some of the questions you should first ask yourself:
How Often Will You Need to Wear Your Contacts?
While the majority of patients will require contact lenses for everyday wear, there are some who may only need to wear them occasionally, such as on weekends or at special occasions when they don’t wish to wear glasses. Soft contact lenses may be worn either part-time or full-time, depending upon your needs. However, hard contact lenses should only be worn on a regular basis.
Will You Be Wearing Your Contact Lenses Overnight?
Some patients prefer to wear their contacts overnight, while others prefer to take them out at bedtime. Your ability to comfortably wear overnight lenses depends on your general eye health, the type of lens you prefer to wear, the composition of your tear film and more. While it is possible to sleep in gas permeable contact lenses, do not do so without first consulting your optometrist. If you’re interested in extended wear contacts, please consult with our optometrist to determine if this is possible.
Will You Be Able to Care for Your Contacts Properly?
Wearing contact lenses is a big responsibility. There are many types of fungal eye infections that can develop if you don’t care for your contacts properly. You’ll either need to commit to cleaning and disinfecting your contacts daily with a special solution or commit to using daily disposable lenses for single use in order to avoid infection.
If You Need Bifocals, Can You Still Wear Contacts?
If you wear bifocals, there are special multifocal contact lenses and mono vision options available that will allow patients to see near and far without reading glasses. Please consult with our optometrist to see if this is a good fit for you.
Do You Suffer from Allergies or Dry Eyes?
If you suffer from allergies or dry eyes, contact lenses may not be a comfortable fit for you. However, daily disposables may help alleviate contact lens-related allergies and there are also many contact brands specifically recommended for dry eyes.
Do you have any other questions about your eye care? Please feel free to contact us or check out our frequently asked questions for more information.
CL Solution sold in office
Optifree Pure Moist

domain: health