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The Commission on Chicago Landmarks today honored 12 exceptional development projects at the 2021 “Preservation Excellence Awards,” including the restoration of Union Station, the adaptive reuse of the former Cook County Hospital, the rehabilitation of two 19th century homes in the Old Edgebrook District, and the adaptive reuse of the former West Pullman School. The […]
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The Committee on Design has reviewed the mixed-use United Yards proposal. Located along the W. 47th St corridor, United Yards encompasses a total of four sites engaged in a single redevelopment scheme for the area. The $60 million endeavor is a product of a joint venture between Celadon Partners and the Blackwood Group. The winner […]
Vidal reached out to The Resurrection Project, which celebrated a ground breaking Thursday for Casa Durango, new affordable housing in Pilsen. “We welcome newcomers, but we also want the families who have been here for many years to benefit from the prosperity of neighborhood development,” said Raul Raymundo, CEO and co-founder, The Resurrection Project. Casa […]
C40 is a global network of the world’s megacities committed to addressing climate change. Through the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, more than 90 of the world’s greatest cities — representing more than 650 million people and one-quarter of the world’s economy — collaborate to share knowledge and drive meaningful, measurable and sustainable action on […]
Holisticly streamline transparent methodologies after team building growth strategies. Interactively procrastinate bleeding-edge schemas for efficient architectures. Globally promote vertical portals whereas error-free opportunities.
BACK OF THE YARDS — A vacant lot near 47th Street and Ashland Avenue will be redeveloped into a 50-unit affordable housing building and community hub in Back of the Yards. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Department of Planning and Development on Monday announced United Yards, a proposal from Celadon Partners and Blackwood Group, was […]


States that legalized marijuana may be linked to lower opioid deaths but far more studies need to be done to confirm it, said the director of the National Institutes of Health.
NIH Director Francis Collins said there has been a “statistical relationship” between states that legalized marijuana and lower opioid deaths. But, Collins told a Senate committee Thursday more research is needed to fully answer that toking up can help combat the opioid epidemic.
“This is a correlation, not a causation,” Collins said before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
An October study in the American Journal of Public Health found legalization of marijuana in Colorado resulted in a short-term reduction of opioid deaths from 2000 to 2015. Colorado legalized marijuana back in 2012.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., asked Collins about the role of marijuana in combating opioid addiction. He also asked about what the right age is for someone to start smoking pot due to its effects on adolescent brains.
“There has been at least one suggestion that legalization of marijuana should be restricted to those 25 and above,” he said.
Collins responded he has heard of studies where frequent marijuana use among adolescents can impact IQ points, but he declined to say what age is the best to start smoking.
Collins also said if Congress wants the NIH to shift resources to the National Institute on Drug Abuse then it needs direction from Congress.
Cassidy questioned why NIDA gets smaller funding than other institutes at NIH, especially since the opioid epidemic is killing so many Americans. Federal data estimates that 71 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.
“As the NIH director I don’t get to set those numbers,” Collins said. “We follow what the Congress tells us.”


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ORCHARD PARK, New York — Whatever jitters Bills safety Damar Hamlin might have been feeling went away midway through the first quarter on Saturday, when he first heard the play call: Blitz.
Four snaps into his first game in a competitive setting since a near-death experience on Jan, 2, Hamlin broke toward the line and stopped Indianapolis Colts running back Evan Hull for no gain on fourth-and-1 from the Buffalo 40.
“Yeah, man, it felt good. It for surely felt like a little weight off my shoulders,” Hamlin said following Buffalo’s 23-19 preseason-opening win. “Amazing. It just makes me feel like I’m back in that element.”
What seemed unfathomable in those frightening first moments when Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and needed to be resuscitated on the field during a game at Cincinnati in January, is closer to approaching reality in the 25-year-old’s bid to resume his playing career.
Hamlin showed no signs of hesitancy or trepidation in finishing with three tackles – the two others coming on consecutive snaps – in playing two-plus defensive series spanning the first and second quarters.
In doing so, he reached the latest and perhaps biggest milestone in a comeback that began with him returning to practice in May followed by enduring his first thud in the Bills’ first padded session of training camp two weeks ago.
“What we just witnessed, to me, is remarkable,” coach Sean McDermott said. “It’s a true sign of a young man’s courage and obviously everyone who helped him to get to this point. I know there was a football game going out there today, but I mean a truly remarkable display of courage and strength and faith.”
Hamlin arrived at the stadium flashing his familiar heart sign and held out three fingers to signify his jersey number as he entered the tunnel. And not even a brief delay caused by a thunderstorm could douse his spirits.
Hamlin entered the game taking the field as part of Buffalo’s kickoff coverage unit following James Cook’s 8-yard TD run 3 1/2 minutes in. And he spent the second half watching along the sideline with his pads on while wearing running shoes.
At the final whistle, Hamlin sought out his mother, Nina, in the stands and presented her his game jersey even though he had initially promised it to former teammate and now Colts receiver Isiah McKenzie.
“That first jersey back, it had to go to Mom. Dude, I had to go to her. My mom was my strength, my everything, you know, through my entire life,” Hamlin said. “But I’m for surely going to get Isaiah a jersey this season.”
McKenzie is fine with having to wait.
More important to him was seeing how far Hamlin has come.
“It was awesome to see him progressing the way he’s progressing. Out there on the field now, doing his thing and playing the game he loves to play. It felt awesome to be out there with him,” McKenzie said. “One time I was on the pile, and me and him started laughing. It was pretty cool to see him smiling and enjoying himself.”
Hamlin has grown in confidence with each step he’s taken, starting with waking up from a medically induced coma in a Cincinnati hospital bed some two days after he collapsed, followed by being able to breathe on his own to eventually being cleared to resume playing in April, when he announced his comeback bid.
Asked what his next milestone might be, Hamlin kept his day-at-a-time focus by saying: “Practice tomorrow.”
And yet, the third-year player allowed himself to look ahead to traveling to his hometown of Pittsburgh next week for Buffalo’s game against the Steelers.
“I think it will probably be electric down there. I can’t wait,” he said.
After two more preseason games, the next hurdle will come on Aug. 29, when the Bills make their final cuts to establish their regular-season roster with Hamlin seeking to re-secure one of the backup spots behind returning starters Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer.
“It’s kind of like proving it to myself and just accepting a challenge of just being able to go through something so tough and just to be able to come back and overcome that,” Hamlin said assessing his journey.
“And then just to prove to yourself that nothing can stop you from doing what you want to do and reaching the heights that you want to reach,” he added. “It’ll be a long road, long journey as far as the goals that I’ve got for myself in this game. But today was definitely a step in the right direction.”

domain: sports


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Starting from the first of March 2024, Egyptian companies engaged in the production of key food commodities will implement a new measure by clearly indicating the final selling prices on their products, according to sources cited by Asharq Bloomberg.
This initiative is a response to the government's directive to address the recent market price discrepancy and restore order.
In December, Minister of Supply and Internal Trade, Ali Al-Moselhi, issued a decision to regulate the trading of seven strategic commodities. This decision mandates companies and establishments to prominently display the final selling prices of goods to consumers, including taxes and additional financial burdens.
The seven strategic commodities subject to this regulation are rice, pasta, dairy products, oils, beans, sugar, and certain types of cheese.
Assistant Minister of Supply for Projects and Information Affairs, Ahmed Kamal, highlighted the importance of transparent pricing in chains and shops. He emphasized that prices should be clearly visible on the packaging itself or on designated areas such as shelves.

domain: news


New Cruel Summer Season 1 Spoilers For June 15, 2021 Finale Episode 10 Revealed
Hey, “Cruel Summer” fans. We hope you guys totally enjoyed watching episode 9 tonight. Now that it’s all wrapped up and in the can, we are on here to give you a few spoilery details for the next, new, finale episode 10 Cruel Summer’s current season 1, which is due out next Tuesday night, June 15, 2021.
That’s right, guys. Episode 10 will indeed be the last episode for this current season 1, and unfortunately we can’t officially tell you, right now, if there will be a new season 2 or not as Freeform has not yet revealed a decision.
However, Freeform did reveal an official teaser description for one of the new episode 10’s main storylines via their official episode 10 press release. So, that is what we’ll be digging into for this spoiler session. Let’s do it.
First thing’s first. Freeform revealed that this next, new episode 10 of Cruel Summer’s current season 1 is officially labeled/titled,”Hostile Witness.”
It sounds like episode 10 will feature some very intense, dramatic, interesting and possible emotional scenes.
In the new episode 10, Kate and Jeannette will take up the spotlight in this storyline that Freeform chose to reveal. Apparently, they’re not going to be having that great of a time in this episode. Their court date is just around the corner. So, their worlds will totally collide!
They will be forced to serve up some answers to the question that everyone is thinking at the moment. Unfortunately, the answer will have very severe consequences that not everyone is willing to endure.
Freeform’s official description for episode 10 reads like this, “Kate and Jeannette’s worlds collide as the court date arrives, finally forcing the two young women to answer the question on everyone’s mind, but the answer comes with a price that not everyone can pay.”
Will Kate and Jeannette finally answer this very important question in this episode? That is certainly the burning question we’ll be looking to see get answered before the hour is up. Whatever the case, I think we’ll definitely get some highly entertaining and super dramatic moments out of this finale episode 10 when it hits the air next week. So, get ready for it.
Freeform’s press release confirmed that the next, new, finale episode 10 of Cruel Summer’s current season 1 is indeed scheduled to arrive next Tuesday night, June 15, 2021 at approximately 9 pm central standard time.
Alright guys. That’s all we’ve got for this latest “Cruel Summer” TV show report, but definitely stay tuned for more.
Be sure to follow us for more “Cruel Summer” TV show updates by clicking the green “Updates” button located on the left side of your screen. If you don’t see it, you’ve probably already clicked it in the past. So, don’t worry about it.
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Plus is an album by Cannonball Adderley Quintet released on the Riverside label featuring performances by Adderley with Nat Adderley, Wynton Kelly, Victor Feldman, Sam Jones and Louis Hayes. The two additional tracks added on the CD reissue, an alternate take of "Lisa" and ". were discovered in the mid-1980s
The Cannonball Adderley Quintet & Orchestra. The Cannonball Adderley Quintet & Orchestra (also known as Experience in E) is an album by jazz saxophonist Cannonball Adderley recorded in Los Angeles, California in 1970 featuring performances by Adderley's Quintet featuring Nat Adderley, Joe Zawinul, Walter Booker and Roy McCurdy with an unidentified orchestra conducted by William Fisher or Lalo Schifrin. Experience in E" (Joe Zawinul, William Fischer) – 20:00.
2013 Jazz,Blues,Rock 'n' Roll - Johnny Cash - Neil Sedaka - Rosemary Clooney and Other.

domain: artistic


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Agents encouraged to target the '50-plus adventuress' market
Travel agents should target women aged 50-plus who are increasingly looking to travel solo or with friends, according to a new study.
The research highlighted “the rise of the 50+ adventuress”, a potential target market of women who are open to the idea of leaving their husbands or partners at home.
The study, conducted in June by travel marketing specialist Souk Response and supported by Silver?Travel Advisor, the advice site for “mature travellers”, sought the views of 500 women aged over 50 with a household income of at least £50,000.
It found 75% of respondents who usually went abroad with their partner said they would or might consider travelling on their own or with a friend.
Nearly half (47%) felt they were more adventurous than their partner, while 54% said they were keener than their partner to try different types of holiday.
Furthermore, 56% said they wanted to visit a destination their partner was not interested in. And 25% said they would be prepared to travel without their partner because their other half preferred to pursue their own interests.
For 70% of the women surveyed, gaining fresh travel experiences was important to them.
Souk’s study found ‘adventuress’ bookings were often for durations of around a week, suggesting they might be secondary holidays.
Operators said these women were making up for lost time – a view confirmed by the survey, which found 20% said that because their partners travelled a lot for work, they were less inclined to do so for pleasure.
Souk Response managing director Huw Williams said: “This is a group of older women who aren’t prepared to wait for the world to come to them. If their other half isn’t interested, they will do it for t


Redemption for American hockey fans, stung by a pair of bitter Olympic losses to Canada, now rests largely on one skating line featuring three combat veterans who, between them, have lost five legs on the battlefield.
The trio –- two retired Marines wounded in Afghanistan and a former U.S. soldier severely injured in Iraq -– proudly dubs itself the “Ugly Hockey Line.” As a unit that separately weathered enemy fire, they’re embracing a new mission at the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi: shut down the opponents’ top scorers and finally claim gold in Russia.
The team faces Russia after beating Canada 3-0 on Thursday.
Watch the sled hockey final on NBC at 1 p.m. ET on Saturday, March 15.
They’ve gone from national defense to ice defense, now taking aim at a new – albeit sporting – target.
“Watching the women lose was very upsetting, and after seeing the men not make that gold medal game, I said: ‘We’re going there and we’re winning that medal. We’re bringing it back.’ That’s just what we’ve got to do,” said Josh Sweeney, who plays left wing on the U.S. sled hockey team. “We love the pressure.”
He and his line mates share a common injury to a common weapon.
Sweeney, 26, lost both legs above the knees after he stepped on an improvised explosive device while patrolling Afghanistan in 2009. He’s joined on the line by Rico Roman, 33, from Portland, Ore., who was leading his Army squad back to its Iraqi base in 2007 when his Humvee struck an IED; one year later, he agreed with doctors that his mangled left leg should be amputated. Their third member is Paul Schaus, 25, from Buffalo, N.Y, whose legs were amputated above the knees after an IED detonated while he patrolled Afghanistan in 2009.
But their injuries led them to the same reclamation place – sheets of ice. In the Paralympic version of the sport, players sit on sleds that ride atop two skate blades. They carry not one but two hockey sticks, shortened, and with the butt ends each affixed with metal picks to jam into the surface to create speed.
From there, it’s just hockey.
The game has long been in Sweeney’s life. He played as a kid in Phoenix. During leaves from his Marine base in California, he would grab his skates and drive four hours back home to play with friends in a house league. On a hospital bed after injury, he turned toward his mother and opened up about what else he’d lost: “I’m not going to be able to play hockey.”
Sweeney eventually was sent to Brooke Army Medical Center in Texas to regain his mobility. There, he met Roman, who introduced him to sled hockey via a club team, the San Antonio Rampage. Roman is an energetic whirlwind known through national TVs ads. He grinds hard through each shift yet owns a laser-like shot – a hockey ambassador who welcomed Sweeney back to a familiar place.
“Hockey saved my life,” said Sweeney, who lives in San Antonio with his wife, Amber. He wears prosthetic legs off the ice. “It's one thing to live just to live. It’s another thing to live to excel.”
After the three veterans made the U.S. team, head coach Jeff Sauer didn’t initially play them as a line. But when that mix was tested in action, their chemistry became instantly obvious. In addition to Roman’s rocket shot, Sweeney sprinkles in goals with his lock-down defense, and Schaus is known for banging opponents.
“I think (coach) finally figured out that when he put us all together, it’s like crazed animals on the ice,” Sweeney said. “Our whole purpose is to stop the top line on the other team from playing their game.”
“With the three of us being military, we know none of us is ever going to quit, whether that’s on the ice or in life,” Roman said. “We don’t relate combat to playing a game. In combat, if you lose, unfortunately you don’t come home.”
But as amputees, they do own a unique advantage. Without the weight of their lower legs, Sweeney and his line mates skate faster than opponents who possess both legs but are unable to use them.
Their line composes three of the four veterans on the 17-man U.S. roster. The other is goalie Jen Lee, still a U.S. Army staff sergeant despite losing his left leg in a 2009 motorcycle accident.
The full U.S. Paralympic team includes 80 athletes – 18 of them veterans or active-duty service members, according to officials at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which operates sports clinics for wounded warriors, working with the U.S. Olympic Committee to develop elite athletes.
In Sochi, the sled hockey tournament is split two groups of four teams. In Group A, there’s Canada, the No. 1 seed. In Group B, there’s Team USA, the No. 2 seed, and the team said they were eager for their matchup ahead of the game.
Fighting is rare in Paralympic hockey because opposing players may be recovering from spine, neck or head injuries. But there are moments when boys will be boys.
“There are some guys on the Canadian team that we are pretty familiar with that if they take a run at us, we definitely let them know we’re not happy,” Sweeney said.
Whether he comes home with gold or not, his spot on the “Ugly Hockey” line will give Sweeney back something he left in Afghanistan.
“Closure,” Sweeney said. “When you’re injured, you’re pulled directly from your unit. You’re told you can’t do what you did before. Most of us loved what we were doing.
“Finding sled hockey let me decide when I’m done playing for my country, when I’m done representing my country, letting me leave on my terms instead of the way that I went out of the military.”


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This month, in Al-Kauthar, the Sat Yoga Ashram greenhouse, we have been blessed with beautiful harvests and bountiful compost, successful seeding experiments, stunning flowers and a variety of interesting creatures. It is a joy to share with you a picturesque view of the fruits of our labor!
With a little help from the morning greenhouse gang, we harvested an abundant variety of high-vibration nutritional delights:
The Baby Bok Choi Seedlings that we grow for microGreens are germinating and pushing their way through the soil with super-strength!
Our Okra is flowering and beginning to produce a regular amount of fruit - about 1.5kg per month.
Chile Picante and Purple Top Turnips are in season!
The always stunning San Miguel flower and Cranberry Hibiscus flowers that are a delight to the eyes and a treat to eat.
Our sugar snap pea experiment is going very well. We made several discoveries that will improve our future plantings and encountered the ideal variety that produces a pod that is edible and delicious.
And, of course, the harvest nor this report would be possible without the assistance of Durga, Daniel, and Yogiraj who spend many hours improving and re-organizing the Bija Kosta seed bank. They implemented a standardized way of storing the seeds and created a comprehensive inventory of all the seeds (from all departments) that are stored in our seed bank. Thank you for this important seva!
Now, on to our ever-evolving process of composting! This has been a bountiful yield made from all the green “waste” matter from around the Ashram - tree pruning, leaf and stem matter, kitchen scraps, etc. We have been using around 20-30 sacs per month in our soil mixes.
An exploration into “aging” manure, as a fertilizer, began behind the Al-Kauthar building. We started with 20 sacs of dry horse and cow manure that we spread on a black plastic sheet to receive the rain for about two weeks. Once well re-hydrated, we covered the pile with plastic to heat up and begin to decompose. The plans for this manure grew as we researched the manure “aging” process and will become the base for another upcoming compost/soil making adventure.
And finally, it is a blessing to share this beautiful and bountiful environment with intriguing creatures like this tiny baby frog, big armored rhino beetle, a very aerodynamic daytime moth, and the Fibonacci spiral demonstrated by this coiled millipede.
Bountiful Blessings to you!

domain: agronomy


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The wait is nearly over as Las Vegas’ hottest pool party destination, WET REPUBLIC at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, will open its doors Friday, March 11 (Photo credit: Jeff Green).
Teaming up for another sizzling summer, MGM Grand and Angel Management Group will deliver non-stop parties at the adults-only summertime playground featuring an unprecedented line-up of sexy celebrities, international parties and world-renowned DJs. Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett, Kim Kardashian and many more are scheduled to flock to WET REPUBLIC and celebrate the start of the Vegas pool season.
Photo credit: Jeff Green.
“It’s evident that we made a mark in the industry when we opened WET REPUBLIC with MGM Grand in 2008 and truly created a unique daylife destination,” said Neil Moffitt, CEO of Angel Management Group. “We successfully transformed the customary Vegas pool party and produced an experience that is worth the wait, and this year we will take it to the next level by introducing innovative experiences that guests can only get only at the ultra pool.”
Photo credit: Jeff Green.
President and COO of MGM Grand Scott Sibella said, “Angel Management Group is the leader when it comes to incredible daylife pool experiences and we anticipate many more exciting events and celebrity appearances as we get ready for summer at WET REPUBLIC. Each year, we present creative, trend-setting concepts that bring an energetic vibe to the property. We are preparing for our guests to return and be a part of even more action-packed parties, fresh entertainment and stellar sets from the most celebrated DJs in the world.”
After delivering incredible parties to half a million sun-kissed trendsetters over the past three years, Angel Management Group will take over and assume full operational control of WET REPUBLIC for its fourth season. The Las Vegas-based lifestyle and nightlife company position the pool as the place to party by producing creative advertising and fresh marketing campaigns and delivering A-list celebrity and DJ appearances including Sean “Diddy” Combs, Jay-Z, Rihanna, Eva Longoria, Avril Lavigne, Ashlee Simpson, Jessica Simpson, Kim Kardashian, Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett, Will.i.am, DeadMau5, Afrojack, Sharam of Deep Dish, Steve Angello, Kaskade and more. This year, Angel Management Group will pull out all the stops to bring another great season that will top all the rest.
2011 opening line-up will include the following:
- Saturday, March 26: Join Kendra Wilkinson-Baskett, star of “Kendra” on E! and former “Girl Next Door,” as she spends the day sitting poolside to celebrate the start of season four at WET REPUBLIC. Kendra will get the party started as she hosts a day of fun in the sun.
- Sunday, April 3: Much-admired house DJs and producers Steve Angello of Swedish House Mafia, AN21 and Max Vangeli will invade WET REPUBLIC with the SIZE MATTERS 2011 tour and Winter Music Conference reunion. The threesome will rule the turntables as they exhibit an unbelievable show that marks the beginning of summer in Las Vegas.
- Sunday, April 10: WET REPUBLIC is proud to present David and Cathy Guetta’s legendary international party F*** Me I’m Famous to Sin City for the first time as they mix up the poolside party scene. Beginning April 10, and for 26 consecutive Sundays, the ultra pool will transform into a haven for bronzed bikini-clad partygoers to gather and dance under the sun as they lose themselves to the French-inspired tracks spun by acclaimed mixmasters. The iconic FMIF brand will change the meaning of ‘Daylife’ in Las Vegas as the destination will feature an Ibiza-like atmosphere, from the décor, to the DJs, music and more. Reaching beyond the traditional FMIF experience, WET REPUBLIC will incorporate many of the pieces inspired by the original party to create a thrilling experience for Sin City as if they were experiencing it while in Ibiza. Sun worshippers will be lining up to get a taste of the international party sensation, only available at the daylife destination.
- Saturday, April 16: Kim Kardashian will host a scorching poolside affair for the official grand opening of WET REPUBLIC. The reality television starlet will indulge in an afternoon under the sun and revel with partygoers as she takes a break from her busy schedule.
- Friday, April 29: The annual SpyOnVegas.com Hot 100 contest returns to WET REPUBLIC for the 2011 pool season. With a total of $100,000 in cash prizes awarded to the most beautiful ladies, this event is one of the greatest competitions witnessed in Las Vegas as the search continues for the hottest females. The top 100 women will be selected by a panel of local socialites over the course of several weeks, until the search is over and a winner is crowned at the end of the series.
WET REPUBLIC at MGM Grand is an alluring 53,000-square-foot venue comprised of two large saltwater pools, six intimate dipping pools, six tricked-out Bungalows and 16 Party Cabanas. The adult pool destination features a 2,500-square-foot open-air covered lounge serving as a place to mix, mingle, dance and dine. Unique culinary offerings, signature cocktails, premium bottle and pitcher service can be enjoyed in the lounge or ordered poolside. The venue boasts spacious day beds, water lounges located within the pool’s six-inch-deep wet deck and oversized deluxe chaise lounges. A 4,100-square-foot pool deck doubles as an entertainment stage for celebrity guests and entertainers at WET REPUBLIC’s weekly and monthly signature events. Eight state-of-the-art underwater speakers in the main pools complement the top-tier sound system. WET REPUBLIC features six cascading waterfalls to accent the vast poolscape and create the illusion of a never-ending flow of water throughout the venue. It is the only pool party venue in Las Vegas to offer a dedicated valet.
Open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Cover charges, bungalow and cabana rental costs vary. For reservations and more information, please call 702.891.3562 or visit www.wetrepublic.com. Guests must be 21 years or older.

domain: entertainment


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Civilizations of Nomadic &
Sedentary Peoples of Central Asia
[In English & Russian]
Edited By Kadicha Tashbaeva
International Institute for Central Asian Studies
326 pages, Illustrated, 8” x 11 ½”
$165.00 Paper Original
OUT OF PRINT
In 2002, the International Institute for Central Asian Studies (IICAS) held its first academic conference “The Civilizations of Central Asia: Nomadic and Sedentary People. Traditions and the Present,” which took place in Samarkand on 25-28 September. Among the participants were historians, orientologists, archaeologists, ethnographers, art critics, and others, whose interests were directly linked to the issues of the history and culture of Central Asian people.
The topic of the conference was by no means chosen at random. As the result of deep symbiosis of nomadic and sedentary civilizations, Central Asian people have created its unique material and spiritual culture, and thereby contributed to the cultural heritage of the world civilization. It will suffice to say mention their significant role in the establishment and development of the Great Silk Road, a great part of which crossed Central Asia. International programs, explorations and expeditions carried out under the auspices of the UNESCO, enabled scholars to revisit the great part performed by the people of Central Asia in the history of the Eurasian continent.
Return to Coronet Books main page

domain: library


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Kaitlin Rush is a writer and blogger who resides in Charlotte, NC with her husband, Harry C. Marsh and 2 daughters, Adria (4 years) and Caroline (18 months). Wife, mother, writer, designer and content creator are just several job titles she holds.
Rush was born and raised in Springfield, Missouri and attended college in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Brand Development and Visual Communications (class of 2011). For the past 8 years, Rush has focused on real estate investing, building a business from the ground up with her husband, and becoming a mother.
Currently, Rush is focusing on what she loves most – storytelling and writing. Her work – described as funny, poignant and relatable – focuses on her experience as a former executive in the corporate world, becoming a wife and mother, and navigating life in this modern world.
Click here to read more about her WHY.
Thanks for reading.


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|Package Type:||25 kg/bag Standard package: Inner (Plastic film) and outer (Paper bag). Or we can make it as per customers' requirement.|
Polyphenylene ether (PPO) is one of the world's five general engineering plastics. It has the advantages of high rigidity, high heat resistance, flame retardant, high strength, excellent electrical properties, wear resistance, non-toxicity and pollution resistance. The Density, dielectric constant and dielectric loss are the smallest among engineering plastics. The products on the market are improved products with excellent comprehensive properties. Widely used in electrical and electronic, automotive industry, machinery and chemical industries.
1, PPO has the smallest density and is non-toxic in compliance with FDA standards among the five major engineering plastics.
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|PPO Series||Flame Retardant Grade (FR)||SPE40F-T80||None||V0||HDT 80℃-120℃, High Flowability, Halogen Free Falme Retardant V0||Electronics equipments, Electrical instruments, Adaptor cover, Printer, cover, Dash borad framework, Automobile airchange grille, solar connecting box etc.|
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The war of roses lasted from 1455 until 1485 it was a series of dynastic civil wars and civil unrest oddly enough the name was not given to the war until many years after it was finished, named by the badges of the two fighting parties the white rose of york and the red rose of lancaster both . War of the roses essay war of the roses for my research project i chose the war of the roses because it is interesting and relates to us and where we live. We will write a custom essay sample on wars of the roses 1455-1471 specifically for you his own involvement in the war in france led to defeat and humiliation, as . War of the roses essaysthe family feud that lasted thirty years most wars in history have been very noble wars fought between men of two different sides, battling for the power over the people of a country.
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BURLINGTON, Iowa – Charleston Southern junior R.J. Keur carded a two-under par 70 to rise three spots and place fifth at the Golfweek Conference Challenge on Sunday. The Bucs shot a final round score of five-over 293 to finish ninth in an elite field featuring nine NCAA regional participants from last spring.
Keur finished off a terrific weekend by playing more steady golf, recording 16 pars to go along with birdies at the par-5 second and par-4 sixth holes. He made just one bogey over his final 36 holes and three for the entire tournament at Spirit Hollow Golf Club.
Kansas ran away with the team championship on the strength of a 12-under par tally in Saturday's second round. The Jayhawks followed up with a five-under score on Sunday to best second-place Texas A&M by 13 strokes. San Jose State, at two-under par, was the only other team to finish in the red.
Chase Hanna of Kansas and Chandler Phillips of Texas A&M tied for the individual title with 10-under par three-round totals. Each fired five-under 67's on Sunday to pull away from Raymond Knoll (Iowa), Daniel Sutton (Kansas) and Keur.
CSU junior Art Griffin played his best round as a Buc to move ahead 20 spots and claim a tie for 18th place. Griffin notched six birdies in an 11-hole span en route to a four-under par 68. He rolled home three consecutive birdie putts at the par-four eighth and ninth holes, as well as the par-five tenth.
Austin James, who was tied for the lead through 17 holes on day one, tallied a six-over par 78 to finish +10 for the tournament. James had five birdies but quadruple and triple bogeys on the back nine proved costly. Jake Ezell finished at +14 overall following a final round 77.
The Bucs are back in competition next Monday, Oct. 10 at the Bayou City Classic in Houston, Texas. The 54-hole tournament will be comprised of 36 holes Monday and 18 on Tuesday.


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Who's this Smyth character?
Tom Benjamin has a good wrap post on the whole Ryan Smyth business today. I don't agree with everything he wrote, but it's certainly well worth a read — especially this tidbit:
The idea that this was a hockey decision is nonsense. The Oilers can't replace Smyth for $5.5 million. They can't replace him at all. Does anyone really believe Edmonton can acquire a first line winger via a trade or free agency for $5 million? Does anyone believe they will be better if they instead add another second and third liner to a team with too many second and third liners?Agreed. The only way this pans out as a hockey decision for Kevin Lowe is if (a) Smyth re-signs with the Oilers or (b) Lowe manages to coax one of the league's top unrestricted free agents to take less money to sign in Edmonton.
With Smyth, Edmonton was missing the playoffs this year. To make them next year — or the year after — the Oilers have to first replace Smyth and then improve some more. Good luck.
Both seem as likely as JR hitting that magic 500-goal mark this season.
The one thing Benjamin doesn't account for is the growth from within on Edmonton's roster, although I doubt many are counting on the Oilers' current blueline taking many steps forward. The pertinent question facing Lowe, then, should be 'is this a playoff team next year?'
And, if the answer's no, he's got his work cut out for him to make it so — and that means doing more than putting Robert Nilsson in an Oilers uniform.


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The dogs below all left a remarkable legacy here at our kennels, or deep in our hearts. These dogs are now retired and live a well-deserved lazy life!
In loving memory
These special dogs all made a huge impact on our kennel, and we miss them sorely. Each of them left footprints on our grounds, but even more in our hearts.

domain: pet


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In this edition of the weekly research briefing, we examine how prebiotic soda brand Poppi ran its first Super Bowl ad amid increasing efforts by startups to expand distribution strategies, as seen in recent data from Modern Retail+ Research.
Interested in sharing your perspectives on the future of retail, technology and marketing?
Apply to join the Modern Retail research panel.
CPG startups aim to reach a mass market audience
Breaking News: Prebiotic soda brand Poppi ran its first-ever Super Bowl ad this week, receiving mixed reactions. The brand promoted itself as a healthier alternative to traditional soda with its clean ingredients and prebiotics. Startups like Poppi are trying to reach a mass market audience as their retail distribution grows. More food and beverage startup products are lining the shelves at grocery stores in recent years, including premium grocers like Whole Foods and Erewhon, according to analysis by Modern Retail+ Research.
Questions: What retail distribution strategies are startup CPG brands using? When does direct-to-consumer remain the better choice?
Answers From Research:
Food and beverage startups have partnered with a large number of retailers, with food most popular in mass grocery and beverage most popular in premium grocery, according to analysis by Modern Retail+ Research. The trend points to growing headaches in shipping and fulfillment processes and shifts in shopping trends post-pandemic.
Beverage brand Swoon co-founder Jennifer Ross said her company has moved away from DTC primarily because of the rising costs of fulfillment. “Selling a beverage and shipping it is very expensive because of the weight,” Ross said. “It was hard to continue to make that [DTC] channel profitable while meeting consumer expectations and how quickly they want the product.”
Not all startups are eliminating DTC, however. Eleven out of the 14 food and beverage brands included in the study continue to sell some form of their most popular item on their own DTC website. All sell larger packs, such as a 12-pack case of 12 oz. cans, rather than the single-serve options available in stores. Selling in larger packs on a brand’s website offers better margins on each sale, which is important as CPG is a capital intensive game, and profitability is increasingly important to investors.
Want to learn more: Modern Retail’s annual CPG report analyzes startups’ retail distribution strategies.

domain: economics


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Mickey Rourke's hulking ex-con heads a stellar cast in this follow-up to the 2005 original. 3/5 stars
It's another set of startlingly gory, brazenly depraved tales drawn from the comic-book series by Frank Miller (who also directed, with Robert Rodriguez).
Along with Rourke, Jessica Alba's haunted stripper, Rosario Dawson's Amazonian hooker and Powers Boothe's corrupt Senator Roark are among those who also return.
New faces include Joseph Gordon-Levitt's brash young gambler and Eva Green's femme fatale, who ensnares Josh Brolin's private eye and every other man she encounters.
Second time around, the film's much-imitated, highly stylised look fails to make the same impact and its brash pulp-noir sensibility feels a bit jaded, but many of the images dazzle - and the cast is perfect.
A film critic for over 25 years, Jason admits the job can occasionally be glamorous – sitting on a film festival jury in Portugal; hanging out with Baz Luhrmann at the Chateau Marmont; chatting with Sigourney Weaver about The Archers – but he mostly spends his time in darkened rooms watching films. He’s also written theatre and opera reviews, two guide books on Rome, and competed in a race for Yachting World, whose great wheeze it was to send a seasick film critic to write about his time on the ocean waves. But Jason is happiest on dry land with a classic screwball comedy or Hitchcock thriller.
Get the latest updates, reviews and unmissable series to watch and more!
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Portal FAQs for every investor
Last year we migrated to our new investor portal with great success. The new portal provides a range of enhanced functions all housed in one location, making it easier to track current investments, make new investments or sell existing ones.
As we approach the five-month mark with our new portal, we want to share some common portal FAQs all investors should read.
Why don’t I get an email confirmation anymore when I place an order?
The portal does not need to send you email confirmation because as soon as you place your order via the portal, one of two things occur:
- If you have sufficient funds in your On Call account, your investment will open straight away. You can also review your order details such as amount, rate, maturity date, and full loan details by clicking the My Investments section of the portal and looking under the Current tab.
- If you are waiting for funds to come from a repayment, or sending us new funds, you can still review all the details of your order by clicking on the My Investments section of the portal, and looking under the Pending tab.
Why are funds from a repayment on a Friday still sitting in my On Call account over the weekend, after making a re-investment?
At SCP all our transactions, both repayments and new funds, are processed the next business day. For example, if your loan repaid into your On Call account on a Friday, and you ordered a replacement investment with those funds, this will be processed from your On Call account on Monday (the next business day) but show as starting on the Friday.
Why do some of my current investments say “Investment Opportunity,” but the details of the loan show $0.00 available?
The notation “Opportunity” will show if there is either:
- Available funds still in the loan that can be further invested in
- Orders have been placed by other investors in the loan and we are waiting on funds to arrive.
If it’s the latter, it will show as $0.00 available when you look at the loan details. Once the funds are in, and the order is fulfilled, the notation will disappear, and the loan will be fully subscribed. If the funds do not arrive, or the order is cancelled, it will remain available as an opportunity with an investment amount available.
Why do my repaying investments go through my On Call account instead of straight to my bank account?
Your On-Call account is like having your own bank account with SCP and is an easy way to see the flow of funds to and from SCP. You will be able to see all transactions here, such as deposited funds and which opportunities you invest in.
When a repayment occurs, the funds will flow to the On-Call account first, to be reinvested or you can request a repayment to your bank account. Do remember your On Call account doesn’t earn interest.
If you get stuck navigating the portal, feel free to give us a call at any time. We also have PDF and video guides available on our website and in the Investor Portal to demonstrate all tasks on the portal.

domain: finance


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Letters: National Rifle Association President
Robert Siegel and Audie Cornish read emails from listeners about an interview with the National Rifle Association's president. 14.) France To Send More Troops To Mali To Combat Islamist Militants — As France wages war on the Islamists in Africa, French authorities are girding for possible terror attacks back home. But the French show no sign of wavering in their support for the Mali operation.

domain: politics


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Kentucky’s business community has emerged from a never-before-seen coronavirus economic shutdown after implementing a slate of safety measures to replace person-to-person contact with social distancing, separation, masks, gloves and disinfection. By opening up social settings only slowly, the commonwealth so far is keeping its infection rate low enough to shift the economy back into gear.
The Lane Report asked several major employers and members of significant industries—some of which never closed due to their “critical infrastructure” designation—how they have managed their operations during the historic challenges of 2020. Here we share the best practices they told us about.
Ford Motor Co. (Louisville)
Ford suspended production at its North America sites, including Louisville where it has 13,000 employees, after shifts March 19 to thoroughly clean facilities to protect its workforce. North America parts distribution centers resumed full operation May 11 to support dealers in providing service. Ford began a phased resumption of North American production May 18 and will ramp up as its workforce and supply chain are able to support it.
Team members whose jobs could not be done remotely returned May 18. Ford produced personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical equipment during the time vehicle production was paused.
Louisville Assembly Plant returned on a one-shift pattern May 18. LAP, which builds the Ford Escape and the Lincoln Corsair, has 4,100 employees, of which approximately 3,900 are hourly. On June 1, LAP increased production to two shifts.
The Kentucky Truck Plant, which builds the Ford F-250 through F-550 Super Duty trucks, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, reopened May 18 with a two-shift pattern. KTP has around 8,920 employees, of which 8,620 are hourly.
On the first day back, each Ford employee received a kit with face masks, hand sanitizer, tissues, lip balm and a reusable thermometer. Employees must wear the Ford-provided face mask. Ford installed protective measures in many facilities to protect workers whose jobs must be performed within 6 feet of another person. Safety glasses with side shields or face shields are required in instances where employees’ jobs do not allow for at least 6 feet of separation.
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To create new operations to protect its workforce, Ford’s medical professionals and company leadership worked with experts in infectious disease and epidemiology in consultation with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and federal, state and local guidance. The company communicated the practices to employees through its internal website with articles and videos and held on-site discussions.
Ford has developed its own “Return to Work” playbook to ensure workers and suppliers understand Ford’s health and safety practices. The playbooks will change over time as expert recommendations, regulatory guidance and industry practices evolve.
The company implemented robust measures globally to support a safe and healthy environment for its workforce, with health assessment measures, personal protective equipment (PPE), hand sanitation stations through facilities and modifications to increase social distancing. Facilities are thoroughly cleaned with increased frequency now that they have reopened.
Daily online health self-certifications must be completed successfully before work every day. Temperature scans are conducted upon arrival. Everyone entering a Ford facility is required to wear a face mask. The playbook has detailed procedures and protocols for visitors and suppliers.
The company is scheduling more time between shifts to prevent potential interaction between employees and allow for additional cleaning between shifts.
Ford does not know if there will be a lasting impact on employment numbers, but is hiring additional temporary employees to offset an increase in absenteeism due to the pandemic.
While there is speculation some companies will change supply chains as a result of the pandemic and shutdown, Ford reports for now only that its suppliers are put in place several years before it begins to build a vehicle.
As a global company, Ford is evolving health and safety practices as it learns more about the virus and gains experience in its locations around the world. The company said it continues to work with unions, especially the UAW, and experts in infectious diseases and epidemiology, to identify additional methods to keep its workforce safe.
Amazon (Multiple Kentucky sites)
E-commerce giant Amazon has stayed open for business, delivering supplies of every type–some critical–to the doorsteps of homes and businesses. The company is one of Kentucky’s largest employers, with 12,500-plus full-time employees at 14 fulfillment and sortation centers, a customer service center, two Whole Foods Markets and its first Prime Air distribution center, now under construction at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport in Hebron. Getting priority items to doorsteps as communities practice social distancing is essential, according to the company, particularly for the elderly and others with underlying health issues. With the expectation that communities around the world are going to increase social distancing, Amazon believes it has a unique role to play.
Amazon expects to invest approximately $4 billion from April to June on COVID-related initiatives. This includes more than $800 million in the first half of the year on safety measures, including personal protective equipment, enhanced cleaning of facilities, less efficient process paths that better allow for effective social distancing, and developing its own COVID-19 testing capabilities, etc. It doubled janitorial staff and increased cleanings in common areas; scheduled weekly disinfecting foggings; and installed UV lighting sanitation devices in break areas.
Management implemented over 150 process changes. The company has distributed personal protective gear across its entire operations network and plans to continue investing in safety, pay and benefits for its teams who are getting items to communities around the world.
Since the early days of COVID-19’s emergence, Amazon has worked with health authorities to proactively implement measures at facilities to protect employees. It added distance between drivers and customers when making deliveries and every new employee’s orientation includes six hours of safety training.
Amazon leaders meet every day to consider the evolving situation and consult with medical experts to ensure the safety at sites for both employees and customers. Regular, critical updates are being made to logistics, transportation, supply chain, purchasing and other processes.
Among the intense measures to ensure the health and safety of employees is a recently implemented policy that individuals who intentionally violate social distancing guidelines will receive two warnings; a second documented offense can result in termination.
Among the new processes the company has implemented to protect employees are:
• Thermal cameras and thermometers at entries for temp screenings.
• Plexiglas around HR/safety areas to allow effective and safe two- way conversations.
• Glove vending machines.
• Machine learning tools that understand where there may be areas that need added measures of social distancing.
• New software that allows associates to clock in and out from their phone to reduce crowding and congregation.
• Adjusted software on how work is distributed and processed to maintain social distancing.
• Camera-based contact tracing to validate exposure related to any employee who reports a positive case.
• Use of autonomous carts throughout buildings to move inventory, totes and equipment, reducing the number of touches for an item.
As of early June, Amazon had deployed more than 31,000 thermometers and 1,115-plus thermal cameras, provided 100 million masks, added 2,298 handwashing stations, added 5,765 janitorial staffers to teams, deployed an additional 34 million gloves, added 48 million ounces of hand sanitizer, and added 93 million sanitizing sprays and wipes.
The company is working on building scalable testing for the coronavirus. It aggressively and quickly worked to ensure the safety of teams with guidance from the CDC, the World Health Organization and local health authorities. Some of its more than 150 process updates include:
• No stand-up meetings during shifts; essential information is shared on boards near main areas and conversations with managers or human resources team members.
• Staggered shift start times and break times.
• Staggered staffing at work stations.
• Training in small formats and with in-app training tools and other equipment.
• Employees sanitize and clean their work stations and vehicles at the start and end of every shift.
Employment numbers are booming
In March, Amazon announced it would hire 175,000 temporary full- and part-time employees across its North American operations network, including more than 1,700 in Kentucky. It doubled the hourly base pay rate for overtime hours. As the long-term picture became clearer, Amazon said 125,000 of those who joined in a seasonal role will have an opportunity to transition into a permanent, full-time role beginning in June. More than 1,400 of these seasonal-to-permanent, full-time roles will be offered in Kentucky for customer fulfillment and last-mile delivery. They will join 13,000 full-time employees already working in Amazon facilities across the state in 2020.
Permanent jobs at Amazon have a minimum wage of at least $15 an hour plus a comprehensive benefits package with a 401(k) that includes a 50% match. Associates have access to training and continuing education programs like the company’s Career Choice, which creates a springboard into a career at Amazon or other companies. An addition to up to 20 weeks of maternal and parental paid leave, innovative benefits such as Leave Share and Ramp Back give new parents flexibility with their growing families.
Though there have been record U.S. unemployment numbers in the spring, Amazon said its hope is that the option for so many people to stay on long-term at Amazon will help alleviate some of the ongoing burden of unemployment in communities across the U.S.
UPS, one of Kentucky’s largest employers, remained in operation during the entirety of pandemic. As part of the transportation sector, governments around the world deemed UPS operations a critical infrastructure business and company officials coordinate regularly with federal, state and local health officials.
Consumer e-commerce demand for essential and necessary goods surged. In the first quarter of 2020, next-day air shipments increased more than 20% over the same period in 2019. That continued a trend from 2019, when next-day air volume increased 22% for the full year.
Business closures and stay-at-home restrictions disproportionally affected small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB), and UPS reported a dramatic shift in consumer shopping behavior. By late March its normal 50/50 mix of residential and SMB deliveries had shifted to nearly 70% residential deliveries.
For UPS Airlines, the growth has had a huge impact on the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF), home to UPS’s Worldport sorting hub. It is now the fourth-busiest cargo airport in the world, in a 2019 ranking just released by Airports Council International, an industry trade group. It also was the second busiest in North America. SDF jumped three spots, from seventh to fourth, in ACI’s 2019 preliminary world air traffic report.
In 2019, the Louisville airport handled more than 6.15 billion pounds of packages and freight, the vast majority of it UPS volume.
With guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and local health officials, UPS said its employee protection measures go to great lengths.
When the CDC changed its guidance on face masks, the company purchased and began giving masks to employees and is continuing to procure and distribute masks. All employees have access to masks.
UPS also enhanced cleaning of shuttles, vehicles, facilities and aircraft. Because of the worldwide shortage of cleaning supplies early on, in some cases UPS made its own. As the shortage has eased, it is equipping ramp vehicles with cleaning materials and hand sanitizer. Sanitizer has always been available at entrances, and work processes have been modified to allow for more frequent hand washing.
UPS added 30 school buses to its employee shuttle lineup to allow social distancing when entering and exiting Worldport. New signage and ground markings delineate proper social distancing.
The company continues to educate employees about public health practices—frequent hand washing and social distancing are the most important—and continues to collaborate with health officials to further enhance its coronavirus safety measures.
Beyond its own operations, UPS is participating in a series of relief efforts to combat the coronavirus:
• Multiple UPS Foundation grants (including shipping face shields manufactured at the University of Louisville).
• Donated $100,000 to UofL to fund research for promising COVID treatment.
• Donating N95 facemasks to hospitals in Kentucky.
• Transporting coronavirus tests for the state of Kentucky.
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (Georgetown)
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky and its 8,000 team members resumed operations Monday, May 18, after shutting down Friday, March 20. It took a few days to ramp back up and roll new cars off the production line again, said Susan Elkington, president of TMMK. The plant is working two shifts and expects a full-demand type of operation by the first of August.
Inventories have gone down since TMMK didn’t produce vehicles for nearly two months and dealers kept selling vehicles—though at a much slower pace–by utilizing internet sales and home deliveries.
“During the month of April, year over year sales were down about 55%, which was pretty huge,” Elkington said. “But for May the reduction was more about 15-20% from last year. We are seeing demand continue to increase.
“That first week (of May 18), we ran about 25% and currently we are getting up to about 75% for a full eight-hour shift, so we are making progress,” the TMMK president said in early June. “As a plant we typically run planned overtime to meet production demand the majority of the time. Without planned overtime, the current 75% production level is probably at about 60% compared to what normal would be this time of year.”
The Toyota way of doing business has always focused on kaizen, the Japanese word for continuous improvement.
“We’re used to the changes,” Elkington said. “We’re constantly making changes, so with this change, people could put their head in the sand or they can see it as an opportunity. Our organization has seen it as an opportunity—to make us stronger when we come out of it.”
She recalls the economic crisis in 2008 and 2009, which halted production for a time at the Indiana facility were she then worked, as well as the impact of the 2010 tsunami in Japan. These instilled the idea that no matter the crisis, Toyota will get through it.
The company relies on core principals of respect for its employees first, partnering with its communities, and finding ways to make continuous improvement. The latter involves pulling together to learn from each other and from others, then sharing the findings for improvement.
“Those principles haven’t changed no matter how long I’ve worked for Toyota, and I don’t expect that they will,” Elkington said. “What I’ve learned is that these crises are when you really see who your leaders are and who can really step up and go without a guidebook. We’ve seen that over and over again, the remarkable leadership via the team members, to supervisors, to our executives. It’s amazing how they’ve all pulled together to make it where we can be successful in our relaunch.”
Preparing for the reopening
With operations across North America and globally, Toyota formed a cross-functional team to work on new protocols and created an 82-page playbook. It includes a screening process for entry into the plant: Every person who comes on site must complete a questionnaire and have a temperature scan.
The group developed protocols to modify processes and help prevent the spread of COVID-19 at work, such as keeping team members 6 feet apart. They looked at different types of barriers to create separation and selected a simple, Lexan-type of plastic. Some employees work in face shields to reduce their chances of spreading the virus.
“Everyone here on site wears a face covering all day except for eating and drinking,” Elkington said. “We take very seriously understanding the spread here at work. And our team members have been unbelievable in their response. They want to be back at work producing world-class vehicles for our customers. We’ve had great response.”
The company kept communication lines open during the shutdown.
“During this time we were off we continued to provide pay for our team members. We had some days we asked them to take unpaid or take their vacation time, but for the most part they were paid,” Elkington said. “Toyota did what we call mendomi, which is showing caring concern and treating others like family. Our supervisors would call team members throughout to check in, see how they and their family are doing, tell them about the things happening here at the plant and what to expect when they came back, what we were seeing in our sales.
“We provided videos. We have an app that we use for communications. I would do videos two or three times a week. Initially it was by a selfie stick on my front porch at home, and the last few weeks it was videos here at work, going over how the changes were here.”
Implementing changes at TMMK required significant time on the part of management as well as resources. The plant has 9 million s.f. under roof and every day about 12,000 people come onto the site. Some of the plant’s variable “partner” workforce was furloughed, but management expects all of them back by later this summer.
“I can tell you that before we were shutting down we were talking about how we were going to open back up,” Elkington said. “And that changed. As you’re seeing in the news, every day it seems something different comes out from the CDC, a new recommendation. We are constantly making changes. What we thought we were going to be doing in March is different than we ended up doing.”
However, Toyota did not have to “invent the wheel” in Kentucky for its pandemic response.
“We have plants around the world in regions that were already impacted. We have plants in China, plants in India, plants in Europe, so we were able to learn from them,” Elkington said. “Additionally, the companies here in Kentucky that continued operations have been really great resources. The business community has been very open and sharing with each other about things that we have learned and ways we can keep all of our employees safe. I am on the executive board for the Kentucky Chamber, and Commerce Lexington is a great organization to work with.”
Infection reduction practices staying in place
TMMK did not have to clean 9 million s.f. of workspace since the virus can’t live on its own for two months. The company did disinfect of all common areas, and in many work areas ongoing disinfection and sanitation takes place. Every time team members rotate in their “processes,” they clean any tools or devices they have to handle.
Toyota shifted to fewer team member rotations on its processes. It stops production and allows time for cleaning and sanitizing between rotations.
“Typically we had four team members and every two hours a different team member would rotate through the process, and we didn’t sanitize between,” Elkington said. “We reduced it to two. Our teams have always worn some type of gloves, and we now sanitize in addition to that. I cannot foresee we will be able to reduce these protective measures until there is some type of vaccine or treatment measures that help prevent the spread.”
TMMK will continue to pursue kaizen, Elkington said. The plant makes its own face shields, producing almost half a million as of early June. In addition to being used internally, many are donated. And Toyota continues to improve them as well.
“They are designing one that has the full cover of the face so you don’t have to wear a face covering plus the face shield,” Elkington said. “The engineering staff continues to try to find way to create barriers so it will not be necessary to wear the face covering. Maybe there will be a time we don’t have to wear everything because we have some creative way to have separation or prevention of the spread.”
Building cars remains the same
At TMMK, there are no current expectations of changes in supply chain. The majority of its parts come from North America and some from Japan. And while some manufacturing processes at TMMK were adjusted, it wasn’t many. Most adjustments were ways to physically separate processes to create social distancing.
“Maybe the team member now has a barrier between them and that person beside them,” Elkington said. “But the way we build cars is the way we’ve always built cars. We’re just trying to find ways to separate them a little bit farther.”
Nearly 70% of processes and operations at TMMK already allowed for more than 6 feet of separation, she said, so the focus is on the 30% as well as the supervisors and team leaders because they have the personal interaction with team members.
“For the line operators, maybe it has not changed that much,” Elkington said. “But amongst our engineering staff and our production control staff, we are doing things a lot more remotely. We have become experts. It’s surprising how much paper we used to use and how we’ve shifted to digital means of doing work remotely to prevent having to print out paper and prevent having to hand off paper and pens from one person to another.”
Many plant management functions such as collecting and trending data now take place digitally by smartphone.
A significant impact on costs
Toyota does not know what its total cost for responding to the pandemic will be, but knows it will be a lot.
There are one-time costs to cover shutting down operations for two months and continuing to pay employee wages and utilities for a 9 million-s.f. facility not in operation. Among ongoing costs, there is additional labor for spending time to sanitize as well as to make certain all those things are, indeed, performed. There are additional costs for the materials to sanitize and implement temperature scanning.
“We are still very early in our return (to work) and finding ways to reduce that cost every day,” Elkington said. “Just think about face shields. If you try to buy them it would cost a dollar apiece, and you’ve got 8,000 Toyota employees who need one every single day. And we have many vendors who come on site. It adds up.”
At TMMK, there are no current expectations of changes in supply chain. The majority of its parts come from North America and some from Japan.
Logan Aluminum Inc. (Russellville)
Logan Aluminum continued to operate at full capacity throughout the pandemic. Its primary product is rolled aluminum sheet for the can-stock market, which has remained strong, President Mike Buckentin said.
A significant amount of time on the part of the crisis management team was required to come up with new operations, particularly in the areas of environmental/health/safety and human resources. Workplace training and communication were conducted multiple times per week to ensure understanding and adherence to the new policies and practices.
As part of Logan’s crisis management training, the plant conducted a table-top exercise several years ago for a pandemic-type event, Buckentin said, adding that the current COVID-19 event has been far more extreme than anything they could have imagined, but the company had made some preparation for supplies (masks, gloves, etc.)
Logan purchased fogging machines in order to frequently clean high-traffic areas and portable spraying machines for cleaning vehicles and other mobile equipment. Contracts with a professional cleaning company were implemented to clean areas that were identified as high risk.
Social distancing of 6 feet is required wherever possible. When not possible, a mask is required. Temperature screening equipment has been installed at all entry gates, and all employees answer health questionnaires prior to entering the workplace.
As of early June, a large percentage—approximately 70%—of Logan employees were working remotely. The company’s operations tend to lend themselves to allowing people to be able to social distance while performing most tasks. Logan plans to return all staff to the site when it is safe to do so and doesn’t foresee any long-term impact on employee numbers.
There has been some impact in terms of cost, but controlling those costs has been a high priority for the company, Buckentin said. Additional costs incurred for COVID-related personal protective equipment and supplies, additional / enhanced cleanings, etc., have been somewhat offset by reduced expenses in other areas such as business travel. Buckentin said the company does not foresee any supply-chain changes as a result of the pandemic/shutdown.
Kentucky Power (Ashland)
As a critical infrastructure company, Kentucky Power has continued to provide energy to customers throughout the pandemic.
While many AEP employees can work from home and are doing so, line workers, power plant employees and other critical functions need to report to work locations to keep the lights on for customers. Kentucky Power split up distribution dispatch centers into multiple locations to increase physical distancing for the critical employees who manage and dispatch all outage and hazard orders for customers. It also transitioned more than 82% of call center employees to work from home to increase physical distancing for those still working in the centers.
In its work spaces, Kentucky Power established more frequent cleaning and disinfecting protocols, focusing on high-traffic areas and surfaces touched frequently by multiple people, and put additional cleaning measures in place for fleet vehicles. Deep cleaning and disinfecting is performed when an employee or contractor has been exposed to or diagnosed with COVID-19.
The company has taken significant steps to keep employees safe and healthy. Line workers and other critical employees who have continued reporting to work sites are working in smaller teams, practicing physical distancing, wearing facial coverings when physical distancing is not possible, monitoring themselves for symptoms and taking other preventive measures recommended by the CDC. Kentucky Power has been educating customers to maintain at least 6 feet of physical distance from workers.
AEP employees who can work from home continue to do so to help minimize contact for all employees. Approximately 12,000—or 70% — of AEP’s employees have been working successfully from home since mid-March. There is no expectation of any impact on employee numbers.
The company put in place illness-prevention etiquette guidelines directing employees and contractors to clean their workspaces daily; stay home if they are sick; and wash hands or use hand sanitizer regularly and especially after using frequently touched surfaces. These measures will continue during annual cold and flu seasons.
Working effectively through the pandemic has required flexibility, ingenuity and resilience. AEP is studying the innovative ways its teams have transformed their work during this time in order to build upon them for the future.
Overall AEP expects residential sales to increase 3% over 2019 levels, largely driven by the activity taking place in homes rather than workplaces or classrooms.
Conversely, commercial sales are expected to decrease 5.6% and industrial sales to decline 8% over 2019 levels. Many businesses have shifted operations to a mostly online platform, while other employers have had to make the difficult decision to furlough or reduce employee head count until market demand is restored. These forecasts lead AEP to expect an overall decline in sales of 3.4%.
AEP has a team of experts dedicated to helping small business customers apply for federal relief programs and make payment arrangements. The Business Solutions Center team has assisted nearly 1,000 business customers with their needs related to the pandemic.
Regarding supply chains, like many companies, lead time for some of equipment has been extended during the pandemic, but AEP typically has more than one supplier for critical equipment and was able to plan ahead and manage through any delays.
The company understands the critical nature of the power services it provides and plans for all types of emergencies, including storms and other widespread events that could disrupt power for customers. Emergency management plans outline how to keep employees safe and healthy while maintaining service to customers. Although this was a different kind of storm, response plans and efforts to train and exercise for all types of events prepared AEP to navigate these challenges in a coordinated way. ■


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Oxy/deoxy Hemoglobin Enhanced Maps
Oxy/Deoxy hemoglobin enhanced maps can highlight critical pathologies as they relate to blood flow and oxygenation, including providing increased visibility of choroidal neovascular membranes (CNVM) and indications of perfusion, both of which are normally detected using invasive fluorescein angiography.
The hemoglobin absorption spectra for a range of oxygenation values are shown in Figure 1 below. These spectra form the basis for the oxy/deoxy hemoglobin maps which represent the ratio of oxygenated hemoglobin to deoxygenated hemoglobin in the retinal and choroidal vessels.
The image below (Figure 2) shows the oxy/deoxy hemoglobin enhanced image of a healthy eye created by processing the appropriate multi-spectral image data generated by the RHA system; the arteries which carry oxygenated blood are bright while the veins appear dark.
Figure 3 (a) below highlights a CNVM and the associated vascular net as well as the absence of vessels in a region inferior to the macula. Figure 3 (b) shows the same eye with a processed MSI multi-wavelength composite image, while Figure 3 (c) is a view of the CNVM using a 5 Line Raster OCT. These features, which typically were identified using invasive intravenous fluorescein angiography (IVFA) may now be identified using the non-invasive RHA system oxy/deoxy hemoglobin enhanced image map.
Figure 3 (a)
Figure 3 (b)
Figure 3 (c)
Stereo imaging of the retina and the optic nerve head using anaglyphs allows clinicians to clearly visualize retinal topography, including pigment epithelial detachments (PED), edema and changes in the cup contour.
The light management capabilities of the RHA allow for stereo images to be collected without the camera or the patient changing position. Figure 4 below shows stereo images of a PED taken with a narrow band red illumination which is clearly visible as a 'blister', inferior to the macula. The stereo image is presented in an anaglyph form and can be viewed using a pair of glasses with a cyan lens over the right eye and a red lens over the left.
Figure 4 - Stereo Anaglyph Image
Figure 5 shows a second stereo example of a patient who experienced facial trauma as the result of an automobile airbag injury. The raised optic nerve head and peripapillary edema can clearly be seen in these images.
Figure 5 - Stereo Anaglyph Image
The stereo viewing feature is particularly useful for evaluating the optic nerve head, particularly cup shape and rim erosion.
Figure 6 - Left
Figure 6 - Right

domain: medical


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There’s workmanship of risk and there’s bad design
David Pye wrote The Nature and Art of Workmanship. It is a book we recommend to every Rowden student, and one I certainly recommend to you. David goes a long way to help explain why hand made furniture has value beyond its functionality. And far beyond the value of machine-made products.
He introduced, or at least formalised, the concept of workmanship of risk, a concept that is central to making by hand. And because I couldn’t put it better, here is an elegant definition of what he means:
“Workmanship using any kind of technique or apparatus, in which the quality of the result is not predetermined, but depends on the judgment, dexterity and care which the maker exercises as he works.”
A cabinetmaker lives a life of almost constant jeopardy. The physical nature of wood, and its variability, means that no outcome, from sawing to planing, through jointing, gluing, sanding and finishing, is certain. A skilled cabinetmaker does everything they can to mitigate these risks. This is done by using sharp tools, testing, experimenting and practicing. We make spare components, good quality jigs and templates. And we have mountains of patience.
One of the best ways to mitigate risk, however, is through considered and thoughtful design.
But it is fair to say that most elegant designs are also elegantly made. There is a calm assurance that comes from a piece of furniture that is well designed and yet strong and robust enough to be a useful piece of craft.
So woe betide any junior designer maker, especially those being trained at Rowden, who design a piece that creates excessive risk to the maker. The chances are that the piece will not only be a total nightmare to make, it will probably also be rather inelegant.
It takes the genius of combinations like David and Daren to throw this simple mantra out the window. And of this I will talk more next time…

domain: design


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The comfortable Fairfield Inn & Suites Muskogee offers non-smoking guest rooms close to Five Civilized Tribes Museum, Ataloa Lodge Museum and The Castle of Muskogee. Built in 2009, the hotel is a combination of original architecture and contemporary facilities.
The property lies within 4 km from the city center.
The venue is notable for the convenient location within a 65-minute drive to Tulsa International airport.
Fairfield Inn & Suites Muskogee features 85 rooms across 4 floors. They also have private bathrooms with a hairdryer, a shower and complimentary toiletries.
Eat & Drink
A rich cold buffet breakfast is served daily.
Guests can make use of newspaper service, concierge service and wedding services as well as a lift, a cash machine and free self parking.
Leisure facilities, such as a swimming pool, a picnic area and a tennis court, are provided on site.
Wireless internet is available in the entire hotel for free.
High-speed internet access is available in the entire hotel for free.
Free public parking is possible on site.

domain: travel


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- IOT continues to extend gains against the USD
- Monero is consolidating within a tight $20 range
- LSK trending higher with $5 acting as support
- DASH weakness continues and should be worse if price breaks below $275
- NEO soared above $31 resistance zone signaling bull pressure.
NEOUSD TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
There was a clear break above resistance trend line and the 20 period moving average when NEO appreciated $7 closing above that resistance zone around $31 at $34. You can also notice that this NEO price surge is accompanied by a stochastic buy signal and above average buy volumes which is propelling prices higher. With this new turn of events, bull target should be above that immediate resistance level of $40 especially if price action further breach the support turned resistance trend line in the next few trading days.
DASHUSD TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
DASH prices continue to trickle down with the 20 period moving average and the resistance line marked around $325 acting as a very good ceiling preventing further price appreciation. We also note that with lower lows, a clear, diverging stochastic sell signal has been printed and most importantly it is moving down from the overbought territory. Any close above $330 signals a change of trend and a probable bull charge. However, if investors continue to demand for USD, then DASH could remain subdued in the short term. I have placed another “minor” support trend line to mark 09.10.2017, 12.10.2017 and 13.10.2017 lows around $278 and should price break strongly below $275, then bears are indeed in charge.
IOTUSD TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Our two levels of resistance around $0.48 was broken through yesterday after the resistance trend line was breached after 15.10.2017. It was imperative for IOT to close above $0.50 so that a possible bull trend could be defined. So, since our bull conditions have been met, IOT buyers should enter long and aim for $0.65.
MONERO XMRUSD TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Monero is obviously range bound and consolidating between a tight channel bounded between $100 and $80 high-lows. There is a sell signal to accompany that rebound from $100 and because Monero has since moved $20, sellers can jump in and take advantage of this bear leg up to $75-$80 support line. Additionally, since bear momentum is high as shown by that stochastic sell signal and this sell leg is pushed by average bear volumes.
LSKUSD TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Over a 6 day period, the 20 period MA and the resistance trend line managed to keep LSK prices below $5 until yesterday. In fact LSK managed to close at a highs of $5.3 and the resistance now turned support trend line is being retested. There is a stochastic buy signal pushed by yesterday’s buy volumes. As we can also see, that minor support trend line rebuffed further price depreciation below $4.5. As long as price remains above $5.0 today, then buyers should aim at $6.5.
All charts courtesy of Trading View


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Perkins CTE Act
Senators Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Bob Casey (D-PA) are working on a bill to rewrite the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. The Perkins Act, which hasn’t been updated since 2006, sets policy on career and technical education. Lawmakers, including House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN), have for years discussed rewriting Perkins but it has often been pushed to the sidelines while education committees worked on other priorities such as The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) (P.L. 114-95), which was signed into law last December. Next week, the House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing on strengthening the Perkins Act, chaired by Rep. Kline.
This Week’s Hearings:
- On Tuesday, May 17, the House Education and the Workforce Committee will hold a hearing titled “Helping Students Succeed by Strengthening the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.”
- On Wednesday, May 18, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee will hold a hearing titled “ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act) Implementation: Perspectives from Education Stakeholders.”
Lower Interest Rates on Federal Student Loans.
Last week, the Department of the Treasury auctioned 10-year notes, determining that millions of students and families who borrow money from the federal government to pay for higher education will face lower interest rates in the coming academic year. The rate on federal student loans has been pegged to the financial markets since 2013, when President Barack Obama and Congress struck a compromise on how to reset the rates each year. For new undergraduate student loans, the interest rate will decrease to 3.76 percent, from the current 4.29 percent. The rate on direct loans for graduate students will fall to 5.31 percent, from this year’s 5.84 percent. The interest rates on PLUS loans, both for graduate students or parents taking on debt for their children’s education, will be 6.31 percent, down from the current 6.84 percent. The new interest rates take effect on July 1 for the 2016-2017 academic year. The changes do not affect borrowers who already have federal student loans.
New Tools for FAFSA Completion
The Department of Education’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Completion Tool is now providing FAFSA completion rates for school districts, allowing communities to tailor communications, support, and counseling to students while helping schools monitor their progress. The tool was created to help financial aid professionals, school administrators, and guidance counselors track and increase FAFSA completion. It also provides high schools whose students have completed five or more FAFSAs with information about how many applications were submitted and completed for the application year, as well as comparison data from past application years.
Students with Criminal Background
This week, speaking at the University of California at Los Angeles, Secretary of Education John King urged America’s colleges and universities to remove barriers that can prevent the estimated 70 million citizens with criminal records from pursuing higher education, including considering the effect of inquiring early in the application process whether prospective students have ever been arrested. In follow-up to this call, Secretary King issued a Dear Colleague letter to college and university leaders. The Department also released a resource guide, which offers alternatives to inquiring about criminal histories during college admissions, provides recommendations to support a more holistic review of applicants, and presents strategies for supporting postsecondary persistence and completion for justice-involved individuals. The announcement follows a number of related efforts from the Obama Administration, including the Second Chance Pell Pilot program to test new ways for people in federal prison to use Pell Grants.
Title IX Guidance on Transgender Students
On Friday, May 13, the Departments of Education and Justice released guidance and a set of best practices regarding the civil rights of all transgender students under Title IX. The guidance is largely aimed at answering the questions of students, parents, teachers and superintendents across K-12 schools as districts grapple with how to accommodate transgender students. According to the guidance, if a school, district, or state fails to comply with the Administration’s interpretation of the law, it runs the risk of being sued by the federal government and losing federal funding. The Department of Education has never pulled Title IX funding for an issue related to a transgender student.

domain: law


Flow pasteurizer PP 500–3000 l
Plevnik flow pasteurizer is used for continuous pasteurization of larger quantities of milk (HTST pasteurization – high temperature, short time). Pasteurization stops the vital activities of pathogenic form of bacteria and is essential in milk processing. Pasteurized milk can be further processed into various dairy products, such as cheese, yogurt, …
Pasteurization of larger quantities
Flow pasteurizer is used for pasteurization of larger quantities of milk. Pasteurization runs at higher temperature (75 °C) and in shorter time (20 s). Process runs in accordance with all standards.
The process of flow pasteurization is up to 3 times faster compared to batch pasteurization. The energy consumption for drinking milk is up to 12 times lower.
Thermal treatment of milk is performed at user selected temperature. The temperature can be selected depending on further processing of milk – various final dairy products.
Easy and logical operation of processes can be done via a PLC controller. Integrated recorder logs all main parameters to increase process control.
Different versions of flow pasteurizer PP are available: from more simple versions to professional flow pasteurizers for advanced users. Each version has different equipment possibilities.More information
CIP cleaning module
CIP module allows completely automatic cleaning of the flow pasteurizer. The user can select up to 6 different steps through the controller in the washing process. Every step can be adjusted.
Flow meter measures the flow of the product with a precision of 1 % of full scale. It meets the hygienic requirements of the dairy industry.
Module for reheating
Heated section allows heating of the milk after the regeneration section. Operator can choose between heating or cooling in the last section of heat exchanger to achieve necessary temperature for further processing.
Connections for separator
Connections allow installation of the separator in the system of flow pasteurizer.
Connections for homogenizer
Connections allow installation of the homogenizer in the system of flow pasteurizer.
Holding tube for yogurt
Holding tube is designed regarding to the plant capacity and holding time for yogurt as final product. Yogurt requires a holding time of 300 seconds.
Overpressure system and booster pump
Overpressure system completely eliminates the possibility of pasteurized milk contamination even in the event of cracks in the plates pinholes.
More information about capacities and dimensions.More information


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Ariana Grande Finds Relief In "Breathin" Music Video
Watch her conquer the fog of inauspicious feelings.
Ariana Grande’s “Breathin” was impressed by the emotional trials she skilled this previous yr. The mood-boosting anthem comes off her newest studio album, Sweetener. The monitor, which was welcomed wholeheartedly by her followers, now takes type in a dynamic video.
The singer finds herself along with her head immersed in a cloud in a single setting. She makes her manner via a busy practice station within the subsequent, whereas vacationers flow into in quick and sluggish movement. Each scene offers life to the sort of refined pressure, depicting the usually quiet wrestle of psychological well being.
After battling along with her personal emotional challenges, the pop star took a while off from her public duties. Although many may need anticipated her hiatus to increase, Grande is pushing ahead and already centered on the manufacturing of a brand new album. “thank u, subsequent,” a music about her failed relationships kicks off this new period. Stream it right here.