This is a sponsored article and was made possible by BgEraser. Actual content and opinions are the only views of the author who maintains editorial independence even when an article is sponsored.
With everyone entering the internet commerce game in 2020, especially after the lockdown, it’s only a matter of time before you take it to the next level and start taking seriously how you present photos. of your goods. In addition, in the general social media environment, it is also common, after a certain point, to start presenting yourself seriously.
Part of it doesn’t show pictures with pieces of your neglected household or unwanted clothes in the background. This is considered unprofessional (or just too much information), and if you want to be taken seriously and sell certain products, it’s time to edit your background. This is where a time-saving tool like BgEraser comes in. You can use it to cut photo backgrounds with artificial intelligence.
What is that?
BgEraser is an online graphics tool that uses AI to detect and cut photo backgrounds. It is not just a selection tool like a magic wand. It is a smart tool that detects people and products in an image and does the work to determine which elements of the image are products or people and which backgrounds are unnecessary. After the treatment, you are presented with an image which is a transparent PNG of your image with the knocked out background. This is the theory.
In practice, this background eraser does an incredible job of separating the background and foreground and making you a usable image that you can use in your commerce and social media work. Let’s take a closer look.
Cut photo backgrounds
Essentially, it is a very simple single use tool. First, upload one or more images.
Press the Start button, the images are processed and the background is replaced by transparency. Whichever file format you have downloaded, you can download a PNG file to allow you to maintain transparency.
You can use the file in a layer of a graphics program and put other elements behind the subject, such as patterns, flat colors, whatever you want. That’s literally all there is to it with this background erase tool.
Obviously, it does much better with sharp images and images where the subject is not very similar in color to the background. It expects a lot from AI if the subject and the background are the same color – even a human could not choose it.
However, the test images, some provided by the developer and some of ours, were the most impressive.
Yes, there was sometimes a thin halo of dark pixels around the lighter images of the subject, and even if it is not perfect, it is not horrible. In fact, in most cases, it helps to integrate the subject with its new background, especially if it is dark.
If you add the image to a graphics program and start putting images in the background, you will quickly see how it works. Take my bird photo, which I didn’t deliberately change for contrast.
Obviously, perfection is only really achieved by manual masking of the shape by drawing it around it. It takes a long time, and if you have to hide the background on 30 images for your ecommerce pages, it could be incredibly tedious.
Of course, the higher the resolution, the finer and more invisible the image becomes. For professional users with high image volumes, it makes sense to process the images in high resolution and then convert them in batches to screen resolution for ultimate quality.
But as you can see, if you look closely, this original image was really not contrasted and BgEraser still did a very good job. It meshes well with the new background layer. A tiny bit of manual touch-up is all that is needed to make this really clean.
Considering the price and what you get, it’s a huge time saver. Even for occasional users, it is an excellent technology to save time and increase your professionalism in the presentation of your images. In addition, the more time you save on image processing, the more time you spend selling products or improving your profile on social networks.
Where to get it
BgEraser is available online and free to cut photo backgrounds without registering within certain limits. Files must be less than 2MB, width and height must be less than 700 × 700 and only the file extensions .jpg, jpeg and png can be used. You can open a free account and increase these limits to 5 MB and 2000 × 2000.
At the Pro level for a modest monthly price, you can lift these limits for images over 2000 pixels. There are three price ranges for super high resolution images: $ 5 gives you 50 images per month, $ 9.99 gives you 199 images per month and finally $ 29.99 gives you a colossal 999 images per month. Whether your needs are large or small, the service is scalable.
Also, if you need to further improve your photo editing skills, learn how to add a watermark without Photoshop and crop images in Photoshop.
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MERIDEN — Officers have arrested the man they believe entered a downtown home early Wednesday morning through a window and sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl, police announced Friday night.
Jose Gonzalez, who was formerly known as Desmond James, 23, was charged in connection with the sexual assault Friday night. He faces home invasion, first-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a child, unlawful restraint and threatening.
The girl, who was sleeping in her bed when the man entered, woke up her family members after the assault, police said. The girl's mother spotted the suspect while he fled the home.
Gonzalez was identified through information the victim provided and DNA evidence processed at the State Forensic Lab, police said.
Gonzalez, who was arrested with the help of Waterbury Police Department and the state's Parole Fugitive Investigations Unit, was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant for escape from the parole division of the Department of Correction.
When confronted by police in Waterbury, Gonzalez ran away but was later apprehended and was found to be possessing heroin, police said.
He is being held on $1 million bond and will appear in superior court on Monday.
Police said they aren't releasing the address in the incident because of confidentiality laws.


Be it man or animals, the need for survival has been paramount and at the forefront of everything we do. So why should elephants be any different? Turns out, ‘tuskless’ is becoming a common phenomenon among elephants. Scientists tell us why.
The War Effects
The civil war that gripped Mozambique for 15 long years has not just left its mark on the land and the minds of people, but also on the oldest herd of elephants. Having survived the long war that was partly financed by poached ivory, it comes as no surprise that the daughters of about one third of the surviving elephants are born toothless.
Not many would know that almost 90 percent of the animals were killed – either to feed the hungry fighters or for ivory that fetched a fortune. Poaching has apparently, triggered an evolution among elephants causing them to give up their tusks. As opposed to previous statistics that suggested that only 2-4 per cent of African female elephants were born without tusks, the figures have changed after the war. The biological advantage that they get due to this trait in Gorongosa could be the reason for this evolution.
Dominique D’Emille Correia Gonçalves, ecologist and conservation biologist throws light on this subject. As reported by the Mail Online, he said: “Ivory poaching targets big tusked animals, so it removes the ‘big tusk’ gene out of the population. The elephant population today is derived from most of the elephants who survived the war, where they were heavily poached for their tusks. The key explanation is that in Gorongosa National Park, the tuskless elephants were the ones which eluded poaching during the civil war and passed this trait onto many of their daughters. These tuskless elephants are growing from the survivors of poaching, so while we are not talking about evolution yet, we could be talking about the removal of certain genes from the population.”
The Staggering Statistics
Reports suggest that Gorongosa was inhabited by about 4000 elephants in the late 70s but the numbers dwindled to a huge extent post the war. As per Joyce Poole’s recent (yet to be published) research, 51 percent of the 200 known adult females who are war survivors and aged 25 or more, are tuskless. And that’s not all. 32 percent of females born post war are tuskless.
Poole is an elephant behavior expert and National Geographic Explorer, and has interesting insights to offer about this evolution. She explains, “A male elephant’s tusks are bigger and heavier than those of a female of the same age. But once there’s been heavy poaching pressure on a population, then the poachers start to focus on the older females as well. Over time, with the older age population, you start to get this really higher proportion of tuskless females.”
Not Just Mozambique
Countries that have witnessed heavy poaching for ivory have noticed this shift as well. In South Africa, this shift in female survivors and their daughters is significant. Statistics pertaining to the Addo Elephant National Park in the early 2000s indicate that 98 percent of the 174 females were tuskless.
Tusks have an important role to play in the lives of elephants since they help them dig the ground for water or minerals, scrape the bark off trees and even compete for mates. However, with survival mode on, these animals are modifying themselves to become tuskless. While it may help them against poaching, it’s not ideal. As reported by BBC, “…an elephant without tusks is a crippled elephant”.


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It’s a paradox: Peak TV has led to more creative freedom, but lower paychecks, writers say. They are mulling the first strike in a decade.
Published April 13, 2017
LOS ANGELES—The last time Speed Weed found himself jobless, it was 2011, his wife had just given birth to triplets, and he couldn’t find work for almost a year.
But Mr. Weed wasn’t worried. A television writer and producer, he relied on residuals – payments made to creators and performers for subsequent screenings of their work – from two years of writing and producing for the police procedural “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.”
The show reran on NBC. So the checks kept coming – long enough for him to pick up work again, first for a USA Network miniseries in 2012 and then for the CW’s superhero series “Arrow” in 2015.
“If that happened today, I wouldn’t make it,” says Weed, now the show’s co-executive producer.
That’s because times have changed in television, he says. Over the past five years, a broader range of content platforms has given viewers free reign over what to watch and when to watch it. Studios are producing more and better programming than ever: The number of scripted shows doubled – from about 200 to more than 400 – between 2009 and 2015. Netflix alone is reportedly producing 1,000 hours of original programs in 2017. Pundits call the era “peak TV.”
“It’s a great time to be in television,” says Ken Kristensen, who is currently working on a Marvel show for Netflix. “We just have to make sure that it’s a sustainable environment for writers.”

domain: entertainment


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June 26, 2017
It has been a very good year, so far.
Through the end of last week, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index posted 24 record highs and delivered returns in the high single digits. The MSCI World ex USA Index was up more than 11 percent, and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index gained more than 17 percent.
After reading those numbers, many people would assume bond markets are down for the year. After all, stock and bond markets tend to move in different directions. Zacks explained,
“Stock and bond prices usually move in opposite directions. When the stock market is not doing well and becomes risky for investors, investors withdraw their money and put it into bonds, which they consider safer. This increased demand raises bond prices. When stocks rally and the risk seems justified, investors may move out of bonds and into stocks, driving stock prices up further.”
June 19, 2017
All eyes on inflation!
Inflation is the way economists measure changes in the prices of goods and services. The United States has enjoyed relatively low inflation for a significant period of time. Last week, the consumer price index indicated inflation had moved lower in May.
Inflation is our focus because it is at the core of two very different opinions that currently are influencing markets and investors. A commentary on the Kitco Blog explained:
“One of the most important economic debates today is whether the economy will experience reflation or deflation (or low inflation) in the upcoming months. Has the recent reflation been only a temporary jump? Or has it marked the beginning of a new trend? Is the global economy accelerating or are we heading into the next recession?”
Another key factor is employment. Traditional economic theory holds when unemployment falls (i.e., when more people are employed) inflation will rise because demand for workers will push wages higher. That hasn’t happened yet in the United States even though unemployment has fallen significantly.
June 12, 2017
Stock market historians may dub 2017 the Xanax year. Traditional historians will probably choose a different moniker.
Stock markets in many advanced economies have been unusually calm during 2017, reported Schwab’s Jeffrey Kleintop in a May 15, 2017 commentary. The CBOE Volatility Index, a.k.a. the Fear Gauge, which measures how volatile investors believe the S&P 500 Index will be over the next few months, has fallen below 10 on just 15 days since the index was introduced in 1990. Six of the 15 occurred during 2017. The average daily closing value for the VIX was 19.7 from 1990 through 2016. For 2017, the average has been 11.8.
Investors’ calm is remarkable because 2017 has not been a particularly calm year. We’ve experienced significant geopolitical events. For example, the U.S. launched a military strike on Syria, and dropped its biggest non-nuclear bomb on Afghanistan. There have been terrorist attacks in Europe, along with discord in the Middle East. The European Union has been unraveling. The U.S. government has shown unusual levels of disarray, and the U.S. President’s passion for Tweets has stirred the pot.
June 5, 2017
The bull market in U.S. stocks is getting really old!
In fact, this bull has been charging, standing, or sitting for more than eight years. In April, it became the second longest bull market in American history, according to CNN Money.
There are some good reasons the stock market in the United States has continued to trend higher. For one, companies have become more profitable. During the first quarter of 2017, companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index reported earnings increased by 14 percent, year-over-year. That was the highest earnings growth rate since 2011, according to FactSet.
In addition, the economy in the United States has been chugging along at a steady pace. CIO Charles Lieberman wrote in Bloomberg View:
May 30, 2017
Is preparing for the future more important than enjoying the present?
There is a lot to enjoy today. Last week, Financial Times wrote:
“Wall Street ended an impressive week on a steady note – eking out a tiny gain to a fresh record close – as oil prices recouped some of the previous day’s steep losses and the latest U.S. Gross Domestic Product data reinforced expectations for a June rate rise.”
In fact, U.S. equities have been performing well for some time. The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index achieved new highs 18 times during 2016 and, so far in 2017, we’ve scored 20 closing highs, including three last week.
May 22, 2017
How much is too much?
There has been no shortage of drama since the new administration took office – legislative setbacks, controversial hiring and firing, and fiery tweets on various topics. Regardless, U.S. investors and markets remained stalwart until last week when the CBOE Volatility Index (a.k.a. the fear gauge) jumped 46 percent higher and markets declined.
Financial Times explained:
“…a range of stock benchmarks made their biggest single-day fall since November, as the political controversy over Donald Trump ties with Russia undermined investors’ faith in the administration’s ability to enact its pro-growth policies. Markets subsequently steadied, but investors are primed for further volatility as the White House faces the distraction of a lengthy inquiry led by an independent special counsel.”
May 15, 2017
Does performance tell the whole story?
American stock markets have delivered some exceptional performance in recent years. Just look at the Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) Index. Barron’s reported the S&P 500, including reinvested dividends, has returned 215 percent since April 30, 2009. The index is currently trading 50 percent above its 2007 high.
The rest of the world’s stocks, as measured by the MSCI EAFE Index, which includes stocks from developed countries in Europe, Australia, and the Far East, returned 97 percent in U.S. dollars during the same period. At the end of April, the MSCI EAFE Index was 20 percent below its 2007 high.
May 8, 2017
Is it complacency? Exuberance? Uncertainty? Exhaustion? Insight? Intuition?
Last week, all three major U.S. stock markets gained value and two reached new record highs. On the face of it, that’s great news for stock investors. However, if you look below the surface, the markets’ upward trend may have you scratching your head.
“That the S&P would hit a new high was all the more surprising given the lack of reaction to major headlines throughout the week. On the plus side of the ledger, Congress managed to avoid a shutdown, while on the downside, President Donald Trump tweeted that the U.S. ‘needs a good shutdown,’ and the Federal Reserve appeared more hawkish than prognosticators had been prognosticating. Nothing. Then there’s the prospect of a shocker in the French election over the weekend, though the pro-Europe candidate Emmanuel Macron is widely expected to beat the more-radical Marine Le Pen. Yet here we are. 'It’s like the market took Novocain and is numb to everything,’ says Thomas Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors.”
May 1, 2017
It was a good week to own stocks.
Not all financial news was good news last week, but that didn’t prevent U.S. stock markets from moving higher. Barron’s reported on the good news:
“This past week, welcome political news from Europe, a batch of stellar corporate-earnings reports, and a concrete tax proposal to cut corporate and some personal rates sharply gave the bull even more reasons to rally. By Friday’s close, the Dow Jones industrials and other market measures were standing near all-time highs.”
Overall, corporate earnings were quite strong during the first quarter of 2017, according to FactSet. With 58 percent of the companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index reporting in, earnings are showing double-digit growth for the first time since 2011.
April 24, 2017
Last week, investors multi-tasked, pushing both U.S. bond and stock markets higher.
In March, the Federal Reserve raised the Fed funds rates for the second time in three months. Typically, we would expect interest rates to rise and bond prices to fall, but interest rates have been falling and bond prices have been moving higher. Barron’s reported yields on 10-year Treasuries hit their lowest levels since the election last week.
Reuters explained there has been a shift in expectations:
“Bonds prices have been boosted in recent weeks by reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates two more times this year, following disappointing economic data releases. Still, Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer said on Friday that two more U.S. rate increases this year remain an appropriate plan for the Federal Reserve despite some weak recent economic data.”
April 17, 2017
And the survey said...
In late 2016, Natixis Global surveyed 500 institutional decision makers representing corporate pension plans, public pension plans, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, foundations, and endowments. Survey participants said market volatility, geopolitics, and interest rates were their top risk concerns for 2017.
So far, U.S. stock markets haven’t proven to be very volatile, but geopolitics caused some disruption last week. Barron’s reported:
“Stocks fell 1 percent last week in quiet trading, with many market participants out for religious observances. Worries about the war in Syria, North Korean saber-rattling, and the coming French elections had investors reining in riskier positions and heading for safe havens.
April 10, 2017
U.S. stock markets are sending mixed signals.
If you look at the performance of the CBOE Volatility Index (a.k.a. the VIX or fear gauge), which is a measure of market expectations for volatility in the near future, it appears all is well and investors expect no unexpected events. Barron’s explained:
“…which brings us back to a central fact: the absence of volatility. The first quarter was historic for the CBOE Volatility Index...It ranged from 10.6 to 13.1, and its average level was 11.69, the lowest in an initial quarter since the VIX was born in 1990 and the second-lowest quarterly average since the 11.3 of 2006’s final three months...”
April 3, 2017
Toward the end of the first quarter, the bull market celebrated its eighth birthday. David Kelly, Chief Global Strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management wrote:
“Eight years ago, on March 9, 2009, the S&P 500 closed at 677, down 57 percent from where it had been just 18 months earlier. 10-year Treasury yields had fallen from 3.6 percent to 2.9 percent over the previous year…Investors were depressed and scared. However, good long-term returns from stocks were almost inevitable at that point since economic and market fundamentals were at unsustainably low levels…Eight years later, the financial landscape has changed completely…it still makes sense to be in long-term investments including both domestic stocks and bonds. However, it is time to adopt a more diversified and thoughtful approach that recognizes the importance of valuations…”

domain: finance


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(July 2018) Day 12 on the Pennine Way took me from Alston to Greenhead, and overall the walking was straightforward and uncomplicated. It had been a few days since I could say that (field wanderings, a missed dinner, a drained cellphone, exhausted legs, hill/mountain climbing, no coffee), and so I was looking forward to this stage.
I think, however, I need to add a note about the weather. If you’ve been following along, you may have noticed that I’ve written- “It was another day of blue skies and sunshine”- in nearly every post. If I didn’t write it, the photos have shown you how great the weather was during my walk.
And, you guessed it, my 12th day was no different and the weather was perfect. So when I say that this stage was straightforward and uncomplicated, it’s especially easy for me to say that because of the weather. A fellow Pennine Way walker is posting photos from his trek over on Instagram; he walked in the fall and I think he walked at least half of his trek in the rain. He had 8 days in a row of soggy boots! He just posted some photos from the same stage I’m writing about today, saying that he walked through what is the wettest and boggiest section of the entire Pennine Way, at first trying to walk with plastic bags wrapped over his shoes, then forsaking the bags and just tramping through the mud and water and soaking his boots clean through.
I look at his photos and I remember what the same walk was like for me. I, too, walked through the fields that are known as being the ‘wettest section of the way’. What do I remember from this section? I only remember focusing on navigation and looking for signposts. Maybe I walked through a small puddle? Maybe one? But I doubt it.
The Pennine Way wasn’t an easy walk, it was the most difficult one I’ve done so far. Sometimes I wonder if I would have loved it as much as I did if I hadn’t had such nice weather. I remember how miserable so much of that first day was, my only day of rain: how difficult it was to navigate and keep to the trail, how cold my hands were, how wet my socks and shoes became. As I’ve been trying to churn out these posts, it’s meant that I’ve immersed myself in memories from my walk, and it’s so easy to long to be back on the trail, it makes me want to plan another walk in the UK. And I’m sure I will, but I also need to always remember that the beauty of my experience had a lot to do with the weather.
Okay, enough rambling, back to Day 12!
The weather was good, yes, but my last few days had been difficult and so I took an easy alternate path for the first 6 miles of the day and it was the best decision I could have made. The South Tyne Trail follows an old railroad track and runs roughly parallel to the Pennine Way. But where the Pennine Way climbs up and down little hills, traverses farms and is constantly taking you through a series of gates and stiles, the South Tyne Trail is totally flat and straight and stile free. Stile free! Plus, there’s no need to even worry about navigation or looking for the next marker or constantly checking maps to make sure you’re on the right track. It was free and easy walking, the kind where you can just let your mind wander and cruise along easily and happily.
And cruise along I did. I had sort of missed this kind of walking, and I was grateful for the break. Now, purists would probably shun the South Tyne Trail (or at least choose to stick to the Pennine Way) and once, there would have been a time where I would have made that choice. But in my 5 years of long-distance walking, I’ve learned a few things. And one of them is this: if there’s a much easier path that is running parallel to a more difficult (yet official) path, take the easy one. (I feel like there’s a life lesson in here somewhere…)
So I walked for about 6-miles on the South Tyne Trail, moving quickly and easily and happily. I took a slight detour to see about a snack or a cup of coffee at the Kirkstyle Inn (well-worth a visit, my guidebook told me) but I came up short and the Inn was closed (I think just for the day, so future Pennine Way walkers should try their luck). I didn’t mind too much- the morning had been easy and I was still full from my breakfast at the B&B in Alston, so I continued on.
I moved away from the South Tyne Trail and back onto the Pennine Way, immediately climbing out of the valley and walking through fields and fells, marsh grass growing high around me. I continued on through farmland, then reached Blenkinsopp Common, the fabled “wettest and boggiest” section of the Pennine Way. My guidebook also told me that navigation would be nearly impossible here, the path disappearing into the grass and heather, but just to look for the fenceline and follow it north. At first I couldn’t even see a fence but I eventually spotted it, far off in the distance. I headed towards it, picking my way through the moors, hoping I wouldn’t sink into a bog. My fears were unfounded; there were no bogs to be had, and the path was mostly dry.
I think the highlight of my afternoon was finding a Pennine Way marker in these fields: my guidebooks says, “Chufty badge for navigation if you find this” and when I did I let out a small cheer. I didn’t cross paths with another walker for the entire day, I was alone with my thoughts and my footsteps for miles and miles and so sometimes, finding a marker in an otherwise endless field of green feels rather exciting.
After another few hours I arrived in Greenhead, the Pennine Way having just overlapped with Hadrian’s Wall Path. I was excited about the next day’s walk- I’d get to walk about 7-miles along Hadrian’s Wall (some of the best part!), and ever since I walked the route in the spring of 2017, I’d been eager to go back.
In Greenhead I’d booked a bed at the hostel, which is in a converted Methodist chapel, and as usual I had the room all to myself. Just as I was thinking that my Pennine Way had turned into a very solo trip (despite having made several friends within the first few days), I ran into the Dutchman- Luke (or Luuk?)- at dinner! The Greenhead Hotel was just about the only place around for food, and there were a few other walkers there as well. Luke and I ate together and talked about our experiences along the way, and it felt really good to be able to share my experience with someone else. It felt like a long time since I’d said goodbye to David back in Horton-in-Ribblesdale, and while I’d had some nice encounters with locals, I hadn’t really met or talked to another walker like me. I’d resigned myself to a very solo and isolated walk until the end, so having that meal with Luke was an unexpected treat. We talked about the next day’s stage and he told me he was breaking what I would be doing in one day into two, so I knew that I wouldn’t see him again. But this is something I love so much about these long-distance walks: the chance to have a drink or a meal with a stranger who quickly turns into a friend, for the shared camaraderie, the understanding, the ease of it all.
Then back to my bunk in the hostel, under the covers, a chapter of Jane Eyre and then lights out, already dreaming about the next day’s walk along Hadrian’s Wall.

domain: geography


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Ryman's Club Anime's Video Reveals Opening Song, More Cast, January 22 Debut
posted on by Rafael Antonio Pineda
The official website for TV Asahi and LIDEN FILMS' original badminton sports anime Ryman's Club unveiled a new visual and first full promotional video for the anime on Thursday. The video reveals and previews the anime's opening theme song "The Warrior" by Novelbright, and also unveils more cast and the January 22 premiere date for the anime.
The newly annouced cast members for Mitsuhoshi Bank (a rival team to Sunlight Beverage) include (from left to right in image above):
The anime will premiere within the NUMAnimation anime programming block on TV Asahi, CS TV Asahi Channel 1, and 24 affiliates on January 22, and on BS Asahi on January 28.
The anime focuses on badminton players on a corporate team, with characters who work at a day job in a company and also play badminton. The story centers on Mikoto Shiratori, a childhood prodigy at badminton, but who never recovered from a major loss during a high school competition. Now, he works in the sales department of the Sunlight Beverage company, playing badminton on the side.
The cast includes (from left to right in image above):
- Junya Enoki as Mikoto Shiratori
- Shinichiro Miki as Tatsuru Miyazumi
- Kaito Ishikawa as Sōta Saeki
- Ryota Ohsaka as Tōya Saeki
- Tetsuya Kakihara as Kōki Takeda
Aimi Yamauchi (City Hunter: Shinjuku Private Eyes unit director, Killing Bites episode director) is directing the anime at LIDEN FILMS, which previously animated the badminton anime Hanebad!. Yamauchi is also in charge of series composition alongside Teruko Utsumi (Sarazanmai). Suzuhito Yasuda (Durarara!!, Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? light novels) drew the original character designs, and Majiro (Barakamon, Macross Delta, 22/7) is drawing those character designs for animation. The group fox capture plan is composing the music.
Other staff members include:
- Art Setting: Masahiro Satō (H.E.D. Works)
- Art Director: Masatoshi Kai
- Art Backgrounds: Studio KAIMU
- Color Setting: Emiko Onodera
- 2D Works: Gaku Watanabe, Shun Nakajima, Asahi Production Design Department
- 3D Works: FelixFilm
- Director of Photography: Naho Hasegawa
- Photography: Asahi Production
- Editing: Mai Hasegawa (EditZ)
- Audio Director: Satoshi Motoyama
- Audio Production: Glovision
this article has been modified since it was originally posted; see change history

domain: artistic


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The Big Ten is set to record a first this week – a first that might fly under the radar but one that could play a significant role in determining which two teams square off in the first-ever Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday, Dec. 3. For the first time ever every conference game this weekend is also a divisional game. Remember, the divisional record is the next tie-breaker when a multiple-team tie can’t be broken by head-to-head record. A three-way tie seems eminently possible in the Legends Division where parity may reign (see full tiebreaker rules at BigTen.org).
Our most interactive show BTN Live airs Thursday at 8 p.m. ET and incorporates your Big Ten opinions via Twitter and Internet voting. Dave Revsine, Gerry DiNardo, Howard Griffith and Glen Mason talk Big Ten football for the entire hour on TV and discuss all the topics that have fans buzzing.
No. 1 Illinois continued its winning ways on Wednesday, defeating No. 20 Michigan 3-1 (25-14, 25-19, 21-25, 25-20) at Huff Hall. The Illini out-blocked the Wolverines 17-3, led by freshman Liz McMahon with 11 block assists. The Illini are now 18-0 overall and 7-0 in the Big Ten, while the Wolverines fall to 14-5 overall and 2-5 in the Big Ten. Illinois’ Michelle Bartsch registered 20 kills. Watch the highlights now and catch more volleyball action Friday on BTN.com.
At 6-0 and off to the team’s best start since its 1951 national championship season, the Illinois football program is looking to take advantage of its hot start. To that end, the Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics is asking fans to “Stripe the Stadium” orange and blue for Illinois’ nationally televised game against Ohio State on Saturday afternoon. If you remember, Iowa did something similar to this last season. See the pictures here. The idea worked perfectly at Kinnick Stadium, and orange and blue should look equally cool at Memorial Stadium.
Audio clips from Tuesday’s weekly Big Ten Conference teleconference call for reporters and Big Ten football are ready to be played. Listen to 12 Big Ten coaches answer reporters’ questions below.
Find out more about: Teleconferences
What’s one of the reasons Illinois players had such an impact in the NFL lately? Tonight’s edition of The Next Level profiles Lou Hernandez, Illinois’ strength and conditioning coach who has helped several Illini become professionals. Also tonight: The crew interviews Penn State’s Devon Still and we look at how one-time Michigan quarterback Jim Harbaugh is faring in his first year as coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Join Rick Pizzo, Jon Jansen, Russ Lande, and Brandon Williams tonight at 7 p.m ET & again at 8:30 p.m.

domain: news


Have you heard Adam Lambert’s new release Voodoo off the international version of his album For Your Entertainment?? Ugh… thud…rapture!! Absolute fabulosity sent from a far off glittery planet for our listening pleasure (thanks journey101)!!
MJ’s Big Blog has it too, along with two Adam interviews from Australia. One is from So You Think You Can Dance and the other from the Kyle and Jackie O Show: http://mjsbigblog.com/adam-lambert-voodoo-first-listen.htm.
Here’s “Lambo” playing Chad Roulette down under. There are two other videos here and scroll down to see photos as well: http://www.novafm.com.au/Audio_Adam-Lambert-Lambo-plays-Chat-Roulette-full-interview_96537. You can find Adam singing for NOVA here: http://www.twitvid.com/7E3DE and http://www.twitvid.com/3D1CF. Glammy Goodness!
Here are lots of yummy pics compiled from SYTYCD Australia (thanks, vote4adam!): http://s671.photobucket.com/albums/vv80/vote4adam/Australia%20Trip%20March%202010/.
An interview from New Zealand: http://www.3news.co.nz/Adam-Lambert–living-a-dream/tabid/367/articleID/144936/Default.aspx.
An article from the UK: http://entertainment-focus.com/news/adam-lambert-arrives-in-the-uk.
And more from Singapore: http://www.singaporeglamberts.com/blog/?p=316.
And I luv, luv luv this review of Adam’s Fantasy Springs concert at http://www.rockstarweekly.com/content/view/1511/204/! So well written, captures the concert perfectly!
And finally, Yahoo Music’s Lyndsey Parker weighs in on Adam’s SYTYCD Australia performance here: http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/realityrocks/324095/adam-lambert-on-sytycd-australia-now-with-choreography/ .
There. That should keep you busy for a while!


The Northbrook School of Dance offers a recreation-based approach to dance education. With our caring, professional dance instructors, students experience an exciting program, full of dancing, performing and most importantly, the ability to learn and progress.
Our mission is to encourage students of all ages and levels and to introduce them to the wonderful world of dance while gaining the benefits of self-confidence, poise and physical well-being. Our teachers are dedicated to providing quality instruction through positive reinforcement and are actively involved in the students’ development in dance.
Northbrook School of Dance features two dance studios with sprung wood floors, mirrors and ballet barres.
Click here to view our current Guide for available classes.
Register online or call the Performing Arts Office at 847·291·2367 for more information.
See the following dress codes, listed by class. Jeans are not acceptable for any dance class.
Tutu 2s, Tutu 3s, Itty-Bitty Pre-Dance, Ballet I and Contemporary:
- Girls wear pastel pink/black leotards, pink/black tights, and pink ballet shoes
- Boys wear black pants, white/black shirt and black ballet shoes
- Girls wear pastel pink/black leotards, pink/black tights, and black tap shoes
- Boys wear black pants, white/black pants and black tap shoes
Pop Hoppers and Be a Choreographer:
- Comfortable clothes (no jeans), jazz shoes or clean-soled shoes
MTV Dance and Boogie Boys
- Comfortable clothes (no jeans), jazz/dance shoes


Singularly Exceptional: Shock Absorbers and the Advantages of a Monotube Design
All vehicles – from the smallest passenger car to the largest Class 8 truck – feature damping control technology designed to enhance on-road performance and help protect critical components against premature wear and failure. Without it, driver comfort and safety would suffer, as would the durability of other parts and vehicle systems. An effective damping control system comprises multiple components, one of the most important of which is the shock absorber.
Shock absorbers are devices positioned between the frame of a vehicle and the wheels to soften the movements generated by the vehicle’s springs during the ride. They work in concert with other suspension components to control and reduce vehicle bounce, lean, sway, brake dive and acceleration squat. By mitigating such motions, shock absorbers help play a critical role in providing consistent handling and braking performance, maintaining dynamic wheel alignment and preventing premature degradation of components like brakes and tires.
All modern vehicles are fitted with shock absorbers, but not all shock absorbers are created the same. Today’s shocks feature a broad range of technology and material differences that impact performance. In addition, their design can be based on two very distinct design types: traditional twin-tube or monotube. Each type of shock absorber offers its own advantages, but monotube shock absorbers are particularly beneficial in many modern applications. To appreciate these benefits, it is important to understand how a shock absorber works, and that begins with understanding that energy can neither be created nor destroyed – only transferred and transformed.
The Science of Damping
Vehicle suspension systems are constructed utilizing different types of springs designed to support the weight of the vehicle and absorb shock from bumps and uneven road surfaces. The most common of these, the coil spring, absorbs vehicle’s vertical wheel motions. In a suspension system using only springs, the absorbed energy would be continuously released back into the vehicle, creating uncontrollable bounce. A vehicle operating under such conditions would be both uncomfortable and unsafe to drive.
At its core, a shock absorber is an oil pump with a piston, attached to a piston rod, that pushes against hydraulic fluid in a pressure tube. It dampens spring motion by transforming kinetic energy stored during suspension movement into thermal energy (heat), which is then dissipated through the hydraulic fluid. As a vehicle travels down the road, wheel motion impacts on the suspension system and the springs. Suspension movement forces hydraulic fluid to travel back and forth through tiny holes inside the piston. Because these holes let only a small amount of fluid through at a time, the piston slows down, which in turn slows spring and suspension movement.
Shock absorbers work in two cycles – compression and rebound. Compression occurs as the piston moves downward, pushing down on the hydraulic fluid, forcing it to pass through the compression valve. During the rebound cycle, the piston moves upward, compressing fluid in the chamber above and forcing it back through the holes in the piston. The level of resistance a shock absorber offers in each cycle depends on multiple factors, including the number and size of the orifices in the piston; the quantity and thickness of the valve disks; and the speed of the suspension. The faster the suspension moves, the more resistance is provided.
The Dichotomy of Dual Tubes
Most commonly found on light vehicles like passenger cars, SUVs and pickups, twin-tube shock absorbers are named as such because they feature two cylinders – an oil chamber set inside the shell case and a second, internal cylinder that contains the piston valve. These shock absorbers come in one of two varieties: hydraulic and low-pressure gas.
When a twin-tube hydraulic shock absorber goes through a compression stroke, some oil in the lower working chamber transfers across the piston via a lightly loaded inlet valve. The remaining oil – which corresponds to the volume of the piston rod entering the inner tube – is forced through a valve system and into an outer oil reservoir called the equalization chamber. When the shock absorber rebounds, the inlet valve closes and oil in the upper working chamber is forced through a valve system in the piston. Oil passes from the equalization chamber into the lower working chamber via a lightly loaded inlet valve, ensuring the inner tube always stays full of oil.
Twin-tube low-pressure gas shock absorbers function similarly, but with two notable changes. First, the air in the upper part of the reserve tube is replaced by pressurized gas – usually nitrogen or impressed atmospheric air– at a pressure ranging from 2.5 to 8 bars. Second, the oil seal surrounding the piston rod in the upper portion of the housing features unique design elements, including a lip to prevent dirt from entering the system and two sealing lips to prevent oil or gas from escaping.
Twin-tube shock absorbers of both types are cost-effective and offer superior comfort and steering response in many driving conditions, but they suffer from a few drawbacks. In a twin-tube design, there is no physical barrier separate oil from gas. During compression and rebound strokes, oil is forced to flow from a high- to low-pressure area, creating a sudden pressure drop that can cause aeration or cavitation.
Aeration occurs when air is circulated with a hydraulic fluid, which can temporarily render damping inefficient. Cavitation occurs when air bubbles – which have mass but are compressible – form in the oil. When this happens, the initial piston rod travel of each stroke will compress the air bubbles, creating a damping control lag and reducing shock absorber efficiency. Though less likely to happen in a low-pressure gas shock, it is still possible and either scenario can negatively affect shock absorber function and efficiency.
The Monotube Advantage
Contrasting with the twin-tube design, a monotube shock absorber is a high-pressure gas shock comprising a single cylinder that is divided into two chambers – one filled with pressurized nitrogen gas and another above it with hydraulic fluid. The gas and oil are separated by a floating piston – preventing any aeration or cavitation from occurring – and a piston valve assembly connected to the piston rod is seated in the fluid portion of the tube. This type of design offers numerous advantages.
When the piston rod displaces oil on compression, the nitrogen in the chamber below also compresses. Because the nitrogen is subject to variations in volume, it functions much like a spring. The continuous pressure exerted on the oil in the tube by the gas ensures instantaneous response to changing road conditions, offering faster damping reaction and, as a result, improved steering control and road-holding capabilities. While these characteristics may lead to the perception of a stiffer ride in some passenger cars, monotube shock absorbers are an ideal solution for larger sedans, sports car applications and SUV rear axles.
Though the exterior dimensions of a twin-tube and monotube shock absorber may be the same, the size of the piston in a twin-tube design is limited by the outer cylinder, reducing oil capacity and piston size. Generally, this results in lower possible pressure. By comparison, monotube shocks feature more oil and a larger piston, which creates a wider area of pressure. Not only does this improve damping precision, but it also allows for more efficient heat dissipation.
One of the few limitation in terms of usage of the monotube shocks absorbers is related to its use at off-road applications. Where the piston stroke is a key factor. In off-road vehicles the stroke of the shock used to be an important technical requirement of the suspension in order to be able to absorb the movements of the tire while it passes the irregularities and obstacles of the road. In the case of mono tube shocks due to the internal design, the piston rod stroke is limited to the part of the working chamber that is placed over the floating piston, while at the twin-tubes, this limitation is not present because the piston can move until the lower end of the working chamber where the compression valve is located. Therefore twin tube technology is the preferred one for off-road vehicles.
Tenneco offers monotube shocks to meet a range of needs and price points, from the Monroe Original high-value replacement line to the new premium Monroe OESpectrum® range. Featuring Tenneco's innovative M-RTECH®2 Rebound Valving Technology™, OESpectrum gas-charged shock absorbers leverage Tenneco's global OE leadership for a superior driving experience. Tenneco confidently backs each OESpectrum product with its first-ever 5-year limited warranty, offering consumers the peace of mind of a lasting investment. Complete warranty terms and conditions can be found online at www.Monroe-OESpectrum.com.
Monroe aftermarket products are supported through comprehensive training and vehicle diagnostic information available on Technicians Advanced Digital Information System (TADIS), a technical support platform from Tenneco that includes thousands of helpful files designed for technicians, installers and other aftermarket professionals. To access TADIS and other resources, visit www.training.tenneco.com . Independent aftermarket professionals also have access to Monroe advertising and point-of-sale promotional materials, as well as fully illustrated catalogues with 360-degree product images that can be found online at www.monroecatalogue.eu. To learn more about Monroe monotube shock absorbers and other Monroe ride control technologies, please contact your Monroe supplier or Tenneco sales representative. Additional information is available online at www.monroe.com.


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domain: design


In a giant courtyard of the Forbidden City, a woman's voice soars gloriously into the night sky.
Spotlights illuminate a 580-year-old Ming Dynasty temple where emperors once made sacrifices to their ancestors. Now hundreds of Chinese soldiers and dancers move to the music and to instructions shouted over a loudspeaker. Two ancient-looking pavilions at the front of the vermilion temple hall eerily glide toward center stage, then spew forth dozens more soldiers.
Framed by scores of scurrying carpenters, the scene the other night in this corner of the Imperial palaces was a spectacle worthy of Cecil B. De Mille as preparations got under way for the first presentation of ''Turandot'' in the Forbidden City, the very setting Puccini imagined for his Orientalist fantasy of an icy princess who succumbs to love.
Zhang Yimou, the director of ''Raise the Red Lantern'' and ''Red Sorghum,'' sat on a chair in the middle of the audience area, wearing black high-tops, black jeans and a black T-shirt. He stared ahead as though mesmerized, occasionally conferring with his choreographer, Chen Weiya.
Mr. Chen held a microphone, calling directions to the army of soldiers onstage, who were literally from the Chinese militia. ''Pay attention to the music!'' he shouted as someone opened a door too quickly.
The director and choreographer, engaged in intimate collaboration, glanced back and forth from the temple to a television monitor that played a videotape of the ''Turandot'' they staged with Zubin Mehta in Florence last year. The soundtrack of that video, which Mr. Chen controlled with a remote, roared into the night, giving the place a slightly frantic and surreal quality.
This week Mr. Mehta is expected to be on hand for full dress rehearsals. The 120-piece Maggio Musicale Fiorentino/Florence Opera orchestra, a chorus of 200 and the divas all fit in front of the temple along with a cast that will approach 1,000 members in the grand finale.
In the eight performances scheduled on consecutive nights beginning Saturday, three singers will alternate in each of the main parts. Giovanna Casolla, Audrey Stottler and Sharon Sweet will play Princess Turandot, Angela Maria Blasi, Barbara Frittoli and Barbara Hendricks will play Liu, and Lando Bartolini, Kristjan Johansson and Sergej Larin will play Prince Calaf.
Michael Ecker of Austria, the impresario who pulled off this coup after four years of haggling with Chinese officials, called the staging ''the last great cultural event before the millennial festivities begin.''
The event has been warmly greeted by Government officials, in sharp contrast to the thwarting of another grand cultural exchange this summer. Last month a culture commissar in Shanghai blocked the export of a performance of a 22-hour Ming Dynasty opera, ''The Peony Pavilion,'' which had been sponsored by Lincoln Center. Mr. Ecker admitted to having lost some sleep when the Shanghai city government prevented that cast from leaving for the United States on the ground that the production (by a Chinese-American) was pornographic and disrespectful of tradition. Lincoln Center had a signed contract.
Mr. Zhang, whose films and free thinking have not always endeared him to Communist officials, said he had to show authorities a written description of his plans to get approval for ''Turandot'' but that there had been no interference. Asked about the ''Peony Pavilion'' debacle, he said, ''I haven't heard much about this.''
A Lavish Event Staged for the World
The China Performing Arts Agency is co-producer of ''Turandot,'' a commercial venture that is worlds away from the sternly moral revolutionary operas of Mao's Cultural Revolution.
The production is establishing new standards for spending on an opera -- close to $15 million -- and for attracting jet-set opera fans, thousands of whom are zooming in from Europe, the United States and the rest of Asia. It is also a new high for ''corporate hospitality'' as companies like Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse First Boston and Elle magazine buy large blocks of seats to the show and the 15-course Imperial dinner that follows each staging, the better to entertain choice clients and cultivate guanxi, or personal ties, with Chinese officials. The performances will be taped for broadcast abroad, and CD's will be for sale.
In an interview on the palace steps after an early rehearsal, Mr. Zhang seemed exhilarated but admitted to some frustration trying to control such a sprawling enterprise. ''We see so many people up there, and we're trying to bring some order out of this and keep it all in tone with the opera,'' he said.
At the rehearsals, which often ran from 8 P.M. to midnight, Mr. Mehta's assistants sat at a table behind the director, reading the score as they watched scenes take shape. At another table were lighting designers from Florence. Specialists from the Vienna State Opera hoped to give the outdoor space the acoustical quality of a concert hall.
In the back hall of the temple hung many of the 1,000 costumes, designed, along with the set, by two Beijing artisans commissioned by Mr. Zhang as part of his effort to make the production as authentic to the Ming Dynasty as possible.
Altogether, the scene was one of controlled chaos. During the production last year in Florence, which was in effect a smaller-scale rehearsal for the Beijing show though a hit in its own right, Mr. Zhang learned what a nail-biting experience it is to pull together an opera.
''I discovered 30 problems on opening night,'' he recalled. ''Others told me not to worry, it's impossible to have a perfect performance.'' Making films, he said, he can shoot and reshoot, and study his film again and again.
In repose, Mr. Zhang often looks as if he is about to cry, but his face becomes animated when he talks about his goal to recreate ''Turandot'' with a genuine Chinese spirit. Many Chinese viewers, perhaps unschooled in Western opera, may feel bemused, he said. ''Though there's a huge cast of Chinese extras and dancers, the singers are all fat foreign people,'' he said. ''So Chinese viewers may feel it's funny in some way.''
By providing meticulously authentic sets and costumes and by staging ''Turandot'' in a classical Chinese manner, the director hopes to create a new sense of an opera that was composed by an Italian who never visited China.
Mr. Zhang said he knew little about opera before Mr. Mehta and Mr. Ecker approached him about the project. ''When I first saw this opera, I felt it had nothing to do with China; it was a myth that could be anywhere.''
He wouldn't touch the music, of course, he said, but in his staging he wanted to convey the simple emotional themes of the opera with the poetic and romantic methods of traditional Chinese literature.
Mr. Zhang cited a Chinese fable for illustration. A girl who is about to be murdered tells her killer that if his act is wrong, then it will snow in summer -- and so it does.
Subtle Touches For a Bold Tale
The director has used that fantastical approach in staging, for example, the scene in Act I when the Persian Prince who has failed to solve Princess Turandot's riddle is executed. Mr. Zhang said he had seen other performances in which this and similar scenes are simple and direct: ''They hold up a severed head and that's it.'' But in his version, as the man is executed, the soldiers' dark uniforms turn to white, the traditional Chinese color of mourning.
While Mr. Zhang works to wring order out of a thousand pieces, Mr. Ecker, the producer, has worked in hyperdrive to make the enterprise pay off. Mr. Ecker is with Opera on Original Site Inc., a group based in Switzerland that earned its name by staging Verdi's ''Aida'' in Luxor, Egypt.
The Chinese Government seems to be embracing the show, with the official press extolling the role of the home-grown director and designers, and tourist officials cheered by the prospect of thousands of well-heeled visitors. The Chinese Government will receive 200 complimentary tickets to each show (of close to 4,000 available seats each night), and President Jiang Zemin is expected to attend.
Two performances of ''Turandot,'' one a general rehearsal and one an official performance, were reserved for Beijing residents at reduced prices and sold out in five days. The cheapest tickets, at $150, are gone. Remaining are $350 seats, which include the dinner. About 1,000 Americans are expected to attend.
At 11:15 P.M. the other night, Mr. Zhang ended the rehearsal early, prompting cheers from the hundreds of extras. He huddled with Mr. Chen, the choreographer, and others to solve problems in the coordination of crowd movements, set and music.
''All these things are going on at the same time, and then there's the music,'' Mr. Zhang said later. ''I can't imagine how things will turn out. So opening night is really going to be stressful.''


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Trelleborg Acquires Manufacturer of Coated Fabrics for Medical Equipment
RUTHERFORDTON, N.C. - Feb. 1, 2018 - PRLog -- Trelleborg has, through its business area Trelleborg Coated Systems, signed an agreement and finalized the acquisition of the privately owned U.K. company Dartex Holdings Ltd. The company is specialized in the manufacture of coated fabrics primarily for medical equipment and is a world leader in fabrics for pressure injury prevention. The acquisition broadens Trelleborg's offering and strengthens the Group's position as a premium supplier of medical coated fabrics.
Dartex has its head office and a production facility in Long Eaton, England. It has another production facility in North Smithfield, Rhode Island, U.S. Sales amount to approximately SEK 135 M on an annual basis. This bolt-on acquisition is part of Trelleborg's strategy to strengthen its positions in attractive market segments.
"I am very pleased with this acquisition that complements our product range and strengthens our position in medical equipment, which is a growing sub-segment for us. We will be capable of offering our customers even more engineered solutions and, not least, a greater geographic reach. I am impressed by the company's high-quality products and its level of innovation, as well as the close relationships it has with its customers," says Dario Porta, President of the Trelleborg Coated Systems business area.
The transaction will be consolidated as of February 1, 2018.
Want to know what Trelleborg's unrivalled polymer engineering know-how and application process can do for your company? Connect with Trelleborg's engineered coated fabrics operation on LinkedIn to join the conversation, and keep up with their latest innovations that are positively impacting our world.
Notes to Editors:
Trelleborg's engineered coated fabrics operation and Trelleborg Group
Trelleborg engineered coated fabrics operation is a part of the Trelleborg Coated Systems business area of Trelleborg Group. With 100 years of experience and continual research, the operation engineers the fabric of industry through customized and pre-conceived solutions adapted to customers' exact applications. www.TrelleborgECF.com
Trelleborg is a world leader in engineered polymer solutions that seal, damp and protect critical applications in demanding environments. Its innovative solutions accelerate performance for customers in a sustainable way. The Trelleborg Group has annual sales of SEK 31 billion (EUR 3.23 billion, USD 3.60 billion) and operations in about 50 countries. The Group comprises five business areas: Trelleborg Coated Systems, Trelleborg Industrial Solutions, Trelleborg Offshore & Construction, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions and Trelleborg Wheel Systems. The Trelleborg share has been listed on the Stock Exchange since 1964 and is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Large Cap. www.Trelleborg.com.

domain: economics


text:
You are here
National Culinary Team wins gold in Miami
The 2012 National Culinary Team has won a gold medal and additional gold medals for Chef, Junior Chef of the Year and Bartender competitions at the recently concluded Taste of the Caribbean held in Miami, Florida. The team was led by captain Raymond Joseph.
The event was organised by the Trinidad Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism Association (THRTA) as a member of the Caribbean Hotel Tourism Association. The five-day competition, which took place at the Hyatt Regency Miami Hotel, featured 11 regional teams which included Anguilla, Bahamas, Barbados, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Jamaica, Haiti, Puerto Rico, St Lucia and United States Virgin Islands. Each team prepared and presented food and drink judged on taste, execution of skills and presentation.
Chef of the Year: Devon Joseph
Junior Chef of the Year:
Bartender: Daniyel Jones.
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* Smart home gadgets that won’t destroy your home decor theme
* Connected gadgets for the home should make things easier]
* Trash cans, monitors, planters, and more
You’ve likely heard of the “Internet of Things” or “smart homes” before today. You’ve probably even seen or heard about a smart fridge, an app-controlled toaster oven, smart locks and, of course, color changing light bulbs, but a lot of those gadgets simply don’t match well with a stylish interior.
See below for 7 smart home gadgets that merge style and function seamlessly.
1. Hello Sense
Without being strapped to clinical machines with an assortment of sensors strapped to your body, sleep aide devices can only glean so much from your tossing and turning to help you sleep better. The Sense from Hello , however, seems like a step above the rest with sensors that monitor air quality, temperature, CO2 levels, humidity, UV light and several other factors, which it then runs through an algorithm that will supposedly help you optimize your sleeping conditions. You can even talk to Sense and ask how you slept the night before or what the temperature is where you sleep. It will even lull you to sleep with soothing sleep sounds and wake you up when you’re not in a deep sleep, so you’re feeling fresh.
2. AirSense Smart Air Quality Monitor & Ion Purifier
Like the Veg-O-Matic, the AirSense Smart Air Quality Monitor & Ion Purifier does a lot of things, including functioning as a detector for Carbon Monoxide, connecting to iTunes or Google Play, playing music with its two-way audio speakers, and so much more.
What that amounts to is this awesome –albeit nerdy– all-in-one gadget that will notify you via the accompanying smartphone app about the quality of the air in your home and even suggests ways of how to improve it. It even comes with programmable LEDs for customized-by-you mood lighting.
3. Simplehuman Semi-Round Sensor Can
Simplehuman makes some of, if not, the best trash cans in existence. So what makes the Semi-Round Sensor Can so desirable? Well, it employs infrared sensors that know when you want the can to open, as well as staying open until you’re done tossing your rubbish. But the best thing about this can is its built-in liner dispenser that distributes new liners from inside the can. Plus, it comes in a luxe rose gold color that will add a touch of style to your kitchen.
4. Awair Air Quality Monitor
If the AirSense seems like a bit too much, the Awair only monitors the air around you. By monitoring the dust, chemicals (VOCs), CO2, humidity, and temperature, Awair will synthesize that data and provide users with a number of different preference modes to help you “sleep better, control your allergies, increase productivity, or improve your general health.”
5. CUJO Smart Internet Security Firewall
Cujo is marketed as being a “smart firewall that keeps your connected home safe.” It achieves this by regularly checking your home network’s traffic and blocking connections to questionable sites that could cause some harm. Which can be useful for those with connected devices, like smart thermostats and smartphones. Think of it like a security blanket for your home.


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‘2 more deaths among Malaysian security forces’—state media
DIGOS CITY – Malaysian security forces suffered two more deaths as they came under fire in the town of Semporna in Tawau, some 150 kilometers from Lahad Datu, as they continue to search for members and supporters of the sultanate of Sulu’s “royal army” in Filipino-dominated communities on Sabah on Saturday evening, the Malaysian media reported Sunday.
Malaysia’s top police officer, Inspector-General Ismail Omar, told a Malaysian TV station they were now trying to establish if the armed men were followers of the Sulu “royal army” or locals, who have links with the “intruders.”
Bernama, the state media, said another member of the Malaysian policeman was killed in the ambush and two others were wounded but the online news provider Malaysia Today said two policemen had been killed and another was critically wounded.
Bernama quoted Malaysian police Omar as saying the 8 p.m. incident in Siminul village took place as Malaysian security forces were verifying reports that some people in the Filipino-dominated village possessed firearms and amid the continued search for fleeing members of Sulu’s “royal army.”
But Omar said he could not say if the ambush was staged by followers or “local” supporters of Agbimuddin Kiram, who had been on the run since Friday when Putrajaya decided to take on the “Sulu intruders.”
Hamza Taib, Sabah police commissioner, said during a news conference broadcast by a Sabah shortwave station that some 40 policemen were sent to Semporna following reports that some armed men had been sighted there.
He said the Semporna operation began around 4 p.m. and while police were heading for Siminul, a group of men numbering not more 10 fired on them.
Hamza said members of the Malaysian police were approaching a house in Siminul when they were fired upon by the unidentified men, using automatic rifles.
“However, I don’t think this has anything to do with the intrusion issue in Kampung Tanduo in Lahad Datu,” he said shortly after the ambush, even as he admitted that an investigation was still being conducted and that no suspect had been tagged yet.
But in a latter interview with TV3 Malaysia, Hamza said the police were now trying to determine if Agbimuddin’s men were actually involved in the ambush.
“The police were investigating whether the group, believed to be less than 10 in number, had any link to the armed intruders claiming to be from the royal army of the Sulu Sultanate in the Philippines holed up in Kampung Tanduo,” he said.
Hamza said the situation in Semporna remains under control despite the incident and that no further incidents had taken place after the ambush.
Earlier, reports had it that an explosion also rocked the Pulau Bum Bum police station in the said town but Hamza said these were without basis.
“The police had encircled the village in hunt of the attackers,” the Borneo Insider quoted Hamza in a separate report.
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Flirtatious male dancer names, traditional dance
They balance a tea tray, laden with candles, glasses, often a teapot, too. Solo dancing might also have a comical or even a grotesque, parodic aspect, depending on the character of the dancer and the mood of the occasion.
So maybe this was more appropriate in the eyes of the middle easterners watching.
Mostly for Laslow but one or two for Inigo. He was then passed around from home to home, always being returned to the shelter. I don't know anything about Simsimiyya music myself. Be careful if you have to drive anywhere afterwards.
He was small, muscular, black, a very athletic and wonderful dancer. In a source published in Venice inthe mitsve tants is described as a group dance in which men danced with the groom and women with the bride.
It became popular in It'll tickle like hell: The national dance of Colombia, South America. A variant of it is sometimes used in public performance, but only by men.
There is one, I believe it is the Sawt, in which pairs of men walk in slow motion mimicking eachother, and suddently one of them will squat down and then jump high in the air, then land and do a really fast shoulder shimmy!
Their general appearance, however, is more feminine than masculine: In some communities a particular tune of rather archaic character was employed for this dance.
But other than that he has a reputation towards being a ladies man but nothing else.
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Edu Manzano answered netizens who criticized Tirso Cruz III’s flash mob during TJ’s last of wake
Veteran actor Edu Manzano defended his fellow actor Tirso Cruz for the flash mob they did during TJ’s last day of the wake.
The eldest son of Tirso passed away due to cancer and many celebrities expressed their condolences for Cruz family.
On the other hand, during the last of the wake of TJ, the Cruz family decided to celebrate his life with a praise song.
Together with other members of the Cruz clan, Tirso performed a dance alongside with dancer-actor Rodjun Cruz.
For some, it was a unique way to hold the last day of his wake. On the other hand, there were those who did not like it.
Edu Manzano also shared the video of the flash mob on his Instagram account.
Instagram user @charmainedee10 said that it seemed appropriate for the parents of the late actor to do a flash mob for the last day of his wake.
“Para s amin d magndang tingnn n nagssaya ung parents ng namatay…. d ba sila nagmomournd?!?!! parang ok lang ?:(:(it’s not really ok.” the said netizen commented.
This received a straightforward reply from Ang Probinsyano actor Edu Manzano.
“We all choose to mourn in our own way. Hindi natin alam kung ano ang wishes ni TJ.” the veteran actor said.
Another netizen, IG user @liza_aragon, stressed out that parents of TJ should be mourning on that particular instance.
Edu answered that the Cruz family had been grieving since TJ was diagnosed with cancer.
“The family I’m sure has cried much and felt much mula ng ma-diagnose si TJ. I leave it to the family to choose how to celebrate his life. As a parent I know the family will continue to carry TJ in their hearts every waking day,” he replied.
Actress Melissa Mendez also wants the same celebration for her wake if ever.


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You are here
Online lenders risk being China's next bubble
WITH no sense of irony, China's online finance platforms are marketing themselves as a haven from gyrating stocks just as ratings companies warn the industry is brittle and failures could cause investors losses.
Among market leaders, Renrendai.com said in a text message to
- CALL +65 6388 3838
- EMAIL firstname.lastname@example.org


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Bandai Hobby Gundam Action Base 2 1/144 Black Display Stand
A display stand for holding 1/144 scale Gundam models, includes various adapters and holders to fit almost any 1/144 Gundam kit! Assembles just like building a Gundam model itself! Larger 1/144 model kits may require the larger Action Base 1 for 1/100 models.
Galactic Toys provides the latest and largest selection of Toys, Action Figures, POP Vinyl, Statues, and much more. At Galactic Toys we stock thousands of products from Funko, DC, Marvel, Kotobukiya, Mattel, Hasbro, and many more. We also specialize in pop culture shows such as Arrow, Flash, Game of Thrones, Walking Dead, Batman, Attack on Titan, Dragonball Z, Star wars and much more.


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The instructions for July apply with but little variation in these departments this month.
Strawberries that were planted in spring, and also those that have fruited will now be making "runners" or young plants freely. All runners should be kept cut off close to the old plant, so that the full force of the root is expended in maturing the "crowns" or fruit buds of the next season's crop. If plants are wanted for fresh plantations, about the required number can be allowed to run, but should be layered in pots, as recommended under Strawberries. Cut away the old stems of raspberries and blackberries that have borne their fruit, and thin out the young shoots to three or four canes to each hill or plant, if tied to stakes and topped when 4 or 5 feet high, they will make stronger canes for fruiting next year.
Planted crops, such as cabbage, cauliflower, and celery, should be hoed deeply. We do not recommend the earthing up of celery this month. Onions will in many sections now be ready for harvesting; this condition will be known by the tops becoming yellow and falling down; they are best dried by placing them in some dry shed in thin layers. For sweet potatoes, see directions, of last month. Spinach may be sown for early fall use, but it is yet too early to sow for the winter crop. Red-top, White Globe, and Yellow Aberdeen turnips should now be sown. Ruta-baga turnips sown last month will need thinning.

domain: agronomy


Sleep apnea is a significant sleep disorder that can lead to serious health complications if not detected and managed timely.
As technology advances, wearable tech devices like Fitbit have become increasingly popular for monitoring various health indicators, including signs of sleep apnea. In this article, we will explore the question, “what does sleep apnea look like on Fitbit?”
Let’s delve into the world of sleep apnea and Fitbit’s capabilities in detecting its signs.
Fitbit devices can aid in sleep apnea detection by tracking sleep stages, oxygen saturation, and detecting snoring, although they are not FDA-approved for diagnosing the condition.
Devices such as the Fitbit Sense, Versa series, and Charge series offer various sleep tracking features, but with different capabilities; for example, the Sense includes snore detection, while the Charge series lacks a microphone.
Fitbit data can be valuable for managing sleep apnea by sharing it with healthcare providers, tracking progress over time, and making lifestyle adjustments, but this should complement rather than replace medical advice and treatment.
Identifying Sleep Apnea Signs on Fitbit
Sleep apnea, particularly obstructive sleep apnea, is characterized by interrupted breathing, multiple nightly wake-ups, and lack of restful sleep. Identifying these symptoms is significant because they can lead to serious health complications such as high blood pressure, stroke, and cardiovascular disease.
Although Fitbit devices are not officially approved for diagnosing sleep apnea, they can aid in recognizing potential symptoms by tracking sleep patterns and quality.
Fitbit devices, such as the Fitbit Sense, detect interrupted breathing by monitoring an individual’s oxygen levels during the night and identifying instances when blood oxygen saturation levels fluctuate. While these devices are not recognized as an approved sleep apnea test by the FDA, they can offer insights into sleep patterns that could potentially identify sleep apnea.
Multiple Nightly Wake-Ups
Another significant sign of sleep apnea is multiple nightly wake-ups. Fitbit identifies these wake-ups by monitoring heart rate variability (HRV) and tracking the time spent awake or restless during sleep.
There is a correlation between sleep apnea and nighttime awakenings, making sleep data essential in the potential to diagnose sleep apnea through a sleep study that monitors the patient throughout the night.
Lack of Restful Sleep
A lack of restful sleep, characterized by sleep disorder symptoms such as:
being a restless sleeper, affecting sleep quality
inadequate REM sleep
alterations in deep sleep breathing
experiencing irritability or crankiness
can also be indicative of sleep apnea. Fitbit defines restful sleep based on heart rate, the duration of wakefulness or restlessness, and the various sleep stages, which can assist in identifying such signs.
Fitbit's Role in Sleep Apnea Detection and Monitoring
Fitbit devices significantly contribute to sleep apnea detection and monitoring by measuring heart rate, tracking oxygen saturation, and detecting snoring. Fitbit devices, by tracking heart rate variability and heart rate throughout sleep, can help in recognizing sleep apnea by noticing changes that might suggest breathing disruptions during sleep.
Heart Rate Monitoring
Fitbit devices estimate the heart rate during sleep by analyzing data from both awake and asleep periods. It utilizes a combination of movement and heart rate metrics to assist in identifying sleep patterns and estimating sleep stages.
Studies indicate that there is a strong connection between sleep apnea and heart rate for many individuals. Variations or irregularities in heart rate during sleep could potentially signal the existence of sleep apnea.
Oxygen Saturation Tracking
Fitbit devices like the Versa 3 and Sense come with a SpO2 sensor that gauges blood oxygen levels throughout sleep, providing helpful observations for possibly recognizing sleep apnea. Monitoring oxygen saturation is significant in detecting sleep apnea as it helps in evaluating the cardiorespiratory health of individuals.
Fitbit’s smartwatches are equipped with a built-in microphone that monitors loud snoring events during the night. These events are logged and analyzed using features such as a snore report, which can assist in identifying potential sleep disorders, including sleep apnea, by highlighting snoring patterns that may be linked to the condition.
The usage of the Snore Report feature on Fitbit does lead to heightened battery consumption.
Comparing Fitbit Devices for Sleep Apnea Tracking
Fitbit offers different devices with unique features and capabilities for sleep apnea tracking. These include the Fitbit Sense, Versa series, and Charge series. Each of these devices offers different features and capabilities, providing users with a variety of options based on their preferences and requirements.
The Fitbit Sense offers advanced attributes for tracking sleep apnea, such as sleep stages graph and the Snore & Noise Detect feature, which are not present in all Fitbit models.
The Snore & Noise Detect feature in Fitbit Sense serves to identify snoring and ambient noise, which are potential indicators of sleep apnea.
Fitbit Versa Series
The Fitbit Versa series has the capability to detect indications of sleep apnea, although it does not have official approval for diagnosing sleep-disordered breathing. The Fitbit Versa series, particularly the Fitbit Sense and Fitbit Versa 3, is capable of monitoring sleep stages and identifying snoring through the utilization of the Snore & Noise Detect feature, available as part of Fitbit Premium.
Fitbit Charge Series
The Fitbit Charge series provides the ability to track a range of metrics such as heart rate, movement, and sleep stages, in order to generate a comprehensive sleep score. However, the absence of a microphone does not hinder the Fitbit Charge series’ capacity to track sleep stages, as it utilizes movement and heart-rate patterns to approximate sleep stages.
How to Use Fitbit Data for Sleep Apnea Management
Managing sleep apnea effectively involves:
Detection and monitoring
Understanding the data
Sharing the data with healthcare providers
Track sleep apnea progress over time
Making necessary lifestyle adjustments to manage the condition better.
Sharing Data with Healthcare Providers
The data collected by Fitbit can provide valuable insights into your sleep patterns and potential signs of sleep apnea. Sharing this data with healthcare providers can aid in the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea.
However, it should be noted that this data should not replace medical advice but should be used in conjunction with professional medical consultation and treatment.
Tracking Progress Over Time
Fitbit devices allow users to track their progress over time, providing them with valuable insights into their sleep patterns and potential improvements in their condition. By observing sleep patterns and identifying indicators of sleep apnea, such as frequent awakenings, irregular breathing, or low oxygen levels, users can monitor the effectiveness of their treatments and make necessary adjustments.
Adjusting Lifestyle Habits
Fitbit data can assist users in identifying lifestyle habits that may contribute to sleep apnea, thereby enabling them to detect sleep apnea and make necessary adjustments to improve their condition.
Recommended lifestyle changes to potentially improve sleep apnea include modifying nutrition habits, increasing physical activity, practicing mindfulness, and improving sleep hygiene/environment.
Fitbit vs. Other Sleep Trackers for Sleep Apnea Detection
While Fitbit provides a range of features for sleep apnea tracking, other sleep trackers such as Apple Watch and Withings ScanWatch also offer sleep apnea detection features. Each of these devices has its own advantages and disadvantages, and the choice between them would largely depend on the user’s preferences and specific needs.
The Apple Watch, although not specifically intended for sleep apnea detection, can offer insights into sleep patterns that could be valuable for comprehending the user’s overall sleep health. However, it’s worth mentioning that the Apple Watch does not carry FDA approval for detecting sleep apnea.
The Withings ScanWatch comes with features like a medical-grade SpO2 sensor, an ECG function, and sleep tracking capabilities, which can be helpful in recognizing potential sleep apnea interruptions. However, it does not currently have well-defined sleep apnea monitoring capabilities, and its watch hands may occasionally obstruct the screen.
In conclusion, Fitbit provides a valuable tool for tracking and monitoring potential signs of sleep apnea. With features such as heart rate monitoring, oxygen saturation tracking, and snore detection, Fitbit devices can offer insights into sleep patterns that can aid in the detection and management of sleep apnea. However, it’s important to note that while Fitbit can provide valuable data, it should not replace professional medical advice and diagnosis.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you tell if you have sleep apnea from a Fitbit?
No, Fitbit can provide data on sleep patterns but is not capable of diagnosing sleep apnea. The device is not a medical device and is not regulated by the FDA.
What does sleep apnea look like on a fitness tracker?
Sleep apnea can appear on a fitness tracker as a decrease in heart rate and blood oxygen levels during sleep. If these levels stay low for extended periods, it may indicate sleep apnea, and you should consult a doctor for a treatment plan.
What does a good Fitbit sleep score look like?
A good Fitbit sleep score ranges from 90 to 100 (Excellent) and 80 to 89 (Good), with most people scoring between 72 and 83. Fair scores range from 60 to 79, and poor scores are less than 60.
Can Fitbit data replace medical advice?
No, Fitbit data should not be used as a substitute for medical advice and guidance from a healthcare professional.
Can Fitbit data be shared with healthcare providers?
Yes, Fitbit data can be shared with healthcare providers by sending the report directly to your healthcare professional.


NASA’s space observatory Kepler may have discovered a possibly Earth-like planet, a rocky world orbiting a Sun-like star at almost the exact same distance Earth orbits our own Sun: Kepler-452b!
“The new Earth” is located 1,400 light-years from us. It orbits a Sun-like star that is 4% more massive and 10% brighter than our Sun. Kepler-452b is 1.6 times the size of Earth and the scientists are fairly sure that it is a rocky world.
Mike Butcher, editor-at-large of TechCrunch, tweeted today:
NASA has called a press conf for 12pm EST Thurs about an Earth-like world 1,400 light years away called Kepler 452b http://t.co/K5Cu3v542z
— Mike Butcher (@mikebutcher) July 22, 2015
A Kepler-452b year is 384.84 Earth days and the planet is 5% more distant from its star than our planet is from the Sun. This
The bounds of the CHZ are calculated using the known requirements of Earth’s biosphere, its position in the Solar System and the amount of radiant energy it receives from the Sun. Due to the importance of liquid water to life
The mass of Kepler-452b can’t be directly determined yet, but the scientists think it may be about five times that of Earth.
This is not the first Earth-sized planet found in a habitable zone: for example, Kepler-186f, which discovered last year about 490 light-years (151 pc) from the Earth, is more similar in size to our planet. But it is orbited a red dwarf star, smaller and cooler than the Sun.
We can’t know if there’s life on the planet, and probably we won’t know for a long time. But we’re on the track. John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate said that: “Kepler 452b is one small step in answering the question [of are we alone] today,”, in a press conference.
Launched in March 2009, Kepler is the first NASA mission to detect Earth-size planets orbiting distant stars in or near the habitable zone — the range of distances from a star in which the surface temperature of an orbiting planet might sustain liquid water. The telescope has since confirmed more than 1,000 exoplanets and more than 3,000 planet candidates spanning a wide range of sizes and orbital distances, including those in the habitable zone.
Kepler is part of NASA’s Discovery Program of relatively low-cost, focused primary science missions.
Update: NASA retires Kepler Space Telescope
After nine and a half years of operation, the Kepler Space Telescope’s reaction control system fuel was depleted, and NASA announced its retirement on October 30, 2018.
During its service, the space telescope has observed 530,506 stars and detected 2,662 exoplanets.
- Kepler (spacecraft) on Wikipedia
- Circumstellar habitable zone on Wikipedia
- Kepler Space Telescope on Wikipedia
- Kepler Space Telescope mission page on the NASA website
- Wally Funk becomes the oldest person to fly in space at 82 years old - July 20, 2021
- Heat dome explained - July 19, 2021
- Hadfield decorates Richard Branson with Astronaut Badge - July 11, 2021


This past month in Geneva a conference took place bringing together the world’s foremost experiments in cosmic ray physics and indirect dark matter detection: “AMS Days at CERN”. I took a break from thesis-writing, grabbed a bag of popcorn, and sat down to watch a couple of the lectures via webcast. There was a stellar lineup, including but not limited to talks from IceCube, the Pierre Auger Observatory, H.E.S.S. and CTA, Fermi-LAT, and CREAM. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) experiment was, of course, the star of the show. It is the AMS and its latest results that I’d like to focus on now.
But first, I’d like to give a brief introduction to cosmic rays, since that’s what AMS studies.
It turns out that space is not as empty as one might think. The Earth is constantly being bombarded by extremely-high-energy particles from all directions. These cosmic rays were discovered in the early twentieth century by the Austrian physicist Victor Hess. Hess made several balloon-borne measurements of the Earth’s natural radiation at various altitudes and observed that the incidence of ionizing radiation actually increased with ascent, the exact opposite of what you would expect if all radioactivity came from the earth.
The word “ray” is actually something of a misnomer – Cosmic rays are primarily charged matter particles rather than electromagnetic radiation. Their makeup goes as follows: approximately 98% are nuclei, of which 90% of are protons, 9% are alpha particles (helium nuclei), and only a small proportion heavier nuclei; and approximately 2% electrons and positrons. Only very small trace amounts (less than one ten-thousandth the number of protons) of antimatter are present, and of this, it is all positrons and antiprotons – not a single antihelium or heavier anti-nucleus has been discovered. There are two types of cosmic rays: primary rays, which come directly from extrasolar sources, and secondary rays, which come from primary rays crashing into the interstellar medium and forming new particles through processes such as nuclear spallation. Particles resulting from cosmic ray collisions with the Earth’s atmosphere are also considered secondary cosmic rays – these include particles like pions, kaons, and muons, and their decay products.
Despite being discovered over a hundred years ago, cosmic rays remain in a lot of ways a big mystery. For one thing, we don’t know exactly where they come from. Because cosmic rays are generally electrically charged, they don’t travel to us straight from the source. Rather, they are accelerated this way and that by magnetic fields in space so that when they finally reach us they could be coming from any direction at all. Indeed, the cosmic ray flux that we see is completely isotropic, or the same in all directions.
Not only do they not come straight from the source, but we don’t even know what that source is. These particles move orders of magnitude faster than particles in our most powerful accelerators on Earth. Astronomers’ best guess is that cosmic rays are accelerated by magnetic shocks from supernovae. But even supernovae aren’t enough to accelerate the highest-energy cosmic rays. Moreover, there are features in the cosmic ray energy spectrum that we just don’t understand (see Fig. 2). Two kinks, a “knee” at about 1016 eV and an “ankle” at about 1018 eV could indicate the turning on or off of some astrophysical process. Experiments like the Pierre Auger Observatory were designed to study these ultra-high-energy particles and hopefully will tell up a little bit more about them in the next few years.
The AMS is primarily interested in lower-energy cosmic rays. For four years, ever since its launch up to the International Space Station, it’s been cruising the skies and collecting cosmic rays by the tens of billions. I will not address the experimental design and software here. Instead I refer the reader to one of my previous articles, “Dark Skies II- Indirect Detection and the Quest for the Smoking Gun”.
In addition to precision studies of the composition and flux of cosmic rays, the AMS has three main science goals: (1) Investigating the matter-antimatter asymmetry by searching for primordial antimatter. (2) Searching for dark matter annihilation products amidst the cosmic rays. And (3), looking for strangelets and other exotic forms of matter.
The very small fraction of cosmic rays made up of antimatter is relevant not just for the first goal but for the second as well. Not many processes that we know about can produce positrons and antiprotons, but as I mention in “Dark Skies II”, dark matter annihilations into Standard Model particles could be one of those processes. Any blips or features in the cosmic ray antimatter spectrum could indicate dark matter annihilations at work.
On April 14 at “AMS Days at CERN”, Professor Andrei Kounine of MIT presented the latest results from AMS.
The first part of Kounine’s talk focused on a precise characterization of the positron fraction presented by the AMS collaboration in September 2014 and a discussion of the relevant systematics. In the absence of new physics processes, we expect the positron fraction to be smooth and decreasing with energy. As you can see in Fig. 3, however, the positron fraction starts rising at approximately 8 GeV and increases steadily up to about 250 GeV. The curve hits a maximum at about 275 GeV and then appears to begin to turn over, although at these energies the measurements are limited by statistics and more data is needed to determine exactly what happens beyond this point. Models of dark matter annihilation predict a much steeper drop-off than do models where the positron excess is produced by, say, pulsars. Five possible sources of systematic error were identified, all of which have been heavily investigated. These included a small asymmetry in positron and electron acceptance due to slight differences in some of the bits of the tracker; variations in efficiency with respect to energy of the incoming particle; binning errors, which are mitigated due to high experimental resolution; low statistics at the tails of the electron and positron distributions; and “charge confusion”, or the misidentification of electrons as positrons, which happens only in a very small number of cases.
Kounine also presented a never-before-seen, not-yet-published measurement of the antiproton-proton ratio as measured by AMS, which you can see in Fig. 4. This curve represents a total of 290,000 antiprotons selected out of total of 54 billion events collected by AMS over the past 4 years. Many of the same systematics (acceptance asymmetry, charge confusion, and so on) as in the positron measurement are relevant here. Work on the antiproton analysis is ongoing, however, and according to Kounine it’s too soon to try to match models to the data.
As a dark matter physicist, the question in my mind is, do these measurements represent dark matter annihilations? Professor Subir Sarkar of Oxford and the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen thinks not. In his talk at “AMS Days”, Sarkar argues that the dark matter annihilation cross-section necessary to match the positron flux seen by AMS and other experiments such as Fermi-LAT and PAMELA needs to be so large that by all rights the dark matter in the universe should have all annihilated away already. This is inconsistent with the observed dark matter density in our galaxy. You can get around this with theoretical models that incorporate new kinds of long-range forces. However, the observed antiproton flux, according to Sarkar, is consistent with background. Therefore dark matter would have to be able to annihilate into leptons (electrons and positrons, muons, neutrinos, and so on) but not quarks. Such models exist, but now we’re starting to severely restrict our model space. Moreover, dark matter annihilating in the early universe near the time of recombination should leave visible imprints in the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), which have not yet been seen. CMB experiments such as Planck therefore disfavor a dark matter explanation for the observed peak in positron fraction.
Sarkar then goes on to present an alternate model where secondary cosmic ray particles such as positrons are accelerated by the same mechanisms (magnetic shocks from supernovae, pulsars, and other cosmic accelerators) that accelerate primary cosmic rays. Then, if there are invisible accelerators in our nearby galactic neighborhood, as seems likely because electrons and positrons can’t propagate very far without losing energy due to interactions with starlight and the CMB, it could be possible to get very large fluctuations in the cosmic ray flux due purely to the randomness of how these accelerators are distributed around us.
Regardless of whether or not the AMS has actually seen a dark matter signal, the data are finally beginning to be precise enough that we can start really pinning down how cosmic rays backgrounds are created and propagated. I encourage you to check out some of the webcasts at “AMS Days at CERN” for yourself. Although the event is over the webcasts are still available in the CERN document archive here.


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Devin Dawson Is at His Most Vulnerable on Raw and Real ‘Dark Horse’ [Listen]
Devin Dawson returns with a third single from his debut album, the project's title track, "Dark Horse." It's a song that best represents who he is as a person and as a musician; an introspective look at the California native with honest lyrics and heartfelt vocals.
"I'll side with the outsiders / Those long-shot last-round fighters / Anyone who ain't afraid to stray off course / My heart bleeds for country music / Where the honest outlaw truth is / No, I ain't no white knight / I'm a little more dark horse," he sings on the chorus.
The stripped-down ballad has Dawson's vocals at the forefront, alongside delicate acoustic guitar finger picking and soaring pedal-steel accompaniment. The track's soft music helps to highlight Dawson's whispered vocals and memorable lyrics.
"I wrote that song in a weird, selfish way. I wrote it for myself, about myself. I wanted for people to get to know me," he previously told Taste of Country. "It's become this really relatable song for other people who go, 'That's me. That's who I am.' It's really cool to see something that started out so selfish to become this movement and this relatable thing that people have latched onto."
"Dark Horse" follows Dawson's previous two singles, "Asking for a Friend" and Top 5 hit "All on Me."
Did You Know?: The song almost didn't make it onto the album. After finishing up some studio time with Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Brothers Osborne, Little Big Town), Dawson met up with friends and songwriters Andy Albert and Andrew DeRoberts. The three co-writers penned the song and Dawson immediately knew "Dark Horse" had to become the album's title track.
Devin Dawson's "Dark Horse" Lyrics:
People always ask why I wear black / Where'd I get my style and why I never smile in pictures / They ask me what I drink, I'll sip on anything / But I'm a little more California smoke than liquor / No, it ain't that I'm self-conscious, I'm just conscious of myself
I'll side with the outsiders / Those long-shot last-round fighters / Anyone who ain't afraid to stray off course / My heart bleeds for country music / Where the honest outlaw truth is / No, I ain't no white knight / I'm a little more dark horse
No, I don't go to church, can't quote a Bible verse / I couldn't sing a song, that don't mean that I don't talk to Jesus / Girls say I push them off, that I can't open up / But I ain't afraid of love, when I say it I just want to mean it
No, it ain't that I'm self-conscious / I'm just conscious of myself / And I don't know how to be nobody else
Dark horse, ooh yeah / Dark horse / Dark horse
Devin Dawson's "She Burns" Cover Is Amazing!