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These are the first 4 flag books that I made. This effort was prompted by the B.E.S.T Book Swap. Our last swap was all about flag books so I had to make one. But I had never made one before.
The very first one: it uses found images for the flags and the accordion, and the cover has some of my paste paper on there. There is a quote about blue skies printed on the back of the flags.
The second one: it also uses found images for the flags. There are a few lines from the Frost poem "Birches" printed on the backs of these flags. The book cloth on the cover was hand-painted then backed with paper to make book cloth. I did not do the painting, though, it was a friend with whom I swapped some book cloth several years ago (thank you Leah, if you ever happen by here and see this!).
The third one: this was made in preparation of the fourth since I had an idea for the fourth, but wanted to try it first. I used more found images for the flags (somehow I manage to collect a lot of images in triplicate or quadruplicate or quintuplicate and this turns out to be handy when playing with the flag book structure). So I wanted the silly bobkitten (or whatever sort of beast that is) to pop through a frame.
After successfully getting that bobkitten to pop through his frame, I was ready to do it again with real flags. So, this very literal flag book is made with Canada flags, obviously. And it worked, the maple leaf pops through nicely. Some of my own marbled paper is on the cover. This is the book that I submitted to the B.E.S.T Book Swap and you can check out all the flag books on the team's blog if you are interested.

domain: design


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Apple has received much criticism for how Siri seems to lag behind more modern competitors like Amazon Alexa and especially the new Google Assistant, but also Microsoft's Cortana are better at some things.
One area where Apple on the other hand in the forefront is the language support. Siri is available in 21 languages in 36 countries. Cortana supports 8 languages in 13 countries, Google Assistant only four languages, and Alexa understands only English and German. Siri is the only assistant who understand Swedish.
In an interview with Reuters describing Apple's head of speech Alex Acero how the company builds up support for new languages.
It starts with letting a group of speakers of the language in question read a series of texts with different dialects and accents. These form the basis for a new language model which can then be improved in stages.
Before it is time for Siri Apple adds support for dictation. Recordings from there then sent anonymous to Apple, from users who have approved it, and helps to improve the language model's ability to recognize the right word. Finally hired voice actors to give voice to Siri in the new language, before it rolls out in an iOS update.
New languages do not support all of the Siri functionality from the beginning, but it builds up little by away.

domain: news


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Masquerade began in late 2012, founded by vocalist Suzi Sabotage and then-bassist Sebastian Holm. Before the end of 2012, Masquerade was quite a long time a vaguer post-punk project with no specific name, riddled with temporary musicians who changed frequently. The first shows were set up under these circumstances, which included playing at Finland's most famous goth festival, Lumous, the next summer which the band was accepted in already on the basis of a rehearsal room recording of Play Dead (first song Masquerade ever wrote), featuring a drum machine.
The first solid line-up consisted of Markus on drums and Joel on guitar in the beginning of 2013, which both were part of creating Masquerade's distinct sound. The band started to evolve as a whole followed by such early songs as Needle Through a Bug, Cuts and All Things Hurt. Group soon gathered interest in Finland and even abroad despite having no recorded music or video, ending up on national television in August, new shows conjuring up. Helsinki's most significant punk venue Lepakkomies held their first official gig, and the event was sold out.
Their first release was a promotional demo on internet consisting of three songs. They were praised and widespread over all expectations and brought Masquerade a lot of additional attention, i.e. being listed in Cvlt Nation's six best releases of 2013. The first music video was one hundred percent self-made clip for Needle Through a Bug, in which they already had a new bassist. Early in 2014, they got a proposal from Fight Records for a maxi-EP, which they went to record to a studio in Kouvola, Finland for three days in February. After that Masquerade was set for March tour in their Finland, England and Sweden.
A music video for All Things Hurt, the second song on the upcoming record, was released in spring, following the departure of Joel and Markus. In July song Cry Like Birds was published to promote the record. October 2014 held finally the day when the maxi-EP Blood is the New Black was released, and also got a distributor in the USA, Mass Media Records. In January 2015 our current bassist Jacques Saph joined in. On March 8th the band was seen on MTV3 channel as guests in a programme called Tähdet, tähdet. In April the band took William Freyermuth in drums and Anton Välimaa in guitar.
June 2015 saw the band's first Russian gigs and in August they embarked upon their first journey outside of Europe: U.S.A. and Mexico. Shortly after that, they started to record and mix the upcoming album, releasing a new digi-single Panic Paranoia. In June 2016, the guitar was taken over by Rudy Soininen. Their latest album, Ritual, saw daylight on 15th July 2016, including ten tracks. Aside of songwriting, the band produced the mixing, mastering and artwork of this record.
In August 2016 the band signed a contract with Danse Macabre Records, who later released Ritual in CD format. In September 2016 Masquerade set upon a Europe tour which conquered two new countries, Italy and Austria.
The band played at the legendary Wave Gotik Treffen in June 2017, followed by release of their fifth music video (a song off the forthcoming second album) "Too Depressed to Dance".

domain: artistic


While the Heat notched a 110-104 win over the heavily depleted Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, Oladipo exited with 5:35 minutes left in the fourth quarter after tumbling down after a dunk. Sun Sentinel‘s Ira Winderman reported that “X-rays on Oladipo’s right knee came back negative” and will undergo an MRI on Friday.
The latest Heat news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Heat newsletter here!
It’s reassuring to know that the 28-year-old’s X-rays didn’t show anything severely wrong with his right knee, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that Oladipo never fully recovered from rupturing the quadriceps tendon in that same knee on January 23, 2019. After undergoing surgery, Oladipo missed the rest of the 2018- 2019 NBA season and didn’t return to action until January 29, 2020.
The Heat were fully aware Oladipo was still not 100% when they acquired him from the Rockets and decided it was best that he only played one game when the team has back-to-backs. On April 3, Oladipo spoke about his recovery process. “One leg is stronger than the other,” he said. “So I have some hypertrophy in one leg than the other. So working my way back and finding my balance is something I’m continuing to work at.”
Before taking an awkward fall, Oladipo was putting on a great performance on April 8. He scored 18 points, with four rebounds, two assists, three steals, and a blocked shot.
Jimmy Butler & Bam Adebayo Need Oladipo to Return ASAP
While it’s frustrating for fans to see the team’s newest and most exciting addition get injured so soon, it’s an especially tough blow for his teammates. Heat’s team leader Jimmy Butler expressed concern for the guard following the team’s win on Thursday night as it seemed as if he was just finding his rhythm with the Heat.
“He was out there hoopin’. I’m happy for him,” Butler said. “Hopefully, he’s more and more in a rhythm and he’s OK. We definitely need that guy. We want him back.”
“Playing the way he played [Thursday], making shots, getting to the cup, getting to the line, getting everybody else involved, and, of course, playing defense, we’d always want that guy to be OK, all of our guys. But just to be here and have to leave the game, hopefully we hear good news.”
Bam Adebayo also hopes to his teammate back on the court as soon as possible. “You never want to see one of your brothers go down, so I’m glad he’s OK, at the end of the day,” Adebayo said, during the postgame media conference. “He came in, we walked in, he was congratulating us on the win I feel like he’s OK. He just had a little scare.”


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CCTV footage from Russia captured the moment a person tied their dog to the door of a veterinary clinic then walked away. Apparently, the owner left a note claiming the dog was "inadequate" and "should be put down" — which is heartbreaking for obvious reasons.
Thankfully, the kind humans at the clinic took in the sweet pup, named Gray, and have been giving him plenty of love since. Gray is now looking for his forever home, and the clinic is even offering whoever adopts him free dog food for a year since Gray requires special care. We hope this good boy finds a loving home soon!

domain: pet


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Arbarello, E., Cornalba, M., Griffiths, P., Harris, J.D.
1985, XVI, 387 p.
Springer eBooks may be purchased by end-customers only and are sold without copy protection (DRM free). Instead, all eBooks include personalized watermarks. This means you can read the Springer eBooks across numerous devices such as Laptops, eReaders, and tablets.
You can pay for Springer eBooks with Visa, Mastercard, American Express or Paypal.
After the purchase you can directly download the eBook file or read it online in our Springer eBook Reader. Furthermore your eBook will be stored in your MySpringer account. So you can always re-download your eBooks.
In recent years there has been enormous activity in the theory of algebraic curves. Many long-standing problems have been solved using the general techniques developed in algebraic geometry during the 1950's and 1960's. Additionally, unexpected and deep connections between algebraic curves and differential equations have been uncovered, and these in turn shed light on other classical problems in curve theory. It seems fair to say that the theory of algebraic curves looks completely different now from how it appeared 15 years ago; in particular, our current state of knowledge repre sents a significant advance beyond the legacy left by the classical geometers such as Noether, Castelnuovo, Enriques, and Severi. These books give a presentation of one of the central areas of this recent activity; namely, the study of linear series on both a fixed curve (Volume I) and on a variable curve (Volume II). Our goal is to give a comprehensive and self-contained account of the extrinsic geometry of algebraic curves, which in our opinion constitutes the main geometric core of the recent advances in curve theory. Along the way we shall, of course, discuss appli cations of the theory of linear series to a number of classical topics (e.g., the geometry of the Riemann theta divisor) as well as to some of the current research (e.g., the Kodaira dimension of the moduli space of curves).
Preliminaries.- Determinantal Varieties.- to Special Divisors.- The Varieties of Special Linear Series on a Curve.- The Basic Results of the Brill-Noether Theory.- The Geometric Theory of Riemann’s Theta Function.- The Existence and Connectedness Theorems for W d r (C).- Enumerative Geometry of Curves.

domain: library


text:
A Half Decade Track by Track Retrospective of “Wide Awake” by Parquet Courts
“Wide Awake” Parquet Courts reaches its 5th anniversary. To celebrate we look back through its 13 tracks, and how its message applies to today.
Escape the April snow (@Iowa, why?) with the infectious singing of Jamila Woods. She performed at The Englert Theatre on April 8th to close out the 2018 Mission Creek Festival. Image via www.jamila-woods.com


My vote goes to Joe Calzaghe, the greatest boxer Britain ever produced, but the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award seems certain to go to F1 champ Lewis Hamilton, who bookies have as 8-15 on.
Hamilton's nearest rivals are Olympic gold medallists, swimmer Rebecca Adlington and cyclist Chris Hoy.
Significantly, there's not a footballer in sight. No wonder, as fans become quietly sick of the game. The diving, cheating, mediocrities making millions - in the end it just proves too much.
It's the first season since I was four that I will get to Christmas without seeing a live football match.
And I don't miss it.
Possibly I am just a sad old man with spit on his carpet slippers but football has become like music - nowhere near as good as it used to be.
There is no question that Hamilton is about to be hailed as our greatest sportsman.
But when will a footballer ever win the award again?


is back at it again with his
Diplo & Friends
premiered remix to the throwback jam,
Drop It Like It's Hot
. If Snoop didn't have you turnt up with the original, this one will surely get you moving. Be on the look out for more Gunter remixes in the coming weeks!


text:
Beverly 1980 Claudia Van Doren Uncredited 1983 Uncredited 1984 Mrs.
Letts born July 4, 1965 is an American actor, playwright and screenwriter.
Clare 3 episodes 1991 The Rape of Doctor Willis Dr.
Bluett Television film 1990—1991 Dawn St.
For her portrayal of on the comedy 2003—15 , she received a total of four nominations.


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IoT Botnets – A Guide From Semalt On How To Protect Your Computer
No doubt, Zeus, Tigerbot, and Droid Dream are the most common examples of mobile botnets which carry out their tasks and damage other platforms almost daily. However, the IoT emergence became a real event in the botnet field, which affected a large number of devices worldwide. The security of the Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the main concerns these days. The evolution of the IoT botnets is the burning matters of cybersecurity nowadays. Another botnet we have to speak about is Mirai botnet that launched various high-profile DDoS attacks. It affected a large number of technical and non-technical devices. The IoT devices are widely used for professional and non-professional purposes. They follow strict security rules, but still, their functioning is not up to the mark.
How to detect and prevent the IoT botnet attacks?
You can easily detect and prevent the IoT attacks by sticking to the following methods offered by Igor Gamanenko, the Semalt Customer Success Manager:
Method №1: Basic cybersecurity measures:
This is the time when you should seriously think about detecting and preventing the IoT botnet attacks. The basic cybersecurity measures are not sufficient, which means you have to think of something else than the traditional techniques.
Method №2: Passive and active mechanisms:
There are different passive and active mechanisms for the detection of botnets and IoT attacks. The best botnet detection methods are based on the evaluation and analysis of traffic between the botmasters and bots.
Method №3: The HTTP services:
The botnets which depend on the HTTP services for their tasks and communications are difficult to detect. This is because the communication between the botmasters and the bots is always in the encrypted format.
Method №4: Collective Efforts
To prevent botnet attacks, you should adopt the collective efforts of enterprises, security experts, product companies, domain registrars, domain registries, cloud service providers, and local and international law enforcement companies.
Method №5: Coordinated technique and remediating the botnet attacks:
The coordinated and collective effort you need to detect, remove, notify, and remediate the botnet attack is avoiding suspicious websites and blogs. Awareness about the IoT botnets and cybersecurity is all you need to survive online. Plus, you should be aware of the cybersecurity threats and risks so that you can help the other users too. You should detect and protect the threats under the supervision of a cyber security officer. Defense is the only way you can detect the IoT botnet attacks and can prevent them to a great extent.
You should always remember that during botnet and IoT attacks, your computer gets infected by viruses spreading spam and sending phishing emails to the users. It aims to trap users to click on suspicious links and download strange files.


In her speech at the European Parliament, the President of the European Commission also mentioned Georgia in relation to Russia. She mentioned this theme while talking about the poisoning of the leader of the Russian opposition, Alexei Navalny.
“To those that advocate closer ties with Russia, I say that the poisoning of Alexei Navalny with an advanced chemical agent is not a one off. We have seen the pattern in Georgia and Ukraine, Syria and Salisbury – and in election meddling around the world. This pattern is not changing – and no pipeline will change that”, - said Ursula von der Leyen.


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Taylor Langdon clinched the amateur barrel racing title aboard her mare, BB Frenchgirl, on the night of Nov. 8 at the American Quarter Horse Association World Championship Show in Oklahoma City.
By 9 a.m. the next day, Langdon was back in class at Texas Tech.
"I've had to miss a lot of class to go to college rodeos and I couldn't afford to miss any more," said Langdon, 20, a junior who is working on a bachelor's degree in exercise sports science.
Langdon also competes on Texas Tech's women's rodeo team, which is currently ranked No. 1 in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Southwest Region standings. She is ranked No. 5 in the region's 2011-2012 barrel racing standings.
But last year, she won the regional barrel racing title and then finished fifth in the event at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo.
Earlier this month at the 2011 AQHA World Championship Show, Langdon clinched her second consecutive amateur barrel racing title aboard BB Frenchgirl.
"It added to the highs that I've had this year with my mare," Langdon said of winning the AQHA title.
Langdon received BB Frenchgirl in 2009 as a graduation present after earning her diploma from Aubrey High School in Aubrey and then trained the mare to compete in barrel racing.
"She loves her job," Langdon said. "I've never had to make her do it."
Langdon said BB Frenchgirl, a 7-year-old mare, has lots of natural ability.
"She's kind of a freak - she has so much athletic ability," Langdon said. "It just comes easy to her."
Near a milestone
Trevor Brazile is only one title away from tying the late Jim Shoulders for the most world championships in multiple categories in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.
After clinching the world steer roping title last weekend, Brazile has 15 gold buckles. Shoulders, an all-around and bareback and bull riding kingpin, snared a record 16 world titles in the late 1940s and 1950s.
Brazile, who lives in Decatur, is expected to at least earn a 16th title at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas on Dec. 1-10. After pocketing $19,538 at last weekend's National Finals Steer Roping in Guthrie, Okla., Brazile is ranked No. 1 in the all-around race with $259,043. No. 2 ranked Shane Proctor has $119,044.
Brazile has qualified for the NFR in tie-down roping and team roping. Proctor has qualified only in bull riding. While it's mathematically possible for Proctor to overtake Brazile, it's highly unlikely.
Another milestone that Brazile can reach is tying the PRCA record for the most world titles. That record currently is held by Guy Allen who has 18 steer roping championships. Brazile can catch Allen by clinching the world all-around buckle plus the tie-down roping and team roping heading titles at the 2011 NFR.
As the National Cutting Horse Association prepares for the 50th annual World Championship Futurity (Nov. 21-Dec. 10 in Fort Worth), the equine organization is touting a history book on www.nchacutting.com that commemorates the sport's premier show.
Each day through Dec. 9, the NCHA will run an excerpt on a Futurity open division champion from the book Cutting Horse Gold: 50 Years of the NCHA Futurity, written by Sally Harrison, a highly respected historian of the sport.
On Nov. 14, for example, the NCHA ran a piece on Kathy Daughn's 1985 Futurity victory aboard a gelding named The Gemnist. Daughn and Lindy Burch, the 1980 champion, are the only two women who have earned Futurity open titles.
Harrison noted that "at 29, The Gemnist is the oldest living Futurity champion."
PBR stadium tour
The Professional Bull Riders announced its Built Ford Tough Series, the association's top tier tour, will visit 23 states with 28 shows in 2012. The season kicks off at New York's Madison Square Garden (Jan. 6-8) and culminates in Las Vegas at the 2012 PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals (Oct. 24-28).
The 2012 schedule includes an inaugural four-week stadium tour, in which the Ford Series stops at Detroit's Ford Field (March 10) and Houston's Reliant Stadium (Feb. 25) for the first time. The tour also will visit Atlanta's Georgia Dome (Feb. 18) and Arlington's Cowboys Stadium (March 3).
BRETT HOFFMAN, A TEXAS COWBOY HALL OF FAME MEMBER, HAS WRITTEN A RODEO COLUMN FOR THE FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM DURING THE PAST TWO DECADES. EMAIL HIM AT BRETT@MYRODEOINSIDER.COM.

domain: sports


text:
Stunning 1960's French Screen in Teal Blue and Gold Lacquer
Exceptional vintage French four-panel teal blue and gold lacquer screen.
As this piece may be in our off-site storage, please call ahead to schedule a viewing.
|TITLE:||Stunning 1960's French Screen in Teal Blue and Gold Lacquer|
|DATE OF MANUFACTURE:||1960's|
|CONDITION:||Excellent vintage condition.|
|LENGTH:||4 x 17.75|
|HEIGHT:||7 ft. 2.5 in. (220 cm)|
|DEALER LOCATION:||New York, NY|
|NUMBER OF ITEMS:||1|
With 1stdibs, you can always collect with confidence.


text:
It May Be Time for a Financial Checkup
It’s never a bad time to speak with your financial professional about changes in your situation.
Have A Question About This Topic?
Looking forward to retirement? It's critical to understand the difference between immediate and deferred annuities.
How long does a $20 bill last?
In good times and bad, consistently saving a percentage of your income is a sound financial practice.

domain: economics


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Not only am I addicted to all things Salted Caramel (see Salted Caramel Ice cream recipe here) – I am addicted to all things Truffle (see Truffle Popcorn here)… so as promised, here is my recipe for Truffle Mac’n’Cheese. Also coming soon, my BBQ meal plan including Steak with Truffle Butter…
85g Gruyère, grated
60g freshly grated parmesan
150g mascarpone cheese
1 tsp truffle salsa
Truffle salt to taste
40g panko breadcrumbs (or fresh breadcrumbs)
20g freshly grated parmesan
Cook the pasta according to packet instructions. Drain, return to pan and set aside when ready.
Melt the butter, stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually add the milk, stirring over a low heat for 5-6 mins until it starts to thicken. Take off the heat and stir in the Gruyère and parmesan, then the mascapone.
Stir through the truffle salsa and season with truffle salt (add more of both if you would like a stronger taste).
Pour the cheese mixture over the drained pasta and heat through gently.
Transfer to a greaseproof oven dish and top with the breadcrumbs and parmesan and more truffle salt.
Place under a preheated grill until golden and bubbling.
This is very hearty and cheesy and oh so yum. You can also add chopped tomatoes (4, skinned, seeded and chopped), and 75 grams of sliced ham, shredded. I tossed through 1/2 cup frozen peas in this batch.

domain: food


Asked by: Arantzazu Perdiceshome and garden home appliances
Can u wash a Sherpa?
Last Updated: 23rd April, 2020
Click to see full answer.
In this way, can you machine wash Sherpa?
When washing your Sherpa pullover, setyour washing machine to a low temperature setting and put iton a delicate spin cycle. Use mild laundry detergent(fragrance-free, dye-free) only–no fabric softeners orbleach!
Beside above, how do you wash fuzzy sweaters? A step-by-step guide:
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Results: Generally experienced within 15 minutes. For long lasting effects, please read the label on your bottle carefully.
Size: 30ml (lasts 1-2 months)

domain: medical


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- Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
What to study?
For Prelims: What are Organoids? Features.
For Mains: Applications and ethical concerns.
Context: We’ve heard a lot in the last few years about organoids, the so-called “brains in a dish” created in labs by neuroscientists.
However, experts have expressed concerns over growing mini-brains or organoids in the laboratory that can perceive or feel things.
Why worry about this?
In some cases, scientists have already transplanted such lab-grown brain organoid to adult animals.
- The transplanted organoid had integrated with the animal brain, grown new neuronal connections and responded to light.
- Similarly, lung organoid transplanted into mice was able to form branching airways and early alveolar structures.
These are seen as a step towards potential “humanisation” of host animals.
What is an organoid?
Organoids are a group of cells grown in laboratories into three-dimensional, miniature structures that mimic the cell arrangement of a fully-grown organ.
- They are tiny (typically the size of a pea) organ-like structures that do not achieve all the functional maturity of human organs but often resemble the early stages of a developing tissue.
- Most organoids contain only a subset of all the cells seen in a real organ, but lack blood vessels to make them fully functional.
How are organoids grown in the laboratory?
Grown in the lab using stem cells that can become any of the specialised cells seen in the human body, or stem cells taken from the organ or adults cells that have been induced to behave like stem cells, scientifically called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC).
- Stem cells are provided with nutrients and other specific molecules to grow and become cells resembling a specific organ.
- The growing cells are capable of self-organising into cellular structures of a specific organ and can partly replicate complex functions of mature organs — physiological processes to regeneration and being in a diseased state.
- Organoids of the brain, small intestine, kidney, heart, stomach, eyes, liver, pancreas, prostate, salivary glands, and inner ear to name a few have already been developed in the laboratory.
- Organoids offer new opportunities to studying proteins and genes that are critical for the development of an organ. This helps in knowing how a mutation in a specific gene causes a disease or disorder.
- For example, Researchers have used brain organoids to study how the Zika virus affects brain development in the embryo.
- Since the organoids closely resemble mature tissues, it opens up new vistas. These include studying the complex arrangements of cells in three-dimension and their function in detail, and understanding how cells assemble into organs.
- Organoids can be used to study the safety and efficacy of new drugs and also test the response of tissues to existing medicines.
- Organoids will bring precision medicine closer to reality by developing patient-specific treatment strategies by studying which drugs the patient is most sensitive to.
What are the ethical challenges of growing organoids?
Scientists argue that organoids do not have sensory inputs and sensory connections from the brain are limited. Isolated regions of the brain cannot communicate with other brain regions or generate motor signals. Thus, the possibility of consciousness or other higher-order perceptive properties [such as the ability to feel distress] emerging seems extremely remote.
Sources: the Hindu.

domain: health


The Morgan Street Bridge in Rockford, Illinois, carries more than 6,000 cars over the Rock River daily. Over the years, the bridge became structurally unsafe. Crawford, Murphy & Tilley (CMT) hired Fehr Graham to perform hazardous waste consulting services for the bridge demolition and replacement.
Fehr Graham completed a Preliminary Environmental Site Investigation for the bridge. Our team collected samples from 27 soil borings to test for contaminants like volatile and semi-volatile organic compounds, inorganics, polychlorinated biphenyls and pesticides. Tests showed low-level impacts of inorganic metals and polynuclear aromatic compounds, which can cause carcinogenic reactions in the body. We then provided the technical details needed to manage the impacted soil during construction.
Our team worked with CMT to prepare the special provisions for Section 669 on the specifications for the project. This included defining the lateral extent of the impacted areas by station, off-set and depth. Pay items were developed for the bid documents. Fehr Graham also provided Phase III engineering services related to observing the removal and management of the impacted soils during construction.
The new bridge has created a safe connection from the west to east side of the Rock River and adds aesthetic value to the growing neighborhoods nearby.
AT A GLANCE
» Reviewed documents.
» Conducted site investigation.
» Prepared site investigation results and monthly progress reports.
» Evaluated remediation options and costs.
» Estimated special provisions, pay items and quantities.
» Attended project kick-off, city official and internal meetings.
» Completed field checks and plan-in-hand review.
» Prepared quality assurance plan.
» Coordinated utilities, personnel planning and scheduling.


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Denkoglu Apartments provide serviced accommodation just a 10 minute walk from Serdica Metro station and a 30 minute walk from the nearest train station.
These one and two bedroom apartment have fully equipped kitchens with fridges, electric ovens, microwaves, coffee makers, dishwashers and washing machines.
The open-plan living areas have a large corner sofa and access to a private balcony. They also contain a flat screen TV with satellite channels, and free wireless internet access is available throughout the stay.
Housekeeping services are provided once a week, and on-site parking is available at an additional cost.

domain: travel


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Bamboozled: How to happily grow bamboo
A little bit about bamboo
These hardy giant grasses grow thick and fast, making them one of the most popular privacy-creating plants around. Whether you want to add a lush look to your garden, create a wind break, sound barrier, hedge or create a tropical feel, ever-versatile bamboo is a no-brainer, and so is caring for bamboo. Bamboo is (almost) care free, especially if you choose the non-invasive, clumping variety.
Botanical name: Bambusa
While some varieties can become invasive and some, like the Dendrocalamus giganteus which can soar to 35 metres high, there are many more varieties that are perfect for the average Australian garden. We've listed a range of non-invasive, clumping varieties below.
Bamboo care tips
Ideal spot: Read the plant label as the ideal spot will depend on the variety. Some like a sheltered but sunny position, while others thrive in full sun. Most will grow happily in a large pot, provided there's plenty of room to grow and good drainage. Water crystals can also help retain moisture in the soil in a pot.
How to prepare soil for planting bamboo
Bamboo will grow in most soils but prefers deep, fertile, loamy, slightly acidic, well-draining and moist soil. While this is the ideal soil, as long as yours ticks a few of these boxes, your bamboo will be happy. When digging the hole, make sure it’s twice as wide as the root ball on your plant.
When new growth appears, at the beginning of spring, mid-summer and at the end of summer, feed with quality organic fertiliser like Dynamic Lifter. Adding a layer of mulch will also keep it growing strong.
Bamboo doesn’t need much pruning, unless you want to keep it in shape. They do shed a small amount of leaves, but if possible, don't throw them away. The leaves help keep the roots protected and moist. They will also return essential nutrients to the soil as they decompose, which will encourage growth.
Mites can be a pest and can become a big problem if left to their own devices. They appear as small white webs on the leaves. If you find mites on your bamboo, separate the affected parts of the plant from the unaffected parts (as best you can) and wash the affected area with a high-powered hose.
The right amount of water will help your plant grow faster. For the first two weeks after planting, water your bamboo until it’s saturated, every day in the late afternoon. After this period, your plant should be happy with a good watering three times a week in summer and once a week in winter. Keep well watered during hot weather and when new growth appears.

domain: agronomy


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Rutagaba Microgreens Seeds. A Fast easy grower that prefers lower light levels. Prefers indirect light. Substantial greens that have a flavor like a sharp kale or spinach. Grow Micro Rutabaga. Notes & Growing Tips: Rutabaga microgreens are fast and easy to grow. Flip the lid on day 3 or 4 to strenghen the crop before you expose to light. Rutabaga is a nice green color and has a mildly peppery mustard flavor.
Vegetable Garden & Microgreens Sprouting Seeds: Rutabega
High Germination Rate - Non-GMO - Chemical Free
Perfect for Growing Microgreens & Garden Seeds
Mountain Valley Seed Company Brand


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If you want a custom-made dress, just select it in the 'Size' menu.
After payment you will be given instructions on how to take and submit
your body measurements. Please allow an additional 5-7 working
days for preparation.
Chic, stylish, graceful, charming… you can use any good words to describe this Thai Silk Qipao, it deserves.Attractive cut-in shoulders design with traditional mandarin look, this short Qipao well combines eastern elegance with western fashion, and the three hand-make leaf-style buttons adorned at left top complete its look in an elegant way.
Fabric: Thai SilkFull Lining: YesTraditional Mandarin CollarChinese Hand-make Leaf ButtonsCut-in Shoulders2 Side SlitsSide ZipperKnee Length
Weight: 0.2 kg
Dry Clean or Hand-wash in Cool Water


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Pennsylvania High School Basketball - Carlisle nipped by Cumberland Valley
(February 9, 2010: Carlisle, PA 17013) The Cumberland Valley Eagles tipped the host Carlisle Thundering Herd basketball team by a final score of 54-49 in Tuesday's league game.
In their next game, the Eagles face the Waynesboro Indians (Waynesboro, PA) in a non-league game, on Thursday, February 11. Cumberland Valley will attempt to move on its 15-6 season record. The Indians enter the game with a 1-13 record after their 63-30 non-league loss to Milton Hershey (Hershey, PA).
With the defeat, Carlisle moves to 14-6 on the year. The Thundering herd travel to Chambersburg (Chambersburg, PA) to face the Trojans in a Mid-Penn - Commonwealth game on Friday, February 12. The Trojans enter the game with a record of 7-13. Chambersburg lost 62-47 in their recent league game against Central Dauphin East (Harrisburg, PA)


DeSantis deploys coveted endorsement to boost his political influence
DeSantis has played favorites in one Florida Senate GOP primary, and is eyeing others.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis is increasingly using his clout with Republican voters to elevate political allies throughout the state, marking the first real effort to build a political network by a governor with a notoriously small inner circle.
DeSantis has already used one endorsement to scuttle the candidacy of a state lawmaker seeking a Florida Senate seat who likely would have had the backing of his own party’s leadership. The Republican governor is also sending signals he could endorse in two other races where incumbent Republican state representatives, who have the support of state Senate GOP leadership, are running.
DeSantis’ public support has echoes of former President Donald Trump, who has doled out endorsements to his favored candidates but with more mixed results.
“Governor DeSantis is the most popular politician with the grassroots I have seen in a long time,” said Evan Power, chair of chairs for the Republican Party of Florida. “His endorsements are gold with our voters. It feels like the governor is using those endorsements now to build his network of politicians in Tallahassee who share his fighting philosophy that will help him pass aggressive agendas for the conservative cause.”
DeSantis’ endorsements signal that the governor, ahead of upcoming elections, is seeking to expand his support within the Florida Legislature and beyond with allies who are ideologically similar to him. The endorsements also send a message to Republican legislative leaders that he’s willing to buck them in order to consolidate power.
DeSantis, whose campaign did not return a request seeking comment, has in the past been notoriously stingy with his endorsements, using them in rare cases and generally only when his preferred candidate was very likely to be victorious. That changed, however, when DeSantis last month backed state Rep. Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill), who was running for a Florida Senate seat eyed by fellow House Republican Ralph Massullo (R-Lecanto). Massullo was favored by Senate Republicans, including incoming Senate President Kathleen Passidomo.
On the same day DeSantis backed Ingoglia in mid-March, Passidomo told POLITICO “all options” were still on the table regarding which candidates the Florida Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, which is led by the incoming Senate president, would endorse.
Two days later, Massullo issued a statement saying he was abandoning his bid for Senate to stay in the House, noting that he has the “utmost respect and admiration” for the governor whose support for Ingoglia knocked him out of a key Florida Senate race.
“From a strategic political standpoint, Governor DeSantis’ endorsement is the most powerful thing in a Republican primary right now,” Ingoglia said in an interview. “The intensity of the endorsement is off the charts, with 76 percent of primary voters more likely to vote for a DeSantis-endorsed candidate.”
“It’s a game changer,” said Ingoglia, a close ally of the governor who was one of seven House Republicans to vote against proposed redistricting maps that DeSantis ultimately vetoed.
DeSantis’ ability to easily clear the field for his preferred candidate has prompted open speculation about where DeSantis will endorse next, which could complicate things for Senate Republicans and set up a chamber with lawmakers with more loyalty to DeSantis than their own caucus leadership.
“All leaders, from presidents to governors, want people philosophically aligned with them. I do not think it’s uncommon,” said Rep. Cord Byrd (R-Neptune Beach). “[DeSantis] has been clear he is the leader of the Republican Party and he wanted some of these decisions run by him. I think this is consistent with that idea.”
Byrd is also considered a DeSantis ally after he also voted against House congressional maps supported by that chamber’s Republican leadership, including Speaker Chris Sprowls. Byrd has joined DeSantis at a series of press conferences, and his wife, Esther, was appointed last month by DeSantis to the state board of education.
Byrd, along with fellow House Republican Jason Fischer (R-Jacksonville), was seeking an open Jacksonville-based Florida Senate seat but dropped out of the GOP primary after Passidomo publicly endorsed state Rep. Clay Yarborough (R-Jacksonville). But DeSantis’ backing of Ingoglia — and successfully tanking a leadership-favored candidate — rebooted the Jacksonville race, with some wondering if the governor is weighing an endorsement in that contest.
“There is a lot of chatter about it, I realize that, but so far the governor has not endorsed anyone,” Byrd said. “I am fortunate to have a lot of options, remaining in elected office is one of them.”
Fischer, who is now eyeing a bid for Congress based on how the new political lines are drawn, said DeSantis is the “most popular elected Republican in the country.”
“There’s no question his public support would be a game changer, in Florida or anywhere else for that matter,” he added.
Another potential target for DeSantis’ involvement is the Treasure Coast-based Florida Senate seat sought by state Rep. Erin Grall, a Vero Beach Republican leaving the House after three terms to run for Senate. There is increasing discussion within the Capitol about DeSantis backing a challenger to Grall, who is loyal to Senate leadership. Grall did not respond to a request seeking comment.
DeSantis has also long signaled he would use his influence in local school board races, generally low-profile races that have increasingly come into the spotlight as Republicans focus on culture war issues like critical race theory and banning classroom lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity for students in kindergarten through third grade.
DeSantis has not yet publicly backed any school board candidates, but far back as last summer, promised to get his “political apparatus” involved in local school board races, a contention he has emphasized in recent weeks.
“I don’t know that I ever got involved in school board races before, but we will be involved this year,” DeSantis said at a press conference last month used to sign legislation that, among other things, creates 12 year school board term limits. “We want to help people who are going to help our kids.”


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Achieving extreme lucidity, the secret of art
Although still poorly defined, hypnosis is today a banal phenomenon, admitted by unbelievers and recognized by medicine. It stops smoking, increases libido, and even anesthetizes. As reported by Prof. Brian Josephson (above, 1973 Nobel Prize in Physics), the hypnotic trance would be the normal state of the functioning of our brain once cleared of the unconscious filter, inhibitions, doubt, hence extreme lucidity. Indeed, the electroencephalograms obtained following the modified states of consciousness (dream, orgasm, meditation, ecstasy, etc.), are very similar to ones obtained under hypnosis. According to author Michael Talbot, who comments on Josephson’s work, “Physiologically speaking, the mental state with which hypnosis offers the greatest resemblance is the awareness of an enlightened person. Does this mean that this “awakened consciousness” is nothing more than a form of hypnosis, and that we never stop drawing on fields of reality! ? (Talbot, The universe is a hologram.)
That being said, a “field of reality” would be a set of virtual information that exists only subjectively. We choose to attribute a meaning to the components of that set. When free in interpreting the cosmos or the Universe, without being under the control of hypnosis, our vision of the world is thus akin to self-hypnosis. According to Josephson, there is, on the one hand, the so-called “objective” reality which draws its source from the memory of humanity (history, religion, science, etc.), in short, the simple reality of our everyday life. On the other hand, there are what he calls “anomalies”, such as Jung’s synchronicity, the concretization of “potential realities” (Castaneda), visualization, or hypnotic transmissions which are “mere manifestations of the individual will”.
Preamble finished! My observation is the following.
I have seen thousands of paintings in my life and in the world. For 35 years, I have taught hundreds and hundreds of students from five continents. Oh, I’ve seen thousands of paintings with “objective” realities firmly anchored in the ordinary. Scarce and uncommon are canvases from modified states of consciousness and, rarely, I saw them.
To approach the artistic creation, to give life to something new, this new thing that makes us unique, does it not leave the realm of “objective reality” to fit or to insert into the invisible world of “anomalies” under the state of self-hypnosis? To make a genuine painting, the true one, is it not the manifestation of the “will” to accept the “normal” functioning of our brain by circumnavigating with courage the shallows of the unconscious, the reefs of the inhibition while ignoring doubt (the hypnotic trance)? Should not one be in a state of extreme lucidity to arrive to genuine creation? Reproducing blindly and simply things, is it art?—colors and shapes are also “things”.
It is only recently that I realize that it is this questioning that I have always passionately pushed into my art classes, my painting workshops. In short, painting is not so difficult to practise (you can find millions of techniques on Google), but to achieve extreme clarity, that is something else!
Above > Professor Brian Josephson, director of the Mind-Matter Unification Project of the Theory of Condensed Matter Group at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge.
One thought on “Self-hypnosis and Art”
Just read this. Great questions!

domain: psychology


With more than 130 full-time and part-time roles available, Butlin’s claims to be offering candidates the chance to enhance the skills they already have or learn something totally new – and they can get their first taste of what they might be doing on the day itself on Wednesday January 16.
There will be the opportunity to try some cooking with the Butlin’s chefs, have a go at mocktail making with the bars team and even enter a bed-making competition. There will also be demonstrations of other skills such as beauty therapy and CPR.
Organisers who are targeting people from Birmingham in the campaign, say it is also a great opportunity to see inside the resort, with all the activities and interviews taking place inside the iconic Skyline Pavilion.
Sally Dowling, Recruitment Manager at Butlin’s Skegness said: “Many people think that Butlin’s only offers seasonal work, but the resort is operational 52 weeks a year and we offer a wide range of skilled work across areas such as accommodation, catering, bars and leisure.
“The Recruitment Open Day offers jobseekers in Birmingham a chance to see what sort of roles we have, meet our team and even have a try at some of the skills, all in a relaxed atmosphere. If they find roles they are interested in, they will be able to apply and be interviewed on the same day. We also offer live-in accommodation with some of our roles for people relocating to the area.”
The Recruitment Open Day will run from 10am to 3pm at Butlin’s Skegness, Roman Bank, PE25 1NJ. Anyone wanting more information or to put any questions in advance, can email firstname.lastname@example.org .


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News May 31, 2022
HARIBO of America taps ODW Logistics to manage distribution and transportation for new Pleasant Prairie, WI manufacturing plant
COLUMBUS, OHIO—May 31, 2022 – ODW Logistics is partnering with HARIBO of America to provide warehousing and logistics services for the company’s first North American manufacturing facility in Pleasant Prairie, WI.
Headquartered in Grafshaft, Germany, HARIBO was established in 1920 and is the #1 gummi brand in the U.S. The company’s first-ever North American manufacturing facility, located in Plea... Read more


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The IRS has sent out letters to millions of non-filers reminding them to file for their federal stimulus checks before the last date on November 17. The letters are intended to clear confusion on several issues among non-filers and also to combat fraud. With inflation stressing the budget of low and moderate-income citizens, families could do with some extra cash.
The prices of rent, food, gasoline, and utilities continue to show record increases and the money for which the IRS is sending out reminders could run into thousands for millions of families. All they have to do is fill out their income tax returns for 2021, something that should in the normal course be done within April of any year.
For those who have received a letter, but are struggling to file their income tax return, rest assured that the process has been made very simple on the IRS site.
The money for which the IRS is sending out letters income the third stimulus check, or the Economic Impact Payment, which was alone worth $1,400 per individual, and several lucrative tax benefits including the Earned Income Tax Credit and the expanded Child Tax Credit stimulus check.
The CTC stimulus check that was for the benefit of children could alone be worth over $7,200 for families with two children and who have not collected the initial 50% of the amount through monthly stimulus checks between July and December 2021.
The Stimulus Check Payable By The Federal Government Is Linked To The 2021 Income Tax Return
But to claim all these funds you first need to submit your income tax returns for 2021. This applies to even those who normally do not need to file tax returns as their earnings are below the taxable limit.
The third stimulus check was the highest of the three stimulus checks sent out post the pandemic starting in April 2020. And you do not have to have any income for 2021 to qualify for the stimulus check. but there are caps on income.
The IRS has faced an uphill task during the pandemic and after reaching out to millions of people who do not file income taxes as they are exempted due to their income and other factors. Technically the IRS considers the stimulus checks as an advance of credits that are referred to on Forms 1040-SR and 1040 as the Recovery Rebate Credit.
For the Economic Impact Payments that were part of the American Rescue Plan Act signed by incoming president Joe Biden in March 2021, individuals with a federal adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less were entitled to the full amount of $1,400 for each filer or dependent.
The ceiling was $112,500 for individual filers filing as household heads, and $150,000 for couples filing jointly. The AGI is considered the gross income for the taxable year less certain adjustments that are allowed under the law.
The amount claimed for dependents was the same $1,400. The relief was extended to cover older dependents, including dependent college students, parents who were supported, and disabled adult children.
Other than the stimulus checks, households who filed their income tax returns from 2021 are also eligible for the expanded Child Tax Credit stimulus check, and the earned-income tax credit (EITC).
For filers without children, the Rescue Plan has nearly tripled the EITC, raising it from $543 to a generous $1,502. The credit can come to as much as $3,618 for those with one child, $5,980 for those with two children, and $6,728 for those with three children.
CTC Stimulus Check Alone Could Be Worth Thousands For Families
The CTC stimulus check was also increased from $2,000 to $3,600 for children below six years and $3,000 for those between six and seventeen years. This is also the first time that the upper age limit was increased from sixteen to seventeen.
The child tax credit was first given in 1997 and has always been a great help for families with children. It has meant keeping the child out of poverty and providing the food and other needs of a growing child.
The only difference for the post-pandemic child tax credit stimulus check was the boost the fund received in 2021 under the American Rescue Plan Act. It went up from $2,000 for children under 17 years to up to $3,600 for children under six years.
And for the first time in 2021, families received the child tax credit even if they owed no tax and even if they did not have any source of income such as a job or a business income. This was disclosed by Eric Smith, the IRS spokesman.
The IRS has specifically urged foster parents, grandparents, caretakers of siblings, and any other relative who is in charge of children to their eligibility for the Child Tax Credit of 2021.
The Child and Dependent Care Credit, which is not the CTC stimulus check, has also been expanded and more people are now eligible. The total credit is now worth $4,000 for a qualified individual and doubles that for two or more individuals.
The letters sent by Revenue Services will reach the mailboxes of people who are qualified but have failed to file their income tax returns for 2021. The Office of Tax Analysis under the Treasury Dept. has identified individuals who are not normally required to file their income tax return because of their low income. The department referred to W-2s and 1099s, and also 3rd-party statements revealed the IRS. Officials said the letters were destined for people with a modest income who did not file income tax returns.
The IRS has enabled such people to file their returns quickly and conveniently through the Free File, the agency filing program at irs.gov which will remain accessible till November 17 at midnight, Eastern Time. The fastest and most convenient way to file an income tax return and quickly claim the credits is to file electronically. Those with an AGI of $73,000 or less should use the Free File with brand-name software.
The IRS also said that people with income below $12,500 as individuals and double that as married couples can also access the childtaxcredit.gov/file to file a tax return.
Those who missed their filing period can also file paper returns though there will naturally be a delay in the whole process.


(File photo: CGTN)
BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the first Qingdao Multinationals Summit that opened Saturday in Qingdao in east China's Shandong Province.
As important participants, witnesses and beneficiaries, multinationals have played positive roles in China's 40-plus years of reform and opening-up, Xi said.
Xi stressed that the door of China's opening-up will only open wider and wider, the business environment will only get better and better, and opportunities for global multinationals will only be more and more.
Global entrepreneurs are welcome to invest in China, strive for mutual benefit and win-win outcomes, and jointly create a better future, Xi said.
The first Qingdao Multinationals Summit is jointly held by the Ministry of Commerce and the Shandong provincial government. Themed "Multinationals and China," the summit will hold closed-door meetings, parallel panels and parallel road shows.


Climate change has caused a spike in the number of recorded vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria, a new study has revealed.
The 2022 report ofthe Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: health at the mercy of fossil fuels outlines the impact of climate change on worsening health hazards and extreme weather events, as well as its economic fallout and possible actions for mitigation.
Spread of disease-causing mosquitos
The study finds that changing climate patterns, coupled with other factors like urbanisation and increased movement of people and goods, have boosted the spread of disease-causing mosquitos. The climatic conditions needed for mosquitos to thrive increased by 11.5% and 12% from 1951-60 to 2012-21 for Aedes aegypti and Aedesalbopictus respectively — the species of mosquitos that cause diseases like dengue and chikungunya. The length of the transmission season for malaria also increased by 31.3% in American highlands and by 13.8% in African highlands from 1951–60 to 2012–21, the Lancet report said.
This is not the first time that climate change and increased movement have emerged as the reason for an increased spread of diseases, affecting all forms of life. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control states that Aedesalbopictus has undergone a “dramatic global expansion” aided by human activities like the movement of used tyres and ‘lucky bamboo’ plants. Passive transit has spread this mosquito globally.
The 2022 Living Planet Report, released a few weeks ago, said that beetles and moths that attack forests in northern regions, like the temperate and taiga zones of North America and Europe, survive better in warmer climates. These insects kill trees on a mass scale, wiping off certain vegetation from large areas. Many disease-causing insects and worms also survive better in warmer climates and have now moved to once-colder regions of the Arctic and Himalayan highlands.
Around half the population of the world now lives in areas where dengue is present, the Lancet report says. Arthropod-transmitted viruses, or arboviruses, have spread rapidly in the past two decades. Dengue, chikungunya, Zika virus, yellow fever, and Japanese encephalitis are a few common arboviral diseases, and all of these are caused by the bite of an infected mosquito.
Spread of dengue
The basic reproduction number (R0) for the transmission of dengue increased by 11·5% for Aedes aegypti and 12% for Aedes albopictus on average during 2012–21.
The length of the transmission season increased by approximately 6% for all arboviruses in the same time period.
As per the Lancet report, healthcare access and quality, and the proportion of population in urban environments are the two main determinants of dengue vulnerability.
Timely medical intervention is the key to preventing severe dengue outbreaks. Between 1990 and 2019, both low and medium Human Development Index (HDI) countries recorded improvements in the vulnerability to dengue due to improvements in healthcare. Low HDI countries saw a 43% reduction in vulnerability to severe dengue outcomes while medium HDI countries saw a 23% reduction, due to better healthcare services. High HDI countries, however, did not follow this trend. In fact, vulnerability to dengue in very high HDI countries increased by 5%, and urbanisation is believed to be the factor driving the spike.
“Saving lives in the face of the climate crisis requires urgent, just, and radical action. The humanitarian sector must deliver flexible responses, embedding high levels of uncertainty into their operating environments, and working to reduce their own environmental footprints,” Lousia Baxter of Médecins Sans Frontières said in a recent comment published by the Lancet.
- The Lancet report finds that changing climate patterns, coupled with other factors like urbanisation and increased movement of people and goods, have boosted the spread of disease-causing mosquitos.
- The climatic conditions needed for mosquitos to thrive increased by 11.5% and 12% from 1951-60 to 2012-21 for Aedes aegypti and Aedesalbopictus respectively
- As per the study, healthcare access and quality, and the proportion of population in urban environments are the two main determinants of dengue vulnerability.


Convicted killer Michael L. West Jr., now standing trial for gouging out the eyes of a fellow inmate, sat in a chair Tuesday with his hands cuffed to his waist and his bound legs secured by a chain to the floor as testimony began in Spokane County Superior Court.
There’s no question that West, 36, permanently blinded Airway Heights Corrections Center inmate Chad E. Bolstad and beat another inmate in the gruesome 2010 attack.
But his defense attorney argues he should be found not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutors want jurors to convict him of first- and second-degree assault.
West previously has been convicted of attacking and raping his girlfriend and of first-degree murder for the 2004 killing of 21-year-old Christopher Rentz, who was West’s cellmate in the Spokane County Jail. West is not scheduled to be released from state prison until 2048.
Despite that violent history, state prison officials transferred West in 2010 to the medium-security Airway Heights Corrections Center. Within days, West was facing the new charges.
Defense attorney Derek Reid said his client had stopped taking the medications that helped him manage his behavior.
Reid said he offered Deputy Prosecutor Larry Steinmetz a deal to have West plead guilty to two assault charges in exchange for a sentence that runs at the same time as West’s murder conviction, but that offer was declined.
Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen is presiding over the assault trial.
Corrections officers testified Tuesday about responding on Oct. 10, 2010, to screams from inmate Gary L. Welch, who was in the same cell as West and Bolstad.
When the officers arrived, they found Welch pleading to be let out of the cell while West hunched in a corner and Bolstad lay bleeding on the floor.
Sgt. Justin Grimes said he assisted in removing Bolstad, who was unconscious and bleeding from both eyes.
After corrections officers secured Bolstad and Welch, who suffered minor injuries, Grimes said he ordered West onto the ground.
“He said, ‘Are you my god?’ I gave him a third directive,” Grimes said. “He repeated the question. ‘Are you my god? If you tell me you are my god I will obey your command.’ ”
Reid said he expects to call prison officials to explain why they complied with West’s requests to be transferred from the mental health unit of the maximum-security Washington State Penitentiary in Walla Walla to the medium-security prison in Airway Heights.


Los Angeles County reported its highest daily number of new COVID-19 infections since mid-May.
Mark Hoppus does, indeed, have cancer.
As people return to pre-pandemic activities, that also means getting surgeries and procedures that require blood products.
Get a report of the Germany vs. Hungary 2020 European Championship, Group Stage football match.
Shares of retail darlings Alfi Inc (ALF.O) and Torchlight Energy (TRCH.O) were both down more than 20% on Wednesday, highlighting...
It sure seems like internal combustion engines are eventually going to go the way of vinyl.
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text:
Update 65: September 1, 2009
1. Search engine liability in the UK and
According to a high court judge in London,
Google is not the publisher of defamatory comments that appear in its search
The case has been brought by London based
Metropolitan International Schools (MIS), which runs distance learning courses.
The school argued that postings in the forum of the website Digital Trends were
defamatory and that Google should be held liable because links to these postings
appeared in its search results and the snippets also consisted out of these
defamatory comments. MIS also asked the judge for an injunction, preventing the
display of search results that suggest it is involved in scam, without the need
to provide Google with the URL of the infringing content in the future.
The court did not agree: Google is merely a
conduit to information, not a publisher in its own right: "When a snippet is
thrown up on the user's screen in response to his search, it points him in the
direction of an entry somewhere on the Web that corresponds, to a greater or
lesser extent, to the search terms he has typed in. It is for him to access or
not, as he chooses. It is fundamentally important to have in mind that the Third
Defendant has no role to play in formulating the search terms. Accordingly, it
could not prevent the snippet appearing in response to the user's request unless
it has taken some positive step in advance. There being no input from the Third
Defendant, therefore, on the scenario I have so far posited, it cannot be
characterised as a publisher at common law. It has not authorised or caused the
snippet to appear on the user's screen in any meaningful sense. It has merely,
by the provision of its search service, played the role of a facilitator."
This is the first judicial analysis of search
engine liability for defamation under UK law. Although the decision is brilliant
for search engines and as a Google spokesman put it "reinforces the principle
that search engines are not responsible for content that is published on
third-party web sites", an important question remains unanswered:
In the MIS case, Google removed the links to
the defamatory comments after notification. The judge hinted that there still is
a responsibility of search engines to take down content after receiving a
complaint about libellous material. He did not say how fast search engines must
act and how effective the take down system must work: "There are some steps
that the Third Defendant can take and they have been explored in evidence in the
context of what has been described as its "take down" policy. There is a degree
of international recognition that the operators of search engines should put in
place such a system (which could obviously either be on a voluntary basis or put
upon a statutory footing) to take account of legitimate complaints about legally
objectionable material. It is by no means easy to arrive at an overall
conclusion that is satisfactory from all points of view. In particular, the
material may be objectionable under the domestic law of one jurisdiction while
being regarded as legitimate in others. In this case, the evidence shows that
Google has taken steps to ensure that certain identified URLs are blocked, in
the sense that when web-crawling takes place, the content of such URLs will not
be displayed in response to Google searches carried out on Google.co.uk. This
has now happened in relation to the "scam" material on many occasions. But I am
told that the Third Defendant needs to have specific URLs identified and is not
in a position to put in place a more effective block on the specific words
complained of without, at the same time, blocking a huge amount of other
material which might contain some of the individual words comprising the
offending snippet. It may well be that the Third Defendant's "notice and take
down" procedure has not operated as rapidly as Mr Browne and his client would
wish, but it does not follow as a matter of law that between notification and
"take down" the Third Defendant becomes or remains liable as a publisher of the
offending material. While efforts are being made to achieve a "take down" in
relation a particular URL, it is hardly possible to fix the Third Defendant with
liability on the basis of authorisation, approval or acquiescence."
What also makes the decision a must
read, is the mentioning of several other lawsuits about search engine liability
in other countries, most of them even I had not heard about before:
Spain: decision of Mai 13, 2009, Palomo v. Google
"This was a recent case in the Court of First
Instance in Madrid on 13 May 2009: Palomo v Google Inc. The
complaint was in relation to search results providing hyperlinks to
sites carrying defamatory content. The claim was rejected and the
Third Defendant held not liable in law for disseminating third party
content. Reference was made to European legislation moving towards
the position that there should not be any obligation on Internet
intermediaries to supervise such content. Where "actual knowledge"
(in the sense defined above) has not been established, the law
provides for "exoneration from responsibility" on the part of
businesses offering intermediary services."
Laws on search engine liability in Bulgaria and Romania
"Bulgaria enacted an Electronic Commerce Act
in December 2006 which provides that an automated search engine
service shall not be liable for the contents of data obtained where
it has not (i) initiated the transmission of the data, (ii) chosen
the data recipient, or (iii) chosen or altered the data obtained.
This corresponds to the provisions of the Austrian amendment, to
which I have referred above.
Romania has also extended its law to provide
express protection for search engine services in Article 15 of Law
No 365 of 7 June 2002, dealing with Electronic Commerce. This
provides for protection if the search engine service was not aware
that the information in question was illegal, and not aware of any
facts or circumstances showing that the information could prejudice
the rights of a third party. If it is so aware, it may still be
protected if it acts rapidly to eliminate the possibilities of
access or to block its use. The search engine service is responsible
for the information when a public authority has determined that it
is illegal. There are similar limitations on liability to those I
have identified with reference to the Spanish law."
France, decision from March 19, 2009, SARL Publison System v. Google France
"Another recent example was the French
decision (Court of Appeal in Paris, 19 March 2009): SARL Publison
System v SARL Google France. The claimant sued over a defamatory "snippet"
raised by Google's search engine and a hyperlink to the primary site.
It was held that a search engine was not under any duty to assess
the lawfulness of the indexed website. To the extent that it
involves an indexing robot, and neither creates nor hosts the
disputed information, it was said that Google was not under any
automatic obligation to carry out monitoring. Furthermore, in view
of the considerable volume of information arriving each day on
Internet sites, the operator of the search engine was unable to
analyse the content made available to users via its indexes."
Netherlands: Decision of April 26, 2007, Jensen v. Google
"There was also a Dutch decision in the
District Court of Amsterdam on 26 April 2007: Jensen v Google
Netherlands. An attempt was made to obtain an injunction to prevent
Google from displaying the search results displayed on a search of the
claimant's name (since there were a number of sex websites). The court
"Google has made it sufficiently clear that it
has no (preventive) involvement with or influence over the contents
of the links to the websites and with or over the contents of the
websites which are automatically obtained as search results after
entering of, in the case in hand, the search term Jensen + Urmia +
Attention was drawn to the "technical,
automatic and passive nature" of the technical processes involved (i.e.
of crawling, index-linking and ranking). Google was not expected to
accept responsibility for the outcome of a search instruction or the
content of the search results. It is to be noted, however, that the
court relied in part upon the lack of knowledge on the part of Google
that the information was wrongful."
You can find the high court
2. The Hamburg declaration
Newspaper publishers have asked the European Commission to
improve the copyright protection afforded to newspaper content. In June European
Publishers' Council (EPC) and the World Association of Newspapers (WAN) gathered
newspaper executives together and signed what they are calling the Hamburg
declaration: "Numerous providers are using the work of authors, publishers
and broadcasters without paying for it. Over the long term, this threatens the
production of high-quality content and the existence of
independent journalism. (Looks like they are blaming Google News and similar
services ...). For this reason, we advocate strongly urgent
improvements in the protection of intellectual property on the Internet (They
don't offer specific proposals)...."
Full text of the declaration
And Google's reaction? See the
official blog post, which pretty much says: Shut up or
use robots.txt ...
Google to newspapers: Put up or shut up (L.A.
Save journalism, online newspaper publishers beg EC
3. Antitrust allegations against
Italy's antitrust watchdog (Autorita Garante della
Concorrenza e del Mercato) is investigating allegations by an Italian
association of news publishers (Federazione
Italiana Editori Giornali (FIEG)) that Google Italy is discriminating against
newspapers that don't want their content linked on Google's news site by also
dropping them from its search engine. The members of the association probably
should have talked to an search engine optimizer first: They probably used
robots.txt to get excluded from Google News. Because search engine spiders,
including the Googlebots, don't distinguish between indexing for news and web
search, that's the reason why the sites of the newspapers automatically also
disappeared from the web search.
Debunking The Italian Newspapers’ Antitrust Allegations Against Google,
4. France: Lawsuits over Google Suggest
Google Suggest makes searches more convenient
and efficient by auto-completing queries as users type them into the search box.
In France, the two companies Direct
Energie and CNFDI
found out, that when people started searching on their company names, the first
suggestion was their company name followed by the word "arnaque," which means "scam."
Google Suggest works by finding the most common searches, so this only means
that most of the people searching for these companies did this in connection
with the word arnaque. Nethertheless both sued Google.
Direct Energie won. The judge in this case
probably did not understand, how Google Suggest works. He complained that the
list offered by Google was neither alphabetically nor sorted accordingly to the
highest number of results. So he ordered Google to change the results!
CNFDI lost. The judge in this case understood
how Google's algorithm works and came to a reasonable decision. He found that
the fact that many people were questioning whether CNFDI was a scam was
potentially useful information, and thus not libelous by itself. Forcing Google
to remove such a suggestion would be too big a burden on free speech.
For more information on these two cases see:
Two Separate Rulings In France Split Over Whether Google's Suggestion Algorithm
Can Be Libelous
5. In short
company is suing Google over its Google Maps offering, because Google lets
companies use its web mapping services for free: "Their strategy is to
capture the market and squeeze out the competition by creating a monopoly
for itself," See:
Google Maps accused of unfair competition in France
The Goddard v. Google case (see
Update 61) finally got
dismissed without leaves to amend,
Goddard v. Google, Inc.,
5:08-cv-02738-JF (N.D. Cal. July 30, 2009).
For details see Goldman, Eric,
Google Not Liable for False Ads--Goddard v. Google,
Technology & Marketing Law Blog
Civil Court No. 75 in Buenos Aires (Juzgado Nacional en lo Civil No. 75)
July 29 held Google and Yahoo! liable for content posted by third parties,
rejecting the search engines' contention that they were mere intermediaries
and therefore not responsible for the actions of pornographic and
female-escort websites that posted pictures of a model and actress without
her consent (Da Cunha v. Yahoo de Argentina, Juzg. N., No. 99620/2006,
7/29/09). See Google,
Yahoo Fined In Argentina Because Searches On Band Name
Leads To Porn Sites, Techdirt
The Court of Justice of the European Communities has announced that the date for
the publication of the Advocate General's Opinion in Cases C-238 to 238/08 Google France and Google Inc. v Louis Vuitton Malletier is to be
Two Google AdWords lawsuits in the U.S. were terminated by request of the
(voluntary dismissal): Jurin v. Google, Inc., 2:09-cv-03934-GHK-E (C.D. Cal.
voluntarily dismissed July 23, 2009) and Ascentive v. Google, Inc.,
2:09-cv-02871 (E.D. Pa.
July 30, 2009)).
For the latest news on the putative nationwide trademark owner class action
lawsuit against Google over AdWords, see: Goldman,
Google Goes on Offensive in AdWords Trademark Lawsuit--Google
v. John Beck Amazing Profits; Google, Inc v. John
Beck Amazing Profits, LLC, C09 03459 (N.D. Cal.
July 27, 2009). And there are more new lawsuits
against Google, brought by Flowbee (see Goldman,
Flowbee Latest Trademark Owner to Sue Google--Flowbee v. Google,
Flowbee International, Inc. v. Google,
Inc., 2:09-cv-00199 (S.D Tex.
complaint filed Aug. 13, 2009) and
Rosetta Stone (Rosetta Stone Ltd. v. Google, Inc.,
1:09-cv-00736-GBL-JFA (E.D. Va.
filed July 10, 2009)
. For more information see: Goldman, Eric,
Ninth Lawsuit Against Google Over AdWords--Rosetta Stone v. Google
Technology & Marketing Law Blog)
New in legal resources
Schubert, Maximilian / Ott, Stephan, AdWords -
Schutz für die Werbefunktion einer Marke, MarkenR 2009, 338-347
Engels, Gabriele, Keyword Advertising - Zwischen beschreibender, unsichtbarer
und missbräuchlicher Verwendung, MarkenR 2009, 289-297
Well-Szönyi, Catherine, AdWords:
Die Kontroverse um die Zulässigkeit der Verwendung fremder Marken als
Schlüsselwort in der französischen Rechtsprechung, GRUR Int. 2009, 557-565
Keyword-Advertising auf dem Weg von Karlsruhe nach Luxemburg, GRUR 2009,
Knaak, Keyword Advertising, GRUR Int.
2009, 551- 557
Hoeren, Thomas, Anmerkung zu BGH – Bananabay, MMR 2009, 328-329
Hoeren, Thomas, Anmerkung zu BGH – Beta-Layout, MMR 2009, 331
Hoeren, Thomas, Anmerkung zu BGH – PCB, MMR 2009, 333-334
Voigt, Paul, Datenschutz bei Google, MMR 2009, 377-382
Elhauge, Einer R.,Why the Google
Books Settlement is Procompetitive(August 26, 2009). Harvard, John M. Olin
Center for Law, Economics, and Business Discussion Paper No. 646. Available
Longdin, L. (2007). Hyperlinking
and copyright infringement. New Zealand Business Law Quarterly,

domain: law


Chris Kuan, a frequent commentator on finance and economics, wrote on Worker’s Party (WP) proposed Redundancy Insurance (RI) scheme, stating that the scheme is sensible although it could be more aggressive.
The RI scheme by WP, calls for monthly contributions of 0.1% of monthly salary shared between employers and employees.
Chris noted that even without the WP’s proposed 0.05% of salary contribution, the drain on government expenditures isn’t that big anyway and questions the worry about the scheme being not sustainable.
WP states that their RI proposal aims to generate risk pooling to reduce the financial pressure on workers who are made redundant, so as to provide them with a longer runway to become re-employed and thus to minimise the harmful effects of a spell of unemployment. It also seeks to reduce insecurity and worry among the vast majority of employed Singaporeans.
In the event of involuntary unemployment, the worker will receive a payout of 40% of his or her last drawn salary (up to a monthly cap of 40% of the prevailing median wage) for up to six months.
The RI scheme will also provide top-ups to workers who earn less than $1,000 a month. Workers who earned less than $500 a month before they were made redundant will receive RI payouts equivalent to their previous monthly salary (e.g. a worker who previously earned $250 a month will receive $250 a month for up to six months under the RI scheme, instead of $100). Workers who earned between $500 and $1,000 a month before they were made redundant will receive a top-up of $200 to their original RI payout (e.g. a worker who previously earned $750 a month will receive $500 in monthly RI payouts instead of $300).
Chris pointed that even assuming no means testing and that every redundant worker did not receive redundancy benefits from their employers, if 3% of the resident labour force are unemployed for 6 months or more – the net expenditure based on 40% of median salaries to the government is just $700m a year or 0.18% of GDP, 1% of total government expenditures.
And with means testing, and excluding those who received 6 months or more of redundancy benefits, the amount expensed will be lower. This in comparison to an average long term budget surplus of close to 10% of GDP and the most recent net investment return contribution from the reserves amounting to 3.7% of GDP.
He wrote, “Instead of thinking out of work benefits as making Singaporeans lazy, they should be thought about as the means of enabling far better job matches in that workers need not to reach for the first job that comes through for fear of not being able to pay their not inconsiderable bills.”
Arguing that this will improve productivity and morale and such a safety net also provide a lift to entrepreneurship by reducing by some degree the financial costs of failure.


text:
Do you know my friend Becky over at Kid World Citizen? She has the most wonderful blog full of information for parents raising global citizens. And in addition to her quality blog content, she also creates materials for download that she shares in her TpT shop.
This year, she's come out with a Day of the Dead Unit that is full of great information and activities. The 60-page unit includes:
- Guided Class Discussions
- Book Suggestions
- Power Point
- A Story
- And so much more!
The unit starts out with a description of the holiday and the various elements associated with it. She's included a lot of hands-on activities such as a painted paper skull and Day of the Dead Printmaking Project (super fun!), but perhaps my favorite is the Skeleton Dress-Up Activity! It makes me think of the book Calavera Abecedario by Jeanette Winter.
You'll also find a printable Day of the Dead banner you can cut out and string together to make your room more festive.
Becky has included lots of coloring pages, too, and a bilingual minibook with reading comprehension questions for older kids and handwriting pages for younger children..
Becky has graciously offered a copy of this Day of the Dead Unit to one MommyMaestra reader.
To enter to win, simply use the Rafflecopter below.


We’re in a Pinpoint Weather 12 Weather Alert as we track a period of stormy this morning. The National Weather Service upgraded the “Wind Advisory to a HIGH WIND WARNING for most of RI/SE MA except for the Cape and Islands. That is in effect until 10AM. Southerly wind gusts of 45-60 mph are possible especially in or around and heavy rain and thunder. These winds could lead to scattered wind damage and power outages.
OCEAN, BAY & BEACH // Beach weather, coastal and marine conditions »
A strong cold front with a wave of low pressure developing along it will move across New England early today, leading to some stormy weather this morning, with numerous showers, embedded downpours and isolated thunderstorms. The highest risk for damaging winds (gusts 45-60mph) will be in any thunderstorms or downpours. Otherwise, expect south-southeast winds to be sustained between 20-30 mph.
Given that we still have most of the leaves on our trees, these winds could lead to downed limbs and branches and some isolated power outages.
By this afternoon, the front will be moving offshore, with drier skies returning by 1-2 PM and some sun developing by mid to late afternoon
Winds will diminish Wednesday afternoon and evening, with a west-southwest wind of 15-20 mph, but gusting to 30-40mph, at times.
Total rainfall for most of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts will be between 1/2″ and 1″ of rain, but isolated higher totals are possible in heavier downpours and thunderstorms.


Austin was again ranked the 4th worst tax procrastinator in the U.S., Intuit Inc. reported on Monday.
The TurboTax software maker (Nasdaq: INTU) ranked cities according to the number of people that filed in the final three days last year, plus the number still waiting this year. Texans in general dominated the list, taking three of the top five spots.
Intuit estimates 27 percent of taxpayers wait until the last two weeks of tax season to file. This year, the deadline moved from April 15 to April 18.
The top 10 procrastinators (last year's ranking in parenthesis):
- Houston (No. 1)
- Chicago (No. 2)
- New York City (No. 3)
- Austin (No. 4)
- San Antonio (Not listed last year)
- San Francisco (No. 5)
- Seattle (No. 6)
- San Diego (No. 7)
- Los Angeles (No. 8)
- Dallas (No. 9)


text:
Two Minutes To Late Night organized a cover of Jefferson Starship’s 1979 classic “Jane,” inspired by the style of the 2001 film Wet Hot American Summer. The cover was performed by Johnny Kelly of Type O Negative/Danzig/Silvertomb, Johanna Sadonis of Lucifer, Nicke Andersson of Lucifer/The Hellacopters/Entombed, Mlny Parsonz of Royal Thunder, Corey Barhorst of Kylesa/Black Tusk and Gwarsenio Hall.
On the cover, the musicians jam out a bit more than Jefferson Starship had already, expanding the guitar solo and outro. Otherwise, it’s pretty faithful to the original. Sadonis belts out the vocals, wildly nailing the notes. Andersson adds a heavier metal edge to the guitar tone. The rest of the group rocks out plenty hard as well, with Kelly rolling through drum fills, Parsonz grooving on bass, Barhorst bouncing through the keyboards’ chords and Hall adding some additional guitar and vocals.
A video for the track shows some of Two Minutes to Late Night’s usual video shenanigans, featuring special appearances from ‘Kevin the Sound Guy’ as he and Hall run around, with clips from Wet Hot American Summer and shots of Orange Cassidy mixed in. The other musicians can be seen recording their parts and sipping cocktails.
Two Minutes to Late Night is a heavy-metal-themed talk show hosted by comedian Jordan Olds as his corpse-painted alter-ego ‘Gwarsenio Hall.’ Their bedroom covers series was inspired by the onset of the pandemic, which left some of the biggest names in metal and metal-adjacent genres free to record these covers together from their homes. “Jane” is the 42nd cover that they’ve put together since the series began.
Some of the show’s other recent covers include a rendition of Prince’s “I Would Die 4 U” performed with the help of 20 reasonably well-known backing vocalists, an atypical full-band cover of Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” by Thursday, a metal-inspired take on Björk’s “Hyperballad,” a ‘90s club songs medley, a gritty tribute to The Rolling Stones’ “Rocks Off,” an aggressive version of Pantera’s “Mouth for War,” a metal-themed parody of Elton John’s “Step Into Christmas” and a cover of Anthrax’s “Caught in a Mosh.”
Photo credit: Raymond Flotat


text:
A relatively new town for the region, Urbania was built under the name of Casteldurante in the Middle Ages and then adopted its present name in memory of Pope Urban VIII. Documents dating from 1437 attest to the Jewish presence in the town. Although the Jews were initially forced to work as pawnbrokers, they soon diversified. Some opted for those related to trade or and others to weaving and crafts.
Despite some threats against them, the Jews contributed to the active life of Urbania throughout the 16th century. Nevertheless, relations between Christians and Jews deteriorated at the end of the century.
The duchy fell under the rule of the Papal States in 1633 and the Jews were forced to gather in the ghetto and preferred to leave the city. Temporarily allowed to carry out certain professional activities on local fair days, the Jews only settled in Urbania again at the end of the 19th century, when the city joined the Kingdom of Italy.
As a sign of good integration, one floor of the house of Samuele Moscati, a Jew from Urbino, was used as offices and courtrooms. A building at the entrance to the city, by the Ponte del Riscatto, is called Palazzo degli Ebrei. The synagogue seems to have been located at 17 Via Garibaldi.
Sources : Marche Jewish Itineraries by Maria Luisa Moscati Benigni.


text:
The holiday season is the perfect time to show off your crocheted lovelies! If you don't have any lovelies to show off, or if you do but you want some new ones, now is a great time to make some for yourself.
Festive Jeweled Neck Warmer
When I first imagined this jeweled neck warmer, I was thinking of creating a design that would be perfect for the the winter holiday season -- something that would be warm, yet pretty enough to wear out to parties, family gatherings, festivities and such.
I think this neck warmer fits the bill nicely. This wardrobe staple is almost a hybrid between a necklace and a scarf; it's warmer than a necklace would be, and it's dressier than your typical winter scarf is. It's also a quick, easy project; it won't take long to whip this up, so if you need a little time to relax amid the holiday hubbub then this pattern is the way to go.
Shawls and Wraps
Shawls are so beautiful, and the extra bit of warmth is always welcome during the winter season. Check out these free shawl patterns for some fabulous choices.
This cuff-style bracelet is crocheted in two colors of wire, and it's accented with contrasting yet coordinating beads. I crocheted my sample bracelet in Christmas colors -- red and green wire, with bronze-colored seed bead accents. As is, it's a great look for those of you who would like to wear it during the Christmas season. But, if you'd like it to be wearable all year long, all it would take is a color change to make the bracelet in more of an everyday look. I can see making it in silver, gold and bronze, or in other hues of colored wire.
This is another quick project that doesn't involve much of a time commitment.