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I enjoyed this little meditation on reading Scripture by Charles Halton at the Houston Baptist School of Christian Thought.
I am convinced that hardly a Christian reads the Bible. We may crack its spine every morning, study it groups, or vocalize it in services, but we never, ever, actually read it.
That’s because we use the Bible. We approach Scripture with the specific agenda of learning from it. We burn through four chapters a day to complete it in a year, distill theological principles from paragraphs, and make moral applications from the Decalogue.
Learning from the Bible is undoubtedly good, but when is the last time that you just read it? Not to prepare for a lesson or to discern a principle or to understand theology but merely to rest inside a narrative? To feel the energy between sentences, to let a poem’s emotion wash over you, to feel the horror of Judges 19 and sublimity of Psalm 23? Maybe never. But this is what reading is. It’s approaching a text with the agenda of mere enjoyment.
Many Christians approach the Bible through a rigid system — a liturgical calendar, a prescribed reading schedule, or a daily quota. This is tremendously problematic if these are the only ways in which we relate to our most sacred text. Potentially, the Bible becomes another task that we tick off our to-do-list. We need to cultivate times of unstructured reading. To borrow a phrase from Alan Jacobs, we need to read at whim. If the desire arises to read a Psalm or a Pauline letter, or, dare we say, Leviticus, and it’s not the specified passage for the day, carve out a few minutes and soak in it.
But equally problematic is the person who reads the Bible with no rhyme or reason, retweeting a random verse here and flicking open a Bible to whatever page there but never getting around to finishing an entire narrative. There’s hardly a chance that this person will enjoy the Bible’s story lines or integrate its teachings into coherent ideas. The books that make up the whole were intend to be read through. If we treat the Bible like a jumble of hypertexts and bounce around its pages we will never appreciate it in the ways its authors intended.
There is an inherent tension in our relationship to the Bible. This tension is similar to the ways in which Jewish tradition approaches prayer — certain prayers are to be recited at particular times but petitions should also flow out of the heart. Prayer demands both keva (set times of recitation) and kavanah (spontaneous intention). We could loosely translate these terms as “fixed and free.”
Like prayer, the Bible is best read fixed and free. Impromptu sessions should accompany liturgical recitations and whim should interrupt schedules. In addition, we should read the Bible for enjoyment as well as study it for understanding. To a large degree these are very different acts but embracing the Bible more fully involves holding together the tension of keva and kavanah.

domain: literature


Hamisa Mobetto is in the midst of one of the biggest controversies in her short career as a socialite. Diamond’s baby mama is in a war of words with Harmonize’s new girlfriend Kajala Masanja over allegations that she (Hamisa) and singer Rayvanny got her student daughter Paula drunk.
The news comes after a now since-deleted video emerged on social media showing Rayvanny kissing 18-year-old Paula, after backlash from Tanzanians.
Kajala said that she had given Hamisa permission to take Paula out for lunch but she took her to Rayvanny’s house instead.
“I am a parent who raises my child in a difficult situation due to one or two differences with the child’s father…,” she wrote in a lengthy post on February 9.
“On the 9th at 6 pm, Hamisa Mobetto asked for permission to take my child for lunch, I didn’t see the need to refuse because I knew she was a parent, who also has a baby girl. But on that day, she took advantage and took her to meet Rayvanny for their personal benefit, they lured a child by giving her alcohol and they recorded a dirty video,” Kajala added.
The actress added: “Even if it was Paula who told her they go and meet Rayvanny, she is a parent and she should have worn my shoes and asked herself what is going to happen…Hamisa has hurt me. My daughter is young and sees the viral videos on social media. I am asking for the government to help me.”
The accusation from Kajala has got Hamisa seething insisting that she took Paula for lunch then dropped her off at her mother’s gym.
“Even if Hamisa Mobetto is the ugly place where you dump your garbage it has to stop. Kajala on the 9th your child asked me to take her for lunch. I told her I had to talk to you first, and I called you and you saw that it was alright,” she said.
“Don’t you see you’re lying publicly without fear? The day I went with Paula, did she have the same hair in the videos?” Hamisa posted.
She further threatened Kajala with legal action for allegedly tarnishing her brand.
“I am a mother, a business person, stakeholder and ambassador for various companies. I have built my brand for a long time, so I would like to be respected and not tarnished by false accusations like these…You’ll hear from my lawyer. Rest assured I will not let this pass just like that.” Hamisa declared.
Bongo star Diamond Platnumz has been trending this past week after his third baby mama, Tanasha visited him with their son Naseeb Junior.
The two had not seen each other for the past year after Tanasha’s dramatic exit from Tanzania when things were going badly in their relationship.
This week, to capiltalise on all the publicity he has been generating, Diamond went for a long-overdue interview with his own Wasafi FM radio.
Don’t forget that Zari had also visited the family with her two children; Tiffah and Nillan late last year.
Subsequently, fans were left wondering why Hamisa has not taken her son Dylan to see his dad, yet she is in Tanzania at least to bond with the family. To clear the air, Diamond revealed that he has been meeting with Hamisa and their son Dylan.
“I meet my son many times just that we do not post on social media. Actually, Dylan was to come and visit my family for a week before Tanasha’s son visited. he would have come and spent sometime with my family.”
“I love all my children and I have respect for all my baby mamas. they go through a lot of hate on social media but I respect them equally.”
Actions speak louder than words
While his answer sounds plausible, I am calling bull on it. Diamond is a man who knows the power of social media in this day and age.
He knows how powerful a single picture of him and his son, Dylan would be. Of all his kids, Dylan is possibly the only child who has not been photographed with his superstar father.
While I might be wrong about the above statement, one thing that I am sure about is that Dylan is the one child that Diamond rarely poses with and something about that stinks worse than the politics in our country.
Why wouldn’t you post images of your flesh and blood son on the interwebs? Make that make sense.
Another thing, Dylan is the only child that Diamond has been sued successfully for child support. A few years ago Chibu was dragged to court so he and Hamisa could iron out their issues on co-parenting and supporting their son.
All his other kids have not suffered the same fate despite rumours online that Prince Nillan might not be his biological son.
The two points above, while not many are an indication that his love is shown differently, something that is very problematic for a young boys physche growing up.
And why does Diamond behave the way he does with Dylan? I think this comes down to how his mother feels about Hamisa.
Of all his baby mamas, Hamisa is the only one Mama Dangote has blatantly shown her disregard for. Find a photo of the two together, if you can, if you don’t believe me.
And we all know how important an endorsement from Mama Chibu is to the musician. For now Hamisa is persona non grata for Mama Dangote, something that Diamond follows through with how he treats Hamisa and their son, Dylan.
Mama Dangote has never wished Dylan a happy birthday, unlike all her other grandkids. Talk about rejection.
Singer Diamond Platnumz knows how to change the news quickly so as to suit his preferredd narrative. Just a few weeks after his mother revealed the shocking news that Abdul Juma wasn’t his biological father, the Tanzanian singer decided to allow his 3rd baby mama, Tanasha to come and visit him with their son in tow.
That is all everyone is focusing on now as Tanasha who left Tanzania in a huff in early 2020 took their beautiful son, Naseeb Junior to see a father he hadn’t seen for close to a year.
Just like the way Zari’s visit to see Diamond late last year caused a furore, Tanasha’s visit has had pretty much had the same effect.
And what were her fellow baby mamas reactions to Miss Donna’s visit to see Chibu? Exasperated…This after a great number of fans reached out to them with information that Ms. Donna had landed in Tanzania to see her baby Daddy.
“Zari Tanasha Naye kaleta mtoto, unajiskiaje huko ulipo,” asked a fan. Miss Zarinah wasn’t playing around, telling the fan to learn how to mind his business, with a reminder that Diamond has other kids.
“Asante kwa umbea, wacha nijinyonge…learn to mind your business, Mwanaume si ana watoto wengine. Smh!” read Zari’s response.
And Mobetto wasn’t left out being told by fans that she should be preparing to take her son Dylan to spend time with his father as soon as Tanasha leaves.
However, she chose to borrow, Mama Dangote’s saying that “Ukoo Umejaa” as a perfect response to those pressuring her to take her son to Diamond’s mansion.
So Kenyans have this year been treated to exciting baby reveals by Kambua, and former tv girl Faith Muturi Ngugi. Even Ugandan sweetheart Juliana Kanyomozi shocked us with a baby reveal, while in the hospital bed.
And not one of us could have seen this coming honestly.
While we are happy and glad to see their glowing baby pictures, there is one thing some do as they try to hide the pregnancy from all of us.
If you take note from Kambu and Diana Marua, they post old photos including selfies that deceive us.
Scroll through their social media feed, and I can assure you there are others who are yet to announce their good news, and continue to fool us with old pics.
The second trick celebrities use is to wear loose fitting clothing leaving unsuspecting fans clueless.
Singer Avril often relied on this trick before she shocked us all with a baby bump reveal photo. She kept it under wraps for months before going public with her first child.
While many of them argue that they want to keep the good news from us for as long as possible, their fans argue that the effort is not worth it.
The only downside to that is having to carry random objects to hold in front of their bellies, wearing loose-fitting clothing and even changing the way they work.
Covering bellies with huge handbags and wearing only black is another trick employed by celebs.
They tend to wear peplum tops, with belts, and humongous handbags when they are out and about. Next time you hear rumors, pay attention to these tricks, you just might unearth some good news.
You know those celebrities who have always been so adamant about sharing pictures of their killer bodies? Those female celebrities when pregnant will suddenly begin to post throwback pictures and close up selfies, as they keep away from the public.
What other tricks do you think they use to fool us? Drop your comments below.
They end up becoming enemies with each other. Just ask Tanasha Donna and Zari Hassan or Hamisa Mobetto and Wema Sepetu who have all dated East Africa’s biggest musician.
Also, the subject of Diamond’s mom had been a borne of contention for the two as Wema called out Hamisa for apparently discussing Mama Dangote on national radio, something that Hamisa responded to in a low-key diss at Wema.
He has two kids with Zari, one with Hamisa and Tanasha Donna. Yeah so I guess anachukua, anaweka, waah!
I don’t know about you, but I’m going to put ‘Waah’ on full blast to get enjoy these good vibes.
With the new hit, Tanzania’s Diamond has now broken Davido’s YouTube record for most-viewed video in the first 24 hours.
It garnered over one million views within 8 hours of its release.
With this rare feat, Diamond has broken the record set by Nigerian artiste Davido earlier this year when his song ‘Fem’ attracted one million views within 9 hours of release.
Diamond took to his Instagram page to thank his fans for always supporting his music.. Rapper Octopizzo has however blasted Kenayns for supporting Diamond at the expense of their own artistes like Otile Brown.
A few weeks ago, Hamisa Mobetto disclosed how that in her short dalliance and romance with Diamond she had suffered three miscarriages before giving birth.
While speaking about the doubts about the paternity of her son Dylan she told Wasafi TV, “After the controversy surrounding the father of our son, he texted me and told me, ‘I know it’s not right but I would like us to have a DNA test’. We did the DNA and after two to three weeks, the results came back and it was confirmed Dylan was his kid.”
It is forgivable (the best term I can use for now) that at least if he had cheated he should have used a condom but the star was comfortable going skin on skin with Hamisa despite all the risks associated with that course of action.
For a musician who was ascending the musical echelons, this was a foolish miscalculation. Women can make or break any man and Diamond has more to lose than most men.
While some might suspect a budding romance, the truth is most likely more mundane. They are most likely working on some new music together.
Otile has been in a long-distance relationship with Ethipian ladyn Nabayet who resides in Australia. Even as recently as October the 10th this month, he posted a message celebrating her on his Instagram page. In the post he shared a cute video of him surprising Nabayet with a nice treat at a restaurant and with the waitresses cheering her on.
But I do wonder…How could a relationship between the two develop? I don’t think it would have the legs to go the distance but would most likely be a short relationship, one that would die because of the different stages the two celebs are in their respctive lives.
Hamisa says she was accused of inviting media people to the hospital so they could take videos of Diamond’s mum when she gave birth to Dylan, a thing she says she did not do.
The last time we had an issue. Ilikua baada mimi niliita wanahabari. Ikasemekana kuwa mimi niliita waandishi wa habari waje kumchukua video na pictures. I have said this many times. There is no mother who has just come out from giving birth who immediately thinks of calling the media. I didn’t know they were coming until they did. Diamond wasn’t able to come and I didn’t expect his mom to come herself.
She went on to explain that she has tried severally to get to talking with Diamond’s mum but she ignores her. Hamisa added that during Mama Diamond’s birthday, she sent her a message to celebrate her but she did not reply yet she read the message.
But Mama Diamond ain’t having any of that and recently sent a subtle dig at the socialite who started dating her son after meeting on the set of his song, “Salome”.
She has now claimed that Hamisa is forcing herself into her family, writing, “Ukoo wetu unatutosha jamani! Mtu analazimisha ukoo vipi? Ebu nisaidieni kisheria ukoo unalazimishiwa?”
Mama Diamond has in the past accused Hamisa to have trapped Diamond leading to their break up with Zari. Hamisa was also accused of seeking witchdoctor services in order to secure herself a place in Diamond’s marriage.
Hamisa Mobetto: A case study of women being their worst own enemies
Now that we have the history out of the way, let’s proceed. While Mama Diamond might have a legitimate beef with Hamisa, I believe that the way she is going about it is wrong-She will hurt any type of future relationship that she can/will have with Dylan.
Why? Even if Sandra might hate Hamisa like Satans breathes, her “daughter-in-law” still has her grandson Dylan, Diamond’s second-born son.
While it might be an inconvenient and disturbing fact for her, that doesn’t change the facts on the ground. Dylan will always be Diamond’s son and that will never ever change. A DNA test even proved this.
Another thing-Diamond is an adult male who made the decision to sleep with Hamisa multiple times-so many in fact that she got 3 miscarriages during their time together!
Dylan wasn’t an oops baby. And while Sandra might want to blame Hamisa for the pregnancy and the eventual demise of his marriage with Zari, this doesn’t change the fact that no one forced her son to stick his nether regions into Hamisa.
Hamisa Mobetto unpacked a lot recently when she was interviewed by Wasafi media. The mother of two had a lot to speak about but the vignette that stood out for most was her revelation of the trials she had faced having a baby while dating Diamond Platnumz.
Speaking in an interview with Wasafi TV Hamisa confessed that she had suffered three miscarriages before giving birth to her son, Dylan.
“If there’s someone who was 100 percent sure that Dylan was his kid, it was Diamond. I suffered three miscarriages before I gave birth to Dylan. During the pregnancy, we were together until the day I went to give birth.”
While I am happy for Hamisa and Diamond that they were able to finally get a child from their apparently short liaison, I still think the whole affair stinks to high heaven.
What get’s me is that Miss Mobetto was perfectly OK to date a man that she knew was already dating another woman. At the time of her affair with Diamond, the singer had already had a child with Zari Hassan his first baby mama.
Not only that, his second-born Nillan with Zari would be born a few months before Dylan was born. Tiffah, Diamond’s eldest daughter was born in August 2014, while Nillan was born in December 2016, with Dylan being born in August 2017.
This means that Diamond was seeing (sleeping with) Miss Mobetto for some time and not as a fling like we were made to understand. The rumours we had had at the time about the affair was that they met on the set of Diamond’s song, “Salome” where Miss Mobetto was the video vixen.
The joke doing the rounds since then was that Diamond would get kids on the first try because his pull-out game was as weak as Genghis Khan’s. But now that story can be put in the trash-bag as Hamisa revealed that she had 3 miscarriages before she got Dylan.
This brings me to my point; Miss Mobetto knew that the singer was in a long-term relationship with Zari but that didn’t stop her from still giving away the guava to him.
That Zari was pregnant with Nillan while Hamisa was sleeping with Diamond didn’t matter one bit to her. In fact, she slept with a married man so much so that she had multiple miscarriages during that time.
Dylan was not an oops baby but borne out of premeditated desire. She knew what she was doing with a married man and didn’t care what would happen when the world(Zari) found out. In Miss Mobetto’s world, it was (Me, Myself and I).
Zari would later on dump Diamond in early 2018, attributing his philandering to her decision. Many of her fans blamed Hamisa for the break-down of the relationship, something I didn’t quite understand then as I blamed Diamond solely for not keeping his zip up.
But with this new info, I see Hamisa in an entirely different light, that of women being their worst on enemies.
But that wouldn’t be the only time. She admitted that she would miscarry 2 more times before she was finally successful at getting Daylan.
She added that during this period she was still with the singer and that he was present when she went to deliver.
“Kabla sijamzaa Dylan niiwai kupata ujauzito, three pregnancies ambapo nilipata ujauzito wa kwanza ulitoka, tulisafiri sijui tunaenda nchi gani mimba ikatoka bahati mbaya. Nikaja nikapata ya pili, ikatoka, ya tatu ikatoka. Ni period ambayo tulikuwa Pamoja. Dylan alikuwa mimba ya nne so tulikuwa wote na ujauzito wote tulikuwa Pamoja mpaka siku ambayo mimi naenda kujifungua. Kwa hiyo I feel like kama kuna binadamu alikuwa na uhakika kwamba ule mtoto ni wa kwake, basi yeye ni number moja,” said Hamisa Mobetto.
But despite her views on the matter, Diamond still wasn’t convinced and asked for a DNA test.
“Tukaenda tukapima DNA nadhani walichukua vipimo vinne kila mtu (mama, baba na mtoto) tukasign pale ivo wakasema tusubirie sijui ni 2 or 3 weeks so tukasubiria majibu yakatoka mtoto akatoka kwa asilimia zote ni mtoto wake na ikaishia hivyo. Na kwa kweli wakati tunaelekea hospitali alikuwa anajiskia vibaya. It was very sad for me to watch as a mother kwa sababu as a mother ni mimi natakiwa nijiskie vibaya,” she narrated.
And it seems that his fans want him to add a fifth child with his second baby mama, Hamisa Mobetto. This came about after a video of the Tanzanian video vixen in the company of her Diamond Platnumz and their son Daylan went viral.
The two have been on excellent terms this past year inevitably got their millions of social media followers talking since the video’s release.
In the video which was released in bits, shows Diamond and the son Daylan inside his car before Hamisa later on showed her face, revealing that she was the one taking the videos.
That got fans going gaga with many suggesting that the pair should get another child as they looked so good together, while others took it as an opportunity to attack his other baby mamas, Tanasha Donna and Zari Hassan.
Below are some of the reactions;
evakeji211 Wow misa we need a baby girl soon❤❤ may god bless u all
abdyfatma1 😂😂😂😂 Kina tifa watachezeshwa jeje leo hadi wakome
official_mwalimu_kenyanboy Jamani aka kafamilia nakapenda Sana ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
johynnatz Mungu wanguu zarii atakufaa
katusiime51 Tanasha Donna wea a uuuuu😂😂😂😂😂😂come see
While some might think Tanasha and Hamisa are enemies according to the comments, the women actually get along. Just recently Tanasha celebrated Hamisa’s son Daylan after she posted a video of him. She wrote, “My munchkin jamaniiiii 😍🥰 His lil brother is waiting for him.”
The two are friends, even helping each other on Tanasha’s latest song, “Liar”. The area where fans might have a point is that Zari might not get along with the rest of Diamond’s baby mamas, something all the ladies have been covert about.
Tanasha Donna has been in the news recently with her new song, Liar, a song she did with Tanzanian-sounding singer Masauti.
As such she has been on a media blitz, and was recently interviewed by journalist, Tony Mwirigi who gave more tea for bloggers!
Miss Donna went on to admit that her baby daddy, Diamond Platnumz doesn’t still take care of the father of his son, Naseeb Junior as she has said in other interviews.
Speaking for the first time, Miss Donna went on to praise Miss Hamisa for being a hard working fashionable lady! During the interview, Mwirigi asked the singer about her relationship with her fellow baby mama, Zari but did so in an inadvertent way?
In response, Tanasha added, “Finya breaks kidogo.”
Her statement might still be unclear about the beef but what isn’t in question is that Zari was one of her harshest critics when she was still dating Diamond.
In her post, Donna could not help it but gush over Hamisa’s beauty who was jamming to her song.
“The beautiful @hamisamobetto aka Mama Fantasy na Dylan vibing to “LIAR”. She made sure I looked bomb in all the ancient Arabic style scenes courtesy of @mobettostyles . Asante sana kwa ku support & contribute to this song. Umependeza sana. 😍❤😍 #LIARMT (LINK ON BIO)” shared Ms. Donna.
And that wasn’t the end of it, Miss Mobetto went on to try to drum up support for Tanasha and Masauti’s song among her over 6.6 million followers.
“The Beautiful Mama NJ has A song Out guys ….”
This is the second time that Hamisa has worked with someone her baby daddy Diamond wasn’t really getting along with.
Earlier this year, she was featured as the video vixen in the Kiba’s song, something that stoked a lot of controversy about whether they were dating.
But she later revealed that Diamond had given her permission to do it.
The touch and go affair result in Miss Mobetto getting pregnant with her second child, a boy named Daylan. Since then one can’t say Hamisa’s name has been associated so frequently with her second baby daddy.
But as with many of Diamond’s baby mamas, some have claimed that Daylan might not be the Tanzanian singer’s son with some pointing at our very own parliamentarian Jaguar as the baby daddy, especially as the two have a close resemblance.
And the rumours have swirled since 2017 and were re-ignited this month after Jaguar commented on a photo Hamisa had posted of the boy, which he quickly deleted.
That raised eyebrows and made many wonder whether there could be any truth to the rumour. In a recent interview, Mobetto rubbished the reports stating that she doesn’t know Jaguar in person and they have never met.
“Sijawahi kumuona Jaguar katika maisha yangu, sijawahi kuonana naye, sijawahi kuwa na number yake ya simu ila sijawahi kuongea naye. Kwa hiyo sababu za kumpost mtoto wangu anazijua yeye mwenyewe lakini kwa sababu watu wengi Instagram wamekuwa wakumuunganisha na mtoto wangu picha, maybe that is one of the reasons. Lakini sijapata nafasi ya kuongea naye maana simjui, so hopefully the day ambayo nitamuona nitamuuliza” explained Hamisa.
In a separate interview, Hamisa explained that the rumours piss her off because people who always make them, were not there when the child was being fathered.
“When they say Dylan belongs to Jaguar I get annoyed because I know who the father is. Because I was the one who had sex so I know who the father is and I am not the kind to cheat in a relationship. I will be faithful until we break up. But I cannot mix when I’m with you, that’s my nature. A lot of girls can but I can’t,” Hamisa revealed.
Tanasha Donna has released a collabo with Masauti in a song dubbed ‘Liar’ where she talks about being able to pay bills on her own without ‘somebody’s help’.
After sharing pictures from the video shoot, we have now come to learn that Tanasha and Hamisa Mobetto are friends. Surprising since they never showed they talked. We all assumed Diamond’s baby mama’s all beef. Apparently Hamisa dressed Tanasha for some scenes in the new music video.
Tanasha and Hamisa get along so well that they even seem to be taking aim at Hamisa’s nemesisi Zari to show how mature they are. This comes a few days after Zari urged Diamonds mum to be careful about being bewitched after sharing too many pictures of granddaughter Tiffah.
The conversation struck me as a full on war on first baby mama Zari, who seems to be getting alot of attention from Diamond lately unlike the others.
Tanasha and Hamisa shared sweet affirmations on Instagram and the unity got fans noting how baby mama’s should get along and be each others support system.
It will be interesting to see what these two exes are also upto, and I’m also pretty sure Zari will respond. Mama Tee is always watching.


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Corn Ends Slightly Higher
DES MOINES, Iowa (Agriculture.com)--The WASDE Report Tuesday estimated less of an average U.S. corn yield than the trade expected. Thus, the corn market closed slightly higher.
At the close, the Dec. corn futures settled 3/4 of a cent higher at $3.69.
Nov. soybean futures ended 13 3/4 cents lower at $10.59.
Sep. wheat futures closed 10 1/2 cents lower at $6.13.
Dec. soymeal futures finished $5.50 lower at $343.50. Dec. soyoil futures settled $0.23 lower at $34.98.
In the outside markets, the NYMEX Brent crude oil is $0.52 per barrel lower, the dollar is higher and the Dow Jones Industrials are 24 points lower.
Sal Gilbertie, Teucrium Trading Inc., sums up the market's reaction to today's WASDE Report.
"Today’s post-report price action in the corn markets has been somewhat muted. Initial bearish reaction to higher total global corn production for the 2014/15 crop year seems to have been offset by lower than expected per acre yields and by increased U.S. domestic old-crop corn use resulting in lowered beginning stocks.
In the wheat markets, a significant increase in global wheat demand is more than offset by an increase in global wheat production, leaving markets somewhat balanced for now, Gilbertie says.
"New-crop soybean ending stocks are slightly higher than expected due to continued expectations of record per-acre yields, confirming the expected replenishment of the balance sheet from extremely tight current levels," he says.
Overall the report confirms a robust global supply outlook for all grains, he says.

domain: finance


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Saturday Scores: Pilots, Steel, Bobcats complete weekend sweeps
December 29, 2019
Topeka 3 @ Shreveport 2 – Austin McCarthy and Connor Zilisch each had a goal and an assist to lead the Pilots to a 3-2 win in Shreveport on Saturday, completing a weekend road sweep of the Mudbugs. A three-goal 1st period is all the Pilots would need as McCarthy, Zilisch, and John Gormley all scored within a span of eight minutes to put the road side ahead 3-0. The Mudbugs pulled within one goal with goals in the 2nd period from Ryan Waltman and Billy Feczko, but it would not be enough after the 3rd period went scoreless. Josh Langford made 17 saves in the win, while Richie Parent made 17 saves in the loss.
MN Magicians 4 @ Chippewa 6 – Steel forward Connor Szmul had two goals and two assists to lead the Steel to a 6-4 win on Saturday, which completed a weekend home sweep of the Magicians. The Magicians opened the game with an early goal from Marko Reifenberger, but the Steel answered with four straight goals from Jacob Decker, Killian Kiecker-Olson, Grisha Gotovets, and Isaac Moberg. Szmul would then add his two goals in the 3rd period to secure the win. Other scorers for the Magicians included two goals from Robert Christi and TJ Sagissor. Grant Boldt made 27 saves in the win. While Jaxon Friedman stopped 23 of 27 shots in the loss and Dysen Skinner stopped 21 of 23 shots in the loss.
Bismarck 5 @ Minot 4 (SO) – The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead and then got a late goal in regulation to send the game to overtime and a shootout, where they ultimately won 5-4 to complete a weekend home-and-home sweep of the Minotauros. The Bobcats got two goals early in the 1st period from Willy Stauber and Hunter Olson. Lars Rodne scored the next two goals for Bismarck, including the game-tying goal with just a minute left in regulation. Minot got goals from Sam Skinner, Jack Westlund, Wilhelm Wassberg, and Joseph Harguindeguy. In the shootout, Danny Magnuson had the lone goal for the Bobcats. Andrew Miller made 34 saves in the win, while Ben Garrity made 36 saves in the loss.
Austin 7 @ MN Wilderness 3 – The Bruins got four points from Dante Sheriff and three points from Carson Riddle in a 7-3 win on Saturday, which earned them a weekend split with the Wilderness. It was all Bruins from the start as they jumped out to a 6-0 lead, which included two goals apiece from both Sheriff and Riddle and others from Barrett Brooks and Peter Jacobs. Nathan Solis would add a 3rd period goal for the Bruins. The Wilderness got goals from Bram Scheerer, Garrett Worth, and Nathan Adrian. Tyler Shea made 30 saves in the win, while Kaleb Johnson made 13 saves in the loss.

domain: sports


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Perinatal exposure to di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate leads to restricted growth and delayed lung maturation in newborn rats
Background: Pregnant women and infants have significant exposures to the most commonly used plasticizer di-(2-ethyl-hexyl) phthalate (DEHP). Objectives: This study was designed to evaluate the effects of DEHP exposure on growth and lung maturation in rats and determine if DEHP regulation of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 gene (Hsd11b1) expression in the lung tissue plays a role in its effects on lung maturation. Method: Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were treated from gestational day 12 to postnatal day (PND) 21 with DEHP orally at dosages of 0, 10, 100 or 750 mg/kg/day, respectively (n = 8 for each group). Two rat pups (one male and one female) from each litter were sacrificed at PND 1 and 21. Body weight was measured and the lung was processed for histology and calculation of lung interstitial tissue proportion as well as real-time PCR determination of the expressions of Hsd11b1, surfactant associated protein-A1 gene (Sftpa1) and B gene (Sftpb). Results: The perinatal DEHP exposure led to a dose dependent intrauterine and postnatal growth restriction (P < 0.001). High dose DEHP (750 mg/kg/day) exposure led to decreased gas-exchange space as evidenced by increased lung interstitial tissue proportion (P < 0.001), but did not cause significant changes in Hsd11b1, Sftpal or Sftpb gene expression in the rat lung at PND 1. The DEHP-induced change in lung histology remained significant at PND 21 with improvement despite continual exposure to DEHP. Conclusion: Perinatal DEHP exposure leads to growth restriction and delayed lung maturation in newborn rats.
Chen, Shang-Qin, Jin-Ni Chen, Xiao-Hong Cai, Guo-Rong Chen, Yuan Gao, Renshan Ge, Hai-Shan Wu, Zhen-Lang Lin, and Jing Lin. 2011. "Perinatal exposure to di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate leads to restricted growth and delayed lung maturation in newborn rats," Journal of Perinatal Medicine 38(5): 515–521.

domain: medical


text:
I actually made two cards tonight... but one of them is a sample for Winterhaven 2010, so you'll have to wait till next week to see it! I'm excited about Winterhaven - there are lots of juicy challenges lined up for the two weeks and exciting prizes to be won. Come along and check it out - it'll be lots of fun. Now on to today's card...
Like most of my cards, this one designed itself... I started with the stamped border, and I got ink on the corner of the block and made a big mark in the middle of the card, so I had to cover that up somehow. I used the center of a sticky diecut frame to cover up the mess. It also covered up part of the border but that was okay! Then I added a RAKed stamped sentiment mounted off-center. And lastly it needed something to embellish the top of the mat and tie the colours together. I dug out some pastel punchy flowers and layered them into a 3D flower. To make the leaves 3D, lay them on a felt pad and draw a stylus down the center of the leaf to stretch and curl it. It adds a lot more life to them than leaving them flat. Apologies that the pic is so blurry. It's dark and the card had wet glue on it so I had to photograph it rather than scanning (besides the scanner would have squashed the flower!) and it came out rather blurry.
Stamp - Heidi Grace, Ink - Big and Juicy Hydrangea
On another note, I have six followers! Thank you for adding me to your list... I'm very excited, and when I get to 12 followers I'd like to reward someone with a RAK. So tell your friends... and don't forget to leave me comments so I know you're here!

domain: artistic


text:
The country could be facing its coldest night of the year, or even the winter, tonight as temperatures plunge to -4C and may sink even lower.
The north west of England experienced a chill on Thursday, with the mercury plunging to as low as - 4C in some areas.
A spokesperson for the Met Office, Richard Miles, said: “High pressure is in charge over the UK, and a cold front moving south yesterday has preceded the influence of a northerly air mass.
“This will bring below average temperatures of many toady, particularly in the south of the UK, but largely clear skies will mean it still feels quite pleasant from most areas.
“Tonight will bring a widespread sharp frost and some places might see their coldest night of 2022 so far.”
Another meteorologist at the Met Office, Aidan McGivern, backed up these predictions, saying: “It’ll be perhaps the coldest night of the winter for some southern parts of the country.”
The UK Health and Security Agency alerted people in central and southern England to look out for vulnerable people as temperatures fall.
The Met Office prediction for tonight’s weather said the skies would be “dry and clear for the most with light winds”.
Widespread frost is to be expected for much of England, Wales and southern Scotland, while the north and the northwest will be protected from the worst of the chill because of cloud cover in the region.
The BBC weather centre said: “High pressure will dominate over the coming days, keeping conditions mostly dry and settled.”
They predicted that Saturday will be a “dry day with plenty of sunshine”, where as Sunday will be cloudier with a few sunny spells.

domain: news


text:
The New Tolerance Campaign is partnering with FIRE to empower students, alumni, and citizens to support a pro-free speech president at Emerson College.Take Action
New Tolerance Campaign is a watchdog organization mobilizing Americans to confront intolerance double-standards by establishment institutions, civil rights groups, universities, and socially-conscious brands. NTC action campaigns empower ordinary Americans to hold accountable self-proclaimed arbiters of tolerance when they betray their own stated values.Read More
Sign up for our email list to get alerts about new campaigns and updates about how the current ones are going.
WORST OF THE WOKE: 2021 The Top 10 most hypocritical institutions of the year — and one “Champion of Tolerance” Many individuals and organizations gave tremendous lip service to “diversity, equity, and inclusion” throughout 2021, but their actions spoke far louder than their words. Here are the 10 worst offenders: Award Winner: Major League Baseball […]Read more
News anchor, author, and political commentator: Liz Wheeler has been using her media platform to speak out against hypocrisy and phony tolerance for years. Earlier this year, she graciously accepted an invitation from the New Tolerance Campaign to join our Advisory Board, lending her name to our efforts rallying the grassroots to push back against […]Read more
Presidential Search Committee to hear from everyday Americans requesting a pledge to support viewpoint diversity from the school’s next leader Washington, DC & Philadelphia, PA — The New Tolerance Campaign (NTC) today announced a partnership with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) on a grassroots campaign calling for a commitment to freedom of […]Read more
Check out our current campaigns and add your voice to the causes you care about.
Have you noticed a clear case of biased tolerance that we should address? Let us know!
Sign up to stay in the loop on all of our latest efforts in the fight for real tolerance!


text:
An exploration of the relationship between size and risk in a downside risk framework applied to Malaysian property shares
Lee, Chyi Lin, Robinson, Jon and Reed, Richard 2006, An exploration of the relationship between size and risk in a downside risk framework applied to Malaysian property shares, in PRRES 2006 : Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference of the Pacific Rim Real Estate Society, Pacific Rim Real Estate Society, [Auckland, New Zealand], pp. 1-15.
(Some files may be inaccessible until you login with your Deakin Research Online credentials)
PRRES 2006 : Proceedings of the 12th Annual Conference of the Pacific Rim Real Estate Society
Pacific Rim Real Estate Society Conference
Pacific Rim Real Estate Society
Place of publication
[Auckland, New Zealand]
The relationship between size and risk (systematic and unsystematic risk) has received considerable attention in recent literature. However, these studies employ variance as the risk measure, which the appropriateness for using this risk measure is always questioned by researchers and practitioners due to its underlying strict assumptions. Therefore, there is crucial to adopt an alternative risk measure for ascertaining the relationships. The aim of the study is to examine the relationships between size and systematic downside risk and unsystematic downside risk in line with the theoretical sound of this risk measure. The empirical evidences reveal that the size is strongly correlated with unsystematic downside risk. While, there is a weak inverse relationship between size and systematic downside risk.
Field of Research
150205 Investment and Risk Management
Socio Economic Objective
970115 Expanding Knowledge in Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services
Unless expressly stated otherwise, the copyright for items in Deakin Research Online is owned by the author, with all rights reserved.
Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that permission has been obtained for items included in DRO.
If you believe that your rights have been infringed by this repository, please contact email@example.com.


text:
Casting notice posted on auditionsfree.com, casting location: Wilmington,DE or Philadelphia,PA
CALL FOR ACTORS FOR SHORT 16MM
Filming Location: Wilmington, DE ( 25 miles outside of Philadelphia, PA)
Temple University Master of Fine Arts: Film and Media Arts Student seeking the following characters for a short minute dramatic film titled “Smoke”:
a) Johnny (male), main character with many lines, mid to late 20’s, tall/average height, average build, classic Americana look, controlling, confident
b) Abby (female), many speaking lines, mid to late 20’s, short/average height, beautiful, confident
c) Jerry (male), many speaking lines, mid to late 20’s, average height, average build nervous
Shooting Schedule: Friday, November 5th, Saturday, November 6th. Must be FLEXIBLE with time. Plan to shoot all day if necessary.
No pay, but meals, 16mm film experience for resume/reel, screen credit and DVD copy provided.
Would like to audition ASAP at Temple University, Annenberg Hall 2020 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122 (audition location is flexible). If you are selected for an audition, the producer or director will be in touch with you.
Send headshot / bio ASAP to Day.C.Timothy@gmail.com
For further information, call 302-757-1264 (cell)
Casting Location: Wilmington,DE or Philadelphia,PA
Contact email: Day.C.Timothy@gmail.com
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text:
This story is part of Welcome to Mars, our series exploring the red planet.
Think you have keen eyes? You’re going to need all your visual acuity to spot NASA’s Perseverance rover hiding out in a Mars landscape photo snapped by the Ingenuity helicopter.
The rotorcraft was acting as a Martian landscape scout on Aug. 4 when it managed to capture the rover in the distance across an expanse of sand dunes and rocks. The picture comes from Ingenuity’s 11th flight. You’ll have to look carefully to make out the rover among the rocky outcrops.
“Ingenuity’s aerial images are awesome — but even better when you get to play ‘Where’s Perseverance?’ with them,” NASA JPL senior systems engineer Robert Hogg said in a statement Wednesday. If you zoom in, you can make out the rover’s wheels and mast.
Still looking? NASA gave some instructions for finding the rover, which the helicopter spotted from about 1,600 feet (500 meters) away and 39 feet (12 meters) up in the air. Start with Ingenuity’s shadow at the bottom of the picture. Trace a line straight up and look for the bright white speck just to the right of center.
Here’s what it looks like when you zoom in and crop the image:
Ingenuity has gone from demonstrating the first powered, controlled flight on another planet to showing how an aerial machine can be used as a scouting companion to a land-bound rover. Part of its work is to take photos of interesting geology to help the rover team make decisions about where to explore in the Jezero Crater, an ancient lake bed.
This would be a great time to revisit your sense of awe for planetary exploration. It’s incredible to know we can look at a picture of Mars taken by a helicopter and spot a rolling laboratory that’s looking for signs of past microbial life. Wild.
Follow CNET’s 2021 Space Calendar to stay up to date with all the latest space news this year. You can even add it to your own Google Calendar.

domain: geography


Mario Balotelli has joined Italian Serie B side Monza on a free transfer.
The Italian striker has been without a team since leaving relegated Brescia at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.
Ambitious Monza were promoted as Serie C champions last season and are owned by former AC Milan and Italian national Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who signed Balotelli twice for the Rossoneri.
They sit ninth in Serie B and are managed by former Milan midfielder and boss Cristian Brocchi. Among his teammates at Monza, Balotelli will find Kevin-Prince Boateng and Gabriel Paletta, who he played alongside at Milan.
Balotelli started his career at Inter Milan, where he won the the Serie A title three years in a row as well as the Coppa Italia and Champions League in 2010 as part of the Treble. He also won the Golden Boy award as Europe’s best young player that year.
Following a season at Anfield, he once again joined Milan on loan before he moved to Nice in 2016. Following a short stint at Marseille, he returned to Italy with hometown club Brescia, but could not stop them from being relegated.


Rubber is the most common dispensing dispensing machine equipped with accessories, simply install the needle can start dispensing in the rubber barrel bottom, no need to install the dispensing valve and pressure barrel assembly small rubber tube, so the cost is low, mainly used in the low demand dispensing work, however, the rubber links the needs of ordinary dispensing is clearly unable to meet, this is because the rubber glue dispensing less can not adapt to the demand, in order to enhance the quality and quantity of glue storage replacement undoubtedly is very important.
Replace the utility of durable pneumatic pressure barrel can improve the glue storage capacity, pressure bucket capacity is very large, can accommodate more glue glue to provide stable conditions for dispensing, dispensing valve should choose suitable for the production demand as a plastic accessories, the pressure barrel end is connected with the air source end is connected with the dispensing valve the material inlet, and the dispensing valve inlet is connected with the controller, can be stable and efficient working order dispensing mode.
The use of pressure barrel has more advantages than ordinary rubber cylinder, pressure tanks can store more capacity more kinds of glue, the glue is not stable or lack of glue less glue dispensing machine configuration without the problem of work pressure barrel when the support of high and low viscosity glue dispensing, gas control glue stable flow point glue valve for dispensing pressure barrel made of stainless steel, corrosion erosion resistance, which has a longer working life.
Sometimes, there may be some small problems in pressure barrels. For example, if the supply pressure is not enough, the glue transportation is too difficult. If operators do not have relevant knowledge, they may be misjudged as the pressure bucket is broken, so we need to re adjust the pressure on the top of the pressure barrel to operate properly.


text:
Browse Glitter Wallpaper with collections of Background, Cute, Glitter, Iphone, Rainbow.
Wallpaper Size: 135 KB
Wallpaper Name: glitter-wallpaper-idlewp-7.jpg
Devices: Mobile Phone - Tablet - PC - Laptop
A total of 14 people viewed.
Resolution: 640 x 1010 px
Glitter is an assortment of small, reflective particles that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors.


text:
Get severe weather and daily forecast alerts delivered by text or email by signing up at www.goerie.com/alerts.
Erie and Crawford counties are under a flash flood watch from Saturday at 4 p.m. through Tuesday at 4 a.m.
The National Weather Service in Cleveland on Friday issued the watch for both counties and for Ashtabula County, Ohio. The forecast calls for the possibility of multiple rounds of heavy rain totaling 2 inches to 3 inches, and locally higher amounts of 4 inches to 6 inches.
"The risk for flash flooding will increase after each round of rainfall, particularly in poor drainage areas near creeks, streams and ditches," the weather service warned. "Street flooding is likely. Rapid runoff will cause area rivers and stream to rise, likely resulting in flooding."
The chance of showers will increase through the day Saturday, with a 90 percent chance of rain Saturday night, according to the weather service forecast. Showers and thunderstorms are likely Sunday and Sunday night, and again Monday. The heaviest rainfall is likely Saturday night through Sunday night.
High temperatures are expected to be in the low 70s each day, with low temperatures in the low 60s.
Check your local forecast by adding your ZIP code at www.goerie.com/weather. Get severe weather and daily forecast alerts delivered by text or email by signing up at www.goerie.com/alerts.


text:
In summary I have been driving 5248 km across the South Island. 99% sealed roads.
The weather was fine from my perspective. I have expected more trouble from this end.
I couldn’t shoot the Winter photos I had in mind There was simply not enough snow on the mountain peaks.
BTW: I remember that several persons expected a hard and long winter. So far they were not lucky.
I could shoot more mirror photos than expected,
more panoramas than I had in mind (hope they will be good - crossing fingers)
I found more stunning landscapes at unexpected places.
Sometimes you need to travel the opposite direction, as you cannot look into the mirror all the time
and sometimes you have to bypass the direct way on secondary (but sealed) roads.
Everything is „eeazeee“ and „phaantasticc“ down here.
Really, it is!
For my Motorcycle friends & for driving exercises...:
Streets are in good shape, are empty, unless you are at the „bigger places“ like CHCH, Dunedin, Q’Town & Nelson.
The only risk is to get distracted from driving by watching the landscape.
The South Island is worth a Motorcycle trip.
I hope I can adjust back quickly to drive on the „right side of the road“
I can forget the weird right turn rule being in place down here.
if you turn right from one road into another one, the approaching traffic has the right of way, unless if someone of that approaching traffic wants to turn left; means into the same road you are heading to.
The rule is that that person turning left has to wait for you crossing into the road in front of him/her.
That caused some push of adrenalin - sometimes for me sometimes for the other party. in most of all cases when I was turning left into such a road, they expected me to wait and I didn’t (in the first two or three cases).
OOOOPS ,but I learned to wait the soft way, luckily.


text:
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has captured the first-ever clear evidence for carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of a planet outside the solar system.
The finding, to be published in the journal Nature, offers hope that in the future, Webb may be able to detect and measure carbon dioxide in the thinner atmospheres of smaller rocky planets.
This observation of a gas giant planet named 'WASP-39 b' which is orbiting a Sun-like star 700 light-years away provides important insights into the composition and formation of the planet, the US space agency said in a statement late on Thursday.
"As soon as the data appeared on my screen, the whopping carbon dioxide feature grabbed me. It was a special moment, crossing an important threshold in exoplanet sciences," said Zafar Rustamkulov, a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University.
WASP-39 b is a hot gas giant with a mass roughly one-quarter that of Jupiter (about the same as Saturn) and a diameter 1.3 times greater than Jupiter.
Previous observations from other telescopes, including NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes, revealed the presence of water vapor, sodium, and potassium in the planet's atmosphere.
Webb's unmatched infrared sensitivity has now confirmed the presence of carbon dioxide on this planet as well.
"Detecting such a clear signal of carbon dioxide on WASP-39 b bodes well for the detection of atmospheres on smaller, terrestrial-sized planets," said Natalie Batalha of the University of California at Santa Cruz, who leads the team.
Understanding the composition of a planet's atmosphere is important because it tells us something about the origin of the planet and how it evolved.
"Carbon dioxide molecules are sensitive tracers of the story of planet formation," said Mike Line of Arizona State University.


text: N sperm. Definitely, oxidative anxiety was identified as a mechanism involved in FNT-induced sperm DNA damage . Sperms are very vulnerable to oxidative harm attributable to its higher polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) content and low antioxidant protection and are very susceptible towards the ROS attack . This reflects the acquiring of this study that showed each doses of FNT reduced the sperm good quality by minimizing the sperm motility, count, and viability, and growing abnormal morphology. These findings are in agreement with earlier research that talked about that inhibition of enzymatic antioxidant activity at the same time as increase in lipid peroxidation were found to be involved inside the oxidative Mineralocorticoid Receptor Formulation pressure mechanism in minimizing the sperm top quality following OP pesticides exposure [22,48]. FNT, like other OPs, has been reported to become an antiandrogenic agent and mimics the oestrogen hormone that results in the disruption of testosterone circulation . In the end, this disturbance causes changes in spermatogenesis in the testis and decreases sperm synthesis . Fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) plays quite a few essential roles in sperm motility acquisition and spermatogenesis by regulating apoptosis or mitochondrial activity . On the other hand, downregulation of FAAH by fenitrooxon will constantly stimulate the cannabinoid signal,Toxics 2021, 9,10 ofleading to apoptosis of testicular cells which include the Sertoli and Leydig cells. This will trigger an imbalance of hormone regulation which include for testosterone, which potentially led to the reduction in sperm high quality within this study. four.2. DNA Fragmentation Inside the present study, FNT was verified to cause a rise within the sperm DNA fragmentation. S chez-Pe and colleagues  reported that about 75 of Mexican workers who had been exposed to OP showed a DNA fragmentation index (DFI) of more than 30 compared with these not exposed to OP, who only showed 9.9 of DFI. A previous investigation reported that male rats provided artesunate, an antimalarial agent, skilled sperm DNA strand breaks as observed through a comet assay evaluation . One of the causes involved within the OP-induced sperm DNA damages is oxidative tension. HCV Protease Inhibitor manufacturer spermatozoa are vulnerable to absolutely free radicals because of their membranes which might be rich in PUFAs, top to lipid peroxidation. The final outcome of lipid peroxidation is mutagenic and genotoxic, which sooner or later affects the DNA . In addition, DNA repair is limited inside the spermatozoa and only happens through certain processes on the spermiogenesis. During nuclear condensation within the epididymis, the repair mechanism is no longer activated [55,56]. In addition, OP is thought of as a potent phosphorylating agent in animals on account of its ability to modify the chromatin structure by way of protamine for DNA binding. This condition will result in the DNA to become exposed to the induction of denaturation in situ . 4.three. Developmental Landmarks Interestingly, the damaged DNA which is carried by the sperm has the possibility to be repaired by oocytes. Nonetheless, the damaged sperm has a important effect on fertilization and its viability ahead of reaching the oocytes. It is going to also decrease the fertilizing capacity and pregnancy outcomes [58,59]. Our prior study reported that parental exposure of FNT lowered the reproductive overall performance and pregnancy outcomes . Although parental exposure of FNT was verified to impair the reproductive efficiency and pregnancy outcomes, its effects towards the F1 progenies is still uncertain. Indic.


text:
- Daily Zen
Wind Energy is gaining ground over other renewable energy sources as a viable alternative with average costs coming down
The U.S. wind industry added more than 1,800 megawatts (MW) of new capacity in the first quarter of 2020, says a report from the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
In this period, the U.S., energy generation from wind, solar, and hydroelectric dams topped coal generation.
This was mainly due to the spring peaks and renewable generation and reduced electrical demand due to the country’s lockdowns.
But this should not overlook the renewed efforts to ease out coal-based energy generation and a concentration on renewable energy production.
A market report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory says that 9 gigawatts of new wind power capacity, representing an investment of $13 billion, was installed in the U.S. in 2019. Wind energy output rose to more than 7% of the entire nation’s electricity supply, more than 10% in fourteen states, and more than 40% in two of those states—Iowa and Kansas.
The nine gigawatts power generation is slightly more than in each of the four previous years. At least 225 gigawatts of wind power is seeking transmission interconnection, 5% of which is paired with storage.—to tally up impressive year-end totals for the wind industry.
But as for the grid carrying that electricity, a little under 1,000 miles of transmission lines were built last year—the second-lowest amount in the last ten years.
The improved wind energy performance can be attributed to larger turbines and taller towers with longer blades. The area swept by the average wind turbine rotor has more than doubled since 2010. The average rotor diameter is now 120 meters, up from 80 meters a decade ago. The average capacity of a turbine built last year reached 2.55 megawatts. The height of the tower now averages 90 meters.
Moreover, 1,800 older turbines were retrofitted last year, mostly with longer blades.
These changes have boosted capacity factors. The report notes that the average capacity of turbines built-in 2014-2018 was 41 percent, compared to 31 percent from turbines built-in 2004-2012.
The newer generation of turbines is also giving a higher output compared to wind farms built before 2008.
An added factor to the heightened wind power capacity is prices, which have fallen to $700–$850/kW. The average cost of wind projects installation in 2019 was $1,440/kW, down more than 40 percent since the peak in 2009 and 2010. That brings the average cost of electricity produced from wind to $36 per megawatt-hour down from the $85-90/MWh range seen a decade ago. Wind has maintained its cost lead over natural gas electricity, although solar electricity has caught up in the last few years.
The national average of power purchase agreements has dropped to below 2¢/kWh. This average downfall has been aided by projects that hail from the low-priced interior of the country, where the wind resource is strongest. The federal tax support has also helped the cause.
The report says that wind power will gradually get cheaper. The transmission capacity of wind-generated energy power is still limited. Electricity from wind-rich areas in the middle of the country can’t easily be sent to meet demand elsewhere. Without storage, wind energy lags behind as a big player on the grid.
The report points out that many factors affect the prices of wind power. Its market value is affected by the location, hourly output profiles, and how those characteristics correlate with real-time electricity prices and capacity markets.
The report says there will be a significant increase in wind projects through 2020 and 2021. Various forecasts show expected wind power capacity additions of more than 10 gigawatts in 2020. But we have to factor in the slowdown forced by Covid-19 and also the gradual phasing out of federal tax incentives for renewable energy.

domain: economics


text:
1. 4 A.M. the Musical
What's it like to be awake when the rest of your world is asleep? Meet early morning joggers, a lonely short-wave radio DJ, a modern Romeo and Juliet, the writer of a most unusual letter... Through songs, scenes and monologues, the teens of 4 A.M. search for connection and navigate their fears and dreams.


iPhone 15s have been in production for some time now, and we already know more about the design of the iPhone 15 Pro, and in particular what its new buttons on the edges will look like.
At the beginning of the year, we learned that Apple was considering ditching physical buttons on its next high-end smartphones, in favor of capacitive ones. These changes were first seen when the CAD-based renderings of the iPhone 15 Pro were revealed.
Since then, other reports have outlined the changes Apple was going to make to its hardware buttons. As in the case of Android smartphones, Apple has chosen to use just the exampleOne button for volumeand was also preparing for Change the switch to mute the iPhone.
This is what the buttons on the iPhone 15 Pro will look like
New renders from China have unveiled the edge of the iPhone 15 Pro, through which we can see all the new buttons of the smartphone. On the left side of the device, Apple will first make a major change to its volume buttons, as mentioned above.
In fact, instead of reaching for two separate buttons to increase or decrease the volume, Apple would have chosen to use just one. So that will sufficePress the button at the top to increase the volume, and at the bottom to decrease it.
Apple will also change its physical switch to put the smartphone in silent mode, that little button that would have been toggled back and forth. This will become a simple “push” type button, As you can see in the image above. We imagine that the new button will not only have one function, and that it will be possible for example to keep pressing it to perform another action.
Not all iPhone users should appreciate these new buttons, but they do have one big advantage: They reduce the number of removable parts, which reduces the risk of corrosion. So iPhones need to be a little more durable, a point that Apple has been insisting on for many years.
“Hardcore beer fanatic. Falls down a lot. Professional coffee fan. Music ninja.”
Images are transmitted directly from Mars for the first time
Assassin’s Creed Mirage, Nexus and Jade will be shown at the Ubisoft | Conference Xbox One
Apple Store: Want to go Parly 2, and fresh air for Oprah?


text:
How HackerEarth co-founder’s 7-month-old coding startup made it to Y Combinator’s Winter Batch ’21
Codingal, a live coding and STEM learning startup from Bengaluru, has been selected for Y Combinator’s Winter Batch ’21, after raising undisclosed funds from the Silicon Valley-based tech accelerator.
Wednesday March 03, 2021,
5 min Read
Vivek Prakash knows a thing or two about building online communities.
As the Co-founder and CTO ofsince 2012, the alumnus built and nurtured a four million-strong community of developers and programmers from all over the world, and even assisted enterprises with their technical hiring needs.
But 2019 onwards, Vivek was on the lookout for his next big idea that could keep him engaged for 10 to 15 years. The K-12 education space in India caught his attention.
He tells, “While leading the HackerEarth community across geographies, I realised that high school kids in the US and China were interested in participating in coding contests and hackathons. Schools there had a well-defined K-12 computer science framework. But, in India, the school curriculum was boring and outdated. It confirmed my belief that this is an area worth spending my time on.”
“That the K-12 scene also exploded around this time was just a coincidence,” he says.
Vivek quit HackerEarth in January 2020, and set up Codingal in July 2020. The Bengaluru-based startup offers a live platform for K-12 students to learn coding and STEM subjects in a fun manner.
Codingal went live in September 2020, after acquiring Skillovate Learning — a Pune-based startup that taught coding and robotics to school students.
Following the acquisition, Skillovate Learning founder Satyam Baranwal (an IIT Dhanbad alumnus) joined Codingal as its Co-founder and COO.
Vivek says, “Our focus was on having good quality teachers and a great curriculum that has no fluff but only the real stuff. All teachers on Codingal are mandated to have a computer science background and prior teaching experience.”
Courses on offer and early growth
Codingal offers live coding courses across three segments of K12: block coding (Class 1 to 5), web development (Class 6 to 8), Python and robotics (Class 9 to 12). Users can book a free class before opting for a course.
Each course has 92 classes and runs for a year. All students get customised learning paths and additional tools and guidance to build apps, websites, games, chatbots, etc. Most classes are live 1:1, but 10 percent of it is peer-to-peer learning.
Codingal’s curriculum is focused on helping kids improve their logical thinking, problem-solving skills, and conceptual clarity on complex topics by 70 percent.
The platform also aims to inspire more students, especially girls, to take up computer science and be ready for 21st century jobs.
Vivek shares, “Coding jobs are the future. They already constitute more than 60 percent of all roles in science, technology, engineering, and math. Those who start young will be ahead by the time they get into college. They will be creators of the future. We envision Codingal as the default playground for every child interested in learning computer science by building apps, games, and websites.”
In five months, Codingal claims to have enrolled over 40,000 students and held more than 6,000 live classes. It has a paid user retention rate of 80 percent. The platform is also fostering community-building through coding competitions and hackathons that let students showcase their projects from the get-go.
The startup has also partnered with premier institutions like BITS Pilani, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee, and various schools, to run nation-wide coding competitions.
selection and future roadmap
Last month, Codingal was inducted into Y Combinator’s Winter Batch 2021. It also raised an undisclosed amount from the Silicon Valley-based startup accelerator. It plans to use the funds to enhance its curriculum, expand its teacher base to 10,000, and grow the coding community to one million students in three years.
By the end of 2021, Codingal is targeting 250,000 registered users, half a million live classes (free and paid), and $3 million ARR.
“Our selection by Y Combinator is an exciting development for us, and we count upon their support in building Codingal as a global online school in the K-12 segment,” says the founder.
Prior to Y Combinator, Codingal had raised $560,000 in a seed round led by Rebright Partners, Java Capital, and GSF Accelerator in November 2020. It would be using the capital to grow users, and introduce more STEM-related courses and competitions.
Karteek Pulapaka, Co-Founder & Partner, Java Capital, said, "Students thrive when learning is experiential and when it engages the peer community. Vivek and Satyam have deep expertise in building cutting-edge computer science curriculum and proven ability in building massive community-driven platforms.”
“Codingal’s community engagement through gamification, quizzes, and hackathons will be crucial not only in imparting up-to-date coding skills but also in making learning fun and exciting,” he added.
While it’s still early days, Codingal has entered a K-12 market that not only has a captive learning audience, but also sees 260 million enrollments annually.
But this sector is also very cluttered, with a plethora of STEM learning startups, including BYJU’S-owned WhiteHat Jr, Toppr Codr, Coding Ninjas, Tekie, Camp K12, LeapLearner, Tinker Coders, CodeYoung, Codevidhya, Dcoder, and several others vying for market share. Coding for K12 students is estimated to be a $14 billion market.
How then does Codingal plan to differentiate itself?
Vivek signs off with, “User retention is going to be very important, and those who will play the long-term game will sustain and thrive. We understand learning paths deeply, and we will stick to the value we are providing to end users.”
Edited by Teja Lele


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Mayan artifact wrested from nefarious looters [with the help of Arthur Demarest, Vanderbilt University ( VU )].
By Dan Vergano
Now safe in Guatemala’s National Museum, the limestone altar, whose recovery was announced Wednesday, sheds light on the political life of the Mayan era. Carved in the year 796 to honor a treaty in the Mayan city of Cancuén, the altar depicts two kings playing a ritual ballgame.
The altar’s recent past sheds light on the extent of modern looting.
Remains of the ancient Mayan civilization lie throughout Central America. Two years ago, heavy rains uncovered the altar at the excavation of the Guatemalan site that was once a major trading center and royal palace. Before archaeologists even laid eyes on it, however, a gang of looters stole it.
Since then, competing gangs have been battling over it. At one point, it twas buried again. There were gun battles between rival thieves, as well as a worldwide Interpol alter once the theft was discovered.
The loss became known when drug traffickers beat a local woman this year to learn the altar’s hiding place.
Villagers alerted archaeologist Arthur Demarest of Vanderbilt University ( VU ) in Nashville. Demarest and his colleagues had been working with the local Mayan people in a tourism management program sponsored by the National Geographic Society.
Working with Guatemalan investigators over the past six months, Arthur Demarest helped police recover the artifact. Authorities used undercover operations to arrest a network of thieves and dealers in Guatemala and Belize. “They operate like drug traffickers. In many cases, they are drug traffickers,” Demarest says.
The looters wanted at least $4,000, but once overseas, “that altar would eventually have gone for millions,” says University of Mississippi anthropologist Gabriel Wrobel. Art collectors buy up stolen items for their beauty, heedless of the knowledge lost about ancient culture, he says.
The past: The stolen alter, which is the size of a manhole cover and weights 600 pounds, was recovered through an unusual collaboration of undercover agents, Mayan villagers and an American archaeologist. Several looters are awaiting trial for the theft.
The ritual ballgame depicted on the altar was standard Mayan practice to mark the forging of treaties or alliances, says Mayan hieroglyphics expert Ian Graham of Havard’s Peabody Museum. they were the “photo ops” of the Mayan world, says Demarest, [ VU ].
The altar features the Mayan king of Cancuén, Taj Chan Ahk, who was expanding his rule at a time when Mayan civilization elsewhere was collapsing.
Archaeologists use artifacts like the altar to detail “year by year” the fall of the Mayans and debate its cause, Demarest [ VU ] says. Also, the recovered objects from the Royal Ball Court at Cancuén point to the location of the king’s tomb, slated for future excavation.
About 30 villages take part in tourism efforts near Cancuén, partly funded the U.S. Agency for International Development.
The future: Vanderbilt archaeologist Arthur Demarest [ VU ] trains Mayan villagers to be tour guides for a “sustainable tourism” project.


Published January 13, 2021
Texas State Representatives and Senators gathered on Tuesday for the opening day of the session. For the next 140 days, our elected officials will be debating bills on just about every topic imaginable. Each week, we will send out an update to let you know what is happening with agriculture and food bills, as well as other important related topics such as water and eminent domain.
We’ll start by sharing information about the legislative session in general, then the local foods bills. And don’t miss the action item at the end – this first call to your legislators truly can be a positive experience for both of you!
Here are some things to keep in mind as we look ahead to the next few months:
1. The system is designed to kill bills, not to pass them. During most legislative sessions, the majority of the bills that are filed die at some stage. Typically, only one quarter to one third actually pass and become law – and only a small fraction of those are bills brought by small, niche organizations like FARFA.…


You can currently download the New York Dolls - Bad Detective album for free in mp3, flac formats at c.concierge-plus.fr. It is also possible to buy "New York Dolls - Bad Detective" on Amazon, Discogs as listen or rent it on Spotify, Apple Music.
Get the full album by New York Dolls. Leaked Bad Detective ZIP or RAR, MP3 or FLAC format music. All songs for free.


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Concept: Dichotic listening
Differences in cognitive control in children and adolescents with combined and inattentive subtypes of ADHD.
- Child neuropsychology : a journal on normal and abnormal development in childhood and adolescence
- Published over 8 years ago
The aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder-combined subtype (ADHD-C) and predominantly inattentive subtype (ADHD-PI) to direct their attention and to exert cognitive control in a forced attention dichotic listening (DL) task. Twenty-nine, medication-naive participants with ADHD-C, 42 with ADHD-PI, and 40 matched healthy controls (HC) between 9 and 16 years were assessed. In the DL task, two different auditory stimuli (syllables) are presented simultaneously, one in each ear. The participants are asked to report the syllable they hear on each trial with no instruction on focus of attention or to explicitly focus attention and to report either the right- or left-ear syllable. The DL procedure is presumed to reflect different cognitive processes: perception (nonforced condition/NF), attention (forced-right condition/FR), and cognitive control (forced-left condition/FL). As expected, all three groups had normal perception and attention. The children and adolescents with ADHD-PI showed a significant right-ear advantage also during the FL condition, while the children and adolescents in the ADHD-C group showed a no-ear advantage and the HC showed a significant left-ear advantage in the FL condition. This suggests that the ADHD subtypes differ in degree of cognitive control impairment. Our results may have implications for further conceptualization, diagnostics, and treatment of ADHD subtypes.
It is well known that the planum temporale (PT) area in the posterior temporal lobe carries out spectro-temporal analysis of auditory stimuli, which is crucial for speech, for example. There are suggestions that the PT is also involved in auditory attention, specifically in the discrimination and selection of stimuli from the left and right ear. However, direct evidence is missing so far. To examine the role of the PT in auditory attention we asked fourteen participants to complete the Bergen Dichotic Listening Test. In this test two different consonant-vowel syllables (e.g., “ba” and “da”) are presented simultaneously, one to each ear, and participants are asked to verbally report the syllable they heard best or most clearly. Thus attentional selection of a syllable is stimulus-driven. Each participant completed the test three times: after their left and right PT (located with anatomical brain scans) had been stimulated with repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), which transiently interferes with normal brain functioning in the stimulated sites, and after sham stimulation, where participants were led to believe they had been stimulated but no rTMS was applied (control). After sham stimulation the typical right ear advantage emerged, that is, participants reported relatively more right than left ear syllables, reflecting a left-hemispheric dominance for language. rTMS over the right but not left PT significantly reduced the right ear advantage. This was the result of participants reporting more left and fewer right ear syllables after right PT stimulation, suggesting there was a leftward shift in stimulus selection. Taken together, our findings point to a new function of the PT in addition to auditory perception: particularly the right PT is involved in stimulus selection and (stimulus-driven), auditory attention.
Previous studies indicate that positive mood broadens the scope of visual attention, which can manifest as heightened distractibility. We used event-related potentials (ERP) to investigate whether music-induced positive mood has comparable effects on selective attention in the auditory domain. Subjects listened to experimenter-selected happy, neutral or sad instrumental music and afterwards participated in a dichotic listening task. Distractor sounds in the unattended channel elicited responses related to early sound encoding (N1/MMN) and bottom-up attention capture (P3a) while target sounds in the attended channel elicited a response related to top-down-controlled processing of task-relevant stimuli (P3b). For the subjects in a happy mood, the N1/MMN responses to the distractor sounds were enlarged while the P3b elicited by the target sounds was diminished. Behaviorally, these subjects tended to show heightened error rates on target trials following the distractor sounds. Thus, the ERP and behavioral results indicate that the subjects in a happy mood allocated their attentional resources more diffusely across the attended and the to-be-ignored channels. Therefore, the current study extends previous research on the effects of mood on visual attention and indicates that even unfamiliar instrumental music can broaden the scope of auditory attention via its effects on mood.
Recent findings suggest that both peripheral and central auditory system dysfunction occur in the prodromal stages of Alzheimer Disease (AD), and therefore may represent early indicators of the disease. In addition, loss of auditory function itself leads to communication difficulties, social isolation and poor quality of life for both patients with AD and their caregivers. Developing a greater understanding of auditory dysfunction in early AD may shed light on the mechanisms of disease progression and carry diagnostic and therapeutic importance. Herein, we review the literature on hearing abilities in AD and its prodromal stages investigated through methods such as pure-tone audiometry, dichotic listening tasks, and evoked response potentials. We propose that screening for peripheral and central auditory dysfunction in at-risk populations is a low-cost and effective means to identify early AD pathology and provides an entry point for therapeutic interventions that enhance the quality of life of AD patients.
If a representation of an auditory attention channel was present in the auditory cortices but not in the subcortical structures, it would be predicted that the early event-related brain potential (ERP) would disagree with the late ERP in selective attention effects. To examine this idea, the present study recorded the auditory brain stem response (ABR) as an early ERP and also the negative difference, the processing negativity and the irrelevant positive difference waves as late ERPs during dichotic listening. Each participant experienced two dichotic conditions: (i) 500-Hz standard tones to the left ear and 1000-Hz ones to the right ear (L500/R1000), (ii) 1000-Hz standard tones to the left ear and 500-Hz ones to the right ear (L1000/R500). In a control task, participants performed visual detection and ignored auditory stimuli. Although the negative difference and processing negativity were found to be identical between the two dichotic conditions, the ABR demonstrated a significant difference between relevant and irrelevant tasks only for the L500/R1000 condition. A response preference to lower-frequency tones was found for behavioural measures and late ERPs but not for the ABR. These results suggest difficulty in representing attention channels in the auditory brain stem. In addition, a weak effect of dichotic sound combination in behaviours corresponded only with earlier ERPs.
Evaluation of dichotic listening to digits is a common part of many studies for diagnosis and managing auditory processing disorders in children. Previous researchers have verified test-retest relative reliability of dichotic digits results in normal children and adults. However, detecting intervention-related changes in the ear scores after dichotic listening training requires information regarding trial-to-trial typical variation of individual ear scores that is estimated using indices of absolute reliability. Previous studies have not addressed absolute reliability of dichotic listening results.
Previous findings have suggested that auditory attention causes not only enhancement in neural processing gain but also sharpening in neural frequency tuning in human auditory cortex. The current study was aimed to reexamine these findings and investigate whether attentional gain enhancement and frequency sharpening emerge at the same or different processing levels and whether they represent independent or cooperative effects. For that, we examined the pattern of attentional modulation effects on early, sensory-driven cortical auditory-evoked potentials (CAEPs) occurring at different latencies. Attention was manipulated using a dichotic listening task and was thus not selectively directed to specific frequency values. Possible attention-related changes in frequency tuning selectivity were measured with an electroencephalography adaptation paradigm. Our results show marked disparities in attention effects between the earlier N1 CAEP deflection and the subsequent P2 deflection, with the N1 showing a strong gain enhancement effect, but no sharpening, and the P2 showing clear evidence of sharpening, but no independent gain effect. They suggest that gain enhancement and frequency sharpening represent successive stages of a cooperative attentional modulation mechanism, which appears to increase the representational bandwidth of attended versus unattended sounds.
Spatial perceptual rightward bias which was originally described in Dichotic Listening studies seems to be a general phenomenon. This bias is age dependent, being evident in children with developing executive functions, and emerging again at older age as a function of aging and the declining executive functions. In the two studies presented here we compared the performance of young and elderly adults in spatial divided attention tasks with auditory and visual stimuli when the stimulus detection performance was measured in separate sessions in a laboratory setting (Study I), to performance when the same types of stimuli were mixed with a task in which the subject’s primary objective was to drive a car in a virtual environment (virtual reality; Study II). The aim was to see if the perceptual bias could be detected and also to look at how it would differ in these two situations. 90 right-handed subjects (50 young and 40 elderly) participated in Study I and 84 subjects (64 young and 20 elderly) participated in Study II. Study I showed the rightward bias to be more evident in the elderly subjects in both modalities and in more demanding tasks. Study II revealed that in the triple task the spatial perceptual bias was evident in both modalities for the elderly participants when the conditions were more demanding. An interesting finding concerning the right-side perceptual bias was the simultaneous occurrence of left-side driving errors, i.e. crossing the lane border to the left especially by the elderly. Both of these biases may reflect the asymmetries of the attention-related neuronal networks.
The dichotic-listening paradigm with verbal stimuli is a widely employed behavioral task for the assessment of hemispheric asymmetry for speech and language processing. Participants with assumed left-hemispheric dominance report the right-ear stimulus with higher probability than the left-ear stimulus. However, there is substantial between-subject and trial-to-trial variability observed in the paradigm, motivating scrutiny of the task set-up and theoretical models. Here, we give an in-depth discussion of specific features of stimulus material and experimental parameters, as well as the conditions of stimulus/response selection, which explain a significant proportion of intra- and inter-individual variability. Carefully considering these factors should be at the heart of any experimental planning when using the dichotic-listening paradigm to achieve an optimal testing situation for measuring laterality and avoid confounds in between-subject and between-group comparisons.
In recent years, hemispheric lateralization of alpha power has emerged as a neural mechanism thought to underpin spatial attention across sensory modalities. Yet, how healthy aging, beginning in middle adulthood, impacts the modulation of lateralized alpha power supporting auditory attention remains poorly understood. In the current electroencephalography (EEG) study, middle-aged and older adults (N = 29; ~40-70 years) performed a dichotic listening task that simulates a challenging, multi-talker scenario. We examined the extent to which the modulation of 8-12 Hz alpha power would serve as neural marker of listening success across age. With respect to the increase in inter-individual variability with age, we examined an extensive battery of behavioral, perceptual, and neural measures. Similar to findings on younger adults, middle-aged and older listeners' auditory spatial attention induced robust lateralization of alpha power, which synchronized with the speech rate. Notably, the observed relationship between this alpha lateralization and task performance did not co-vary with age. Instead, task performance was strongly related to an individual’s attentional and working memory capacity. Multivariate analyses revealed a separation of neural and behavioral variables independent of age. Our results suggest that in age-varying samples as the present one, the lateralization of alpha power is neither a sufficient nor necessary neural strategy for an individual’s auditory spatial attention, as higher age might come with increased use of alternative, compensatory mechanisms. Our findings emphasize that explaining inter-individual variability will be key to understanding the role of alpha oscillations in auditory attention in the aging listener. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

domain: psychology


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"Lighter and sleeker without compromising functionality" –Ultrarunning Magazine
For serious runners that put training and racing in the same order of importance as work and family, the Signature Series Ultra Vest is your ally. Turn your wildest and most ambitious race goal into reality with this 10.3 liter do-it-all vest. MicroMono mesh fabric with 4-way stretch nylon eliminates irritation from sensitive spots like shoulders, neck, and ribs. Two bottles up front provides a liter’s worth of water or sports drink with enough additional capacity for a phone, camera and trekking poles.
4-WAY STRETCH WOVEN MESH
This material uses a method to dissolve thread from the fabric. This method improves the strength to weight ratio while allowing for maximum 4-way stretch and durability.
30D COATED NYLON RIPSTOP
Ultra lightweight nylon fabric uses a rip stop pattern for added durability. There is a polyurethane coating for maximum weather resistance and durability as well.
At 55 g/m2 this fabric is extremely lightweight with a woven structure that promotes durability. It is made with a mono filament which improves breathability and does not absorb any moisture.
150G FLEX MONO MESH
This is an ultra lightweight mesh that is soft to the touch. Using a knit structure allows this mesh to be comfortable and very breathable at the same time. It is made with a mono filament which improves breathability and does not absorb any moisture.
Bottles Included: 2 Body Bottle 500s
- Reservoir Compatible
Volume Capacity: 629.76 in3 / 10.32 L
Weight With Bottles: 10.72 oz. / 304 g
Weight Without Bottles: 7.27 oz. / 206 g
Reservoir Compatible: 50 and 70 oz (sold separately)
Sizing at Bottom Ribs (Unisex):
SM: 23 - 32 in. / 58 - 81 cm
MD: 30 - 39 in. / 76 - 99 cm
LG: 37 - 46 in. / 94 - 117 cm

domain: design


text:
Premiere air date: Tuesday, February 2, 2016 at 7pm on MPT-HD
Bowles Farm in Saint Mary’s County draws thousands of people each year for a race featuring...lawnmowers. But that’s not the only thing this 6,000-acre farm has to offer—there’s a corn maze, cupcake shop, and somehow, the farmers have time to raise 4,500 acres of grain. http://www.bowlesfarms.com/
While Frederick County dairy farmer Julie Mayer spends most of her time tending to her farm, every other Friday she takes a dip into something different—scuba diving. She says her time diving has given her a unique perspective when it comes to reducing the environmental impact of her farm.
The Luthy family has been farming in Dorchester County for more than a century. But after all this time, they’ve still managed to stay in contact with their farming relatives in Switzerland.

domain: agronomy


text:
8.7325200000 cm. W x 7.1450200000 cm. L Since this is a textile, the dimensions may change depending on how it is displayed., Item (Overall)
One of two pink hand knit baby booties with puff balls on the laces. The pink yarn has a white thread going through it. The top of the bootee is slightly scalloped. The bootee has a piece of yarn the came color as the rest weaving in and out of knitted columns in the bootee to form a lace. The yarn is tied in a bow in the front. This is a part of a corresponding outfit (2005.5.10).
This was knitted by the donor, Theodora Hadzisteliou Price in the early 1970s, while pregnant with her first son. She quit teaching and research in Archaeology and did fulltime preparation for motherhood. She had left Greece in 1962 for graduate studies in England, after which she worked for a bit in the University of Sydney, Australia, and then migrated to America in 1967 to New York, after which she came to chicago in 1968 and taught Greek Art and Archaeology at the University of Chicago.
Rights and Reproduction
The content on this site is made available for research and education purposes only. The use of these materials may be restricted by law or the donor.
Any other use, such as exhibition, publication, or commercial use, is not allowed except by written permission in accordance with the NHM Image Rights and Reproduction Policy
For questions on image rights and reproduction, please contact firstname.lastname@example.org
Bootee, 1970s, National Hellenic Museum, https://collections.nationalhellenicmuseum.org/Detail/objects/6408. Accessed 06/02/23.

domain: history


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Review | Joe Morris at the November Lectures 2018 in London29.11.2018
Housing in London: practical insights
The focus of this year’s November talks is housing. The first of the four speakers to be talking on this topic, at UEL School of Architecture, was Joe Morris, founder and director of London-based practice Morris + Company.
Morris + Company launched in 2018 and is an evolution of the practice Duggan-Morris Architects, which Morris co-founded in 2004. The practice has grown steadily, throughout a challenging economic climate, and now has 50 members, along with a new base in Copenhagen. The majority of the practice’s work is within the UK and its projects include the striking, and award-winning R7 Building in London’s King’s Cross. Morris has lectured in Barcelona and Copenhagen, alongside The Bartlett in London, where he also studied.
In this lecture, Morris presented housing projects from the practice portfolio, to explore what it looks like to be building housing in London today. These projects ranged from bespoke family homes, through to large and medium scale private housing projects. They included third-age housing, specialist retirement homes, affordable housing, and low-cost co-housing.
Morris introduced the lecture by offering an insight into the culture of the practice, which also works across the community and workplace sectors. Morris + Company is a close-knit family, with a collegiate way of working, and regularly invites other practices in to share learning.
The practice is exploratory, using craft to drive innovation and the design process, and utilising extensive model making to problem solve, and generate ideas about space and light. It is constantly thinking about process, and reflecting on the history of architecture and the history of London in order to innovate.
The first project Morris presented was the family home he designed and lived in, in Kings Grove, Peckham. The house utilises previously disused industrial land between suburban terraces, and was built under a drive by local government to occupy such backspaces. In this context, Morris highlighted the importance of territories, and the thresholds between public and private space.
Morris went on to describe working directly with an end user, and the importance of gaining an intimate understanding of the minutiae of someone’s lifestyle, in order to design them a home. He described balanced this insight with an understanding of the context of the home and the neighbourhood it occupies.
Morris moved on from bespoke individual houses to look in depth at 11 of the practices’ multiple housing projects, progressing in scale from mews houses, through to mansion blocks, right up to the design of a 220-home podium for London’s Greenwich Peninsula.
For each project he presented, Morris talked the audience through the practices’ approach, through from the exploration of purpose, and engagement with context, through to the meticulous considerations around materiality and construction. He shared photographs, and detailed working drawings and diagrams that illustrated extensive experiments with typologies, to generate solutions to complex sites and developer specifications. For example, creating a flexible living space for families within an allocated 16sq2 space for a low-cost, co-housing project.
Alongside this insight into the workings of the studio, Morris discussed the extensive conversations and negotiations involved, when getting housing projects in London off the ground. He gave examples of working on housing projects within the strict parameters of a master plan, working on a brief alongside partner practices, and having to sell in a design to developers, planning bodies and action groups, in complex and controversial political contexts.
For each project Morris also detailed the considerations given to context and environment, explaining how each building borrows from its surrounds. This included one project built in close proximity to a Grade II listed Arts and Crafts building, amongst ancient woodland, that drew from both in order to deliver contextual, contemporary housing.
The recurring theme of the talk was on finding the right creative response to marry the importance of human experience with the economic and political context in which housing in London is realised.
Interview with Joe Morris
Find the Video-Interview on our


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Light and airy 1 bedroom self contained apartment. The apartment faces North East and gets the sea breezes. It has off street parking, its own entrance, private balcony with water glimpses, with separate living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen/dining. The living room and bedroom have ceiling fans. Everything freshly painted, with new queen-size bed, sofa bed, oven and fridge.
Its a 5 minute walk to Dee Why town centre which contains all the major supermarkets and many cafe's, restaurants, bars and clubs. It is 20 minute walk to Dee Why beach, a family friendly patrolled s…
It is a 5 minute walk to the main Dee Why Bus stops which has regular and express buses to the City, Chatswood, Manly and other Northern beaches. When driving the apartment is situated close to Pittwa…

domain: travel