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New Metaverse Track At O3DCon To Tackle Big Questions And Practical Applications Of Emerging Graphical Technology – PR Web https://collincountynewsonline.com/new-metaverse-track-at-o3dcon-to-tackle-big-questions-and-practical-applications-of-emerging-graphical-technology-pr-web/ Sessions will explore where we are today in metaverse technology and applications, what’s lacking, and how open source software and standards communities can take a leadership role in bridging the gaps. SAN FRANCISCO (PRWEB) September 12, 2022 A new metaverse track hosted by the Linux Foundation is being offered at next month’s O3DCon event, taking place October 17-19 in Austin, Texas. The track will be presented by thought leaders from a range of open source projects. Sessions will explore where we are today in metaverse technology and applications, what’s lacking, and how open source software and standards communities can take a leadership role in bridging the gaps. The event will also host open floor discussions each day for event attendees to share thoughts and ideas about the presentations delivered in the metaverse track. The metaverse track schedule can be found at: https://bit.ly/3L3IrLG Session topics in the metaverse track include: Broadening the definition of the metaverse Identity and the right disclosures in the metaverse Blockchain ledgering and transacting in the metaverse Architecting and scaling simulation software for the immersive metaverse Using artificial intelligence to enrich experiences in the metaverse Immersive interfaces, voice as a first-class citizen in the metaverse Wallets to cross boundaries of real and virtual currencies in the metaverse Fintech and financial services in the metaverse Media, 3D assets and objects Evolving the edge network of tomorrow for the metaverse The impacts of cloud and infrastructure for the metaverse Authentication and making sure it’s really you in the metaverse This year’s event will convene a vibrant, diverse community focused on building an unencumbered, first-class, 3D engine poised to revolutionize real-time 3D development across a variety of applications—from game development, metaverse, digital twin and AI, to automotive, healthcare, robotics and more. Early bird pricing for O3DCon expires September 16. The event is produced by the Open 3D Foundation (O3DF), home of the open-source Open 3D Engine (O3DE) project. O3DE is a modular, cross-platform 3D engine built to power anything from AAA games to cinema-quality 3D worlds to high-fidelity simulations. The code is hosted on GitHub under the Apache 2.0 license. Connect with the community on Discord.com/invite/o3de and GitHub.com/o3de. About the Open 3D Foundation Established in July 2021, the mission of the Open 3D Foundation (O3DF) is to make an open-source, fully-featured, high-fidelity, real-time 3D engine for building games and simulations, available to every industry. The Open 3D Foundation is home to the O3D Engine project. Since its launch in 2021, more than 25 member companies have joined the O3DF. Newest members include OPPO and Heroic Labs, as well as Microsoft, LightSpeed Studios and Epic Games. Other Premier members include Adobe, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Huawei, Intel and Niantic. In May, O3DE announced its latest release, focused on performance, stability and usability enhancements. The O3D Engine community is very active, averaging up to 2 million line changes and 350-450 commits monthly from 60-100 authors across 41 repos. About the Linux Foundation Founded in 2000, the Linux Foundation and its projects are supported by more than 2,950 members. The Linux Foundation is the world’s leading home for collaboration on open source software, hardware, standards, and data. Linux Foundation projects are critical to the world’s infrastructure including Linux, Kubernetes, Node.js, ONAP, Hyperledger, RISC-V, and more. The Linux Foundation’s methodology focuses on leveraging best practices and addressing the needs of contributors, users, and solution providers to create sustainable models for open collaboration. For more information, please visit us at linuxfoundation.org. The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Media Inquiries: pr@o3d.foundation Share article on social media or email:

This Dell Gaming Monitor Is Lightning Fast, Vibrant, And $260 Off – PCWorld https://collincountynewsonline.com/this-dell-gaming-monitor-is-lightning-fast-vibrant-and-260-off-pcworld/ Dell If you’ve been perusing the web for a high refresh rate gaming monitor, then you’ve come to the right place. Dell’s selling the Dell S2721DGF gaming monitor for $329.99, which saves you $260. This monitor measures 27-inches, which is a good size for a home office. The height and angle are adjustable as well. But let’s jump into the the most important part: the specs. The Dell monitor has a resolution of 2560×1440, a refresh rate of 165Hz, a response time of one millisecond, and an aspect ratio of 16:9. According to dell, this monitor has a brightness of up to 400 nits. That’s pretty darn bright, so you should expect a vivid picture. It’s also loaded up with Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync, which syncs up the monitor’s refresh cycle with the rate of your GPU. This helps reduce any weird screen tearing issues. For ports, it has two HDMI, one DisplayPort, and and one audio line-out. This is a fantastic deal. We don’t expect it to last very long, though. That’s why we’d recommend picking this monitor up sooner rather than later. Get the Dell S2721DGF gaming monitor for $329.99 at Dell Author: Ashley Biancuzzo, Associate Editor Ashley is a professional writer and editor with a strong background in tech and pop culture. She has written for high traffic websites such as Polygon, Kotaku, StarWars.com, and Nerdist. In her off time, she enjoys playing video games, reading science fiction novels, and hanging out with her rescue greyhound.

SEC Enforcement Director Gurbir Grewal Says Actions To Continue, Not Giving Crypto A Pass – Cryptonews https://collincountynewsonline.com/sec-enforcement-director-gurbir-grewal-says-actions-to-continue-not-giving-crypto-a-pass-cryptonews/ Image Credit: Pixabay The Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) continues efforts to bring the crypto industry under securities overreach. Gurbir Grewal, the director of the enforcement division, has reiterated that the crypto industry should not expect to get a pass from the SEC.  In remarks he made while speaking at SEC Speaks 2022, a conference organized by the Practising Law Institute (PLI), Grewal stated that the SEC is aware of criticisms of its approach to the crypto industry. These criticisms, which have majorly targeted the enforcement division include that the SEC is “picking winners and losers” and “stifling innovation,” he noted.  He further argued that these criticisms do not come because the SEC has unfairly targeted crypto to the exclusion of other products or markets. Instead, crypto market participants are angry because the SEC is not giving the industry “a pass from the application of well-established regulations and precedents.”  Grewal maintained that the SEC will continue to impartially enforce the laws to protect crypto investors. This is especially important as reports have been emerging that crypto could be having an outsized impact on non-White and lower-income individual retail investors who are getting increasingly drawn to the market.  “We’ve been given a hard, but important job: to impartially enforce the laws and rules on the books for the benefit of investors and our markets. So if we are going to uphold our mandate, we can’t simply abandon the field when we confront potentially novel issues, and that’s especially true when those issues trigger passionate beliefs,” he said.  He added that sticking to this approach will ensure that trust in the regulatory system does not break down in the long run as investors will be protected optimally.  SEC calling crypto projects and intermediaries to register with it  Grewal was not the only SEC official to focus his speech on the crypto industry. During the conference, SEC chair Gary Gensler, also submitted that the majority of crypto tokens are securities going by the Howey and Reves test established by the U.S. Securities Act.  He implored crypto projects and intermediaries to willingly come forward and register under the SEC and not expect the SEC to change its oversight rules simply because new technology is being used to issue securities to the investing public.  “Investors, issuers, and our overall economy have benefited from those securities laws and the SEC’s engagement for nearly 90 years. That oversight should not change just because the issuance and trading of certain securities is based on a new technology,” Gensler denoted.  The Enforcement Division has previously enlarged the headcount of its Crypto Assets and Cyber Unit, as well as asked Congress to allocate more resources to keep pursuing regulations violators in the crypto market.

Largest Private-Sector Nurses Strike In U.S. History Begins In Minnesota – The Washington Post https://collincountynewsonline.com/largest-private-sector-nurses-strike-in-u-s-history-begins-in-minnesota-the-washington-post/ About 15,000 nurses in Minnesota walked off the job Monday to protest understaffing and overwork — marking the largest strike of private-sector nurses in U.S. history. Slated to last three days, the strike spotlights nationwide nursing shortages exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic that often result in patients not receiving adequate care. Minnesota nurses charge that some units go without a lead nurse on duty and that nurses fresh out of school are delegated assignments typically held by more experienced nurses, across some 16 hospitals where strikes are expected. The nurses are demanding a role in staffing plans, changes to shift scheduling practices and higher wages. “I can’t give my patients the care they deserve,” said Chris Rubesch, the vice president of the Minnesota Nurses Association and a nurse at Essentia Health in Duluth, Minn. “Call lights go unanswered. Patients should only be waiting for a few seconds or minutes if they’ve soiled themselves or their oxygen came unplugged or they need to go to the bathroom, but that can take 10 minutes or more. Those are things that can’t wait.” Paul Omodt, a spokesman for the Twin Cities Hospital Group, which represents four hospital systems where nurses are striking in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, said that the nurse’s union did not do everything it could to avoid a strike. “Nurses have steadfastly refused to go to mediation,” Omodt said. “Their choice is to strike. This strike is on the nurses.” Conny Bergerson, a spokeswoman for Allina Health, another hospital system in the Twin Cities where nurses are on strike, said “rushing to a strike before exhausting all options such as engaging a neutral federal mediator does not benefit our employees, patients or the communities we serve.” The Minnesota Nurses Association, the nurse’s union, said hospital administrators have continued to “refuse solutions” on understaffing or safety in contract negotiations. It said that nurses have increasingly been asked to take on more patients for bedside care to make up for labor shortages, exacerbating burnout and high turnover. Some hospitals have offered increased safety protocols for reporting security incidents in negotiations, but have not budged on other safety-and staffing-related demands. The union has proposed new mechanisms for nurses to have a stronger say in how wards are staffed, including a committee made up of nurses and management at each hospital that would determine appropriate staffing levels. They’ve also proposed protections against retaliation for nurses who report understaffing. Striking nurses at some hospitals said their shifts are often short five to 10 nurses, forcing nurses to take on more patients than they can handle. Omodt said that while there was a rise in understaffing reports during the height of covid, conditions have improved and nurses have made contradictory claims when it comes to staffing at their hospitals since then. In the lead-up to the strike, Minnesota hospital groups filed unfair labor practices charges against the union for refusing to go to mediation, and asked the National Labor Relations Board to block the strike for failing to provide enough notice. The NLRB has thrown out at least some of those charges. Hospitals facing strikes have been recruiting traveling nurses from across the region and plan to maintain staffing levels during the strike, though they are preparing for reduced operations, according to some of the hospital groups facing strike activity. For years, hospitals in the United States have faced understaffing problems. A surge in demand and increased safety risks for nurses during the pandemic accelerated those trends. The number of health care workers in the United States has still not recovered to its pre-pandemic levels, down 37,000 workers compared with February 2020. At the same time, demand for health-care services has steadily increased during the pandemic, with a backlog of people who delayed care now seeking medical attention. During the covid wave that swept across the United States this summer, states such as New York and Florida reported the worst nursing shortages in decades. Research shows that patients are more likely to die for preventable reasons when health-care providers are overworked. Nurses, who risked their lives during the pandemic, are quitting and retiring early in droves, because of increased work loads caused by short staffing and demanding schedules that make finding child care and having a life outside of work exceedingly difficult. The understaffing crisis is pronounced in Minnesota in part because of its aging population and its record low unemployment rate. The Minnesota Nurses Association recorded a 300 percent increase in nurses’ reports of unsafe staffing levels on their shifts since 2014, up to 7,857 reports in 2021. Kelley Anaas, 37, a nurse who works in the ICU at Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis said nurses in her unit have been forced to double up on patient assignments and work with lead nurses who have less than a year of experience. “It eats away at you. If that was my family member in that bed, I wouldn’t want to leave their side,” said Anaas, adding that her workload has increased steadily over her 14 years at Abbott Northwestern. While the nurses say their main impetus for striking is staffing levels and not pay, they are also at odds with hospitals over wages. The Minnesota Nurses Association has proposed a 30 percent pay increase over the next three years, noting inflation is at 40-year highs, while health-care groups have proposed a pay increase of 10 to 12 percent. “The union’s wage demands remain at 29 and 30 percent increases over three years, which we’ve told them is unrealistic and unaffordable,” Omodt said, noting that the average Minnesota nurse makes $80,960 a year. Contracts expired in May and June, and the union has been in negotiations since March. Nurses said they are frustrated the strike is happening, but the stakes are high for them and their patients. “We’re really sad and disappointed that it has come to a strike,” said Brianna Hnath, a nurse at North Memorial in Robbinsdale, Minn. “But we feel like this is the only thing we can do to show administration how incredibly important a strong nursing core is to a hospital. Hospitals tell us it’s our fault, but we’ve been actively involved and getting nowhere.”

Skillz Names Gaming Industry Veteran Vassily Filippov Chief Technology Officer – Business Wire https://collincountynewsonline.com/skillz-names-gaming-industry-veteran-vassily-filippov-chief-technology-officer-business-wire/ September 12, 2022 09:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Skillz (NYSE: SKLZ), the leading mobile games platform, today announced the appointment of Vassily Filippov to the role of Chief Technology Officer. An experienced gaming leader who most recently served as the Director of Engineering at Meta, Filippov joins the Skillz C-suite, further bolstering the company’s executive team and product leadership bench. “We are thrilled to welcome Vassily to Skillz. He has a demonstrated track record of leading engineering teams at some of the industry’s most respected technology companies,” said Andrew Paradise, CEO of Skillz. As Chief Technology Officer, Filippov will report directly to Paradise while leading the global engineering teams at Skillz. As the company focuses on profitable growth, Filippov will be responsible for the technical roadmap of Skillz competition platform. “I’m excited to join Skillz at this pivotal time in the company’s journey as we build the future of competition,” said Vassily Filippov. “Coming to Skillz is truly reconnecting me to my gaming roots and re-igniting my passion to serve the needs of players around the world.” Having grown up playing Atari 800XL and C64 games, Filippov turned his childhood passion for video games into an extensive career with 20+ years in the gaming industry. Filippov has made games at studios such as Sony, Riot Games, and Sierra On-Line, working on franchises including “God of War” and “League of Legends.” Most recently, Filippov focused on growing teams and building products connected to AR/VR and the metaverse. At Meta, Filippov focused on the Horizon Worlds and Avatars teams, preparing the company to announce a major focus on the metaverse (including its recent name change). While at Apple, he helped lead the development of RealityKit and Reality Composer. Filippov earned his Masters of Science degree in computer science from The Ohio State University, as well as a Masters of Science degree in applied mathematics from the National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute). About Skillz Inc. Skillz is the leading mobile games platform dedicated to bringing out the best in everyone through competition. The Skillz platform helps developers create multi-million dollar franchises by enabling social competition in their games. Leveraging its patented technology, Skillz hosts billions of casual esports tournaments for millions of mobile players worldwide, with the goal of building the home of competition for all. Skillz has earned recognition as one of Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators, CNBC’s Disruptor 50, Forbes’ Next Billion-Dollar Startups, Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies, and the number-one fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000. www.skillz.com Source: Skillz Inc.

3 November Election Contests Highlight North Texas’ Shifting Political Climate – The Dallas Morning News https://collincountynewsonline.com/3-november-election-contests-highlight-north-texas-shifting-political-climate-the-dallas-morning-news/ Over the last two decades North Texas has seen changes in demographics and politics, some gradual, some striking. In Dallas County, Republicans controlled the political scene until 2006, when Democrats broke through to win every contested countywide race. Now Democrats are poised to totally wipe out the GOP from the county. The changing political climate has impacted other areas, particularly in Tarrant and Collin counties. Demographic shifts have made those places less Republican, though the GOP still runs the show in those counties. That sets up November elections that will provide a test of how firm a grasp Democrats and Republicans have on their strongholds, and whether Texas politics will move toward the fringes or closer to the middle. The race for Texas governor between Republican incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott and former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, is the headline attraction for the Texas midterm elections. The vast majority of the down-ballot congressional and state legislative races aren’t competitive because the candidates are running in gerrymandered districts. As a result, operatives from both parties are looking to local races to protect their turf and develop political clout from the bottom of the ballot. And then there’s the most practical explanation for pouring resources into local contests. “With regard to our day-to-day lives, the most meaningful races are for County Commissioners Court, they are for local district attorneys and for county judges and such,” said conservative radio host Mark Davis. “They make the rules that are made every day that affect our daily lives in a far more direct fashion.” As we steam toward the Oct. 24 start of early voting for the midterm elections, realize that your vote has more power than the musings of any politician — or pundit. The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 11. Here are three contests from three area counties that will impact North Texas politics. Dallas lawyer J.J. Koch is the lone Republican on the Dallas County Commissioners Court. He won northern Dallas’ District 2 seat in 2018 by beating Democrat Wini Cannon by seven points. But last year the district was redrawn to make it more favorable for a Democrat. In November Koch takes on Democrat Andrew Sommerman, an election lawyer and ally of Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins. Related:Beto O’Rourke, Greg Abbott attacks in Texas governor’s race show a sharp divide on issues If Sommerman beats Koch, Democrats will control every seat on the court, which is currently composed of four Democrats and one Republican. An all-Democratic court was unimaginable in 2000, when George W. Bush was president and John Wiley Price was the lone Democrat on the court. Now Bush lives in a county where GOP office holders are going the way of the passenger pigeon. Dallas County Commissioner J.J. Koch speaks alongside commissioners Theresa Daniel (left) and John Wiley Price during a dedication for a historic “White Only” sign at the Dallas County Records Building in Dallas, Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022.(Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer) Tarrant County was once considered a bellwether for Texas politics with its electoral totals sometimes mimicking statewide results, while confirming Republican domination of the Lone Star State. The area remains the largest conservative county in the nation — but it’s changing. In 2018 O’Rourke won the county in his unsuccessful Senate bid against Republican incumbent Ted Cruz. Two years later, in the presidential race, Joe Biden narrowly beat Donald Trump in Tarrant County. But just as Democrats started winning countywide contests with non-Tarrant County candidates, Republicans were still victorious in their down-ballot challenges. In 2020 Democrats targeted Republicans in five statehouse districts in an effort to seize the Texas House. Republicans easily won all of those races. The Tarrant County Courthouse(Max Faulkner Star-Telegram / Max Faulkner Star-Telegram) The November contests are fascinating because in part they feature Trump’s attempt to exact revenge. He’s backed candidates in the countywide contest for district attorney and county judge. The county judge race is a battle between Republican Tim O’Hare and Democrat Deborah Peoples. Both candidates used to lead their county parties. The Trump-backed O’Hare is a former Farmers Branch mayor. In the March GOP primary he beat Betsy Price, a popular former Fort Worth mayor, by 33 percentage points. Peoples is coming off two unsuccessful runs for Fort Worth mayor. This contest will reveal how close Tarrant County is from becoming a legitimate battleground area for local candidates. O’Hare is one of the most conservative candidates on the ballot, the polar opposite of Peoples. Collin County has seen its population explode, as companies move to the area and bring with them a diverse workforce. Republicans control most of the elected offices in the county and all seats on the area’s delegation to the Legislature. In November Democrats have a chance to win a Texas House seat in the redrawn District 70. In that race former Plano Chamber of Commmerce CEO Jamee Jolly, the GOP nominee, is running against Democrat Mihaela Plesa, a former legislative director in the Texas House. In 2020 Biden easily carried District 70, which gives Democrats hope they can win the seat. But similar to Tarrant County, it’s unclear if a Collin County-based Democrat will have the juice to win on what’s long been Republican turf. Plesa, an aggressive campaigner with grassroots flare, could be the best chance Democrats have had in years. Jolly, who is a former executive director with the Greater Dallas Restaurant Association, also has strong ties to the Collin County community. The race will test the effectiveness of both major political parties in an area undergoing population growth and demographic shifts. Gromer Jeffers Jr., political writer. The Howard University graduate and Chicago native has covered four presidential campaigns and written extensively about local, state and national politics. Before The News, he was a reporter at The Kansas City Star and The Chicago Defender. You can catch Gromer every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on NBC 5’s Lone Star Politics. gjeffers@dallasnews.com @gromerjeffers

These Striking Mirrored Cabins Are Now Available To Rent In Tennessee’s Countryside – Robb Report https://collincountynewsonline.com/these-striking-mirrored-cabins-are-now-available-to-rent-in-tennessees-countryside-robb-report/ An immersive new glamping experience has arrived in the heart of Tennessee’s countryside. Bolt Tree Farmhouse just unveiled five new mirrored cabins on a mountaintop outside Chattanooga that are designed to steep you in the natural surroundings. The luxurious campground, which is set across 55 acres on Whitwell Mountain, first opened in May 2020 with a range of luxe domes and tree houses that recently appeared on Netflix’s The World’s Most Amazing Vacation Rentals. The aptly named Mirror Cabins appear to be equally amazing. Designed by Estonia-based hotel group ÖÖD, the striking structures feature a sturdy steel frame and glass walls that provide spectacular panoramic views of the rugged environment. The special glazing reflects 97 percent of UV rays to ensure the living quarters stay nice and cool. It also gives you complete privacy since it’s impossible to see inside the cabins while outside. Cabins are framed from recyclable steel and glass.  Bolt Farm Treehouse “Nature has this magical way of melting away stress, so it’s worth the hard work of anchoring these mirrored structures atop giant rock faces and next to waterfalls,” campground owners Tori and Seth Bolt said in a press statement. “The visually stunning architecture blends perfectly with nature, providing a fully immersive experience like no other.” The brand’s mantra “live like kings and queens” is apparent within the 200-square-foot interior of each cabin. You can expect a comfy bedroom with a queen-size bed, a bathroom with a rainfall shower, a well-equipped kitchenette and an in-room movie theater. The abodes come equipped with all the mod cons, too, including A/C, heated floors, high-speed Wi-Fi and a Bluetooth record player. Outside, each cabin has a private terrace that comes fitted with a hot tub, Adirondack chairs, a bistro table and a smokeless fire pit. It’s the perfect place to take in that fresh mountain air. Guests can chill by one of the fire pits or partake in activities like horseback riding.  Bolt Farm Treehouse Bolt Tree Farmhouse is about more than glitzy accommodation, though. While at the campground, adventurers can also opt to partake in a range of blood-pumping outdoor activities, including horseback riding, scenic hikes and ATV tours. See you on the camping trail. Rates for the cabins start at $475 per night. Click here to see the Bolt Tree Farmhouse in photos.

Huntington Business Credit Closes $35MM Credit Facility With Sports Endeavors – News – ABL Advisor https://collincountynewsonline.com/huntington-business-credit-closes-35mm-credit-facility-with-sports-endeavors-news-abl-advisor/ September 12, 2022, 07:59 AM Huntington Business Credit closed a $35,000,000 new credit facility with Sports Endeavors, Inc. on August 18, 2022. Sports Endeavors, Inc. is a new portfolio investment for Seawall Capital LLC, a private equity investment firm located in Austin, Texas. Proceeds of the facility were used to finance the acquisition and provide ongoing working capital growth financing.                 Sports Endeavors headquartered in Hillsborough, North Carolina, is a soccer-focused direct-to-consumer retailer providing soccer apparel, gear, customized team uniforms.                             Huntington Business Credit provides working capital and term loan facilities to large corporate and middle market companies for acquisitions, LBO’s, MBO’s recapitalizations, rapid growth, seasonal working capital build-up, and turnaround situations. You must be an ABL Advisor member to post comments. Login or Join Now.

12 Pickleball Courts, 6 Group Fitness Studios And One Huge Olympic Pool, Life Time McKinney At Craig Ranch Gears Up For Fall Opening – PR Newswire https://collincountynewsonline.com/12-pickleball-courts-6-group-fitness-studios-and-one-huge-olympic-pool-life-time-mckinney-at-craig-ranch-gears-up-for-fall-opening-pr-newswire/ Memberships now available for 100,000-square-foot athletic country club near PGA TPC Craig Ranch golf course , /PRNewswire/ — Everything is bigger in Texas and now, as Life Time ( NYSE: LTH) gets set to bring its 12th destination to the Dallas-Fort Worth metro later this fall in McKinney, the company will soon operate 29 Life Time locations in the state. Life Time McKinney at Craig Ranch now has Founders’ Memberships available for the club that will be located near the PGA TPC Craig Ranch golf course and only a few miles from Life Time’s Plano and Allen locations. A membership at Life Time McKinney at Craig Ranch will include: Life Time McKinney at Craig Ranch now has Founders’ Memberships available for the club that will be located near the PGA TPC Craig Ranch golf course and only a few miles from Life Time’s Plano and Allen locations. Access to 12 new outdoor pickleball courts featuring brand new surfaces, nets and lighting to ensure your games can go into the night. Unlimited access to Life Time’s Signature Group Training Classes: GTX, Alpha and Ultra Fit. Each of these classes offers progressive programming, a supportive community and guidance from expert coaches. A unique outdoor pool space compared to other Life Time locations, with the only 50-meter Olympic-sized pool in the area, a full LifeCafe with indoor and outdoor seating, and an outdoor firepit with surrounding TVs. A wide range of group fitness classes with dedicated studios for yoga, Pilates, cycle, barre and two additional studios for Life Time’s signature formats like Barbell Strength and Warrior Sculpt. A massive, state-of-the-art workout floor with hundreds of pieces of equipment for cardiovascular and strength training. Kids Academy featuring Kids programming with Studio classes, art, music, Spanish immersion, homework help and more (up to 2.5 hours daily). LifeSpa offering esthetician services and massage. LT Recovery featuring compression, massage, and chiropractic services. Luxury dressing rooms with whirlpools, saunas, steam rooms and high-end, complimentary shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, and mouthwash. Life Time McKinney at Craig Ranch was announced in late 2021 following the purchase and multi-million-dollar renovation to the former Craig Ranch Fitness & Spa. Life Time team members will serve members from nine months to 90+ years throughout the club, which features an abundance of health and wellness activities starting with its Kids Academy up through specialized ARORA programming for active agers. “We’re thrilled about the community we’re joining and to welcome members this fall,” says Jeff Mangan, General Manager at Life Time McKinney at Craig Ranch. “Our outdoor pool space, expansive exercise floor, executive locker rooms and pickleball courts set us apart to help people live happy and healthy lives.” The opening of Life Time McKinney at Craig Ranch comes as Life Time celebrates more than 30 years as the nation’s premier healthy lifestyle brand this year. Life Time has served millions of people with more than one billion visits, has been part of incredible stories of personal achievement and life-altering events and has grown a community of like-minded people seeking health and happiness. For more information on features and amenities, visit Life Time McKinney at Craig Ranch, or call 866-770-1546. Additionally, follow along at LifeTime.Life on Facebook and Instagram. After McKinney at Craig Ranch, Life Time will continue growing its Texas footprint with the planned 2023 opening of Life Time Sienna in Missouri City. About Life Time®, Inc. Life Time ( NYSE: LTH) empowers people to live healthy, happy lives through its portfolio of nearly 160 athletic country clubs across the United States and Canada. The company’s healthy way of life communities and ecosystem address all aspects of healthy living, healthy aging and healthy entertainment for people 90 days to 90+ years old. Supported by a team of more than 30,000 dedicated professionals, Life Time is committed to providing the best programs and experiences through its clubs, iconic athletic events and comprehensive digital platform. SOURCE Life Time, Inc.

MLB Power Rankings: Mets, Braves Battle Atop NL East Standings – USA TODAY https://collincountynewsonline.com/mlb-power-rankings-mets-braves-battle-atop-nl-east-standings-usa-today/ With about 20 games left in the regular season, some of Major League Baseball’s playoff races look set to go down to the wire. The New York Mets have 1½-game lead in the National League East entering Monday, pulling back two games in the days after they lost possession of first place after nearly five months on top. The Atlanta Braves have gone since 64-26 – a 115-win pace – since June 1 and managed to briefly overtake the Mets on Friday, before losing the last two of their weekend series in Seattle. HOME RUN RACE: Mark McGwire thinks Judge will pass Bonds some day NEWSLETTER: Get the latest sports news straight to your inbox The AL Central race has also gotten more interesting, with the Cleveland Guardians holding a 2½-game advantage over the second-place Chicago White Sox, who have won seven of 10 – while the Minnesota Twins have fallen to third by losing eight of 10. Here’s how USA TODAY Sports’ eight-person panel voted this week: Rank (movement from last week) 1. Los Angeles Dodgers (–) LA should clinch its eighth division title in nine years this week. 2. Houston Astros (–) Lefty Will Smith has a 2.63 ERA in 15 appearances since joining Houston. 3. Atlanta Braves (+1) Spencer Strider’s 13.65 K/9 is the best mark of any pitcher with at least 60 innings. 4. New York Mets (-1) Fell out of first place for the first time since April 12 – but found themselves 1½ games up two days later.  5. New York Yankees (+1) Aroldis Chapman, Zack Britton and Harrison Bader all set to begin rehab assignments. 6. St. Louis Cardinals (-1) Entering Sunday, St. Louis was 47-24 at home and 35-34 on the road. 7. Tampa Bay Rays (–) Shortstop Wander Franco returns after two months on the inured list. 8. Toronto Blue Jays (+1) Eight games in seven days this week against AL wild-card rivals Tampa Bay and Baltimore. 9. Seattle Mariners (-1) Seattle’s starters had a 1.95 ERA in the first nine games of September. 10. Philadelphia Phillies (+1) J.T. Realmuto is the fifth catcher in history with a 15 homer, 15 steal season. 11. San Diego Padres (-1) Juan Soto was hitting .224 with a .740 OPS through 31 games with San Diego. 12. Milwaukee Brewers (+2) Matt Bush has six holds and two saves in 17 games trade to Milwaukee. 13. Cleveland Guardians (–) Cleveland bullpen’s 2.34 ERA in the second half is the best in baseball. 14. Baltimore Orioles (-2) Lost six of eight and enter Monday 5 ½ games back in the AL wild-card race. 15. Chicago White Sox (+1) Makeup game at Cleveland on Thursday could play big role in deciding AL Central. 16. Minnesota Twins (-1) Reliever Griffin Jax has given up one earned run in his last 13 appearances. 17. Boston Red Sox (–) Boston is 19-40 against the AL East – and 49-32 against everyone else. 18. San Francisco Giants (–) Joey Bart is hitting .288 (36-for-125) with 7 homers and an .822 OPS in his last 43 games. 19. Arizona Diamondbacks (–) Zac Gallen’s 44⅓ scoreless inning streak comes to an end, breaking Brandon Webb’s club record. 20. Colorado Rockies (+4) Rockies head to Chicago this week for two vs. White Sox, three vs. Cubs 21. Texas Rangers (-1) Finally in the majors after injury derailed his season, top prospect Josh Jung homers in his first big-league at-bat 22. Los Angeles Angels (-1) Patrick Sandoval’s last four starts: 1.33 ERA, 25 strikeouts, 4 walks in 27 innings. 23. Miami Marlins (-1) Cy Young frontrunner Sandy Alcantara’s ERA has jumped from 1.92 to 2.43 in four starts. 24. Chicago Cubs (-1) Marcus Stroman has a 3.28 ERA in 17 starts since May 1. 25. Cincinnati Reds (+1) Joey Votto is Cincinnati’s Roberto Clemente Award nominee for the second year in a row.  26. Kansas City Royals (-1) Rookie Vinnie Pasquantino reinstated from the injured list. 27. Detroit Tigers (–) Eduardo Rodriguez has a 3.68 ERA in four starts after three months away. 28. Pittsburgh Pirates (+1) Starting a 10-game road trip on Monday in Cincinnati. 29. Oakland Athletics (-1) Ken Waldichuk looked good (3.60 ERA) in his first two big-league starts. 30. Washington Nationals (–) Anibal Sanchez has a 1.71 ERA in his last five starts.

Payfoot To Release Fan-Focused Soccer Metaverse(S) With Web3 Leader Cosmic Wire – PR Newswire https://collincountynewsonline.com/payfoot-to-release-fan-focused-soccer-metaverses-with-web3-leader-cosmic-wire-pr-newswire/ , /PRNewswire/ — Payfoot enlists Cosmic Wire, a leader in Web3, to help release their soccer Metaverse Ecosystem for both fans and clubs alike. The Payfoot Metaverse will be live for beta testing on the 30th of September with the launch being announced via their official social media handles https://twitter.com/Payfoot_ and https://www.instagram.com/payfoot_official/. Payfoot is proud to release the first ever fully fan-focused soccer metaverse and ecosystem. This ultimate fan experience will also allow clubs to enter the metaverse and interact directly with their global fanbase of 4 billion people. While in the Payfoot Soccer Metaverse, fans can participate in one-of-a-kind events, clubs, team experiences, and games amplified by deep social connections as they explore the islands of their favorite clubs in the Payfoot Ecosystem. The stadium is more than a place to watch the game now, it is a way to live the sport. Payfoot is blazing a path into Web3 immersion by releasing their metaverse and blockchain-based solution for football clubs and fans. This is not only a new way for fans to come together as a whole to celebrate the sport they love, but a new way for clubs to enhance their community, business model, and reach. In the Payfoot Metaverse: Fans via their “avatar”, can meet other fans, develop friendships, share experiences, play games, and participate in events, while also gaining access to limited exclusive club offers and merchandise. Clubs can scale their platform and grow their fan community by bringing their organization into the Metaverse. By harnessing Web3 technology, fans from around the globe will be able to interact in new and more meaningful ways with their club and stadium on a dedicated island. All will be able to interact through an integrated social network and fabric of a true living ecosystem. The central island of the Metaverse ecosystem is the Payfoot Island, a futuristic and ecological island, which offers a series of attractions, games, and activities related to soccer. Virtual football competitions and leagues will be created under the supervision of the Virtual Football Association (www.virfa.net) chaired by Marco Villiger, ex-Vice President of FIFA, and with a strong involvement of the fans through governance tokens. A soccer democracy is born! “We share the same vision with the Cosmic Wire team: we strongly believe in digital tools to bring fans closer to their clubs and offer them new experiences. The creation of virtual stadiums will allow all fans around the world, who are not lucky enough to live nearby, to participate much more actively in the life of their club. This is definitely the future, and we are proud to be leading the way, for soccer and tomorrow for other sports,” said Thibault Verbiest, co-founder of Payfoot. Cosmic Wire builds exceptional experiences utilizing blockchain technology, and community building, including immersive and meaningful adventures. The company’s complete ecosystem offers brands, celebrities, art, and IP collectors the ability to enhance, promote, sell, and license their work. Cosmic Wire’s market advantage includes having a wholly internalized development, marketing, and sales team, allowing us to support clients from concept to close. Cosmic Wire creates immersive experiences with iconic names to expand the scale and scope of the brand and its value. “Cosmic Wire is proud to empower and amplify Payfoot and their vision of what Web3 can be. We at Cosmic Wire are about the democratization of the space, and empowering creatives to help their visions come to life. Payfoot has a vision, and we are excited to help them bring it to the world,” said Cosmic Wire CEO Jerad Finck. For more information, visit: https://www.payfoot.com Payfoot Metaverse Teaser: https://youtu.be/7dwSUGiePnw About Payfoot Our mission is to digitally revolutionize the world of sports and share the value creation with clubs and athletes, amplifying the way fans live and experience their passion. Our vision is to create a (de)centrally-governed ecosystem for the sports community – starting from football to the whole sector. With our unique soccer-related metaverse and social network, we maximize the fans’ engagement and interaction, giving every individual the same possibilities to take part in the game. Payfoot is developed by RCS SA (Reserve Currency Solutions SA), a Swiss company based in Zug, also known as the cradle of the Crypto Valley. About Cosmic Wire Based in Los Angeles, Cosmic Wire is a platform agnostic Web3 entertainment technology company that offers brands, celebrities, artists, and IP collectors the ability to enhance, promote, license, and sell their work. Cosmic Wire creates NFTs with a purpose and expands the value of iconic physical and digital assets using tools such as blockchain, NFTs, and immersive experiences. Staffed by some of the very best in the industry, Cosmic Wire’s completely internalized development, marketing, and sales teams support clients from concept to close. Cosmic Wire believes that a proper client contract provides a shared experience of success for Cosmic Wire and their clients so that Cosmic Wire succeeds when their clients do. For More Information: Rubenstein Public Relations Steven Weiss [email protected] Direct: (212) 805-3062 Cosmic Wire Alan Wallace [email protected] Direct: (917) 524-7440 SOURCE Cosmic Wire

The Best Grills, Gear And Goods For Outdoor Cooking – Maxim – Maxim https://collincountynewsonline.com/the-best-grills-gear-and-goods-for-outdoor-cooking-maxim-maxim/ Feast on the ultimate gear guide to outdoor cooking and entertaining. There have never been more options for outdoor cooking, but it can be hard to separate the gimmicks from the gold. This guide will help you live your best outdoor cooking life, from pizza slinger to pitmaster to wood-oven wizard.  Large Big Green Egg (Big Green Egg) If you’re just looking to grill some steaks and burgers, there are lower-cost alternatives, but if you want to seriously improve your cooking skills, the Big Green Egg is outdoor cooking grad school––a grill, an oven, a pizza oven, and a smoker. Plus, it looks great compared to most backyard grill setups. The Big Green Egg is an investment, but it does more than other grills and will last much longer, especially if you live in a place where high humidity or saltwater air is prone to rusting out other grills.  The thick ceramic walls are so efficient that you can cook for hours and only burn through a small amount of charcoal. I filled it with a load of BGE Oak & Hickory Charcoal and smoked a pork shoulder for nine hours, then closed the upper and lower vents to quickly shut down the fire. The next day more than half of the charcoal was still pristine, and I could’ve cooked the same charcoal load for another nine hours.  Be sure to get the convEGGtor or half-moon convEGGtors for indirect cooking of things like ribs, brisket and pulled pork. The pizza stone is another must accessory, as is the Egg Genius––a small computer-controlled fan that attaches to the lower vent and takes all the guess work out of air flow control to maintain a certain temperature. Using the companion app with the Genius, you can control the temperature of the egg, monitor the temperature of your meat, and set alerts to tell you when your meat reaches target temperature. $999 Gozney Dome Wood-Fired Oven (Gozney) With the Dome, Gozney brings a residential version of their commercial wood-fired ovens, adding a more pro-level option alongside their well-regarded compact Roccbox pizza oven. The Dome lets you take your wood-fired cooking beyond pizza and is large enough for steaks, roasts, and even a whole chicken. You can get a wood-only version for $300 less, but the dual fuel allows you to use hardwood charcoal, wood, or even propane for when you don’t have time to get a fire going. The temperature gauge makes it easy to monitor the internal temperature—even if you’re cooking with wood or hardwood charcoal—and has an integrated meat probe. When cooking pizza on the Dome, there’s plenty of room to adjust the distance to the open flame for the perfect crust. Using cast-iron roasting pans with steaks and vegetables will give anything you cook a nice char and a woody flavor. The entire set up with the stand, fold-out side tables, and shelving make this a patio centerpiece to channel your inner Wolfgang Puck. $1,799 REC-TEQ RT-B380 Bullseye Wood Pellet Grill (REC-TEQ) If I had to use one grill daily, it would be the Rec-Teq Bullseye. It has the ease and instant start-up of a gas grill with the flavor of hardwood smoke. Even within my Southern, owning-every-grill-under-the-sun in-laws, it’s number one on their list. While the build is not as robust as some more expensive grills on this list, it’s the most affordable and it does everything. Ribs and wings cooked low are smoky and delicious, but you can turn it up to “Riot” mode for a 749-degree char on your steak. The griddle top is a great addition and works like a giant cast-iron skillet—perfect for sautéing, cooking hibachi style, or getting a better char on a steak than you can get with the grates. This is the only grill on which I was able to create a true Pittsburgh style rare, charred on the outside and rare inside. The Bullseye is extremely easy to use—just a couple of button pushes to get exactly what you want, whether a smoky 225-degrees or a white-hot 749 or somewhere in between. If you’re used to tinkering with your grill constantly, get ready to have extra time on your hands (just don’t tell your significant other). $399 Breeo X-Series 24 Fire Pit (Breo) Breeo X-series fire pits are perfect for those who want a fire to sit around in the colder months and one to cook on during warmer months. Plus, they look great in your yard after they develop a nice patina. They are built like tanks, and the 24 is the perfect size for both socializing and cooking. A key feature is Breeo’s smokeless design, which dramatically reduces the amount of smoke it puts out by promoting optimal air flow under the fire. You can order it with a wide lip around the top edge that serves as a griddle surface, and when hot, it becomes concave so that any grease will channel into the fire rather than your yard or patio. The optional cooking grate is easy to install on the fly, height adjustable, and sturdy enough to load up with steaks, chops, chicken or even a cast-iron skillet. Just bear in mind that because the coals are at the bottom of the fire pit, you can’t get the grate as close to the coals as you can with an asado grill. For enjoying the fire when you’re not cooking on it, Breeo’s X Series Chair looks great next to the pit, and it’s made of poly lumber that is impervious to the elements. $579 For fire pit cooking, Cutting Edge Firewood’s cooking wood comes in different varieties—like pecan, oak, hickory, or maple—so you can control exactly what wood flavor your food picks up. Prices vary Ooni Karu 12 Multi-Fuel Pizza Oven (Ooni) If you’re interested in getting into pizza cooking for the first time, the Ooni Karu 12 is a great entry point. The legs fold in and the chimney is removable so you can pack it into your vehicle easily. In my testing, I found the Karu works best with a mix of hardwood charcoal, such as Fogo Super Premium, and Cutting Edge Firewood Mini Pizza Cuts. With an adapter (sold separately) it can also work with propane, allowing you to ditch the chimney for a far more svelte cooking setup. Having the option to get it up and running fast with propane when you don’t have time to mess with wood or charcoal is a nice convenience. And between the three fuel modes you will always have some way to heat the Karu, no matter where your adventures take you. The only downside to the light weight and portability is that the heat retention is not as good as heavier and thicker-walled ovens, so you’ve got to keep the fuel going to maintain optimal temperature for pizza. $399 B.B. Prime Salamander Broiler B.B. Prime Salamander broilers are the secret to that steakhouse crust while keeping a medium rare center. This propane broiler has a 1,500-degree heat element that will give you that crust in seconds. There’s a lower tray for melted butter so you can dredge a fillet through it to maximize the crust, and a warming tray up top that works great for buns if you’re making burgers on it, which cook in seconds per side. I found that the best way to use this was to smoke a steak low, and at the very end, put it on the BB prime for a crust à la Ruth’s Chris. $399 Fuego F24C Gas Grill (Fuego) Gas grills are boringly boxy and tend to take up too much space for what they do, but the Fuego fixes that. The circular grill offers plenty of surface area for grilling and the round shape optimizes both grilling space and storage for your propane tank. Design-wise, if you appreciate a grill that doesn’t look like every other grill out there, the Fuego has its own personality. The small footprint makes it ideal for an apartment balcony or small porch, but unlike other “small” grills, grilling can be done at normal height and with the capacity to cook for a group. $599 Magma Crossover Series Modular Grill (Magma) If you want to seamlessly move from backyard cooking to tailgating or camping, the Magma crossover series is designed around flexibility. You buy a base “firebox” with one or two burners, and then you can configure it however you want: Use a hitch mount for your vehicle, get a quad-pod and make it free-standing, and then add accessories to use the firebox in different applications. There’s a pizza oven, a griddle top, a traditional gas grill top, and a steel plancha top. I tried out the pizza oven and the griddle top and that covered everything. You can use the pizza oven as an all-purpose oven, and the griddle not only makes killer pancakes and eggs, but also gives your steak a perfect char. $399 PK300 Charcoal Grill (PK Grills) PK Grills are made of cast aluminum that is hand poured, giving them excellent heat retention and an incredibly long rust-free lifespan. PK (originally Portable Kitchen) has been making charcoal grills since the 1950’s, and the PK300 is their flagship grill—blending a modern wheeled carriage with a retro grill capsule that evokes the original. The frame of the carriage is extremely sturdy and well designed, and the vents have precise marking lines so you can consistently dial in your air flow for longer cooks and follow recipes that require specific airflow measurements. It comes with grates for grilling and smoking, and if you buy one currently, they’ll throw in a stainless-steel griddle top for searing and sautéing, meaning you can cook nearly anything on a PK300. While it’s not a small grill, it detaches easily from the wheeled carriage making it easy to load into the back of your SUV or truck bed for travel. $559 Zwilling Kramer Damascus Chef’s Knife (Zwilling) Bob Kramer is a legend in the world of knife making. His handmade blades sell for tens of thousands of dollars and have been prized by chefs such as Anthony Bourdain, Thomas Keller, and Mario Batali, among others. Kramer partnered with Zwilling to create a line of knives that are up to his standards, but obtainable for those without Keller or Batali’s knife budget. “Zwilling was willing to go...

Gaming And Web3: A Positive Change Towards Economy? – Inventiva https://collincountynewsonline.com/gaming-and-web3-a-positive-change-towards-economy-inventiva/ Gaming and Web3: A positive change towards economy? The transition to Web 3.0 aims to build an internet user ecology based on blockchain technology, an open ledger that is extremely secure, transparent, and decentralized. With the launch of Play-To-Earn (P2E) games, gamers all around the world have participated in the shift from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0. Users can own NFTs, which are governed by smart contracts, thanks to the decentralized nature of blockchain technology. By recording and verifying ownership on an open ledger that is visible, immutable, and secure, these smart contracts enable players to own and trade digital tokens. NFTs have been successfully used by many businesses, celebrities, and the gaming industry to engage with new audiences and develop new revenue streams. The excitement and interest surrounding NFTs have never been higher since they also provide an investing opportunity. As a direct result of the confluence of tokens, blockchain, and AI, gaming businesses are aiming to produce Web 3.0-based games. Playing video games will enable users to make money in the Web 3 era. Users in this new gaming era can buy products from the market with their own money and sell them to other players either within the game or outside of the virtual world. Video game in-app purchases earned through in-game IAPs account for more than half of all gaming revenue. Online game players do not truly own the in-game stuff they purchase, even if they do. IAPs are the sole way to access the unlimited supply of in-game stuff. In Web 3.0, when a player purchases an asset, it will be linked to them rather than the game, protecting both their earned financial resources and the priceless objects they have stored in their accounts. Once outside of the game, players are free to retain and sell these virtual goods. With the advent of web 3.0, the gaming business is evolving, which has led to a rise in web 3.0’s use cases in that sector. Niche communities have emerged as a result of Web 3.0, and NFTs are the hottest new digital products. These tokens are mostly sold on NFT marketplaces and are gradually replacing other in-game currencies in P2E games. Web 3.0 games offer another benefit over Web 2.0 games in that they are open source, allowing players to customize the experience to suit their requirements. Single-point failures are common in traditional online games, but blockchain technology improves this experience by giving players more consistent and interesting alternatives. Since players are directly responsible for the games’ success, their control will eventually dominate how valuable the games are. In a way, the idea of limitless gaming has finally come true! These and other factors combine to make Web 3.0 gaming a more appealing option than web 2.0 gaming. The future of gaming is getting ready to change as a community-driven ecosystem supported by a just and equal piece of technology emerges. Global audiences have taken a big interest in the well-known Web 2.0 fantasy sports leagues, and the following NFT-based fantasy sports leagues are now something they are anticipating. Not only is it projected that the gaming industry would face major upheaval, but also growth. The gaming industry is anticipated to adapt to Web 3.0 and the present financial climate. In addition to the gaming business as a whole, gamers and everyone else engaged will benefit. You may now properly answer if your parents have ever reprimanded you for playing video games when you should be doing anything else. An industry that was primarily a platform for entertainment and sports is being reinvented as a freshly minted creative economy thanks to Web 3 gaming and ongoing game-streaming efforts. It makes sense considering that, according to a recent KPMG estimate, the nation’s $1.8 billion gaming sector is anticipated to triple in size to $3.9 billion by 2025. A decade ago, the majority of people’s knowledge of gaming was largely limited to its Web 1 or Web 2 gaming predecessors. Solo gaming on early console setups dominated Web 1. You engaged in self-competition by repeatedly rehearsing game scenarios to lower your time and score. Word games, Sudoku, and other simple one-player games are still imitations of Web1 gaming. Even while it was entertaining, the absence of participation did not nearly lead to the emergence of widespread gaming culture. That was accomplished via Web 2. The experience of playing online games experienced a significant transformation with the development of technologies that allowed connectivity and interaction across several computers. By logging into the social gaming revolution from your home, you may now play multiplayer games with anybody in the world. In the Web 2 era, you made online acquaintances, spoke with others who shared your interests and belonged to groups that came together around gaming and esports. However, the ecosystem of the game publisher, developer, and broadcaster still had a significant impact on that experience. Web3 wants to reinvent game experiences by giving the player control. Players holding the sway Independence, consent, and cooperation are the three main components of the Web3 experience. Giving gamers a voice by moving control from a centralized authority or gaming company to a DAO is the idea behind this project (which is essentially regulated by pre-set community rules enforced via a blockchain). It starts by providing you authority over who has access to certain in-game things (such as cash, tokens, drops, skins, etc.). You may freely trade them without worrying about losing your privacy, your belongings, or the necessity for a third party’s consent to access your assets. Even ones that aren’t exclusive to any one game are available. The value of your assets is more likely to be preserved when decision-making is decentralized. No longer will a publisher’s arbitrary modification of a game’s rules destroy the value of the items you’ve accumulated through many hours of devoted play. Additionally, serious and devoted players have the chance to acquire governance tokens, which give them voting rights over how a game develops. If your choices about the gameplay experience, game rules, and even how you are paid for it are well received by the DAO community, they may come to pass. Isn’t that a perfect illustration of democracy in action? Value for participation and adherence The most revolutionary component of Web3 gaming is its ability to switch you from play-to-earn models to passive play or pay-to-play (P2P) ones. P2P allows users to pay to upgrade their gaming experience. To generate a steady stream of revenue in such a situation, developers are likely to release changes every few months, which may irritate users. Web3 gaming, in particular Crypto gaming, flips this on its head by paying gamers for the time and work they have put into playing games. It may take the shape of exchangeable cryptocurrencies or NFTs that act as collector’s objects and whose exchange value is set by the buyer and seller without the involvement of any outside authority. The benefit for developers is that they will receive a tiny portion of each in-game transaction that is recorded on the blockchain, doing away with the need for disruptive upgrades that can harm the user experience. Different organizations and gamers can provide a good amount of liquidity to the gaming industry thanks to the growth of in-game economies. Early examples of the usage of business in game streaming have already started to emerge. For a good game By eliminating difficulties with hacking and cheating, decentralized gaming also enhances the game experience. With dispersed servers, the risk of hacking is almost nonexistent, making problems like data loss, cheating, or changing the laws of the game, which can damage the playing experience, unlikely. Even while a Web3-led world appears imminent, the industrial ecosystem’s rate of evolution will determine how quickly it can realize its full potential. Dispelling misconceptions regarding the feasibility of Web3 game models must be a top priority. Is it feasible to create games that meet every requirement—fun, engaging, and working with a strong reward program—without their being fads that go away quickly? Next, given that user-generated material is essential to a long-lasting engagement experience today, how prepared are game-streaming firms to offer a platform for original content production and possibilities to make money while you play? Thirdly, serious effort has to be done to establish trustworthy digital assets that wouldn’t be vulnerable to volatility and abrupt price swings, since the ability to monetize is becoming an enticing offer to draw in more gamers. While others contend that viewing video games as an “earning” proposition is narrow-minded, everyone can agree that for the industry to flourish meaningfully, we need to return to the fundamentals. The basis is developing a fantastic game and playing experience, and everything else is just potential waiting to be realized. The gaming industry is expanding quickly and has tremendous development potential. The CAGR of income from online games is anticipated to reach 40% by 2022, or over 2.8 billion, according to Deloitte’s 2021 forecasts for the Indian gaming business. The decentralized blockchain-based protocol has intentions to enable game developers to produce blockchain-based games and offer the finest gaming experience to gamers all over the world. Game industry paradigm change As more and more people become attracted to cutting-edge gaming models like play to earn, the multibillion-dollar gaming industry is expanding at an astounding rate. Due to the advancement of technology, the gaming industry has changed significantly throughout time. As web 3.0 ma...

South Korea Has Tracked USD 1bn Worth Of Fraudulent Crypto Transactions This Year – Cryptonews https://collincountynewsonline.com/south-korea-has-tracked-usd-1bn-worth-of-fraudulent-crypto-transactions-this-year-cryptonews/ Source: Daniel Bernard/Unsplash A staggering USD 1 billion worth of fraudulent crypto-related transactions has been identified in South Korea in the first half of 2022, new data shows. According to Asia Kyungjae, the figures were compiled by the Korea Customs Service and made public by the lawmaker Kang Byung-won. The data records all crypto-related transactions flagged as fraudulent by customs officials from 2017 to June 2022. The figures show that customs officials have flagged a total of over USD 2.8 billion crypto-linked transactions since 2017. Over USD 1 billion of this figure has been flagged in the first half of this year (January to June). This dwarfs the figure for the entirety of 2021 (USD 600 million). However, this is likely due to the fact that the customs service has stepped up its policing of the sector in the past year as part of what it has termed a “crackdown” on crypto-related fraud. All of these transactions involve cross-border fiat bank or wire transfers – or instances whereby individuals have been caught carrying banknotes to and from overseas locations. Customs officials appear to have indicated that in many cases, the money has been linked to over-the-counter crypto trades and “kimchi premium” trading. The latter refers to scenarios whereby the price of bitcoin (BTC) and other tokens is higher in South Korea than elsewhere in the world. In cases like these, some traders have sought to buy “cheaper” BTC abroad and then dump coins on domestic exchanges – for profits of up to 30%. The kimchi premium has become a kimchi bonus: At the time of writing (UTC 9:00am), token prices are trending lower in South Korea than elsewhere (Source: screenshot/https://cryprice.com/)  This kind of transaction violates South Korean foreign exchange law – and both customs officials and prosecutors have been waging war on suspected perpetrators. USD 1bn in Fraudulent Crypto Transactions – Political Backlash Incoming? Kang is an MP for the Democratic Party, which has a large majority in the National Assembly. He is also a member of the Assembly’s Political Affairs Committee. He and other lawmakers have indicated that they will push for legislative change – and Kang called on regulators to respond. Kang was quoted as stating: “It is necessary to strengthen the crackdown on [crypto crime] by finding a way to allow the financial authorities, such as the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, to work directly with investigative agencies. We also need to improve our technical capabilities [to help fight crime like this].”

IS Militants Kill 6 US-Backed Fighters In Eastern Syria – The Associated Press – En Español https://collincountynewsonline.com/is-militants-kill-6-us-backed-fighters-in-eastern-syria-the-associated-press-en-espanol/ BEIRUT (AP) — The Islamic State group killed six U.S.-backed Syrian fighters in eastern Syria saying on Monday that the killing was in retaliation for an ongoing operation inside a sprawling camp housing tens of thousands of family members of the extremist group. The IS-linked Aamaq news agency released a video showing the shooting of the six members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces near the eastern village of Ruwaished where they were captured alive and later shot dead late Sunday. Despite their defeat in Syria in 2019, when IS lost the last sliver of land its fighters once controlled, the extremists’ sleepers cells have continued to carry out deadly attacks in Syria and Iraq where they once held large parts of the two countries. The latest attack occurred in Syria’s eastern province of Deir el-Zour bordering Iraq, and where U.S. troops are based at an oil facility known as the Omar Field. Last week, the U.S. military said SDF fighters arrested dozens of IS militants and rescued four women who were being held chained inside tents at the massive al-Hol camp that houses IS families. The operation that has been ongoing for three weeks is part of an effort to dissolve a major IS network at the camp, which is widely seen as a breeding ground for the next generation of IS extremists. The al-Hol camp in Syria’s northeastern Hassakeh Province, has long been viewed as a growing problem and there have been a number of military operations and raids there to root out IS threats. Some 50,000 Syrians and Iraqis are crowded into tents in the fenced-in camp. Nearly 20,000 of them are children; most of the rest are women, the wives and widows of IS fighters. In a separate, heavily guarded section of the camp known as the annex are an additional 2,000 women from 57 other countries — they are considered the most die-hard IS supporters — along with their children, numbering about 8,000.

SHUTTERSTOCK APPOINTS SEJAL AMIN AS CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER – PR Newswire https://collincountynewsonline.com/shutterstock-appoints-sejal-amin-as-chief-technology-officer-pr-newswire/ , /PRNewswire/ — Shutterstock, Inc. ( NYSE: SSTK) (the “Company”), a leading global creative platform for transformative brands and media companies, today announced that Sejal Amin is joining the Company’s leadership team and Executive Committee as Chief Technology Officer (CTO), effective September 12, 2022. With more than 20 years of global leadership, product and technology experience, Sejal will deliver a technology vision and strategy that transforms Shutterstock’s technology platform to deliver a new and unparalleled experience to customers and contributors. “I am thrilled to welcome Sejal to Shutterstock, as we continue our digital transformation to a full-service creative platform that democratizes creativity, pushes creative boundaries, and provides unparalleled experiences for our customers and contributors around the world,” said Paul Hennessy, Chief Executive Officer at Shutterstock. “Sejal is a well-respected and revered leader with a proven track record of growth and innovation, and I am confident that she will be successful in leading Shutterstock’s technology platform into its next disruptive phase.” “Shutterstock is a company that has transformed immensely from its inception almost 20 years ago, and I am honored to be the next Chief Technology Officer,” said Sejal Amin. “The innovation the Company has achieved – from world class workflow applications to industry-leading proprietary technology – is tremendous, and I look forward to expanding upon the Company’s vision, harnessing the potential of Shutterstock’s diversified offering as we celebrate a new era for Shutterstock.” Recently, she was Chief Product and Technology Officer for Khoros, a Vista Portfolio company where she was integrating a distributed Product and Technology organization while defining a Product and Operational strategy to execute on the company’s vision and growth goals. Just prior to that, she was CTO for the Thomson Reuters Tax and Accounting Tax Professionals Business. She has a wide range of technology leadership experience across several business units at Thomson Reuters managing global product development teams and portfolios of growing size and complexity for 15+ years. With Sejal’s appointment to CTO, Shutterstock now has three women on the Executive Committee, and two women leading the product development strategy, including Chief Product Officer, Meghan Schoen. About Shutterstock, Inc. Shutterstock, Inc. ( NYSE: SSTK), is a leading global creative platform for transformative brands and media companies. Directly and through its group subsidiaries, Shutterstock’s comprehensive collection includes high-quality licensed photographs, vectors, illustrations, 3D models, videos and music. Working with its growing community of over 2 million contributors, Shutterstock adds hundreds of thousands of images each week, and currently has more than 415 million images and more than 26 million video clips available. Headquartered in New York City, Shutterstock has offices around the world and customers in more than 150 countries. The Company also owns Splash News, the world’s leading entertainment news agency for newsrooms and media companies worldwide, Pond5, the world’s largest video marketplace, TurboSquid, the world’s largest 3D content marketplace; PicMonkey, a leading online graphic design and image editing platform; Offset, a high-end image collection; Shutterstock Studios, an end-to-end custom creative shop; PremiumBeat, a curated royalty-free music library; Shutterstock Editorial, a premier source of editorial images and videos for the world’s media; Amper Music, an AI-driven music platform; and Bigstock, a value-oriented stock media offering. For more information, please visit www.shutterstock.com and follow Shutterstock on Twitter and on Facebook. SOURCE Shutterstock, Inc.

Laureano 2-Run Homer Highlights 6-Run Fifth, A’s Beat ChiSox – Laredo Morning Times https://collincountynewsonline.com/laureano-2-run-homer-highlights-6-run-fifth-as-beat-chisox-laredo-morning-times/ JANIE McCAULEY, AP Baseball Writer Sep. 11, 2022Updated: Sep. 11, 2022 8:34 p.m. This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate 1of15Oakland Athletics’ Tony Kemp (5) celebrates after hitting a solo home run against the Chicago White Sox during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.Godofredo A. Vásquez/APShow MoreShow Less 2of15Oakland Athletics second baseman Tony Kemp drops his bat after hitting an RBI-single against the Chicago White Sox during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.Godofredo A. Vásquez/APShow MoreShow Less 3of15 4of15Oakland Athletics’ Cristian Pache hits a single against the Chicago White Sox during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.Godofredo A. Vásquez/APShow MoreShow Less 5of15Chicago White Sox’s AJ Pollock hits an RBI-single against the Oakland Athletics during the sixth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.Godofredo A. Vásquez/APShow MoreShow Less 6of15 7of15Chicago White Sox catcher Yasmani Grandal throws to first base for an out against Oakland Athletics’ Nick Allen during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.Godofredo A. Vásquez/APShow MoreShow Less 8of15Oakland Athletics’ Vimael Machín reacts after hitting a two-run double against the Chicago White Sox during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.Godofredo A. Vásquez/APShow MoreShow Less 9of15 10of15Oakland Athletics’ Nick Allen lays down a sacrifice bunt against the Chicago White Sox during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.Godofredo A. Vásquez/APShow MoreShow Less 11of15Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Johnny Cueto, third from left, is pulled from a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics during the fifth inning in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.Godofredo A. Vásquez/APShow MoreShow Less 12of15 13of15Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Johnny Cueto wipes his face after being pulled from a baseball game against the Oakland Athletics during the fifth inning in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.Godofredo A. Vásquez/APShow MoreShow Less 14of15Chicago White Sox starting pitcher Johnny Cueto, right, looks toward home plate after walking Oakland Athletics’ Stephen Vogt, foreground, during the fifth inning of a baseball game in Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022.Godofredo A. Vásquez/APShow MoreShow Less 15of15 OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — With Rickey Henderson in the house for a festive day celebrating Dave Stewart, Tony Kemp accomplished something even the base-stealing Hall of Famer didn’t. Kemp became the first leadoff hitter in Oakland history with a home run, triple and four runs scored as the Athletics beat the Chicago White Sox 10-3 on Sunday to avoid a winless homestand. Bert Campaneris did it with Kansas City A’s. “I had no idea,” Kemp said. “But to especially do something at the leadoff spot that Rickey Henderson held for such a long time is definitely a humbling accolade but I’m just happy that we got the win.” Ramón Laureano hit a two-run homer and Vimael Machin hit a two-run double in the decisive fifth inning to back Cole Irvin’s second straight winning decision to help the A’s snap a five-game losing streak. Defending AL Central champion Chicago had a four-game winning streak end with just the club’s third loss in 12 games as it chases first-place Cleveland in the division race down the September stretch. Acting manager Miguel Cairo left the Bay Area pleased as his club concluded a seven-game road trip. “It was awesome to see guys battle every day, hit, come back being down,” Cairo said. “We did everything the right way. Good pitching. That was a really good trip.” Machin delivered in the A’s six-run sixth moments after a tying single by Kemp, who homered in the sixth and finished with three hits. Seth Brown hit an RBI double in the first against Johnny Cueto (7-8) lost for the first time in six career starts against Oakland. Irvin (8-11) allowed three runs — two earned — on four hits, struck out five and walked two over seven impressive innings. A’s outfielder Chad Pinder was ejected after the first inning when he came out to confront third base umpire Edwin Moscoso and had to be restrained by Machin. Pinder certainly was still upset about a foul ball call moments earlier down the left-field foul line when he thought he had an RBI single. The A’s challenged the call and it was confirmed as foul. Manager Mark Kotsay also ran out to argue but stayed in the game. Cueto was tagged for seven runs, five earned, on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings. A moment of silence was held to remember Sept. 11 victims. STEW’S DAY Stewart became the sixth A’s player to have his number retired, his No. 34 in the upper deck rafters alongside fellow No. 34 Rollie Fingers. “This is different than pitching I’ll tell you that,” Stewart said, greeted by chants of “Stew!” during a pregame ceremony. “… It was a pleasure to play in Oakland for you, to grow up in Oakland for who I am what I’ll always be is an Oakland native, thank you,” he said. Stewart — the 1989 World Series MVP and four-time 20-game winner — threw out the ceremonial first pitch to his former catcher, Terry Steinbach. White Sox manager Tony La Russa, who has been out of the dugout for nearly two weeks and is recovering from having a pacemaker inserted for his heart, rejoined his Chicago club to be part of the ceremony for the former A’s ace on La Russa’s Oakland staff. Reggie Jackson, Dennis Eckersley, Mark McGwire and Henderson also were part of the festivities. TRAINER’S ROOM White Sox: SS Tim Anderson, who had surgery last month to repair a tear in his left middle finger, will see a hand specialist Tuesday to determine when he might be able to return. Cairo remains hopeful Anderson could return this year. … 3B Yoán Moncada had a day off to rest as a precaution given he had played five straight since coming back from the injured list with a strained left hamstring. Athletics: RHP Daulton Jefferies underwent a second Tommy John surgery Friday in Los Angeles performed by Dr. Neal ElAttrache. The procedure also included moving the ulnar nerve. Jefferies previously had the ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction in 2017. This time, the recovery period is expected to be approximately 16 months, according to A’s athletic trainer Nick Paparesta. … RHP James Kaprielian is in line to start Thursday in his first outing since being scratched Friday. He cut the middle finger of his pitching hand Thursday night when he hit it against a wall putting on his shirt. Kaprielian played catch and is scheduled to throw a bullpen Tuesday. … Laureano replaced Pinder. Laureano was supposed to have his first day off since returning Tuesday from the injured list and a strained left oblique that sidelined him Aug. 15. ROSTER MOVES A’s RHP Brent Honeywell was reinstated from the 60-day injured list, cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Las Vegas. Additionally, Oakland selected RHP Collin Wiles from Triple-A Las Vegas and designated RHP Domingo Tapia for assignment. UP NEXT After Monday’s off day, RHP Michael Kopech (4-9, 3.78 ERA) takes the ball for Chicago back home against Colorado. LHP Ken Waldichuk (0-1, 3.60) pitches for the A’s in their series opener at Texas on Tuesday. ___ More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP—

Looking To Get Away? 10 Cost-Saving Travel Tips For Thrifty Minnesotans – Star Tribune https://collincountynewsonline.com/looking-to-get-away-10-cost-saving-travel-tips-for-thrifty-minnesotans-star-tribune/ Traveling in 2022 presents a dilemma. Most of us are pining for far-flung adventures after close-knit quarantining. But that pent-up demand has been met with jacked-up prices for just about everything, especially gas. Airlines, airports, hotels and car rental companies are often understaffed, undersupplied and overbooked. “Everything is just so weird right now,” Linda Snyder, vice president of AAA Minneapolis‘ travel agency, succinctly put it. “But it’s not impossible.” A little extra searching, planning and — especially important right now — pivoting in your travel plans can go a long way. Here are tips from Snyder and other Twin Cities travel experts on creating an affordable vacation. Stay in Minnesota. “Obviously, we think that’s a smart option all the time, but especially now,” says Amy Barrett, communications manager of Explore Minnesota. As airfare and gas prices spike, Barrett’s team emphasizes itineraries for road trips on a single tank of gas at exploreminnesota.com. They also recommend options besides the ever-popular North Shore, where rooms have been hard to come by. Other options are even cheaper: “We have so many campgrounds, hiking trails and paved bike trails,” she says. “You can see so much of our beautiful state for free or very cheaply.” Start with your airfare. “Before you book anything else or ask for certain days off from work, always look at airfare first, because right now you really don’t know what you’re going to get,” advises Kyle Potter of the Minneapolis-based website and newsletter ThriftyTraveler.com. He strongly recommends the Google Flights search engine for finding good travel dates, where flights one day or week might be $200-$300 cheaper than another. “That could put some people over budget even before they get there, especially families.” Avoid peak travel times. Summer is over, but weekends and certain busy weeks can be costly through fall and winter. “MEA week [Oct. 20-24 in 2022] is a big one to avoid in Minnesota if you don’t have school kids,” says Snyder, who also warns that business travel around conventions can inflate prices. “Late October and early November is a great window,” she adds, singling out Mexican and Caribbean destinations. Flying midweek is also a good way to save — and that’s true when not flying, too. Speaking of Minnesota’s in-demand North Shore resorts, Barrett says, “If you can go Sunday through Thursday, you can still find good deals.” Vacation rentals now more than ever. Besides the fact that you’re often paying more for less at many hotel chains, there’s another big reason to look for privately owned homes or apartments with favorable reviews on Airbnb, VRBO and other rental sites: Dining has gotten pricier, too. “If you’re not a foodie and don’t care about going out to eat a lot, think of how much money you can save by getting a place with a kitchen where you can cook for yourself,” Snyder says. Vacation rentals often make sense for bigger families or groups over multiple hotel rooms — as long as everyone can get along. Europe is a (relatively) good deal. With the euro dropping to nearly equal value with the U.S. dollar (around a 12% decline), your money can go a lot further across the Atlantic. “A nice dinner in Paris right now might cost you $70 U.S. instead of $100, which adds up over a week,” Potter says. Some U.S. travelers are still worried about COVID restrictions, but things are wide open, at least at the time of publication. Go off the beaten paths. “Instead of Italy or Ireland, maybe look at Portugal or Switzerland for better airfare,” Snyder says. Potter points out South Africa and Iceland as good travel deals in recent months. For destinations on this continent, he suggests looking anywhere budget airlines such as Sun Country, Spirit, Frontier and now Allegiant fly. “Even if you’d never fly one of those airlines, they bring down the prices of the other airlines,” Potter says. Use those miles and points. Hey, at least your higher credit-card bills can add up to more air miles. Minneapolis-based frequent travelers John Eichten and Colleen O’Dell saved enough miles on their Chase Sapphire Visa in a year’s time to cover the cost of one ticket to London this past summer. “Essentially we saved $1,450,” raves John, who also cashed in Marriott Bonvoy points for a four-star hotel in the typically pricey area around the Tower of London. Public transportation is not just for locals and Rick Steves. Car rental prices, too, have gone through the sunroof. Using trains and buses can save you $100-$200 per day, especially in Europe and big American cities. Eichten says of their trip around England: “Petrol is very expensive there, but trains, buses and the Tube prices haven’t changed.” For those who insist on their own wheels, Potter points to the universal search engine Auto Slash to find deals from rental companies, and to carsharing sites/apps such as Turo (think: Airbnb for vehicles). Get your sea legs: Far and away the best travel deals right now are on cruises. The cruise lines were hit hard by COVID and are desperately trying to bring customers back with steep deals while also staying strict on COVID tests and vaccine requirements. “Obviously, this has to be based around your comfort level,” Snyder says, “but if you ever thought of taking a cruise, now is the time.” Plan ahead for next year. Yes, already. While gas and other travel costs have gone down slightly since midsummer, travel experts agree things won’t level off anytime soon. Booking ahead can help you avoid whatever the inflated costs might be next summer. “Look for things that are fully refundable, or close to it,” Potter advises. This is a good tip for Minnesota destinations, too: “A lot of resorts are filling up already for next summer,” Barrett says.

BGL’s Burhill To Paris Bike Ride Raises Thousands For Ukraine Crisis Appeal – Golf Business News https://collincountynewsonline.com/bgls-burhill-to-paris-bike-ride-raises-thousands-for-ukraine-crisis-appeal-golf-business-news/ An intrepid team of Burhill Group employees, led by company CEO Colin Mayes, has successfully completed a charity bike ride to Paris from Surrey-based Burhill Golf Club, raising nearly £10,000 to support the British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal.  The BGL Group were eager to take on this challenge to support the millions of people who have suffered so much in the past year, both in Ukraine, and trying to flee the war-torn country. All of the money raised during this challenge will be used to directly aid the humanitarian efforts in the country being led by the Red Cross. Following the completion of the challenge, Mayes said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have completed this challenge, and more importantly, to have raised a phenomenal amount of money that will hopefully provide some help to those suffering in Ukraine. “It’s been incredibly important to us all to do what we can to support the British Red Cross and we hope that this donation will help them to continue providing desperately needed aid. Personally, I am so proud of the group for taking this challenge head on, and for how passionately they continued to pursue further donations for this fantastic cause since we first set out to take on the challenge.” The 300km-plus challenge got under way outside Burhill Golf Club on September 2, with a difficult 75-mile ride over the famous Ditchling Beacon to catch the ferry to France at Newhaven. Day two was the longest of the three planned, covering nearly 120km and around 2,400 feet of elevation. The team suffered five punctures and two mechanical issues before arriving at the overnight stop. The final day involved a 105km ride into Paris from the west, via the Palace of Versailles. The team approached the finish line at the base of the Eiffel Tower with a burst of energy and were greeted by the support team and a well-earned glass of Champagne. Wearing the national colours of Ukraine on their jerseys, upon arrival the group of cyclists were recognised by a Ukrainian family who had just arrived in Paris, having fled their hometown of Odessa due to the invasion – a sobering reminder of why the team made the decision to take on this challenge.  The total amount raised for the British Red Cross Ukraine Crisis Appeal is currently £9,105. With donations still coming in, the cheque for the final total raised is to be presented to the British Red Cross in early October. To make a donation to this worthy cause, click here.

Fun Fall Activities That Burn Calories And Keep You Fit — Eat This Not That – Eat This, Not That https://collincountynewsonline.com/fun-fall-activities-that-burn-calories-and-keep-you-fit-eat-this-not-that-eat-this-not-that/ A happy life is a healthy one. And the more you take care of your body by living a fit lifestyle, the better—and younger—you will look and feel. Summer is slowly slipping away, which means one very important thing: It’s time to make active plans for autumn. We’re here to help you out and rounded up some seriously fun fall activities that burn calories and keep you fit. Grab your best buds or your significant other and kill three birds with one stone. You’ll be spending time with a special group or person, you’ll undoubtedly have a blast, and you will get in some pretty serious workouts without even feeling like it. Choose one or do them all, because you can’t go wrong with any of the workouts we listed. You can thank us later for the ideas! Shutterstock There is so much healthy goodness for your body when kayaking. Whether you choose to kayak down a river or on a lake, the foliage, memories, and fitness benefits will not disappoint. First off, if you weigh 150 pounds, you can torch as much as 340 calories per hour, the American Council of Exercise reports (via Visit NH). This is more than you’d burn if you were biking! The low-impact aerobic paddle motion through the water will build your upper body strength and flexibility, and it’s an easy workout on your joints. Some other benefits worth mentioning? You’ll tone your chest and back, strengthen your lungs, regulate your cholesterol, decrease your blood pressure, and relieve any stress, all while getting in some amazing cardio. Sounds like a keeper to us! Related: The Best Cardio Exercises To Lose Visceral Fat and Slow Aging, Trainer Says The next of these fun fall activities that burn calories and keep you fit is fly fishing. If you’ve never tried fly fishing before, autumn is a great time to grab a pole and lightweight lure. There are very good reasons why millions of people head fly fishing every year. Not only does it promise to be a totally serene and beautiful backdrop, but the physical and mental health benefits are tremendous. If you’re like many people, when you think of fly fishing, you’re probably picturing an elderly individual dozing off in a rowboat, and thinking, “How much of a workout could that possibly provide?” A total-body workout—that’s how much! When fly fishing, you’ll be standing, casting your rod, and with any luck, reeling in a catch or two. Wading against the water’s current provides more fitness goodness, as you’ll strengthen your legs, back muscles, and entire core in the process. Believe it or not, according to Organic Life, close to 65% of enthusiasts who go fly fishing do it for the fitness benefits it provides (via HSS). Related: Follow These Healthy Habits To Live to 100 and Beyond, Science Says If you’re looking to expend energy and have an amazing time while doing it, consider horseback riding. In addition to being an excellent calorie burner, this activity builds balance and coordination and enhances your core strength. According to Dr. Dennis Sigler, a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horse specialist and professor in the department of animal science at Texas A&M University in College Station, “We all know riding horses is good exercise. Riding a horse for 45 minutes at a walk, trot and canter can burn up to 200 calories.” Dr. Sigler also points out that horseback riding can be a great option for individuals who can’t do other workouts like jogging or running, and adds, “Some [people] have joints that just can’t stand a jog, but if they can ride a horse and burn 400 calories a day, that’s significant.” Mountain biking is considered a low-impact cardio workout that’s chock-full of healthy fitness benefits, thanks to the changing terrain. Not only will this kind of exercise work your entire body, but it will also build your leg muscles while you’re climbing uphill. When you head downhill, your shoulder, chest, arm, abdomen, and back muscles will all be activated. Basically, when mountain biking, you’ll get super toned while enhancing your coordination and torching calories. Before hitting the road, make sure you read up on some of the best tips and tricks and take the necessary safety precautions. Just to name a few examples, you should remain focused during the entirety of your ride, consider bringing along a riding buddy, know the conditions of the trails you’re exploring, and of course, wear a helmet. Alexa Mellardo Alexa is the Mind + Body Deputy Editor of Eat This, Not That!, overseeing the M+B channel and delivering compelling fitness, wellness, and self-care topics to readers. Read more about Alexa

Here Is The Latest ACC Sports News From The Associated Press – Kentucky Today https://collincountynewsonline.com/here-is-the-latest-acc-sports-news-from-the-associated-press-kentucky-today-2/ UNDATED (AP) — Georgia has reclaimed the top spot in The Associated Press college football poll and Oklahoma State, Kentucky and Arkansas moved into the top 10 after an upset-filled weekend. The defending national champion Bulldogs started the season at No. 3 in the AP Top 25. It took them two weeks to get back to where they spent most of last year. Georgia received 53 of 63 first-place votes. No. 2 Alabama, which needed a late field goal to hold off Texas, received nine first-place votes and No. 3 Ohio State got one. No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Clemson held their places. Oklahoma moved up a spot to No. 6. And Southern California jumped three places to No. 7. Notre Dame tumbled out all the way from No. 8 to snap a streak of 80 straight poll appearances. UNDATED (AP) — Just two weeks into the season and it looks like so much we thought might be true in college football is wrong. No. 1 Alabama needed every little bit of misfortune that conspired against Texas, plus a Heisman-worthy performance by its Heisman Trophy winner, to avoid its first regular-season nonconference loss since 2007 against the Longhorns. No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 8 Notre Dame were not so fortunate. The Aggies and Irish were Sun Belted, losing at home to Appalachian State and Marshall, respectively. Throw on top of that Washington State knocking off No. 19 Wisconsin in Madison, and it was a difficult day for double-digit favorites. PITTSBURGH (AP) — Hendon Hooker threw for 325 yards and two touchdowns No. 24 Tennessee edged No. 17 Pittsburgh 34-27 in overtime. Hooker found Cedric Tillman for a 28-yard score on Tennessee’s first possession of the extra period. The Volunteers then forced Pitt backup quarterback Nick Patti to throw incomplete on fourth down to preserve the win. Tennessee improved to 2-0 with the victory. The Panthers fell to 1-1. Pitt lost starting quarterback Kedon Slovis late in the first half with an undisclosed injury. Patti threw for 79 yards and the tying touchdown late in the fourth quarter despite playing on an injured leg. CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — DJ Uiagalelei threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns and Will Shipley ran for a pair of scores in No. 5 Clemson’s 35-12 win over Furman on Saturday. The Tigers won their eighth straight, their 35th straight at home and moved to 37-0 alltime against teams from the Football Championship Subdivision. A big reason was Uiagalelei, who led Clemson to touchdowns on his first five drives. Uiagalelei connected on scoring passes of 2 yards to tight end Jake Briningstool and 9 yards to receiver Beaux Collins.  The Tigers improved to 2-0 for the seventh time in eight seasons. MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — No. 15 Miami pulled away in the second half and beat Southern Miss 30-7. The key was a pair of touchdowns about 2 minutes apart in the third quarter by the Hurricanes. Southern Miss led for most of the second quarter. But Miami took a 10-7 lead into the locker room on a run by Henry Parrish with 20 seconds left in the half. Thaddius Franklin Jr. had a rushing score in the third quarter to extend Miami’s lead. And on the next Hurricanes’ possession Key’Shawn Smith caught a 35-yard touchdown flea-flicker from Tyler Van Dyke as Miami grabbed full control. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Sam Hartman passed for 300 yards and four touchdowns, and No. 23 Wake Forest beat Vanderbilt 45-25. Hartman connected on 18 of 27 passes after he missed Wake Forest’s opener against VMI because of a blood clot. The fifth-year quarterback directed the Demon Deacons to 11 wins and a trip to the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game last season. Hartman’s 68-yard touchdown pass to A.T. Perry lifted Wake Forest to a 14-3 lead with 36 seconds left in the first quarter. RALEIGH, N.C (AP) — Devin Leary tied a program record by accounting for six touchdowns to help No. 18 North Carolina State beat Charleston Southern 55-3. The Wolfpack’s defense held the Championship Subdivision opponent to 150 total yards. Leary threw four TD passes, including a perfect wheel route to Jordan Houston. He also had a 40-yarder after shrugging a blitzer from his back to deliver the ball downfield. The runaway win gave N.C. State a chance to clean up mistakes from a narrow road win at East Carolina. Sam Babbush’s 48-yard field goal midway through the third quarter helped Charleston Southern break up the shutout. ATLANTA (AP) — Dontae Smith ran for 102 yards and three touchdowns, and Georgia Tech turned to its running game and a takeaway-savvy defense to snap a seven-game losing streak with a 35-17 victory over Western Carolina. The Yellow Jackets (1-1) forced four turnovers _ interceptions by Derrik Allen, Myles Sims and Charlie Thomas and a fumble recovery by Aliyde Eley _ and swarmed the FCS Catamounts (1-1) to hold them to just 118 yards in the second half. Georgia Tech, which finished with 243 yards rushing and 7.1 yards per game, had lost its last three games by a combined 141-10 score, leaving embattled coach Geoff Collins 9-26 entering the game. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Walt Disney CEO Discusses Plans To Adopt Metaverse In Enhancing Story – Coinspeaker https://collincountynewsonline.com/walt-disney-ceo-discusses-plans-to-adopt-metaverse-in-enhancing-story-coinspeaker/ Checking if the site connection is secure www.coinspeaker.com needs to review the security of your connection before proceeding.

You’re Likely Paying Less For These 7 Items, Including Clothing, Chicken Wings And Air Fare – PennLive https://collincountynewsonline.com/youre-likely-paying-less-for-these-7-items-including-clothing-chicken-wings-and-air-fare-pennlive/ After months of rising prices, some relief appears to be on the horizon. Consumers, who have been hit with record-high costs for goods and serves due to rising inflation and interest rates, are paying less for a handful of staples. According to the July Consumer Price Index, consumer prices rose 6.3% from a year earlier after posting an annual increase of 6.8% in June, the biggest jump since 1982. Experts say the numbers suggest inflation may be easing. While many prices are still higher than a year ago, the report is welcome relief to consumers who have been getting squeezed lately. Here’s a look at several categories where prices are actually dropping: After soaring in 2021, chicken wing prices have finally dropped. File photo by Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com Chicken wings Good news for football fans this season – chicken wing prices have dropped to pre-pandemic levels. According to the latest figures from the Department of Agriculture’s price index, wholesale prices of a pound of wings fell to about $1.68 in July, down from a high of $3.25 in May 2021. It’s the lowest price since May 2020, according to the report. Demand for chicken boomed during the pandemic as more people turned to takeout and quick service foods like wings. By 2021, wing prices skyrocketed, forcing some restaurants and bars to temporarily remove them from menus. Some restaurants, including national chain Wingstop, made do by introducing bone-in and boneless chicken thighs. Lumber Pondering a home project? After skyrocketing lumber prices two years ago, a slowing housing market due to higher mortgage rates has led to lower lumber prices. Markets Insider reports lumber prices recently fell as much as 4% to $465 per thousand board feet. That’s a big drop from the record high of $1,733 per thousand board feet in 2021, and actually puts the price more in align with traditional pricing in the range of $200 to $600 per thousand board feet. Travel If you’ve been thinking about a getaway, now might be the time to book a flight. Domestic airfares are expected to drop by 40% after the Labor Day holiday into early fall, reports Hopper, a travel booking platform. Round-trip domestic airfare is expected to run around $238 on average, or about $142 cheaper than the highest rates this summer. International fares also will drop but not quite as severely at about 19% or an average of $754 roundtrip, which is about $179 cheaper than summer fares. Furniture As people stuck closer to home during the pandemic many purchased new furniture to refresh their living spaces. Now, spending is shifting to activities outside of the home and that has left many furniture retailers with extra inventory. Bloomberg reports data from the Commerce Department shows furniture wholesale inventories are piling up as sales dropped for a second month. It said the government reported wholesaler furniture sales dropped 2.9% in June and stockpiles rose 2.6%. Recently, home furniture supplier Coaster Fine Furniture announced in a letter sent to dealers it is rolling back prices by about 10%, according to Furniture World, an industry publication. As with many suppliers, Coaster had raised prices to compensate for supply chain issues and higher freight rates. As shipping issues have eased, many furniture suppliers are paying less for ocean freight, something they are willing to pass along to dealers. Gas prices rose this year to all-time highs but have started to come down. File photo by Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com Gas Anyone who owns a car sees notices prices dropping at the pumps. Here in central Pennsylvania, the average price is about 34 cents lower than a month ago and hovering at the $4.21 a gallon mark. AAA recently said gas prices are falling “due primarily to stable oil prices and fewer drivers than usual fueling up.” The pace of declines is certainly slowing down as oil prices have bounced up slightly, but the West Coast and Northeastern U.S. are areas that still may see gas prices decline, while the South and Midwest see the drop fade and potentially slight increases,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. “In addition to falling gasoline prices, the average price of diesel has fallen below $5 per gallon for the first time since March, likely helping to cool off aggressive inflation numbers. Thus far, Mother Nature has spared us from disruptions from hurricanes, but that remains a wild card as we head into the peak of hurricane season.” Electronics After consumers bought gadgets in record numbers during the pandemic, experts say habits have shifted as people are spending money on experiences, such as concerts and vacations. Many are also cutting back on discretionary spending due to high gas and food prices. As a result, items such as televisions and computers are piling up on store shelves. Retailers such as Walmart, Target Corp. and Best Buy are marking down prices on consumer electronics if they want those inventories to move, Jason Benowitz, senior portfolio manager at Roosevelt Investment Group, recently told Reuters. He added the retailers are in competition, not with each other but for essentials such as food and fuel. Many clothing retailers are stuck with a glut of inventory as shoppers made fewer apparel purchases due to rising prices. Now many stores are slashing prices to get rid of merchandise. AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes Clothing Need some new duds? Luckily for you, retailers, left with a glut of clothing as consumer demand dropped due to higher prices, are slashing prices to clear inventory. Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle Outfitters reported steep jumps in inventory levels, up 45% and 46%, respectively, from a year ago, according to CNBC. Retailers, including Target, Walmart and Gap, have announced price reductions to get rid of the backlog. “The increasing levels of food and fuel inflation are affecting how customers spend,” said Walmart CEO Doug McMillon in a news release earlier this summer. “Apparel in Walmart U.S. is requiring more markdown dollars.” In some cases, retailers like the Gap misjudged shopper’s needs and purchased too many of the wrong items, including active wear, which many shoppers stocked up on in record numbers during the pandemic. Gap reported net sales dropped 8% from a year earlier to $3.86 billion. “In the near-term, we are taking actions to sequentially reduce inventory, rebalance our assortments to better meet changing consumer needs, aggressively manage and reevaluate investments, and fortifying our balance sheet,” said Katrina O’Connell, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Gap Inc., in a news release. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

No2 Leaves FAV Gaming After Contract Expiry – SiegeGG https://collincountynewsonline.com/no2-leaves-fav-gaming-after-contract-expiry-siegegg/ FAV gaming today announced that Taku “No2” Murakami has left the team after his contract expired on Aug. 31. No2 was one of the best players for FAV in Stage 2 and had the highest SiegeGG Rating on his team in APAC North and the Japan League. With Ryuki “Ramu” Matsuoka’s departure as well, FAV are down to four active players and will need to sign one before the start of Stage 3 of APAC North on Sep. 14. FAV have been struggling in APAC North already and finished in last place in Stage 2, though they placed in fifth in Stage 1. However, in the overall APAC North standings, they are dead last with 11 points across both stages — four points behind Spear Gaming and REJECT. Changes to their roster have been necessary for a while now and they will need a strong fifth player to avoid having to play in the APAC North relegations.

Crypto Scammers Stole £55,000 From My Father – The Guardian https://collincountynewsonline.com/crypto-scammers-stole-55000-from-my-father-the-guardian/ During the pandemic my 75-year-old father was targeted by scammers via email and WhatsApp who convinced him they were investment managers who could develop his life savings of £55,000 into a fantastic sum by investing in cryptocurrency. He had recently retired and was worried he had not saved enough for his, and my mother’s, retirement, so was easy prey. He also has very little nous and gave the scammers, an outfit called MyCoinBanking, his account details including sort codes and account numbers. The result was he lost the lot. I only found out when I completed his last tax return as he had been too embarrassed to tell us. We filed a fraud claim with Barclays and its final decision was to reimburse him half of what was taken. Its rationale was he must share liability. We are so upset. My dad is the victim. We are angry that Barclays would tell my dad – who struggles to use a mobile or the internet – that he is to blame. I think it has a duty of care. The scammers were known to Barclays, so it should have flagged these transactions. That it didn’t is a failure on its part and it should give a full refund. My parents now have very little money and are fearful about the future. VS, Woking Fraud levels have soared in recent years with the Financial Ombudsman Service, which mediates between consumers and companies, just this week warning of a rise in savers falling for fake investment schemes. The scammers who targeted your father promised bumper returns to fund a comfortable retirement. Instead, they emptied his account. We asked Barclays to review your father’s case but, unfortunately, it has not changed its mind. It has arrived at what is called a “shared blame” decision, which means there are elements of both customer and bank blame. This is why your father received a 50% refund of £27,500. Barclays says the Financial Conduct Authority published an online warning about MyCoinBanking in 2019 (your father was targeted in October 2020) and this was available to find if due diligence was done before the investments began. It says it also flagged several payments, and had scam conversations with him, but he approved them. As these conversations were in a branch it does not have transcripts to be certain the questions asked were sufficient. Barclays says the fraud claim was thoroughly investigated and, with no new information, its position is unchanged. Your father has the right to seek an independent review by the ombudsman. You have applied for one but, as an indication of the scale of the problem, have been told the wait is at least four months due to the number of cases it is handling. We welcome letters but cannot answer individually. Email us at consumer.champions@theguardian.com or write to Consumer Champions, Money, the Guardian, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Please include a daytime phone number. Submission and publication of all letters is subject to our terms and conditions

Asia-Pacific Markets Rise; Japan Travel Stocks Gain On Border Easing Reports – CNBC https://collincountynewsonline.com/asia-pacific-markets-rise-japan-travel-stocks-gain-on-border-easing-reports-cnbc/ Expect more upside from dollar-yen, BofA says The dollar-yen is expected to see more upside as policymakers in Japan are “somewhat conflicted” on whether to intervene to defend its currency, said Claudio Piron, co-head of Asia fixed income and FX at Bofa Securities. Although the dollar-yen is approaching levels that have warranted action from Japanese officials in the past, Piron said that we’re not “quite yet at that point.” “The market will continue to test and probe the upside to dollar-yen until the policymakers show their hand,” he said. — Charmaine Jacob Traders see 90% chance of another 75-basis-point Fed hike in September: FedWatch The probability of the U.S. Federal Reserve hiking interest rates by another 75 basis points at its September meeting moved to 90%, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tracker of fed funds futures bets. That’s up from last week’s 82% probability for a three-quarter point hike. The chance for a 50-basis-point hike now stands at 10%, FedWatch showed. –Jihye Lee North Asian refiners to be supplied full allocation of Saudi crude in October, Reuters reports At least three North Asian refiners have been notified by Saudi Aramco that they will be supplied full contractual volumes of crude in October, Reuters reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. In their first reduction in four months, Saudi Arabia has reduced the official selling prices to Asian buyers for the month. Brent crude futures sank 1.50% to $91.45 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate dropped 1.60% to $85.40 per barrel. — Lee Ying Shan Japan travel stocks jump on reports of dropping group travel rule U.S. to broaden curbs on chip and tool exports to China, Reuters reports The U.S. Department of Commerce plans to publish new regulations related to restricting exports of chipmaking equipment to Chinese factories that produce advanced semiconductors, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The rules will be based on letters sent to KLA, Lam Research and Applied Materials earlier this year, when they were informed that government-issued licenses would be needed to sell such equipment to buyers that make chips with sub-14 nanometer processes. The new regulations would likely include additional actions against China, sources told Reuters, adding they could be changed and published later than expected. —Jihye Lee Economic consultancy downgrades growth forecasts for New Zealand Economists at the New Zealand Institute for Economic Research downgraded the growth outlook for the country, citing continued high inflation and interest rates. They now expect the annual gross domestic product for 2022-2023 to grow 2.5%, lower than its previous forecast of 2.9%. GDP for 2023-2024 is now expected to grow 1%, a steep downgrade from its earlier prediction of a 1.9% increase published in June, while the 2024-2025 forecast was revised to 1.5% from 2.1%. —Jihye Lee CNBC Pro: Sterling has been tanking versus the dollar. Here’s how low it could go, according to the pros Yen intervention likely won’t be effective: National Australia Bank A unilateral intervention on the Japanese yen from the government is unlikely to be effective, according to National Australia Bank — after officials over the weekend said the government needs to take steps to address the excessive declines in the yen. “If the [Bank of Japan] really wants to stop JPY’s decline, then they need to make changes to their ultra-easy policy, the pressure is building,” he wrote in a Monday note. a currency strategist at National Australia Bank The yen last traded at 142.55 against the dollar. —Abigail Ng CNBC Pro: Goldman reveals the ‘sweet spot’ for its favorite oil stocks — and gives one 35% upside Oil prices fall on prospects of weakening demand Oil futures dropped on demand concerns due to extended Covid measures in parts of China, alongside the potential of continued interest rate hikes globally. “Oil consumption is particularly sensitive to Covid lockdowns since transportation, the major use of oil, is heavily restricted,” Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar wrote in a note, adding China accounted for up to 16% of global oil demand last year. — Lee Ying Shan Sign up for CNBC’s newsletter here:

Micro Focus Technology And Expertise Support Successful Mainframe Modernisation Project For AG – PR Newswire https://collincountynewsonline.com/micro-focus-technology-and-expertise-support-successful-mainframe-modernisation-project-for-ag-pr-newswire/ Belgium’s largest insurer transforms critical business services to support their three million clients and distribution partners , /PRNewswire/ — Global digital transformation leader Micro Focus (LSE: MCRO; NYSE: MFGP) today announced the successful modernisation of AG‘s mission-critical business systems. By using Micro Focus solutions and services, Belgium’s largest and oldest insurance provider has established a contemporary, collaborative application development environment that meets the company’s current needs, while enabling continued evolution and future change. During the significant modernisation project, critical applications comprising more than 80 million lines of code were moved from the incumbent mainframe system to new infrastructure that supports 14 million transactions per day. The project began in mid-2018 with a completion goal of four years. The efficiency of the project resulted in its completion in three years. Vitally, during the transition and since, there were no interruptions to daily business activities for AG or the services offered for its three million clients. “The whole operation has resulted in an innovative and open environment that enables a new data-driven strategy, as well as our company enjoying a lower total cost of ownership now and far into the future,” said Philippe Van Belle, Chief Information & Technology Officer of AG. The modernisation project opened the door for utilising the cloud and aligned operational systems more closely with the data analytics systems. The end result is a modern IT infrastructure that allows AG to efficiently meet its customer and distribution partners expectations and needs. We couldn’t have realised this huge project without the partnership and excellent collaboration with Micro Focus.” In addition to bolstering its already excellent customer services, AG is now accelerating its own digital transformation with its modernised IT architecture. As part of this change, AG will now offer more services and conduct business operations in the cloud as they leverage new technologies in their continued digital evolution. Another advantage of the modernisation project is that AG has a cutting-edge environment for the recruitment of a new generation of developers, as well as the retention of existing talent with an uplift in development skills and program knowledge. “The completion of this project with AG is the latest in an extensive line of successful core business system modernisation projects for Micro Focus,” said Neil Fowler, Micro Focus AMC General Manager. “Our role was to enable and support AG’s modernisation journey as they delivered their business outcomes through a combination of application, process and infrastructure modernisation. This has resulted in an agile platform that allows AG to leverage their core applications and continue to deliver increasing value to their customers. With Micro Focus’ more than 40 years of experience in modernising business-critical applications running on the mainframe or distributed environments, we as a company are proud of the results that we were able to deliver to AG. “AG has been a Micro Focus customer for more than ten years, and we look forward to seeing the positive impacts that this modernisation project has on the insurance services AG provides to its customers and the company’s reduction in TCO for its infrastructure.” The modernisation project entailed the shift of AG’s z/OS workloads to a Windows-based environment. To do so, AG utilised the Micro Focus Enterprise Developer and Enterprise Server products, as well as the expertise of the company’s Professional Services group. The AG modernisation project also included collaboration from HP Enterprise as system integrator and Capgemini as the testing partner. As a company, Micro Focus supports its customers’ choice for modernising their applications, process and infrastructure. Digital transformation demands a flexible and adaptive strategy aimed at improving results and accelerating time to value. Through the Micro Focus Modernisation Maturity Model, IT leaders can quickly map their current IT environment to their future business strategy—while finding the right balance between costs, risk and speed. Additional Quotes “The mainframe served AG well over the years. However, more connectivity was required, as well as the integration of core systems to key business partners and the integration of data and services. We transformed our IT infrastructure to ensure that AG will continue be a leader in the insurance industry. We will begin phase two of AG’s digital transformation soon with an extensive cloud integration that will enable us to easily adapt to new technologies as they emerge.” Philippe Van Belle, Chief Information and Technology Officer at AG. “One of the biggest threats during a mainframe modernisation project is business disruption. Because of the detailed and extensive planning from the Micro Focus and AG teams, there were no disruptions to AG operations or its customers. The switch to the new IT infrastructure took place during the Easter holiday weekend, with activities running normally when the following workweek began. We are pleased to have helped deliver such exceptional results for our customer and their three million clients.” Stephen Murdoch, CEO of Micro Focus.  Additional Resources Case Study: Micro Focus Enterprise solutions support large-scale mainframe modernization for an innovative and open environment processing 14 million transactions a day Join Micro Focus on LinkedIn and follow @MicroFocus on Twitter. About Micro Focus Micro Focus is one of the world’s largest enterprise software providers, focused on solving the IT dilemma—how to balance today’s needs with tomorrow’s opportunities. We deliver mission-critical technology that helps tens of thousands of customers worldwide manage core IT elements of their business. Strengthened by our strategic services and support organisations, and an extensive partner network, our broad set of technologies for security, IT operations, application delivery, governance, modernisation, and analytics provides the innovative solutions organisations need to run and transform— at the same time. About AG With a share (end 2021) of 29,5% in the Life insurance market and 16.7% in Non-life, AG is the undisputed leader in the Belgian insurance market. To better tailor its offer to fulfil different customer needs, AG has a multi-channel distribution strategy that includes independent brokers and Fintro agents, bank branches (BNP Paribas Fortis, bpost bank) and collaboration with large corporate clients and sectors for their group insurance. AG employs over 4,000 specialised staff members. More information on www.ag.be Contact: [email protected] SOURCE Micro Focus

Here Is The Latest Big 12 Conference Sports News From The Associated Press – Corsicana Daily Sun https://collincountynewsonline.com/here-is-the-latest-big-12-conference-sports-news-from-the-associated-press-corsicana-daily-sun/ UNDATED (AP) — Georgia has reclaimed the top spot in The Associated Press college football poll and Oklahoma State, Kentucky and Arkansas moved into the top 10 after an upset-filled weekend. The defending national champion Bulldogs started the season at No. 3 in the AP Top 25. It took them two weeks to get back to where they spent most of last year. Georgia received 53 of 63 first-place votes. No. 2 Alabama, which needed a late field goal to hold off Texas, received nine first-place votes and No. 3 Ohio State got one. No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Clemson held their places. Oklahoma moved up a spot to No. 6. And Southern California jumped three places to No. 7. Notre Dame tumbled out all the way from No. 8 to snap a streak of 80 straight poll appearances. UNDATED (AP) — Just two weeks into the season and it looks like so much we thought might be true in college football is wrong. No. 1 Alabama needed every little bit of misfortune that conspired against Texas, plus a Heisman-worthy performance by its Heisman Trophy winner, to avoid its first regular-season nonconference loss since 2007 against the Longhorns. No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 8 Notre Dame were not so fortunate. The Aggies and Irish were Sun Belted, losing at home to Appalachian State and Marshall, respectively. Throw on top of that Washington State knocking off No. 19 Wisconsin in Madison, and it was a difficult day for double-digit favorites. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Will Reichard kicked a 33-yard field goal with 10 seconds left, and No. 1 Alabama overcame a stifling defensive effort by Texas to earn a hard-fought 20-19 victory. Bryce Young was hit and harassed by the Texas defense for most of the game, but the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback put together a big fourth quarter. He had an off-balance touchdown pass and a 20-yard run to set up the winning kick. Texas lost quarterback Quinn Ewers to a shoulder injury in the first quarter but rode an inspired defense and four field goals from Bert Auburn to a late-game lead. AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas fans have seen this before: a hot-handed quarterback getting knocked out of the game early in a tough loss to Alabama. Texas freshman Quinn Ewers suffered a sprained clavicle in the first quarter Saturday. Ewers had already passed for 134 yards and the injury reminded Texas fans of losing Colt McCoy early in the opening minutes of the 2009 season national championship loss to the Crimson Tide. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Ewers would get more tests to see how bad the injury is. Backup Hudson Card passed for 158 yards and led Texas to a go-head field goal in the final 2 minutes. NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Marvin Mims caught seven passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns to help No. 7 Oklahoma overcome a slow start in a 33-3 victory over Kent State on Saturday night. Dillon Gabriel completed 21 of 28 passes for 296 yards and three touchdowns, and the Sooners finished with 430 yards of offense. Oklahoma has won 11 straight home games and 29 of its last 30. Oklahoma (2-0) was scoreless and trailed Kent State (0-2) as late as the final minute of the first half before Mims played key roles on touchdown drives to end the half and start the second. Collin Schlee passed for 131 yards and rushed for 55 yards for Kent State LUBBOCK, Texas (AP) — Donovan Smith ran 9 yards for a touchdown in the second overtime, lifting Texas Tech to a 33-30 victory over No. 25 Houston. A back-and-forth finish ended with the Red Raiders beating a ranked nonconference opponent in the regular season for the first time since 1989, a span of 14 games. Houston’s Bubba Baxa kicked a go-ahead 35-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining in regulation after Smith’s second interception. Smith answered by leading the Red Raiders to a tying 47-yarder from Trey Wolff with three seconds to go. Houston’s 12-game regular-season winning streak ended. FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Max Duggan threw for 390 yards and five touchdowns as TCU won its home opener 59-17 over lower-division Tarleton State. The victory Saturday night made Sonny Dykes the first new Horned Frogs coach to win his first two games since Dutch Meyer in 1934. Duggan set career highs for yards and TDs while playing only the first three quarters in his 30th career start for the Frogs. It came a week after former Oklahoma transfer Chandler Morris started their season-opening 38-13 win at Colorado before suffering a sprained left knee late in that game. Tarleton played its first-ever game against a Power Five program. IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Xavier Hutchinson caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Hunter Dekkers in the fourth quarter, completing a 99-yard drive to lead Iowa State past Iowa, 10-7. The 21-play possession that started in the third quarter took 11 minutes, 49 seconds off the clock, and helped the Cyclones end a six-game losing streak to the Hawkeyes. Iowa State survived three turnovers and two blocked punts. Iowa had just 150 yards of offense and turned the ball over three times, but had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds. Aaron Blom’s 48-yard field goal was wide left. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Shirlee Farina | Obituary | Gloucester Times – Gloucester Times https://collincountynewsonline.com/shirlee-farina-obituary-gloucester-times-gloucester-times/ Gloucester – Shirlee Elizabeth (O’Toole) Farina (72) passed away peacefully on Sunday, September 4, 2022. Shirlee was born on January 5, 1950, in Lowell, MA, to the late James and Elizabeth (Wentworth) O’Toole and was the youngest of 10 siblings. At age 5, the Department of Welfare placed Shirlee in the foster home of the late Leland and Francis (Blynn) Page (Forbes) in Haverhill, MA. She became the foster sister to their children MaryAnn, Thomas and the late Leland (Butch) Page. Shirlee graduated from Haverhill High School in 1967 and Addison Gilbert Hospital School of Practical Nurses in 1968. She started working at Addison Gilbert Hospital on her 19th birthday in 1969. In 1977, Shirlee married (now ex) Thomas Farina. They were blessed with a son, Andrew, in 1987. She treasured her son and “Mom” was her favorite title. In 1999, Cancer (Multiple Myeloma) forced Shirlee into early retirement. After working 30 years at AGH, Shirlee had a deep compassion for the elderly and during retirement she spent time as a companion. She had always said that she hoped she enriched their lives as they did hers. Her love for animals, especially cats, led her to volunteering and serving on the board for Cape Ann Animal Aid for 35 years. Thought the years, Shirlee had adopted several cats that held a very special place in her heart. Family and friends were well imposed to her cat themed cards for all occasions. Aside from all the jobs Shirlee had over the years, the most important valued one was that of being a mother. Shirlee shared an unbreakable bond with her only son, Andrew. When Andrew married Danielle in 2014, he became the stepfather to Danielle’s daughter, Peyton Ouellet. Shirlee fell in love with the both of them and treated them like they were her own and loved her newfound role of being a (step) Grandmother. In 2016, Shirlee’s first grandchild, Lexi was born. Shirlee was ecstatic and adored being called “Nene.” In 2022, her family grew even bigger when she welcomed her grandson, Maverick. She fell in love instantly and Maverick would always light up seeing his Nene’s infectious smile. Shirlee always said her bags were already packed when the opportunity to travel came about. She enjoyed the sights of Florida, California, Mexico, Las Vegas, Aruba, Ireland and Iceland. In her later years, she became more adventurous in her travel by climbing the “Diamond Head,” Sun Sailing in Hawaii, flying by helicopter to the top of icebergs in Alaska, river rafting, horseback riding and floating among giant icebergs. Of all the places Shirlee traveled, she always expressed that living in Gloucester was like living in a vacation destination year-round. In her leisure time, Shirlee enjoyed the beach, Bingo, going to the movies, cats, board games, cards, shopping (and returning!), finding a good bargain, making her famous cake for every birthday celebration and spending time with her family and many friends. Famous for her gift of gab and practical frugality, Shirlee was also always ready to lend a helping hand to any charity, cause or friend. She will always be remembered for her sincere kindness, thoughtfulness and unwavering generosity. Shirlee is survived by her son, Andrew; Daughter-In-Law, Danielle, three grandchildren Peyton, Lexi and Maverick; brother Thomas and his wife, Jeanette; sister MaryAnn; and many treasured friends. A Celebration of Life will be held Wednesday, October 5 from 6 to 10 p.m. at The Elks in Gloucester. In lieu of flowers, Shirlee has requested a donation be made in her honor to the Cape Ann Animal Aid, 4 Paws Lane, Gloucester. Information, directions, condolences at www.campbellfuneral.com Published on September 12, 2022 Send Flowers: When Is the Ordering Deadline? Next-Day Delivery ANY DAY OF THE WEEK Order any time up till the day before Same-Day Delivery MON-FRI Order by 2:00PM SAT & SUN Order by noon Morning Delivery TUES-SAT Order by 3:00PM The day before SAT & SUN Order by Saturday Note: These are general guidelines; some florists may not be able to operate within these timelines. During peak periods such as Valentine’s Day, Memorial Day and most holidays, florists are not always able to keep up to demand. Tribute will contact you if there are any issues.

Industrial Production Data To Be Released Today | Business News – The Indian Express https://collincountynewsonline.com/industrial-production-data-to-be-released-today-business-news-the-indian-express/ Home Business Economy Industrial production data to be released today The factory output measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 12.3 per cent in June this year, remaining in double digit for second month in a row due to base effect. The Quick Estimates of IIP are released on the 12th of every month (or previous working day if 12th is a holiday) with a six-week lag. (Representative image: Pixabay) The government will on Monday evening release the keenly-watched factory output data for the month of July. You have exhausted your monthly limit of free stories. To continue reading,simply register or sign in Already have an account? Sign In You need a subscription to read on. Buy one for as low asRs. 2.50 per day. *Conditions Apply Already a subscriber? Sign In This premium article is free for now. Register to continue reading this story. Already have an account? Sign In This content is exclusive for our subscribers. Subscribe to get unlimited access to The Indian Express exclusive and premium stories. This content is exclusive for our subscribers. Subscribe now to get unlimited access to The Indian Express exclusive and premium stories. Already a subscriber? Sign In The factory output measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 12.3 per cent in June this year, remaining in double digit for second month in a row due to base effect. Industrial production grew by 13 per cent in August last year. Thereafter, the IIP growth remained below 4.4 per cent (in September) and touched the lowest level of 1 per cent in November as well as December last year. The IIP growth was 2 per cent in January, 1.2 per cent in February and 2.2 per cent in March. The industrial output growth picked pace at 6.7 per cent in April, the first month of current fiscal year 2022-23 and touched double digit at 19.6 per cent in May 2022. The IIP growth was recorded at 27.6 per cent in May last year, mainly due to the low-base effect. This macroeconomic data is important for policymakers as it showcases the current state of manufacturing, mining and other important sectors. Releasing the IIP data for June last month, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation had said the growth rates over corresponding period of previous year are to be interpreted considering the unusual circumstances on account of the pandemic since March 2020. The Quick Estimates of IIP are released on the 12th of every month (or previous working day if 12th is a holiday) with a six-week lag. They are compiled from data received from source agencies, which in turn receive the inputs from the producing factories/ establishments. First published on: 12-09-2022 at 01:21:06 pm