Cowboys Dak Prescott Limited At Practice After Cleats Cause Ankle Soreness Says Hes good To Go For Week 1 CBS Sports
Cowboys’ Dak Prescott Limited At Practice After Cleats Cause Ankle Soreness, Says He’s ‘good To Go’ For Week 1 – CBS Sports https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/cowboys-dak-prescott-limited-at-practice-after-cleats-cause-ankle-soreness-says-hes-good-to-go-for-week-1-cbs-sports/
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Dak Prescott entered the 2021 NFL season coming off ankle and shoulder injuries. Days away from the Cowboys‘ 2022 opener, he’s battling ankle issues again. The veteran quarterback was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice due to soreness, the team announced, though Prescott clarified afterward the issue stems from a new pair of cleats, assuring reporters he feels “great” overall and will be good to go for Sunday’s Week 1 game against the Buccaneers.
“I still feel the best that I’ve felt in a very, very long time,” Prescott said, per the Dallas Morning News, explaining that he was trying new Jordan 11 cleats Thursday and didn’t feel comfortable in them. “I’m good to go. I promise you.”
Prescott added that he typically wears Jordan 1 cleats and will return to those for Week 1’s “Sunday Night Football” opener. He also confirmed the soreness was in his right ankle, the same one he had surgically repaired following a season-ending 2020 injury. His limited practice participation, he said, was a mutual decision to be “very, very cautious” ahead of the season.
Prescott also battled a calf injury partway through the 2021 campaign. Presuming he does start for the Cowboys on Sunday, his mobility will be worth monitoring, especially considering coach Mike McCarthy hinted this offseason that Dallas plans to utilize the quarterback’s legs more this season.
Meta Abandons Responsible Innovation Team As Metaverse Development Continues To Ramp Up Social Media Today
Meta Abandons ‘Responsible Innovation’ Team As Metaverse Development Continues To Ramp Up – Social Media Today https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/meta-abandons-responsible-innovation-team-as-metaverse-development-continues-to-ramp-up-social-media-today/
As Meta continues to build its next-level, more immersive social experience in the metaverse, now seems like the time that it really should be focusing on responsibility, and ensuring that it’s developing these new spaces with safety and security for all users in mind. Right?
I mean, if you’re asking people to spend more of their time in fully immersive, enclosed, reality-warping headsets, that seems like it’s going to have a more significant mental health impact than regular social media apps.
Right?
It’s concerning, then, that today, The Wall Street Journal has reported that Meta has abandoned its ‘Responsible Innovation’ team, which had been tasked with monitoring and addressing concerns about the potential downsides and negative impacts of its various products.
As per WSJ:
“The [Responsible Innovation] team had included roughly two dozen engineers, ethicists and others who collaborated with internal product teams and outside privacy specialists, academics and users to identify and address potential concerns about new products and alterations to Facebook and Instagram.”
Which Meta has seemingly never done too well on anyway, even with this team in place. Hard to imagine it’s going to improve on this front without these additional checks.
Meta has confirmed the decision to disband the group, while also noting that it remains committed to the team’s goals. Meta also says that most of its Responsible Innovation team members will continue similar work within the company, though it believes that these efforts will be better spent on more ‘issue-specific’ teams.
Of course, it’s impossible to know what this truly means in Meta’s broader development process, and what sort of impact this might have on its future projects. But again, right now, Meta is on the cusp of rolling out its most immersive, most interactive, most impactful experience yet.
It seems like now, more than ever, it needs that additional guidance.
This is a key concern in its metaverse development – that Meta, with its ‘move fast and break things’ ethos, is going to do exactly that, and push ahead with immersive VR development without full consideration of the mental health, and other impacts.
Meta already has history in this respect. It never fully considered, for example, the impact that Facebook data could have if it were to fall into the wrong hands, which is why it worked with academics, like those behind Cambridge Analytica, to provide insights on users for research purposes for years before it became a problem. It never seemed to consider how algorithms could change people’s perceptions if aligned to the wrong metrics, it never thought about how mass influence operations by well-funded political groups could change democratic process, or what impact Instagram filters might have on self-perception, and the mental health of teenagers.
Of course, Meta has learned these lessons now, and it has implemented fixes and procedures to address each. But in each case, action has been undertaken in retrospect. Meta didn’t foresee these as being problems, it just saw new opportunities, with the eternal optimism of Mark Zuckerberg propelling it to new realms, and new paradigms in connection, as fast as it could reach them.
Meta doesn’t use ‘move fast and break things’ as a mission statement anymore it switched to ‘move fast with stable infrastructure’ in 2014, before eventually morphing several more times, with Meta settling on ‘bring the world closer together’ in 2018.
That sounds more thoughtful – but is Meta, as a company, actually approaching things in a more thoughtful way, or are we going to see the same negative impacts of VR social as we have with every other platform that Meta has rolled out?
Again, Meta has learned lessons, and it has come a long way. But early issues in the metaverse, and the abandoning of its Responsible Innovation team, do raise concerns that Meta will, as always, be more driven by scale than safety, and more inspired by what could be, as opposed to considering who might get hurt in the process.
As we’ll no doubt be shown at next month’s Connect conference, Meta’s metaverse is full of potential, offering entirely new ways to engage in completely interactive and customizable environments, where virtually anything is possible.
Good and bad.
While Meta is very keen to highlight the good, it can’t overlook the opposite, which it has, repeatedly, in the past.
The impacts, in this case, could be far worse, and it’s important that questions continue to be raised about Meta’s development processes in this respect.
Parent-Teacher Organizations Arent Only For The Kids WhatsUpNewp
Parent-Teacher Organizations Aren’t Only For The Kids – What’sUpNewp https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/parent-teacher-organizations-arent-only-for-the-kids-whatsupnewp/
They’re known at school as the group of parents who orchestrate everything from Halloween parties to book fairs, but a parent-teacher organization isn’t just for the kids.
Parents join a PTO for all kinds of reasons. It has helped some revitalize career skills, share passions, find job opportunities, and assuage the middle-age friend desert, all while making sure the kids have fun.
“I thought it was important for my kids to see I thought they were important and that their education was important,”′ said Judy Walters, 54, of central New Jersey, recalling her stay-at-home-mom days raising two little girls. “But really, I wanted to meet people and have a life.”
The PTO was where Walters met some of the people she still considers best friends. “I got close to a number of my room-mom people, and I met a lot of parents who I wasn’t close to but still really liked and enjoyed,” she says.
PTO is a common acronym for the group of parents and teachers who work together to fundraise, plan activities and provide extra enrichment for students. The term can be used interchangeably with the Parent Teacher Association, a national nonprofit headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, or the PTC, or parent-teacher council.
As kids return to school this fall, you might see flyers or emails pleading for parents to get involved. PTOs play an important role as school boards face tough budget choices, particularly for “extras” non directly related to the curriculum.
Especially as schools and families emerge from pandemic lockdowns, people are looking for ways to connect. PTOs can provide that at a time in life when making new friends typically slows down because of work and family.
Sara Dean, 46, signed up for her school’s PTA, nervous about assimilating into what she saw as an established group. But by spring, she was happy to have made new friends.
Dean hosts the podcast “The Shameless Mom Academy,” which discusses women’s empowerment, and balancing parenthood and work. She devoted an episode to what she learned from working as the PTA president at her child’s school outside Seattle.
“The opportunities for bonding happen quicker,” she said of working on the PTA. “There is more comradery and ease of building relationships that I wasn’t expecting but that was a lovely experience.”
She also didn’t expect to pick up career-building skills.
Dean was used to working independently, as a writer and podcast host and producer. As PTA president, she was thrown into building teams, helping everyone get along, and finding resolutions to problems the school faced — skills that could easily translate into corporate America or the world of nonprofits.
“That’s not why I signed up but it’s a benefit that is really cool,” she said.
The same goes for Colleen Nolan, 46, of Newton, Massachusetts. The eight years she spent working various roles on an elementary school PTO led, she said, to two nonprofit board positions — at a city food bank and a neighborhood improvement group — and a paid, part-time position as a records keeper.
“I met people in the neighborhood and, over the years, they recognized me as someone who was a `doer,’” Nolan said. “People saw me as someone who could answer questions and they used me as a resource.”
Many parents bring their passion projects to the PTO, said Andy Garlick, an elementary school principal in Needham, Massachusetts. These might include personal finance, diversity, or cultural customs from another country, for example. Parents bring what they know to the table.
“There’s a lot of people who want to use the minimal free time they have to do good in their community,” he said.
There are criticisms and jokes, of course. In the 2018 comedy “Bad Moms,” Christina Applegate and Mila Kunis spar over who is the better PTA presidential candidate. And the Netflix series “Ginny & Georgia” shows a snooty mother from “Wellsbury, Massachusetts” arguing with an outsider from Texas about how to best raise money for the PTA.
In reality, wealthy neighborhoods tend to have far more parental involvement and fundraising power than areas without such affluence. This leads to more enrichment opportunities for students, and more educational necessities like books or tech gadgets. Some argue it compounds inequities in the U.S.
And PTO parents often spend their own money. Some organizations have dues and others don’t, but many parent volunteers end up paying for projects and events.
Kimberly Rae Miller, 39, of Suffolk County, New York, joined the PTA to become more involved and was surprised to find how much money it required out of her own pocket.
But, she said, “If you have the time and financial resources to participate, it’s a great way to have access to a part of your children’s life that you don’t always have access to.”
Toncoin Crypto Price Prediction 2022 Thinking Of Buying TON? Cryptonews
Toncoin Crypto Price Prediction 2022 – Thinking Of Buying TON? – Cryptonews https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/toncoin-crypto-price-prediction-2022-thinking-of-buying-ton-cryptonews/
Toncoin (TON) crypto surged over 13.74% today and over the last week is currently up by an impressive 26.88%.
Since the bottom of $0.75 on the 18th of June 2022, Toncoin is still up by 146% and trading at $1.85 at the time of writing this article.
Will Toncoin crypto continue to pump throughout the bear market?
Toncoin Crypto Price Prediction 2022
Since the end of July Toncoin (TON) crypto has maintained steady pace within a strong looking uptrend. It is only recently that Toncoin has received significant traction and a large amount of trading volume.
Yesterday the price of Toncoin rocketed up to $2.14 and has since then seen a retracement of 14.2%. At the time of writing this article Toncoin resides within a descending channel and could possibly see another breakout to the upside.
Toncoin/Tether – 1 Hour Time Frame.
Should Toncoin be able to retest the resistance trendline of $1.86 and break through we might see positive price momentum up to the next technical target of $2.00.
It is vital that Toncoin can hold the support trendline of $1.71 in order to prevent loss of price structure and potential continuation to the downside.
It is also worth noting that following the recent bullish momentum Toncoin is now looking overbought on the relative strength index, this could mean that the bulls are running out of morale and a bearish reversal may take place.
A result of Toncoin being able to break through the $2.00 resistance level could reflect that Toncoin might retest the $2.14 swing high from yesterday.
If this level is broken the Fibonacci extension shows a pragmatic technical price target would be $2.25 for Toncoin crypto by Q4 2022.
Huobi Global Partners with TON $1.5 Million Prize Pool
A recent price catalyst could be the hype associated with the Huobi Global centralized exchange partnering with TON.
Here is the official Tweet highlighting the major event which will end on the 17th September 2022, 12:00 UTC.
Huobi Global is launching a deposit event for TON where traders can make deposits to enjoy high-yield interest.
In order to be eligible, users must complete the TON spot transaction to obtain the TON deposit quota.
In addition to this, it is rumored that Toncoin may also soon launch on the Binance exchange which would create massive exposure and organic volume for TON and most likely positive price action.
Toncoin Crypto Video Analysis
According to Coinmarketcap Toncoin has a market capital of $2.2 billion. Currently 1.22 billion TON coins are in circulation of the maximum supply of 5 billion.
With enough solid protocol upgrades and impeccable marketing efforts we could certainly see Troncoin make a 5-10x by the next crypto bull run.
If you are hoping to find a crypto that might 5-10x before the end of this year, Tamadoge might deliver promising results.
U.S. Raises Fears More Classified Records Could Be Missing In Trump Probe Reuters
U.S. Raises Fears More Classified Records Could Be Missing In Trump Probe – Reuters https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/u-s-raises-fears-more-classified-records-could-be-missing-in-trump-probe-reuters/
Former U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, U.S., September 3, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
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WASHINGTON, Sept 8 (Reuters) – U.S. investigators warned that Donald Trump’s team may not have returned all the classified records removed from the White House at the end of his presidency even after an FBI search of his home, calling it a potential national security risk that needs investigation.
That revelation came in a court filing Thursday by the Justice Department asking U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon to let it continue reviewing some of the records seized by the FBI at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate while it investigates whether classified documents were illegally removed from the White House and improperly stored there.
Trump is under investigation for retaining government records, some of which were marked as highly classified, at the resort in Palm Beach, Florida, his home after leaving office in January 2021.
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Prosecutors asked Cannon on Thursday to let them continue reviewing about 100 records marked as classified as part of the probe.
The 100 documents represent a fraction of the more 11,000 records and photographs seized, most of which the government said it intends to allow Trump to review to because they are not marked as classified.
“This motion is limited to … the seized classified records because those aspects of the order will cause the most immediate and serious harms to the government and the public,” the department said in its court filing.
The prosecutors also asked the judge not to allow an independent arbiter, called a “special master,” to review classified materials seized from Trump’s property.
Trump, in a posting on his Truth Social platform, criticized the request, describing it as a waste of money.
The Justice Department on Thursday also suggested there could be more classified records that were removed from the Trump White House that investigators have not yet located – a revelation came about a week after the Justice Department released a detailed list of property seized from Trump’s home which showed the FBI located 48 empty folders labeled as classified and another 42 which indicated they should be returned to a staff secretary or military aide.
Legal experts were perplexed as to why the folders were empty, and it was not clear whether records were missing.
“Without a stay, the government and the public will also suffer irreparable harm from the undue delay to the criminal investigation,” prosecutors wrote.
“The injunction against using classified records in the criminal investigation could impede efforts to identify the existence of any additional classified records that are not being properly stored – which itself presents the potential for ongoing risk to national security,” they added.
READY TO APPEAL
Prosecutors asked Cannon to rule on their request by Sept. 15. If she denies their request, they said they intend to file an appeal to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where six of the 11 active judges are Trump appointees.
Cannon, also a Trump appointee, on Monday ordered prosecutors to pause reviewing the more than 11,000 records they recovered from Trump’s estate while a special master is appointed to review the material.
The Justice Department said it will on Friday provide the court a list of possible special master candidates, as Cannon has requested.
The Justice Department is also investigating Trump for possible obstruction of justice after revealing in prior legal filings it has evidence that records may have been removed or concealed from the FBI when it sent agents to Trump’s home in June to try to recover all classified documents through a grand jury subpoena.
Cannon granted Trump’s request for a special master, despite prosecutors’ objections.
The judge said the person will be tasked with reviewing documents that are not just covered by attorney-client privilege, but any records possibly covered by executive privilege as well. Executive privilege is a legal doctrine that can shield some presidential records from disclosure.
The Justice Department has challenged the logic of using a special master to review records covered by executive privilege in this case because Trump does not own the records and is no longer president. Her reasoning has also been criticized by Democratic and Republican legal experts.
“No potential assertion of executive privilege could justify restricting the executive branch’s review and use of the classified records at issue here,” the Justice Department wrote in its Thursday filing.
In Cannon’s Monday order, she allowed U.S. intelligence officials to review all of the seized materials as part of their ongoing national security damage assessment.
But the Justice Department said there is no way to wall off the criminal investigation and the national security review.
“The ongoing Intelligence Community classification review and assessment are closely interconnected with — and cannot be readily separated from—areas of inquiry of DOJ’s and the FBI’s ongoing criminal investigation,” theprosecutors said.
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Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch; additional reporting by Jacqueline Thomsen; Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis and Alistair Bell
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
ASTRO Designing The Future T&E Capabilities Today Edwards Air Force Base
ASTRO – Designing The Future T&E Capabilities Today – Edwards Air Force Base https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/astro-designing-the-future-te-capabilities-today-edwards-air-force-base/
EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. —
The Applied Spectrum Technology Research Office (ASTRO) executes projects under the Test and Evaluation / Science and Technology (T&E/S&T) program, managed by the Test Resource Management Center (TRMC). These projects aim to change the face of T&E capabilities across the Major Range and Test Facility Base (MRTFB). The T&E/S&T program matures technologies from proofs of concept (Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3) up to prototype demonstrations in a relevant environment (TRL 6). As a result, capability modernization projects within the MRTFB are able to incorporate these new technologies with reduced technical and programmatic risk. The T&E/S&T program is divided into a number of Test Technology Areas (TTA) each with a specific focus. The ASTRO is responsible for the Spectrum Efficient Technologies (SET) TTA, which focuses on technologies aimed to improve the use of spectrum. The primary domains include wireless technologies, telemetry networking technologies, and spectrum management.
The mission for the ASTRO is simple; “Designing the future T&E capabilities today” yet each part of the mission statement conveys a vital message. The statement begins with “Designing,” which is the most critical phase of a project. During the designing phase the ASTRO is considering everything from the concept of operations to technical performance, sustainability, and cyber security. The statement continues with “the future T&E capabilities,” which focuses the efforts of the ASTRO on the T&E capabilities needed to test future weapon systems. Finally, the statement ends with “today,” which is a call to action, meaning the ASTRO is actively engaged in maturing vital technologies necessary to rapidly deploy new T&E capabilities.
A mission defines what we do, the vision points us in the right direction—challenging ourselves to achieve more. T&E enables weapon systems to transition from unknown/unproven to known/proven state. During T&E three discrete activities take place when moving towards the known/proven state:
*Data is acquired from the System Under Test (SUT)
*Information is created by processing data to provide context and meaning
*Knowledge results from the combination of information and experience
Knowledge is the understanding required to drive decisions. This serial process is expensive in terms of time, money, and human capital. Accelerating this process is extremely advantageous for our warfighter, therefore the vision of ASTRO is: “Instantaneous data to knowledge…Transmitted through an optimized spectrum.” The vision has two distinct parts, first “Instantaneous data to knowledge,” which defines the challenge of converting data from the SUT to a state (knowledge) where decisions are made. The term “Instantaneous” is the ultimate goal, agility in terms of warfighting systems requires rapid convergence and analysis of data for decision making. Where as the first part of the vision addresses the T&E need the second part, “Transmitted through an optimized spectrum,” defines our constraints.
“The electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) is a highly valued and finite resource used both commercially and militarily,” Garo Panossian, Chief of Applied Spectrum Technology Research Office explained. “Test ranges rely on EMS as a transport medium for real-time telemetry data between the system under test and test engineers. EMS enables safe and efficient open-air testing. Hence, optimizing and defending our spectrum is critical for open-air testing now and into the future especially on Edwards Air Force Base.”
The ASTRO investigates, matures, and tests technologies targeted at optimizing the use of spectrum MRTFB through coordination with the Range Commanders Council (RCC) and collaboration with test ranges. The projects executed by the ASTRO increase spectrum efficiency with respect to: bits per second per hertz (bits/s/Hz), spectrum reuse and spectrum sharing. The research, maturation, and testing of SET for T&E use, safeguards the future of open-air testing and supports the MRTFB.
Save 25% On Razers Ergonomic Iskur Gaming Chair At The Second-Lowest 2022 Price Of $374.50 9to5Toys
Save 25% On Razer’s Ergonomic Iskur Gaming Chair At The Second-Lowest 2022 Price Of $374.50 – 9to5Toys https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/save-25-on-razers-ergonomic-iskur-gaming-chair-at-the-second-lowest-2022-price-of-374-50-9to5toys/
Amazon is currently offering the Razer Iskur Ergonomic Gaming Chair for $374.50 shipped. Normally going for $500, this 25% discount or $125.50 in savings marks the second-lowest price of 2022 we’ve tracked so far. The Iskur Gaming Chair features a lumbar support system which uses a fully adjustable curve that aligns with your spine to promote healthy posture. The armrests can be moved up and down and rotated to be as comfortable as possible with the multi-layered synthetic leather making this chair well-suited for withstanding wear and tear. The Iskur X is recommended for people between 5-foot 6-inches and 6-foot 2-inches and no more than 300 pounds. You can check out our launch coverage of the Iskur X to learn more.
If you want to save some cash, you could check out the NOBLEWELL Ergonomic Office Chair for $110.50. Unlike the Iskur X, this chair has a mesh back for breathability. The headrest, armrest, lumbar support, and seat height can all be adjusted on the fly. NOBLEWELL claims the chair can be assembled within 10 minutes and that the casters are silent. The S-shaped back is designed to conform to your spine for remaining comfortable throughout your workday.
Be sure to stop by our PC gaming hub for the latest deals on hardware and peripherals. We’re currently tracking the HyperX Alloy Elite 2 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard down at its new all-time low price of $85. Delivering HyperX’s pudding keycaps which feature a translucent ABS design, this keyboard is sure to make a statement on your desk. It leverages HyperX’s mechanical linear switches for a quieter experience and the exposed LED offers “brighter, more luminous RGB lighting.”
Razer Iskur Ergonomic Gaming Chair features:
Keep the competition in your kill zone, as you enter your comfort zone with the Razer Iskur—our first gaming chair designed for posture-perfect hardcore gaming. Fitted with an adjustable, ergonomic lumbar support system, we’ve got your back when it comes to keeping you in prime gaming form
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Viking Mississippi Docks In Burlington Iowa For First Time Burlington Hawk Eye
Viking Mississippi Docks In Burlington, Iowa, For First Time – Burlington Hawk Eye https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/viking-mississippi-docks-in-burlington-iowa-for-first-time-burlington-hawk-eye/
Burlington’s riverfront took on a celebratory tone early Thursday as residents gathered to check out Viking Cruises’ newest ship and greet its guests.
“The Vikings are finally here,” Greater Burlington Partnership President and CEO Della Schmidt said before enthusiastically welcoming a Viking guest. “It’s fabulous to see.”
The five-deck, 193-room Viking Mississippi initially had been scheduled to arrive in Burlington on June 18, but supply-chain issues pushed back completion of the ship, resulting in several postponements of its maiden voyage.
“Some of the materials, due to (Hurricane) Ida, were damaged and we had to get new materials in, and with everything going on with COVID, getting everything is kind of slow,” Andrew Boudreaux of Houma, Louisiana, explained.
He and Clarence Ward of Thibodeaux, Louisiana, work for LA Ship, the company tasked with building Viking, and rode the new vessel up to St. Paul, Minnesota, where its first cruise passengers boarded, before riding it back downriver.
More: Iowa river towns buzz with excitement as Viking cruise ship prepares for summer excursions
“We’re here just to make sure everything works properly and repair the vessel if anything happens,” Boudreaux said. “So far, so good.”
Cruise ship arrives early: ‘It’s very European, very sleek’
Despite the delays, the Viking Mississippi arrived in Burlington slightly ahead of schedule. Initially expected to enter Burlington’s waters between 7:30 and 8 a.m., a horn announcing its arrival sounded at about 6 a.m.
“It threw me a bit,” said Vicky Krause, a New Zealand native and Burlington resident who came ready to greet Viking guests with a flag and chair. “We live up on the bluff and can see it from there. It’s exciting for Burlington, isn’t it? It’s brand new and it’s just beautiful.”
While non-passengers were not permitted on the ship while it was docked, Krause had viewed the interior via a virtual tour of the Viking Mississippi beforehand.
“It’s very European, very sleek, and lots of wood,” Krause said.
Toward the front of the ship, Christine Williamson posed for a photo, holding up a bright yellow shirt displaying the words: “Ask Me!”
Williamson was among a handful of volunteers who waited to greet guests outside, while others waited inside the Port of Burlington.
“I absolutely love Burlington and bragging about it to everybody around the world,” Williamson said, remarking on the art center, Snake Alley, downtown shops, restaurants and other Burlington attractions. “Our Jefferson Street shopping district is a fun place to visit. I love to shop there.”
More: Downtown Burlington welcomed the arrival of these 8 new businesses in 2021
Williamson also has been a Viking passenger, having enjoyed three of its cruises in Europe.
“Now I want to be a part of Viking from the land side,” she said.
Ambassadors show off Burlington: ‘It’s a beautiful day’
Taking her photo was Jerry Johnson, who was not there in an official volunteer capacity due to a scheduling conflict. Still, he planned to be in the downtown area later in the day to answer any questions Viking guests may have.
“I’m on the Downtown Partners board, so I just wanted to come see it, first of all, because we’ve been talking about it for years,” he said. “And I, too, like Christine, like to talk about and show off Burlington. We’re pretty proud of it.”
Johnson has been working behind the scenes with downtown merchants to help them show off their businesses to the first group of what are intended to be many Viking guests.
“We’ve even gone to shops to make sure, if they are interested, that they have light, flat merchandise, things that can be put into suitcases easily. And a lot of it is Burlington, Iowa, specific,” he said. “It’s a beautiful day, and the people of Burlington should be very proud of their city, all that they’ve done to get ready for this.”
The passengers aboard the Viking Mississippi seemed eager to take in what southeast Iowa and west central Illinois have to offer.
“We’re so pleased to be here,” Sherry Kennedy of Colorado Springs said after being greeted by Greater Burlington Partnership ambassadors Renee Zaiser and Lois Sirek.. “It’s a beautiful city.”
Passengers spread out for excursions: ‘The townspeople have shown up’
It was Kennedy’s seventh Viking cruise, but her first in the U.S. She had hoped to travel the length of the Mississippi River aboard the ship, but the full river cruises were sold out two years ago, so she split the journey in two, touring the Upper Mississippi this fall and saving the Heart of Delta cruise from Memphis to New Orleans for December.
She said she’s been enjoying the cruise, as well as the people she’s met along the way.
“Every port we’ve been to, the townspeople have shown up,” Kennedy said. “We went through a port at 9 p.m. and there were cars lined up with their headlights to watch us go through. It’s been overwhelmingly gracious by the communities. They’re so happy to see us, and we’re equally as happy to see them. We’ve had little bands come out and people along the shorelines waving welcome. And of course we’re all on our little balconies waving, and boats coming alongside the ship.”
As she made her way to a bus waiting to take her to Nauvoo, Illinois, a group of Burlington Municipal Band members performed not far from the ship.
“My roommate is a Mormon historian, so I know all about it before I get there,” she said.
The Historic Nauvoo excursion is one of six available to Viking guests during Burlington dockings:
Historic Burlington consists of a 3.5-hour motor coach tour whose visits will include Mosquito Park, the Garrett-Phelps House Museum and Snake Alley;
Art Around Burlington, a 3.5-hour excursion featuring Cecile Houel’s art studio and the Art Center of Burlington;
Flavors of the Midwest, a 5.5-hour excursion whose stops will include Parkside Brewing Co., Lindon Wines, Wildlife Lakes Elk Farm and The Drake;
Old Fort Madison, a 2.5-hour excursion that will take passengers to the upper Mississippi River Valley’s oldest military garrison in Fort Madison as well as a cemetery where 22 soldiers and an unknown number of civilians are buried;
Hinterland Dairy, a 3.5-hour excursion to a family-owned and -operated dairy farm in Donnellson; and
Historic Nauvoo, a three-hour, 45-minute excursion to Nauvoo, Illinois, where Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints founder Joseph Smith and his followers settled in 1839.
More: How a southeast Iowa elk farm is adapting to a changing market and helping trumpeter swans thrive
Bob and Karen Brannon, Lee County natives who now live in Denton, Texas, had initially planned to go on the Old Fort Madison excursion, but instead opted to spend time with Karen’s sister, who traveled from Fort Madison to visit them in Burlington.
“Because we didn’t know how long we were going to be in Burlington, we thought we’d better meet in Burlington,” Karen said. “We wish we’d have longer at the ports.”
The Viking Mississippi set sail for St. Louis at about 1 p.m. It’s next scheduled docking in Burlington will be Sept. 20.
Michaele Niehaus covers business, development, environment and agriculture for The Hawk Eye. She can be reached at mniehaus@thehawkeye.com.
See Unique Wildlife And More During This Week-Long Camping Safari Experience In Arusha Tanzania TheTravel
See Unique Wildlife And More During This Week-Long Camping Safari Experience In Arusha, Tanzania – TheTravel https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/see-unique-wildlife-and-more-during-this-week-long-camping-safari-experience-in-arusha-tanzania-thetravel/
Experience the wildebeest migration and predator action on an exciting safari across the plains and natural parks of Tanzania’s rich Arusha region.
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Situated at the foot of the beautiful Mount Meru, Arusha is a bustling Tanzanian city filled with an interesting mix of markets, chaotic traffic, old colonial buildings, and modern conveniences and restaurants. This vibrant part of the country is also known as the safari capital of Tanzania’s Northern Safari Circuit, where visitors can experience a true insight into the vast plains of Africa.
Bustling with incredible creatures to witness in person, there’s no experience quite like a safari in Tanzania, permitting real-life encounters with amazing animals in their natural habitats that most will only ever see on nature documentaries. While plenty of safari tours are available, is there anything more authentic than enjoying a local expert-led camping trip in one of Tanzania’s most famous wildlife-watching spots? This Multi-Day Camping Safari Experience in Arusha answers that question with a very firm ‘no.’
The tour in focus is a truly unique experience guided by hospitable, friendly local people who strive to give each safari-goer a vacation and educational journey through Arusha’s great plains with flocking wildebeest and African predator action – with bucket list memories to cherish forever. This exceptional Great Wildebeest Calving Migration Safari has been carefully plotted to follow the Great Serengeti Wildebeest migration during the calving season from December to April.
Covering the Lake Ndutu area and the Southern and Central parts of Serengeti National Park, where the majority of the wildebeest are usually seen, this safari trip includes a sizable amount of land, offering varying sights throughout. Guests are in for a supreme treat; Tanzania’s southern Serengeti and Ndutu areas are some of the undisputed best locations for observing thousands of wildebeest grazing on the rich short grass plains.
If that wasn’t enough, it’s also peak season for predators, with a high chance of watching lions, cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas engaging in epic hunts. Furthermore, a visit to the world-famous Ngorongoro Crater forms a piece of this safari, too, as does a biking adventure in Mto Wa Mbu.
Consisting of seven days of exploring and camping in these mind-blowing plains plush with animal activity, this unique, local-guided camping safari provides an intimate and immersive experience with Tanzania’s fascinating and beautiful species in the wild, discovering their habitats, landscapes, and marveling at their behavior. A no-brainer choice for safari enthusiasts and aspiring safari-trippers, perhaps a rundown of each day of the week-long adventure spent in the midst of African wildlife and scenery might tempt them to book that dream safari vacation of a lifetime.
About This Tour In Arusha, Tanzania
Name: Multi-Day Camping Safari Experience in Arusha
Price: From $3,999.00
Duration: 7 Days
Language: English
Cancelation Policy: You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the safari for a full refund.
Includes: All Fees and Taxes, Private transportation, three meals a day for seven days
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Day One: Arusha To Tarangire National Park
In the morning, tour guides collect safari participants from Arusha and take them to Tarangire National Park for some sensational first-day sights and wildlife spotting. As one of the largest national parks in Tanzania, the spectacular landscape in the Manyara region is home to huge herds of elephants, prides of tree climbing lions, and the intriguing baobab trees – a species known locally as ‘The Tree of Life for its mythical powers that some cultures believe it holds. This national park is also famous for the Tarangire river, which flows year-round and is the only natural water source in the wild within an eight-hour radius.
Activity Time: 5 hours
Day 1 Accommodation: Camping
Day 1 Meals: Lunch, breakfast, and dinner
Day 2: Tarangire To Serengeti (Ndutu Area)
After breakfast, safariing guests are led to Ndutu in the Ngorongoro conservation area, which forms part of the southern Serengeti ecosystem. Lake Ndutu is also found in this rich area, and, similar to most other rift lakes, it’s alkaline; however, despite its high pH, the water remains potable and attracts myriads of diverse local wildlife specimens. Come afternoon; guests will enjoy a game drive in the Ndutu area, an excursion through stunning wild areas in search of Africa’s legendary and elusive animals. From December to April, there’s a high probability of observing the iconic wildebeest migration on the short-grass plains, for which this region is famed. What’s more, this area is often populated with elephants, birds, and plenty of resident games to look out for.
Activity Time: 5 hours
Day 2 Accommodation: Camping
Day 2 Meals: Lunch, breakfast, and dinner
Day 3: Game Drive In Serengeti (Ndutu & Seronera Areas)
Activity Time: 9 hours
Day 3 Accommodation: Camping
Day 3 Meals: Lunch, breakfast, and dinner
Upon finishing breakfast, guests get to enjoy a full-day game drive in the Ndutu area, exploring a wide range of different habitats, such as woodland, swamps, soda lakes, and the globally famed Serengeti short grass plains. On the day’s journey scoping out incredible animals to observe, participants can witness herds of majestic wildebeest and zebras – particularly during the wildebeest calving season around February time, a phenomenon that lasts approximately three weeks. The vast expanse of grass offers very little cover for the young wildebeest, making them an easy target for prey-hunting predators prowling the plains. Amazingly, wildebeest calves can run mere minutes after they’re born, and they’re usually strong and fit enough to keep up with the rest of the herd just three days after birth.
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Day 4: Game Drive In Serengeti & Witnessing The Wildebeest Migration
Activity Time: 10 hours
Day 4 Accommodation: Camping
Day 4 Meals: Lunch, breakfast, and dinner
Another fascinating day of game drives takes place after breakfast on the third day of the safari, taking place in the wilderness of the Great Wildebeest Migration trails in Serengeti. The tour’s experienced driver and tour guide deliver an interesting commentary throughout the drive as guests track the wildebeest plains, offering facts about this renowned natural event that rendered Tanzania the top safari destination in Africa. Additionally, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Serengeti contains around 300,000 Thomson’s gazelle and 200,000 zebras, who join the wildebeests’ trek as they seek out fresh grazing lands. Imagine listening to the exotic sounds of over six million hooves pummeling the wide-open plains of Serengeti; this is African nature at its wildest and most authentic – and safari-goers get to relish it up close and in person on this day of the trip.
Day 5: Serengeti To Ngorongoro Crater (With Possible Game Viewing)
Activity Time: 8 hours
Day 5 Accommodation: Camping
Day 5 Meals: Lunch, breakfast, and dinner
Following breakfast in the morning, a drive to the iconic Ngorongoro conservation area and national park is the first order of the day. In this zone, safari participants will descend 600 meters into a crater to observe a roster of unique wildlife. What makes this species-rich National Park, so special and ideal for a wide array of life is its year-round water supply and flow of fodder, enabling the area to support an intense diversity of animals. Creatures to spot in these parts include wild herds of wildebeest, buffalo, zebra, warthog, hippo, eland, and giant African elephants, among many others. Furthermore, this natural space is especially celebrated for its dense population of predators on the constant lookout for their next meal, including lions, jackals, cheetahs, hyenas, and the highly camouflaged and elusive leopard, which commands a keen, trained eye to find. On the fifth day of the safari, guides also take guests to visit Lake Magadi, a large, shallow, alkaline lake located in the southwest corner of the crater and one of its major features. Plenty of flamingos hippos and numerous other water birds can frequently be seen in this lake.
Day 6: Lake Manyara National Park
Activity Time: 9 hours
Day 5 Accommodation: Camping
Day 5 Meals: Lunch, breakfast, and dinner
After chowing down on the most important meal of the day, guides drive guests to Lake Manyara National Park, home to a picturesque lake that captivated Ernest Hemingway himself. Describing it as “the loveliest I have seen in Africa,” Hemingway seemingly fell in love with the attraction during his month spent on safari with his wife in 1933, later portraying his adventurous safari days in “The Green Hills of Africa” in 1935. Lake Manyara covers two-thirds of the park, boasting the wall of the Great Rift Valley as its dramatic backdrop. This reserve also matches its beauty with wildlife diversity, offering a compact-game viewing circuit in one of the most diverse areas in the country. Plus, more than 400 species of birds inhabit Manyara, including thousands of bright pink-hued flamingos.
Day 7: Culture Tour At Mto Wambu, Mountain Biking, & Return To Arusha
Activity Time: 9 hours
Day 7 Accommodation: Camping
Day 7 Meals: Lunch, breakfast, and dinner
On the final day of the grand tour of Tanzania’s mesmeric plains, guests are driven to Mto Wa Mbu after breakfast to enjoy a morning cultural tour and walking safari – this time on foot, not wheels. Afterward, a sumptuous local lunch is served as guests soak up the breathtaking surrounding views, followed by an epic mountain biking adventure exploring the land’s trails furth...
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Manchester United Vs. Real Sociedad Live Score Updates Highlights As Martinez Concedes Contentious Penalty Sporting News
Manchester United Vs. Real Sociedad Live Score, Updates, Highlights As Martinez Concedes Contentious Penalty – Sporting News https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/manchester-united-vs-real-sociedad-live-score-updates-highlights-as-martinez-concedes-contentious-penalty-sporting-news/
Manchester United begin their European campaign at home to Real Sociedad in the opening round of UEFA Europa League Group E fixtures on Thursday.
Cristiano Ronaldo was handed a starting spot for Erik ten Hag’s much-changed side at Old Trafford, where the game went ahead despite the earlier news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
La Real took the lead early in the second half after Lisandro Martinez conceded a highly contentious penalty, with Brais Mendez scoring from the spot.
MORE: Antony stars on Manchester United debut
Manchester United vs. Real Sociedad live score
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Manchester United vs. Real Sociedad live updates, highlights
FULLTIME: It finishes 1-0 to Real Sociedad! The visitors are going wild in the dugout and in the away section of the stand. It’s a result that’s far from fatal to United’s European campaign, but it halts their recent momentum and will lead to further questions about whether they’re simply better off not playing Ronaldo.
90+2 mins: United have put in plenty of effort since going behind, but the quality hasn’t really been there. They’re heading for a third defeat of the season and the end of that four-game winning run.
89 mins: Ronaldo wins a free-kick, winds up to shoot… and hits the top of the wall. La Real try to break but De Gea is alert at the feet of Cho. Just three minutes of injury time to come here.
87 mins: Ronaldo has a shout for a penalty waved away, and fairly — there wasn’t much contact as he fell backwards. Garnacho tries his luck from 20 yards but sends the shot over. United are running out of time.
84 mins: Wide from Ronaldo! Martinez charges out of defence and plays it to Fred, whose first-time cross is met on the run by Ronaldo, but it’s deflected wide for a corner and Sociedad clear their lines.
81 mins: United are queuing up! Fred crosses towards the far post, where Ronaldo, Sancho and Fernandes are waiting. It falls to Sancho, who tries a volley and swipes at thin air instead. Good chance.
79 mins: The visitors are looking dangerous on the break as United become more stretched. Substitute Cho starts a move and finishes with a shot from the edge of the area, but De Gea is comfortably behind it.
77 mins: Casemiro! Good low shot from the edge of the box from the Brazilian is parried by Remiro. That’s the first thing he’s had to do for a while. Real are now taking off the brilliant Kubo, who has earned a rest.
70 mins: Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho are on for Antony and Anthony Elanga. United still unable to find a breakthrough.
66 mins: United have tried to pick up the pace of the game, but it’s all a little bit erratic. Casemiro manages to get clear in the penalty area but can only head down into the turf, the ball then bouncing over.
58 mins: 1-0 TO REAL SOCIEDAD
Well the penalty does stand and up steps Mendez who makes absolutely no mistake with his spot kick. He drills it low into the bottom corner and even though De Gea guesses the right way, he got nowhere near that in truth.
56 mins: PENALTY TO SOCIEDAD
David Silva fires a shot goalward and Martinez produces a huge block but the ref points straight to the spot. The replays show that the ball first hits the defender’s knee then onto his arm though so surely that should be chalked off?
53 mins: CLOSE FROM SOCIEDAD
If Ronaldo’s was a big chance at the other end minutes ago then this was an even bigger one for the visitors. A ball is floated in from the left but Sorloth heads just over despite being all along at the back post. A big let off for Erik ten Hag’s side.
47 mins: BIG CHANCE FOR UNITED
Fernandes delivers from the right and Ronaldo misses a golden chance to notch the opener via his head from six yards out.
46 mins: The action is back underway at Old Trafford.
HALF TIME: MANCHESTER UNITED 0-0 REAL SOCIEDAD
A rather drab Europa League affair so far heads into the half time break goalless. Aside from a disallowed Ronaldo goal that was judged to be offside, there’s been relatively little in the way of action to talk about at a sombre Old Trafford.
Atsedenaldia Old Trafford futbol zelaian.#UEL | #EuropaRS | #AurreraReala pic.twitter.com/FWUYYx2LNE
— Real Sociedad Fútbol (@RealSociedadEUS) September 8, 2022
35 mins: GOAAALLL…. NO!
What a bullet header from Ronaldo who finds the back of the net despite the goalkeeper’s best efforts but wait, the linesman has his flag up. The Portuguese international had just strayed into an offside position when the cross came into the box, hard luck for the home side.
28 mins: CLOSE FOR SOCIEDAD
Former Manchester City man David Silva finds Mendez in the box but the midfielder just can’t quite wrap his foot fully around the ball as he looks to put his shot inside the far bottom corner. A bit of a let off for United there!
25’ | 0-0 | @21LVA is in da house #UEL | #EuropaRS | #AurreraReala pic.twitter.com/2awzFb8y8o
— Real Sociedad Fútbol (@RealSociedadEUS) September 8, 2022
26 mins: More United pressure as Eriksen finds Ronaldo in the box but again the Sociedad backline deal with the pressure.
From the resulting corner the ball is swung to the back post and Antony tries his luck but goalkeeper Remiro Gargallo deals with it easily.
23 mins: Elanga turns his defender down the left-hand side, darts into the box and finds Fred with a cut back but the Brazilian’s shot is blocked behind for a corner.
The resulting delivery is headed clear but not entirely convincingly by the Sociedad defence.
18 mins: Eriksen drifts out wide to the right and delivers a lovely cross in towards Ronaldo at the back post but he just can’t get onto the end of it. United starting to grind into gear here now!
14 mins: CHANCE UNITED
The ball breaks United’s way in midfield and all of a sudden, Ronaldo is through on goal. Instead of hitting it with his left foot from just outside the box, he chops inside but the Sociedad defence recover to snuff out the danger.
10 mins: Merino tries to loft a ball diagonally into Sadiq for the away side but Sociedad’s main forward just can’t get onto the end of it.
5 mins: Nothing much to talk about so far in terms of action. An even affair as of right now as both teams begin to settle into the play.
KICK-OFF: The visitors get us underway at the Theatre of Dreams.
After an impeccably observed minute’s silence in memory of Her Majesty, The Queen, we’re under way at Old Trafford.#MUFC || #UEL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 8, 2022
2 mins to KO: Both sets of players take to the pitch at a very sombre Old Trafford donning their black armbands. We will now have a minutes silence to pay our respects to Queen Elizabeth II who passed away today at the age of 96.
15 mins to KO: Given that Ronaldo starts tonight, it might be time to look away now Sociedad fans! That’s because the Portuguese star has 15 goals in nine matches against La Real, winning all nine head-to-head outings and with every single strike coming in home fixtures.
45 mins to KO: So, Ronaldo does indeed get the nod in attack for United, with Ten Hag choosing to rest Marcus Rashford and leave Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho, Scott McTominay, Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez on the bench. Luke Shaw would likely have started, but he is yet to resume full training following injury.
TEAM NEWS:
After two league games last week and with a trip to Crystal Palace to come on September 11, Ten Hag chose to rotate his side for this fixture.
Captain Harry Maguire and fit-again Victor Lindelof were named in defence, with Casemiro handed his full debut in midfield alongside Brazil teammate Fred. In attack, Cristiano Ronaldo was chosen to lead the line.
Manchester United lineup (4-3-3): De Gea (GK) — Dalot, Lindelof, Maguire, Malacia — Eriksen, Casemiro, Fred — Antony, Ronaldo, Elanga
Manchester United subs: Heaton, Igbal, McNeill, Dubravka, Garnacho, Varane, Fredricson, Fernandes, McTominay, Sancho, Wan-Bissaka, Martinez.
Umar Sadiq earned a start for La Real after coming off the bench to equalise against Atletico Madrid last time out. Takefusa Kubo was selected to partner him in attack, with former Manchester City star David Silva as a No.10.
Real Sociedad lineup (4-3-1-2): Remiro (GK) — Gorosabel, Elustondo, Pacheco, Munoz — Zubimendi, Mendez, Merino — Silva — Sadiq, Kubo
Real Sociedad subs: Guevara, Robert Navarro, Cho, Sola, Karrikaburu, Sorloth, Turrientes, Barrenetxea, Illarramendi, Zubeldia, Gonzalez de Zarate, Zubiaurre
65 mins to KO: In a statement, United said: “Manchester United shares the sorrow of the entire nation following the announcement from Buckingham Palace on the passing of Her Majesty, The Queen.
“The club recognises her immense contribution to public life, including sport, both here in the United Kingdom, across the Commonwealth, and around the world.
“Everyone connected with Manchester United joins the wider football family in sending our deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathy to The Royal Family.
“Following direction from the FA and UEFA, tonight’s UEFA Europa League fixture against Real Sociedad will take place as planned at Old Trafford.
“A minute’s silence will be held before kickoff which will allow the teams, match officials and everyone in attendance to pay their respects to Her Majesty, The Queen. Both teams will wear black armbands and the flags at Old Trafford will fly at half-mast as a sign of our utmost respect.”
70 mins to KO: Tonight’s game has been overshadowed by the news that Queen Elizabeth II has died at the age of 96. The match is going ahead at Old Trafford, with a minute’s silence to precede kickoff and players to wear black armbands.
Manc...
Metaverse To Enable Web3 Use-Cases Like Digital Real Estate Art Digital Collectibles: Report Crowdfund Crowdfund Insider
Metaverse To Enable Web3 Use-Cases Like Digital Real Estate, Art, Digital Collectibles: Report – Crowdfund – Crowdfund Insider https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/metaverse-to-enable-web3-use-cases-like-digital-real-estate-art-digital-collectibles-report-crowdfund-crowdfund-insider/
CryptoKitties was arguably the first project to bring NFTs into the mainstream, the team at Juniper Research noted in a comprehensive report.
Launched in 2017, CryptoKitties featured an on-chain game “enabling users to breed digital cats together to produce new cats of differing rarity and value.” The report from Juniper Research added that the idea of purchasing a $1,000 NFT was “so absurd for the time that it made headlines, which led to a flurry of users leading to the ‘CryptoKitty bubble’ of December 2017, where average prices of CryptoKitties increased by 800% in the space of a week.”
The Juniper Research team pointed out that 2018 saw “the emergence of innovative ‘layer two’ games, which enabled third parties to develop games on top of existing projects such as CryptoKitties.” Developers could layer applications “on top of public smart contracts; enabling games like Kitty Race to emerge, whereby users could enter their CryptoKitties into Kitty Races in order to win Ethereum.”
The metaverse is “the collective virtual shared space that enables all types of digital activities that cover a set of mediums, such as the Internet and augmented reality, to establish the virtual world.”
The report also mentioned that the blockchain “provides a decentralized environment to build the virtual metaverse.” Participants under this blockchain-fueled alternative reality “can have many intriguing use cases, such as playing games, displaying collectables and art, or trading assets and virtual properties.”
In November of 2021, headlines were made “when two virtual real estate plots sold for $2.4 million and $2.5 million on the Decentraland and Axie Infinity projects, respectively.”
This just demonstrates “just how significant some investors perceive the opportunity of a digital metaverse with virtual real estate.”
In this instance, users would have the opportunity “to profit from their virtual land and properties, as one might in the real world, by lending buildings (such as art galleries or offices) to others.”
Purchasing goods, and participating in activities within the metaverse will, however,
“require digital space.” NFTs will also “play a key role in the digital real estate business
within the metaverse.” The update from Juniper Research added that Decentraland, launched in February of 2020, is set to be “a key player in the future metaverse as a realm of digital land, whereby users can exchange plots of in-world land as NFTs for cryptocurrency.”
The Decentraland protocol is “comprised of three layers (figure 2). Layer 1, the consensus layer, tracks the land ownership and its content. Layer 2, the land content layer, downloads assets using a decentralized distribution system. Layer 3, the real-time layer, enables users’ clients to connect to each other.”
Within the metaverse, users will be able “to participate in many of the activities they
take part to in real life.” Students will be able “to learn together, colleagues can work
together on projects, and friends can meet up to socialize.” The metaverse will act “as the platform that enables these new Web 3.0 business cases.” This will reportedly “include digital real estate, video games, virtual music concerts, and metaverse fashion, alongside art and collectibles.”
The report added:
“As users spend more and more time in the metaverse, consumer behaviour will shift towards adopting digital personas, and in doing so, new revenue models for digital assets like clothing will appear. This effect of digital expression of the self is already being seen today. When luxury fashion retailer Gucci sold a virtual version of their Dionysus bag for $6 on Roblox, the bag later reached prices of over $4,000 on the secondary in-game market, a higher price than the cost of the real physical version of the bag.”
Juniper Research’s View:
“The metaverse could be a revolutionary platform, or it could fall flat – it is simply too early to tell. One thing is certain, however, and that is that if firms wish to embrace a metaverse future and pivot contemporary operations into a digital format, that they will need to develop digital competencies now and make the associated changes to their strategic objectives over the medium term.”
The report further noted:
“This will come in the form of making hiring decisions weighing towards expertise in blockchain technology & software development, and for those firms that are just
about getting by in today’s digital age, a complete restructuring of culture and
identity – as it is these firms that will surely get left behind in a Web 3.0 future.”
The report concluded:
“Finally, given the social angle of the metaverse, the space is subject to the
consequences of network effects. Because of this, it is critical that vendors enter the
space early, exploit first-mover advantages, and leverage the network benefits
provided by a rapidly growing audience.”
10 Times Anime Characters Were Inconsistent With Their Abilities CBR Comic Book Resources
10 Times Anime Characters Were Inconsistent With Their Abilities – CBR – Comic Book Resources https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/10-times-anime-characters-were-inconsistent-with-their-abilities-cbr-comic-book-resources/
When it comes to power scales and superpowers in anime, consistency is a must. This isn’t just because an anime about fantastical abilities and skills should make its power levels and limits clear to both newcomers and fans, but because any anime would greatly benefit from a well-defined set of rules and tight internal logic.
In some cases, however, what certain characters can or can’t do is inconsistent, to say the least. At times this is a detriment to the story and fights, since the stakes were diminished by the powers’ lack of dramatic weight. Conversely, some anime masterfully used characters’ fluctuating powers as part of their stories and stakes.
10 Yami/Yugi Muto’s True Power Was Breaking The Rules (Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters)
As far as being a Duelist goes, Yugi is a decent player while Yami is an impossibly skilled gamer. With their gaming talents and passions combined, Yugi and Yami become one of the best card playing duos to ever play Yu-Gi-Oh! What’s more, they were practically undefeatable whenever they tapped into the Heart of the Cards.
That being said, the first Yu-Gi-Oh! anime isn’t famous for its meticulous strategies or gameplay, but rather for its hilarious rule-breaking. The Heart of the Cards let Yugi and Yami defy logic whenever it was convenient, such as drawing the right card at the right moment or basically rewriting a card’s effect so that it’s beneficial to them.
9 Doraemon Constantly Forgot About His Best Gadgets (Doraemon)
The best and worst thing about Doraemon was his ability to pull out any literal Deus Ex Machina the episode needed from his pocket. At best, Doraemon’s gadgets gave Nobita and friends yet another fun contraption to play with. At worst, Doraemon had tons of convenient solutions to the episode’s problem that he kept forgetting about.
If Doreamon’s most useful gizmos like the Anywhere Door were not conveniently in repair when he and Nobita need it the most, the episode or movie would start with Doraemon either losing all of his gadgets or having his 4D Pocket stolen. What Doraemon had or didn’t have varied in every episode, much to his own chagrin.
8 Joseph Joestar Traded Hamon For A Stand (JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders)
In Battle Tendency, Joseph was one of the strongest Hamon masters of the late 1930s. Thanks to his quick wits and fighting prowess, Joseph surpassed even the mighty Pillar Men. But when JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure switched from Hamon to Stands in Stardust Crusaders, Joseph became one of the weakest fighters.
To be fair, Joseph admitted that age and a lack of training reduced his strength, but it’s still jarring to see the Hamon master bumble around with one of Stardust Crusaders’ weakest stands a few decades later. Not helping matters was the lack of explanation as to how Hermit Purple replaced his Hamon expertise, and how this took place offscreen.
7 Pikachu’s Resistances & Weaknesses Changed Every Episode (Pokémon: The Series)
Whether it’s the anime or games, Pokémon has one of the easiest power systems to understand. In brief, Pokémon can be classified by Types, and each Type is strong and weak against certain Types. By this logic, the Electric-type Pikachu is resistant to Electric, Flying, and Steel Types, but weak to Ground and Rock Types.
While these rules are ironclad in the games, they’re inconsistent in the anime. Depending on what the plot demanded, Pikachu could overpower enemies he should be weak against like Tyrunt, but lose to weaker types like Eevee. This also applied to Pikachu’s experience, since he lost to the likes of Bellsprout despite facing tougher foes before.
6 Ichigo Kurosaki Was Simultaneously Overpowered & Weak (Bleach)
When it comes to shonen anime heroes, Ichigo is one of the most infamously inconsistent in terms of power scales. Besides wielding Zangetsu, one of the strongest Zanpakuto ever, Ichigo should technically be Bleach’s unbeatable and overpowered hero thanks to being blessed with all supernatural races’ strengths and none of their weaknesses.
Despite this advantage, Ichigo lost at least one fight with the arc’s main villain before soundly beating them later. While this made sense in early seasons where Ichigo hadn’t mastered his abilities yet, it stopped being believable later on. The fact that Ichigo’s only attack was spamming variations of Getsuga Tenshou instead of new powers didn’t help.
5 Goku Lost & Kept Some Abilities After Being De-Aged (Dragon Ball GT)
Dragon Ball isn’t only home to one of anime’s most recognized and beloved power scales, but to one of the strongest characters in anime and possibly all fiction as well. Goku’s godlike abilities and strength are arguably bottomless, but then Dragon Ball GT flipped this upside down by reverting him to a kid to challenge him.
As intriguing as this may be, Goku’s GT-era power scale was too inconsistent to believe. While he understandably couldn’t use techniques like Instant Transmission due to his younger body’s lack of training, he could still use his adult self’s powers with no consequence. This inconsistency was just one of many reasons why fans didn’t like GT.
4 Kamijou Touma’s Imagine Breaker Is Too Unpredictable (A Certain Magical Index)
Touma is a Level 0 Esper which, semantically speaking, means he has no supernatural abilities whatsoever. The opposite is actually the truth, since Touma’s right hand holds the game-breaking ability named Imagine Breaker. In brief, Imagine Breaker can cancel out literally any superpower as long as Touma punched it.
While this sounds cool, Touma can’t deliberately use Imagine Breaker since it only activates whenever he faces an Esper, and it seems to have a mind of its own. Combine this with the fact that Imagine Breaker may or may not actually be a seal that’s imprisoning something, and it’s not surprising why Touma finds it more annoying than empowering.
3 Eren Yeager Couldn’t Always Shift At Will (Attack On Titan)
One of Attack On Titan’s biggest revelations was that Eren was actually a Titan Shifter, meaning he could theoretically transform into the Attack Titan whenever he needed to. Problem is, Eren took a while to master this awesome if inconsistent ability. Worse, his powers didn’t work when he needed them the most.
When the Survey Corps rescued him from Reiner and Bertolt, Eren couldn’t summon the Attack Titan no matter how many times he mutilated his own hand. This breaking point actually helped Eren unlock the Titan-controlling Coordinate, but it came at the high price of his sanity, other soldiers’ deaths, and Hannes’ fatal sacrifice.
2 Eri Couldn’t Control Her Quirk (My Hero Academia)
Eri’s Quirk is “Rewind” and, true to its name, it reverts living beings to a certain previous state. Problem is, Eri can’t control Rewind at all, which makes her otherwise incredible power terrifyingly dangerous. To wit, she accidentally rewound her father into nothing, and her blood was used to make the Quirk-Destroying Bullets.
What makes Rewind dangerous yet coveted isn’t just what it did, but how inconsistent it is thanks to Eri’s lack of mastery. If Eri accidentally killed her father and inadvertently depowered LeMillion, she unintentionally gave Deku a boost by healing him. Thankfully, Eri was taken in by U.A., whose top pro heroes swore to help her control her powerful Quirk.
1 Shinji Ikari’s Godlike Synch Rate Caused The Third Impact (Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance)
In Evangelion, a pilot’s skills are measured by their Synch Rates, which calculates how good or bad their link to their Eva is. As reluctant as he was about piloting an Eva, Shinji’s Synch Rates with Unit-01 were good, and he even had decent piloting skills. But in the second Rebuild movie, his Synch Rates were so high that he almost broke reality.
When Shinji used all of Unit-01’s might to pull Rei out of Zeruel, he synchronized so much with his Eva that he didn’t just surpass his previous Synch Rates, but he unlocked Unit-01’s godlike side and initiated the apocalyptic Third Impact. Understandably, Shinji was too scared of using this kind of power again in the succeeding movies.
NEXT: 10 Darkest Implications In Neon Genesis Evangelion
U.S. Seizes $30 Mln In Crypto From North Korea-Linked Hackers NBC News
U.S. Seizes $30 Mln In Crypto From North Korea-Linked Hackers – NBC News https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/u-s-seizes-30-mln-in-crypto-from-north-korea-linked-hackers-nbc-news/
The United States has seized over $30 million in cryptocurrency stolen by North Korean-linked hackers Lazarus from the popular online game Axie Infinity, crypto intelligence firm Chainalysis said on Thursday.
The company said in a blog post it played a role in the recovery with U.S. law enforcement and other crypto organizations, without naming them, in the first ever recovery of stolen cryptocurrency by a North Korea hacking group.
Chainalysis and North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The seizures represent about 10% of the total funds stolen in March from Ronin Network, a sidechain built for the play-to-earn game Axie Infinity, Chainalysis said.
Ronin said in March hackers stole about $615 million in cryptocurrency.
“We estimate that so far in 2022, North Korea-linked groups have stolen approximately $1 billion of cryptocurrency from DeFi protocols,” Chainalysis said. He was referring to decentralized finance protocols, an umbrella term for financial services offered on public blockchains.
The U.S Department of Treasury in May sanctioned virtual currency mixer Blender, saying it was used in the laundering process for the Axie Infinity heist.
The Treasury Department in April also linked Lazarus to the attack.
Dow Closes Almost 200 Points Higher As Investors Weigh Future Interest Rate Hikes CNBC
Dow Closes Almost 200 Points Higher As Investors Weigh Future Interest Rate Hikes – CNBC https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/dow-closes-almost-200-points-higher-as-investors-weigh-future-interest-rate-hikes-cnbc/
Stocks close higher after rollercoaster session
Stocks gained Thursday after whiplashing throughout the session on comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
Expectations for a 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase in September ticked up, boosting bond yields and pressuring stocks. Still, Wall Street looked past rate hike expectations to continue a rally from Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 193.24 points, or 0.61%, to close at 31,774.52. The S&P 500 rose 0.66% to 4,006.18 and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.60% to 11,862.13.
– Carmen Reinicke
Nomura, Goldman and Bofa forecast 0.75 percentage point rate hike in September
Economists at Nomura just changed their forecast for the Federal Reserve’s rate hike, now anticipating a 0.75 percentage point increase instead of a 0.50 percentage point one.
Goldman Sachs and Bank of America have the same estimate for September. It’s also what markets have currently priced in – traders see an 86% chance of a 0.75% rate hike in September according to the CME Group’s Fed watch tool. That’s up from a 77% chance one day ago.
— Carmen Reinicke
Stocks higher heading into final hour of trading
Stocks held onto some gains going into the last hour of trading Thursday after whiplashing earlier in the session. Investors weighed a historic rate hike from the European Central Bank and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s comments that the central bank would stay the course with its own rate increases to fight inflation.
The Dow is up 56 points, or 0.19%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite are up 0.22% and 0.08%, respectively.
– Carmen Reinicke
Investors may want to move to defensives, Goodwin of New York Life Investments said
Investors may want to consider how their portfolios are invested amid volatility that’s likely to continue.
“Recession risk is rising and we have been moving more defensive in our portfolios as a result. However, high inflation means that traditional ‘risk off’ strategies such as cash and government bonds can create a drag on total return,” Lauren Goodwin, economist and portfolio strategist at New York Life Investments, said in a note to clients.
“We are fully invested in our portfolios, using selective bets within that overall neutral-risk position to build resilience against volatility and inflation. In our equity sleeve, this includes a strong overweight to value equity and dividend payers,” Goodwin added.
– Carmen Reinicke, Jesse Pound
New ETF bets against the crypto industry
The ETF industry has given investors a new way for investors who see a “crypto winter” to bet against the digital asset space.
The Defiance Daily Short Digitizing the Economy ETF launched Thursday and is designed to work as a short on the popular Amplify Transformational Data Sharing ETF.
The Amplify fund focuses on companies with exposure to blockchain technology. Its top holdings, as of July 31, included Nvidia, Overstock.com and Silvergate Capital. The fund has fallen more than 50% over the past year.
Defiance CEO Sylvia Jablonski said that while the new ETF does work as a bet against the crypto industry, it could also be useful to crypto bulls who want some downside protection.
“We’re bullish like everybody else on innovation, technology and growth in the space, but that can take a really long time. And if you want to sort of smooth out your ride and hedge some of the downside exposure, it’s a great hedging tool,” Jablonski said.
The Defiance fund has a management fee of 0.95%, though other costs associated with borrowing and shorting could drive up total expenses, Jablonski said.
— Jesse Pound
Biggest market movers midday
Check out some of Thursday’s biggest market movers:
GameStop – Shares of video game retailer rose 4% after the company disclosed a new partnership with cryptocurrency exchange FTX in its quarterly update.
Rivian Automotive – Rivian shares popped more than 6% after the electric-vehicle startup and Mercedes announced they were planning a joint venture to build electric commercial vans for both brands in Europe.
Snap — Shares of the social media company jumped more than 8% after the Verge reported that CEO Evan Spiegel broke down a turnaround plan in an internal memo
Read the full story here.
— Samantha Subin
Stocks flat in afternoon trading
After rallying and giving up all gains to trade lower, stocks have now trimmed losses and are trading roughly flat.
The Dow Jones Industrial average is up about one point, while the S&P 500 is up 0.01%. The Nasdaq Composite is down 0.21% at 12:50 p.m. ET.
– Carmen Reinicke
Dow reverses earlier gains, falls more than 100 points
Stocks gave up earlier gains and tumbled to session lows midday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 141 points, or 0.45%. Earlier in the day, it was up as much as 200 points. The S&P 500 lost 0.30% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.51%, also reversing solid gains.
At it’s high of the day, the S&P 500 traded at 4,010.50, which put it within striking distance of reaching its 50-day moving average, a level closely watched by traders.
The moves come as investors weigh comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about the central bank’s path of rate hikes going forward. While most are pricing in a 0.75 percentage point hike in September, traders are still trying to gauge how long rate hikes will be so large and how high the Fed will ultimately go.
– Carmen Reinicke
Cathie Wood calls for a significant Fed policy pivot in three to six months
Ark Invest’s Cathie Wood doubled down on her call for deflation, predicting a big policy reversal from the Federal Reserve in three months at the earliest.
“I would not be surprised to see a significant policy pivot in the next three to six months,” Wood said in a tweet Wednesday evening. “The Fed seems to responding to COVID-related supply shocks spanning 15 months the same way that Volcker battled inflation that had been brewing and building for 15 years….Powell is using Volcker’s sledgehammer and, I believe, making a mistake.”
The innovation-focused investor said the central bank is now basing monetary policy decisions on lagging indicators: employment and core inflation. She said a number of leading indicators are signaling inflation may have already peaked.
— Yun Li
Health care boosting S&P 500
Health care was the best-performing S&P 500 sector Thursday, as the market tried to build on the previous session’s sharp gains.
The sector traded 1.3% higher, led by gains in shares of Regeneron, which were up 18% and on pace for their best day since Nov. 9, 2016. The pharmaceutical stock got a boost from positive trial results for a potential retinal treatment.
The iShares Biotechnology ETF also traded nearly 3% higher on the day.
—Fred Imbert
Banks rise, leading stocks higher
Bank stocks performed solidly Thursday, leading the Dow and the S&P 500 higher. JPMorgan, up 1.73%, was the top performing stock on the Dow. Goldman Sachs is also up nearly 1%.
Bank of America, up 2.29%, lifted the S&P 500. Citizens Financial Group was up 2.8%, KeyCorp gained 2.25% and Wells Fargo rose 2.30%.
-Carmen Reinicke
Regeneron stock surges on positive data on eye drug
Shares of Regeneron jumped more than 13% Thursday after the company announced that its eye drug, Eylea, performed well in two pivotal trials testing the medication for use for patients with diabetic macular edema and wet age-related macular degeneration.
The stock is on pace for its best daily performance since Nov. 2016. In addition, Regeneron’s jump is lifting the iShares BioTech ETF up 1.8%. The ETF is up 3% week to date and on pace to have its first positive week in four.
—Carmen Reinicke, Gina Francolla
The market has a lot more pain to endure if the S&P 500 falls under 3,815, says Fairlead’s Stockton
The major averages are still comfortably off their lows of the summer and are on track to snap a three-week losing streak. However, the downtrend has a lot of strength and investors shouldn’t get too ahead of themselves, said Fairlead Strategies’ Katie Stockton.
The charts analyst highlighted 3,815 as a key level to watch for the S&P 500, on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Thursday. If the index falls below that, investors could suffer another big drop, she said.
“What we’re doing in our work is just trusting the downtrend and respecting the negative long-term momentum,” she said. “Of course now also the market has negative short term momentum, and we don’t want to fight against that.”
Read the full story on CNBC Pro.
— Tanaya Macheel
Fed Chair Powell vows to fight inflation
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell on Thursday reaffirmed his commitment to combating inflation by aggressive tightening.
“History cautions strongly against prematurely loosening policy. I can assure you that my colleagues and I are strongly committed to this project and we will keep at it until the job is done,” Powell said at a question-and-answer session at the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
His remarks come with markets widely expecting the Fed to make a third consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase when it meets again Sept. 20-21.
— Yun Li, Jeff Cox
Dow falls more than 200 points at market open
U.S. stocks continued to slide Thursday morning, with the Dow dropping more than 200 points at the market open as investors digest future rate hikes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 227 points, or 0.70%. The S&P 500 shed 0.68% and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.81%. At the same time, bond yields ticked up, adding pressure to stocks.
– Carmen Reinicke
Initial jobless claims hit lowest level since May
Jobless claims continue to tick down, showing signs of labor market strength amid recession fears.
Initial...
Sony Teases A Long-Overdue Return To Xperia Gaming Phones Android Police
Sony Teases A Long-Overdue Return To Xperia Gaming Phones – Android Police https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/sony-teases-a-long-overdue-return-to-xperia-gaming-phones-android-police/
Two powerhouse smartphone launches in the span of a month?
Sony“” data-img-url=”https://static1.anpoimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/sony-xperia-gaming.jpg” data-modal-container-id=”single-image-modal-container” data-modal-id=”single-image-modal”
Just last week, Sony made waves at IFA 2022 with the Xperia 5 IV — one of the few phones at the event that really caught our attention. While we already have our concerns about how less-than-competitive pricing could deter buyers from picking up that model, Sony may be considering an even more premium (and more expensive) tier for its next Xperia. It’s been years since we’ve seen a proper gaming phone from Sony, but it sounds like a new one could be right around the corner, according to a new Twitter teaser.
Sony tweets that it’s got a new Xperia device announcement slated for Monday, September 12. The teaser shows off a member of the Japanese e-sports team Scarz using the device — but of course stops short of letting us get a good peek at the hardware. The company talks about making the device for professional gamers and streamers, but reveals nothing about the technical specifications or any noteworthy features we might expect.
It seems likely that whatever Sony’s planning, it will be pretty far removed from the old Xperia Play — and even that prototype follow-up we never got. Based on the brief look we get here, it appears that there could be some kind of shoulder-trigger button input, though the implementation is unclear. Others have noted that the silhouette sure seems to resemble the handheld cooling accessory Sony teased earlier this year. Whether that might finally arrive alongside this upcoming gaming phone, we can’t say, but taken together this all feels like evidence towards the company’s growing interest in capitalizing on the gaming-smartphone market.
Will Sony end up introducing some hardware that feels a lot like the ASUS ROG Phone 6D or the Nubia RedMagic 6S Pro Ghost? Like we said, this probably won’t be a direct sequel to the decade-old Xperia Play, and we expect either a refreshed gamer-y design of an existing Xperia model, or some entirely new hardware.
One thing seems certain, though: Based on how Sony has positioned its most recent Xperia phones, this one’s probably going to cost a fair chunk of change — a four-figure sticker price does not sound at all out of character. Hopefully we’ll get the full picture on release plans early next week.
Through Her Eyes – Chesapeake Bay Magazine https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/through-her-eyes-chesapeake-bay-magazine/
Discover a hidden side of the Chesapeake on the Harriet Tubman Byway
by Kate Clifford Larson
This year marks the 200th birthday of famed abolitionist and Underground Railroad agent Harriet Tubman. The landscape hasn’t changed in the 200 years since Tubman’s birth in Dorchester County on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, and today you can see the marshes and forests much the way Tubman saw them.
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge features some of the marshes where Tubman trapped muskrats, and is an excellent place to view the tidal land and rivers as Harriet saw them. Photo: Jay Fleming
The internationally acclaimed, 125-mile Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway and All-American Road winds its way through Dorchester and Caroline counties, carrying visitors to more than three dozen places where Tubman lived, worked and executed her famous missions of liberation. With multiple entry and exit points, the Byway transports sightseers through the region’s historic Underground Railroad network, a system so strong and secret that Tubman “never ran her train off the track and never lost a passenger.”
In early 2022, National Geographic named the Tubman Byway one of 25 “Best of the World” journeys for its family-friendly accessibility, breathtaking scenery and significant historical sites. Best of all, it’s one that you can easily do on your own, at your own pace. Just download the map and guide (an audio tour is also available) from the Byway website at harriettubmanbyway.org.
Born enslaved, Tubman later liberated herself when she faced the auction block and deep-pocketed buyers eager to carry her off to the cotton fields in the Deep South, far away from loved ones. “I had reasoned this out in my mind,” Tubman later said. “There was one of two things I had a right to, liberty, or death. If I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive.”
Once free, she returned to the very landscapes she escaped and then later led—illegally and at great risk to her own life—scores of family and friends along the dangerous paths of a complicated Underground Railroad network to freedom. She could not read or write, and she had no money. What she did have was a brilliant mind and powerful passion for freedom, equality and justice. These qualities were fortified by deep faith, which steeled her for the dangers she would later encounter. “I should fight for my liberty,” she told an admirer, “as long as my strength lasted.”
I first became seriously interested in Harriet Tubman when I enrolled in a graduate program in Women’s Studies at Simmons University in Boston during the early 1990s. My daughter was in the second grade at the time, and one day she came home with a little storybook about Tubman. I knew the basics of Tubman’s life as an enslaved woman and then Underground Railroad agent, but that children’s biography—and my daughter’s delight with it—sparked a curiosity that has profoundly shaped my professional life for nearly 30 years.
I remember my first few visits to the Eastern Shore. While working on my doctoral dissertation on Tubman, one of my academic advisors suggested that I explore the physical landscapes where she was born and raised and the place from which she escaped to freedom. They felt that I would gain valuable perspectives on her life if I could see the region and imagine her in those fields and forests and on the water.
I made my way from my Boston home to Baltimore and then across the Bay Bridge, following Route 50 down the shore to Dorchester County. As a born-and-bred New Englander, I found the flat terrain foreign at first, but the shore and its estuaries—the rivers, streams and marshes—felt like home. I had spent the summers of my youth along Maine’s south coast fishing, clamming and crabbing, so the familiar sights and sounds of watery, tidal landscapes eased me into Tubman’s world, one that I soon discovered was both hidden and in plain sight.
Tubman was born during the late winter of 1822 on a large plantation that hugged the Blackwater River. Named Araminta by her enslaved parents, Rit and Ben Ross, “Minty” was the fifth of nine siblings. By the age of 6, her enslaver, Edward Brodess, took her from her parents and started leasing her to his neighbors. Her first forced labor work included setting muskrat traps in cold marshes during the winter months. With no warm clothing to protect her from icy riverbanks, she frequently fell ill.
As a teenager in the mid-1830s, she suffered a near-fatal traumatic brain injury in the Bucktown Village Store. The store still exists and serves as a site on the Tubman byway. She survived, reborn with a ferocious determination to be free, fortified by vivid dreams and visions that foretold the future. Her parents struggled to nurture and educate her from afar. Her education did not happen in a traditional classroom, but rather on those landscapes where she learned to read the environment—the forests and fields, rivers and marshes, the clouds and stars. She studied people without being noticed, and she learned how to move through the woods and pastures unobserved, and tread silently at night with no light to guide her but the stars.
Though the head injury left Tubman with recurring seizures, she grew strong and worked at jobs often reserved for men. She cut trees in the forests with her father, a timber inspector, and served as a stevedore on the docks in Madison. There, she learned the secret communication and transportation networks of Black mariners known as Black Jacks. She studied the constellations. She learned where to find shelter and forage for food. She could not swim, so she analyzed the water—its currents, its depths and dangers.
In 1849, at the age of 27, Tubman escaped. Traveling by night, using the North Star and instructions from Black and white supporters, she found her way to freedom in Philadelphia. Once there, she realized that liberty meant little without her family. “I was a stranger in a strange land,” she later told an interviewer, “and my home, after all, was down in Maryland; because my father, my mother, my brothers, and sisters, and friends were there. But I was free, and they should be free.”
And so she returned. Using all the skills she mastered as a child and young adult, she successfully guided nearly 70 friends and family members north over the course of 10 years. Some of her paths to freedom were by water, others overland, but all were dangerous. A brilliant strategist, she defied detection by slave catchers and snitches lying in wait, becoming the Underground Railroad’s most famous “conductor” and earning her the nickname “Moses.”
William Still, “Station Master”
Born in New Jersey in 1821, the son of a woman who had escaped slavery on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, William Still grew up to become a passionate abolitionist and one of the most significant Underground Railroad operatives on the Eastern seaboard during the 1850s, running an active anti-slavery network that assisted Harriet Tubman and other freedom seekers fleeing from North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and other southern states.
The saga of the Still family is illuminated at the newly established William Still Interpretive Center near Denton in Caroline County, one of more than three dozen sites along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway and All-American Road. The Center, housed in an historic 1820s one-room cottage, features a period slave cabin interior, exhibits about the Still family, and a garden patch highlighting foodstuffs common in gardens cultivated by Eastern Shore people. The Center’s interpretation provides visitors with a more nuanced and personal African American family history, one that reflects common themes prevalent in the history of slavery and the pursuit of freedom in the Chesapeake region—that of enslaved families and the heartbreaking consequences of the struggle to be free.
In Cambridge, the Harriet Tubman Museum and Education Center hosts the world-famous “Take My Hand” mural of Harriet Tubman reaching out through a wall to lead you to freedom. It’s just a few blocks from the county courthouse where, in 1857, Tubman’s friend and Underground Railroad collaborator Rev. Samuel Green was convicted for owning a copy of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and sent to prison for 10 years.
Situated on the Choptank River, Cambridge’s Long Wharf is a good place to imagine how the water served as a barrier and a gateway to freedom. Daring Underground Railroad stories abound along the course of the river to its headwaters in Caroline County.
Photo: Jill Jasuta
In nearby Bucktown, the historic Bucktown Village Store shares Tubman’s early experiences in that agricultural community and reveals the spot where she was nearly killed by an iron weight that crushed her skull. About a mile down Greenbriar Road sits the former Brodess farm, where Tubman spent portions of her childhood. All of these sites are among the 45 stops along the Tubman byway.
The nearby Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge features some of the marshes where Tubman trapped muskrats, and it’s an excellent place to view the tidal land and rivers as Harriet saw them. The Refuge visitor center explains the status of the natural environment, and the threats that global warming and sea level rise pose to the region’s pristine landscapes, historic sites and recreational areas.
Just down the road, at the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State and National Park Visitor Center in Church Creek, Tubman’s extraordinary life and accomplishments are on display. An award-winning, LEED-certified building and museum, the Tubman Center features an orientation film, exhibits, interactive programs, a picnic pavilion and Legacy Garden, and ranger-led educational programs and tours for children and adults. Check out their website for the latest daily ...
Two Paws Up For Dog-Friendly Nantucket The Washington Post
Two Paws Up For Dog-Friendly Nantucket – The Washington Post https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/two-paws-up-for-dog-friendly-nantucket-the-washington-post/
“Is that a hound dog?”
In response to the little girl’s excited voice, Odie, who had just been correctly identified, sidled over to his new friend, wagging his tail and shaking his tush, eager for more play.
It was our first full day on Nantucket Island, Mass., and in our first hour at Jetties Beach, dog-friendly like all of the beaches on this island, Odie had made half a dozen friends and received numerous compliments on his good looks. Before the hound-loving girls (after my own heart) came upon our frolicking pup, Odie played fetch with two little boys, while my husband, Steve, and I made small talk with the parents. Before that, he and another dog (a goldendoodle, I surmised) performed the classic canine introduction of sniffing each other’s behinds before descending into a playful puppy pose and running tight circles around each other.
Although Odie has traveled with us before — to Buffalo annually for Christmas with my family; to Montauk on Long Island once, years ago, for a night; and to our place in Vermont every few weeks — he hasn’t actually factored into our vacations. Until this summer, we had never planned a dog-focused trip. We had merely brought Odie along when it made sense to do so.
Nantucket popped into my head around March, when abysmal New York weather inspires trip-planning just to have something to look forward to amid the gloom.
Steve and I are not Nantucket regulars, yet we did enjoy a blissful few days on the island for our mini-moon in May 2016. I met a dog that trip, a gorgeous Great Dane whose name I have forgotten, but whose face I never could.
“We should come back here one day and bring Odie. He’d love it,” I remember saying to Steve after noticing how seemingly every shop and restaurant set out water bowls for dogs.
Between life and a pandemic, it took us six years to finally return to the dog-friendly destination, where our No. 1 goal was to show Odie a good time.
I found pet-friendly accommodations at Regatta Inn, where the dog amenities more than made up for the persnickety house dog, Stella, a long-haired dachshund roughly a quarter of Odie’s size, who offered up a low growl every time Odie graced the inn’s lobby with his cheerful tail wags and sweet demeanor. Nantucket Resort Collection General Manager John Bottino said the inn has only been dog-friendly since he came onboard in 2020. The previous owners weren’t keen on canines, but Bottino said he changed the policy, because he wanted to “create a space for the next generation of Nantucket travelers, and those travelers want to travel with their dogs.”
Clearly, I am biased toward hounds, with their sweet faces and mild tempers, but I was not at all surprised by the welcome Odie received on Nantucket, where golden-somethings appeared to be the dominant breed.
For four days, our family of three explored the tiny island off Cape Cod, Mass., playing by the shore on Cisco Beach and relaxing on the sand with books and Born & Bread sandwiches. Once the food was gone, even Odie, who, until recently, wouldn’t think about settling down amid all of the scintillating surroundings, succumbed to exhaustion, dropping his 71-pound frame down with a big, limb-stretching sigh. Watching Odie go from 100 to zero, as a senior dog with creaky joints and tired eyes, is a constant reminder of how little time we have left with him.
Yet, at nearly 12, Odie still plays like a puppy on a daily basis. His energy, no longer boundless but nonetheless noteworthy, belies the fact that he requires more medical care than Steve or I combined. Our rescue hound takes prescription medications to manage an autoimmune skin disease triggered by a May splenectomy. While caring for Odie in his frail, post-op state, I was reduced to tears watching him navigate his recovery with a cone around his neck and pain meds that left him listless and unrecognizable.
Although Odie made a full recovery, Steve and I set aside notions of overseas trips together in favor of spending more quality time with him — which brought us to Nantucket in mid-August via a high-speed ferry from Hyannis, Mass. We briefly considered flying with Odie via Tradewind Aviation, an aircraft operator with a small shuttle service offering direct flights out of Westchester in New York. But Steve, worried that Odie would feel anxious and uncomfortable, rejected that option. Peter Burke, executive director of the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce, wrote in an email that the majority of the island’s visitors arrive by boat, which he thinks may be a contributing factor to the high number of dogs on the island.
Most restaurants, including upscale spots such as Dune and the interestingly named Or, the Whale, allow dogs in their outdoor dining spaces; we cannot say the same for restaurants in our Brooklyn neighborhood. Burke pointed to the concentration of local, independent businesses peppering the island: Business “owners can set their own dog policies as opposed to larger corporate chains that have national policies,” he said.
One rainy evening, we had to leave Odie alone in the room, and we left him again a couple of nights later to dine at Topper’s at the Wauwinet inn, where only service dogs are allowed. By this point of the trip, however, it was obvious that Odie needed the down time; his typical daily routine of vigorous morning exercise followed by roughly six hours of on-and-off napping was disrupted by our low-key, yet still active, Nantucket schedule.
Evenings were marked by “sniffaris,” a term I became obsessed with after reading “The Forever Dog: A New Science Blueprint for Raising Healthy and Happy Canine Companions,” by Rodney Habib and Karen Shaw Becker. The authors posit that the mental stimulation provided by leading the way on long, non-cardio walks, where slow sniffing and aimless meandering are the point, is good for dogs’ longevity.
In our family, we categorize sniffaris as “budget,” “mid-level” and “luxury,” based on the length of the leisurely walk and how long we’re willing to stand on a random corner while Odie satisfies his curiosity via fast-twitching nostrils and making his presence known by lifting his leg and marking as much territory as his bladder can manage. On one of our first Nantucket sniffaris, Odie discovered a container of dog treats outside the nearby Nantucket Hotel & Resort. He regularly pulled me in the direction of the hotel on subsequent walks, and I rewarded him with two, sometimes three, biscuits.
Odie is frosty-faced now, distinguished-looking despite his potbellied appearance, a side effect of the steroids he’s taking. But he’s still long and lean and has a propensity to run fast, especially when there’s a squirrel to chase back home in Prospect Park — or a Frisbee to catch on a beach in Nantucket.
Lastoe is a writer based in Brooklyn. Her website is staceylastoe.com. Find her on Twitter: @stacespeaks.
Regatta Inn
78 Centre St.
508-901-5740
Part of the Nantucket Resort Collection, this inn has a pet-friendly policy and provides amenities for furry friends. Rooms from $139 per night.
Or, the Whale
38 Main St.
508-825-5897
Located in the heart of Nantucket’s downtown historic district, this restaurant is open throughout the week, although the showstopping dish, duck carnitas for two, is only available during dinner service. Open nightly for dinner, 5 to 10 p.m.; for lunch Thursday to Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and for brunch Sunday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner entrees from $32.
Born & Bread: Mercantile and Bakery
35 Centre St.
508-228-3700
Lines start early here, where you can enjoy homemade sourdough, blueberry and thyme scones, and beach-ready sandwiches, such as Kevin, made with turkey, Vermont cheddar, mayonnaise, lettuce, vine tomato, red onion and banana peppers. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday, 8 a.m. to noon. Sandwiches from about $12.
Topper’s
120 Wauwinet Rd.
508-228-8768
This upscale spot on a remote part of the island offers a tasting menu and a la carte dishes, with many tables providing views of the bay. The wagyu supplement ($70) is worth the splurge, but those with smaller appetites have plenty to choose from via the deck menu. Open daily in season for breakfast, 8 to 10:30 a.m.; lunch, noon to 2 p.m.; and dinner, 6 to 9 p.m. Deck menu served noon to 9 p.m. Seven-course tasting menu from $160; entrees from $45.
Jetties Beach
4 Bathing Beach Rd.
Located on the island’s North Shore, Jetties is walkable from the center of town, but shuttles also take visitors ($2 each way, but pups travel free) from the Whaling Museum to the beach every 30 minutes from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (mid-June to Labor Day). The beach is wide and flat, the water is calm and shallow, and there are beach facilities.
Cisco Brewers
5 Bartlett Farm Rd.
508-325-5929
This expansive brewery, with ample outdoor space, hosts live music and offers tastings and tours. Open Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m.
Pawsitivity
5 Centre St.
The goods in this boutique dog store are Nantucket-heavy, with dog collars and leashes sporting anchors, boats and names of area beaches. Open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
PLEASE NOTE
Potential travelers should take local and national public health directives regarding the pandemic into consideration before planning any trips. Travel health notice information can be found on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s interactive map showing travel recommendations by destination and the CDC’s travel health notice webpage.
Queen Elizabeth Longest-Serving Monarch Dies At 96 WebMD
Queen Elizabeth, Longest-Serving Monarch, Dies At 96 – WebMD https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/queen-elizabeth-longest-serving-monarch-dies-at-96-webmd/
Sept. 8, 2022 -– Great Britain’s oldest and longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth the II, has died.
The exact cause of death has not been released but Buckingham Palace on Thursday announced she had been placed under medical supervision at home and doctors were “concerned” about her health. Members of the royal family were said to be assembling at her home, Balmoral, in Scotland.
In a statement later Thursday, the Royal Family said, “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and will return to London tomorrow.”
Elizabeth was born April 21, 1926, and ascended the throne at age 25 after the death of her father, King George VI, in 1952.
Recent Health Problems
Despite enjoying good health into her 90s, the queen had been experiencing health woes as of late.
She contracted COVID-19 in late February, which she said left “one very tired and exhausted,” in a video call with health workers.
Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, paid the queen a visit in mid-April – the pair’s first visit to Windsor Castle since their controversial exit — which had many wondering if the late monarch’s health was failing.
She also missed several annual royal events this year, including Easter Sunday service at St George’s Chapel, citing difficulty moving and traveling.
Elizabeth, did, however, greet newly elected Prime Minister Liz Truss on Tuesday at Balmoral.
The queen had been in good health for many years, with only three brief hospital visits in the last two decades. That began to change after the death of her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, on April 9, 2021, less than 2 weeks before her 95th birthday.
Six months later, in October 2021, the queen abruptly canceled a trip to Northern Ireland due to fatigue, according to palace aides, and was hospitalized the next day. After an overnight stay she was released. In an unprecedented move, her participation in all public events and ceremonies was canceled for the following 2 weeks. No explanation or diagnosis was provided.
The Keys to Her Longevity
Although she was among the world’s wealthiest women, Queen Elizabeth led a relatively low-key life — and her famously modest lifestyle may have contributed to her longevity. While she never commented publicly on her diet, exercise, sleep habits, or other aspects of her day-to-day life, it appears she maintained a naturally health-boosting routine.
The queen’s diet was notably unfussy. According to reports, she started her mornings with Earl Grey tea, after which breakfast might include a bowl of cereal or yogurt, and often toast with marmalade. Unless she was eating at a formal function, lunch and dinner both featured simply cooked protein — grilled chicken or fish with salad for lunch, and game (like venison or pheasant) or more fish for dinner, without any starch. “That’s it. That’s all she has,” former royal chef Darren McGrady told CNN in 2017. “She’s very disciplined like that. She could have anything she wanted, but it is that discipline that keeps her so well and so healthy.”
But the queen did appreciate regular, small indulgences: Between lunch and dinner, she would enjoy afternoon tea with finger sandwiches and cake, and she was known to drink alcohol regularly, too.
Elizabeth didn’t follow a specific exercise routine. Instead, she included physical activity in her everyday life, mostly walking with her beloved corgis or riding horses on royal lands. Routinely getting enough sleep contributed to her good health, too. She tried to be in bed by 11 p.m. and woke at 7:30 a.m.
“Mental habits and unique ways of thinking — about food or exercise or work or rest — make her the down-to-earth woman she is today,” Bryan Kozlowski, author of Long Live the Queen! 23 Rules for Living From Britain’s Longest-Reigning Monarch, told Good Housekeeping in 2020. “Which, in turn, makes her lifestyle ‘secrets’ a surprisingly easy (and free!) joy to follow in everyday life.”
Kozlowski named several other factors that helped her stay physically and mentally healthy well into her nineties:
Staying engaged. The queen made dozens of public appearances each year, and every day she spent hours reading through a large red box of paperwork related to affairs of state.
Giving back. From the time she ascended the throne, Elizabeth was famous for her sense of purpose. She supported numerous charities and sought to live by example.
Making time to recharge. As the head of the British monarchy, Elizabeth often had a lot on her shoulders, but she prioritized spending time in nature, with regular visits to her country estates. Even her afternoon tea provided a daily respite from stress.
One other possible factor: Having lost her father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, and eventually her sister to smoking-related illnesses, Elizabeth reportedly never smoked a cigarette in her life.
Elizabeth is survived by her son, Charles; her other children, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Westfield Warrant Leads To Drugs Weapon Charges | News Sports Jobs Evening Observer
Westfield Warrant Leads To Drugs, Weapon Charges | News, Sports, Jobs – Evening Observer https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/westfield-warrant-leads-to-drugs-weapon-charges-news-sports-jobs-evening-observer/
WESTFIELD — Three individuals are facing charges after a search warrant led to the discovery of drugs, cash and a weapon.
On Thursday morning, Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office Narcotics Investigators, along with the assistance of the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office SWAT, the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigators and the city of Dunkirk Police Department, executed a search warrant at 7617 Felton Road. As a result of the search, investigators found 1.65 grams of fentanyl, 0.53 grams of ketamine, 65 dosage units of Clonazepam, scales and drug packaging material, four long guns and $352 in U.S. currency.
Alexis Campbell and Mark C. Baker II, both of 7617 Felton Road, were charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
William J. Petsch of 131 Old Mill Road, Brocton, was charged with third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. All three along were transported to the Centralized Arraignment Program at the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Jail.
Authorities continue to ask members of the community to call and report suspicious or narcotics related activity within their neighborhoods. For the Southern Tier Regional Drug Task Force Tip line call either 800-344-8702 or 716-664-2420, for the Dunkirk Police Department Tip line call 716-363-0313.
Today’s breaking news and more in your inbox
The Sporting News 7 Podcast: Talking NFL Opener Frances Tiafoe Liverpool Embarrassment And More Sporting News
‘The Sporting News 7’ Podcast: Talking NFL Opener, Frances Tiafoe, Liverpool Embarrassment And More – Sporting News https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/the-sporting-news-7-podcast-talking-nfl-opener-frances-tiafoe-liverpool-embarrassment-and-more-sporting-news/
Here are the seven stories you’ll hear about on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022:
NFL: The Rams welcome the Bills to SoFi Stadium in the first game of the new NFL season
NCAAF: Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark confirms he wants expansion into the Pacific time zone
TENNIS: Frances Tiafoe becomes the first Black male player to reach the US Open semifinals since Arthur Ashe in 1972, Carlos Alcaraz completed his quarterfinals match in Flushing Meadows’ latest-ever finish
MLB: Juan Soto forced out of a game against Arizona after being hit on the shoulder, Aaron Judge hits 55th home run of the season
BOXING: Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall set for ill-tempered headline fight this weekend
GOLF: Rory McIlroy jokes LIV golfers will be too tired by Sunday to compete in the fourth round of the BMW PGA Championship
SOCCER: Liverpool humiliated by Napoli in the Champions League, but there were wins for Tottenham, Ajax, Bayern Munich and Barcelona
The Sporting News 7 is a unique take on the day’s biggest talking points in sports, and you can find it on Spotify, Apple or wherever you get your podcasts.
Parent-Teacher Organizations Arent Only For The Kids The Washington Post
Parent-Teacher Organizations Aren’t Only For The Kids – The Washington Post https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/parent-teacher-organizations-arent-only-for-the-kids-the-washington-post/
They’re known at school as the group of parents who orchestrate everything from Halloween parties to book fairs, but a parent-teacher organization isn’t just for the kids.
Parents join a PTO for all kinds of reasons. It has helped some revitalize career skills, share passions, find job opportunities, and assuage the middle-age friend desert, all while making sure the kids have fun.
“I thought it was important for my kids to see I thought they were important and that their education was important,”′ said Judy Walters, 54, of central New Jersey, recalling her stay-at-home-mom days raising two little girls. “But really, I wanted to meet people and have a life.”
The PTO was where Walters met some of the people she still considers best friends. “I got close to a number of my room-mom people, and I met a lot of parents who I wasn’t close to but still really liked and enjoyed,” she says.
PTO is a common acronym for the group of parents and teachers who work together to fundraise, plan activities and provide extra enrichment for students. The term can be used interchangeably with the Parent Teacher Association, a national nonprofit headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, or the PTC, or parent-teacher council.
As kids return to school this fall, you might see flyers or emails pleading for parents to get involved. PTOs play an important role as school boards face tough budget choices, particularly for “extras” non directly related to the curriculum.
Especially as schools and families emerge from pandemic lockdowns, people are looking for ways to connect. PTOs can provide that at a time in life when making new friends typically slows down because of work and family.
Sara Dean, 46, signed up for her school’s PTA, nervous about assimilating into what she saw as an established group. But by spring, she was happy to have made new friends.
Dean hosts the podcast “The Shameless Mom Academy,” which discusses women’s empowerment, and balancing parenthood and work. She devoted an episode to what she learned from working as the PTA president at her child’s school outside Seattle.
“The opportunities for bonding happen quicker,” she said of working on the PTA. “There is more comradery and ease of building relationships that I wasn’t expecting but that was a lovely experience.”
She also didn’t expect to pick up career-building skills.
Dean was used to working independently, as a writer and podcast host and producer. As PTA president, she was thrown into building teams, helping everyone get along, and finding resolutions to problems the school faced — skills that could easily translate into corporate America or the world of nonprofits.
“That’s not why I signed up but it’s a benefit that is really cool,” she said.
The same goes for Colleen Nolan, 46, of Newton, Massachusetts. The eight years she spent working various roles on an elementary school PTO led, she said, to two nonprofit board positions — at a city food bank and a neighborhood improvement group — and a paid, part-time position as a records keeper.
“I met people in the neighborhood and, over the years, they recognized me as someone who was a `doer,’” Nolan said. “People saw me as someone who could answer questions and they used me as a resource.”
Many parents bring their passion projects to the PTO, said Andy Garlick, an elementary school principal in Needham, Massachusetts. These might include personal finance, diversity, or cultural customs from another country, for example. Parents bring what they know to the table.
“There’s a lot of people who want to use the minimal free time they have to do good in their community,” he said.
There are criticisms and jokes, of course. In the 2018 comedy “Bad Moms,” Christina Applegate and Mila Kunis spar over who is the better PTA presidential candidate. And the Netflix series “Ginny & Georgia” shows a snooty mother from “Wellsbury, Massachusetts” arguing with an outsider from Texas about how to best raise money for the PTA.
In reality, wealthy neighborhoods tend to have far more parental involvement and fundraising power than areas without such affluence. This leads to more enrichment opportunities for students, and more educational necessities like books or tech gadgets. Some argue it compounds inequities in the U.S.
And PTO parents often spend their own money. Some organizations have dues and others don’t, but many parent volunteers end up paying for projects and events.
Kimberly Rae Miller, 39, of Suffolk County, New York, joined the PTA to become more involved and was surprised to find how much money it required out of her own pocket.
But, she said, “If you have the time and financial resources to participate, it’s a great way to have access to a part of your children’s life that you don’t always have access to.”
BC.GAME Becomes The Global Crypto Casino Sponsor Of The Argentine Football Association Cryptonews
BC.GAME Becomes The Global Crypto Casino Sponsor Of The Argentine Football Association – Cryptonews https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/bc-game-becomes-the-global-crypto-casino-sponsor-of-the-argentine-football-association-cryptonews/
Disclaimer: The Industry Talk section features insights by crypto industry players and is not a part of the editorial content of Cryptonews.com.
Buenos Aires, Argentina, 8th September, 2022, Chainwire
BC.GAME, the award-winning crypto casino, and the Argentine Football Association (AFA) have entered into a global sponsorship agreement. The deal will open an international pathway for both brands to reach a broader audience and drive synergies between the organizations and casino players.
Fans and players from around the world will be able to enjoy the varied entertainment that BC.GAME has to offer. The crypto casino will support the Argentine national team during the coming months including its Qatar World Cup games. Famous players like Lionel Messi, Paulo Dybala, and Angel Di Maria will connect and engage with BC.GAME players.
The partnership is designed to build an international gateway for the AFA and BC.GAME to add new revenue streams through diverse verticals. For six months, both brands will collaborate and focus on capitalizing on the partnership to the fullest extent possible.
Chris Butler, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of BC.GAME, said: “From a business perspective, the Argentine Football Association has proven to be a highly intuitive organization. At BC.GAME, we’re thrilled to find that many of our long-term goals are in perfect alignment with the AFA’s plans to form partnerships with the top companies in the blockchain industry.
“Moving forward, our aim is to introduce mutually beneficial revenue streams as well as providing unhindered access to our massive community of gamers, punters, and football fans who frequent the BC.GAME Casino and social channels.”
Claudio Fabian Tapia, President of AFA, added: “We are very happy to present this new agreement with BC.GAME. At AFA, we are always looking for opportunities to harness emerging technologies to improve the experience of our National Team and League fans. This agreement allows us to create new digital products and by this generate a new revenue stream. We welcome BC.GAME as a new commercial partner of our Association.”
About BC.GAME
BC.GAME is a community-based crypto casino that offers players the best online casino experience. Launched in 2017, BC.GAME is among the first casinos to support Lightning Network, not only revolutionizing the casino industry but also the blockchain space. With the recent addition of sports betting, users can enjoy more than 10,000 games including sports, slots, live table games, and even the famous bitcoin crash game. BC.GAME has won multiple industry awards making it the Crypto Casino of the Year (PR News Wire, 2022). The platform accepts many leading cryptocurrencies and recently started accepting fiat payments.
Learn more: https://bcgame.com/
BC.GAME is the source of this content. This Press Release is for informational purposes only. The information does not constitute investment advice or an offer to invest.
Contacts
PR
Issay Domingo
BC.GAME
[email protected]
Mortgage Rates In US Jump To 5.89% Highest Level Since 2008 Bloomberg
Mortgage Rates In US Jump To 5.89%, Highest Level Since 2008 – Bloomberg https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/mortgage-rates-in-us-jump-to-5-89-highest-level-since-2008-bloomberg/
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ESIM Technology Gains Traction, Amdocs Finds – SDxCentral https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/esim-technology-gains-traction-amdocs-finds-sdxcentral/
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‘Goat Simulator 3’ Preview: Gaming’s Rowdiest Sandbox Gets Even Bigger – Inverse https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/goat-simulator-3-preview-gamings-rowdiest-sandbox-gets-even-bigger-inverse/
Imagine being the Superman of goats. Goat Simulator 3 enhances the barnyard shenanigans of the original game with co-op, multiplayer, and more to do than ever before. It’s more like a radical expansion of the core Goat Simulator concept than a direct sequel — which is probably why they skipped over Goat Simulator 2 altogether. (Actually, it all goes back to developers at Coffee Stain Studios having a real fondness for silly gimmicks and jokes.) In any case, this is guaranteed to be one of the most absurd and funniest games coming out this year.
If you don’t know how Goat Simulator works, then buckle up.
These goats have unrealistically sticky tongues that can drag items as if they were holding them with thumb-having hands. They can survive falls from heinous heights, mind-blowing explosions, and just about any ridiculous thing you can imagine. They can also somehow shoot rockets and wield weapons like a military professional. Set people on fire? Check. Knock over their hotdogs? Yep. Banish them using a giant beansprout? Sure! Why not. Those meat sacks will probably live! Right?
Oh, who are we kidding? You don’t care.
Your mission is to discover all the creative ways you can cause chaos. In Goat Simulator 3, you also have your own goat castle, which you can upgrade by completing certain goals and achievements related to messing things up. These “quests” pop up in the game as you progress, such as headbutting items or planting trees. Then, after completing enough of these quests or achievements, you can unlock the next section of your goat castle.
Hoofball is apparently one of the mini-games you can play against your hooved friends.Coffee Stain Studios
Unfortunately, the Goat Simulator 3 multiplayer component wasn’t available for testing, but a representative confirmed that co-op and player-versus-player would make it into the final version. You can form a squad with up to four friends and explore the map or compete in mini-games for fun. It’s also a perfectly reasonably single-player experience, though, if you simply want to discover all the achievements you can get for annoying people and making a mess.
If you loved the first Goat Simulator, you will undoubtedly also adore this one. It’s for people that love exploring for the sake of it and playing through silly shenanigans whether for hours or just a few stupid minutes at a time. However, if you’re not much of a completionist or party animal, you’ll probably get bored of the sandbox really quickly. There’s no overarching plot to speak of, however, which is probably fine for a game where you’re just a rowdy goat doing bonkers stuff.
There are progression systems and milestones to complete, which will certainly keep some types of gamers content. If it’s anything like the first Goat Simulator, part of the fun will be unlocking increasingly ridiculous achievements like finding the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in a sewer.
Goat Simulator 3 will launch for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch on November 17, 2022.
Wire Dangling Over New York Thruway Closed 87 In Hudson Valley Post
Wire Dangling Over New York Thruway Closed 87 In – Hudson Valley Post https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/wire-dangling-over-new-york-thruway-closed-87-in-hudson-valley-post/
A potentially electrifying situation forced officials to close down the New York State Thruway in the Hudson Valley.
On Wednesday, Sept. 8, around 2 p.m., a high tension electric line behind the J Lot in West Nyack snapped and landed on other wires. The electric line was seen dangling over the New York State which caused backups and lane closures on the I-87 in Rockland County
Low-hanging Power Lines In Rockland County, New York Causes Traffic on New York State Thruway
Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann
Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann
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Around 2 p.m., Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann warned a potential shutdown of the Thruway was being considered and a diversion plan was implemented.
“The repairs will take several hours and will cause widespread traffic delays. Avoid the area and take extra time. Traffic will be diverted onto Route 59, the Palisades parkway and some entrances to the thruway will be closed,” Hoehmann stated around 2 p.m.
Orange & Rockland, the Clarkstown Police Department and the West-Nyack Fire-Department were all on the scene
New York State Thruway Closed In Both Directions in Rockland County, New York
Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann
Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann
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About an hour later officials were forced to close the New York State Thruway in both directions in Rockland County.
“Due to low-hanging power lines, all lanes on the Thruway (I-87/I-287) between exit 12 in West Nyack and exit 14 in Nanuet are closed in both directions. Motorists should plan for extended delays and are advised to seek alternate routes,” the NYS Thruway Authority wrote on Facebook at 2:50 p.m.
Northbound traffic was told to exit at exit 12 (West Nyack – NY Route 303 – Palisades Center Drive) and southbound traffic was forced to exit at exit 14 (Spring Valley – Nanuet – NY Route 59).
Clarkstown Police Department
Clarkstown Police Department
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“A wire is currently dangling over the NYS Thruway. The Thruway has been shut down in both directions. Southbound traffic is being diverted at Exit 14 (Nanuet) and Northbound traffic is being diverted at Exit 12 (West Nyack),” Clarkstown Police Department said. “The repairs will take several hours and will cause widespread traffic delays throughout the area.”
For all the news that the Hudson Valley is sharing make sure to follow Hudson Valley Post on Facebook, download the Hudson Valley Post Mobile App and sign up for the Hudson Valley Post Newsletter.
New York State Thruway Reopened
Around 4 p.m., the New York State Thruway was reopened on both sides. However, only two lanes were reopened in both directions, according to the Clarkstown Police Department. Police warned closures were expected again, once Orange & Rockland was “prepared to continue the work on the Thruway.”
Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann
Clarkstown Supervisor George Hoehmann
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It’s unclear if or when the Thruway closed a second time because no official has confirmed. However, Clarkstown Supervisor Hoehmann did say closures were expected Wednesday evening.
“It will be closed again in both directions to effectuate repairs. We are informed that will occur later this evening and will take some time to complete. Local roads are experiencing heavier than normal volume,” Hoehmann said.
No injuries were reported.
LOOK: Here Are the 25 Best Places to Live in New York State
Stacker compiled a list of the best places to live in New York using data from Niche. Niche ranks places to live based on a variety of factors including cost of living, schools, health care, recreation, and weather. Cities, suburbs, and towns were included. Listings and images are from realtor.com.
On the list, there’s a robust mix of offerings from great schools and nightlife to high walkability and public parks. Some areas have enjoyed rapid growth thanks to new businesses moving to the area, while others offer glimpses into area history with well-preserved architecture and museums. Keep reading to see if your hometown made the list.
Award-Winning Actor Selling Hudson Valley 'Mountaintop Masterpiece'
An award-winning actor is selling “mountaintop masterpiece” in Napanoch, Ulster County. Check out all of the photos of this impressive “mountaintop masterpiece” below:
Did You Know? Over 100 Fun Facts About the Hudson Valley
Did you know that Lucille Ball made her stage debut in the Hudson Valley? How about Philadelphia Cream Cheese wasn’t invented in Philadelphia, but in Orange County? Or that a mansion in Dutchess County inspired the expression “keeping up with the Joneses?” Find out about those and over 100 other fun facts about the Hudson Valley.
KEEP LOOKING: See what 50 company logos looked like then and now
The Hidden Dangers Of Not Taking Your Vacation Days Entrepreneur
The Hidden Dangers Of Not Taking Your Vacation Days – Entrepreneur https://dentoncountynewsonline.com/the-hidden-dangers-of-not-taking-your-vacation-days-entrepreneur/
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
For many Americans, working without vacation time has become routine. However, even when workers have paid time off, they often find it difficult to pull the trigger and step away from work. Why the guilt?
A decision to not use vacation days could end up being one that a worker majorly regrets. Depending on their career, American workers often receive zero compensation for unused PTO days should they change jobs. Instead of using up paid time off that was granted to them as a benefit upon hire, workers often end up having to relinquish those unused days without anything to show for it.
In 2018, Americans left a reported 768 million days of paid vacation days unused, with 55% percent of Americans failing to use all of their paid vacation time, according to the U.S. Travel Association.
Related: A Work-Life Balance Will Help You Keep Employees
The economic cost of not taking vacation days
There’s an economic cost to people not taking their vacation time, too. When workers don’t use their vacation days to take a trip, for example, that’s money that’s not being spent in the economy (hotels, restaurants, entertainment, etc.). Instead of spending money to invigorate economic growth elsewhere (or in their community), workers who do not use their vacation time are essentially handing that money back to their employers by way of unused leave time.
A lack of vacation time can lead to serious health risks
Taking a vacation isn’t just a break from work — it’s a chance for workers to invest in their well-being. The health benefits of taking time for self-care, personal and family vacations or just a chance to step away from the daily grind to freshen up the mind and body cannot be overlooked.
Some of the health side effects of not taking a vacation can be startling. Working too hard without vacation can lead to sleep deprivation — a common cause of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity, depression, reduced immunity and more. Most alarmingly, overworking can lead to stroke, according to a 2015 study.
Related: 3 Ways Employee Vacationing Increases a Company’s Productivity
A worker’s reluctance to take vacation starts young
So why do people not take their vacation days from work? Corporate pressure often makes workers believe that taking time away from the job will show their employers that they’re replaceable. Guilt also seems to play into this as well, with an overwhelming societal perception that not coming into the office means someone is lazy or not working as hard as they could be. From a personal perspective, there’s also the fear that some kind of opportunity could be missed out on if one is not at the office (or working remotely).
Some of this stems from societal pressures that start very young in the United States — many kids went to school with the goal of earning a perfect attendance award, and that mindset has moved on with them to the workplace.
Younger generations appear to be feeling the burden the most. According to a report published earlier this year, millennials and Gen Z were the least likely groups to use vacation time, with this cohort appearing to be much more vacation-deprived than those 50 and older. Further, women are more burned out on work and vacation-deprived than their male counterparts.
Ironically, Americans’ obsession with work and lack of vacations comes at a time when workers are experiencing the possibility of more freedom by working remotely. However, U.S. workers report that this shift to remote work has made it harder to unplug from their careers and truly step away from the job. Hence, the cycle continues.
The next time you’re thinking of stepping away from the office and using that well-earned vacation, do it. It will benefit your health, your community, the economy and your family.
