I seem to remember someone here recommending a tabletop at-home device for Covid testing (maybe NAAT?) that's approved in the European market but not in the US. Can someone here remind me?

Context: We've got an ambiguous rapid antigen test result for COVID in our house. The line is so faint that it is not pink or red, although two out of three of us see something there, like a shadow. We'd hoped to confirm with PCR so we can plan (eg what are the chances we'll need to cancel our Thanksgiving trip to see my elderly mother in her nursing home?) but we learned that molecular testing isn't offered in our region anymore.

I know that I might not be able to buy anything that is immediately useful for this situation, but since Covid isn't going anywhere, maybe this is worth an investment. We do plan to follow up with more RATs over the next few days.

We do know that CDC guidelines don't require us to care. I'm not worried for my kid at all, she's only mildly ill. I just want to do the right things to limit spread, here and in future.

Saving sharks with electricity and cougars and grizzlies return to Manitoba

On December 1st, 2020, Nasdaq filed a proposal with the Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt additional listing rules requiring enhanced board diversity and disclosure of firm diversity efforts.  The new listing rules require Nasdaq-listed companies to have on their board of directors, at least two diverse directors, including one who self-identifies as female and one who self-identifies as an underrepresented minority or LGBTQ+.  If the firm does not meet this listing requirement, it must explain why they do not have at least two diverse directors sitting on their board.  Additionally, the new listing rules require Nasdaq-listed companies to publicly disclose consistent, transparent diversity statistics regarding its board of directors.  Nasdaq defines underrepresented minorities to include Black or African America, Hispanic or Latinx, Asian, Native American or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, two or more races or ethnicities.  Smaller reporting companies and foreign companies have additional flexibility in satisfying these new listing requirements by seating at least two female directors.  These new listing rules require approval from the SEC.

NASDAQ's stated goal for requiring diversity among its listed companies board makeups is to provide the investing public with a "better understanding of the company's current board composition and enhance investor confidence that all listed companies are considering diversity in the context of selecting directors, either by including at least two diverse directors on their boards or explaining their rationale for not meeting that objective." To support this new listing requirement, Nasdaq pointed to over 24 studies that found a link between diverse board and more robust financial performance with better corporate governance.  Under this proposal, Nasdaq-listed companies are required to publicly disclose board-level diversity statistics within one year of the SEC's approval of the rule.

CNN reports that Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman stated, "Nasdaq's purpose is to champion inclusive growth and prosperity to power stronger economies." Non compliance by Nasdaq-listed companies could lead to delisting.  

Nasdaq's move is part of a growing momentum to see that corporate board diversity is taken seriously across the United States.  California has for two years been requiring gender diversity on corporate boards and has recently begun requiring racial and ethnic diversity on California boards as well.  Goldman Sachs has recently announced that it will require any company that it assists in taking public must include at least one diverse board member. 

The Corporate Justice Blog has long advocated for board diversity as a priority for expanding human capital and realizing greater financial benefits for the firms and its shareholders. We argue that a commitment to diversifying the board, both in gender and racial diversity as well as worldview diversity enhances the performance of the corporations that so commit.  See here, here, here and here.

hat tip:  Deepali Lal, 3L, Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law 

photo: courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

A technical analysis of the top 4 podcasts about podcasting looking at the audio production, file formats and embedded meta-data used by each podcast

The post A Quasi-technical Analysis of the Top Podcasts about Podcasting appeared first on Richard Farrar.

2025 at Red Rocks promises to be more packed than ever.

The new guidance comes after blood tests for 115 farmworkers in Michigan and Colorado showed that eight workers -- or 7% — had antibodies that indicated previous infection with the virus known as Type A H5N1 influenza.

Had Denver matched the regional average gain, it would have seen an additional $646 million more in taxable sales revenues, the report estimates.

In collaboration with Nonsuch Expeditions, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR] said they are :delighted to announce the successful conclusion of the 2024 nesting season for the Bermuda Petrel, also known as the Cahow.” “Although we fell just short of the 2021 record of 78 fledged chicks, with 76 this year throughout the […]

Steve Burton announced as the 2024 Distinguished Citizen. The celebration will take place Dec. 5th at Ocean Edge Resort. ...

And so that is what I call the birth of this woke industrial complex. It is a new leviathan, a new monster, that is far more powerful than what Thomas Hobbes might have envisioned 400 years ago, and it is the biggest threat to individual liberty today. It is not big government alone. Its conservatives are reciting lines that they memorized in 1980, thinking that big government was the threat to individual liberty. Maybe it was in 1980. It's not today. It is this new hybrid of big government and big business and big government not just in the United States but big government in places like China, co-mingled with big business creating the actual threat to our liberty and our prosperity. Continue reading →

New York Magazine published an excerpt from Ivana Trump's memoir Raising Trump - and it has since become a wildly entertaining meme. Thhe excerpt is actually a quote from Ivanka, reminiscing about her "punk" days. 

"During my punk phase in the nineties, I was really into Nirvana. My wardrobe consisted of ripped corduroy jeans and flannel shirts. One day after school, I dyed my hair blue. Mom wasn't a fan of this decision. She took one look at me and immediately went out to the nearest drugstore to buy a $10 box of Nice'n Easy. That night, she forced me to dye my hair back to blond. The color she picked out was actually three shades lighter than my natural color… and I have never looked back!"

The quote has left Twitter users in stitches, making Photoshop memes and mocking the wealthy businesswoman's statement. The results have been delightful. 

White males make up the largest sector of the U.S. workforce and have, on average, always made the highest salaries. If we compare their salaries to those of women, ethnic minorities, the differently-abled, and LGBTQ+ persons, we see a large disparity between the wages of similarly-qualified candidates in the same fields. The gap is glaring, […]

The post Race, Gender, and LGBTQ+ wage gaps are real – and they end up costing us all appeared first on DiversityJobs.com.

YouTube is testing a new feature that will let creators use AI to “restyle” licensed songs for their shorts. The small group of creators with access can enter a prompt to change up different elements in a song, such as its mood or genre, and the expansion of YouTube’s Dream Track AI feature will…

Driving more reviews to your profile for a local listing has always been a great way and still is a great way to increase your local listing visibility. The problem with this is when people started trying to game the system by posting fake reviews. Some companies were posting so many reviews that Google had […]

Link Worx Seo provides you the most effective way to improve your site’s link building through its directory listing service. Whether you are a start-up enterprise or a well established company, you will certainly need powerful techniques to increase your site’s online visibility. All the search engines today are becoming gradually tighter about website positioning […]

Paid listings and Pay per Click ads are not the same as buying links. For example, iAquire got hit by Google early this year. The company was selling links for profit of course and even lost their court case due to link selling. The company allowed for clients to pay for relevant links after companies […]

Okay, recently there has been some discussion surrounding the Google Authorship and Publisher topic. So I figured what a great time to cover another article for the topic since it has been part of an update being done for some websites I am working on. First off, there has been some more talk about the […]

Everyone likes the smell of their own brand. 

You've probably heard that one before, when you were ripping a real stinker in the car and rolling the windows up because you're a sadist. 

via GIPHY

But why do you like torturing innocent bystanders of your disgusting gas? Honestly, being subjected to your farts should be considered torture. Liking your farts is akin to waterboarding. You're a war criminal. You and your farts should sit before an international tribunal. 

Yes, you. 

Anyway, this video explains why you're such a sicko. ASAP Science continues to do great work in under five minutes. 

via The Real Sporcle

Frosty Entertainment via Eneba has 50-Day of Game Pass Ultimate via Xbox Live Gold Conversion for ~$7.75 when you follow the instructions below.

Note, this offer is for Current/Existing Game Pass Ultimate Members only. Expired/New users can redeem up to 3-Years worth of Xbox Live Gold codes and convert their Xbox Live Gold membership to 2-Years of Game Pass Ultimate by joining Ultimate Membership. (3:2 Ratio)
 
Deal Instructions:

• Click here to visit the product page
• Click Buy Now and go to cart
• Click on "Got discount code?" and apply code GoldUS
• Proceed to checkout
• Select payment method PayPal/Credit Card (service fees will be applied here)
• End-price should be ~$7.75
  • Note, price is subject to change by a few cents due to currency exchange rate volatility.
• Redeem code on Microsoft Store or on your Xbox Console/App
• Your Game Pass Ultimate membership will be extended for 50 days per each code.

About Game Pass Ultimate

• Includes Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass with over 100 high-quality games to play with friends on console, PC, phones, and tablets, plus an EA Play membership, all in one membership. (see the current list here)

Eneba offers 50-Day of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate via Xbox Game Pass Core Conversion for around $11.05 when you follow the instructions below.

• Note, this offer is for Current/Existing Game Pass Ultimate Members only.

Deal Instructions:

• Click here to visit the product page.
• Click Buy Now and go to cart.
• Apply discount code XGPC
• Select payment method PayPal/Credit Card (service fees will be applied here)
• Proceed to checkout with end-price of ~ $11.05
• Click here to redeem your 3-Month Xbox Live Gold Membership code(s).
• You will be prompted to extend your Game Pass Ultimate by 50 days. The renewal date should be the same as your Xbox Game Pass Ultimate plus 50 days (Maximum 36 months).

About Game Pass Ultimate:

• Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Membership includes Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass with over 100 high-quality games to play with friends on console, PC, phones, and tablets, plus an EA Play membership, all for one low price.

Words have the power to lift us up or tear us down, and nowhere is this more true than in our closest relationships. Understanding how language shapes our emotional connections can make all the difference between feeling deeply loved or feeling disconnected. One of the most potent tools for enhancing intimacy and trust in a ... Read more

The post Building Lasting Relationships Through Words of Affirmation appeared first on LifeHack.

Many people are concerned that they are specifically targeted by hackers, advertisers, and others. Nope.

Why I Keep Saying You’re Just Not That Interesting from Ask Leo!.
Get the Confident Computing weekly newsletter: https://newsletter.askleo.com

In the last 48 hours many of Y’s friends have been arrested for being part of an anti-war encampment at their college. I am shocked by the large number of college encampments across the US, but I knew this was coming because Y (who goes by they) has been discussing it for months. We are […]

The post My Jewish college kid is protesting the war in Gaza. And I’m proud. appeared first on Penelope Trunk Careers.

Jordan will also receive the American Historical Society's Award for Scholarly Distinction in January.

Please note this event begins at 1pm and ends at 2pm. The Ludwig Princeton Distinguished Lectureship features world class cancer researchers. Jeff Rathmell, leading cancer immunologist from Vanderbilt University, will present his talk "Metabolic Control of Immunotherapy and Inflammation." T cells in tumors and other inflamed tissues accumulate signs of stress and mitochondrial damage that affect cell metabolism but remain poorly understood. The metabolism of T cells and other immune cells is dynamically regulated and influences biosynthesis, signaling, and cell fate. We have shown that CD4 T cell subsets are metabolically distinct and that each requires a specific metabolic program for their function. Immune cells do not act in isolation, however, and are subject to systems and microenvironmental factors that shape their metabolism and function. On a systemic level, obesity leads to a state of chronic inflammation and is a risk factor for cancer incidence and progression. However, cancer immunotherapy can be enhanced in obesity in the cancer-obesity paradox. We have shown that induction of the immune checkpoint molecule PD-1 on tumor associated macrophages contributes to this paradox and immunotherapy responses in obese individuals. At a microenvironmental level, tissue temperature changes with body location, fever, and inflammation. We tested the effects of elevated temperatures found that T cells broadly become more pro-inflammatory but a subset of CD4 T cells, Th1 cells, selectively experience mitochondrial stress that activates a heat-sensitive molecular circuit to shape T cell fate. The metabolic interaction of immune cells with their environment can both drive disease and offer new therapeutic opportunities.

In a world overflowing with information, the ability to discern reliable sources has never been more critical. Many individuals resonate with a moment of uncertainty—perhaps it was a social media post that seemed too outrageous, or an article that didn’t quite align with the facts they knew. This is a common experience in today’s digital ... Read more

The post How to Distinguish Between Reliable and Unreliable Sources in the Digital Age appeared first on Star Two.

  This week LinkedIn has announced a major renovation of its Company Pages feature. You can now refer to them simply as Pages. As they say: “LinkedIn Pages — the next generation of LinkedIn Company Pages. Pages have been rebuilt from the ground up to make it easier for brands, institutions, and organizations, from small […]

The post New LinkedIn Pages Posting in RSS Ground appeared first on RSSground.com.

We have already shared our thoughts on why people do blog and why blogging is still afloat despite the rise of social media. We have also reasoned the help of automated blogging and even its necessity. And after RSS Ground has updated all of its automated posters we would like to dwell in more detail […]

The post Smart Way To Set Up Automated Blog Posting appeared first on RSSground.com.

LinkedIn has finally approved our app! After the recent LinkedIn platform updates and long-awaited app review LinkedIn Poster is back to its normal functionality.

The post LinkedIn Company Pages Posting is Resumed appeared first on RSSground.com.

Now you can specify a pool of hashtags, and random hashtags from your pool will be added to your posts.

The post Advanced Hashtags Feature Will Enhance Your Automated Posting appeared first on RSSground.com.

We have developed our own WordPress plugin which will help connect to your blog avoiding the use of XML-RPC.

The post Our own WordPress plugin for automated posting campaigns appeared first on RSSground.com.

No doubt, media content is very important  when it comes to updating your blogs and social network pages. We totally understand that and constantly improve images and videos processing, either in content feeds or posting campaigns. Today we are glad to introduce one of the latest updates to our Facebook Poster, which improves posting images […]

The post Improved Photo And Video Posting To Facebook Pages And Groups. appeared first on RSSground.com.

According to your numerous requests, we made posting automation more flexible. Now you can set your posting campaigns to make posts only on weekdays, or to skip posting at night. Also you can change a time zone for your posting campaigns if needed. All existing posting campaigns will keep running and no need to update […]

The post Posting Automation Was Improved appeared first on RSSground.com.

We are excited to introduce posting campaign editor’s new interface. All changes are based on your notes and suggestions.  Now a posting campaign editor has 3 main sections: Content, Posting and Automation.  In the Content section you add your content feeds. Advanced settings will fine tune the algorithm of selecting  content from your feeds for […]

The post Posting Campaigns Major Interface Update appeared first on RSSground.com.

One of our recent major updates was integration with IFTTT platform that connects hundreds of businesses and millions of users. You can create special IFTTT posting campaigns and send content posts to IFTTT applets. Read more about IFTTT integration in RSS Ground. However, now we took it a step further and implemented IFTTT integration option […]

The post IFTTT Integration With Posting Campaigns appeared first on RSSground.com.

Not so long ago, RSS Ground became “compatible” with automation platforms such as Zapier, IFTTT, and Pabbly Connect. You can use RSS Ground Posting Campaigns and Personal Feeds as “triggers,” and utilize Personal Feeds as “actions.” But many of our customers have been inquiring about compatibility with other automation platforms or even their proprietary software, […]

The post Automate posting to anywhere via webhooks appeared first on RSSground.com.

We are sorry to inform you that posting to Facebook groups and generating Facebook group feeds is no longer available in RSS Ground. Facebook has deprecated its Groups API and restricted Facebook group access for developers.  Read more about Facebook deprecations and Breaking changes. All posting campaigns that make posts to Facebook groups and RSS […]

The post “Facebook groups” feeds and posting have been deprecated appeared first on RSSground.com.

Lately, we’ve noticed an increased number of reports indicating issues with Blogger posting campaigns, where the error message “(403) We’re sorry, but one or more limits for the requested action have been exceeded” is displayed. To make it easier for you, in Blogger Poster we use our own Google Cloud app to make posts to […]

The post Blogger Poster custom apps for volume posting appeared first on RSSground.com.

We are excited to unveil the latest service enhancements for RSS Ground. RSS Ground can be used on a set-and-forget basis. You can generate your private feeds, and they will be automatically updated with fresh content. You can then set up your posting campaigns and let automation handle the rest. However, keeping an eye on […]

The post Email Notifications For Posting Campaigns appeared first on RSSground.com.

No sex? No problem. At least not for Charlotte the stingray.

"Customers must be able to reevaluate their willingness to have their genome data shared outside the original intent.”

The post Patronis Questions DNA Testing Companies’ User Confidentiality appeared first on Shark Tank.

The Olympic cycling champion, who has terminal cancer, wants more younger men to get checked.

The second beta versions of iOS 18.2, MacOS Sequoia 15.2, and iPadOS 18.2 are now available for users participating in the beta testing programs for Apple system software. The new betas continue to focus on additional Apple Intelligence features, expanding beyond the writing tools, smart replies, and summary features what was initially introduced in iOS ... Read More

The third betas of iOS 18.2, iPadOS 18.2, and MacOS Sequoia 15.2, are available for beta testers of Apple system software. The latest betas continue to emphasize on new Apple Intelligence features, including ChatGPT integration, Genmoji custom Emoji creation, Image Playground for AI image generation, and more. These new AI features are in addition to ... Read More

Scientific tests confirm rivers and dams have been poisoned by the raw sewage dumped by the municipality in the Bloubankspruit and Crocodile Rivers, killing aquatic life and destroying businesses and livelihoods.

President Obama's recent press conference on March 26 was available for online viewing.

According to an article written by Chris Lefkow on Yahoo, 67,000 watched the webcast live. Of course, millions if not tens of millions watched the press conference live on broadcast television so what is the big deal about another 60,000 or so watching on the web?

I wrote about the democratizing effect of using the internet to bypass the Washington press corps and taking questions from the people in my last post.

But there is at least one more point of interest. The Obama press conference exemplifies how video can be used to great effect in the enterprise.

The internet will never supplant television's ability to broadcast to tens of millions of people. Why pay for the bandwidth to replicate the scale and quality of a broadcast platform that already works very well?

But the internet does scale rather well to the needs of the enterprise: an audience of tens of thousands. And there are several "internet television" services that are emerging to deliver video across the corporate network to the employees.

But this begs the question: why should a corporation or organization invest in a network able to deliver video across its enterprise and then settle for pre-recorded video with no interactivity?

It was not the video feed that made the Obama press conference so noteworthy. It was the 104,129 questions that were submitted by the American people. Enterprise video is much more effective when it is combined with interactive rich media features like live questions and answers, live polling, surveys, testing and certification, synchronized PowerPoint, whiteboarding, registration and reporting, etc. Choosing to merely deliver the video - live or on-demand - is choosing to ignore the strengths of webcasting and get the least bang for your buck.

Why invest in servers and hubs and routers and content engines and then settle for a video platform that does not enable interactivity?

According to research done by Steve Vander Haar that he shared in a recent webcast, 68% of executives polled believe streaming video has measurable value only when it is combined with a registration system that enables reporting about who watched.

Registration and reporting adds accountability to internal communications and adds measurable results and lead generation to external communications. Internet television gives that capability away when it simply loops pre-recorded video in a window on one's website.

President Obama's press conference is a template for the effective use of internet video in the enterprise. Just as the televised Nixon vs. Kennedy debate serves as the defining example for understanding the difference between television and radio in politics, I believe this press conference will be regarded similarly for its effect on politics and on business communications.

There are plenty of corporations out there who are already doing a great job with rich media. Some of them are my clients. But the nature of corporate communications is that much of the content is for an internal audience, so there is not an obvious opportunity for organizations to learn from the successes of others. But the Obama press conference lays the formula bare for all to see.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is hosting a webcast at 1 pm EDT today, Friday August 7.

Use the hashtag #HCRQ to ask a question via Twitter or email hhsstudio@hhs.gov.

As the article appeared in TechCrunch...

IVT, a company that produces enterprise-friendly webcasting software, has raised $5.5 million in Series B funding from Syncom Venture Partners with Barshop Ventures, Monitor Ventures and Tudor Ventures participating in the investment round. IVT raised $3 million in Series A funding in 2006.
IVT’s SaaS offering not only helps power webcasts, but also converts multimedia files, such as slideshows, into viewable videos for the web. IVT also offers a YouTube-like hosting and social media site for companies to disseminate videos and webcasts. And the startup has a number of prominent companies that use its webcasting software including Oracle, Dow Chemical, IBM and NEC.

IVT, Inc. has moved its industry-leading MediaPlatform webcasting software platform to the cloud. With MediaPlatform increasingly being used in large-scale webcasts by media producers, as well as Fortune 500 clients, the company is elevating its delivery capacity through a partnership with a tier-1 cloud infrastructure provider.

“Our mission has always been to deliver the best quality of service and enable our clients to produce webcasts at literally any audience size without concern for infrastructure,” said Jim McGovern, Chief Executive Officer of IVT. “Now that cloud-based platforms are gaining widespread acceptance across the IT world, we can give our clients the benefit of switching capacity on and off when required.”

This is not the first time IVT has been ahead of the technology curve in the webcasting industry. The company pioneered the concept of offering webcasting software on a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) basis with MediaPlatform. With MediaPlatform in the cloud, IVT enables its clients to benefit from what is rapidly emerging as the new paradigm for corporate computing.

In the cloud, MediaPlatform’s web services architecture can more readily serve diverse client needs by integrating with a range of enterprise systems, both cloud-based and on-premises.
The cloud, an approach to computing that places servers and infrastructure in remote, abstracted datacenters, is ideal for webcasting, which is known for unpredictable spikes in system load. By working with a tier-1 cloud infrastructure provider, IVT gains virtually unlimited capacity and world-class security, reliability, redundancy, failover, and load management.

IVT will continue to support the numerous on-premises installations of its software, including major deployments at global enterprises. IVT prides itself on offering its clients the choice between hosted and on-premises options.