Freddie Freeman homered for the third straight game and Walker Buehler pitched another World Series gem as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 4-2 on Monday night for a 3-0 lead in the Fall Classic.

Yankees' Anthony Volpe's third-inning grand slam sparked the Yankees to an 11-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night that forced a Game 5.

Endorsement: Amendment 79 would make certain that women who choose to have an abortion can do so quickly, with Medicaid coverage, and with their own doctors.

Sinister Muzic and Cali Trap spit a freestyle bakstage.

The truth is loose: The Broncos are colts, an increasingly younger team tasked with cobbling together a foundation for the future. They are cheaper, shrewder investments, their signings requiring Google searches for statistics and correct spellings of names.

Colorado's eight collared wolves remaining in the wild stayed in the north-central mountains and plains over the last month, according to a monthly tracking map released Wednesday.

The rope left a gash in the buck's neck and broke one of the buck’s antlers.

Paige: Will Mose Frazier be the Next Great Free Agent to make the Broncos' roster?

United plans to connect all of its roughly 1,000 airplanes to Starlink.

With little wiggle room against the NFL salary cap, how real is the possibility that the Broncos will have to say goodbye to a significant contributor or two in free agency?

"The Shawshank Redemption" premieres Saturday at 9P/8C.

Wayne Brady freestyles with Kanye, Usher and more.

A man of many causes.

CariGenetics is inviting members of the community to a public lecture on Saturday, May 20 at the Bermuda College. A spokesperson said, “CariGenetics is inviting members of the community to a public lecture with a twist! On Saturday, 20 May 2023, we will be hosting our first relay public lecture, where each set of presenters […]

The 230-foot long superyacht Freedom recently paid a visit to Bermuda, docking in Hamilton Harbour. The YachtCharterFleet website said, “The 70.1m/230′ ‘Freedom’ [ex. Reverie] motor yacht built by the Italian shipyard Benetti is available for charter for up to 12 guests in 8 cabins. This yacht features interior styling by John Munford. “Built in 2000, […]

HSBC said they are “pleased to be offering a new benefit to our HSBC Visa Platinum debit cardholders which enables them to redeem a 1GB eSIM for 15 days and enjoy global data connectivity.” A spokesperson said, “Download the GigSky app today. These customers will be able to travel the world without incuring data roaming charges […]

Butterfield is offering a free money management and financial literacy class next month for full-time college and university students between the ages of 18 and 30. A spokesperson said, “The Butterfield 101 Money Management Programme will be held on Thursday, 18 July, from 5:30pm at Butterfield’s Head Office on Front Street. Retail banking professionals will […]

Fans of all things under the sea now have a new way of exploring the mysteries and wonders of Bermuda’s unique marine life as the Bermuda Zoological Society’s Bermuda Reef Life HD app is now available free for Android users. A spokesperson said, “The app, which was first launched for Apple iOS devices in November […]

Bermuda Hospitals Board [BHB] is “partnering with Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, Optimum Wellness and the Bermuda College Division of Nursing & Allied Health to offer a free, public panel discussion about the latest treatment options for male and female incontinence.” A spokesperson said, “The free event will take place from 3pm to 5pm on Saturday […]

Bermuda has welcomed an unusual visitor, with a Mexican free-tailed bat spotted on the island, and according to the Bermuda National Trust this is the first time this particular type of bat has been recorded in Bermuda. “The Mexican free-tailed bat has made an appearance in Bermuda for the first time on record,” the BNT said. “Native […]

John Kacey competed in the Freetech Motorcycle Endurance race held at the Pembrey Circuit in the UK, a 2.4km technical race track. In the first practice session, Kacey secured a second-place finish with a fastest lap time of 1:31.114. He finished fourth in the second practice session. Kacey did not start the first qualifying race […]

The National Museum of Bermuda [NMB] will present a free virtual lecture on May 9, 2024, featuring Dr. Anna McKay, discussing Britain’s convicts in Bermuda from 1824 to 1863. A spokesperson said, “The National Museum of Bermuda [NMB] is continuing its free Bermuda and the Atlantic World lecture series with a virtual lecture on May […]

The Bermuda National Trust invites the community to free open houses in May to gather input on plans to revitalize Trust Museums. A spokesperson said, “Bermuda National Trust invites the community to learn about and give input into plans for Trust Museums at free open houses in May. In line with this year’s Heritage Month […]

King Alpha Productions is hosting “Masked Freedom,” a special event on African masquerade traditions as a key to freedom, featuring Professor Raphael Chijioke Njoku and Dr. David ‘Roots’ Chapman, on July 30 at St. Paul’s Centennial Hall during Emancipation Week 2024. Related Stories Gombey Documentary Special Edition The Beat Goes On For Our Gombeys Historical […]

The National Museum of Bermuda  has published a new Teacher’s Resource Guide: Freedom Narratives of Enslaved Bermudians Mary Prince and Benjamin Benson. A spokesperson said, ” This comprehensive guide is part of NMB’s ongoing Teacher Professional Development programme [TPD]. It is designed to support the current local social studies curriculum and deepen understanding of Bermuda’s history […]

Jazzy Treats is hosting a series of free Movie Night events at Parson’s Road Playground. Scheduled for 6 pm to 10 pm, these gatherings will occur on June 14 and 28, July 12 and 26, and August 9 and 23. Attendees can enjoy an array of amenities including fun castles, various foods, popcorn, snowballs, and […]

Seeking a balance between personal life and educational pursuits is a nuanced art for students enrolled in online learning programs. Without the physical separation of classrooms and the distinct routine of in-person education, online learners often struggle to create... Tagged as:

Google is acting directly to shape what people can say and what they're allowed to speak. It's a direct effort to stifle free speech. Continue reading →

Elected Republicans, almost all of them, are in no hurry to stop the disorder. They appear to believe what we're watching is a version of the Rodney King riots from 1992. People saw an upsetting video on the internet, they're angry, and that's understandable. But they'll calm down soon, and we can get back to cutting capital gains taxes and sanctioning Bashar al- Assad. That's their view of it. They are wrong. This is not a momentary civil disturbance. This is a serious and highly organized political movement. It is not superficial. It is deep and profound. It has vast ambitions. It is insidious; it will grow. Its goal is to end liberal democracy and challenge Western civilization itself. This is an ideological movement. The ideas that fuel it have incubated for decades on college campuses. We paid for all of it, by the way. The rest of us were so thrilled that our kids got into Duke that we decided to ignore what Duke was actually teaching them and are continuing to send big checks. That was a mistake. It was one of the greatest mistakes we've ever made. Continue reading →

Google, Facebook and Twitter should be treated as state actors under existing legal doctrines. Using a combination of statutory inducements and regulatory threats, Congress has co-opted Silicon Valley to do through the back door what government cannot directly accomplish under the Constitution. Congress is giving Big Tech immunity and more power in exchange for it censoring whatever Congress wants censored. Continue reading →

Censorship is antithetical to the scientific method because it requires free speech and open debate and skepticism Continue reading →

The newspaper industry has faced a mighty challenge over the last few years. There is so much “free” content to complete with them. Newspaper revenue continues to plummet. Internet users are reluctant to pay for content. All the free content, supported by advertising revenue, has decimated the newspaper industry. The industry’s cousin, the magazine industry, is not far behind.

This trend can’t continue forever. Already, many people are asking themselves how much they can trust the information on the internet. The need for Reliability drives the demand for Snopes.com. How many “free” web sites can earn enough from advertising to pay all their bills? An effective industry answer to “free” may be forthcoming in the News Corp online newspaper called “The Daily.” The Daily will cover general news, sports, arts and opinion in a format dedicated to the Apple iPad. In addition to the written content, the product will carry high definition video and 360 degree photos. The same product will be available in a few months for the Android-based tablet computers.

The Daily will sell for $.99 a week, or $39.99 a year, a very low price compared to newspapers. With this model, the product receives revenues both from the subscribers and from advertisers. Subscribers have the Reliability benefit of knowing that the content producer cares about facts, accuracy and readable writing style. Advertisers pay for eyeballs that follow a Reliable product.

The Daily is what we call a Next Leader product. This is a product that offers much better than industry standard performance for a low price to a specific subset of industry customers. The Next Leader can offer the very low price because it has a much lower cost structure than is typical in the industry. There are two basic types of Next Leaders. The first are Reformer products. This type of Next Leader product reduces the benefits for the user (usually Function benefits) while increasing the benefits for the buyer (usually Reliability and Convenience benefits) compared to the industry Standard Leader product. The second of the two types of Next Leader products are Transformer products. These products increase the benefits of the user but offer, at least initially, fewer benefits to the buyer than the Standard Leader product offers. The Daily is a Reformer product. It offers the Convenience of formatting fit for a tablet computer so it provides easier access for a segment of the industry’s customers. Its low cost structure results from its elimination of printing presses and distribution costs.

If this new tablet-based product offers a quality read, it will hasten the day when virtually every newspaper and magazine is offered first online and only secondarily in hard copy. The online versions will come at a fraction of the cost of the hard copy versions. Readership is certain to grow.

We’ve had our eye on Clank! Legacy: Acquisitions Incorporated since its debut in 2019 from Renegade Game Studios. In our house, we love legacy games and we own most of the other Clank! editions, so it seemed like a good fit.

Boy, was it ever! We finally got the game a couple of weeks ago, and immediately fell for it so hard during the first few minutes of the game that we played it nearly every day with our 11 year old twin sons, Max and Locke.

In Clank! Legacy: AI, designed by Andy Clautice and Paul Dennen, players take on the role of employees at a small organization. At the beginning of the legacy campaign, the organization is in the process of applying to become a franchise of Acquisitions Incorporated, a megacorp famed for its for-profit adventuring services. We loved the narrative and appreciated the touches of authenticity,  like the franchise charter agreement.  We’ve played through other legacy campaign games over the past year where the narrative fell flat at times (I’m looking at you Aeon’s End Legacy), but Clank! Legacy: AI doesn’t suffer from that problem. Every game session (mission) introduces new and compelling twists in the ongoing storyline and is able to hold our interests. And the gameplay - including choices, restrictions, and goals-  makes sense within the narrative universe Clautice and Dennen have constructed for us. We found that the narrative so captured our kids attention that they were better about staying in the game each mission long enough to explore the terrain to everyone’s satisfaction as compared to their more typical race to the finish behavior when playing the standard edition of Clank! .  I was very pleased with that aspect of this edition as I really enjoy exploring the far reaches of the board.

The game mechanisms here are based on those in the base game (primarily deck building and point to point movement), with players descending into lower depths on the central board, tasked with obtaining rewards and escaping to safety before the game ends. But the legacy edition of this midweight strategy game introduces additional non-player characters, rewards, perils, and side quests as play unfolds. Spaces on the board have narrative icons indicating passages, from the Book of Secrets, which are to be read when a player lands on the space for the first time. These passages will often direct players to apply stickers to the game board, cards, or the rule book.  They may also reveal new game components such as additional cards or tokens. Clank! Legacy: AI  also utilizes both sides of the central game board, providing a lot of real estate for legacy modifications.

I didn’t notice a lot of analysis paralysis during our plays of Clank! Legacy: AI. The requirement to play all cards each hand coupled with the movement restrictions on the board provided only a few reasonable options to choose from each turn in terms of movement. Occasional delays were seen when players selected cards to recruit using skill points, but even then, it was never more than a few moments of hesitation. Each game session wraps up in a couple hours or less.

The components (the central board, the cards, cardboard tokens, etc) are of average quality for the price point. Our franchise board (where you deposit clank, hold market items for purchase, track dragon rage, and track player damage) arrived slightly warped and seems to have warped further as it has sat out on our game table (we’ve had some wild temperature swings here in snowy Iowa), but otherwise everything arrived in and remains in excellent condition.

The artwork (implemented by a full team of artists, including Clay Brooks, Anita Burrell, Derek Herring, Raul Ramos, Nate Storm, and Alain Viesca) is on point. It reinforces the narrative, is kid-friendly, and is generally unobtrusive, which is just what I’m looking for in this price range. It also blends seamlessly with the artwork in the base game, so when the legacy campaign is finished and players want to mix components of this game with the base game, it works visually.

The rulebook was generally clear and we didn’t need to look up much online, although we did have a few questions about some of the language on the cards that we didn’t feel the rulebook addressed (and we also couldn’t find a clear answer online, so it might just have been a brain block unique to us).

Every aspect of Clank! Legacy: AI  has been well planned and executed by Clautice and Dennen. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed playing this edition with my family and I’m hoping they’ve got additional legacy campaign expansions in the works for this IP as I can’t wait to see what they come up with next. Solid storytelling, from start to finish.

   -------------------------------------------------

Publisher: Renegade Game Studios
Players: 2-4 (We played with 4)
Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 90 minutes per game
Game type: deck building, point to point movement, legacy, campaign
Retail Price: $75-100

Rating:

Jenni’s rating scale:
OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.
OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.
OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.
NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me.

This weekend is another FREE pass to our National Parks.
Matthew Daly in Washington, D.C. Associated Press June 15, 2009

The U.S. National Park Service is looking to stimulate summer vacations at national parks, starting this weekend.

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced earlier this month that entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments—including the Grand Canyon and Yosemite—will be waived on three weekends this summer. The weekends are June 20 and 21, July 18 and 19, and August 15 and 16.

"During these tough economic times, our national parks provide opportunities for affordable vacations for families," Salazar said at a news conference at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio.

"I encourage everyone to visit one of our nation's crown jewels this summer and especially to take advantage of the three free-admission weekends."

Most Americans live less than a day's drive from a national park, Salazar said. Last year national parks attracted more than 275 million visits, generating an estimated U.S. $10.6 billion for local economies and supporting more than 213,000 jobs, he said.

For the Park Service, the free weekends will mean a loss of an estimated half million dollars a day from entrance fees that range from $3 to $25. A total of 147 parks and monuments charge entrance fees. The country's other 244 parks are already free.

Kendra Barkoff, a spokesperson for Salazar, said the lost revenue should be more than offset by an increase in park tourism. Many tour operators, hotels, restaurants, gift shops, and other vendors near national parks will offer other discounts and special promotions on the free-weekend dates, she said.

The waiver applies only to entrance fees and does not affect charges for camping, reservations, tours, or concessions, Salazar said.

Senator Max Baucus, a Democrat representing Montana, applauded the free weekends. Baucus has co-sponsored a bill that would cap park entrance fees at current rates unless approved by Congress. The bill also would limit fees on national forests and other federally managed lands.

"There is nothing better than spending a weekend in Glacier or Yellowstone, and to be able to do it without straining the budget is even better," Baucus said in a statement. "Folks should be able to enjoy our outdoor heritage without going broke."

Kitty Benzar, president of the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition, a Colorado-based group that opposes fees on public lands, said Salazar's announcement was an admission that high fees are a deterrent to park visits.

"Twenty, 25 dollars does mean a lot to people," she said.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.