In an eco-conscious initiative, Swan’s Running Club partnered with Keep Bermuda Beautiful [KBB] to develop “sustainability goals to help minimize the environmental impact of the club’s race events.” Amin Smith, spokesperson for Swan’s, said, “Our race directors have been taking steps to reduce ‘race waste’ and make our events more eco-friendly. For example, we’ve switched to […]

The Sandys Boat Club ‘Paddle for PALS’ event was held this weekend in the west end, with participants dressing in costumes and bringing “your brooms, flotations, paddleboards, kayaks, and non-motorized floaties”, with the event aiming to raise funds for the PALS cancer care charity. Related Stories Photos & Video: Dockyard Fall Festival Photos: Tree Tops […]

Today [March 3] marks World Wildlife Day, and Bernews’ latest Virtual Art Gallery showcases a spectacular display of Bermuda’s wildlife; from humpback whales, sea turtles, the iconic longtail and lively lizards scurrying around, this collection of stunning photos offers a unique glimpse into the beauty of the island’s inhabitants and showcases the beauty and diversity of […]

Bermudian reggae artist Giles “Sir Dudley” Spurling has released his debut album, Resilience, on all major streaming platforms. Sir Dudley, a singer-songwriter, has teamed up with Craig “The Audio Guy” Simons, formerly known as Mr IVibes, who has produced the music on the ten-song album, described as reggae-influenced pop. Known for his iconic song, Bermudian […]

[Written by Dale Butler] In August 2021, I did a review of a concert entitled “Reflection of a Hymn” and stated that I was most impressed with the performance of Dr. Constance Ridley-Smith [piano] and flutist Michael J.Taylor. I wondered where they had been hiding with so much talent. In a recent interview, prior to […]

[Written by Dale Butler] I am happy to report that pianist Constance Ridley-Smith added another title to her music career in the prestigious Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Sunday, June 23rd at 1.00pm. Thirty-seven participants represented themselves very well in front of an audience of attentive parents and friends. This is certainly not […]

Filmmakers love New Zealand. Its landscapes evoke other worlds, which explains why so much of The Lord of the Rings was filmed there. The country has everything from long, subtropical sandy beaches to active volcanoes. The country’s otherworldliness extends into its atmosphere, where a cloud nicknamed the “Taieri Pet” forms when conditions are right. The …

Continue reading "An Otherworldly Cloud Over New Zealand"

The post An Otherworldly Cloud Over New Zealand appeared first on Universe Today.

Ve věku 76 let zemřela bývalá ministryně spravedlnosti a místopředsedkyně sociální demokracie Marie Benešová. České televizi to potvrdila někdejší ústecká hejtmanka Jana Vaňhová, o úmrtí advokátky na síti X informoval také předseda Rady ČTK David Soukup. Benešová se ministryní spravedlnosti stala ve vládě Jiřího Rusnoka od července 2013 do ledna 2014, a potom znovu ve vládě Andreje Babiše od dubna 2019 do prosince 2021, tehdy už ale jako nestranička za hnutí ANO.

Zase budeme slavit i nadávat – jak kdo – na pětatřicet let od listopadu 1989. Uteklo to jako voda. Hodnotíme ten čas v průzkumech, jako bychom nevěděli, že vypovídají nejvíc o nás samých. Je to dost, nebo málo, těch pětatřicet let? Co jsme dokázali a co jsme pokazili? Ohlédněme se ve Zpětném zrcátku za tím, co zůstane potomkům, až budou hodnotit našich pětatřicet let. Začátky jsou vždycky plné slunce, slibů a těšení. Nevěsta je panensky bílá, ženich čestný a silný. Ona symbol věčné lásky, on pevnost pravdy. Proto si bez váhání slíbí věrnost až do smrti, neboť jen tak pravda a láska zvítězí nad lží a nenávistí… Hudba hraje, všichni se drží kolem ramen a vše vypadá tak snadné a nadějné… Jako budoucnost, než se stane přítomností. Takoví jsme byli, vzpomínáme pak po letech. Ale jací jsme vlastně byli?

„Až bude Anežka svatořečena, bude v Čechách konečně dobře,“ prohlásil 12. listopadu 1989, tedy přesně před 35 lety, Tomáš Halík ve vatikánském chrámu svatého Petra. Starou věštbu tehdy připomněl tisícům českých poutníků, kteří se na obřad sloužený papežem Janem Pavlem II. dostávali složitě přes zadrátované hranice. Pět dnů nato ale začala sametová revoluce a všechno bylo jinak. Proč musela česká světice na svatořečení tak dlouho čekat a jak v příběhu figurovali husité, kněz jménem Papoušek, chromá věštkyně a řádová sestra s páčidlem v ruce?

  With just a few simple ingredients and a little bit of time, you can make these delicious Snickerdoodle Cookies to share with your family and friends for Christmas, other seasonal holidays, or anytime for that matter. Snickerdoodle Cookies have the delicious flavor of cinnamon, sweet sugar taste, and the velvety butter mouth feel.  If …

The Bearded Reedling used to be known as the Bearded Tit. The name change wasn’t down to some odd political stance. After all, the Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, and even the Penduline Tit are all still tits. No, the rationale for the rename is that the Beardie is not a tit all. It … Continue reading "Bearded Reedling redux"

"It's a brutal world for all of us, really, and some aspects of it are not comfortable for the sentimental or the squeamish. Somehow that's never dimmed my love for all animals. I celebrate their beauty, even the darker side of it." (Introduction, The Book of Deadly Animals)

"The predators far outnumbered the vegetarians."
(last words, The Red Hourglass: Lives of the Predators)

It's October, the "spooky" month with Halloween at the end of it; I sometimes take advantage of that to bring to light something a bit more horror themed than the usual Flayrah fare.

This year, I'd like to share the non-fiction books of Gordon Grice, which are about animals and their sometimes very tense relationship with man, because they are some of the scariest things I've ever read, and so appropriate enough under the "it's about animals and it's spooky" month to stretch the boundaries of what a furry publication can cover. Furthermore, from a personal angle, Grice spent much of his life where I'm originally from, the Oklahoma Panhandle (we share a birth town), and I occasionally like to shine a light on what would be to me local authors.

"The Red Hourglass: Lives of the Predators", Delacourte Press, 1998, 259 pages, Kindle $5.99, hardcover $19.32, paperback $17.10
"The Book of Deadly Animals", Penguin Books Ltd., 2010, xxvii + 383 pages, Kindle $4.99, paperback $24.00, illustrated, originally published as Deadly Kingdom

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TRUMP TOLD THE AMERICAN PEOPLE THERE ARE THE SECURITY STATE AGENTS WHO THINK THAT THEY RUN THE GOVERNMENT AND HE STOOD UP TO THEM AND CHALLENGED THEIR ORTHODOXIES AND PIETIES AND SHOWED AMERICANS, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY ON THE RIGHT, THAT THESE INSTITUTIONS ARE NOT NOBLE OR BENEVOLENT BUT ARE HIGHLY PERNICIOUS. THEY WANT TO INTERFERE IN OUR DOMESTIC POLITICS AND THEY OUGHT TO BE DEEPLY DISTRUSTED. Continue reading →

1. Brisbane Broncos star Ezra Mam charged over head-on collision, allegedly failing second drug test  ABC News
2. Brisbane news live: Broncos’ Ezra Mam charged over drug test result after crash | Stab victim’s widower wants knife checks in schools | Dog rescued near abandoned boat  Brisbane Times
3. Broncos player charged after car crash: 9News Latest Stories Season 2024, Short Video  9Now
4. Ezra Mam issued court notice after allegedly failing secondary drug test  Fox Sports
5. Club Statement: Ezra Mam  Broncos

1. Kate Middleton sparks doubts whether she even had cancer?  Geo News
2. ‘Played us all’: Vicious Kate theory takes hold  news.com.au
3. Kate Middleton Yet Again Trapped In Conspiracy Theories While Battling Cancer? Find Out As Royal Reporter Questions Princess’ Diagnosis  PINKVILLA

1. Apple reportedly releasing a wall-mounted smart home tablet in 2025 - and yes, it does AI  Yahoo Finance Australia
2. Apple’s next device might make your home a lot smarter  Sydney Morning Herald
3. Apple's Next Big Move Could Be Home Security Cameras  PCMag AU

The deadline to propose a presentation for National O.T.O. Conference XIV in Denver, CO, is May 10, 2023.

1. Keuze voor hondstrouwe hardliners illustreert welke koers Trump wil varen  De Tijd
2. Trumps buitenlandteam zoekt snelle deal in Oekraïne en wil druk op Iran verhogen  De Standaard
3. Wie zit (voorlopig) op welke stoel in het team van verkozen VS-president Donald Trump?  VRT.be
4. Marco Rubio genoemd als nieuwe minister van Buitenlandse Zaken van de VS  Het Nieuwsblad
5. Elon Musk wordt ‘minister van Overheidsefficiëntie’: Trumps ‘dreamteam’ begint snel vorm te krijgen  AD

Though it's considerably less sanitary.

Alexi Lalas and David Mosse reacted to the second United States Men's National Team roster release of the Mauricio Pochettino era, with Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, and Weston McKennie headlining the squad.

Sometimes people are all-too ready to make assumptions about other people, and those assumptions get in the way of empirical facts. You hope someone doesn't misjudge you so publicly that they make a total fool of themselves. Or maybe you do. Everyone knows wrongful times people were misjudged tend to stick in their memory for years.

Slick Willy just had to go and crack a dad joke that simultaneously dug on President Trump and kept the pun game strong, didn't he? Naturally, people were highly entertained and vaguely irritated. 

Do you take pleasure in converting old doors into coffee tables or old coffee tables into pallets? Do you spend a lot of time carefully crafting email responses? Does grabbing a beer or two at the local Chili's after a Sunday at Home Depot sound appealing to you? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you might get a kick out of these neat memes by novelty memelord @middleclassfancy. We're big fans of this hilarious account and love to share these tongue-in-cheek gems every chance we get.

Exclusive offer from Giveaway of the Day and ToomkyGames! No third-party advertising and browser add-ons! Dia de Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, provides a stunning backdrop for a thrilling supernatural adventure in Mexicana: Deadly Holiday! Guide a young woman as she sets off on a desperate search for her fiance amidst the annual celebration in Mexico. Moments after a spectral figure kidnaps her beloved during a card reading, she begins her journey to the afterworld, where demons will plot her demise and ancients gods will lend her a helping hand. As you travel through a stunning fiery wasteland on your way to a realm of peace and tranquillity, you'll search for cleverly hidden objects, solve skillfully designed puzzles, and crack dozens of devious mini-games. Along the way, you'll slowly unfold the astonishing truth of who the young woman really is. Set in a captivating world, and featuring visuals and music inspired by the Land of Enchantment, Mexicana: Deadly Holidays is packed with thrills unlike any you have experienced!

To navigate the dangerous new era, Keir Starmer must end the culture of denial around the biggest strategic mistake of modern times The 35th anniversary of the Berlin Wall coming down was not commemorated much in Britain last weekend. It is no Poppy Day. The unravelling of the iron curtain doesn’t…

The Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassador of Russia, but also the chargé d'affaires of Georgia, for comments by country's prime minister it said called into question the integrity of Moldova's polls.

The European company had acquired Grubhub in 2020 in an all-stock deal for $7.8 billion, creating the world’s largest food delivery company outside China at the time. A deal for Grubhub could be finalized imminently, assuming the talks do not fall apart, the report said, adding that Grubhub is…

From swap meets to looking after clothes correctly, you can save cash while making your children’s wardrobes more sustainable Charity shops can be a goldmine for bargains – use the Charity Retail Association’s online search page to find ones that stock children’s clothes, or in London, head to one…

After hours of calls to BT, engineer no-shows, complaints raised and multiple promises, nothing has happened I am desperate to help my 80-year-old dad, JF, and his partner who have been left without a landline for more than two months by BT. This is especially difficult as my dad has relatives in…

The post Tips, Tricks, and Shortcuts for Unlocking Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree DLC appeared first on Xbox Wire.

After lots of research surrounding the onMissingTemplate() function, cflog, and creating a custom error log, it became very event that the information you have would be great, I say great except; a server issue…. Source: Colorblind Programming <cfsetting showdebugoutput=”no” requesttimeout=”200″ /> <cfoutput> Server.ColdFusion.RootDir=#Server.ColdFusion.RootDir# <!— quick and dirty way of getting the file separator —> <cfif find(‘/’,Server.ColdFusion.RootDir)> […]

Until December 29th, as part of our Indiana Jones and the Great Circle GeForce RTX 40 Series Bundle, get the Digital Premium Edition of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (a $99.99 value) with the purchase of a qualifying GeForce RTX 4090, 4080 SUPER, 4080, 4070 Ti SUPER, 4070 Ti, 4070 SUPER, or 4070 desktop or graphics card, or laptop with a GeForce RTX 4090 Laptop GPU, RTX 4080 Laptop GPU, RTX 4070 Laptop GPU.

The post NVIDIA Announces Indiana Jones and the Great Circle GeForce RTX 40 Series Bundle appeared first on ThinkComputers.org.

The topic of AI in the needlework world has been on my radar for well over a year. But I’ve …

I’m so excited to announce this today! If you live somewhere in the vicinity of Northeast Kansas – or if …

Middle-Earth Shadow of War: Definitive Edition PC

The Coast Guard Exchange has the Spider-Man DualSense controller for $49.99. Also the Spiderman Ps5 bundle is $479. No sales tax. Only available for those active duty, retirees, veterans, and their dependents. 

https://shopcgx.com/electronics-en-2/featured-brands-en/sony/ps5-dualsense-wireless-controller-spiderman2-lmtd-ed-new-age-8-1-23.html

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I’m definitely going to do this again! READ MORE...

And endlessly customizable. READ MORE...

Picture this. Walking down 135th street in Harlem, you spot a park in the distance. As you walk closer, you hear a basketball bouncing and kids yelling. It’s a small, outdoor court, well-maintained with fresh paint and a sturdy chain-link fence surrounding it. The ball is constantly in motion, being passed, dribbled, and shot from […]

By Keegan Kelly Published: November 11th, 2024

By JM McNab Published: November 11th, 2024

By JM McNab Published: November 12th, 2024

Hazel Mitchell has helped create more than twenty children's books, including her award-winning picture book Toby (Candlewick Press). Her illustrations appear in books by Cynthia Lord, JaNay Brown-Wood (Imani's Moon was mentioned on the Stephen Colbert show!), Lynn Parrish Sutton, Liza Gardner Walsh and others. You can find out more about Hazel and her work at HazelMitchell.com, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Synopsis of SWEET PEA SUMMER (Candlewick):

During her mother’s absence, a young girl discovers the joys of gardening—and the rewards of persistence and a sharp eye—in a sweet intergenerational story. With warm, child-friendly illustrations and a simple narration, Hazel Mitchell tells a timeless story about holding on to hope in hard times and finding the strength and determination to see it through. A brief author’s note at the end offers a bit of history and a few details about sweet peas for aspiring gardeners.

Q. What inspired you to write Sweet Pea Summer?

My inspiration for the book were memories I have from staying with my grandparents when I was little (4-6 years old). They lived in a row of mill cottages in a Yorkshire town called Huddersfield. The town was born out of the wool trade and had many factories and tall towers, but was surrounded by beautiful countryside. I started to sketch my memories of staying with them - the cottage, the garden, the countryside with the moors and mill chimneys, the cats that were always scampering around, the long road that stretched away up a sloping hill to the town itself.

My granddad was an excellent gardener. I suspect this came from the war years in Britain when everyone grew their own food as much as possible. In my memory the garden was so, so long with a little greenhouse and was stuffed with veggies and flowers. Of course, my memory exaggerated everything. I was seeing through a small child's eyes. I even googled the road on Google Streetview and the cottage and the garden are still there, just much smaller than I recalled.

I decided there was a story in these sketches and my rememberings. I find that I'm often inspired by childhood memories, places and real life things, like my own dog who is the main character in the book 'Toby', also from Candlewick Press. I've even been known to use my house in books, or feature the landscape of Maine, where I live, and sometimes I draw objects from my home. it gives authenticity I think.

Q. What was the writing and illustration process like?

After some note making, more doodles and musing I decided on the main character of a girl. She's not exactly me. My sister also went to stay with my grandparents when my mother was ill and that was really the nugget that set me rolling. The girl is sad and missing her mother, so Grandpa invites her to help in the garden and, in particular, to look after the sweet peas. (My own grandfather grew chrysanthemums, but I decided children would relate more to sweet peas. Plus it is easier to say!).

The grandparents do not look like my grandparents and even though the child is not really me, I guess she shares some of my personality characteristics and DO I love gardening! (Although I always fail with sweet peas, which is ironic). I found I had all the inspiration I needed to get started on roughing out a story.

Writing and illustrating Sweet Pea Summer was a long process, as most books tend to me. There are a lot of images in the book, which is kind of graphic novelish in a way, with multiple images on some pages that follow a grid layout. Although I did preliminary character and setting sketches, I then spent time writing scene progressions and story boarding before I was ready to do the first full dummy.

I've found this saves me time in the long run, when I finally start to sketch I can be pretty certain I have the rudimentary story arc and length of book down. We had 2-3 edits and rehashes before my editors, art director and myself were all happy to go to finals. Finals are always the very long and arduous stage of the book for me. The first spark of story and hashing it out is the inspirational bit.

I did all the art for Sweet Pea in pencil and watercolor (usually I colour an under painting digitally), but I felt this book needed a traditional watercolour feel. It was a longer process for sure! Along the way I did a good amount of picture research especially on the landscapes and the flowers - plus the process of growing them, which features in the story. The parallel between the illness of the m/c's mom and the flowers failing to open was important to me. didn't want it to be too obvious to the reader.

My editor, Liz Bicknell at Candlewick Press, was very helpful, as always, keeping the story on track. Pam Consolazio was my art director, and her nickname was Sweet Pea as a child! it is lovely when you find unexpected connections. I scan my own artwork, which gives me the luxury of making any tweaks to the final art. I think the whole book took about 2 years, including edits etc.

It's wonderful when your book finally arrives in your mailbox! (Just like any birth, the pain recedes!) It was especially concerning in this time of the pandemic, but everything went well and the books arrived in time for publication.

Q. What advice do you have for young writers and illustrators?

My advice to young writers and illustrators is always work on stories that you love and feel an emotional response to whether, happy, sad, funny or just that you just love and know the subject. It will always show in your work!

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For more insights from book creators, see my Inkygirl interview archives.

When I first started working in the big city, my friends and I rented a house. I always tried to make my little room as cozy and personal as possible, beyond the basic bed and wardrobe that came with the place. And I made sure to leave it in as good, if not better, condition than when I moved in. Later in life, I had the opportunity to rent out a property. Unfortunately, I experienced the frustration of having my […]

The post 17 Sneaky Ideas for a Rental Makeover Your Landlord Won’t Spot appeared first on IKEA Hackers.

Passwords are dying. On some services, you can start playing with the process by creating a secure password... and then forgetting it.

Going Passwordless Without Going Passwordless from Ask Leo!.
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I’m a year and a half into the development of a new web application for managing complex data sets. Our boss has never been able to provide proper specifications for what he needs, just a flood of vague ideas with no real detail and constantly changing scope.

My job is to try and turn this into a comprehensible list of tasks that the dev team can actually follow. Each month, I have a planning session with the boss where we hash out the next period of work. Each session, I remind him that changing the scope means adding more time.

We agree and sign off the work to be delivered by the end of the month. So far, we’ve hit every deadline.

I thought we had a pretty good system in place until:

Boss: “I can’t believe we’re so far behind and how poorly you’ve managed this project.”

Me: “What do you mean? Haven’t we met all the agreed deadlines throughout the project?”

Boss: “I’ve made a spreadsheet of all the dates I wanted each feature done by. So far, you’ve missed every single one of them.”

Me: “Excuse me? We’ve always delivered what’s been agreed on time. Where have these new dates come from?”

Boss: “This is how long I thought the work should take and I made up my own timeline.”

Me: “I’ve never seen these dates before, let alone agreed to them. At a glance, many of them seem extremely optimistic.”

That’s business talk for “f****** mad”.

Me: “We agreed at the start this would be at least a three-year project.”

Boss: “Well, I decided it should take less time and you’re late. I’m going to have to pull the plug on this project if you can’t have everything wrapped up within the next month.”

I politely remind the boss that there was at least another year and a half of work left to complete the project. I’ll probably be looking for a new job shortly.