This 'hot Jupiter', now named Qatar-1b, adds to the growing list of alien planets orbiting distant stars, or exoplanets. Its discovery demonstrates the power of science to cross political boundaries and increase ties between nations.

The post International team discovers alien planet that’s Jupiter-sized appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

To understand the long-term effects of a prolonged tropical storm in the Panama Canal watershed, Robert Stallard, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and research hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, and Armando Ubeda, the LightHawk Mesoamerica program manager, organized four flights over the watershed to create a digital map of landslide scars.

The post Smithsonian hydrologist discovers that rainfall has dried up Panama’s drinking water appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

Rattlesnake, zebra and peacock plants have a new wild relative, discovered by Rodolfo Flores, Panamanian botanist and intern at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI). […]

The post Smithsonian Botanist Discovers New Ground-Flowering Plant in Panama appeared first on Smithsonian Insider.

My new book LOSERTHINK, available now on Amazon https://tinyurl.com/rqmjc2a Content: Hydroxychloroquine as a game-changer Winning a Pulitzer A logical back to work metric Yearly flu death numbers aren’t real Remdesivir does NOT change survival rate The FBI’s reputation If you would like my channel to have a wider audience and higher production quality, please donate […]

The post Episode 955 Scott Adams: Extra Cussing Tonight. Put the Kids to Bed. Close Your Windows, Get Under the Covers appeared first on Scott Adams' Blog.

Scientists have found that retreating glaciers and melting permafrost in Alaska are releasing up to 70% more methane – a potent greenhouse gas – than previously thought. If this estimate is true for the rest of the Arctic, this could have serious implications for global warming, say the scientists.

The post Satellite tracking discovers elusive whale feeding grounds appeared first on The Lead SA.

Area 51 is the largest government-controlled land parcel in the U.S., but the government still denies its existence. Author Annie Jacobsen discusses her new boo

Community woodworking shops become popular, insect wings microscopically shred bacteria, and the size of ExxonMobil's Arkansas oil spill grows.

A freak summer hailstorm covers Mexico's Guadalajara in at least 5 feet of ice.

A study funded by the Koch brothers debunks Climategate, but the cable news media doesn't cover it.

Instead of running errands, Tom Wagg used his one-week internship to earn a place in history.

NASA's Planet Hunter, TESS, discovered its first potentially habitable Earth-sized planet called TOI 700 d, located 100 light-years away.

While he was a NASA intern, Wolf Cukier discovered a planet while combing through data from the TESS satellite.

The exoplanets discovered by astronomy student Michelle Kunimoto include one potentially habitable, Earth-sized world.

Dramatic video shows the moment Jeremy Wade swims up to the 20-foot, 200 pound giant snake.

Fossil reveals plumage patterns of these ancient beasts, further establishing an evolutionary link between dinosaurs and birds.

The discoveries of two different burial sites in Norway have been facilitated by improved radar technology.

Local in-home tutoring service shares how to identify one's learning style and study effectively

Best selling seat covers retailer, Seat Covers Unlimited, launches a limited-time truck seat covers line exclusively on Amazon Prime. The saddle blanket seat cover comes in a variety of styles, colors, and fits most vehicle makes and models.

High Demand by Construction Contractors, Manufacturers, Trucking and Warehousing Firms Prompts Expansion

11 Estates with over 4,000 Housing Units - How this self-made millionaire rose from a humble background and street hawking to a real estate mogul

A computational study of 4,600 drugs indicates that approved drugs were less effective than non-approved drugs when binding to a COVID-19 protein. In addition, Diosmin, a non-prescription natural supplement bound better than 99% of drugs considered.

Penn never gave up and to add to her achievements, her success story made it to the cover of the Pan African Entrepreneurial and Luxury magazine, Pleasures Magazine.

For tradespeople, farmers and others who frequently need to cover and uncover their shoes (to protect interior surfaces from mud or worse), disposable booties are an unsustainable solution. They're also a pain to take on and off. This reusable and automatically-wrapping design seems much better:

I've been searching for something like this for a long time. On our free-range farm, I inevitably step in the shit of some animal on a daily basis, and pulling my boots off and on every time I need to go back inside to retrieve something gets old.

However, these wouldn't 100% work for my application. While getting them on looks easy, getting them off requires a fair amount of manual manipulation…

…meaning every time I removed these, I'd wind up with animal feces on my hands.

Question for you: How do you reckon these work? I figure inside the fabric is a polypropylene sheet molded into a sprung shape, with raised tunnel-like seams serving as hinges, and when you collapse the tunnels by stepping on them, the spring action is released. [Edit: I believe reader Kyle Lamson has figured it out. See his comment below.]

(Lastly, I was not able to find what company or designer invented these. There are tons of variants on the market. It's possible they were invented by a fellow named Joel Fersaci, whose Step in Sock model is featured in the video above.)

For complete protection from rising medical costs, one needs both indemnity as well as defined-benefit type of health plans.

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

The post Protected: Fortune covers appeared first on Nicolas Rapp Design Studio - Freelance Infographic Designer.

Motivated by quotient algorithms, such as the well-known $p$-quotient or solvable quotient algorithms, we describe how to compute extensions $ ilde H$ of a finite group $H$ by a direct sum of isomorphic simple $mathbb{Z}_p H$-modules such that $H$ and $ ilde H$ have the same number of generators. Similar to other quotient algorithms, our description will be via a suitable covering group of $H$. Defining this covering group requires a study of the representation module, as introduced by Gasch"utz in 1954. Our investigation involves so-called Fox derivatives (coming from free differential calculus) and, as a by-product, we prove that these can be naturally described via a wreath product construction. An important application of our results is that they can be used to compute, for a given epimorphism $G o H$ and simple $mathbb{Z}_p H$-module $V$, the largest quotient of $G$ that maps onto $H$ with kernel isomorphic to a direct sum of copies of $V$. For this we also provide a description of how to compute second cohomology groups for the (not necessarily solvable) group $H$, assuming a confluent rewriting system for $H$. To represent the corresponding group extensions on the computer, we introduce a new hybrid format that combines this rewriting system with the polycyclic presentation of the module.

Recent beyond worst-case optimal join algorithms Minesweeper and its generalization Tetris have brought the theory of indexing and join processing together by developing a geometric framework for joins. These algorithms take as input an index $mathcal{B}$, referred to as a box cover, that stores output gaps that can be inferred from traditional indexes, such as B+ trees or tries, on the input relations. The performances of these algorithms highly depend on the certificate of $mathcal{B}$, which is the smallest subset of gaps in $mathcal{B}$ whose union covers all of the gaps in the output space of a query $Q$. We study how to generate box covers that contain small size certificates to guarantee efficient runtimes for these algorithms. First, given a query $Q$ over a set of relations of size $N$ and a fixed set of domain orderings for the attributes, we give a $ ilde{O}(N)$-time algorithm called GAMB which generates a box cover for $Q$ that is guaranteed to contain the smallest size certificate across any box cover for $Q$. Second, we show that finding a domain ordering to minimize the box cover size and certificate is NP-hard through a reduction from the 2 consecutive block minimization problem on boolean matrices. Our third contribution is a $ ilde{O}(N)$-time approximation algorithm called ADORA to compute domain orderings, under which one can compute a box cover of size $ ilde{O}(K^r)$, where $K$ is the minimum box cover for $Q$ under any domain ordering and $r$ is the maximum arity of any relation. This guarantees certificates of size $ ilde{O}(K^r)$. We combine ADORA and GAMB with Tetris to form a new algorithm we call TetrisReordered, which provides several new beyond worst-case bounds. On infinite families of queries, TetrisReordered's runtimes are unboundedly better than the bounds stated in prior work.

A ring binder has a standard ring assembly having a ring base and upstanding rings, a ring assembly support having a plurality of indents positioned along its sides, a binder connector having a plurality of upstanding tabs, and a plurality of binder covers each having a center spine with a plurality of slots configured to accept each of the plurality of binder connector tabs. The ring binder is assembled by the insertion of the binder connector tabs into slots of the binder cover and then into the indents of the ring assembly support. The ring binder can be sold assembled or as a kit, which would include a plurality of interchangeable binder covers.

A method and system for on-demand book production is provided in which covers and book content are synchronized at book binding equipment. In one exemplary system and method, a single printer prints a book cover followed by its corresponding book block. The cover and book block are each sequentially staged and synchronized together for binding in the binding equipment. In another method and system for on-demand book production, covers are printed and encoded at a first printer and a book block printing instruction is initiated in response to decoding of the cover in the binding equipment. Printing of the book block is in a separate but integrated printer and the book block is fed to the binding equipment for binding with the book cover. In each instance, synchronized book covers and book blocks are bound in and output from the binding equipment.

An interchangeable story pillow book system having audio content playback has a book core structure having a spine member, a front cover member, a back cover member, a first page member, and a second page member. The book core structure resembles a book having pages. The system has an audio recording and output system having a microprocessor, a speaker, a microphone, a data storage component, a plurality of activation switches, a power source, and a data interface component. The system has a padded multi-page book sheath having a front cover sheath, a back cover sheath, a first page sheath, and a second page sheath. The book sheath is located over and onto the book core structure.

Embodiments of club head covers having a pull strap and methods to manufacture club head covers are generally described herein. Other embodiments of club head covers having a pull strap may be described and claimed.

A method for operating a window cover utilizes an extendible window cover having a first rail, a second rail and a pair of lift cords. The first and second rails of the window cover are movable relative to each other. According to the method, at least one of the first rail and the second rail is moved in a first direction to cause the lift cords to unwind from the lift cord pulleys, thereby rotating a lift cord pulley shaft and a set of gears. Further, at least one of the first rail and the second rail is moved in a second direction to cause the lift cords to wind on the lift cord pulleys, with the lift cord pulley shaft rotating in an opposite direction.

A window cover system includes an extendible window cover with a pair of lift cords. A lift cord pulley shaft is coupled to a pair of spaced apart lift cord pulleys. A spring drive unit has a beveled gear system with a first gear that is spring biased to resist rotation of first gear in one direction of rotation, and a second gear meshed with the first gear. The lift cord pulley shaft extends through the second gear and is configured to rotate therewith.

A fixing buckle assembly for use as part of a motor vehicle seatbelt restraint system of a type having webbing for positioning on an occupant and a lap pretensioner for pretensioning the seatbelt restraint system. The buckle assembly includes a tongue, preferably affixed to a pyrotechnic lap pretensioner (PLP). The buckle assembly includes a buckle plate featuring an aperture for connection to a loop of the webbing. A cover assembly encases the internal components of the buckle assembly and is formed of two cover halves which are preferably injection molded and snap together in a clam-shell construction. Each of the cover halves have sections which circumscribe a tongue passageway such that after they are assembled and the tongue is inserted in the buckle assembly, the cover halves become interlocked together. At the opposite end of the buckle assembly, the cover halves each include a section extending from the aperture which is retained from separation by being enclosed by the webbing loop. These features prevent separation of the housing halves upon activation of the PLP.

A cover for a plant-growing medium comprises a main cover portion, a peripheral base spaced from the main cover portion and defining an outer perimeter of the cover, and a peripheral wall extending from a first side of the main cover portion between the main cover portion and the peripheral base. One or more plant growth channels are defined by one or more tubes extending from the first side of the main cover portion. Each tube has a proximal end adjacent the main cover portion and a distal end relative to the proximal end, with a first aperture defined in the main cover portion at the proximal end of the tube and a second aperture defined at the distal end of the tube. The first aperture and the second aperture communicate through the tube to define each plant growth channel.

The Best Covers of the Past Ten Years

FORMER X Factor star Nicholas McDonald has announced he is covering Mariah Carey's hit hero with other singers to raise money for the NHS Covid-19 appeal.

The post houses and advertising agencies we work with seem to have a never ending demand for covers of popular songs. Therefor, we would like to broaden our catalog with inventive cover versions of compositions that have been big worldwide hits.

We are not looking for interpretations trying to imitate the original. We are seeking just the opposite - new takes on well known songs which transport them to new, unexpected directions. Covers are usually considered for film trailers and big ad campaigns, so it would be great to hear submissions that have space and a “cinematic” sound. However, if you have a dynamic, aggressive cover of a slow song, that could work too.

Below are some brilliant examples of what we would like to hear:
- Skylar Grey - Addicted To Love
- Vega Choir - Creep
- Lo-Fang - You’re The One That I Want
- Hannah Peel - Tainted Love
- Think Up Anger feat. Malia J - Smells Like Teen Spirit
- Lorde - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
- KI Theory - Enjoy The Silence

Please submit only professionally recorded and mastered songs.

As an added bonus, if your cover is Selected, we will offer to release your music on Filter Label. The songs by our talented artists can be heard in The OA, Exatlon, The Matrix Revisited, CSI: Las Vegas, Nikita, on ads for McDonald's, Nike, Philip Morris, Nestle Wagner, Bank Millennium, in shows on MTV, CNN, Nat Geo, NBC, Al Jazeera, Esquire, Channel 4 and almost every major TV network in the world.

- Emil Hadji Panzov Founder / CEO - Filter Label

Ballandean rural firefighter Aaron Cox whose viral photo captured the hearts of Queenslanders following a horror bushfire emergency says he's glad the image gave people an avenue to thank the wider firefighting community.

Police have seized a Taser, disguised as a torch, and drugs during a raid of an Albany house.

A coldsnap has resulted in snow blanketing parts of regional NSW, with the Goulburn and the Blue Mountain receiving particularly heavy falls.

Artist Tanya Stubbles created 22 artworks for a Chinese client six months after leaving a brain injury unit in Sydney.

It's discovered that a devastating cyclone in Vanuatu last month actually unearthed a treasure trove of World War II US military relics, which were washed out of embankments along various shorelines.

As parents struggle to support their children learning at home, a survey of 10,000 teachers finds only half of those in the public system think Australia's remote learning arrangements are sufficient.

Michael Hackett doesn't remember much about his first race. He doesn't remember a thing about his last either.

The wine industry emerges from a decade-long grape glut, with exports playing a big role in the sector's turnaround.

At The Movies, the band featuring vocalist Björn “Speed” Strid (Soilwork, The Night Flight Orchestra), guitarist Chris Laney (Randy Piper’s...

The post AT THE MOVIES (SOILWORK, KING DIAMOND) Covers "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" appeared first on Metal Injection.

With his solo band.

The post MEGADETH's David Ellefson Covers POST MALONE's "Over Now" appeared first on Metal Injection.