Not sure if it was a glitch or intentional, but I got a notice this morning saying that my copy of Final Fantasy Remake Standard Edition had shipped.  That made me happy enough, as I was afraid it might be delayed - had it pre-ordered on Amazon but it shifted to delivery unknown earlier in the week so I canceled it.  But, back on topic - about 3 hours later I got a message that I had a 25 dollar reward.  I did not have anywhere near that many points before so I looked for where they came from.  When I clicked on the Final Fantasy VII Remake purchase, this is what it said:

Total Points: 1142

My Best Buy Visa Purchase Bonus - 83

$10 Dollar Certificate for Final Fantasy VII Preorder - 500

$10 Dollar Certificate for Final Fantasy VII Preorder - 500

Base Points - 59

Did this happen to anyone else?  Considering I preordered it when I still had Gamers Club - so got it for 51.23 ... this has been an especially Cheap Ass Gamer type of purchase.

P.S.  Sigh, I really miss Gamers Club.  Hate spending 64.04 on new releases (that includes local tax).

Not sure if you have been playing board games or card games during the quarantine. The worst part of learning a new game is having 4 people loudly yell the rules at you at the same time. And they never give the rules in the right order. “EVERYONE GETS 5 CARDS! DON’T EAT THE POTATO […]

Avery Bradley scored a season-high 24 points in the Lakers' win over the Clippers. He credits being 'in the gym every night' for his improved game.

UCLA tight end Greg Dulcich played it cool when he was on the phone with coach Chip Kelly. But when he got off the phone, it got loud in his house.

THE next Destiny 2 Trials of Osiris event is here and now we know a lot more about the loot and rewards available on PS4, Xbox One and PC this week.

Obama got Osama.

That's what some people chanted when the news of Osama Bin Laden's killing broke. But will it have any impact on the President Barack Obama's politics and popularity?

Mr Obama has gone out of his way to stress that "get Bin Laden" was his direct instruction and that the arch villain's death is, in part, his victory. White House officials are doing all they can to capitalise on what looks like a mood of nationwide elation.

Any president who "got" Bin Laden would benefit. Former President Bill Clinton's efforts were mocked by George W Bush. Then he failed too, losing Bin Laden in the caves along the border land, as US soldiers stood by.

But perhaps Mr Obama will benefit more than most. His style of decision making is to take time, to deliberate, to chew over every option. His critics call it dithering. There are now some excellent "tick tocks" as they are called here - blow by blow accounts of the decision making process. But you always have to remember all sources are in the circle, and liable to portray the president positively. It sounds as if Mr Obama gave this decision as much time and thought as all the others but away from the public gaze.

Not only did Mr Obama's security advisor John Brennan praise him, but Republicans have even called his decision "gutsy". He did not simply go for bombs or drones but rather a helicopter raid. One insider is quoted as saying that Black Hawk Down was mentioned a few times in the discussions. When that helicopter did go down, Mr Obama surely thought of Jimmy Carter and Iran.

So he's a risk taker, too. It also makes him look focused on what is truly in the US's national interest. You can argue Iraq wasn't, Libya wasn't, even Afghanistan no longer is. But getting the head of al-Qaeda clearly was a number one priority in the minds of many Americans, and Mr Obama decided it was his as well.

Even habitual enemies, indeed even Rush Limbaugh, have praised him. At a reception for Republicans and Democrats last night, he got a standing ovation.

So the wind is behind him. Whence will he sail? At a White House dinner for members of Congress, he used Bin Laden's killing as a call for unity.

He said: "We were reminded again that there is a pride in what this nation stands for, and what we can achieve, that runs far deeper than party, far deeper than politics."

From Bin Laden, he moved effortlessly to domestic public enemy number one, the deficit. "It is my fervent hope that we can harness some of that unity and some of that pride to confront the many challenges that we still face," Mr Obama said.

On Thursday, Mr Obama will travel to New York City to remember those who died in Bin Laden's assault on America. I expect more talk of unity but perhaps some big foreign policy themes as well. There are those who think the halo of success makes it easier for the president to confront a military that wants July's Afghanistan wind-down to be small and fairly insignificant. Others, however, think the momentum runs the other way, and that it gives all the more reason to stay and finish the job.

So the killing sends waves that will wash against these shores and those of a wider world. Some are saying this moment assures Mr Obama's re-election. It assures no such thing.
Apart from the obvious point that there can be many other unexpected events that will have an impact, positive or negative, It just doesn't work like that. However huge this event snow seems, wait a couple of months. In the relentless frenzy of the 24-hour media cycle, it will probably be half forgotten by the the time of the election.

This far out, only events that mean change to people's lives on a day-to-day basis have that sort of game changing impact. But image is important. The president has burnished his in the eyes of many Americans and looks like a resolute commander-in-chief. He knows it, and intends to milk the moment for all it is worth.

Braves manager Brian Snitker joked that he could almost detect a smile as he shared a phone conversation with Nick Markakis after the stoic outfielder re-signed with the club in January. Snitker and others actually saw that smile on Tuesday morning, when Markakis reported to Spring Training to begin his fifth season with the Braves and attempt to push the club past the rebuild he positively enriched through his leadership.

“Our nation’s veterans deserve the best.” Those were the words of ADA President Chad P. Gehani following his Jan. 7 visit to the Orlando VA Healthcare System’s dental clinic.

Legislative leaders are preparing a proposal to set aside $800 million a year for school districts that demonstrate strong outcomes. Skeptics call it unfair and say it wouldn’t work.

Nicotine addiction, through smoking, is the principal cause of preventable mortality worldwide. Human genome-wide association studies have linked polymorphisms in the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 gene cluster, coding for the α5, α3, and β4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits, to nicotine addiction. β4*nAChRs have been implicated in nicotine withdrawal, aversion, and reinforcement. Here we show that β4*nAChRs also are involved in non-nicotine-mediated responses that may predispose to addiction-related behaviors. β4 knock-out (KO) male mice show increased novelty-induced locomotor activity, lower baseline anxiety, and motivational deficits in operant conditioning for palatable food rewards and in reward-based Go/No-go tasks. To further explore reward deficits we used intracranial self-administration (ICSA) by directly injecting nicotine into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) in mice. We found that, at low nicotine doses, β4KO self-administer less than wild-type (WT) mice. Conversely, at high nicotine doses, this was reversed and β4KO self-administered more than WT mice, whereas β4-overexpressing mice avoided nicotine injections. Viral expression of β4 subunits in medial habenula (MHb), interpeduncular nucleus (IPN), and VTA of β4KO mice revealed dose- and region-dependent differences: β4*nAChRs in the VTA potentiated nicotine-mediated rewarding effects at all doses, whereas β4*nAChRs in the MHb-IPN pathway, limited VTA-ICSA at high nicotine doses. Together, our findings indicate that the lack of functional β4*nAChRs result in deficits in reward sensitivity including increased ICSA at high doses of nicotine that is restored by re-expression of β4*nAChRs in the MHb-IPN. These data indicate that β4 is a critical modulator of reward-related behaviors.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Human genetic studies have provided strong evidence for a relationship between variants in the CHRNA5-CHRNA3-CHRNB4 gene cluster and nicotine addiction. Yet, little is known about the role of β4 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunit encoded by this cluster. We investigated the implication of β4*nAChRs in anxiety-, food reward- and nicotine reward-related behaviors. Deletion of the β4 subunit gene resulted in an addiction-related phenotype characterized by low anxiety, high novelty-induced response, lack of sensitivity to palatable food rewards and increased intracranial nicotine self-administration at high doses. Lentiviral vector-induced re-expression of the β4 subunit into either the MHb or IPN restored a "stop" signal on nicotine self-administration. These results suggest that β4*nAChRs provide a promising novel drug target for smoking cessation.

Reward has a remarkable ability to invigorate motor behavior, enabling individuals to select and execute actions with greater precision and speed. However, if reward is to be exploited in applied settings, such as rehabilitation, a thorough understanding of its underlying mechanisms is required. In a series of experiments, we first demonstrate that reward simultaneously improves the selection and execution components of a reaching movement. Specifically, reward promoted the selection of the correct action in the presence of distractors, while also improving execution through increased speed and maintenance of accuracy. These results led to a shift in the speed-accuracy functions for both selection and execution. In addition, punishment had a similar impact on action selection and execution, although it enhanced execution performance across all trials within a block, that is, its impact was noncontingent to trial value. Although the reward-driven enhancement of movement execution has been proposed to occur through enhanced feedback control, an untested possibility is that it is also driven by increased arm stiffness, an energy-consuming process that enhances limb stability. Computational analysis revealed that reward led to both an increase in feedback correction in the middle of the movement and a reduction in motor noise near the target. In line with our hypothesis, we provide novel evidence that this noise reduction is driven by a reward-dependent increase in arm stiffness. Therefore, reward drives multiple error-reduction mechanisms which enable individuals to invigorate motor performance without compromising accuracy.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT While reward is well-known for enhancing motor performance, how the nervous system generates these improvements is unclear. Despite recent work indicating that reward leads to enhanced feedback control, an untested possibility is that it also increases arm stiffness. We demonstrate that reward simultaneously improves the selection and execution components of a reaching movement. Furthermore, we show that punishment has a similar positive impact on performance. Importantly, by combining computational and biomechanical approaches, we show that reward leads to both improved feedback correction and an increase in stiffness. Therefore, reward drives multiple error-reduction mechanisms which enable individuals to invigorate performance without compromising accuracy. This work suggests that stiffness control plays a vital, and underappreciated, role in the reward-based imporvemenets in motor control.

After years of prayer and patience, God answers the missionaries of OM Guatemala and sends an English teacher to give free classes.

We find out how youngsters in Spain are taught a certain playing style from an early age.

We investigate a golden era of Spanish youth football.

Microsoft rolls out a major update to its Xbox game Pass Quests system including 90 more Quests as well as daily, weekly, and monthly challenges.

The family restaurant chain uses demographic, behavioral, and purchase data to send targeted offers to its rewards members and grow visit frequency and spend among younger customers.

How the retail pharmacy chain uses customer data to make its marketing messages relevant

Despite recurrent challenges, Afghanistan’s business environment is improving. Now the authorities are working to persuade investors the rewards are worth the risk through a series of economic and legal reforms. 

New draft legislation may adversely impact on commercial arrangements which have been put in place by employers to reward and/or incentivise employees or which employers may wish to use in the future. The new legislation relates to 'Disguised Remune...

“And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace . . . will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you” (1 Peter 5:10).

Successful endurance of present trials leads to greater focus on glorifying God in the future.

Sufferings and trials teach us patience. However, in Heaven we won’t need to have patience, and therefore it is not the major long-term lesson God wants us to learn from trials. He is far more pleased if we grasp the truth that what we suffer now is directly related to our ability to glorify Him in eternity. Worshiping God will be our role in Heaven (Rev. 4—5), and Paul reminds us that “if we endure, we shall also reign with Him” (2 Tim. 2:12). In other words, if we learn to endure trials and tribulations now, we can expect to receive great reward in eternity. I believe that reward is primarily the capacity to glorify God; and therefore the greater our present endurance, the greater will be our capability to glorify Him in the future.

At one point during Jesus’ ministry with the disciples, two of them—brothers James and John—desired that He appoint them to the two positions of greatest prestige in His kingdom—seats at His right and left hands (see Matt. 20:20-23). James and John recognized the concept of eternal rewards, but they did not understand how it works. Thus Jesus asked them if they were ready to endure the cup of suffering and death (as He was) prior to occupying such powerful positions in His kingdom (v. 22). This implies again that endurance in trials and advancement in future glory are correlated. (Jesus endured the greatest suffering on the cross, and He was raised to the highest position, at the Father’s right hand.)

The application for us from all this is clear: the Lord wants us to realize that the end of every trial contains much satisfaction and joy because we are building up our future capacity to glorify Him. At the same time, we are comprehending more and more about the value of persevering through all sorts of pain and tribulation (see Rev. 2:10).

Suggestions for Prayer

Ask God to give you the desire to see the benefits of trials from an eternal perspective.

For Further Study

Read Revelation 4—5. What attributes of God do you see, directly or indirectly, that are worthy of eternal praise?

From Strength for Today by John MacArthur Copyright © 1997. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.

• The Study Bible (mobile app)
• Grace to You Sermons (mobile app)
• John MacArthur’s complete sermon archive
• The MacArthur Study Bible
• The complete MacArthur New Testament Commentary series

Coronavirus and executive pay: the issues The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted an economic crisis that has far surpassed that of the financial crash in 2008. The implications for executive pay against the backdrop of furloughed staff, lay-offs, staff...

The EU’s “Green Recovery” could reward high polluters. Good data is crucial to prevent this ǀ View

The Sindh revenue department has written a letter to Chief Minister Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah for sanctioning extra incentives to the officials and officers of different departments participating in the battle against COVID-19.The letter, which was sent to the CM on Friday, reads that as the...

This week, catch the last few days of an art show that gives mothers their due, explore a land of orchids and discover how loving maths makes us better people

New Pokemon Go Throwback challenges start today for the Johto region. Here's a recap of all field research tasks and rewards on offer for the next seven days.

Destiny 2 Trials of Osiris returns once again later today – here's what you need to know for this week's end-game PvP challenge.

Fortnite Party Royale event starts soon. Here's everything you need to know including start times for Deadmau5, Dillon Francis and Steve Aoki - PLUS how to claim the many live event rewards available from Epic Games as they celebrate 350 million players.

Retailer also doubles staff discounts and commits to guaranteeing time off for employees over Christmas period

It's a bumper crop of BonusCash at your local Rite-Aid this week, with not 1, 2, 3, but 4 gaming GC's, and 1 of those gives you even more options!

• Nike, GameStop, Netflix ... $5 BonusCash when you buy $25 of these items.*
• Google Play, AMC Theatres, Apple AppStore/iTunes, Fandango, XBOX, Panera Bread, Regal Theatres ... $6 BonusCash when you buy $30 of these items.*

FYI, "GameStop" is a big win, because not only can you purchase (additional) XBOX, PSN, Nintendo, and Steam credit there, but you order the GC credit from their website, and get a redemption code instantly after checkout.
 
For those who are new to the "Rite-Aid wellness+ reward BonusCash" program, you'll receive the $$$ amount when you purchase the minimum amount specified. Gift-cards within the same bullet-point share the same "limit 2 offers per customer", but you can earn rewards on the other bullet-point lines as well. For example, you can purchase $25 each of GameStop & Netflix (or $50 of GameStop) ... and still be able to purchase another $60 mix of Google & Apple & XBOX, and can stagger your 4 GC purchases throughout the week.

Screenshot of 2 separate GC offers (bullet points) included here:

• if you've met the limit of 2 items per BonusCash group with the current transaction, or
• if the transaction you're about to complete exceeds the limit of 2 per week, or
• when your BonusCash rewards will expire.

Luckily the mobile RiteAid app (and website) list your individual accumulation & cashing out on a per transaction basis, so that's a good way to keep tabs on the expiration dates, since you only get 30 days to spend the BonusCash once earned. Good luck!