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8 Essential Project Management Skills for Productive Work

Every project manager has their strengths and weaknesses. Still, to be genuinely productive, you must have a blend of project management skills that are adaptable and ready for any situation. No project is ever the same, especially when working with different stakeholders, team members, third parties, and new challenges in each moment. Project managers and [...]Read More...




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GameStop Pro Day - 4/18 - Not Just for Pro Members Anymore

GameStop’s Pro Day Sale

 

Note:

For 4/18 only, Pro Deals for ALL at GameStop.com

On Saturday only, if you aren't a Pro Member, score 5,000 bonus points when you become a Power Up Rewards member and Pro Members score 2x points per dollar spent. See some of the top offers below!

 

Top Offers:

  • Save $70 on a Pre-Owned 1TB PlayStation 4 Pro System only $269.99
  • Save $100 on the limited edition Xbox One X 1TB NBA 2K20 Console only $299.99
  • Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle only $16.99 (over 70% off)
  • Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint only $14.99 (75% off)
  • Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order only $38.99 (35% off)
  • $10 off Madden 20 only $19.99
  • $40 off NBA 2K20 only $19.99
  • Mortal Kombat only $18.99 (52% off)
  • $40 off Borderlands 3 only $19.99
  • Buy 2 Get 1 Free All $11.99 Pop! Figures
  • Save $30 on Red Dead Redemption II now only $29.99
  • Save $80 on Arcade1Up Mortal Kombat Arcade Cabinet with Riser now only $299.99
  • Just Dance 2020 only $18.99 (52% off)
  • Only $10 all T-Shirts (Excludes Clearance)
  • Save up to $35 on select games

GameStop’s Pro Day Sale

 

 

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    Target Circle Deals April 19th - April 25th: 30% Off Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Pro

    30% Off Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Pro Wired PC Gaming Headset (Expires April 25th)

    30% Off Turtle Beach Elite Atlas Aero Wireless Headset for PC (Expires April 25th)

    25% Off ROCCAT Vulcan Aimo Keyboard Black & White/Silver (Expires April 25th)

    25% Off ROCCAT Kain Aimo Wireless Mouse Black & White (Expires April 25th)

    25% Off ROCCAT Kain Aimo Mouse Black & White (Expires April 25th)

    10% Off My Arcade Gamestation Assorted Items (Expires April 22nd)

    25% Off ROCCAT Kain 102 Aimo Mouse PC Gaming, White (Expires April 25th)




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    Cops Didn't Enforce Law On Anti-lockdown Protesters, COVID-19 Spread

    Remember the April 15th "Operation Gridlock?" in Lansing Michigan? In my piece on April 21st I said we needed to start tracking these protesters to show that they will spread the virus to other communities. Well, someone did.

    Cellphone data shows 300 of the people who had gathered in Lansing for "Operation Gridlock" scattered throughout the state after the protest. The color of the dot represents device activity: yellow is more activity, red is lighter Image from: Doctors at the Committee to Protect Medicare

    The people at the Committee to Protect Medicare released data which shows the protesters dispersing to smaller communities across Michigan in the following days. The map above shows that cellphones that were in Lansing on April 15 scattered across the state. (Link)

    read more



    • anti-lockdown protests
    • coronavirus. COVID-19
    • First Lt. Darren Green
    • Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
    • michigan protests
    • Michigan state House
    • Michigan State Police
    • Robert Gordon


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    Where do baby magnetars come from? Mysterious 'fast radio bursts' may provide clues.

    Magnetars — highly magnetized, rapidly rotating super-dense stars — are among the most enigmatic creatures to inhabit the cosmos and their origins are shrouded in mystery.




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    Elon Musk shows off Starship prototype's rocket engine ahead of test fire (photo)

    SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk just tweeted an image looking up at the belly of the latest Starship prototype, the SN4, which is on the test stand ahead of a key engine firing.




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    Book week 2019: the prologue

    My new year's resolution for 2019 was: Finish the books I start. 

    Now, it must be said, I don't read enough books. I do a lot of reading for research, which does not usually involve reading books from cover to cover. (It involves reading journal articles, reading chapters, using the indices of books to find the bits I need.) Since so much of my working life is reading (including multiple books' worth of student writing each term), after work I tend to do other things. But I still want to be reading books, because there are so many good books out there and I have great respect for the writers of books and the books they write.

    I find it's very easy to start (reading) books. Rarely do I start reading a book and then lose interest in it. I have every intention and desire to finish most books that I start. But then some other book comes along and I just want to start that one too.

    (It must be said here that these days I mostly read non-fiction—and it's relatively easy to leave non-fiction unfinished. If there is a story to a non-fiction book, I generally know how the story ends, so it doesn't have that page-turner vibe that fiction can have.)

    At the start of 2019, there were four books that I had started months before, and had been really enjoying, yet instead of finishing them, I started other books. But thanks to my resolution, they are finished. Yay! 

    So that was going well. Until I started starting books again. As of last week, I had seven books on the go (not counting a couple that made me say "Life's too short to spend it on this sub-par book"). And thanks to what I'm about to do, I will probably soon have 12 unfinished books heading into the LAST MONTH of 2019. So: made a resolution to reduce the number of unfinished books I have, and I am ending the year with THREE TIMES AS MANY unfinished books. What a failure!

    But the reason I'm starting even more books is that people send me books. Publishers send me books. I get a lot of books. They send me the books because I have a blog and they want me to help publici{s/z}e the books. I like getting the books, and I want to help authors of good books. And it helps them if I tell you about the books in a timely way.

    So this week, I am going to write about some of the books I've been sent this year and which I may not have read from cover to cover. For each book, I plan to read at least two chapters before telling you about it. So, I'm going to have a feel for the book, which I can tell you about, even if I haven't read the whole book.

    Why do this now? Two reasons:
    1. I can assuage my guilt about not writing about these books sooner by pretending that I was waiting to give you a seasonal list of books that would make great gifts for the holiday season!
    2. I have the time.
    I have the time because my union is about to go on strike for eight days. During this time, I am not engaging in the activities that the university pays me for. (And indeed, I will not be paid by the university for those days.) So, I'm catching up on things I want/like to do that are not within my job description. And apparently starting books and not finishing them is one of the things I like to do best.

    I'm only going to tell you about books I like. I'm channel(l)ing my mother: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." I'm also listening to the adage "There's no such thing as bad publicity." I've decided not to give any publicity to sub-par books. I could be scathing about them (and witty—scathing and witty go hand-in-hand). And that might be a lot of fun. But I'd just rather not shine my light on sub-par books, since that takes space and attention away from the good books. 

    Some of the books I'll write about are by people I like. It's not that I know them well, just that I've had enough interactions with them to know we're on the same wavelength—so it's not quite nepotism (just tribalism?). And I'm going to try my best to have five posts for five days, but life happens and I might have to interpret "week" very loosely.

    So: stay tuned, and we'll get this book week going.

    Oh, and: I'm taking nominations for US-to-UK and UK-to-US Words of the Year. Are there any US-to-UK or UK-to-US borrowings that are particularly 2019-ish? They don't have to have first come to the other country this year, but they should have had particular attention or relevance in the other country this year. Please nominate them in the comments below.




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    Free webinar on "Storage Protection under Sloped Ceilings"

    In the event of a fire, a sloped ceiling may alter sprinkler performance from expected results for a conventional horizontal ceiling configuration. Prior computational studies investigated the effect of ceiling slope on sprinkler activation times and




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    RFP now open for Fire Protection Research Foundation project on “Combustible Gas Distribution in Buildings and Detector Location Analysis”

    Recent experiences with combustible gas releases in residential buildings have led to a proposal for NFPA Standards Development for locating combustible gas detectors and consensus on installation location requirements. NFPA is considering a proposed




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    Changing of the guard at the Fire Protection Research Foundation

    Amanda Kimball has been named executive director of the Fire Protection Research Foundation (Research Foundation). The eight-year veteran of the independent, non-profit research affiliate of the National Fire Protection Association replaces Casey Grant



    • fire protection research foundation
    • research

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    Open Request for Proposals for “Cybersecurity of Fire Protection Systems”

      Fire protection systems are increasingly networked to Building Control Systems (BCS), Internet of Things (IoT), and other platforms that are, by design or oversight, exposed to the public-facing Internet. This emerging environment could lead to




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    Request for Proposals are now open for three FPRF research projects

    Request for Proposals are now open for three Fire Protection Research Foundation (FPRF) research projects.   First Responder Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (sUAS) Operations Training: Baseline Materials & Usage Assessment: The overall goal of




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    Marine veteran converts a school bus into a nonprofit traveling art studio

    It's safe to say that Marine veteran Jessica Rambo is not one to rest on her laurels. After 10 years of service in the Marine Corps, the mom of two worked day in and day out for two years in order to convert a 1997 Blue Bird school bus into a full-time tiny house on wheels that also serves as a roaming art studio. Now, Rambo and her two kids are about to embark on a long road trip to bring her nonprofit art organization, The Painted Buffalo Studio, to veterans around the country.[...]




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    Recycled wind turbine blades proposed as a playscape for Burning Man

    Washington-based architect and designer Michael Mannhard has unveiled designs for BladeYARD, a proposal for a Burning Man 2021 installation built from recycled wind turbine blades. Created as a visual warning of the effects of climate change and shortsighted solutions, the installation mimics a large-scale ruin with parts of the blades submerged in the sands of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.[...]




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    Project Lunark to test a prototype moon habitat powered by solar

    “What does it take to live on the moon?” That was the question put forward by Sebastian Aristotelis and Karl-Johan Sørensen, the founders of SAGA Space Architects and the analog astronauts behind Lunark, a prototype moon habitat. Designed in collaboration with scientists, engineers and polar experts, Lunark will be tested over three months in northern Greenland as part of the first Arctic-simulated moon mission. In addition to its resilience to extreme temperatures, the habitat will be engineered for a zero-waste ecosystem and will draw power from solar panels.[...]




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    UNStudio installs new energy-generating facade for solar producer Hanwhas HQ

    UNStudio has completed renovations of the Hanwha headquarters in Seoul — all without disrupting the building’s normal business operations. The impressive feat was achieved thanks to efficient and low-impact construction methods that the international design firm dubs “remodeling in place.” In addition to renovated interior spaces and a redesigned landscape, the Hanwha headquarters is now home to a completely new, energy-generating facade with integrated solar panels to express the company’s identity as an ambitious global leader in the solar panel industry. [...]




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    WKE LifeProof phone cases use recycled ocean-bound waste

    In an effort to find a balance between protecting the significant investment in our cellular devices and protecting the planet, LifeProof has developed a phone case that sources materials diverted from the ocean and simultaneously supports organizations directly involved in providing safe water, protecting ocean life and maintaining river habitat. [...]




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    Portland welcomes first Living Building Challenge project

    Pacific Northwest architecture firm Mahlum has made history with the certification of its new architecture studio as Portland's first Living Building Challenge (LBC) project. As an LBC-certified workspace, Mahlum's new studio meets rigorous sustainability targets including net-zero embodied carbon emissions and the diversion of almost all construction waste from the landfill. The project is the 48th LBC-certified project in the United States and 57th in the world. [...]




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    Facebook Launches 'Discover,' A Secure Proxy to Browse the Internet for Free

    More than six years after Facebook launched its ambitious Free Basics program to bring the Internet to the masses, the social network is back at it again with a new zero-rating initiative called Discover. The service, available as a mobile web and Android app, allows users to browse the Internet using free daily data caps. Facebook Discover is currently being tested in Peru in partnership




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    These Are the 51 GOP Senators Who Just Voted Against Expanding Paid Sick Leave to Protect Americans

    Republican senators on Wednesday teamed up to kill an amendment introduced by Democratic Sen. Patty Murray that would have expanded paid sick leave to millions of U.S. workers left out of a bipartisan coronavirus relief package. Every Republican present for the vote, 51 in total, voted against the amendment while every Senate Democrat voted in favor. […]




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    Mississippi Blew Money For The Poor On Brett Favre And Pro Wrestlers

    By Isaac Cabe  Published: May 06th, 2020 




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    Custom Genitals In The New Keanu Reeves Video Game Is Improving Gaming For The Better

    By Isaac Cabe  Published: May 07th, 2020 




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    This Model's Privates Have Probably Seen Better Days

    That's Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Chrissy Teigen having a rather... unfortunate encounter with some peppers. That final photo? The result of some of her Instagram and Twitter followers telling her that milk would help neutralize the burning - which by all accounts it did!




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    CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: The 2019 Theszies (the rec.sport.pro-wrestling Awards)

    This is the Call for Nominations for the 2019 Theszie Awards (the rec.sport.pro-wrestling Awards). To nominate candidates for all categories, you may use this form. Nominations are due by January 5, 2019. Finally, to see previous years’ results, click here for 2018, click here for 2017, here for 2016, here for 2015, here for 2014, […]



    • Interactive Fun Time Party
    • The RSPW Awards / The Theszies
    • Wrestling

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    November 20, 2019 Featured Projects

    Every two weeks we pick our favorite 15 projects that Craftster readers have voted for with the “This Rocks!” button. Here are our latest picks which were lovingly and painstakingly chosen (so many amazing projects to choose from!), this time by rackycoo. We hope you enjoy them! Baby Carrots the Mini-Pinata by EriChanHime supernatural pumpkin […]




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    Craftster Featured Projects – Dedicated to the People Who Made It

    Since February 2009, we have chosen 15 current Featured Projects from around Craftster. Ten years of amazing featured projects. Today, though, in lieu of the site closing, we are bringing you the final collection of Featured Projects for Craftster — ever. And today, we are not featuring current projects. Today, we are featuring a collection […]




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    Trump Falsely Claims COVID-19 Death Projection Assumes ‘No Mitigation’

    Dismissing concerns that states are reopening too soon, President Donald Trump incorrectly said that a newly revised model projecting 134,000 COVID-19 deaths by August “assumes no mitigation.” In fact, the model assumes states will keep their existing social distancing measures in place, unless suspensions have already been announced.

    The post Trump Falsely Claims COVID-19 Death Projection Assumes ‘No Mitigation’ appeared first on FactCheck.org.




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    Best MLM Lead - 3 Ways to Target the Right Leads and Prosper

    Are you looking for the best MLM lead you can find? Maybe you would like many of them? How about 20 or more a day? each and every day! Well your lucks in I will reveal 3 very simple steps to attract the best MLM lead that will change your business




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    Vemma Nutrition Program - 3 Mistakes Brand Partners Make and How to Solve Them!

    Have you tried the conventional route to building your Vemma Nutrition Program already? Friends and family? Three foot rule? Business cards? Shopping malls? Lets face it the list goes on. If you truly want to generate more leads than you can handle, or what I call an abundance of leads for your Vemma Nutrition Program then you need to listen very closely and take notes I am going to expose 3 big mistakes you are making.




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    Herbal Life Weight Loss Product - 3 Easy Tips to Sell More!

    OK, so you have a Herbal Life Business and you are thinking: How an you sell more Herbal Life Weight Loss Product? Well I have some great tips to make your life many times easier.




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    4life Products - How to Generate a Massive List and a Serious Residual Income!

    4life Products are great. But lets face it you want to be able to sell as much of them as possible. Obviously the more you sell the more you make. However there are challenges selling 4life Products, right? Well this article will give you some tips to prosper.




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    How Do You Use the Advocare Product to Generate a Residual Income? - 2 Real Simple Tips!

    Before we get into this let me get one thing straight: you need to forget everything your up-line has told you. It does work for them and has worked for others but in general it is hard to get any results.




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    How to Use MLM Prospecting to Win in MLM Network Marketing!

    Learn how to use MLM Prospecting to get the edge in MLM Network Marketing. Use this easy secret tip to dominate your competition.




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    I had made a packing design that was approved, but not yet fully paid for. Client: We are really in...

    I had made a packing design that was approved, but not yet fully paid for.

    Client: We are really in a hurry, so please send fonts and colors you’ve used ASAP. And what software do you use to design things?  This is urgent!

    Me: What do you mean? Do you need print files? Sure, but I need to be paid before I send you the finished files.

    Client: Why do we have to pay you? This was our idea of design! I even sent you mock-up in Photoshop!




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    What is it about the way I am that contributes to the problems around me: Part 1








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    Writing Productivity Tips & Advice For Young Writers From Marcie Colleen (THE BEAR'S GARDEN)

    Happy launch day to Marcie Colleen, whose THE BEAR'S GARDEN with Alison Oliver launches from Imprint/Macmillan today!

    Marcie Colleen is the award-winning picture book author of Penguinaut! (illustrated by Emma Yarlett) and Love, Triangle (illustrated by Bob Shea), as well as the Super Happy Party Bears chapter book series. She teaches Writing Children’s Picture Books for the University of California at San Diego both online and on campus, and runs her own Study Hall conducting a month-long online critique group dedicated to the crafting picture books. Find out more about how you can study with Marcie at thisismarciecolleen.com and on Twitter at @MarcieColleen1.

    *UPDATE: Marcie has also launched her SUPER HAPPY Book Club on her YouTube channel, especially for families at home during school closures!

    Launching March 24, 2020, THE BEAR'S GARDEN is written by Marcie Colleen and illustrated by Alison Oliver. You can read reviews of the book on Kirkus (starred review!) and Bookroo.

    Author: Marcie Colleen
    Illustrator: Alison Oliver
    Publisher: Imprint/Macmillan Children’s

    SYNOPSIS: Inspired by the true story of a community garden in Brooklyn, New York, picture book The Bear’s Garden is a testament to how imagination and dedication can transform communities and create beauty for everyone in unexpected places.

    A little girl sees an empty lot in a city and imagines what it can be:

    a place to grow,
    a place to play,
    and a place to love.

    With the help of her stuffed bear, the girl brings her community together to create a beautiful garden.

    Q. What inspired you to write this book?

    The Bear’s Garden was inspired by the real-life Pacific Street Brooklyn Bear’s Community Garden in my former neighborhood in New York City. The name always puzzled me—I mean, we didn’t have bears wandering around Brooklyn last I checked!

    Come to find out, the garden was named for a teddy bear that was found in the weeds when the workers began to create a garden in the abandoned lot. Of course, immediately I started thinking of that little bear. How did he get there? Did he belong to anyone? Was he placed there on purpose?

    The Bear’s Garden is my imaginative story about how the teddy bear came to be in those weeds. It’s also a love letter to my former neighborhood and the power of community that I felt while living there. I am the girl who finds love and beauty in every inch of that urban paradise

    Q. As an experienced author, how do you manage your time in terms of balancing your creative work time with the business side (promotion, admin, school visits etc), yet still have a life outside work?

    While everything I do, such as teaching and creating Teacher’s Guides, falls under the umbrella of being a full-time children’s author, I have struggled in the past to find time for my own creative writing. It seems my days get quickly overrun.

    However, about a year ago I paired up with a fellow author friend, Kirsten Larson, to prioritize our writing projects. We get up at 5:20 every morning to write for an hour. The alarm goes off, we text each other a quick “Good Morning” and share our project goals for that session, grab our coffee, and set to write until 6:30 without distraction. At 6:30 we check in again with our progress. It’s been a game-changer. I think I have written more in the last year because of it. And it’s a fantastic way to feel accomplished no matter what the rest of the day brings.

    Q. What advice do you have for young writers?

    I have always loved reading and writing stories.

    A few years back I found a book I had written in elementary school. It’s called Rainbow Hunt. And in the back of the book I found an Author’s Note I had written. It said,

    “Marcie Goldstein lives in Liverpool, NY and loves to write books. Someday she hopes to be a successful author.”

    So, my advice to young writers everywhere would be, know that your dreams can come true. Even if people say it’s a long-shot. I’m living proof. So keep reading, keep writing, and never stop dreaming.

    Q. Anything else you'd like to mention? What are you excited about these days?

    Despite the recent global health crisis that has left us all indoors, I am excited to see how we will learn to build more community within our lives—even virtually. The creativity and innovation that has developed in the last few weeks has been extraordinarily inspiring. Like flowers between the pavement cracks, we will find ways. And a lot of beauty is going to grow from this.

     --

    For more interviews, see my Inkygirl Interview Archive. Also see Advice For Young Writers and Illustrators, a compilation of tips generously offered by children's book creators I've interviewed over the years.




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    Five Ways Social Media Marketing Can Help Grow Your Rental Property Business

    Believe it or not, social media is a valuable marketing tool for real estate businesses. Many landlords, property managers, and real estate agents use it for marketing their businesses and attracting more customers. If you haven’t been using social media to promote your rental properties, you’re likely missing out on a variety of benefits. Let’s take...

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    Six Tips for Financing Investment Property

    Investing in rental properties can be both profitable and worthwhile when done right. In today’s market, a rental property can provide a consistent cash flow now and serve as a valuable long-term investment down the road.  However, deciding to take the leap and buy a rental property is just the beginning. Novice real estate investors...

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    • Investments
    • Best way to finance an investment property
    • How to finance an investment property

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    5 Post-Processing Effects to Instantly Enhance Your Photos

    The post 5 Post-Processing Effects to Instantly Enhance Your Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

    Do you want some quick and easy ways to improve your images with post-processing effects? Look no further. Because this article will give you 5 excellent post-processing effects to take your photos to the next level, instantly. And best of all: You can use them in pretty much any editing program and on pretty much […]

    The post 5 Post-Processing Effects to Instantly Enhance Your Photos appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.




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    Color Photography Exercises to Help You Improve Your Skills

    The post Color Photography Exercises to Help You Improve Your Skills appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

    Use these fun color photography exercises to not only expand your knowledge of color but so you can use color more effectively in your photos.

    The post Color Photography Exercises to Help You Improve Your Skills appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.




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    Charter Schools IV: Profit

    While being a charter school is distinct from being a for-profit school, one argument in favor of charter schools is because they, unlike public schools, can operate as for-profit businesses. While some might be tempted to assume a for-profit charter …




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    Coronavirus Proves Only Structural Changes Can Avert Climate Apocalypse




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    Risk of Misinterpreting Hydrogen Peroxide Indicator Colors for Vapor Sterilization: Letter to Health Care Providers





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    Four Princeton professors elected to National Academy of Sciences

    Princeton professors Anne Case, Jennifer Rexford, Suzanne Staggs and Elke Weber have been named members of the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.