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#105: Bridgewater




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#258: PukWHATdgie?

It's Sortin Time! Are you a Thunderbird, Wampus, Horned Serpent, or Pukwudgie?  





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Fox's Judge Napolitano Slams ‘Dangerous’ McConnell Plan To Shield Businesses From Coronavirus Lawsuits

Fox News judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano said on Thursday that a Republican plan to shield businesses from coronavirus-related lawsuits is “dangerous.”

Earlier this week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) suggested that he would not support additional relief funds to households and businesses unless the package also includes a measure shielding businesses from liability for coronavirus infections.

But Napolitano argued that the provision would be anti-conservative and violate states rights.

“Can the Congress tell state courts that they cannot hear claims of liability when someone goes into a public accommodation and contracts coronavirus?” the Fox News analyst explained. “Congress has been very reticent to do that. Conservatives who believe in states rights have been very reluctant to interfere with the operation of state courts.”

Napolitano pointed out that the only other instance where Congress has restricted state courts is a law that prohibits gun manufacturers from being sued over gun violence.

“I think that this liability shield business is very dangerous,” he added. “The decision of whose fault someone was harmed by should be decided by juries and not by politicians.”




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Test your knowledge: Cats

Test your knowledge: Cats is a test game that will test your knowledge of different cat breeds. Do you know how to look like a variety of cat breeds? Havana, Somalia, Oriental, Peterbald, Maine Coon, Pixibob and many others. Test yourself with our interesting test. The essence of the game - is to choose one correct answer from four options! Answer all the questions correctly and get 48 beautiful achievements!Don't forget to share your result in the comments! Key game features: - Allows you to test your knowledge of feline - For children and adults - Helps to remember and learn how to look and called certain breeds of cats. - 48 achievements




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The moon isn't 'dead': Ridges on lunar surface show signs of recent tectonic activity

The moon isn't "dead" after all: Newly discovered ridges on the moon's surface are leading scientists to think that the moon might have an active tectonic system.




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Book week 2019: David Adger's Language Unlimited

Welcome to the second review post of Book Week 2019. See the intro to Book Week 2019 to understand more about what I'm doing this week. Next up we have:

Language unlimited
the science behind our most creative power

by David Adger
Oxford University Press, 2019


This is a book for people who like to think about HOW THINGS WORK. It's a serious work of popular science writing, which carefully spells out the mysteries of syntax. And by mysteries, I mean things you've probably never even noticed about language. But once they're pointed out, you have to sit back and say "Whoa." Because even though you hadn't noticed these things, you know them. Remember a few years ago, when the internet was hopping with posts about how we subconsciously know which order to put adjectives in? That's kid's play compared with the stuff that Adger'll teach you about the things you know but don't know about.

Adger (who is Professor of Linguistics at Queen Mary University, London) describes the situation carefully, clearly, and engagingly, using copious examples and analogies to communicate some really subtle points. (I particularly liked the explanation of form versus function in language, which drew on the form versus the function of alcohol. Chin-chin!) He draws in evidence from neurology, psychology, and computer science to both corroborate his points and to introduce further questions about how language works.

As I said in the intro to Book week, I have not read all the books I'm reviewing absolutely cover-to-cover. In this case, of the ten chapters, I read 1–3, 7, and 10—and skimmed through the other chapters. The early chapters make the case that there's more to linguistic structure than meets the eye and that human linguistic abilities must consist of something special—they must be qualitatively different from the types of cognition that other animals use and that humans use in non-linguistic communication. Later ones cover issues like how children experience and acquire their first language and what happens when computers try to learn human language. Throughout, the examples feature Adger's partner Anson and his cat Lilly.  I almost feel like I know them now. Hi Anson and Lilly!

Adger makes clear from the start that his book makes a particular argument in favo(u)r of a particular way of explaining language's mysteries—and that particular way is a Chomskyan way. This means that he makes the case for a Universal Grammar that underlies all human language. I was struck by his willingness and ability to take this all the way for a lay audience. By chapter 9, he is explaining Merge, the key tool of Chomsky's Minimalist Program

Now, here I have to say: this is not the kind of linguistics I do. It's not just that I'm not a syntactician—though I have, from time to time, dipped my toe into theories grammatical. It's also that I lost faith in theoretical monotheism when I moved from a very Chomskyan undergraduate degree to a more ecumenical linguistics department for my (post)graduate studies. When I arrived for my PhD studies, the department wanted to know which syntactic theories I'd studied, so they could determine which courses I needed to take. I could not tell them. After four years of studying Chomskyan linguistics, I thought I had spent four undergraduate years studying "Syntax". No one had told me that I was studying a theory of syntax, just one among several theories.

Ever since, I have tended to agnosticism and s{c/k}epticism when it comes to syntactic theory. (This is probably how I ended up as not-a-syntactician; I don't know that it's possible to have a career in grammatical studies without adhering to one theoretical church or another.) Being a lexicologist has meant that I don't have to take sides on these things. And so I play around with different theories and see how they deal with the phenomena I study. When I listen to the evangelists, I listen warily. I tend to find that they oversimplify the approaches of competitor theories, and don't learn as much from them as they could (or, at least, sometimes don't give them credit for their contributions). This is all a very long explanation of why I skipped to chapter 7—the chapter where Adger responds to some non-Chomskyan ideas (mostly personified in the chapter by Joan Bybee).

So (mostly BrE*) all credit to Adger for spending a chapter on this, and for citing recent work in it. I generally thought his points were fair, but I did what I usually do in response to such theoretical take-downs: I thought "ok, but what about..." I do think he's right that some facts point to the existence of a Universal Grammar, but I also think it's not the only interesting part of the story, and that it's premature to discount arguments that explore the possibility that much of what happens in language learning is based in experience of language and general cognitive abilities. But then, I would think that.

I definitely recommend the book for people who are interested in the scientific approach to language, but I'd skip the final chapter (10). It is an oddly tacked-on bit about sociolinguistic phenomena, precisely the kinds of things that are not even approached in the theory the rest of the book has been arguing for.

I congratulate Adger on this strong work that makes extraordinarily abstract concepts clear.





P.S. Since I'm not doing Differences of the Day on Twitter this week, here's little chart of use of all credit to (frequency per million words) in the Corpus of Global Web-Based English, for good measure.





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Costa Rican eco-lodge is made of reclaimed wood from a 100-year-old home

Costa Rican architectural firm Gussa has unveiled a peaceful eco-lodge located on the country's beautiful Caribbean coastline. Esquina Verde is a cozy rental accommodation made out of locally sourced materials and reclaimed wood salvaged from a 100-year-old home. Surrounded by lush vegetation and native wildlife, the lodge's multiple hammocks that hang from the thatched roofs make it an idyllic place to disconnect.[...]




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Wedge-shaped Sideyard champions CLT construction

When Portland, Oregon reconfigured the roadways in the Central Eastside community, a 9,000-square-foot berm space was leftover from the move. To make the most of the small and oddly shaped site, Key Development teamed up with local architecture firm Skylab and Andersen Construction to use cross laminated timber (CLT) in the construction of Sideyard, a mixed-use development. The CLT components were prefabricated in a factory and then transported on-site for final assembly, a modular process that streamlined the building process and boasts environmental benefits.[...]




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Critical Security Patches Released for Magento, Adobe Illustrator and Bridge

It's not 'Patch Tuesday,' but software giant Adobe today released emergency updates for three of its widely used products that patch dozens of newly discovered critical vulnerabilities. The list of affected software includes Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Bridge, and Magento e-commerce platform, containing a total of 35 vulnerabilities where each one of them is affected with multiple critical




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Reader Squee: Snug as a Hedgehog?

MidnightRayne says: "This is my Hedgehog Albert all snuggled up in a towel after a pampering bath!"

What a lucky hog! Getting the full fancy spa treatment.

- Sally Squeeps

Do you have a squee pet that you want to share with the world? Send us your pet pictures and stories, and they could end up on Daily Squee!




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Episode 549 - Dodgy calls, funny books & 13 years

On this week's show I take questions from some Arsecast listeners and Arseblog Members on Patreon. We chat about signings that didn't happen, the January window, Freddie Ljungberg's readiness to be a head coach, Granit Xhaka's place in the midfield, why in 2019 it remains difficult for gay footballers to come out, and lots more. Plus some pre-call waffle about a funny book, a podcast anniversary and other stuff besides. 

 

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.




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U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team Equal Pay Claim Dismissed by Federal Judge

A federal judge dealt a significant blow to the U.S. Women’s national team’s fight for equality on Friday. While the U.S. women’s team’s claim of unequal working conditions can go forward, a federal judge rejected the player’s claims of pay inequality. In March 2019, the USWNT filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation. The suit alleges the U.S. Soccer Federation’s has federally discriminatory payment practices, arguing that they pay women less than men “for substantially equal work and by denying them at least equal playing, training, and travel conditions; equal promotion of their games; equal support and development for their games; and other terms and conditions of employment equal to the MNT.” Judge R. Gary Klausner wrote in his decision that USWNT members did not prove wage discrimination under the Equal Pay Act because the women’s team played more games and made more money than the men’s team. Furthermore, the women’s team also rejected a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) where they would have an identical pay structure to the men’s team in favor of a different CBA. This CBA guarantees players are compensated regardless of whether they play, while the men’s CBA does not. “This approach — merely comparing […]




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IKEA bathroom vanity gets a luxurious live edge upgrade

I love the clean and simple lines of the IKEA GODMORGON sink and wall cabinets for the bathroom. However, they can sometimes look a little standard or low grade. In this IKEA hack, we upgraded the GODMORGON vanity look with a live edge white oak countertop, chrome handles, Kohler top-mount sinks and wall-mounted Grohe faucets […]

The post IKEA bathroom vanity gets a luxurious live edge upgrade appeared first on IKEA Hackers.




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New Princeton study takes superconductivity to the edge

The existence of superconducting currents, or supercurrents, along the exterior of a superconductor, has been surprisingly hard to find. Now, researchers at Princeton have discovered these edge supercurrents in a material that is both a superconductor and a topological semi-metal. This evidence for topological superconductivity could help provide the foundation for applications in quantum computing and other future technologies.




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Right To Refund campaign lodges complaint about ABTA to CMA

ABTA accused of acting like a quasi-regulator




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Differing Travel Budgets

Rarely does anyone discuss travel budgets PRIOR to a trip to a far away place. I am so very fortunate to have the inimitable Mr. Mike as the best travel buddy in the universe. We have been all over the world with rarely a hiccup. He knows how to travel




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Derbyshire 103 Chesterfield Day 49 another bridge another country VE day celebrations or is it remembering

I woke early again . The bedroom was still in darkness . Tossing about I found I could not get back to sleep. My mind was going round and round . Odd thoughts . Day 49 how many hours have we been locked down. 1176 hours or thereabouts. I could have begun




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Charlottetown Confederation Bridge Cap Pele 113km Total 4962km

SPAl final hasta las 10 no he salido del hostal ya que habia desayuno incluido. De ahi por la carretera transcanadiense directamente hasta el puente. Un seor puente 13 km de largo hubiese sido divertido recorrerlo en bici pero esta prohibido y




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Get ready for Crudstergram! Charlie Brooker's gadgets to save the world

The Black Mirror creator invents exciting products to transform your life – from the workout that makes you feel like a saint to the world’s cleverest toilet

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but happiness is in sharp decline. Many people blame technology for our woes, and it’s not hard to see why. The internet is nothing but deranged screeching and fascist memes sitting atop a plateau of moldering desperation masquerading as ironic meaninglessness. No one has smiled in real life since 2011. But wait! Silicon Valley is waking up to the negative effect its products can have on us, and like the good Samaritans they are, they’re unveiling a whole new range of products aimed at making us feel good about ourselves. Here is an exclusive look at just a few of the cool gizmos and rad gadgets due to be unveiled at next year’s CES Consumer Electronics Show and featured in news reports, and then in shops, and then in your house before you even know it.

Continue reading...




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Corona: "You Need the Sledgehammer" To Bring Down Infections

In an interview, Hong Kong-based epidemiologist Gabriel Leung explains why he considers a rapid lifting of contact bans and social distancing measures to be irresponsible. The corona crisis, he believes, will be with us for a long time.




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Chris Cornell’s widow fires back at Soundgarden members in escalating legal war, says they’re tying to ‘browbeat’ her into giving up music

Chris Cornell’s widow is firing back at her husband’s Soundgarden bandmates, calling the lawsuit they filed against her Wednesday an attempt to “browbeat” her into giving up “copyrighted works.”




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A bridge too far: Bill Baroni, Bridget Kelly and Chris Christie committed moral crimes against New Jersey

By the time in 2015 when prosecutors indicted Chris Christie flunkies Bridget Kelly and Bill Baroni for shutting down Fort Lee’s George Washington Bridge lanes for four days in 2013 to punish the mayor for failing to endorse the big man in Trenton’s reelection, the two sick sycophants had long lost their stupid sinecures in the State House and Port Authority. And Christie had already rightly lost the trust of Jerseyans for building the hothouse in which the lichens could grow.




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Southern Legend edges Beauty Generation in Hong Kong

Southern Legend denied Beauty Generation in a thrilling renewal of the FWD Champions Mile at Sha Tin.




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Former Mexican security chief linked to Sinaloa Cartel held without bail by Brooklyn federal judge on multi-million dollar bribery charge

Garcia Luna, accused of turning a blind eye toward murderous drug overlord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman while serving as Mexico’s secretary of public security from 2006-12, arrived in Brooklyn Federal Court with his attorney for a Friday afternoon hearing.




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After legendary 53-year career, Brooklyn Federal Judge Jack Weinstein hangs up his robe at age 98

Judge Jack Weinstein on Monday moved to inactive status, closing out a 53-year career. A highlight of his law career was working with Thurgood Marshall on the legal arguments that led the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in Brown v. Board of Education that school segregation was illegal. He was named a federal judge in 1967, and on his retirement was the last appointee of President Lyndon Johnson still on the bench.




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Brooklyn judge, three others test positive for coronavirus in borough’s courts: officials

The judge, whose name was not released, was last in the courthouse on Mar. 12, officials said.




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Samuel Taylor Coleridge

I have often thought what a melancholy world this would be without children, and what an inhuman world without the aged. Discuss




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NYC lawyers push back on state proposal to lower qualifications for special education judges amid shortage

New York City currently has fewer than 70 special education judges — called impartial hearing officers — to handle the thousands of complaints that special education students lodge every year against the city school system, resulting in more than 10,000 still-open cases.




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NY Board of Regents proposes letting non-lawyers be special ed judges

The New York Board of Regents said the move will allow the state to hire more judges and ease the growing backlog of cases.




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NYC council members urge de Blasio to avoid classroom cuts in budget negotiations

The lawmakers say the city should turn its attention to pricey contracts, testing payments and administrative costs before axing $181 million from school budgets that cover the salaries of teachers, social workers, and other staff.




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Editorial: Coronavirus is wiping out L.A.'s budget. We need federal help — and so do other cities

At a time when L.A. residents are demanding more from their local government's safety net, their city has significantly less money to help.




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How to dye Easter eggs with stuff you already have in your pantry or fridge

Stuck at home without a store-bought Easter egg kit due to COVID-19 and the coronavirus lockdown? No worries; there are lots of fun ways to decorate white and brown eggs in time for Sunday's search spree!




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Column: With a pledge to follow coronavirus science, 10 governors made the president blink

Two state pandemic coalitions represent a refusal to bow and scrape to Trump or to fight one another for federal resources.




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Angels and Dodgers trades are rare, but one was memorable

A trade between the Dodgers and Angels that made a big difference sent Andy Messersmith to L.A. and Frank Robinson to Anaheim, but Steve Garvey stayed put.




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What's new for fans at Dodgers and Angels spring training games

At the Dodgers spring training site in Glendale, Ariz., a new road connects to entertainment options. The Angels' site in Tempe has lots to do too.




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Griffin Canning pitches two good innings, but Angels fall to Dodgers in exhibition game

The Angels lost 9-4 to the Dodgers on Wednesday at Camelback Ranch in Phoenix.




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Unanimous Supreme Court overturns New Jersey 'Bridgegate' fraud convictions

The New Jersey case involving aides to Gov. Chris Christie may have been a political scandal, but it was not a crime, justices say.




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Supreme Court tosses Bridgegate convictions of two officials for ex-N.J. Gov. Chris Christie

The Bridgegate scandal was no crime, the Supreme Court ruled, tossing the convictions of two officials who caused a traffic jam as political punishment to then-Gov. Chris Christie’s enemies.




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NYC housing judge forces landlord to repair dilapidated Chelsea apartment buildings

Building owner Amazon Realty Group must also pay the $126,000 in damages to the residents of 219, 221 and 223 W. 24th St., and let them back in their homes, said the ruling by Housing Court Judge Jack Stoller.




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A.J. Pollock hits first home run of the spring in Dodgers' loss to Diamondbacks

A.J. Pollock hit his first home run of the spring but the Dodgers dug themselves in a hole early to fall to the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-3.




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Signs point to Clayton Kershaw starting for the Dodgers on opening day

Clayton Kershaw will make his spring debut Friday, one day ahead of Walker Buehler's first start, an indication the veteran left-hander will start opening day.




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Kenley Jansen finds it 'weird' he's pitching in February for Dodgers

Dodgers relief pitcher Kenley Jansen spent the offseason working on regaining his form. Early results have been encouraging.




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Dodgers beat Angels behind good pitching and offense in spring training exhibition

The Dodgers mount a comeback to beat the Angels 9-4 on Wednesday at Camelback Ranch to improve their spring training record 3-1.




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Column: Did Astros beat the Dodgers by cheating? The numbers say no

New analyses show that cheating didn't help the Astros, and may have hurt their record




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Dodgers' Gavin Lux must continue to prove he deserves to start at second base

Gavin Lux spent the bulk of the offseason training at Dodger Stadium in hopes of ensuring a starting spot at second base this season.




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Pitcher Tony Gonsolin shines in Dodgers' spring training win over Indians

The Dodgers beat the Cleveland Indians 6-5 in a spring training game and Tony Gonsolin impressed manager Dave Roberts with his two-inning effort.




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Swing adjustments by Dodgers' Kiké Hernández pay off so far this spring

Dodgers utilityman Kiké Hernández made adjustments to his swing during the offseason that he believes will produce more power.




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Clayton Kershaw shows off some encouraging velocity in start for Dodgers

Lower-back and shoulder injuries limited the velocity on Clayton Kershaw's fastball last year, but he's more up to speed this season, so far.




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Dodgers pitcher Alex Wood struggles in second spring outing but feels well physically

Left-hander Alex Wood gave up three runs as the Dodgers lost 6-5 to the Brewers, but he believes last year's back problems are in the past.