pti

Penelope Robin Raising Awareness For Pet Adoption Through #AdoptYourBestie

The Young Talent Whose Latest Music Video “Some Girls” Has Reached Over A Million Views On YouTube Recently Did A Photo Shoot For Local Animal Rescue “100+ Abandoned Dogs Of Everglades Florida”




pti

You might need reservations to drive to Maroon Bells this summer with shuttle service “not an option”

With concerns about COVID-19 in mind, the U.S. Forest Service is thinking about swapping public transportation for limited vehicle entry.




pti

You might need reservations to drive to Maroon Bells this summer with shuttle service “not an option”

With concerns about COVID-19 in mind, the U.S. Forest Service is thinking about swapping public transportation for limited vehicle entry.




pti

Tri-State’s largest member electric cooperative sues, claiming contract holds it captive

Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association's largest member is suing the wholesale power provider over what it claims is a scheme to hold it hostage to "an expensive and restrictive contract" that could result in millions of dollars of damages. The Colorado-based utility serves 43 members in four states.




pti

In memo, Broncos reiterate refund-or-credit option should games be canceled or played without fans

In a letter sent to their season ticket holders Friday, the Broncos reiterated that fans can choose a full refund or an account credit if games are canceled or are played without fans in attendance. On Tuesday, the NFL announced a league-wide refund-or-credit policy, but the Broncos informed account holders on April 2 that would […]





pti

Lecrae Says There's a Message in Every Prescription



Lecrae wants to put his prescription aside.




pti

Exceptional Black Women: MC Lyte



The rapper reflects on her road to stardom and giving back.



  • BET Star Cinema
  • BET HER Original Movies
  • MC Lyte

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Exceptional Black Women: Maxine Waters



The congresswoman stands up against discrimination.




pti

Exceptional Black Women: Meagan Good



Meagan Good looks back on her rewarding career.




pti

Exceptional Black Women: Terri J. Vaughn



The Hollywood leading lady hasn't forgotten her roots.



  • BET Star Cinema
  • BET HER Original Movies

pti

Exceptional Black Women: Collette V. Smith



NFL coach Collette V. Smith is a force on and off the field.



  • BET Star Cinema
  • BET HER Original Movies

pti

Serena Williams Leaves Cute, Cryptic Comment for Drake



#RelationshipGoals: what she said.




pti

“World’s First Captive To Insure Crypto Custody”

Premier David Burt announced that Gemini Trust Company, LLC — a cryptocurrency exchange and custodian — has launched Nakamoto, Ltd. a captive insurance company licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority [BMA] to insure Gemini Custody. “Nakamoto — the world’s first captive to insure crypto custody — allows Gemini Custody to increase its insurance capacity beyond […]

(Click to read the full article)




pti

Turtle Project Has ‘Another Exceptional Year’

The Bermuda Turtle Project, based at the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo, recently finished its 49th year of study of the sea turtles in Bermuda waters. “The goals of the project are to better understand the biology of sea turtles of Bermuda and to share that understanding with other professionals and the public to ensure […]

(Click to read the full article)




pti

Teachers Union Sign Off On Job Descriptions

The Bermuda Union of Teachers said they have signed off on the long awaited Job Descriptions for Para-educators and Educational Therapist Assistants. A spokesperson said, “The Bermuda Union of Teachers is happy to reveal that after a twenty year battle for clarity, this Union has signed off on the long awaited Job Descriptions [JD] for […]

(Click to read the full article)




pti

Saltus Deputy Head “Optimistic” About Exams

Saltus Deputy Head of School Jon Beard is “optimistic that Bermuda’s private schools will work with the exam boards to ensure that local students are able to complete the requirements” as the education system contends with the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. A spokesperson said, “International end of academic year examinations have been a casualty of the […]

(Click to read the full article)




pti

WEDCO: Two Options For Albert Row Property

“For more than 15 years WEDCO has been searching both internally and externally for a solution which would see the restoration of Albert Row,” WEDCO said, explaining that they are still hopeful someone will come forward with a “workable solution,” however if not the only two options are to leave them in a derelict condition or […]

(Click to read the full article)




pti

Research Studies Residents’ Perceptions Of AC

A peer-reviewed paper titled “The Economic Impacts and Perceptions of Residents, of Bermuda Hosting the 35th America’s Cup,” which outlines a study conducted by Bermuda College’s Senior Marketing Lecturer Shawn Deshields and Institutional Research Officer Cordell Riley, offers a number of insights into local perception of the event. A spokesperson said, “In 2015, when news of […]

(Click to read the full article)




pti

Simulation Options for Airport Planning

Global business and tourism depend heavily on the efficient operation of airports and movement of passengers, baggage, and cargo across many areas. With increasing demand and connectivity requirements for airports comes the need for more sophisticated simulation and modeling tools to validate design assumptions. Furthermore, airport design and planning decisions have significant impacts on policy and major capital improvement decisions, which can be supported by simulation and modeling tools at many leve...



  • http://www.trb.org/Resource.ashx?sn=cover_acrp_syn_98

pti

Wellness Wednesday: Alcohol Consumption Spikes In Ohio Amid Coronavirus Quarantine

Ohioans bought 1.36 million gallons of liquor in March, a nearly 25 percent increase over the same period last year. More of us are leaning on alcohol to beat quarantine doldrums and stress, but experts warn that extended overindulging could make it harder to put down the bottle when the lockdown is lifted.




pti

Optimizing the Use of Electric Preconditioned Air (PCA) and Ground Power Systems for Airports

As demand for air travel grows, airport-related emissions are increasing and airports are challenged to reduce associated environmental impacts. In response, expanded regulatory programs and global climate protection initiatives are being developed that require the aviation industry—including U.S. airports—to implement new, clean technologies and to modify operational practices to reduce emissions. One effective option for reducing the emissions associated with aircraft auxiliary power units (APUs) and d...



  • http://www.trb.org/Resource.ashx?sn=cover_acrp_rpt_207

pti

Simulation Options for Airport Planning

Global business and tourism depend heavily on the efficient operation of airports and movement of passengers, baggage, and cargo across many areas. With increasing demand and connectivity requirements for airports comes the need for more sophisticated simulation and modeling tools to validate design assumptions. Furthermore, airport design and planning decisions have significant impacts on policy and major capital improvement decisions, which can be supported by simulation and modeling tools at many leve...



  • http://www.trb.org/Resource.ashx?sn=cover_acrp_syn_98

pti

Airport Surface Weather Observation Options for General Aviation Airports

The needs of airports may vary depending on the types of operations typically conducted at the airport, as well as the type of weather common to the airport. The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's ACRP Syntheis 105: Airport Surface Weather Observation Options for General Aviation Airports aims to provide the operators of general aviation (GA) airports a comprehensive source of information about airport-based weather observation options so they may make informed decisions to support the specific o...



  • http://www.trb.org/Resource.ashx?sn=cover_acrp_syn_105

pti

Tower of Assumptions




pti

Annuit Coeptis




pti

UTEP Professor Named Fellow of International Society for Optics and Photonics

Raymond C. Rumpf, Ph.D., professor of electrical and computer engineering at The University of Texas at El Paso, was promoted to Fellow of the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE), an educational nonprofit established to advance light-based science, engineering and technology.




pti

Senator Wyden And Others Introduce Bill Calling The DOJ's Bluff Regarding Its Attempt To Destroy Section 230 & Encryption

One of the key points we've been making concerning Attorney General William Barr and his DOJ's eager support for the terrible EARN-IT Act, is that much of it really seems to be to cover up the DOJ's own failings in fighting child porn and child exploitation. The premise behind the EARN IT Act is that there's a lot of child exploitation/child abuse material found on social media... and that social media companies should do more to block that content. Of course, if you step back and think about it, you'd quickly realize that this is a form of sweeping the problem under the rug. Rather than actually tracking down and arresting those exploiting and abusing children, it's demanding private companies just hide the evidence of those horrific acts.

And why might the DOJ and others be so supportive of sweeping evidence under the rug and hiding it? Perhaps because the DOJ and Congress have literally failed to live up to their mandates under existing laws to actually fight child exploitation. Barr's DOJ has been required under law to produce reports showing data about internet crimes against children, and come up with goals to fight those crimes. It has produced only two out of the six reports that were mandated over a decade ago. At the same time, Congress has only allocated a very small budget to state and local law enforcement for fighting internet child abuse. While the laws Congress passed say that Congress should give $60 million to local law enforcement, it has actually allocated only about half of that. Oh, and Homeland Security took nearly half of its "cybercrimes" budget and diverted it to immigration enforcement, rather than fighting internet crimes such as child exploitation.

So... maybe we should recognize that the problem isn't social media platforms, but the fact that Congress and law enforcement -- from local and state up to the DOJ -- have literally failed to do their job.

At least some elected officials have decided to call the DOJ's bluff on why we need the EARN IT Act. Led by Senator Ron Wyden (of course), Senators Kirsten Gillbrand, Bob Casey, Sherrod Brown and Rep. Anna Eshoo have introduced a new bill to actually fight child sex abuse online. Called the Invest in Child Safety Act, it would basically make law enforcement do its job regarding this stuff.

The Invest in Child Safety Act would direct $5 billion in mandatory funding to investigate and target the pedophiles and abusers who create and share child sexual abuse material online. And it would create a new White House office to coordinate efforts across federal agencies, after DOJ refused to comply with a 2008 law requiring coordination and reporting of those efforts. It also directs substantial new funding for community-based efforts to prevent children from becoming victims in the first place.

Basically, the bill would do a bunch of things to make sure that law enforcement is actually dealing with the very real problem of child exploitation, rather than demanding that internet companies (1) sweep evidence under the rug, and (2) break encryption:

  • Quadruple the number of prosecutors and agents in DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section from 30 FTEs to 120 FTEs;
  • Add 100 new agents and investigators for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Innocent Images National Initiative, Crimes Against Children Unit, Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Teams, and Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Forces;
  • Fund 65 new NCMEC analysts, engineers, and mental health counselors, as well as a major upgrade to NCMEC’s technology platform to enable the organization to more effectively evaluate and process CSAM reports from tech companies;
  • Double funding for the state Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces;
  • Double funding for the National Criminal Justice Training Center, to administer crucial Internet Crimes Against Children and Missing and Exploited Children training programs;
  • Increase funding for evidence-based programs, local governments and non-federal entities to detect, prevent and support victims of child sexual abuse, including school-based mental health services and prevention programs like the Children’s Advocacy Centers and the HHS’ Street Outreach Program;
  • Require tech companies to increase the time that they hold evidence of CSAM, in a secure database, to enable law enforcement agencies to prosecute older cases;
  • Establish an Office to Enforce and Protect Against Child Sexual Exploitation, within the Executive Office of the President, to direct and streamline the federal government’s efforts to prevent, investigate and prosecute the scourge of child exploitation;
  • Require the Office to develop an enforcement and protection strategy, in coordination with HHS and GAO; and
  • Require the Office to submit annual monitoring reports, subject to mandatory Congressional testimony to ensure timely execution.
While I always have concerns about law enforcement mission creep and misguided targeting of law enforcement efforts, hopefully everyone can agree that child exploitation does remain a very real problem, and one that law enforcement should be investigating and going after those who are actually exploiting and abusing children. This bill would make that possible, rather than the alternative approach of just blaming the internet companies for law enforcement's failure to take any of this seriously.




pti

Optimism or denial as mental self-defence

---------------------------------------------------[Sat Nov 26 15:25:44 2016]--
From: (S) ease of well-being  (steph)

Subject: Optimism or denial as mental self-defence

A few things recently have given me cause to consider my response to bad things
happening, and my reactions to other people's responses.  First, there's
Trump's election in the US which is undesirable and directly or indirectly
likely to cause some people harm (although I doubt it'll have any effect on me
personally).  I agree that he's not the best or even a good candidate and I
agree that he has incited prejudiced people to show and act on their
prejudices: people are being hurt.  However, I do not like the stream of
articles saying he's a white supremacist or a Nazi or California should secede
or the Electoral College should choose Clinton, or whatever.  Part of this is
doubtless my contrary streak, but part of it is something different.  I observe
that I am semi-consciously adopting a position that `things will turn out all
right' or `it won't be that bad' because countenancing the opposite is not good
for my mental health.

The other thing is some changes in the wider organisation for which I work;
basically there has been a botched reorganisation which has left most people
unhappy and from what I hear from numerous sources with good reason.  This
doesn't currently affect me much and I don't expect it to because of political
realities.  However, even just having the argument with someone closer to the
failing department (and more likely to feel its direct effects) seems to be
followed by my feeling anxious and depressed.  Again, adopting a constructive
positive attitude (which may appear to others pollyannaish, naive, optimistic,
or just in denial) seems to be a defence I've learned here and I suspect it
helps.  But there's more obviously a risk when I'm more involved than I am in
the US case, namely that my optimism will blind me to dangers that will be to
my detriment.

Does my ornery nature come to the rescue, though?  Perhaps because I'm at heart
a bit of a grumpy sod and only respect authorities when I think they deserve it
my tendency to want to probe and prod and query and dig my heels in may
counteract the defensive optimism.  Or alternatively, I'm optimistic in a
different sense: perhaps I just have confidence that I'll win?

LJDW




pti

Specificity of bispecific T cell receptors and antibodies targeting peptide-HLA

Tumor-associated peptide–human leukocyte antigen complexes (pHLAs) represent the largest pool of cell surface–expressed cancer-specific epitopes, making them attractive targets for cancer therapies. Soluble bispecific molecules that incorporate an anti-CD3 effector function are being developed to redirect T cells against these targets using 2 different approaches. The first achieves pHLA recognition via affinity-enhanced versions of natural TCRs (e.g., immune-mobilizing monoclonal T cell receptors against cancer [ImmTAC] molecules), whereas the second harnesses an antibody-based format (TCR-mimic antibodies). For both classes of reagent, target specificity is vital, considering the vast universe of potential pHLA molecules that can be presented on healthy cells. Here, we made use of structural, biochemical, and computational approaches to investigate the molecular rules underpinning the reactivity patterns of pHLA-targeting bispecifics. We demonstrate that affinity-enhanced TCRs engage pHLA using a comparatively broad and balanced energetic footprint, with interactions distributed over several HLA and peptide side chains. As ImmTAC molecules, these TCRs also retained a greater degree of pHLA selectivity, with less off-target activity in cellular assays. Conversely, TCR-mimic antibodies tended to exhibit binding modes focused more toward hot spots on the HLA surface and exhibited a greater degree of crossreactivity. Our findings extend our understanding of the basic principles that underpin pHLA selectivity and exemplify a number of molecular approaches that can be used to probe the specificity of pHLA-targeting molecules, aiding the development of future reagents.




pti

Molecular crosstalk between Y5 receptor and neuropeptide Y drives liver cancer

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is clearly age-related and represents one of the deadliest cancer types worldwide. As a result of globally increasing risk factors including metabolic disorders, the incidence rates of HCC are still rising. However, the molecular hallmarks of HCC remain poorly understood. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and NPY receptors represent a highly conserved, stress-activated system involved in diverse cancer-related hallmarks including aging and metabolic alterations, but its impact on liver cancer had been unclear. Here, we observed increased expression of NPY5 receptor (Y5R) in HCC, which correlated with tumor growth and survival. Furthermore, we found that its ligand NPY was secreted by peritumorous hepatocytes. Hepatocyte-derived NPY promoted HCC progression by Y5R activation. TGF-β1 was identified as a regulator of NPY in hepatocytes and induced Y5R in invasive cancer cells. Moreover, NPY conversion by dipeptidylpeptidase 4 (DPP4) augmented Y5R activation and function in liver cancer. The TGF-β/NPY/Y5R axis and DPP4 represent attractive therapeutic targets for controlling liver cancer progression.




pti

Posttreatment Lyme disease syndromes: distinct pathogenesis caused by maladaptive host responses




pti

The neonatal microenvironment programs innate γδ T cells through the transcription factor STAT5

IL-17–producing RORγt+ γδ T cells (γδT17 cells) are innate lymphocytes that participate in type 3 immune responses during infection and inflammation. Herein, we show that γδT17 cells rapidly proliferate within neonatal lymph nodes and gut, where, upon entry, they upregulate T-bet and coexpress IL-17, IL-22, and IFN-γ in a STAT3- and retinoic acid–dependent manner. Neonatal expansion was halted in mice conditionally deficient in STAT5, and its loss resulted in γδT17 cell depletion from all adult organs. Hyperactive STAT5 mutant mice showed that the STAT5A homolog had a dominant role over STAT5B in promoting γδT17 cell expansion and downregulating gut-associated T-bet. In contrast, STAT5B preferentially expanded IFN-γ–producing γδ populations, implying a previously unknown differential role of STAT5 gene products in lymphocyte lineage regulation. Importantly, mice lacking γδT17 cells as a result of STAT5 deficiency displayed a profound resistance to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. Our data identify that the neonatal microenvironment in combination with STAT5 is critical for post-thymic γδT17 development and tissue-specific imprinting, which is essential for infection and autoimmunity.




pti

Transcriptional and cytopathological hallmarks of FSHD in chronic DUX4-expressing mice

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is caused by loss of repression of the DUX4 gene; however, the DUX4 protein is rare and difficult to detect in human muscle biopsies, and pathological mechanisms are obscure. FSHD is also a chronic disease that progresses slowly over decades. We used the sporadic, low-level, muscle-specific expression of DUX4 enabled by the iDUX4pA-HSA mouse to develop a chronic long-term muscle disease model. After 6 months of extremely low sporadic DUX4 expression, dystrophic muscle presented hallmarks of FSHD histopathology, including muscle degeneration, capillary loss, fibrosis, and atrophy. We investigated the transcriptional profile of whole muscle as well as endothelial cells and fibroadiopogenic progenitors (FAPs). Strikingly, differential gene expression profiles of both whole muscle and, to a lesser extent, FAPs, showed significant overlap with transcriptional profiles of MRI-guided human FSHD muscle biopsies. These results demonstrate a pathophysiological similarity between disease in muscles of iDUX4pA-HSA mice and humans with FSHD, solidifying the value of chronic rare DUX4 expression in mice for modeling pathological mechanisms in FSHD and highlighting the importance FAPs in this disease.




pti

Dysfunctional polycomb transcriptional repression contributes to lamin A/C–dependent muscular dystrophy

Lamin A is a component of the inner nuclear membrane that, together with epigenetic factors, organizes the genome in higher order structures required for transcriptional control. Mutations in the lamin A/C gene cause several diseases belonging to the class of laminopathies, including muscular dystrophies. Nevertheless, molecular mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of lamin A–dependent dystrophies are still largely unknown. The polycomb group (PcG) of proteins are epigenetic repressors and lamin A interactors, primarily involved in the maintenance of cell identity. Using a murine model of Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD), we show here that lamin A loss deregulated PcG positioning in muscle satellite stem cells, leading to derepression of non–muscle-specific genes and p16INK4a, a senescence driver encoded in the Cdkn2a locus. This aberrant transcriptional program caused impairment in self-renewal, loss of cell identity, and premature exhaustion of the quiescent satellite cell pool. Genetic ablation of the Cdkn2a locus restored muscle stem cell properties in lamin A/C–null dystrophic mice. Our findings establish a direct link between lamin A and PcG epigenetic silencing and indicate that lamin A–dependent muscular dystrophy can be ascribed to intrinsic epigenetic dysfunctions of muscle stem cells.




pti

Another reason why I will not renew my subscription with Intuit for ProSeries tax software

Are you a taxpreparer who is unsatisfied with the quality of Intuit's ProSeries tax software program? I am not a happy user of ProSeries tax software. Choose your tax software carefully. I will be searching for an alternative tax software vendor for the year 2014. Continue reading




pti

Root Cause Analysis of Microsoft Azure Service Interruption

Microsoft recently experienced a significant interruption of their Azure cloud service. Since a decent amount of data was available for this incident, I decided to do a partial root cause analysis. All of my source data came from Microsoft's official Azure blog post on 2014-Nov-24. I did this primarily to create a sample analysis that […]




pti

IBM Combines All-Flash and Storage Software Optimized for Hortonworks

IBM today announced a new all-flash, high-performance data and file management solution for enterprise clients running exabyte-scale big data analytics, cognitive and AI applications. The combined flash and storage software solution has been certified with the Hortonworks Data Platform (HDP) to provide clients with more choice in selecting the right platform for their big data analytics on data processing engines like Hadoop and Spark.




pti

IBM Study: 61 Percent of Surveyed CMOs and Sales Leaders Say Cognitive Computing Will Be a Disruptive Force in Their Industries—But Are They Ready for the Disruption?

While marketing and sales professionals increasingly find themselves drowning in data, a new IBM study finds that nearly two thirds—64 percent--of surveyed CMOs and sales leaders believe their industries will be ready to adopt cognitive technologies in the next three years. However despite this stated readiness, the study finds that only 24 percent of those surveyed believe they have strategy in place to implement these technologies today.




pti

IBM optimise "Watson Anywhere" avec de nouveaux clients et des innovations conçues pour rendre encore plus facile la mise à l'échelle de l'intelligence artificielle sur tous les types de cloud

Reconnaissant que les entreprises mettent du temps à adopter l'intelligence artificielle, en partie à cause de la complexité croissante des données, IBM (NYSE : IBM) dévoile aujourd'hui de nouvelles innovations qui optimisent son approche Watson Anywhere pour mettre à l'échelle l'intelligence artificielle sur tous les types de cloud, et de permettre à une multitude de clients de tirer parti de la stratégie pour intégrer l'intelligence artificielle à leurs données, où qu'elles se trouvent.




pti

Etude IBM : les directions Marketing doivent adopter la « disruption créative » pour fidéliser leurs clients

Etude IBM : les directions Marketing doivent adopter la « disruption créative » pour fidéliser leurs clients La nouvelle étude IBM révèle les principaux axes de priorités des directions Marketing pour 2016



  • Global Business Solutions

pti

Synergy Plus Wins IBM Beacon Award for Leadership in Optimizing IT Infrastructure

Hyro Limited group company, Synergy Plus Pty Ltd (“Synergy”) has been named winner of the award for “Leadership in Optimizing IT Infrastructure” in the annual IBM Beacon Awards competition, honoring IBM Business Partners for their ingenuity, innovation, customer satisfaction and outstanding achievements in providing business solutions.




pti

Board Game Review: Cryptid

My favorite board game as a child in the early 1980s was Clue. Put the clues together, use your deduction skills, and solve the mystery before anyone else. Aha, now you’ve got it! Aren’t you the smart one! Board games have come a long way since then, with increasing complexity in structure and mechanics; deduction games are no exception. If you liked Clue as a child, you’ll probably love Cryptid.

Released by Osprey Games, Cryptid is a deduction game designed by Hal Duncan and Ruth Veevers. Players take on the role of cryptozoologists searching for an unidentified cryptid (an animal that people claim exists, but which has yet to be verified) in North America.

The geographic search area in Cryptid is comprised of six modular board tiles, which are arranged in rows of two tiles each stacked to form a 2x3 grid, which looks like this:

Because the boards can be rotated and moved around, this results in around 46,000 different board set-ups. There are five terrain types possible for each hexagonal space: water (blue), mountain (gray), forest (green), swamp (purple), or desert (yellow). These colored spaces are clustered and liberally distributed all over the board. The geography also includes cougar territory (outlined with red) and bear territory (outlined with a dashed black line). Finally, there are structures placed within the territory- standing stones and abandoned shacks - which can be blue, white, green, or black. A deck of cards is provided to guide players in arranging the boards and selecting clues to be used in the game. Each time Cryptid is played, a new card is selected from the deck. One side of the card has a picture depicting how the boards should be arranged and the other side has, based on player count (3, 4, or 5), an assigned clue from the player clue books given the arrangement.

Players can also use the Cryptid app to generate the maps and clue assignments. Using the deck of cards or the app, the game designers have carefully assigned each player only one piece of information from a set of 24 clues, such as “The habitat is within one space of forest” (this is for the normal game; the advanced game allows negative information such as “The habitat is not within one space of forest.”, which pushes the set of clues to 48). These pieces of information, when coupled with the constructed game board, result in only one possible space for the cryptid to be located, out of 108 spaces. The seemingly innumerable variations and possible combinations are truly dizzying. Cryptid is a game that would be difficult to create and implement outside of the modern computing age - I’m certain the designers used an algorithm to generate all the possible combinations.

At the start of the game, each player chooses a space on the board where, according to their clue, the Cryptid could not be located, and places a cube on that space. This action is repeated one more time, so that every player has 2 cubes on the board before the game begins. Over the course of the game, players take turns selecting a space on the map and then either (1) asking another player whether, according to that player’s clue, the Cryptid could be located there, or (2) initiating a search to indicate they think the Cryptid is likely there. If asking another player, the player who is to answer does so by placing a cube in the space (if it can’t be there) or by placing a circle in the space (if it could). If the player answers with a cube, then the asking player must also place a cube somewhere on the map to share information with others. If a search has been initiated, the player places a circle in the space and then the player to the left of the player whose turn it is places either a cube or circle in the space to indicate the possibility of the Cryptid’s presence. If a cube is placed, the searching player must place a cube on the board as when they are asking, and the turn ends. If a circle is placed, the next player in line, going clockwise, places either a cube or circle, and so on. If all players place a circle on the space, the searching player has found the Cryptid and won the game. Otherwise, play continues with the next player’s turn.

The components in Cryptid are well constructed. The modular boards are sturdy cardboard and the wooden pieces (five colors for each of the possible players, and pieces for the standing stones and abandoned shacks in four colors) are high quality. The artwork is functional, and I would have liked to see more detail put into the shacks and stones, but because this game is one-step away from an abstract deduction game, the artwork isn’t the focus. The real focus is on the critical thinking aspect of the game, which is where it really shines. Every single time I played this game over the past six months, I watched my opponents, both on their turns and between their turns, quietly furrowing their brows and cycling between examining the board and examining the set of possible clues, as they frantically tried to deduce which clue belonged to which player, based on the cubes and circles presently laid out on the board. That’s because once you have discerned what each player’s clue is, you just need to find the one spot on the map that satisfies all of them, and you’ve won the game.

A big debate around our gaming table was whether to allow players to take notes during the game. My husband drew a big advantage over others during a game in which we house ruled that notes were ok. That isn’t surprising since he has a PhD in statistics. Once you reduce Cryptid to a math problem on paper, the more adept mathematicians will likely pull into the lead. After that, I came out strongly against note taking and remain in the no notes camp still today. Of course, your experiences and preferences may vary. If you’ve a whole crowd of math gurus, having a “math off” might be fun for you.

Cryptid is subject to a significant amount of analysis paralysis. It never seemed to bother any of the players around our table though, because while the active player is deep in analytical though, so are the rest of the players. It isn’t as though you spend the time between your turns twiddling your thumbs growing impatient. In fact, it’s nice to have the time to work out what your next move is going to be while the other players are taking their turns.

Cryptid is not my favorite board game. My top picks in the category all provide rich theming, a deep narrative, and detailed artwork. That’s just my personal bias toward those types of games. But Cryptid is my favorite abstract game. I can’t think of a single abstract game that outshines Cryptid. It’s worthy of a spot in any serious gamer’s collection.

-------------------------------------------------

Publisher: Osprey Games
Players: 3-5
Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): 60 minutes
Game type:  deduction

Rating:

Jenni’s rating scale:
OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.
OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.
OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.
NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me




pti

Adoptiversaries

These couple of weeks must be something special, because I adopted all three of the browns during this time of year. Wrigley's adoptaversary was yesterday, Probert's today, and Maizy's is in just a couple of weeks. So, I figured it was time to do some comparison photos. Then and now(ish - the now photos are from the past few months).

Probert was adopted 6 years ago at about 11 months old from a rescue in Columbus, OH called Measle's Animal Haven. He was a scrawny little pup who had been abused, rescued, and then contracted a mild case of parvo (mild due to being an older puppy) and been bitten by another dog in rescue. Now he's a little snugglebutt who still has issues from his past, but over just the past couple of years is really learning to be a DOG. Finally.


Wrigley was adopted 7 years ago at about 5 months old. He was a direct rescue from people who didn't want him. They said they were watching him for someone who went out of town and never returned to pick him up. Wrigley was living life underneath a trailer at the end of a tow chain and had never even been given a name. The people who had him did doxie rescue and had about 9 rescue dogs in their house, but never thought to bring Wrigley indoors because of his breed. To their credit, they did make some effort to rehome him and I was happy to invite him into my pack! Now he is a wiggly goofball. Definitely the most challenging of my dogs due to his guard barking, but he makes up for it by being one of the most genuinely sweet souls I've ever encountered.



Maizy was adopted 8 years ago at about 9 months old. She was a scrawny 27 lbs and smelled like mildew, probably due to the workers at Philadelphia Animal Care and Control hosing out her kennel with her still in it. She was shy and sometimes stubborn, but always a wonderful, personable dog. She grew up quickly, gaining tens of pounds in just a few months after her adoption. She is my most faithful companion and is definitely the pack leader. I have been so fortunate to have her to teach the boys the ins and outs of being a dog, as I see they have often studied her behavior and followed her example.


So, there it is. Happy Adoptaversaries to all of my babies. My life would simply NOT be the same without you. I love you all so so much.





pti

Optimizing Your YouTube Channel And Videos For Traffic

YouTube is one of the most important marketing tools out there when it comes to getting the message out about your business or your website. It’s currently the second most used search engine behind Google (which owns YouTube by the way) and is the biggest video sharing site in the world. Like it or hate it having videos on YouTube is a good way to promote what you have. But just having videos isn’t enough to get a tonne of traffic; you need to know how to optimize your YouTube channel and videos to get more traffic......................