tea

Unions say teachers will not return to schools in June without full 'test and trace' scheme






tea

Tea and history: an evocative brew in Chengdu, China

This centuries-old teahouse in Sichuan province and its regulars are a world away from China’s modern megacities

Out in the western suburbs of Sichuan’s capital, Chengdu, the town of Pengzhen is home to what’s said to be the oldest teahouse in China. About 300 years old, the Guanyin Pavilion is at the heart of a tiny community of historic streets where, against a tide of rapid modernisation, the local population proudly preserves its heritage and traditional way of life.

Continue reading...




tea

Far out! Xplore teams up with JPL and Aerospace Corp. on gravity-lens telescope

NASA has awarded a $2 million grant to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Aerospace Corp. — and Xplore, a Seattle-based space venture — to develop the design architecture for a far-out telescope array that would use the sun's gravitational field as a lens to focus on alien planets. The Phase III award from the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts program, or NIAC, would cover two years of development work and could lead to the launch of a technology demonstration mission in the 2023-2024 time frame. Xplore's team will play a key role in designing the demonstration mission's spacecraft, which would be… Read More





tea

AI in Africa: Teaching a bot to read my mum's texts

How African researchers are using the continent's languages to help spur innovation in Artificial Intelligence.





tea

Coronavirus: Nasa using 50s-style 3D glasses to control Curiosity rover on Mars while team is working from home

The remote working stakes have just gone up a notch




tea

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord $37.50 -- cdkeys.com (PC/Steam)

Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord is currently $37.50 on cdkeys.com. Yesterday it was $41. 

 

https://www.cdkeys.com/pc/games/mount-and-blade-ii-2-bannerlord-pc

 

On Steam its MSRP is $50 with a limited time sale going on now for $45. The game just came out to Early Access 3/31.

 

The question now is: jump now on the good price, or will the price continue to fall?

 

Note: It's in Early Access and has been in development for like 8 years. Expect some clunk.




tea

RiteAid BonusCash rewards for Apr 5-11, 2020 ... 20% ROI on Xbox, GameStop, Apple, Google, Netflix, Nike, Panera, Fandango, AMC, & Regal GC's

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

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

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

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

Spoiler


Small print (at bottom of weekly ad) and BonusCash T&C's included here:
Spoiler


FYI ... the limit of "2 offers per customer" is tracked by your "wellness+ rewards" account, so you'll need to limit yourself to 2 offers per line item throughout the week, and not just "2 per transaction" or "2 per day". At the time of purchase, your printed receipt will indicate how many of the "limit 2" you've met, but neither the website nor register will indicate ...

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

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

  • -->




    tea

    Pac-Man Championship Edition 2 (Xbox One, PS4, and Steam) is free until May 10th

    Price is "on sale" for free until May 10th, so claim it while you can.

     

    PS4: https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP0700-CUSA04924_00-PACMANCE2BUNDLE0

     

    Xbox One: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/pac-man-championship-edition-2/bpv04qgbn8j8#activetab=pivot:overviewtab

     

    Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/441380/PACMAN_CHAMPIONSHIP_EDITION_2/

     

    This is apparently Bandai-Namco's way of helping keep people entertained while stuck at home amidst the COVID stuff.






    tea

    Police officer accused of stealing meals from Sulhamstead centre

    A THAMES Valley Police officer is accused of stealing food from his work canteen only one week into his new job.




    tea

    Conversations With ‘The Nation’: Zephyr Teachout

    The Nation

    Join the anti-corruption leader in discussion with Nation editorial director/publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel for our weekly virtual series.

    The post Conversations With ‘The Nation’: Zephyr Teachout appeared first on The Nation.






    tea

    ICMR teams up with Bharat Biotech to make vaccine

    ICMR teams up with Bharat Biotech to make vaccineThe vaccine will be developed using the virus strain isolated at the ICMR's National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, a statement said. The strain has been successfully transferred from NIV to BBIL, it added. The death toll due to COVID-19 rose to 1,981 and the number of cases climbed to 59,662 in the country on Saturday, according to the Union Health Ministry.




    tea

    Tips for home-schooling parents during a pandemic: First, trust yourself and teachers.

    We shouldn't expect a normal level of learning right now and teachers are prepared to catch kids up this fall. Their message to parents: Leave it to us.

          




    tea

    The Half-Life effect on PC-VR is the biggest Steam has ever seen

    A big jump, but if you were expecting a jolt that would “save” the PC-VR space, well...




    tea

    Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt Team Up for Superhero Film ‘Ball and Chain’

    Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt are re-teaming on the superhero movie "Ball and Chain" following their collaboration on "Jungle Cruise." The project is being shopped among studios, including Netflix, but no distribution deal has closed. "Ball and Chain" is being written by Oscar nominee Emily V. Gordon and is an adaptation of the '90s comic […]




    tea

    Fantasy football 12-team, PPR mock draft

    We officially kick off the 2020 fantasy campaign with our first mock draft. Who went first?




    tea

    Sources: Some NBA teams OK'd to test players

    Some NBA teams opening facilities for voluntary workouts will be allowed to administer coronavirus tests to asymptomatic players and staff, provided there is enough testing available for at-risk health care workers, sources told ESPN.




    tea

    Here's our dream Team USA baseball squad

    Bryce Harper talks up the idea of major leaguers playing in next summer's Olympics.




    tea

    Teachers produce 200,000 pieces of PPE for frontline healthcare staff

    'I'm in awe of the work that has taken place across our community over the last month, says Tony Ryan




    tea

    A letter to… the teacher who inspired my young son

    ‘I take comfort in the knowledge that, even though you are not here, your work continues to make children happy’

    I was so worried about handing my little boy over during his first week of school, but you made it easier. You smiled at him like a mother would at her own child. You radiated warmth and your hugs were always on offer.

    After a day in class with you, C would come home singing. Whenever I hear Do Your Ears Hang Low or see him stretching to the sky when singing about the days of the week, I will think of you. I didn’t tell you at the time, but I loved your morning song so much that I implemented it in my own class (I’m a teacher too). The first time we sang it after losing you was hard but, as time passes, I take comfort in the knowledge that, even though you are not here, your work continues to make children happy.

    Continue reading...




    tea

    Patterns of pain: what Covid-19 can teach us about how to be human

    We can expect psychological difficulties to follow as we come out of lockdown. But we have an opportunity to remake our relationship with our bodies, and the social body we belong to. By Susie Orbach

    When lockdown started, I was confused by bodies on television. Why weren’t they socially distancing? Didn’t they know not to be so close? The injunction to be separate was unfamiliar and irregular, and for me, self-isolating alone, following this government directive was peculiar. It made watching dramas and programmes produced under normal filming conditions feel jarring.

    Seven weeks in, the disjuncture has passed. I, like all of us, am accommodating to multiple corporeal realities: bodies alone, bodies distant, bodies in the park to be avoided, bodies of disobedient youths hanging out in groups, bodies in lines outside shops, bodies and voices flattened on screens and above all, bodies of dead health workers and carers. Black bodies, brown bodies. Working-class bodies. Bodies not normally praised, now being celebrated.

    Continue reading...




    tea

    Labour MP Jess Phillips promoted to Sir Keir Starmer's top team

    The new Labour Leader has promoted the prominent backbencher Jess Phillips to his top team.




    tea

    Raptors lead the way as Ontario eases restrictions on team training facilities

    The Ontario government paved the way Friday, easing restrictions on pro sports teams by allowing them to open their training facilities providing they follow their league's "established health and safety protocols" in response to COVID-19.



    • Sports/Basketball/NBA

    tea

    Girl Manages to Steal the Entire Show at the Sheep Competition

    A three-year old girl is an internet sensation for her expert sheep wrangling.




    tea

    The Innocence Files review: Netflix's devastating documentary exposes how wrongful convictions can tear apart lives

    Men locked away for decades over crimes they didn't commit share their stories in this startling new series




    tea

    Joe Gilgun: 'Stealing all day is hard graft'

    The star of 'This Is England' talks to Annie Lord about the misrepresentation of working-class people on TV, the return of his show 'Brassic', and his struggles with medication for a bipolar disorder




    tea

    Space Force: Real chief wanted to be played by Bruce Willis instead of 'shaggy' Steve Carell

    Series is a humorous response to Trump's actual Space Force




    tea

    Tiger King's 'Texas-sized' team asks Donald Trump to pardon Joe Exotic

    Joseph Maldonado-Passage was sentenced in January to 22 years in prison





    tea

    McIlroy and Johnson to team up in $3m golf event for coronavirus charities

    • Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff the opposition at Seminole
    • Broadcast to be screened live in UK and United States

    Rory McIlroy, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Matthew Wolff are to take part in an event to raise money for coronavirus charities. The foursome will play in the TaylorMade Driving Relief – a two-team skins challenge over 18 holes – at Seminole in Florida on 17 May.

    McIlroy, the world No 1, will team up with Johnson against Fowler and Wolff, with up to $3m (£2.38m) going to the American Nurses Foundation and CDC Foundation. All four will follow strict physical-distancing measures and comprehensive testing will be used to protect players, TV staff and others at the course.

    Related: Golf must be force for good when it makes long-awaited return | Ewan Murray

    Continue reading...




    tea

    NFL tells teams to have facility reopening protocols in place by next week

    • Goodell’s memo outlines protocols for reopening team facilities
    • NFL set to release full regular-season schedule on Thursday

    The NFL has set protocols for reopening team facilities and has told the 32 teams to have them in place by 15 May.

    In a memo sent by league commissioner Roger Goodell and obtained Wednesday night by the Associated Press, several phases of the protocols were laid out. The first phase to deal with the coronavirus pandemic would involve a limited number of non-player personnel, initially 50% of the non-player employees (up to a total of 75) on any single day, being approved to be at the facility. But state or local regulations could require a lower number.

    Related: Why is it always the white NFL players who get a second chance?

    Related: Eli Manning predicts 'tough' start for Tom Brady with Buccaneers

    Local and state government officials must consent to reopening

    The team must implement all operational guidelines set by the league to minimize the risk of virus transmission among employees

    Each club must acquire adequate amounts of needed supplies as prescribed by the league

    An Infection Response Team with a written plan for newly diagnosed coronavirus cases

    An Infection Control Officer to oversee all aspects of the implementation of the listed guidelines

    Each employee who returns to work at the club facility must receive Covid-19 safety and hygiene training prior to using the facility, and agree to report health information to the ICO

    The response team must consist of a local physician with expertise in common infectious disease principles; the team physician can fill that role. Also on the response team will be the infection control officer, the team’s head athletic trainer; the team physician, if he or she is not serving as the local physician; the human resources director; the team’s chief of security; its mental health clinician or someone with equivalent clinical expertise; and a member of the club’s operations staff such as the facility manager

    Continue reading...




    tea

    Brian May taken to hospital after tearing buttock muscles while gardening

    Queen guitarist says ‘I won’t be able to walk for a while’ after injury during lockdown and lambasts Boris Johnson over coronavirus

    Brian May has complained of “relentless pain” after he was taken to hospital following a gardening injury that tore muscles in his buttocks – and, while in recovery, made a sustained attack on Boris Johnson’s preparedness for coronavirus.

    Writing on Instagram, the Queen guitarist said: “I managed to rip my gluteus maximus to shreds in a moment of overenthusiastic gardening. So suddenly I find myself in a hospital getting scanned to find out exactly how much I’ve actually damaged myself. Turns out I did a thorough job – this is a couple of days ago – and I won’t be able to walk for a while … or sleep, without a lot of assistance, because the pain is relentless.”

    Continue reading...




    tea

    Joe Wicks wins Guinness World Record for YouTube views as 'nation's PE teacher'




    tea

    Jack Savoretti hails teachers as 'unsung heroes' of coronavirus crisis

    The musician has been home-schooling his two children




    tea

    Sir David Attenborough and Danny Dyer among celebrities teaching new BBC home schooling learning programming

    Parents are getting a helping hand from some famous faces




    tea

    Beyoncé teams up with Twitter CEO to make huge coronavirus donation

    The superstar has made a donation through her BeyGood foundation




    tea

    Tom Cruise teams up with Nasa in bid to shoot film in space

    Tom Cruise is set to team up with Nasa to shoot a movie in space.




    tea

    Ariana Grande teases new charity single with Justin Bieber ahead of its release

    Stuck With U will be released this Friday




    tea

    World's best teacher warns of 'burn-out' risk if online lessons are too intense

    "A lot of parents are not coping, and it is early days. If we carry on working like this being online all the time we will burn out and be miserable"




    tea

    Stephen Fry teams up with CBeebies as he voices new mental health game for children

    CBeebies tapped the mental health campaigner to narrate the new game




    tea

    10 cookbooks the ES team has been using religiously during lockdown

    From Ayurvedic cooking to traybake heroes, these are the cookbooks we've turned to over the last seven weeks




    tea

    Photographers team up to capture lockdown London on doorsteps to raise for NHS heroes

    "All of my work has been cancelled [because of the crisis] and I was just missing shooting people and thought it would be a nice way for the community to come together and have a memory of this time.




    tea

    Food porn, be gone! Ready Steady Cook is back and better than ever

    Who needs pretentious chefs? After a decade away, TV’s simplest cookery show is on the air again, and with Rylan at the helm it’s the perfect recipe for success

    This week, the first new episodes of Ready Steady Cook for a decade are broadcast on BBC One. The miraculous thing is that, watching it, you’d never know that it ever went away.

    Sure, some things are little different. The budget for the ingredients has risen from £5 to a colossal £7.50, and they are presented in reusable totes rather than single-use plastic bags. The theme tune now comes with a weird techno burble that makes you feel as if you are playing an imported PlayStation 2 game about different methods of cooking mince. Sumac exists. And there is a new host in Rylan Clark-Neal, continuing his monomaniacal quest to seize and hijack every defunct daytime gameshow made during the 1990s.

    Continue reading...