Marriage is a complex, ever-evolving relationship that challenges partners to remain active in their efforts to maintain the relationship. While the components of a healthy relationship – passion, commitment and intimacy – may seem abstract, I have found specific actions through my practice as a clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist that couples can do to prioritize their relationship and make it last.
• Continue or learn to communicate well. We all know to be polite to our bosses at work or strangers we meet, but it is often with those we are closest to that we slip into unhealthy habits of disrespect or inattentive listening. Most likely, at the point in your relationship when you plan to get married, you feel close and communicate well with your partner. It is over time that partners become busier, more distracted or simply make fewer efforts to communicate respectfully and openly with their spouses. But communication is a critical component to a healthy marriage. Couples must schedule time to check in with each other weekly. This “weekly check-in” may seem less necessary in the early years of marriage, but you will appreciate the habit later when work hours become longer and kids enter the picture. Use this time to coordinate schedules, check in about any issues in the relationship, and take time for each other away from technological distractions (that means no phones or TV in the background).
• Create a budget agreement. One of the most common areas of newlywed conflict is managing a joint budget. Even if you cohabitate with your partner before marriage, it is unlikely that you pooled all of your resources, and there is a lack of education about shared budgets. But money is important for your personal and relational well-being. Talk with your partner about your financial goals and concerns. Your spouse should be an equal partner in financial decisions. It is helpful for partners to regularly check in with each other about financial changes and decisions (you can easily incorporate this into your weekly check-ins). I advise couples to set a monthly personal budget – say $500 – that each partner can spend on individual expenses without consulting the other. If a partner wants to make a purchase that goes above the agreed-upon amount, he or she should wait until the other partner is consulted and agrees. By forming healthy spending habits and open communication about finances, partners can avoid one of the most common areas of marital conflict and feel closer as equals.
• Share responsibility for maintaining intimacy. In the early years of a relationship, intimacy seems to come naturally, so many partners take for granted the importance of actively maintaining a sense of emotional connection. This is not the responsibility of one partner, but a requirement that both spouses maintain an interest in fostering intimacy and keeping tabs on ways the other partner wishes to feel loved and cared for (because this does vary from person to person and over time). Date nights are a simple way to establish time to reconnect during a busy week, and they are essential in the early years of marriage and beyond. Take turns planning an evening for each other, and do not get trapped in thinking it has to be extravagant. If your lives are incredibly busy that week, find a time to relax at home or try to cook a new meal together.
Remember that human beings like novelty, so be willing to try new things together.
• Never be afraid to manage your differences. If I had to pick one major takeaway for couples considering marriage, it is to ensure that you are able to tell your partner when you are upset with him or her. That way your partner stands a chance of trying to fix the problem. Without this, resentment takes root and will continue to grow over time until it is addressed. This is so important because resentment often underlies any deficit in the previous points I made. It may sound basic, but it is often difficult for partners to place themselves in a vulnerable position where they can voice their concerns about the person closest to them. For couples to manage resentment, it is essential that partners create a safe conversational space where each can be heard and listen without feeling defensive or attacked. It is inevitable that you will have a different perspective than your partner at some point – whether regarding the family budget, division of household labor, or even the right way to show intimacy. Use any and every opportunity in the early years of marriage to practice talking with each other when one partner is upset with the other. Skills such as empathy, active listening and managing anger and frustration can be learned and need to be regularly utilized in couple conversation. For the Silo, Dr. Anne Brennan Malec.
But, of course, there’s always something you are missing. Nothing is ever really free, especially in a casino. But hey, before we take any firm stand on the issue, why not examine the mechanics of it?
Both land based and online casinos are a great place to entertain yourself with gambling and other thrills offered at the cards table or the roulette wheel. It’s all a matter of picking your game and playing it to the best of your ability and relying on a generous amount of luck.
If you are getting some drinks and food out of it, even better! Right?
The Customer Is Royalty
The customer-centric sentiment is true for any business and more so in a casino. When they are not looking through the cameras to find some ‘Rain Man’ type gambler, they are studying you, and they found out that people who stay in the casino longer gamble more.
When in a casino, you are seeking the thrill of gambling and possibly winning something. You can do this for a while, but then, at some point, you’re going to be hungry and thirsty.
It’s a great night out; you need to get some drinks and some food to round out the fun. The casino is not a restaurant. If you have to leave the casino to eat somewhere else, chances are, you are not coming back.
If you are just a local having fun, maybe you might come back. However, if you are holidaying, once you leave the casino, that’s probably it.
Complimentary Drinks and Cheap Meals
Gambling needs you to pay attention. Drinks cause you to lose the ability to pay attention effectively. If you are dulled out, you will probably gamble more and be looser with your wallet. Complimentary drinks might seem like a nice thing to have at first, but could they be your downfall?
It is not an inevitable outcome, though, as you could be very lucky or very good at the game you are playing. But most of the time, the casino will recoup the money spent on complimentary drinks, in the form of what you spend on the casino floor.
Drinks can only get you so far. At some point, you have to eat something.
Why would you pay premium prices to eat at a restaurant somewhere else, when you can take a few steps and be at the casino restaurant where they have meals with great discounts and offers?
The thinking here is, the casino does not want you to leave. If you stay for as long as possible, you will spend more under their roof, even though there are some guides that try to explain how to win money on online casinos.
Not So Free After All
As it turns out, casinos are not big on being charitable to their patrons. You are the source of income for a casino. They are not there to help your financial situation. So, as you gulp that complimentary drink to wash down the meal on offer you just had, pause for a second and ask, ‘what am I getting out of this?’
Back in 2005, composer Lewis Spratlan and I began work on an opera inspired by Louis Kahn. Kahn, who excelled in music and once considered becoming a composer, was especially cognizant of how sound works in a physical space. “Space has tonality,” he often said. Kallick, a professor of music at Amherst College, made recordings of the “acoustic envelope” at several Kahn buildings, which were employed in composing the work’s prelude and interludes.
Composer Jenny Kallick
Key elements from Spratlan’s music were integrated into this electro-acoustic music, creating a seamless connection between the narrative world of the characters and the sounding spaces that filled their dreams. Opening in the ruins of Rome and ending with the healing waters at Kahn’s Salk Institute, ARCHITECT: A Chamber Opera narrates the dramatic arc of Kahn’s journey from dreamer to master builder.
Click the link below to read about Spratlan discussing the project with Frederick Peters, board chairman of New Music USA, which supports composers, performers, and audiences of new American music. For the Silo, Jenny Kallick- Amherst College.
It has been announced that the National Conference on Gambling Addiction and Responsible Gambling is to be held online this year. The event, which is organised by the National Council on Problem Gambling, has been rearranged with dates for both November and December with the event being held entirely on a digital platform for the first time.
This year marks the 34th such event from this organisation, which has become the largest and longest-running of its kind in the United States. The event is designed to bring a range of industry professionals together, and this includes counsellors, researchers, government officials, gambling industry executives, and a variety of other professionals.
Supporting Harm Prevention and Reducing Gambling Addiction
As the name suggests, the conference is designed to help push forward measures to support harm prevention and reduce gambling addiction in the United States and North America. With gambling facilities and legalization increasing rapidly across the nation, the need to have proper measures in place has become all the more vital.
By bringing together officials from all aspects of the industry, the conference has been helping to tackle this problem for many years. The needs of those that require support have changed over the years as have the measures and tools available to help and support them. The conference helps to ensure that professionals in the industry can collaborate and innovate in order to provide the most effective support possible.
One of the directors of the NCPG said, “The familiar forms of in-person support from both professionals and 12-step programs for people and families affected by problem gambling have been sharply curtailed this year. And opportunities to gamble have changed, with more online gambling occurring, which poses some new problems.”
The conference was originally scheduled for the summer and was meant to take place in Washington DC. However, in the current climate, organizers had to delay the conference so that it could be rearranged as an online event for this year. It will be headed by Loreen Rugle Ph.D., a well-known training expert and counselor with a global reputation for her work.
Dr. Loreen Rugle
As part of the conference, many Continuing Education Units (CEUs) will be available for those attending the digital event. Dates for the main conference are now scheduled for 5-6 and 12-13 November between midday and 4.00 pm. There will also be recordings of the sessions available for up to 30 days following the main conference events.
In addition, the dates of Master Classes have also been changed and will be taking place online on 2nd, 3rd, and 9th December between 1.00 pm and 3.00 pm.
Covering a Range of Topics
A wide range of gambling-related topics will be covered as part of this year’s event. This includes some of the topics that have to be discussed and updated each year such as prevention, recovery, and treatment. Sports gambling is thought to be a particular concern this year, and this will be discussed in detail as part of the conference.
One of the things that may raise additional concerns this year compared to previous years is the rise in the number of gambling states in the country. Since the Supreme Court overturned PASPA (Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act 1992) in 2018, more and more states have been jumping on board.
Octave Records Releases Temporary Circumstances by Clandestine Amigo, Recorded in Pure DSD Hi-Res Audio
PS Audio label’s second release featuring singer/songwriter Jessica Carson is available onSACD and via download, with limited-edition vinyl to come –
Boulder, Colorado, October, 2020 – PS Audio’s Octave Records label has released its second album, Temporary Circumstancesby singer/songwriter/pianist Jessica Carson and the band Clandestine Amigo. Featuring Jessica’s reflective songs about lost love and resilience, Temporary Circumstances is recorded in pure high-resolution Direct Stream Digital (DSD) and mastered using Octave Records’ DSD Direct Mastering process, where the mastering occurs at the same time as the mixing, thereby eliminating a generation of audio processing to maintain maximum sonic purity.
Limited Release
Temporary Circumstances is available in a limited-edition release of 1,300 hybrid SACD discs that have a master DSD layer and a CD layer, and as a download bundle including DSD64, DSD Direct Mastered 192kHz/24-bit, 96kHz/24-bit and 44.1kHz/24-bit PCM formats. The album will also be offered as a 2-disc 45 RPM virgin vinyl edition limited to 500 copies, in December, 2020.
Temporary Circumstances was engineered by Gus Skinas, mixed by Gus Skinas, Giselle Collazo and Jessica Carson, and mastered by Gus Skinas. The recording was made using a Sonoma digital audio workstation (DAW) in pure one-bit DSD. The C24, DPA 4006 and Sony C-100 microphones were fed into Forsell SMP-2 and Grace m108 mic preamps and an EMM Labs/Meitner ADC8 A/D converter, then to the Sonoma, and mixed on a Studer 963 console.
Bit Wars
Currently, most DSD recordings have a short fall in that they must be converted to PCM and back to DSD a multitude of times in order to perform post production such as mixing and mastering. This is where PS Audio ups the ante- by mastering during the mixing phase, the back and forth conversion which results in noticeable degraded listening experiences is avoided.
The ‘old’ PCM pulse code modulation system. The ‘new’ DSD direct stream digital system.
The musicians include songwriter Jessica Carson (vocals and piano), Michael Wooten (drums), Giselle Collazo (vocals), Chris Brunhaver (bass), Kyle Donovan (guitar, vocals), Miguel Ramos (violin, viola), and “The Burroughs” horn section featuring Alec Bell (trumpet), Scott Flynn (trombone), Hayden Farr (baritone saxophone) and Briana Harris (trumpet, horn arrangement).
Jessica recorded her piano parts on a Yamaha 7-1/2-foot concert grand piano at Animal Lane Studios in Lyons, Colorado. Next, the vocals and other instruments were tracked at Octave Records’ recording facility at PS Audio. Jessica’s lead vocals and Giselle’s harmony vocals were recorded simultaneously using a single Tim de Paravicini-modified AKG C24 stereo mic and a Bock Audio 507 mic. Temporary Circumstances’ sparse but full-bodied arrangements let the personality of each vocalist and player be heard with stunning clarity, presence and dimensionality.
Audiophiles Take Note
The goal of recording and producing Temporary Circumstances was to combine musically accurate, state of the art sound with inviting and compelling music. As Jessica Carson notes, “I know what the songs mean to me but I think they’ll mean something different to every listener.”
Founded in 1973, PS Audio has earned a worldwide reputation for excellence in manufacturing innovative, high-value, leading-edge audio products. Located in Boulder, Colorado at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, PS Audio’s staff of talented designers, engineers, production and support people build each product to deliver extraordinary performance and musical satisfaction. The company’s wide range of award-winning products include the all-in-one Sprout100 integrated amplifier, audio components, power regenerators and power conditioners. www.psaudio.com/octave-recordswww.psaudio.com
The temperature is dropping and the leaves are changing color, which makes it the perfect time to get this cosmetic procedure: laser hair removal. It sounds counter-intuitive to get rid of body hair when you’re going to be wrapped up in wool scarves and thick fall jackets, but it’s not. Find out why fall is the best season to start this treatment.
The Results Take Time
One of the biggest reasons why fall is a great time for laser hair removal is that it gives you enough time to get your sessions done before the next summer arrives. Laser therapy doesn’t work in a single session. You will need to book multiple appointments to get the results you want.
On average, people have to undergo five to seven sessions of laser hair treatment to get smooth, hairless skin. The number can vary depending on your rate of hair growth and the area you are targeting.
You will have to take breaks between sessions to go through a new hair growth cycle — this can take 4 – 12 weeks of waiting. The buffer between appointments prevents your chances of unwanted side-effects like scarring, hyperpigmentation and hypopigmentation.
So, if someone wanted to get their legs done, they would have to account for approximately seven sessions. After adding in the necessary buffer-time, the treatment spans seven months at the bare minimum. By planning ahead in the fall, the client can guarantee that they’ll have smooth legs to show off in shorts by the time the summer rolls around.
There’s Less Sunshine
Too much sun exposure before a laser treatment appointment heightens your risk of experiencing unfortunate side-effects. You could deal with painful burning and blistering. Or you could have long-term problems like scarring and hyper-pigmentation (darkened skin tone). That’s why professional clinics recommend that you avoid sun exposure for about six weeks before your session.
Avoiding sunshine during the summer months is a challenge. You will have to slather on sunscreen every day and opt out of popular outdoor activities to guarantee positive hair removal results. You can lessen the anxiety over sun exposure by scheduling your sessions during seasons with less sunshine, colder temperatures and full-coverage wardrobes.
It’s More Convenient
A small test that comes with laser hair removal is growing out your hair six weeks before the session. No waxing. No electrolysis. No plucking. You’re only encouraged to shave a day before your appointment.
If you’re worried that this step will be embarrassing, you should definitely plan your treatments for the fall and winter. The seasonal wardrobes give you more options to cover up and there are tons of people participating in month-long campaigns like No Shave November and Get Hairy February. You won’t feel singled out for your stubble.
Timing is everything. If you want to get rid of body hair so that you can feel confident when you pull on a pair of shorts or put on a bathing suit during the summer, you need to think about booking your laser therapy appointments now.
Global Consumer Spending to Plunge by 8.6% to $44.3trn by end of 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has changed almost every aspect of people’s daily lives, and consumer spending is no exception. The uncertainty of the COVID-19 crisis caused considerable changes in consumer habits, forcing them to cut down their budgets and prioritize spending.
According to data presented by StockApps.com, the coronavirus outbreak is expected to cut global consumer spending to $44.3trn in 2020, an 8.6% plunge year-over-year.
$4.2trn Drop in Spending Amid COVID-19 Crisis
Falling consumer spending has significant effects on overall Gross domestic product (GDP) growth, considering it accounts for almost 70% of GDP.
Before the COVID-19 crisis, global consumer spending has witnessed steady growth for five years in a row, revealed Statista, IMF, United Nations, World Bank, and Eurostat data. In 2015, it amounted to over $41.5trn. Over the next twelve months, this figure rose to $42.5trn and continued growing. Statistics show that in 2019, consumers worldwide spent a total of $48.5trn, the highest amount in a decade.
However, the coronavirus crisis triggered a sharp fall in 2020, with global consumer spending expected to plunge by $4.2trn year-over-year. Nevertheless, statistics show the following years are set to witness a recovery, with consumer spending growing by 20% to $53.5bn in 2022.
Statista data also revealed that Switzerland represents the leading country globally, with over $40,000 in consumer spending per capita in 2020. Luxembourg ranked second with around $5,000 less than that. Iceland, Denmark, and Norway follow, with $34,300, $25,800, and $25,600, respectively.
60% of Consumers Changed their Shopping Behavior
The Mc Kinsey & Company survey showed consumers became increasingly cautious with their spending in 2020. Even after countries lifted lock-downs, many consumers still see their incomes fall, forcing them to reduce budgets and change shopping habits.
Statistics show that increased time spent indoors led to significant growth in consumer spending on groceries, household, and home entertainment. Brazil, South Africa, and India lead in this category, with up to 30% consumer spending growth. Major consumer markets like the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and China witnessed around 15% grocery shopping growth in the first half of the year.
However, with consumers being mindful of their spending and turning to less expensive products, 2020 has witnessed a plunge in clothes and accessories, outside entertainment, services, travel, and transportation spending. Respondents in all countries said they cut down spending in these categories between 20% and 50%.
The McKinsey survey also revealed the COVID-19 outbreak triggered a significant change in the shopping mindset. More than 60% of consumers globally have tried a different brand or shopped at another retailer during the crisis, mostly for convenience, value, and quality.
In China and the United States, over 75% of consumers reported trying a new shopping method, and 60% plan to stick with it post-crisis. The United Kingdom and Germany follow with 71% and 54% of consumers who practiced new shopping behavior. In Japan, where lockdowns weren’t imposed, only 33% of consumers changed their shopping mindset. For the Silo by Jastra Kranjec.
Vivant Books brings to the world a very exclusive breed of coffee table book. Their Deluxe Editions are not only fine art coffee table books, but also include collectible works of art at a price most art lovers can afford. A select number of Deluxe Editions contain original artwork by the artist that is featured. Not only does this component differentiate VivantBooks amongst other publishing companies, but it also enables expansion of an art collecting demographic.
“We found that sold separately, an original piece by the artists we feature in our deluxe packages could range anywhere from $3000 to over $100,000,” says Mia Benenate “What we want to do and what the artists are really interested in, is broadening the audience that is able to acquire a piece of their work.”
Vivant’s book features internationally renowned artist Brett Amory. Amory has gained extensive acclaim for his haunting, mesmerizing series, Waiting. His work is often depicted as architectural and structurally elegant, stark and emotive. Waiting focuses on the transition of individuals in precise moments of existing. The lush book, which contains a collected array of work which includes the Waiting series, was first offered earlier this year by a release party at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco. Deluxe Editions includes the collected works, a biography, excellent essays by luminaries such as Gwynn Vitello and an original piece of artwork by Amory himself.
In this age of digitalization Vivant Books presents fine art in a way that’s both elegant, stylish and inventive. Upcoming Vivant Books will feature such artists as Kimberly Brooks and Gottfried Helnwein.
Brett Amory — Limited Edition
95.00USD
Brett Amory, the American artist who rose to international acclaim for his “Waiting” series is featured in this deluxe coffee table edition. Alongside four-color reproductions of the artwork, the book includes a biography and selected essays from art world luminaries and patrons. Hardcover book housed in a full-color protective sleeve.
Deluxe Edition with original artwork also available.
On the heels of the Top 10 names of men who are likely to cheat on you, , a free background check that searches public, criminal, arrest, civil, speeding tickets and more has just released the Top 10 Female Gold Diggers and the list puts Jennifer on top.
Identity theft has been on the rise with 1 in 8 searches coming up with a criminal past, and with that comes a rise in ‘gold diggers’ or women who are just chasing the money, legally or not. DirtSearch.org pulled data from over 2 million background searches and looked closely at the female names most often searched. What came back was petty crimes such as personal property, vandalism and identity theft. Out of that list, the names that come up most often in the top 10 are Jennifer, Jessica and Michelle, followed by Lisa and Ashley.
Here are the Top 10:
1. Jennifer
2. Jessica
3. Michelle
4. Lisa
5. Ashley
6. Amanda
7. Melissa
8. Stephanie
9. Nicole
10. Angela
So if you are a man dating a woman ( or a woman dating a man or a man dating a man or a woman dating a woman) and are questioning if maybe your girl has a shady past or are a qualified ‘gold digger’ just after your bank account, here are ways to tell your girl is a Gold Digger or make sure she is not on the ‘dirty’ list:
1. A sense of entitlement: She thinks she is a princess and has no long-term or short-term goals. Search her first name and last name anonymously on a background search site such as DirtSearch.org. Sites such as that one searches through online public records based on an algorithm and aggregates data across the internet to find what is listed online.
2. Trouble paying their bills: Gold diggers drop hints that they may be evicted or their car might be repossessed when instead they are buying $400 shoes and watches.
3. Age range: The girl is 30 years younger than you but tells you that she is 15 years younger.
4. She never pays for anything.
5. She is into expensive and lavish gifts. The girl asks you to pay for nails, hair and lavish trips.
6. They indulge in a pipe dream: She is constantly talking about becoming an actress or a model.
The company also earlier released 10 U.S. states where background checks are most prevalent. The Top 10 States are as follows:
Arizona
California
Texas
Florida
Illinois
New York
Pennsylvania
Ohio
Michigan
Georgia
Whether you live in a dorm room, small apartment or a family home, counter space around the bathroom sink can be limited. A unique product designed and patented by an NFL Super Bowl Champion solves that problem. The Smart Sink Tray, by Style Pro 31, is a convenient, portable, lightweight foldout tray that fits over most pedestal and traditional sinks that provides additional surface area and counter space (up to 288 square inches). This affordable tray organizes the clutter that surrounds sinks and expands usable space by allowing objects to be placed directly on it—even with running water.
The tray also promotes bathroom safety by keeping electric appliances like blow dryers, curling and flat irons and shavers—and their cords—out of the sink and away from water hazards. The Smart Sink Tray is heat resistant and dishwasher safe.
Similar to a food tray, The Smart Sink Tray allows users to carry their items all together to and from the bathroom, making it easier to store and pack their essentials and make room for others. When not in use the tray’s collapsible design and drawstring bag allows it to be easily stored and transported.
The Smart Sink Tray is designed for use in homes, apartments, dorm rooms, and anywhere space is limited. For those who travel frequently, The Smart Sink Tray is indispensable and easy to pack.
The Smart Sink Tray is the brainchild of Super Bowl champion and veteran Strong Safety, Bernard Pollard. Pollard came up with the concept in 2012 when he realized a problem in need of a solution: more space and organization while getting ready in the bathroom. Like most travelers, Pollard himself suffered hotel sink areas that were often dysfunctional, not proffering nearly enough space to accommodate all of his personal items. In addition, observing his wife and family Pollard recognized the potential hazard to many corded appliances around the sink posed and made his concept a reality by forming Style Pro 31 and patenting his product.
As an NFL player, Bernard Pollard made one of the most critical plays in the Baltimore Ravens amazing 2011 playoff run and led the Tennessee Titans in tackles in 2013. Along with successfully performing on the field and developing his entrepreneur career, Pollard and his family actively help community families and churches. His Helping Hand partners with food banks and other organizations to provide families with groceries or holiday meals. The Smart Sink Tray sells for $24.99USD and is available at Amazon. For more info contact: [email protected] for ordering information.
Montauk, New York was celebrating its biggest estate sale ever after the closing on the 5.7-acre beachfront estate at $50 million USD that pop artist Andy Warhol bought in 1972 for $225,000 USD.
The most recent owner of the compound was CEO of J. Crew, Mickey Drexler, who bought it in 2007 for $27 million USD. He listed it in 2015 for $85 millionUSD that included a 24-acre horse farm and equine center, which the buyer, Adam Lindemann, opted out of the purchase. Lindemann is the founder of the Venus Over Manhattan Gallery and a major collector of Warhol’s works making the property’s history especially significant for him.
Warhol’s first gig out of art school was as a fashion illustrator for several of the top women’s magazines. With the money acquired from his illustrations, he purchased a large loft on New York’s West Side and opened the Factory, where he turned toward creating industrial art. It wasn’t long before the Factory and Andy were attracting like-minded modernists from hippies to wannabe journalists and actors to drag queens and drug addicts. It was the start of New York’s avant-garde scene where Warhol held court. In addition to his painting, he branched out into music, film and journalism where he met Paul Morrissey who became the director of some of Warhol’s early films.
In 1972 when Warhol’s popularity and success were peaking, he and Morrissey decided to invest in property in the Hamptons and purchased the family fishing camp of the Church family of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda fame. The estate includes a 3,800-square-foot main house and five cottages completely hidden from public view with wide beaches and ocean views. Totaling almost 15,000 square feet with nine bedrooms and twelve baths, Drexler had it all meticulously restored by architect Thierry Despont.
Warhol’s stream of celebrity guests and renters put Montauk on the international map. Frequent guests included Liza Minnelli, Liz Taylor, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Jackie Kennedy and Lee Radziwill. The parties were legendary and stories of happy days idled away on the Hamptons’ beach are recounted in many celebrity biographies.
Even though the Warhol home sale set a record at $50 million USD, his most famous paintings such as “Eight Elvises” and “Silver Car Crash” have sold for $100 million USD and higher. The listing agent was Paul Brennan of Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Montauk, New York. Visit here for more information.
Supplemental– David Bowie as Andy Warhol in Basquiat
The audio world and mobile world have been coming together by virtue of shared technologies.
One recent example that continues to trend are wireless earbuds. Once considered a ‘low fi’ alternative to audiophile ear covering headphones, high bit rate digital files and improved bluetooth protocols have opened the doorway to mobile hi-fidelity. Case in point: Audio-Technica SONICSPORT Model ATH-SPORT7TW and Model ATH-CKR7TW.
ATH-CKR7TW
When you take a moment to search what others are saying about these models you quickly realize everyone is impressed with their audio performance. Personal devices are highly subjective. Some of us prefer touch sensitive controls but others like physical micro-switch controls. If you are in the former read on and learn what these earbuds have to offer. With the exception of noise-cancellation technology, they are loaded with features.
SONICSPORT
The sound
In general terms both models sound about the same- that’s because they each have large diaphragms (a larger 11mm driver for the CKR7TW), superb DAC digital to analog converter circuitry and robust headphone amplifiers. The CKR7TW goes one step further by supporting both AAC codec (a high quality form of audio signal that can exist in various bit rates and frequencies making it a near audiophile format) and Qualcomm aptX (a low latency, super high quality bluetooth format that allows for audiophile 24 bit signal playback over bluetooth). Since the ATHSPORT7TW is designed for outdoor and active use (such as gymnasium or jogging in the rain) it makes sense that the aptX format is not included. After all, a noisy city street or busy country road is not the ideal place for long periods of scrutinized listening.
For comparison we avoided the usual reviewer method of “A-B” testing using the same source and decided instead to stream various audiophile files and test signals from YouTube- both in AAC and aptX. In our opinion a lot of this becomes a process of splitting hairs since high frequency AAC sounds about the same as low frequency aptX.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bOQbaH1_pU
What matters most is the fact that both sets of earbuds get the job done and sound great.
The looks and comfort
Both models come with 4 sizes of Ear tips to help you get the perfect fit. The ATHSPORT7TW also includes 4 sizes of Ear fins and Ear tips that have trademarked Sweatguard technology. If you haven’t guess already, the sport model is also sweat and water resistant with a IPX5 rating. That means full on high powered splashing of water won’t affect the model and that’s reassuring. Water is the absolute worse enemy of earbuds. The SONICSPORT ATHSPORT7TW looks very tasteful too- an all greyish-white colouring with a slightly subdued brand logo is anything but gaudy.
CKR7TW
Not to be outdone, the CKR7TW includes 3D loop support ensuring that long periods of listening are comfortable. We also slightly prefer the looks too- the brushed Rose gold accents paired with the grey coloring makes for a very attractive look and will have you standing out from the crowd.
Charging power a plenty
With all that high powered amplification and bluetooth functionality (Fully smart music controls and phone controls including a built-in microphone for answering calls) you’d be forgiven for thinking that these models are high drain on their battery. Would you believe 17 1/2 hours playback time (using the charging case) for the SONICSPORT and 15 hours playback time (using the charging case) for the CKR7TW? The charging case is almost jewelry box like in that it is beautifully designed and has a magnetic holding area that offers a very satisfying “click” when you insert the Ear buds for a charging session or for travel storage. Of course USB cables are also included if you prefer to charge from umbilical.
Phone use
Flawless. Crystal clear audio playback and a superb quality microphone. Not a single person we called complained about ‘echo voice’ or ‘long distance sound effects’.
Safety
Hardly ever mentioned in an Ear bud or headphone review is safety consideration and if you are a cyclist or jogger you know what I am talking about. The ability to hear audio cues from fast moving traffic or approaching vehicles is an essential part of safe outdoor exercise. The SONICSPORT alleviates this concern with a special pass-through circuit. This option can also be turned on to allow for listening of conversations.
Price
Just like in the automotive world, quality does not come cheap. Now that’s not to say that these models are prohibitively expensive, in fact, they are very competitively priced especially when compared to similar models from other manufacturers. With the Audio-Technica brand you know you are getting something special. The company has been an innovative player in recording studios and on stages worldwide for decades. That history and experience with both capturing and playing back sound is present here. MSRP SONICSPORT ATH-SPORT7TW $200usd ATH-CKR7TW $249usd. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.
Have you ever wondered whether the air that we breathe indoors can be equally harmful as outdoors?
When it comes to healthy living, the air that circulates inside our house is often more crucial than the outdoor air, pollution, smog and other environmental factors. Research suggests that the indoor environments can have up to five times more pollutants than outdoor ones thus affecting several parts of our body including skin, lungs, nose, eyes, and throat among others. Once inhaled, these very air pollutants can continue to have harmful effects as and when it is processed through our systems. Just think over it. Ever felt stuffy in a room only to feel refreshed once you have stepped out? That lethargic feeling is directly related to the poor quality of air inside the house. And when you are exposed to such an indoor environment year after year, it can have a serious effect on your daily life.
What are the root causes of poor indoor air quality?
According to the experts from The American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) here are the factors that can lead to poor indoor air quality:
Building Design and construction
Building wasn’t checked thoroughly to see if it was suitable for the occupants
Ventilation systems are dirty and damp
Indoor contaminant sources
The equipment and activities carried out indoors that add to the contaminants
Moisture trapped in the building enclosures
Failure to check filtration and air cleaning
Poor outdoor air quality
Poor ventilation rates
With Canadians spending over 90% of their time staying indoors combined with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now more than ever that the role of indoor air quality has gained prominence. First, we need to understand the need for getting an air quality test done within your premises.
Healthy buildings improve performance and productivity of the residents
Healthy folks take lesser sick leaves
The test validates your space’s current indoor air quality
Verification of your space meeting the indoor air quality standards
Address any concern or issue arising due to a complaint
Prioritize the health and safety of the occupants
Obtain or renew LEED, WELL or BOMA BEST certification
Gateway Mechanical as a company continuously strives to assess, audit and improve health and safety program to reduce the risk of injury in a changing work environment. The indoor air quality test offered by Gateway Mechanical will solve all your queries regarding the health of your space’s air quality. This test investigates the air quality within your premises for the following:
It turns out there’s a lot we can do to control and reduce these contaminants to make our facilities, buildings, and spaces safer. To summarize, good indoor air quality significantly increases occupant health and experience in the provided space, enhances performance and productivity, drastically reduces absenteeism, optimizes returns on your investments, and eventually boosts your triple bottom line. For the Silo, Mike Robert.
A recent Commonwealth report has revealed violence against women and girls costs Lesotho more than $113 million (about 1.9 billion Lesotho loti) a year. The report estimates the total cost, including loss of income and expenses associated with medical, legal and police support, equates to around 5.5 per cent of Lesotho’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The cost of $113 million means each Lesotho citizen loses at least $50 every year to violence against women and girls.The cost of $113 million means each Lesotho citizen loses at least $50 every year to violence against women and girls.
The bulk – $45usd million – is attributed to legal protection, healthcare, social services and learning loss.
This is more than twice the amount – $21 million – Lesotho spent on health, education and energy in the last fiscal year. The report sets out policy recommendations for the health, education, legal and private sectors to better meet the needs of victims, which include: Updating the forms used for collecting data on violence against women and girls; Using digital services to collect and share the data with stakeholders; Training staff responsible for recording, analyzing and sharing data; Developing a broad approach involving all sectors to prevent the abuse; and making strategic shifts to allocate resources to carry out these recommendations.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said: “This report proves once again that ending violence against woman and girls is not only the right thing to do but it is also the smart thing to do and beneficial to us all. “Tackling this issue will prevent immense pain and suffering for individuals and communities and will also end the damage this violence does to our economies and prosperity. “As the first report of its kind to focus on Lesotho in this way, our intention is that it should provide the basis for designing more clearly focused national policies and programs, and help ensure that adequate resources are allocated for priorities such as training service providers.
“The findings put a price tag on the endemic scourge of gender-based violence, and demonstrate that the consequences of ignoring the problem are far higher than the cost of taking preventative and remedial action. “By providing the baseline for a series of periodic costing studies and practical intervention, we hope the report will help pave the way towards significant progress on eliminating violence against women and girls, thereby saving many lives.”
The loss of income for women who experience violence due to missed days of work and lost productivity comes to $22usd million annually. Income losses result in less spending which triggers a negative impact on commodity demand and supply of goods and services. Lesotho’s Minister of Gender and Youth, Sport and Recreation Mahali Phamotse said: “Violence against women and girls is a problem in Lesotho which affects national development.“
The report will help Lesotho come up with appropriate strategies that will help eradicate violence against women and girls as we are now aware of its causes and economic implications. “The report calls for immediate action through which my ministry will embark on a project to ensure the protection of women and girls.”
In Lesotho, about one in three women experience sexual or physical violence in their lifetime, similar to the global prevalence rate. The Commonwealth worked with Lesotho’s Ministry of Gender and Youth, Sport and Recreation to conduct the study and produce this report.
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 54 independent and equal sovereign states and includes Canada. Our combined population is 2.4 billion, of which more than 60 per cent is aged 29 or under. The Commonwealth spans the globe and includes both advanced economies and developing countries. Thirty-two of our members are small states, many of which are island nations.
The Commonwealth Secretariat supports member countries to build democratic and inclusive institutions, strengthen governance and promote justice and human rights. Our work helps to grow economies and boost trade, deliver national resilience, empower young people, and address threats such as climate change, debt and inequality. Member countries are supported by a network of more than 80 intergovernmental, civil society, cultural and professional organisations.
LAS VEGAS — A couple of years ago, ChyronHego announced a partnership with leading game developer Epic Games to integrate the Unreal Engine with ChyronHego’s family of augmented reality (AR) graphics and virtual sets solutions. With the integration, news broadcasters and other customers of ChyronHego’s Neon and Plutonium software will be able to leverage Unreal’s industry-leading rendering and real-time special effects capabilities to add powerful new photorealistic and hyper-realistic elements to their on-air virtual sets. Only a decade ago, editDROID and other Laserdisc based systems were still commonly in use with a much more rudimentary set of effects possibilities- this new Neon and Plutonium software system is an industry wide ‘game changer’.
Here is a look at 2017’s ChyronHego’s live use demo-
“In an environment that’s more competitive than ever, our broadcast news customers are on a constant search for innovative ways to tell a better story and captivate viewers,” said Olivier Cohen, senior product manager, virtual solutions, ChyronHego. “Virtual sets that harness the amazing graphics capabilities of world-class gaming engines are the wave of the future for news, sports, and weather broadcasting, and Epic Games is the perfect partner to take us there. The integration with Unreal is just the latest link in our CAMIO Universe strategy to place the industry’s most powerful storytelling tools at news producers’ fingertips and drive template-based, unified news and weather workflows.”
“Since we launched Unreal Engine 4, it has become one of the world’s most powerful rendering engines for the game industry — but its flexibility, real-time performance, and robust set of tools make it ideal in just about any type of content creation workflow,” said Marc Petit, general manager, Unreal Engine Enterprise at Epic Games.
“ChyronHego’s AR and virtual set solutions for broadcast production are the ideal match for Unreal Engine. By partnering with one of the leading broadcast graphics providers, we can continue to expand our presence in the broadcast, film, and entertainment industries.”
ChyronHego will work to integrate the CAMIO graphic asset management server with Unreal Engine, including creating broadcast-specific camera movements. Unreal’s 3D graphics engine enables producers to generate AR graphics through the templated workflows of the CAMIO Universe. Via custom user interfaces built with ChyronHego Live Assist panels, producers can then present the AR graphics on air using ChyronHego’s Plutonium and Neon virtual set and robotic camera tracking solutions.
Cohen added, “As one of the world’s most powerful rendering engines from one of the world’s foremost gaming companies, Unreal will bring new levels of openness and scale-ability to our virtual set solutions. Unreal Engine is easily customizable and expandable, and five million users around the world will benefit from Epic Games’ vast reach across the global community of gamers and game developers. It means news broadcasters will be able to render effects in their virtual sets that rival anything their viewers have seen in the gaming world, with special effects like real-time shaders, bumps, sliders, and highly photo-realistic objects.” For the Silo, Lyndsey Albright.
Supplemental- The Revolutionary Video Toaster and Amiga Computer system 1991.
Tech and cars go together: the Hoonicorn RTR, the famous hybrid race and demo car.
The first tech start-up in a garage wasn’t Hewlett Packard. Back in the day, pre-Silicon Valley, it was the men and women bolting together cars, optimizing engines, lovingly perfecting car technology in their garages and taking it to the streets.
Profiled on RxSpeed’s website in the LAB [link below CP], take a visual tour of this incredible car and wild video and other modified cars.
Like building a spaceship around an astronaut, this million-dollar racecar was built around a driver, the needs of his craft and the exploration of a genre.
For two years the Hoonicorn RTR was kept a secret.
No one outside the very small and tight-knit circle knew about the project; even best friends were left out. Shrouded in secrecy, the six-cylinder 1965 Mustang Notchback 3-speed was cut and sewn back together into the Hoonicorn RTR, a hybrid race and demo car.
Cell phones and computers provide access to such an incredibly fast-paced information network that keeping anything hidden from prying eyes is becoming increasingly rare—and a Ken Block Gymkhana car is on another level of vulnerability. With over a quarter of a billion views on the Gymkhana franchise, the reveal of the next-generation car is on par with anything the automakers can throw out, which is why the Hoonicorn RTR was such a big surprise to the world.
It’s not cheap or quick modifying a stock car. To keep costs down, motorheads can visit RxSpeed to check out where to buy automotive products at the lowest cost. More over-the-top car stories can be found in the LAB
About RxSpeed
www.rxspeed.com is a comparison shopping engine for the automotive aftermarket. It saves consumers time & money during their research and purchase process. Their proprietary software platform catalogs millions of parts from hundreds of brands to help match customers with retailers easier and faster than ever before.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has led to over 910,000 deaths worldwide and unprecedented decimation of the global economy. Despite its tremendous impact, the origin of SARS-CoV-2 has remained mysterious and controversial. The natural origin theory, although widely accepted, lacks substantial support.
Censorship Of Alternative Theory
A recent Reddit page
The alternative theory that the virus may have come from a research laboratory is, however, strictly censored on peer-reviewed scientific journals. Nonetheless, SARS-CoV-2 shows biological characteristics that are inconsistent with a naturally occurring, zoonotic virus.
Dr. Li-Meng Yan, one of the key authors of the report has been labeled as a whistle blower by Western media.
In this report, the authors describe the genomic, structural, medical, and literature evidence, which, when considered together, strongly contradicts the natural origin theory. The evidence shows that SARS-CoV2 should be a laboratory product created by using bat coronaviruses ZC45 and/or ZXC21 as a template and/or backbone. Building upon the evidence, we further postulate a synthetic route for SARS-CoV-2, demonstrating that the laboratory-creation of this coronavirus is convenient and can be accomplished in approximately six months.
Our work emphasizes the need for an independent investigation into the relevant research laboratories. It also argues for a critical look into certain recently published data, which, albeit problematic, was used to support and claim a natural origin of SARS-CoV-2.
From a public health perspective, these actions are necessary as knowledge of the origin of SARS-CoV-2 and of how the virus entered the human population are of pivotal importance in the fundamental control of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as in preventing similar, future pandemics.
Introduction
COVID-19 has caused a world-wide pandemic, the scale and severity of which are unprecedented. Despite the tremendous efforts taken by the global community, management and control of this pandemic remains difficult and challenging. As a coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 differs significantly from other respiratory and/or zoonotic viruses: it attacks multiple organs; it is capable of undergoing a long period of asymptomatic infection; it is highly transmissible and significantly lethal in high-risk populations; it is well-adapted to humans since the very start of its emergence ; it is highly efficient in binding the human ACE2 receptor (hACE2), the affinity of which is greater than that associated with the ACE2 of any other potential host.
The origin of SARS-CoV-2 is still the subject of much debate.
A widely cited Nature Medicine publication has claimed that SARS-CoV-2 most likely came from nature. However, the article and its central conclusion are now being challenged by scientists from all over the world.
Online casinos are a lot of fun. There are thousands of websites
and mobile apps dedicated to online gambling and casino games.
Unfortunately, some of these casinos do not offer a safe place to
play online roulette and other casino games.
Before creating an account and depositing money in an online
casino, you should take a closer look at its features.
The following four factors should help you find a credible online casino. If you are developing your own casino, you can also benefit from ensuring that your platform offers these features.
Security
Security is the most important factor when choosing an online
casino. You should first ensure that the online casino complies with
their local regulations. For example, online casinos in the UK should
be licensed by the UK Gambling Commission.
When you open an account with an online casino, you may need to
provide sensitive information. Besides your name and email address,
you may include bank details or provide access to your PayPal
account.
Reliable online casinos use the latest SSL encryption to ensure
that your personal and financial information remains secure.
Variety
You may get tired of playing the same game for hours at a time. The best online casinos provide users with a variety of games.
For example, casino.netbet.co.uk
offers over a dozen different online roulette games. They also have
slots, blackjack, and other online casino games. With over 1,500
total games and new games added weekly, there is no shortage of games
to keep you entertained.
Rewards
The casino that you choose should offer rewards, bonuses, and
promotions. Many of these websites offer free funds to match your
initial deposit. Depending on the site that you choose, you may start
with a hundred dollars in your account after depositing fifty
dollars.
Besides sign-up bonuses, many sites feature weekly promotions or
special giveaways. Sometimes, they may increase the potential payouts
for popular games.
Mobility
The top online casinos allow players to play from any device.
Instead of just accessing the online casino from a website, you
should have mobile options for playing on your smartphone or tablet.
Online casinos that allow you to play across all devices provide a
convenient way to enjoy your favorite games. You can play while
commuting to work or during a break.
These are the main factors that you should consider when choosing
an online casino. These same details may also benefit those that are
planning to develop their own online casinos.
As technology
makes it easier to reach customers across the globe, you should
ensure that your platform appeals to a wider audience. Remember to
focus on security, variety, rewards, and mobility.
Wyland, marine life artist and environmental activist, is making waves with his latest nationwide campaign for conservation. He’s best known for his series of 100 monumental marine life murals around the globe.
Steve Creech, President of the Wyland Foundation, is one of many behind the work the org is doing to enlist the support of cities and mayors nationwide to urge conservation. Hundreds enlisted this year- see latest participants here. The group works on educating constituents about CO2 emitted from our homes and lifestyles. For the Silo, Virginia Chavez.
About the Wyland Foundation
Founded in 1993 by environmental artist Wyland, the Wyland Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to promoting, protecting, and preserving the world’s ocean, waterways, and marine life. The foundation encourages environmental awareness through community events, education programs, and public art projects.
“Your task is not to foresee the future, but to enable it.“
Founded on the values of pioneer pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a new partnership has formed between the leading Quebec AI research institute, Mila, and France’s IRT Saint Exupéry, which established a Montreal branch one year ago.
This partnership confirms the commitment shared by both parties to advance research in the field of intelligent systems, with a focus on embedded intelligence in critical systems, particularly related to travel (i.e., planes and cars) and healthcare (medical devices).
At the heart of the partnership are two key players in scientific and technological research who have joined forces to promote best practices and tackle the scientific challenges of artificial intelligence driven by industry needs and societal impacts.
Recognized worldwide for its numerous breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, Mila distinguishes itself both in calibre and in number of its researchers. Thanks to this partnership, Mila is enriched by an original model of collaboration, in which industry and academia will work together in a common space to solve scientific questions arising from industrial concerns. This collaborative model, tried and tested at IRT Saint Exupéry in France since 2013, has led to the creation of a French-Canadian research program, *DEEL, mobilizing 14 industrial companies and roughly 20 academic researchers in Toulouse, Montreal and Quebec City, including researchers from Mila. IRT Saint Exupéry now has access to a cooperative space on Mila’s premises. The proximity to Mila’s researchers and industrial partners encourages the development of multi-partner French-Canadian research programs.
If the Canadian branch of IRT Saint Exupéry was selected to integrate within Mila’s ecosystem, considered one of the best in the world for AI research and development, it is thanks to the partnership established two years ago with the Quebec Institute for data valorization IVADO, which was founded to foster AI partnership projects with industry. After the DEEL project, initiated jointly and now integrated into the Toulouse Interdisciplinary Institute of Artificial Intelligence “ANITI” of which it is the driving force, IRT Saint Exupéry and its Quebec partners are now developing new expertise in the field of confidence AI and decision support for critical systems, with applications for land, air and space mobility, but also for health and the environment.
YoshuaBengio, Scientific Director – Mila
“Mila‘s mission is to develop the understanding of intelligent systems in order to put them at the service of all humanity in an ethical, inspiring and sustainable way. More than 500 world-class researchers at the Institute focus on deep learning and neural networks that shape today’s intelligent systems. This partnership with IRT Saint Exupéry Canada broadens our horizons and our network.We are proud to make concrete through this partnership the commitments of collaboration between Canada and France in the field of artificial intelligence.“
Geneviève Fioraso, President – IRT Saint Exupéry
“I am convinced that collaborations with the researchers, engineers, laboratory students and partners of the Mila ecosystem in Montreal will be very stimulating for the IRT Saint Exupéry teams in Canada as well as in Toulouse.By working closely with the Mila Institute, we are going to accelerate our work and strengthen our expertise in AI, thus enhancing the reliability, safety and competitiveness of the fields concerned with critical and complex systems: air, space and ground transportation, medical devices and the environment.Ourlongstanding partnership with IVADO and CRIAQ in Quebec allows us today, alongside Mila, to achieve a new level of deep learning and understanding of intelligent systems.This new alliance with the French-speaking centre of excellence in AI, based on shared scientific and ethical values, also illustrates the willingness of the technological research institutes to open up internationally.“
Guillaume Gaudron, CEO – IRT Saint Exupéry Canada
“We are really excited to join Mila.Working in this privileged environment and close to the very best researchers in the field represents an unprecedented opportunity for the institute to showcase its skills and respond to the deep concerns raised by artificial intelligence.We are also pleased to be able to offer a very unique collaboration model, one which brings together different actors to address common, shared and open challenges.We are mobilizing artificial intelligence on future topics such as the quantum computer, the autonomous vehicle, medical applications (diagnosis of rare diseases), satellites, and more. These are all complex and compelling subjects that need to be supported by very high-level scientific research, and require the use of AI algorithms that are robust, reliable, justifiable and, in the future, certifiable.“
About Mila:
Founded in 1993 by Professor Yoshua Bengio of the Université de Montréal, Mila is a research institute in artificial intelligence which rallies 500 researchers specializing in the field of deep learning. Based in Montreal, Mila’s mission is to be a global pole for scientific advances that inspires innovation and the development of AI for the benefit of all. Mila, a non-profit organization, is recognized globally for its significant contributions to the field of deep learning, Mila has distinguished itself in the areas of language modelling, machine translation, object recognition and generative models. For the Silo, Diane Loth.
About IRT Saint Exupéry Canada (CRAN):
IRT Saint Exupéry Canada or CRAN (Centre de Recherche Aéro-Numérique) settled in Montreal in June 2019. With a specialization in areas of artificial intelligence, it brings together academia and industry through a recognized collaboration model to build multi-partner research programs within a French-Canadian framework.
IRT Saint Exupéry Canada was founded by IRT Saint Exupéry, a French research and innovation institute that is very involved in Franco-Quebec collaborations, particularly through the ambitious DEEL* research program with its partners IVADO and CRIAQ.
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« L’avenir tu n’as point à le prévoir mais à le permettre » … c’est sous la formule empruntée à Antoine de Saint-Exupéry que s’engage un nouveau partenariat entre le laboratoire d’excellence en intelligence artificielle Mila et l’IRT Saint Exupéry Canada installé à Montréal depuis un an. Ce partenariat confirme la volonté partagée par les deux parties de faire avancer la recherche en matière de systèmes intelligents, avec un focus sur l’intelligence embarquée dans les systèmes critiques, en particulier liés à la mobilité (avions, voitures) ou la santé (dispositifs médicaux).
L’IRT SAINT EXUPERY DANS LA PLATE-FORME MILA A MONTRÉAL : UN FORMIDABLE ACCÉLÉRATEUR POUR LES PROJETS D’IA
Au cœur du partenariat, ce sont deux acteurs de la recherche scientifique et technologique qui s’allient pour échanger des bonnes pratiques et adresser des défis scientifiques de l’intelligence artificielle motivés par des besoins industriels et les impacts sociétaux.
Reconnu mondialement pour ses nombreuses percées en intelligence artificielle, Mila se distingue tout autant par le niveau de ses chercheurs que par leur nombre. Grâce à ce partenariat, il s’enrichit d’un modèle de collaboration original, dans lequel industriels et académiques travaillent ensemble, en un lieu commun, pour résoudre des questions scientifiques issues de préoccupations industrielles. Ce modèle, expérimenté depuis 2013 à l’IRT Saint Exupéry en France, a conduit à la création d’un programme de recherche franco-canadien, DEEL*, mobilisant à Toulouse, Montréal et Québec 14 industriels et une vingtaine de chercheurs académiques parmi lesquels des chercheurs de Mila. L’IRT Saint Exupéry Canada a désormais accès à un espace coopératif dans les locaux de Mila, la proximité avec les chercheurs et les partenaires industriels de Mila favorisant le montage de programmes de recherche franco-canadiens multi partenariaux.
Si l’antenne canadienne de l’IRT Saint Exupéry a été choisie pour intégrer la plate-forme Mila, considérée comme l’une des meilleures au monde pour la recherche et le développement en intelligence artificielle, c’est bien grâce au partenariat noué il y a deux ans avec le centre de recherche québécois IVADO, Institut de la VAlorisation des DOnnées fondé pour développer des projets partenariaux en IA avec l’industrie. Après le projet DEEL, initié en commun et maintenant intégré à l’Institut Interdisciplinaire d’Intelligence Artificielle toulousain « ANITI » dont il est le moteur, l’IRT Saint Exupéry et ses partenaires québécois développent de nouvelles expertises dans le domaine de l’IA de confiance et d’aide à la décision pour les systèmes critiques, avec des applications pour les mobilités terrestres, aériennes et spatiales, mais aussi pour la santé et l’environnement.
Yoshua Bengio, Directeur scientifique – Mila
« Mila a pour vocation de développer la compréhension des systèmes intelligents pour les mettre au service de toute l’humanité de façon éthique, inspirante et durable. Au sein de l’institut, plus de 500 chercheurs d’excellence se concentrent sur l’apprentissage profond et les réseaux de neurones qui façonnent les systèmes intelligents actuels. Ce partenariat avec l’IRT Saint Exupéry Canada élargit notre horizon et notre réseau : nous sommes fiers de concrétiser par ce partenariat les engagements de collaboration entre le Canada et la France en matière d’intelligence artificielle. »
Geneviève Fioraso, Présidente – IRT Saint Exupéry
« Je suis convaincue que l’interaction avec les chercheurs, les ingénieurs, les étudiants des laboratoires et les partenaires de la plate-forme Mila à Montréal sera tout à fait stimulante pour les équipes de l’IRT Saint Exupéry au Canada comme à Toulouse. En nous rapprochant de l’Institut MILA, nous allons accélérer nos travaux et renforcer notre expertise en IA, au service de la fiabilité, la sûreté et la compétitivité des domaines concernés par les systèmes critiques et complexes : transports aériens, spatiaux, terrestres, dispositifs médicaux, environnement. Notre partenariat plus ancien avec IVADO et le CRIAQ au Québec nous permet aujourd’hui, au sein de MILA, de franchir une nouvelle étape dans l’apprentissage profond et la compréhension des systèmes intelligents. Le rapprochement avec ce pôle d’excellence francophone en IA, fondé sur des valeurs scientifiques et éthiques partagées, illustre également la volonté d’ouverture à l’international des Instituts de Recherche Technologique. »
Guillaume Gaudron, Directeur général – IRT Saint Exupéry Canada
« Nous sommes vraiment ravis de rejoindre le Mila. Travailler dans cet environnement privilégié et à proximité de chercheurs d’excellence représente une opportunité inédite pour l’institut d’exprimer ses compétences et de répondre à des préoccupations profondes posées par l’intelligence artificielle. Nous sommes également heureux de pouvoir proposer un modèle de collaboration assez unique, une capacité de réunir des acteurs différents autour de problématiques communes, partagées et ouvertes. Nous mobilisons l’intelligence artificielle sur des thématiques d’avenir comme l’ordinateur quantique, le véhicule autonome, les applications médicales (diagnostic de maladies rares), les satellites, etc. autant de sujets complexes, séduisants, ayant besoin de s’adosser à une recherche scientifique de très haut niveau, et nécessitant de s’appuyer sur des algorithmes d’IA robustes, sûrs de fonctionnement, explicables et, à l’avenir, certifiables.
À propos de Mila :
Fondé par le professeur Yoshua Bengio de l’Université de Montréal, Mila est un institut de recherche en intelligence artificielle qui rassemble aujourd’hui 500 chercheurs spécialisés dans le domaine de l’apprentissage profond et par renforcement. Basé à Montréal, Mila a pour mission d’être un pôle mondial d’avancées scientifiques qui inspire l’innovation et l’essor de l’IA au bénéfice de tous. Mila est un organisme à but non-lucratif reconnu mondialement pour ses importantes contributions au domaine de l’apprentissage profond, particulièrement dans les domaines de la modélisation du langage, de la traduction automatique, de la reconnaissance d’objets et des modèles génératifs.
À propos de l’IRT Saint Exupéry Canada (CRAN) :
L’IRT Saint Exupéry Canada ou CRAN (Centre de Recherche Aéro-Numérique) s’est installé à Montréal en juin 2019. Spécialisé dans les thématiques d’intelligence artificielle, il fédère académiques et industriels grâce à un modèle de collaboration reconnu pour construire avec eux des programmes de recherche multi-partenariale dans un cadre franco-canadien.
L’IRT Saint Exupéry Canada a été fondé par l’IRT Saint Exupéry, institut français de recherche et d’innovation très engagé dans les collaborations franco-québécoises en particulier au travers de l’ambitieux programme de recherche DEEL* avec ses partenaires IVADO et CRIAQ
Aranyani has been impressing Western shoppers, fashionistas and savvy consumers since day one. They are founded on the classic atelier concept which originated not in Europe as many believe, but in India with the Kirana; a small, family run shop that served the community. The Kirana concept was embraced in Europe and inspired some of the fashion houses to create their own ateliers.
Standing By Their Products
Aranyani is one of the first companies in India to not only offer the highest quality artisanal products, but also one of the first to ensure that their products are ethically sourced and manufactured. The Western assumption that products from the East have compromised principles is put to rest: for starters, this company offers international free shipping and returns and are clearly committed to standing behind their products.
Aranyani artisan at work.
Standing By Their Community
Another way they are raising the bar is with the launch of the Aranyani Educational and Vocational Trust. The trust’s purpose is two-fold; to help Aranyani employees educate their children from primary through secondary school, as well as to help other children in the Bangalore neighborhood of the factory, secure funding for their public school education.
Education For Local Children
“Education should be a right not a privilege for every child. There is nothing more important to us than ensuring that the children in our community get a proper education,” says Haresh Mirpuri Founder of the Aranyani Educational and Vocational Trust.
Over the first two years, the Aranyani Education and Vocation Trust‘s funding will be fully funded by Aranyani. From September 2020 onward, 1% of the sales of the company will be contributed to the trust. During this first year, eight children of employees will be receiving funds for their public education. The goal for the second year is to fund the education for 14 of the employees’ children.
The founders are Mr. Haresh Mirpuri, Mrs. Dimple Mirpuri, Mr. Somshekhar Mirpuri, Ms. Pooja Sharma and Mr. Prashant Nair. The trust is founded in accordance with the SAI values that form the foundation of Aranyani. These values recognize service, awareness and inclusivity throughout the community.
Elon Musk is one step closer to connecting a computer to your brain.
Neuralink is building a brain-machine interface as well as a little robot that installs the necessary wiring directly into your skull. Neuralink, the mysterious neuroscience company backed by Elon Musk, revealed more details about its plans to connect computers to human brains recently.
Musk explained that his off-the-radar neuroscience company Neuralink continues to push the boundaries of science with its latest model: the aim being not only for a smaller interface but for a vastly more powerful interlink.
The size of the flexible threads, attached to a fingertip for scale. Image: Neuralink
In 2019, using tiny wired pathways or neural links implanted directly into the head , a discrete behind the ear ‘controller’ received the wired pathway signals wirelessly. Computers running proprietary software are able to track the brain activity in real time. The latest version, just announced is a coin size device that sits on top of your head and is wired to go directly into your brain.
The chip in the last years’behind the ear’ receiver.
Unlike last years behind the ear model, the new model on the right is almost impossible to notice.
Cyber Frankensteins
This technology in a cruder form, has been used already to enable amputee control over prosthetic robotic limbs but the neural link was not hard wired or physically connected to the body.
Musk stressed the wide variety of spinal and neurological conditions — including seizures, paralysis, brain damage, and depression — that Neuralink technology could help treat. “These can all be solved with an implantable neural link,” said Musk. “The neurons are like wiring, and you kind of need an electronic thing to solve an electronic problem.”
Woke Studios designed Surgical Robot that inserts neural threads.
However, this new hard wired development changes things- not only in terms of faster and more accurate tracking of brain impulses but in the implications of what may be possible using hard wire. How about human pilots directly wired into the flight and combat systems of an advanced flying craft? Or a neural link human network where brain impulses can be transmitted and received between linked in people? Or a monkey that can control an advanced computer? Oh wait, that last one actually happened….
In the late 1940s, the Upjohn Pharmaceutical Company was the largest employer in Kalamazoo, Michigan with a company emphasis on family and quality of life. It was a national leader in providing benefits to its employees including group life insurance and shorter work weeks. Also in the 1940s, Frank Lloyd Wright was the most famous architect in the world and was devoting much of his time to his Usonian homes for the middle class. About 60 of the Usonian homes were built between 1936 and his death in 1959.
In 1949, a group of twelve scientists from Upjohn sought out Wright to design a community of homes. With simplicity, form and function in mind, Wright’s Usonian designs met their criteria. They wanted houses that they could build themselves or with limited help and chose a 70-acre parcel of open and wooded land with a three-acre pond in Galesburg, Michigan. They originally named it Galesburg County Homes Acres but later shortened it to The Acres. Each scientist wrote a letter to Wright requesting his help to design the project. The Acres plat outline consisted of 22 homes on one acre each with 50 acres left natural for the enjoyment of the residents.
The Acres’ homes were Wright’s first foray into organic ranch-style architecture. They were affordable but tailor-made to the individual client’s needs – practical, functional and blended in with their surroundings. They were organic in that they appeared to come “out of the ground and into the light” as Wright was fond of saying. Access to nature, both physically from every room in the house and visually from inside the home interiors, played a major role in defining Usonian style. Homes were built with natural materials, walls of glass for winter passive solar collection, radiant-heated floors, flat roof lines with overhangs, carports and built-in furniture.
Although the project had many supporters at Upjohn, it was a bit of a drive from Kalamazoo before Interstate 94 was built and perhaps too unusual for midwestern tastes. Only four Wright homes were ever built at The Acres.
Samuel Eppstein was a research scientist and Dorothy a researcher at the Upjohn labs. They had only been married six months when they commissioned their new home and construction was completed in 1953. The 2,250-square-foot Usonian includes three bedrooms, two baths, two fireplaces, and a general purpose room used as an additional living room. Though the kitchen has been rebuilt by a local craftsman in the Wright style, the home has all of Wright’s built-ins including two tables that were reconstructed to exact specifications. Ten-foot walls of glass are positioned to capture idyllic views of valley and meadows. There is also a swimming pool that was added in later years.
Rare opportunity to own a Wright Usonian in a 70-acre, fully Wright-designed community kept completely intact since its inception. Asking $455,000 usd, it is the lowest priced Wright home currently on the market. The listing agent is Fred Taber of Jaqua Realtors in Kalamazoo, Michigan. For the Silo, Terry Walsh.
COLLEGE PARK, MD: University of Maryland College of Information Studies (UMD iSchool) researchers, led by principal investigator Dr. Susannah Paletz, have been awarded a three-year $616,700 usd grant funded by the Army Research Office (ARO), overseen by ARO Program Manager Dr. Edward Palazzolo. This project examines how teams of intelligence analysts can work together and with artificial intelligence (AI). AI has the potential to support intelligence analysts in reviewing potentially hundreds of thousands of source documents, pulling out key findings, and assembling them into actionable intelligence. AI can also aid in the flow of information and projects among members of the intelligence team, improving the efficiency and accuracy of their work.
“AI-driven technology has sometimes been touted as a replacement for human intelligence,” said Dr. Adam Porter, the project’s co-principal investigator, professor at the UMD Department of Computer Science, and Executive and Scientific Director of the Fraunhofer USA Center for Experimental Software Engineering (CESE). “In practice, however, AI doesn’t always work, or gives limited or biased answers. Human oversight is still required, and it’s therefore critical that we deeply understand how humans and AI can work best together.”
The Human-Agent Teaming on Intelligence Tasks project coordinated through the iSchool will focus on two particular research areas; 1.) how interactive AI agents, such as chatbots, have the ability to mitigate or exacerbate the communication and coordination problems that can occur with shift handovers of intelligence work, such as inaccuracy blindness and overlooking potentially relevant information, and 2.) examining how humans could potentially deal with these blind spots, biases, or inaccuracies.
The research team plans to develop an experimental infrastructure to help test team cognition challenges within the work completed by intelligence analysts consisting of task-relevant input materials, such as mission descriptions and source documents, activity recording tools, experimental monitoring capabilities, and different AI supports for human analysts, such as chatbots offering advice on a particular task.
“We want to develop a task that can raise the problems with asynchronous team cognition in intelligence tasks, but is simple enough to be used by research participants with minimal training,” said Dr. Susannah B.F. Paletz, research professor at the UMD iSchool, and affiliate at the UMD Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS).
Dr. Susannah B.F. Palletz
This task will substantially increase insight into the strengths and weaknesses of AI technology to support intelligence tasks, help shed light on how and when human analysts can safely place their trust in AI technology, and how they can proactively identify problems in AI-generated input. It will also aid teams of humans, including asynchronous teams, working together in situations that include AI-generated input.
“This basic research is an important step in the early process of learning how humans and agents can collaboratively become a single team with considerably greater capacity and productivity than human only teams,” Palazzolo said. “Moreover, this research has broad implications into the work of many teams focused on knowledge work and information management such as medical teams involved in shift work, collaborative software development teams, and research teams.”
In addition to Porter, the Fraunhofer USA team also includes Dr. Madeline Diep, Senior Scientist, and Jeronimo Cox, Software Developer, at Fraunhofer USA CESE. The Fraunhofer USA team will lead the effort to create configurable AI agents used in the experimental tasks, and a data collection and analysis infrastructure for capturing and understanding participant behaviors.
The UMD iSchool team includes graduate students Tammie Nelson, a fourth year PhD student, Melissa Carraway, incoming first year PhD student, and Sarah Valhkamp, incoming first year PhD, in Information Science.
The grant proposal team includes UMD Office of Research Administration Contract Manager, Stephanie Swann; iSchool Business Manager, Jacqueline Armstrong; and former iSchool Business Manager, Lisa Geraghty.
Outside of UMD, Dr. Aimee Kane, the Harry W. Witt Faculty Fellow and an Associate Professor of Management in the Palumbo-Donahue School of Business at Duquesne University, will be a consultant and an intellectual contributor on this project.
August, 2020 (Beirut, Lebanon) – Two weeks after a devastating blast in Beirut’s port area that killed close to 200 people and injured thousands more, cleanup efforts are still underway. According to locals on the ground working with American NGO, DTCare, they’ve barely scratched the surface of the monumental task of cleanup, and are now facing the looming threat of a COVID-19 shutdown.
The DTCare Lebanon ground team, in coordination with their United States office, was among the first American NGO on the scene following the deadly explosion on August 4th. The organization had been in Lebanon developing an NGO to help Syrian refugees, and because of their close proximity, they were some of the first responders to the scene, able to mobilize and provide aid to the people of Beirut the same night of the blast.
The DTCare team on the ground coordinated with the Municipality before the start of the cleanup mission and were allocated a specific landfill just 8 Kilometers away from the cleaning locations. Over the course of seven days, the DTCare team has cleared 200 tons of debris a day (1,000 tons) from the narrow streets of Beirut, a challenge considering the near-constant traffic paralyzing the mobility and speed necessary for machinery and volunteers.
The blast destroyed a major grain silo, which is critical considering Lebanon imports a majority of their wheat. To help cope with the food scarcity, the DTCare team is distributing 10 rations, daily, to families affected by the blast. Currently, they have been able to distribute 55 food rations, with each ration capable of feeding a family of four for a period of three months. Items included in the DTCare ration box include rice, flour, sugar, salt, tuna, oil, mushrooms, beans, chickpeas, and local grains other than wheat.
For the mission, DTCare partnered with the Contingency Operations Group (COG), which has been set up as a special purpose vehicle for any and all matters with US Corporations represented in Lebanon, helping facilitate all of their business interests in the region. Being the first US organization to jump to the rescue of Lebanon in this time of crisis by sending funds, products and support related to the relief effort, DTCare gained COG’s trust, attention and priority. Their independent status has allowed them to be successful in their efforts, as they remain free of ties to specific religious or political affiliations.
COG team members have served and supported the US troops who were deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq under the Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) from 2001 and through the extent of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) 2003 to 2010. DTCare’s management team is very well versed in US defense contracting and State Department operations in the region, following all policies, procedures, regulations and, most importantly, transparency and compliance.
Although the operation is a small dent in the overall relief effort, the DTCare team has been incredibly effective and efficient in their mission, and will remain engaged for the duration of the cleanup effort. Currently, the team is racing to do as much as possibly before the rainy season arrives in October. DTCare predicts the cleanup effort to last between 3 to 5 months in total, weather permitting. For the Silo, Lainya Magaña.
A friend of mine from Europe sent me this news story a couple of weeks ago about how the cultural landscape is facing its biggest threat in a generation.
It says the UK government was too slow to provide support for the arts industry, and that without more help, many parts of Britain could become “cultural wastelands”:
https://youtu.be/pPw8na16nuk
This should be a crude wake-up call for artists.
Realistically, governments around the world will NOT make it a priority to save art businesses. Why? Because governments care most about issues that will get them votes.
And, sadly, most of the public simply does not care about the arts the way artists do.
Want proof?
Check out the comments on that BBC video:
Then if you go down the rabbit hole and dig deep into the replies to these comments, you find a lot of artists desperately trying to show these people that the arts, and theatres, and galleries are very much “essential” to artists who rely on them to provide for their families:
The take-home lesson here?
Artists are on our own.
It’s unrealistic – unwise, even – to wait for the government to swoop in and rescue the arts industry.
In times like these individual initiative is more important than ever.
Artists must redouble their efforts to connect with curators, build a list of collectors, find patrons for their studio, maybe even transition to showing (and selling) some work online.
It is difficult, but it is not impossible. For the Silo, Brainard Carey.
Schmidt Futures Grants Lehman Astrophysicist $2.94 Million USD For Study of Quasars, Black Holes
BRONX, N.Y. – (August , 2020) – A Lehman College astrophysicist has been awarded a $2.94 million grant by Schmidt Futures, for a five-year study about the structure and evolution of the universe, black holes, quasars and dark energy.
Schmidt Futures is a philanthropic initiative, founded by Eric and Wendy Schmidt. Eric Schmidt is the former CEO of Google. The grant will award $1.8 million directly to Lehman College and the remainder as a subaward to the University of Montreal.
“This by far is the biggest project we’ve ever attempted,” said Matthew O’Dowd, an associate professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department and writer and host of PBS Space Time. “It’s quite ambitious…and will define the next five years of our scientific lives.”
O’Dowd will lead a team of researchers and students from Lehman, the Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) and the University of Montreal as they study data collected from the Vera C. Rubin Observatory (previously referred to as the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), currently under construction on Cerro Pachón in Chile. It is an 8-meter-class telescope coupled to a 3.2-gigapixel camera – the world’s largest digital camera ever fabricated for optical astronomy.
A photograph and rendering mix of the exterior of the Vera C. Rubin Observatory building on Cerro Pachón in Chile. Image credit: LSST/NSF/AURA
The observatory, the first in the U.S. to be named after a woman, will survey the entire sky of the Southern Hemisphere every three days for the next decade, O’Dowd said, and will map the dynamic nature of the universe. Each single snapshot will cover an area 40 times the size of the full moon.
O’Dowd’s team will develop a machine-learning pipeline (also known as artificial intelligence) for the observatory “to analyze the flickerings of thousands of distant quasars whose light in the very distant universe is powered by violent storms of matter falling into gigantic black holes,” he said.
Due to the enormous dataset and the non-linearity of the problem, machine learning methods are the only viable method for integrating these effects into a model and analyzing thousands of quasars in real time.
“I believe I have assembled the only people in the world who can do this before LSST begins operation, including some machine learning leaders who have just taken faculty jobs at the University of Montreal,” he said. “So that’s our plan: to develop new machine-learning techniques and build them into an analysis pipeline for (the observatory).”
“People are fascinated by these things and we hope to extend their curiosity about the wonders of the universe,” O’Dowd said.
Once the team begins work, O’Dowd will invite Lehman graduates, post-doctoral fellows and current Lehman undergraduates to participate in the project.
“This project is exciting and will help us attract excellent grad students and if it also helps influence other students to come to Lehman, then that’s fantastic,” he said.
“This is an excellent project that will push the limits of precision of measurement and very difficult computing to clarify important questions in cosmology and high-energy astrophysics,” said Stuart Feldman, chief scientist of Schmidt Futures. “We are delighted to support this path breaking work.”
“This is an incredibly prestigious award and we are incredibly proud of Matt,” said Dr. Pamela Mills, dean of the College’s School of Natural and Social Sciences. “He is very good at communicating science and is an amazing physicist. He is, and has been tapped, as one our young leaders.”
Hello Siloites (Siloers?) my name is David Bradford and I would like to share my art story with you, one involving augmented reality artwork that I have recently activated on the International Space Station and Mars as part of my Go Love Universally initiative. This is the first fine art activation of its kind in terms of distance (62,368,540 miles, to be exact) is aptly called Future. In case you were wondering, Yes there will be a Guiness World Record attempt based on this achievement.
A look to the stars. My next (virtual) canvas with new augmented reality fine art activation, titled, Go Love Universally.
This art initiative comes at a time in which much of the world is still under travel restrictions due to COVID-19 and was designed to include everyone around the planet and those orbiting, watching from above. Born out of exploring a way to express and distribute fine art to the public while using consumer technology, I started with using bus stops as fiducial markers (QR codes) in Philadelphia, New York City, San Francisco, and London.
When I was asked to initially introduce my augmented art initiative in the Philadelphia Weekly, I said that while I’ve been social distancing, I came up with a way to share positive messages with people using AR and recognizable visual triggers found easily around Philly.
It is a way for a mass amount of people to interact with their surroundings in a safe way that also creates positive feelings through the messages being communicated.
Within two weeks of launching Go Love Universally, I took my art initiative into space, bringing the art from Philadelphia to Mars. For curious consumers of this activation, all pieces can be viewed at select locations using the Artivive app, a free augmented reality fine art app available for iOS and Android.
Steve Morrison, co-host of Philadelphia morning show Preston & Steve (93.3 WMMR), said to me: “Hey, this is pretty cool! What if the aliens in They Live just wanted to spread positive messages? Well, you have a potential answer with this project. Kudos to you, Sir!”
Go Love Universally is an ongoing project, as future collaborations with artists are to be announced.
Whether you live in a dorm room, small apartment or a family home, counter space around the bathroom sink can be limited. A unique product designed and patented by an NFL Super Bowl Champion solves that problem. The Smart Sink Tray
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Samuel Eppstein was a research scientist and Dorothy a researcher at the Upjohn labs. They had only been married six months when they commissioned their new home and construction was completed in 1953. The 2,250-square-foot Usonian includes three bedrooms, two baths, two fireplaces, and a general purpose room used as an additional living room. Though the kitchen has been rebuilt by a local craftsman in the Wright style, the home has all of Wright’s built-ins including two tables that were reconstructed to exact specifications. Ten-foot walls of glass are positioned to capture idyllic views of valley and meadows. There is also a swimming pool that was added in later years.
