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How To Use Goals and Dreams To Achieve Personal Success

Goals and dreams are two concepts that are often used interchangeably in the quest for success. Although they can be used to complement one another, they do mean different things. This article looks at what goals and dreams are and how they can be used hand-in-hand in order to achieve personal success. What Are Goals? [...]Read More...





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Console Games, Merch Sale with Free Shipping and 50% Off 1 Month Uplay+ at Ubi Store

Uplay+ service, with access to + 100 games is is 50% off for the 1st month!  Members can get unlimited access to + 100 games for $6.99
https://store.ubi.com/us/uplayplus/
 
Free shipping and +50% off on all physical games until April 19th. There's merch on sale as well.
https://store.ubi.com/us/free-shipping-sale/






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Iffy's Online Store 20% Off Everything, Golden Week Sale, Ends 5/6

"Happy Golden Week! Receive 20% off all items added to your cart until 5/6!!
Free shipping on all US orders over $57.99!"

 

https://www.iffysonlinestore.com/

 

Limited Editions included.

 

A couple Switch recommendations (prices before discount),

 

Moero Chronicle Hyper Standard Edition $29.99

 

Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force Standard Edition $39.99

 

Enjoy.




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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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





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Flirt4Free: Chirs Morgan

I like to be training in the gym, see a guy’s cock through his shorts take him to the showers and fuck like crazy, sex on the beach, and all sorts of role play. Wanna join in? Chat with Chirs Morgan.

The post Flirt4Free: Chirs Morgan appeared first on QueerClick.




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WilliamHiggins: Viktor Lubak

Viktor Lubak is a good looking guy who is due for a massage. He looks very good as he strips down to his underwear, showing off his hot body. Then he lays, face down, on the bed ready for the massage. The masseur arrives and takes some oil into his hands as he gets to... View Article

The post WilliamHiggins: Viktor Lubak appeared first on QueerClick.




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Partisanship and the Pandemic

Can political leaders put partisanship aside to govern in a crisis? The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be a crucial test of politicians’ willingness to put state before party. Acting swiftly to slow the spread of a novel virus and cooperating with cross-partisans could mean the difference between life and death for many state residents. […]




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

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

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

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

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

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

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




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Entitled White Man, Todd Starnes, Whines About Wearing A Mask When He Went To Buy A Toaster

We all know that the most oppressed group in all of history is (checks notes) White Christian Republican Men. They were sold into slavery, forbidden from drinking at certain water fountains or from riding in the front of the bus. They didn't get the right to vote until the last century. They have never won the Presidency. Hell, they don't even get to control their own bodies.

Wait. Wrong groups.

White men control pretty much EVERYTHING.

So, imagine Todd Starnes frustration when he was told by the mean store person that he had to not only wear a mask — but he had to use hand sanitizer — DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC. Yes, to put others' safety before your own convenience is hard for the White Christian Republican Man. After all, he has been raised to expect everyone else to bend to his will, not the other way around.

Here is Todd's super whiny tweet:

Twitter had thoughts:

read more




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Maryland and Washington, DC: Latest updates on coronavirus

Here is the COVID-19 situation in Maryland and Washington, DC.




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Michigan: Latest updates on Coronavirus

Here's a look at the latest on the coronavirus in Michigan.




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Ohio: Latest updates on coronavirus

Here's a look at the number of coronavirus cases in Ohio and the latest news about the COVID-19 outbreak.




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High Vibe Honey: Week Of 23rd February 2020 + What To Do If You Feel Lonely!

Do you struggle with feeling lonely or alone? Hilariously, you’re not alone! Loneliness is an epidemic, and in fact, it’s the number one public health crisis. We are increasingly disconnected from one another, while at the same time we have more opportunities to connect than ever. So if you find it hard to make friends, […]

The post High Vibe Honey: Week Of 23rd February 2020 + What To Do If You Feel Lonely! appeared first on Gala Darling.



  • High Vibe Honey

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High Vibe Honey: Week Of 29th March 2020 + I Am My Own Hero!

In this wild time, you might be looking around and noticing that people are losing their collective shit! In this climate, it is more important than ever to truly use your tools, cut off negativity, and feed your mind with material that makes you feel STRONG, rather than fearful. This is your moment to become […]

The post High Vibe Honey: Week Of 29th March 2020 + I Am My Own Hero! appeared first on Gala Darling.



  • High Vibe Honey

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100 Things To Be Grateful For Right Now

Life has not been cancelled. Babies are still being born, flowers are blooming, bees are floating around, people are falling in love, artists are making some of their most incredible work. Your existence is not OVER. The circumstances have changed, that’s all — and it won’t be like this forever. But in case you’ve been […]

The post 100 Things To Be Grateful For Right Now appeared first on Gala Darling.




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Your Top 5 Relationship Questions: Answered!

In this episode, we talked about… How to cope if you’re feeling uncertain and anxious because you are apart from your partner, as well as how to deal with boredom and frustration because of too much togetherness… What to do if you have a mismatched vision of what you both want… How to stay in […]

The post Your Top 5 Relationship Questions: Answered! appeared first on Gala Darling.




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This Week On Xbox: May 08, 2020

Here we go…the latest episode of This Week On Xbox. Remember, you can watch This Week On Xbox from the Community section of the Xbox One dashboard in Canada, the UK and the US or watch it on the Xbox YouTube channel (This Week on Xbox Playlist). Leave a comment below or hit me up on Twitter and let me know […]




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Where Things Stand: Breaking Their Own Rules

During the Passover, first daughter Ivanka Trump was shredded in the media for traveling to her father’s resort to celebrate,...




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Where Things Stand: Political Prayers

President Trump plans to participate in the White House’s National Day of Prayer service in the Rose Garden this afternoon....




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Where Things Stand: This Is Going To Backfire

Another member of the inner circle has tested positive for COVID-19. MSNBC and CNN are both reporting that a member...




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ThinkComputers Podcast #221

This week on the Podcast we talk about our reviews of the NZXT H1 Mini-ITX case and the Lexar NM610 M.2 NVMe SSD. We also discuss the Comet Lake-S launch, AMD B550 leaks, a unique way researchers can use your power supply to hack your computer and more!

The post ThinkComputers Podcast #221 appeared first on ThinkComputers.org.





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'Star Wars': Summary of the franchise and its effect on space technology

A long time ago — roughly four decades — the world was introduced to Jedi knights, lightsabers, droids and the Force. Before long, elements of the space fantasy had an effect on real-life space technology.




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On This Day in Space! May 4, 2011: 1st official 'Star Wars' Day celebration

On May 4, 2011, the first organized "Star Wars" Day celebration happened in Toronto. See how it happened in our On This Day in Space video series!




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

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




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grammar is relationships


This is not a post about American versus British English. I hope you’ll indulge me. It's come out of some Twitter conversations this afternoon.

It started when I read this sentence in James Pennebaker’s book The Secret Life of Pronouns:
Function words require social skills to use properly.

And I wondered how it had got(ten) past a copyeditor. So I did a Twitter poll to see if other people were happy with the sentence. The poll looked like this: 


So, 25% of more than 300 people thought it sounded fine. 75% felt there was something weird about it. Given how I phrased the question, it's possible that the 75% had 100 different reasons for thinking it weird. But considering some of the tweet-replies I had, I know that at least some people had the same reaction that I did. 

The problem with the sentence for me is that there is no reasonable subject for the verb to use. Compare it to this sentence with the same kinds of parts in the same order:  
 The law requires every driver to drive safely.

In that case, the subject of the infinitive to drive is every driver—every driver is to drive safely. So, what you've got is:
  • Main verb: requires
  • Subject of main verb: the law
  • Object of main verb = infinitive clause: every driver to drive safely

But that doesn't work for Pennebaker's sentence. Social skills to use properly is not a complete clause because (a) there's no object of the verb to use (to use what properly?), and (b) social skills is in a position where it could be the subject of to use (as in the driving example), but it's not.  The sentence could be "fixed" in a number of ways that involve making it clearer that function words are the things being used.
  1. Make the infinitive into a passive, so it's clear that function words is the object of use: Function words require social skills to be used properly.
  2. Move use closer to function words so that it's clear how they relate to each other: To use function words properly requires social skills. (Or Using function words properly requires social skills.)
  3. Move function words closer to useIt takes social skills to use function words properly.
Number 1 is a little ambiguous (it sounds a bit like function words are bossing social skills around), so I'd prefer 2 or 3, where it's really clear that function words is the object of use

But there are sentences with require that do work more like Pennebaker's sentence:
Crops require water to grow.

Here, it's not the water that's growing, it's the crops. So it doesn't work like the driving sentence—the object of require is not water to grow. In both sentences, I've put the object of require in blue, so you can see that the sentences have different structures. Another way that you can tell they're different structures is that you can replace to with in order to in one and not the other and can rephrase one with that and no to, but not the other.
The law requires every passenger in order to drive safely.
Crops require water in order to grow.
 The law requires that every driver drive safely. [or drives if you're not a subjunctive user]

Crops require that water grow.

So one of the reasons I wanted to write this post is to make this big point:
Grammar isn't just where words go in a sentence, it's how they relate to each other.
The fact that the crops sentence is the same shape as Pennebaker's sentence doesn't mean that Pennebaker's sentence is grammatical, because it still has the problem that there is no subject for to use. Notice that it can't be rephrased in either of the ways that the other two can:
Function words require social skills in order to use properly
Function words require that social skills use properly
The last possibility is to interpret use as being in middle voice (as opposed to active or passive voice). This is when the verb acts kind of like a passive (where what would have been the active object becomes the subject), but doesn't get the passive be +past participle form. English has some verbs that work this way.
I cut the bread easily. (active voice: subject is the cutter)
The bread is cut easily. (passive voice: subject is what's cut)
The bread cuts easily. (middle voice: subject is what's cut)
Grammar Girl has a podcast and post on middle voice in English if you're interested. English has more of a 'middlish' voice than a 'middle', as we're really limited in how we can use it and it doesn't have a special verb form, as it does in some other languages. As Grammar Girl notes:
[English] middle-voice sentences usually include some adverbial meaning, negation, or a modal verb, or a combination of the three. “The spearheads didn’t cast very well” has both negation (“didn’t”) and an adverb phrase (“very well”). “The screw screwed in more easily than I thought it would” has the adverb phrase “more easily than I thought it would.”
While Pennebaker's sentence does have an adverb, properly, it's not one that I'm super-comfortable using with a middle construction (?The bread cuts properly), but maybe some people would like it better than I do. (Proper is used more as an adjective and adverb of intensity in some colloquial BrEs than in my AmE.)

So, are the 25% who like the sentence reading it as having middle voice? I'm not totally convinced, because I think that the English middle doesn't do well with fancier sentence constructions as with require:
?That bread requires a good knife to cut easily.
?That bread requires a steady hand to cut easily.
Putting an object between requires and to makes it confusing—is it the bread or the knife/hand that is cutting easily? If it's the knife or hand, then the sentence would usually require an it to stand for the bread: The bread requires a good knife to cut it easily. 

So, anyhow, when I put the Pennebaker sentence up, some people wondered if it was like this dialect phenomenon, found in some parts of the US (particularly western Pennsylvania) and some parts of the UK (particularly Scotland):
The car needs washed.
It was natural for them to make that connection because both Pennebaker's sentence and the needs washed sentence would work in other dialects if the final verb were made passive. But note that what needs to be added to the sentences to create a passive is different in the two cases. In needs washed, the washed is in the past participle needed for a passive. But in Pennebaker's sentence the infinitive verb is not in any way in passive form.
The car needs to be washed.
The function words require social skills to be used properly.

So, I asked the 25% who accepted the sentence to write back and tell me where they were from. And it turns out they're from anywhere.... New Jersey, California, New England, southeastern US, eastern and western Canada, up and down the UK, the Caribbean. That makes it look like it's not a dialect feature. 

An interesting thing about the 25%, though, was that a few got in touch to say: "I clicked that the sentence was fine for me, but once I started thinking about it, I was less sure."

After the dialect idea didn't pan out, I joked that the next step was to give personality tests to people who didn't like the sentence. And while it was a joke, I think there is probably something to the idea  that some people read for meaning and don't get the grammatical 'clang' that I got because getting the meaning is good enough. If they can get the meaning without a deep look at the grammar, the grammar is irrelevant. I'd wonder if people who get a 'clang' with this sentence are also more likely to also notice misplaced modifiers and dangling participles. A lot of us who notice these things notice them because we've been trained in looking at language analytically, or we're just very literal readers. Had I heard Pennebaker's sentence, I probably wouldn't have noticed that there was no workable subject for the verb use. I would have just understood it and gone merrily on my way. But in reading, CLANG.


Anyhow, the main reason I wanted to blog this was to make that point that Grammar is how words relate to each other. That two sentences with the same shape can be working in very different ways. And on that note, I'll leave you with an experiment that Carol Chomsky did way back when. She gave children a doll with a blindfold over its eyes and asked them if this sentence was true—and if not, to make the sentence true.
The doll is easy to see. 
Notice how that sentence doesn't work like this sentence:
The doll is eager to see.
In the first, the doll is being seen. We can paraphrase it as The doll is easy for me to see. In the second, the doll is who will do the seeing. We can't paraphrase it as The doll is eager for me to see, because it means The doll is eager for the doll to see. The words easy and eager determine how we interpret the relations of the other words in the sentence. In linguistic terms, they license different relationships in the sentence. (In these sentences it's adjectives doing that relationship-determining, but in most sentences, it's the verbs. In our requires sentences above, we can see that require licenses a range of possible sentence structures—words do that too.)

Understanding that a blindfolded doll is easy to see is something that most kids don't master till they're into their school years. When asked to make the doll easy to see, the younger kids take off the doll's blindfold. This shows us that kids take a while to fully take account of the grammar, not just the words, in sentences.

Hope you didn't mind my little grammatical foray...
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Breeching Valves – Should They be Used in Sprinkler Systems?

What on earth is a breeching valve? A breeching valve, also known as a safety shutoff valve or excess flow valve, monitors pressure and flow in a system. Upon seeing excessive flow, the valve will automatically close, essentially shutting off or




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Despite relatively small numbers, more women are assuming leadership roles in the US fire service

It will come as no surprise to women in the fire service but the number of female firefighters in the U.S. remains relatively low, according to the most recent U.S. Fire Department Profile from NFPA. The newest data was released today on the heels of a




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Archivist releases shirts made from recycled hotel sheets

Sometimes, being disruptive is fashionable. As for Archivist, a sustainable clothing company, its business plan counts on being disruptive in the name of fashion and corporate responsibility. With this mission, Archivist has found a unique yet luxurious inspiration for a new line of tailored shirts — hotel sheets.[...]




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While humans are away, Yosemite bears come out to play

It’s been nearly a month since the spreading coronavirus prompted Yosemite National Park’s closure on March 20, and resident black bears are making the most of it. Last year, 4.42 million people visited Yosemite. This year, it’s a bear’s world.[...]




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6 ways to save energy while sheltering in place

Now that millions of Americans are isolated in their homes, everyone is using more energy during off-peak hours. Americans are getting more concerned with paying their growing electricity bills. Combined with the obvious environmental tolls of changing and increased at-home energy usage, paying a larger bill during times of economic uncertainty is enough to weigh on anyone’s heightened nerves. Inhabitat has rounded up some tips and tricks to help readers save energy (and money) at home during this time.[...]




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This luxe, solar-powered, prefab home was completed in 6 months

High-end luxury meets energy efficiency in the Jesolo Lido Pool Villa, a 320-square-meter Venetian villa in the Italian seaside resort of Jesolo. Designed by Milan-based architecture firm JMA, the holiday home was prefabricated, installed and furnished in just six months. The high-performance building envelope has been engineered to guarantee near net-zero energy usage throughout the year.[...]




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Natural materials make up this energy-saving Jakarta home

Architecture firm Atelier Riri has reaped the energy-saving benefits of Indonesia’s tropical climate in their design of the House at Serpong, a climate-responsive suburban house in Jakarta. After conducting solar studies and site analyses, the architects crafted the four-story home with strategically placed voids, windows, elevated gardens and solar shading devices to reduce unwanted solar gain and take advantage of natural cooling. The home was built primarily of natural materials that give the building a warm and tactile feel.[...]




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This modular, off-grid design can adapt to any landscape

DIY home design is a life-long dream of many, and today's architects are making it easier than ever to build your own home without toiling for years. Genoa-based firm TEKE Architects has just unveiled the MU50, a modular off-grid home designed to be configurable to virtually any landscape. Using modules of prefabricated timber frames that can be connected in various layouts, the innovative design is meant to be incorporated into any landscape with minimal impact.[...]




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This recycled metal jewelry is inspired by our world

Raised in the countryside of South West England, creative artist Emma Aitchison has developed a jewelry line inspired by and respectful to nature. Furthermore, Aitchison wanted her unique designs to act as a symbol for environmental awareness and to provoke conversations about protecting vital resources on the planet.[...]




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Relax and unwind in this tiny home with a walk-in hot tub

From climbing walls to a roaming music studio, we've seen a lot of ingenious tiny house features over the years. But this tiny home on wheels from Movable Roots has a distinct feature we never thought was possible — a walk-in hot tub! The Culp is a 500-square-foot home that, in addition to its accessible, spa-like bathroom, boasts unique cork flooring and an incinerating toilet.[...]




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Whimsical guesthouse uses prefab timber and corten steel

Belgian firm Atelier Vens Vanbelle has created a stunning guest home for a client who works in the film industry. Located in the Uitbergen region of East Flanders, the Alex Guesthouse boasts an eye-catching design comprised of a unique curved volume made out of prefabricated timber and clad in corten steel.[...]




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Greenhouse gas emissions expected to hit record decline

While your home energy bill may have increased while you shelter in place, the planet’s overall energy use has taken a significant downturn. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) first quarter report, global carbon emissions could be down by 8% this year, the biggest drop the agency has ever seen.[...]




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This Napa Valley winery has been farmed organically since 1985

Nestled on a gently sloping segment of land on the quiet, western end of St. Helena, California, Spottswoode Estate contains a remarkable piece of environmental history. The property became one of the first vineyards in the Napa Valley to farm 100% organically in 1985, eventually evolving into a leader in sustainable farming for the famous wine-growing region.[...]




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This serene family home is connected by glass hallways

Tucked into the foothills of California's beloved Laurel Canyon, the Laurel Hills Residence by Assembledge+ is an exquisite example of modern, sustainable home design. Comprised of three cedar-clad volumes with massive glass panels, the house features interconnecting pavilions that are topped with a broad overhangs to shield the interior spaces from extensive sun exposure.[...]




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Record high amount of microplastic found on seafloors

Researchers in a new U.K.-led study found a staggering volume of microplastics on the seafloor. At up to 1.9 million pieces on a single square meter, it’s the highest level on record.[...]




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Hitch is a reusable water bottle and coffee cup in one

Coffee is a popular start to the day for millions of people. There’s nothing quite like the scent of coffee wafting through the air and that first sip to get you started on the right foot. But an estimated 3 billion paper cups end up in the landfills each year — cups that mostly can’t be recycled due to the mixed materials, including plastic. The solution, of course, is reusable coffee cups; however, many people have struggled to incorporate that addition into the host of other items that travel with them daily. So Remaker Labs, a Santa Barbara-based company, has[...]




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Solar-powered bubble shield focuses on physical distancing in public

As of May 5, more than 3.5 million people in 215 countries around the world have been infected with the novel coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization. While the world continues to socially distance, designers and creatives are beginning to imagine different ways to protect people from the virus; case in point, this futuristic bubble shield by DesignLibero.[...]





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High Anxiety - part two



High Anxiety - part two




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…Reap the Whirlwind



…Reap the Whirlwind