[Fatima99]

Learning to Just Say No to Unwanted Holiday Invitations Can Benefit Your Mental Health–New Study

A new and creative study shows that rejecting undesired invitations to parties can be beneficial in avoiding holiday burnout.

The study also found that even if the invitation comes from loved ones, they don’t care about rejections as much as we imagine they do.

More than three-quarters of people in a survey confessed to accepting an invitation to an activity they did not want to attend because they were concerned about the consequences of declining.

This is supposedly even more prominent over the Christmas season when invitations are typically higher.

“I was once invited to an event that I absolutely did not want to attend, but I attended anyways because I was nervous that the person who invited me would be upset if I did not – and that appears to be a common experience,” said Dr. Julian Givi from the American Psychological Association.

“Our research shows, however, that the negative ramifications of saying no are much less severe than we expect.”

To get their results the team from the APA conducted five experiments with more than 2,000 participants.

In one experiment, the researchers asked participants to read a scenario where they either invited friends to, or were invited by one of their friends, to dinner on a Saturday night at a local restaurant with a celebrity chef.

The participants who were given the invitation were told to imagine they declined because they already had plans during the day and wanted to spend a night at home relaxing.

The participants who imagined giving the invitation were told their friend declined for the same reason.

The researchers found that participants who imagined turning down their friend’s invitation often believed it would immediately have negative ramifications for their relationship.

These participants were much more likely to say their friend would feel angry, disappointed, and unlikely to invite them to attend future events than the rejected group rated themselves.

“Across our experiments, we consistently found that invitees overestimate the negative ramifications that arise in the eyes of inviters following an invitation decline,” said Dr. Givi.

“People tend to exaggerate the degree to which the person who issued the invitation will focus on the act of the invitee declining the invitation as opposed to the thoughts that passed through their head before they declined.”

In another experiment, the researchers recruited 160 people to participate in what was called a couple’s survey with their significant other.

In this experiment, 74% of the couples had been together for more than five years. One member of the couple had to write an invitation, and the other had to reject it so they could relax.

The person who rejected their partner’s invitation to a fun activity tended to believe that their partner would be angrier or more likely to feel as if the rejection meant they did not care about their partner as much as they actually did.

The researchers believe their findings, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, show people consistently overestimate how upset someone will be when they decline an invitation, even if they have a longstanding, close relationship.

“While there have been times when I have felt a little upset with someone who declined an invitation, our research gives us quite a bit of good reason to predict people overestimate the negative ramifications for our relationships,” Dr. Givi said.

“Burnout is a real thing, especially around the holidays when we are often invited to too many events. Don’t be afraid to turn down invitations here and there. But keep in mind that spending time with others is how relationships develop, so don’t decline every invitation.”

[lush]

High-Resolution Virtual Windows Let You Add Stunning Views Where There Are None
102323*

High-resolution digital windows like the ones sold by LiquidView give users the chance to wake up to virtually any view imaginable, even if they have no conventional windows.

Modern problems require modern solutions, and when it comes to the lack of windows or desirable views, American company LiquidViews has an intriguing proposition – a virtual window. Consisting primarily of a series of high-resolution digital panels and a kit to make them blend seamlessly into any space, like a normal window, the virtual window also offers users access to a subscription-based content library featuring beautiful locations all over the world. Accessible via a dedicated smartphone app, the library syncs with your local time to offer an immersive experience.


Photo: LiquidView

“Each View is photographed by National Geographic level cinematographers with feature film motion picture cameras, over a 24-hour period, recording an entire day in stunning 8K video,” the LiquidView website claims. “To add to the unpredictability of looking out a window, views are augmented with photo-realistic content that appears randomly throughout the day.”

Each smart window comes with a trim-ready installation kit, one or several high-quality 4K Sony commercial display (depending on the chosen model), and access to the company’s bespoke content library. In terms of pricing, it was announced that a single-panel Virtual Window costs $25,000, while the larger, three-panel option can be bought for $100,000.


Photo: LiquidView

“Like so many people, I have lived in homes and worked in offices with no views or terrible ones,” LiquidView CEO and filmmaker, Mitch Braff, said. “Improving people’s lives by giving anyone a beautiful view was the catalyst for starting LiquidView. Our windows literally transform rooms.”

Sadly, LiquidView Virtual Windows won’t be able to help with space ventilation, and they come with an added cost in electricity, but some people this could be a small price to pay for the chance to wake up to virtually any view imaginable.



“I believe with the Virtual Window, LiquidView offers a disruptive solution that can completely transform how you experience a space,” said Noah Kaplan, founder and president of Leon Speakers. “This product has the potential to solve some of the biggest challenges that architects and designers face. Imagine being able to provide a view to anywhere in the world, in any space. It’s mind-blowing really.”

[PennySerenade]

Diverted Delta passengers spend the night in remote military barracks in Canada



Hundreds of airline passengers bound for Detroit spent Sunday night in a remote Canadian military barracks after their Delta Air Lines jet experienced mechanical issues, the airline said.

Delta Flight 135, carrying 270 customers, three pilots and seven flight attendants from Amsterdam to the US, made the unexpected overnight detour to Happy Valley-Goose Bay in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador “out of an abundance of caution,” Delta said in a statement.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the pilot of the Airbus 330 “reported problems with deicing equipment and diverted to Happy Valley-Goose Bay Airport in Canada around 3:15 p.m. local time.” The FAA said it will investigate.

“Crew duty times were impacted due to weather and runway conditions at the Goose Bay airport causing the airport to suspend operations,” Delta said, and the passengers stayed overnight Sunday in military barracks in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, a community of about 8,000 residents in Central Labrador. Goose Bay Airfield is home to military and civilian operations with two major runways.

The airline worked with local officials to provide food and accommodations for passengers, and Delta said it is providing compensation to affected customers but declined to offer specifics.

“Delta sent additional aircraft to Goose Bay to bring customers to their final destination Monday. We apologize to customers for this inconvenience,” the airline said.

CNN has reached out to Goose Bay Airport, which handles an average of 160,000 passengers a year, for additional information.

Six of the most amazing space pictures from 2023
This year saw an extraordinary number of awe-inspiring images of objects in space, thanks in part to the James Webb Space Telescope. Here are the ones that dazzled us most and why they are important


Wolf-Rayet star WR 124 as glimpsed by JWST
NASA, ESA, CSA, STSCI and ERO Production Team

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has helped make 2023 a year of astonishing cosmic images. But the groundbreaking telescope was far from the only source of visual wonderment, because a series of new missions sent back pictures from space, and the view from Earth wasn’t bad either. Here are six of the images that dazzled us the most.

The star in the top picture was caught by JWST getting ready to explode. It is called WR 124 and is about 30 times the mass of the sun.

When stars that big run out of hydrogen to burn in their core, they begin to fuse heavier elements instead. This fusion creates powerful blasts of energy, blowing out gusts of wind at velocities in the millions of kilometres per hour. When those powerful winds strip away the outer layers of the star, it becomes what is known as a Wolf-Rayet star.

Within a few million years of being stripped, it blows up in a supernova. The purplish blotches in this picture are the clouds of dust and gas that used to be WR 124’s outer layers – it has already lost about 10 times the mass of the sun – and without those layers intact, it is now doomed to go supernova.



A solar tornado seen from Earth
Andrew McCarthy and Jason Guenzel

Next up, we have the tallest solar tornado ever recorded (above). The event occurred on 14 March, when the rotation of the sun’s magnetic fields churned up the plasma near its north pole. This feature rose from the sun’s surface until the giant flare reached 178,000 kilometres tall – that is nearly 14 times the diameter of Earth.

This image was the result of a painstaking collaboration between astrophotographers Jason Guenzel and Andrew McCarthy. They used a high-speed camera to record the event, and took five days and 90,000 individual shots to create their picture. The sun looks furry in the image because it is covered in millions of churning geysers of plasma that last only a few minutes each.



Newborn star Herbig-Haro 211, captured by JWST
ESA/Webb, NASA, CSA, Tom Ray (Dublin)

This luminous explosion (above) reveals a newborn star’s incredible supersonic jets. These make it what is known as a Herbig-Haro object. The star itself is hidden in the dark cloud of gas from which it formed, but as the jets shoot out on either side of it, they slam into surrounding gas and dust, creating huge shock waves and lighting up.

This particular object, called Herbig-Haro 211, is about 1000 light years from Earth in the constellation Perseus. That makes it one of the nearest Herbig-Haro objects we know of, which is why JWST was able to capture the most detailed image of one ever taken. This revealed strange wiggles in the jets, which may indicate that Herbig-Haro 211 actually has a companion star.



Jupiter’s moon Io
NASA/JPL-Caltech/SwRI/MSSS/Brian Swift/CC BY

Getting back to our own solar system, we move on to Jupiter’s moon Io (above). In October, NASA’s Juno spacecraft passed just 11,645 kilometres over this moon’s surface, taking this stunning image as it passed by. This is one of best photographs of Io ever taken, detailed enough to show the shadows of some of its enormous volcanoes.

Despite being only slightly larger than Earth’s moon, Io is thought to be studded with more than 400 active volcanoes, making it the most geologically active object in the solar system. The lava flows from those volcanoes give Io its distinctive mottled colours, which are enhanced in this image. In 2024, Juno will get even closer to this strange little moon’s surface, providing even more detail on its ever-changing geology.



India’s Vikram lander on the lunar surface, part of the Chandrayaan-3 mission
ISRO

And on to our own moon. On 23 August, India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission became the first to land near the south pole of our moon. This picture (above) of the Vikram lander on the lunar surface was taken a week later by the mission’s Pragyan rover. Studying the south pole of the moon, which Chandrayaan-3 began, is particularly important because of the large amounts of ice there, which could be useful for future human exploration and possible permanent moon bases.



An amateur astronomer’s view of comet Nishimura
Javier Zayas/Moment RF/Getty Images

Our final image is of a more fleeting nature. Above is the comet Nishimura, seen from Earth as it streaked across the night sky.

Two rare green comets made dramatic appearances in the skies this year. First, in early February, the comet C/2022 E3 made its first close pass to Earth in 50,000 years. Then, in August, amateur astronomer Hideo Nishimura discovered another comet – now named after him – which remained visible for about two months. These comets appear green because the gas around their rocky nuclei contains diatomic carbon, which is a relatively rare substance made of pairs of bound carbon atoms.

Make the most of the image of Nishimura now because the comet takes about 437 years to orbit the sun, so won’t be seen again until the 25th century.

US Sets Policy to Seize Patents of Government-Funded Drugs if Price Deemed Too High


– National Cancer Institute

The Biden Administration last week announced it would be seizing patents for drugs and drug manufacturing procedures developed using government money.

A draft of the new law, seen by Reuters, said that the government will consider various factors including whether a medical situation is leading to increased prices of the drug at any given time, or whether only a small section of Americans can afford it.

The new executive order is the first exercise in what is called “march-in-rights” which allows relevant government agencies to redistribute patents if they were generated under government funding. The NIH has long maintained march-in-rights, but previous directors have been unwilling to use them, fearing consequences.

“We’ll make it clear that when drug companies won’t sell taxpayer funded drugs at reasonable prices, we will be prepared to allow other companies to provide those drugs for less,” White House adviser Lael Brainard said on a press call.

But just how much taxpayer money is going toward funding drugs? A research paper from the Insitute for New Economic Thought showed that “NIH funding contributed to research associated with every new drug approved from 2010-2019, totaling $230 billion.”

The authors of the paper continue, writing “NIH funding also produced 22 thousand patents, which provided marketing exclusivity for 27 (8.6%) of the drugs approved [between] 2010-2019.”

How we do drug discovery and production in America has a number of fundamental flaws that have created problems in the health service industry.

It costs billions of dollars and sometimes as many as 5 to 10 years to bring a drug to market in the US, which means that only companies with massive financial muscle can do so with any regularity, and that smaller, more innovative companies can’t compete with these pharma giants.

This also means that if a company can’t recoup that loss, a single failed drug can result in massive disruptions to business. To protect themselves, pharmaceutical companies establish piles of patents on drugs and drug manufacturing procedures. Especially if the drug in question treats a rare or obscure disease, these patents essentially ensure the company has monoselective pricing regimes.

However, if a company can convince the NIH that a particular drug should be considered a public health priority, they can be almost entirely funded by the government, as the research paper showed.

Some market participants, in this case the famous billionaire investor Mark Cuban, have attempted to remedy the issue of drug costs in America by manufacturing generic versions of patented drugs sold for common diseases.

[Misstee]

Humans are changing the moon's surface so much it's entered a new geological era, scientists say
Story by Ivan Paul • 7h




A new geological epoch has begun on the moon, which reflects the fact that humans are now the biggest influence on the lunar surface, a group of scientists suggest.

The researchers named the moon's new epoch the "Lunar Anthropocene."

"Cultural processes are starting to outstrip the natural background of geological processes on the moon," Justin Holcomb, a postdoctoral archaeology researcher at the University of Kansas and lead author of a new paper, said in a statement. "We aim to initiate discussions about our impact on the lunar surface before it's too late," he added. The new study was published Dec. 8 in the journal Nature Geoscience.

The idea of the Anthropocene, or a geological era of human-made changes, on Earth has received increasing recognition over the past 50 years. Although the concept is now generally accepted by scientists, the exact starting point and definition are still under debate: There are many possible watersheds, including the start of the industrial revolution and the first atomic bomb detonation.

When it comes to the moon, though, it's more clear-cut. In 1959 the first human-made object, the Soviet spacecraft Luna 2, impacted the lunar surface and created the first human-made crater, marking the beginning of a new period of change. In the years since, humans have left a number of things on the moon's surface, including footprints, rover tracks, golf balls, flags and bags of human excrement.


Examples of archaeological artifacts and features on the moon: (a) Crater formed by impact of USA's Ranger 6 lunar probe in 1964; (b) USA's Apollo 13 Saturn IVB upper stage impact site from 1970; (c) Israel’s Beresheet Moon lander crash site from soft landing in 2019; (d) China's Chang'e 4 lunar lander, launched in 2018; (e) Photograph and partial footprint left behind by astronaut Charles Duke during USA's Apollo 16 mission in 1972; (f) USA's Apollo 17 Lunar Surface Experiments Package site in 1972 showing the Lunar Surface Gravimeter in the foreground and the lunar module in the far background; (g) USA's NASA Surveyor 3 probe that landed in 1967 and footprints from Apollo 13 which occurred over three years later, resulting in the recovery of some probe components; (h) Tracks of Russia's Lunokhod 2 rover deployed during the 1973 Luna 21 mission. (Image credit: NASA/GSFC/ASU) © Provided by Live Science

This human activity is more significant than it may seem, the study authors argued. Once a change is made to the lunar surface, for example through a meteoroid impact, it lasts for an awfully long time; without an atmosphere, the moon sees no erosion from wind or rain. This means any effects humans have on the moon's surface are essentially permanent.

The scientists' proposal for declaring a new era on our celestial neighbor is particularly timely, given the large number of planned missions to the moon in the near future. This uptick of activity, referred to by the authors as the "new space race," includes private activities such as space tourism and lunar mining, as well as national efforts including NASA's Artemis missions that aim to return humans to the moon in 2025 and eventually develop a lunar base camp.

"I think that to raise awareness that the human race is about to have a massive impact on the moon is very worthwhile, because it's the Wild West," Jan-Peter Muller, a professor in the department of space and climate physics at University College London who was not involved in the new study, told Live Science. Private enterprise is beginning to see the untapped natural resources as a new frontier from which vast amounts of wealth can be made, he added.

Protecting our "space heritage" is another important goal of the Lunar Anthropocene proposal. The various remnants that chronicle our species' expansion into the solar system should be preserved, just as care is taken on Earth to look after the cave paintings and artifacts of our ancestors, the authors wrote.

"A recurring theme in our work is the significance of lunar material and footprints on the moon as valuable resources, akin to an archaeological record that we're committed to preserving," Holcomb said. "The concept of a Lunar Anthropocene aims to raise awareness and contemplation regarding our impact on the lunar surface, as well as our influence on the preservation of historical artifacts."

Other scientists agree that humanity's lasting physical impact and cultural legacy on the moon needs assessing.

"I think this is an interesting and timely proposal which will start people thinking about the effects of human activities on the Moon," Ian Crawford, a professor of planetary science and astrobiology at Birkbeck University of London who was not involved in the paper, told Live Science in an email. He also agreed that preserving our cultural artifacts in space is an important undertaking. "Some at least probably merit UNESCO World Heritage Status (even though they are on another world!)"

[goldie0608]

Minn. Firefighters Save Dog Drowning in 8-Foot Waves and 'Extreme Cold Water' of Lake Superior

"Rescue 1 crew members fought their way through the waves to find the dog," the Duluth Minnesota Fire Department said of the rescue



A dog is lucky to be alive after jumping into Lake Superior's frigid December waters.

The Duluth Minnesota Fire Department shared on social media that on Thursday, several of its marine units were dispatched to rescue a dog that escaped from his leash and jumped into Lake Superior from the Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge.

The department dispatched Rescue 1 firefighters and the assistant fire chief to the area of the call to save the canine. Saint Louis County Dispatchers used the cameras on the lift bridge to locate the dog's owner, who pointed out the dog "struggling in 8-foot plus waves."

Firefighters from Rescue 1 sprung into action, donning ice rescue suits to enter the "extreme cold water and ice" from the lake. At the same time, additional crews responded with the department's 14-foot inflatable rescue boat dubbed "Marine-3."

"Rescue 1 crew members fought their way through the waves to find the dog but were struggling to see him due to the large waves and limited light. The dog was also dark in color and kept slipping below the surface, making him difficult to find," the department noted on social media.

Thanks to the direction from the dog's owner and other personnel on the pier, firefighters located the pet and got a hold of the dog by their collar, according to the fire department's post. As firefighters worked to bring the dog to the shore, they struggled against heavy waves and to keep the dog "from going under again" since the pet was "large" and "struggling."

Firefighters faced several difficulties before safely bringing the pup back to shore. The waves repeatedly swept the rescue crew and dog into the bay, the Duluth Minnesota Fire Department added on social media. Eventually, the "Marine-3" rescue boat arrived, got the firefighters and dog onboard, and brought the group to a calmer area where they could safely disembark onto land.

After reaching solid ground, the "completely exhausted" dog was treated by emergency staff "for exposure," fire officials said. Once the canine reunited with their owner and received treatment, they showed "marked signs of improvement." According to the fire department that rescued the pet, the dog had stopped shivering and could walk again when the pet left the area.

The Duluth Minnesota Fire Department added that, during the rescue, firefighters prevented the canine's owner from jumping in to try to rescue the pet by themselves. The agency noted that bystanders had to convince the owner "not to go in after the dog" and warned people against putting themselves in danger to rescue a pet.

"We have learned in the fire service that if we do not respond to help in these situations bystanders and owners likely will take action on their own," the department said. "Without the proper training and equipment, this most often results in the firefighters now responding to a call for a person in harm's way."

It added: "The Duluth Fire Department wants to stress to the public the importance of not putting yourself into a situation you are neither trained nor equipped to handle. This will not only put you at risk but the emergency responders as well."

Millions could suffer from little-known, energy-sapping sleep disorder: researchers

Neurological research shows that a rare condition in which people are exhausted during the day despite sleeping well is much more common the previously thought.

New findings from the American Academy of Neurology focus on idiopathic hypersomnia, which is tied to feeling excessively tired during daylight hours, along with difficulty waking up and feeling confused when doing so.

“We examined data from a large sleep study and found that this condition is much more common than previous estimates and as prevalent as some other common neurologic and psychiatric conditions such as epilepsy, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia,” said study author Dr. David T. Plante of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Both day and nighttime sleep data from 792 people, with an average age of 59, was examined, and 1.5% of that population (12 people) was observed to have the condition.


It was previously thought to impact only .005 to 0.3% of people, according to Sleep Disorders Australia.

Those with idiopathic hypersomnia tend to fall asleep in about half the time of people without the condition.

“Our results demonstrate that idiopathic hypersomnia is relatively common, more prevalent than generally assumed, so there is likely a sizable difference between the number of people with this disorder and those who seek treatment,” Plante added.

As for its severity as a condition, a 24-point survey measuring sleepiness examined how likely participants were to snooze while sitting, talking — or even in a stopped car.

Those with idiopathic hypersomnia — which is different than narcolepsy, as patients with the latter tend not to sleep in excess — averaged a score of 14, whereas anything above 10 is concerning to professionals.



“It has been difficult to determine the prevalence of idiopathic hypersomnia because expensive and time-consuming sleep testing is required to make a diagnosis,” Plante said, adding that additional research could lead to more causes of idiopathic hypersomnia and potential treatments for it.

New research also found that chronic fatigue syndrome is significantly more common than previously thought and is impacting an estimated 3.3 million Americans.

posting.php?mode=reply&f=2&t=3791606

Tap Dancing Spider Lost To Science For 92 Years Rediscovered In Portugal
This is one heck of a comeback story.



Rediscovering previously lost to science species is becoming a bit of a hot topic at the moment and shows no sign of slowing down. After the rediscovery of Attenborough's long-beaked echidna, the team at Re:wild’s Search for Lost Species project are at it again, and this time they’ve found a tap-dancing spider in Portugal.

The Fagilde’s trapdoor spider (Nemesia berlandi) is endemic to Portugal and was first described in 1931 by the pioneering female entomologist, Amélia Bacelar. Bacelar was only able to research female spiders in the species, and the only known examples of the species burned down in a museum fire in 1978. No biologist has ever seen a male member of the species and no one has seen either a male or a female in 92 years.

“Fagilde’s trapdoor spider is the only species endemic to mainland Portugal that hasn’t had a documented sighting for nearly a century or longer,” Sérgio Henriques, invertebrate conservation coordinator at the Global Center for Species Survival at the Indianapolis Zoo and the leader of the expedition that rediscovered the spider, said in a statement sent to IFLScience.

The team began their search in the forests around the village of Fagilde between August 2021 and November 2023. This particular trapdoor spider lives in horizontal burrows under the leaf litter, rather than the more typical vertical burrows found in other trapdoor species.

The team built artificial spider-hiding spots in the hope of enticing the males of the species into them during their trips outside of their burrows to look for mates. The tap dancing nickname comes in because, to breed, the male spiders will carefully drum or tap dance with their legs on the door to the female's burrow, if she is pleased with his performance, the trapdoor will open and the pair will mate.

Eventually, the team's persistence began to pay off. In 2021, they found a trapdoor spider burrow 10 centimeters (4 inches) long and with a trapdoor that was 2.5 centimeters (0.9 inches) across. Trapdoor spiders can stay within their burrows for years, only leaving to find prey and to breed, making locating this species especially difficult.

Henriques found a spider burrow and carefully excavated the sides to reveal a female trapdoor spider with the extra surprise of 10 spider babies inside. The spider was found in the same area as the original was found by Bacelar in 1931 and had the same unique pattern as she described 92 years ago.

To confirm their suspicions that this was a Fagilde's trapdoor spider, the team needed to test the spider’s DNA. Fortunately, trapdoor spiders have a nifty ability to regrow their legs, which they detach from their bodies as a defense against predators. The team was able to preserve the leg in ethanol, before sending it for DNA testing.

The results revealed that the spider found by Henriques inside the burrow was not a genetic match for any other known spider species in the area and thus was the long-lost Fagilde’s trapdoor spider they had been looking for.

“This is the first rediscovery for the Search for Lost Species in Europe, and it’s a good reminder of just how incredible and unique invertebrates – who make up 97 percent of animal species on the planet – are,” said Christina Biggs, lost species officer for Re:wild.

Now that the species has been rediscovered, questions have turned to the species' future. Unfortunately, the area has become increasingly prone to wildfires due to climate change. To help protect the spiders, Henriques has engaged the local community, who report spider sightings in the area and a local bakery even makes cupcakes that celebrate the spider. The increase in community involvement has even revealed a totally new-to-science species in a nearby area.

“Everything about this species delightfully defies what we usually expect of trapdoor spiders and it makes me hopeful for other overlooked species,” finished Biggs.

https://www.iflscience.com/tap-dancing- ... ugal-72009

[johngriffen]

I sometimes get REALLY DEPRESSED reviewing the news these days.
It's always about a global pandemic threatening life as we know it,
protests around the world, stupid politicians, natural disasters,
or some other really bad story.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Welcome to The mobi weekly news magazine
IN OTHER NEWS
THURSDAY DECEMBER 14
What is it?
Here is your chance to become an "ACE REPORTER" for our weekly news magazine.
It is your job to fine weird, funny or "good feel" stories from around the world and share them with our readers in our weekly magazine

How do you play?
Just post a story that you have come across that made you smile, laugh, feel good...
BUT NOTHING DEPRESSING

EXAMPLE POST

​Naked sunbather chases wild boar through park after it steals his laptop bag

A naked sunbather was seen chasing wild boar through a park after it stole his laptop bag.
Amusing photographs from Germany show the man running after the animal to try and claim the plastic bag back.
But the cheeky boar and its two piglets appear to be too quick for the sunbather, who can't keep up with their speedy little trotters.
As the incident unfolds, groups of friends and family sat on the grass watch on and laugh.
Heads are seen turning in surprise and amusement in the hilarious photographs.
The incident happened at Teufelssee Lake - a bathing spot in the Grunwell Forest in Berlin, Germany.

[/quote]
Rules:
Each Edition of IN OTHER NEWS will be open for 7 days...
You can post as many stories as you like, but you will only get paid for One Story in any 24 hour period
So in other words, you can only earn WRZ$ once a day.
Each news day will start when I post announcing it
OR at:
9:00 AM CHICAGO TIME (UTC -6)
3:00 PM GMT (UTC -0)
on those days I space out and forget to post or can't due to Real Life
Stories may be accompanied with images - but No big images, please! 800x800 pixels wide maximum
Videos are allowed, but please keep them short, and post a short summary for those that don't like to click on videos
No Duplicate stories - Where a post has been edited resulting in duplicates, then the last one in time gets disallowed.
And please limit this to reasonably family friendly stories

Reward:
Each news story posted that I feel is acceptable (must be a real story, too few words or simply a headline are not considered acceptable) will earn you 50 WRZ$
If you post multiple stories on any given day, you will only earn 50 WRZ$ for the first story of the Day
All payments will be made at THE END of the weekly news cycle.
Special Bonus - Each week I will award "The Pulitzer Prize" for the best story of the week
The weekly winner of the "The Pulitzer Prize" will receive a 100 WRZ$ bonus
It's just my personal opinion, so my judgement is final

So help bring GOOD news to the members of mobi, and join our reporting team...

IN OTHER NEWS

[ozswede]

Martha Stewart’s homemade dog food sparks fierce internet debate

Martha Stewart is at the heart of yet another Instagram controversy.

The 82-year-old cooking connoisseur’s respect for animals was put into question when she shared her homemade recipe for dog food on Instagram. Stewart, known for her expertise in the kitchen, took to social media on 10 December to give her followers a taste of the meaty grub she cooks up for her two French bulldogs and two Chow Chows, Crème Brulee, Bete Noire, Emperor Han and Empress Qin.

But when she admitted that she had gotten the meat by killing a buck that had 'found his way' onto her farm a year ago, social media users branded her as 'ruthless,' 'savage,' and even 'disturbing' for using an animal that 'trusted her property as a safe haven' for dog food.


Martha Stewart sparked a fierce debate over her homemade dog food

“Today was dog food day!! Although it takes a lot longer than a day to make our type of healthy farm to bowl food that my lovely dogs have gotten used to,” the businesswoman began. “Start with the buck deer that’s been living here since he found his way in a year ago, (slowly cook the cubed meat until tender) then harvest the old roosters who have been such good friends and make such tasty poached chicken.”

Stewart continued on, detailing the prepping process. “l then visit @mtkiscoseafood for fresh salmon carcasses which are also poached and picked,” she noted. “Cut up the last big orange poitiron pumpkin. Steam until soft. We ate a big bowl of that ourselves. Roast nine large sweet potatoes. Cut up a big bowl of garden carrots and boil in salmon broth along with broccoli, frozen peas, quinoa (five pounds).”


She admitted that she had gotten the meat by killing her roosters - which she described as 'such good friends'

And the process doesn’t end there. In a large stainless steel mixing bowl, she combines the ingredients before putting them through a Cuisinart processor. “I did a mental calculation and determined that we would fill 44 quarts I was off by only 1/2 qt,” Stewart specified.

The final step included separating the mixture out into containers, placing the prepped food in the freezer, and cleaning up. Before finishing her online note, she added: “Dogs are very very happy, we are very tired !! Worth it!!” A carousel of photos carefully captured the step-by-step process, providing clear imagery for her audience of two million.

While this isn’t the first time Stewart’s opened up about her homemade dog food, posting insight to her Instagram page and website in 2022, this specific post attracted a myriad of commenters frustrated by the origin of her ingredients.

One reader wrote: “You killed the deer that found its way to your home? And your ‘friends’ the chickens??? Sounds like a real fairytale over there.”

'I had to read it several times to make sure I understood. Wow, just wow,' another added.

Someone else said, 'The deer who trusted that your property was a safe haven... And to eat your chickens? The Hunger Games farm.'

'That sounds hideous,' read a third comment, while a fourth simply said, 'She's ruthless.'

'This is just too weird and psychotic, our friend the deer is now cooking and also our friends the roosters are delicious,' scathed a different person.

'Not really in alignment with today's more compassionate, or perhaps even enlightened world. I felt disturbed reading this.'

'I thought it was a joke at first or something I wasn’t grasping,' admitted someone else.

'Am I reading this correctly?' asked another shocked user. 'You killed the buck deer that has been calling your place home for the last year and put him in the dog food?'

'I’m not vegetarian but I’m not eating the roosters I call my friends nor the deer living on my property for a year,' commented another follower.

A different person joked, 'Did you cook your grandchildren too?' while someone else questioned, 'Why does Martha get to be the one to decide when it's time for her "friends" to die?'

'Martha is a savage. Here she is talking about making friends with woodland animals and then feeding them to her dogs,' read another comment.

'Her house is like the one made of candy in Hansel and Gretel - except that it isn’t children she’s after but the animals that live around her home.'


The chef, 82, left many people on the web outraged after she opened up about some of the things that she uses to feed her four pups.

Amid the disapproval and disappointment, supporters of Stewart’s recipe spoke out. “It’s called farm to table, not everyone survives on vegetables. It’s called farming. We have a lot bigger problems going on this world than people farming and raising their own livestock for food and living sustainably. Secondly, dogs need meat and this is absolutely perfect for them,” one advocate remarked.

'Welcome to reality... Why do most people keep farm animals? And deer conservation is necessary to keep the population healthy,' one person pointed out. '[It] controls the population and health.'

'She's a farmer. What do you think happens on a farm,' another defender wrote.

'I love this. Helping wildlife conservation by hunting. Respect and kindness for farm animals until they’re utilized for a practical purpose,' someone else praised.

'I'm shocked and appalled by how disconnected and naïve so many people are on here about meat,' a different person commented.

'Actually look at factory farming for a minute. Martha’s version is humane and treating animals with dignity.'

Martha has long been open about how she feeds her pets fresh, homemade food rather than processed dog chow.

One woman remarked: “The irony that people don’t understand this is true sustainability. Go Martha!”

(Forget the deer, has anyone seen the gardener lately? )

What to know about compression therapy and how it can help medical conditions



Compression therapy, in which pressure is applied to certain areas of the body, has been proven to help with specific medical issues and is relatively easy to use.

“Compression for lower extremities helps prevent or decrease swelling seen in the lower legs or when the legs are in a dependent position, sitting or standing,” Danielle Bajakian, M.D., a vascular surgeon at Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York, told Fox News Digital.

Here’s a deeper dive and what to know.

What is compression therapy?

Compression therapy can be used to help improve blood flow and decrease perceived muscle soreness related to exercise and activity.

That’s according to Chicago-based Leo Arguelles, PT, DPT, a spokesperson with the American Physical Therapy Association.

“It is most commonly used in the case of sleeves worn on the lower legs, but it can also be used for the upper extremities,” he said.

He said types may include:

Compression bandaging
Compression garments or sleeves
Taping
Total contact casting
Pneumatic compression devices (sleeves worn around legs that fill with air and squeeze)

Who can benefit from compression therapy?

Dr. Bajakian of Columbia University said patients who most commonly benefit from this are those with venous insufficiency or deep vein thrombosis.

Compression therapy can be used to help improve blood flow and decrease perceived muscle soreness related to exercise and activity. Compression garments and sleeves can help both on the legs and arms.

Others who can benefit: pregnant women in their second and third trimester, when their blood volume increases; patients with lymphedema (a build-up of lymph fluid in the fatty tissues just under the skin); and patients with heart failure or other medical conditions that prevent venous return, resulting in leg edema.

Should people buy OTC compression clothing?

For most patients with mild symptoms, OTC compression clothing works well, Dr. Bajakian said.

“The keys to effective compression garments are compliance and fit,” she added.

For a compression garment to work, the fit needs to be snug.

For socks, there are usually sizing guidelines for calf circumference and leg length from knee to ankle, she said.

Walking and exercising the legs, especially the calf muscles, can help with venous insufficiency as well, said one medical expert.

“They should fit tightly around the ankle and looser as they get higher toward the knee,” Dr. Bajakian noted.

“Regarding compliance, over the counter brands offer an array of styles and fabrics that work with different lifestyles,” she also noted. “I often see better compliance with those than a medical grade compression garment.”

She clarified that for patients with severe symptoms or diagnoses such as lymphedema, medical-grade compression garments are essential.

When else can compression therapy be helpful?

People who are on their feet for long periods of time — or who are going for long car rides or airplane rides — may benefit from graduated compression stockings that can help with the swelling and discomfort that may come from blood pooling in the ankles.

Sunil Iyer, M.D., FACC, an interventional cardiologist and vascular medicine specialist with Novant Health Heart & Vascular Institute in Wilmington, North Carolina, told Fox News Digital that for people who are on their feet for long periods of time — or who are going for long car rides or airplane rides — graduated compression stockings can help with the swelling and discomfort that may come from the blood pooling in the ankles.

“This can even help varicose veins not to form or not to be as engorged and painful,” Dr. Iyer said.

Compression stockings are part of the treatment, he said.

In addition, walking and exercising the legs, especially the calf muscles, can help with venous insufficiency as well, he said.

“Diet is also important. Patients may note that the swelling is worse after they drink a lot of fluids or eat a lot of salt,” he said.

Do people need to speak to a doctor before they buy compression socks?

For patients with minimal medical problems who are looking to improve vein health, there is no need to consult a physician prior to buying compression stockings, said Dr. Bajakian.

“However, patients who are at risk of blood clots or who have unexplained leg swelling should seek out a doctor for a workup,” she said.

https://nypost.com/2023/12/11/lifestyle ... onditions/

[Alessa9]

Google to reconstruct Thompson Center starting early next year, but will keep atrium


A rendering of the Thompson Center Plaza. (Google)

The James R. Thompson Center will undergo a floor-by-floor gut rehab beginning early next year, but the building will retain its atrium while also opening up the base of the structure to retail, according to renderings released by Google Wednesday. Google will occupy the Loop icon once the renovation of the building is complete.

Historic preservationists who fought to save the Helmut Jahn-designed building from the wrecking ball praised the development team for its plan to preserve the 17-story atrium.

“This design looks very different from the initial schematics we saw a year ago,” said Ward Miller, executive director of the nonprofit Preservation Chicago. “That’s to be commended, and I think it’s wonderful the atrium is to be saved. My hat’s off to Google and the developers for taking on this project and committing to not demolishing the building and rethinking it as a corporate headquarters.”

A venture led by Chicago developers Michael Reschke and Quintin Primo bought the Thompson Center in 2022 from the state of Illinois for $105 million, and Google agreed to take it over after the renovation is complete in several years.

The developers will replace the building’s glass facade, and renderings show a new glass curtain that lets in more natural light, a new public plaza with trees and spaces for food and beverage retailers, and covered terraces on the first three levels of the southeast side.

“With more natural light, access to green space, and biophilic design elements that borrow from nature, the original design’s ode to transparency and openness will live on,” said Karen Sauder, Google’s Chicago site leader, in a statement.

One unknown is how the internet giant’s arrival will impact the Loop. The submarket was hit hard by the rise of remote work, which leaves downtown quiet several days each week. Many property owners hope Google will ignite a revival, much as it did for Fulton Market by opening in 2015 its Midwest headquarters in a former cold storage building renovated by developer Sterling Bay.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has high hopes Google’s outpost in the heart of downtown will bolster Chicago’s reputation as technology leader.

”When I became governor, I promised to serve as our state’s chief marketing officer — touting the many attributes Illinois has to offer for families and businesses alike,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Well, there’s no doubt that the world is taking note — especially with businesses like Google expanding in Chicago.”

But history may not repeat itself, said Joe Learner, Chicago-based chairman of North American brokerage for Savills, a commercial real estate firm. Fulton Market was filled with small industrial structures that developers could replace with sleek, high-tech office towers, hotels and restaurants, all enticing for companies looking to bring back at-home workers. But the Loop is dense, with less natural light and many aging buildings from the last century.

“The question is, is Google’s very presence enough to spur interest in these other buildings?” Learner said. “The redevelopment of the Thompson Center is fabulous for the city, but I’m not sure it will have the same multiplier effect.”

Fencing will go up around the Thompson Center early next year prior to construction crews starting work, Sauder said.

Jahn, the architectural firm founded by Helmut Jahn, will help redesign the building and preserve its character, she added. Helmut Jahn died in 2021 after being struck by two vehicles while bike riding in the west suburbs.

The new exterior will be triple-paned glass, and provide more insulation than Jahn’s original material, keeping the mammoth structure cooler in summer and warmer during cold snaps, but using less energy. The outdated heating and cooling equipment, which sometimes made life miserable for state employees, will also be replaced.

Google has not shared many details about what the interior will look like, how it plans to use the 1.3 million square feet, or whether it will still be called the Thompson Center.

Miller is urging the developers to preserve other historic aspects, including Jahn’s palette of colors, and the spiral tile design at the atrium’s base, meant to resemble the ceiling of a state capitol dome.

“It’s a wonderful optical illusion,” he said. “The building may not have been maintained well, but it’s a true work of art.”

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business ... story.html

Speedy robot dog sets Guinness record with sub-20 second 100M run



This pooch can really fly.

A robotic dog developed by a South Korean tech company has set a new record by running a 100-meter dash in under 20 seconds, Guinness World Records said this week.

HOUND, a four-legged faux pup built at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology in Daejeon, made the dash in 19.87 seconds with an average speed of 11.26 mph, Guinness said this week.

“In simulation, it can accelerate to even higher speeds, but we haven’t tested it in the real world yet,” HOUND’s designer, Young-Ha Shin, told the outlet.

“All of these movements were achieved with a single [motor] controller in the simulation through reinforcement learning,” he said. “In order to push the limits of an actuator, motor characteristics were incorporated into the simulation to make the environment as close to the real world as possible.”

The mechanical mutt, the product of the Korean academy’s Dynamic Robot Control and Design Laboratory, made his record-setting run on Oct. 26

The 99-pound robot still has a way to go to match a two-legged human — Jamaica sprinter Usain Bolt still holds the 100-meter world record with his 9.58-second run in 2009.

It’s also unclear what the previous record was because Guinness did not post it.

Last year, MIT reported that its four-legged robot, Cheetah, had reached a dizzying 28.3 mph, surpassing even Bolt’s top speed of 27.78 mph, the Massachusetts school claimed.

However, Cheetah’s developers did not post a 100-meter time for their creation.

Researchers at Oregon State University unveiled a two-legged robot that t named Cassie that clocked a 100-meter dash in 24.73 seconds, according to Interesting Engineering.

[Fatima99]

Boy Who Started Food Bank in his Shed Now Opens Holiday ‘Gift Bank’ for Hundreds of Poor Kids



Last year, GNN reported on the kind heart of Isaac Winfield, who opened a food bank in his garden shed to help the poor during COVID-19 lockdowns.

Now, Isaac is preparing to open a “gift bank” for moms and dads who can’t afford presents for their children, in addition to a fifth shed-born foodbank.

December is a big month for Isaac. It’s his birthday month, but there’s also Christmas, and the anniversary of the launch of his food bank, which he started with money from his birthday.

He went on to open additional food banks in his hometown of Redditch, in Worcestershire after realizing how many people in his community needed a helping hand.

His gift bank opened on Tuesday, and a fifth foodbank opened on Wednesday after enlisting the help of the local Greenland Pub to store the hundreds of toys and gifts for needy families he’s received from donors.

“Christmas can be a stressful time and Isaac wanted to help as many people as possible have a celebration without worrying about what is under the tree,” said Claire, Isaac’s mother.



“He is absolutely ecstatic seeing his shelves full of toys and gifts for families he’s dedicated his weekends and spare time to helping is the best Christmas present he could have asked for.”

“The response has been phenomenal. We’ll be holding present bank days another three times at this same pub and put on more dates if there’s still the demand,” says Claire. “It has all been quite overwhelming to see. We’ve had baby toys, books, dolls, teddies, Nerf guns, blankets, toiletries, there’s just a bit of everything here.”

“The fifth food bank has been opened alongside the YMCA and the support we’ve had for the present bank has been incredible also.”

Anyone with toys or food to donate can find all the links on the Friends of Isaac Food Bank page on Facebook.