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Global travel insurance market could be worth $35 billion by 2027 – ITIJ

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

The global travel insurance market is expected to be worth US$35 billion by the year 2027, with a forecast rise in value of around eight per cent in the US market alone, according to a research study by Global Market Insights Inc.

Demand for travel insurance is forecast to be driven primarily by growing demand in the tourist industry for high-risk sports activities and adventure tourism. Participants in such activities are expected to be more likely to take out travel insurance to safeguard themselves against potential mishaps.

Global Market Insight also credits the rise in more customisable policies as a key driving factor in the markets projected growth, with interest and awareness in such policies being fuelled in part by the popularity of travel blogs and social media influencers.

This includes:

Other factors which Global Market Insights note will contribute to the growth of the regions tourist industry include:

The projected growth also reflects the expanding tourism sector in places such as North America, which remains buoyant despite the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a report by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) in October, the regions tourist industry represented approximately $2.2 trillion, but later fell to $1.25 trillion in 2020 as international travel ground to a halt.

Despite this, the WTTC says that the sector is on track to recoup more than a third of that loss this year, with a projected value of $1.7 trillion for 2021 a recovery which the WTTC credits to the successful rollout of Covid vaccines in the US and Canada, coupled with relaxed travel restrictions on the continent.

This is expected to continue next year, with a potential year-on-year rise of 26.4 per cent projected for 2022 which will bring the regions tourist industry back to pre-pandemic levels at a value of $2.2 trillion.

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Global travel insurance market could be worth $35 billion by 2027 - ITIJ

Reading your way around the world with a difference – Sydney Morning Herald

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Armchair travellers have always loved books that take them to new destinations. In lockdown, with closed borders, they were a consolation: there was no other way to travel except in your head. But now we are beginning a very cautious opening up to the world, travel books can whet our appetite for new experiences far from home.

By travel books, I mean more than travel guides, useful as these are. If youre looking for something comprehensive, you cant go past Lonely Planets The Travel Book, which showcases the best of 230 nations every United Nations-approved country in the world.

Geoff Dyers novel Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi is sexy, horrifying and hilarious.Credit:

If youre nervous about going overseas and would prefer to travel within Australia, youll appreciate your journey more with some understanding of the oldest culture in the world. Marcia Langtons Welcome to Country is a guide book with a difference: it explores Indigenous languages and customs, history, native title, art and dance, storytelling and cultural awareness and etiquette for visitors.

But sometimes the most enjoyable way to choose or prepare for a possible trip is to read about what writers got up to in those places, allowing for fictional licence. My best preparation for the unlikely combination of Venice and Varanasi, for example, was Geoff Dyers sexy, horrifying and hilarious novel Jeff in Venice, Death in Varanasi. Just dont do what his narrator did, or youll end up deranged and starving.

We love intrepid narrators, even when few of us would be daring enough to follow in their footsteps or in the case of Ken Haley, wheelchair tracks. This crazy-brave Australian wont let a little disability cramp his style as he travels around the world and records his adventures. His latest book, The One that Got Away, sees him rolling around the Caribbean in the time of COVID, encountering the odd robbery, health problem, hurricane and unexpectedly active volcano. Haley is sharply observant, funny and gutsy.

Intrepid heroes are all the go in The Independents list of best travel books that explore more than just a destination, with recommendations for Jon Krakauers Into Thin Air, about disaster on Mount Everest; two African journeys, Levison Woods Walking the Nile and Waypoints: A Journey on Foot by Robert Martineau; and for women travellers, Mia Kankimakis The Women I Think About at Night.

Marcia Langtons Welcome to Country is a guide book with a difference.Credit:Arsineh Houspian

The Independent also recommends Bill Brysons classic 2000 book Down Under: Travels in a Sunburned Country. Its a hugely entertaining read that is also a little annoying for Australians, because Bryson made such a brief visit and sometimes seems content to trot out the clichs, though he always puts his own humorous stamp on them.

Travel can be an invitation to wild and improbable travellers tales, which feature in Antoni Jachs Travelling Companions, a novel based very loosely on his solo explorations in Europe in the 1990s and the travellers he met along the way. The realistic problems of travel delays, strikes, terrible weather sit alongside philosophical confessions and brilliantly surreal contemporary fairytales with enticing titles, such as The Tale of the Corporate Raider, the Glamorous Stockbroker & the Talking Parrot.

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Reading your way around the world with a difference - Sydney Morning Herald

Maryville College freshmen travel ‘Around the World in 50 Minutes’ – Maryville Daily Times

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

More than 250 Maryville College freshmen tested their abilities to navigate international travel Monday, Nov. 8, by speaking foreign languages, calculating currency exchanges and packing for the trip.

The challenges were among nine stations laid out on the campus grounds for "Around the World in 50 Minutes," an event sponsored by the college's Center for Global Engagement and Global+ initiative.

The immediate prize for students was water bottles, but the college also hopes the event piqued their interest in travel, showed them how to navigate potential obstacles to studying abroad and exposed them to different cultures.

Resuming travel

The global pandemic shut down study-abroad plans for about 200 MC Scots in the summer of 2020, and one student was forced to return early from studying in Milan when COVID-19 cases closed Italian schools and colleges in March of that year.

Kirsten Sheppard, the college's director of global engagement, said rebuilding the education abroad program will take time. "Heath and safety of our students is our first priority," she said.

Currently the college is monitoring countries where five students are scheduled to study next semester and plans to make a decision 75 days before their departures.

Maryville College also hopes to make decisions by the end of this semester about two travel programs with about 15 students each, a spring break trip to Switzerland and a May term trip to Amsterdam.

Global citizens

While it has been nearly two years since Maryville College sent students abroad, in the meantime it launched a Global+ Program that increases intercultural competencies throughout the curriculum.

The college explains on its website, "This generation of students lives in an interconnected, diverse, and rapidly changing world. Global (intercultural) competency is one of the main tools we, as educators, can give students to thrive in this new environment."

It defines global competence as "the capacity to understand and appreciate local and global issues, diverse perspectives and world views and interact appropriately and effectively with people from different cultures and identities.

During COVID-19, Sheppard said, the college "integrated virtual study and internships abroad, and we have developed several Global+ courses that embed global perspectives, guest speakers and projects."

The college also is developing a Global+Certificate program it hopes to take to the faculty and board this spring.

This program aims for students to be able to think globally, communicate across languages and build relationships with people from other cultures.

Packed for success

During Monday's event, facilitators included tidbits of information, such as the ability to receive scholarships for study abroad and the fact students can study in English in dozens of other countries.

Teams of students worked together on challenges such as packing a suitcase in 90 seconds. While several knew to roll clothes for packing, they also learned to place their passport for easy retrieval and take reminders of accommodations that don't include them.

They had to use chopsticks to move marshmallows or build an "Eiffel Tower" more than a meter high using aluminum foil.

One of the language challenges had students translate a key text from one of five languages taught on campus, although they could use an app too. The translation: "Excuse me. Would you please help me?"

Maryville College freshmen travel 'Around the World in 50 Minutes' - Maryville Daily Times

As the Biden Administration Lifts Travel Bans on Visitors to the U.S., Museums Hope It Will Boost Lagging Attendance – artnet News

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

This week, the Biden administration lifted restrictions on its pandemic travel ban, allowing vaccinated visitors from Canada, China, Mexico, and other countries to enter the U.S. for the first time in 18 months. For major American museums, where international visitors have historically accounted for major portions of yearly attendance figures, the news was surely welcomed.

Visitor numbers dropped roughly 70 percent at the Art Institute of Chicago, for example, from roughly 1.5 million to 420,000 in the 2020 fiscal year, according to a museum spokesperson. In previous years, international guests accounted for 25 to 30 percent of ticket buyers, representing about $5 million in admission revenue.

We are optimistic about the return of international travelers, but know that return will be gradual, the representative said, noting that, for the time being, the institution is continuing to focus primarily on local audiences.

The Smithsonian, which doesnt charge admission and thus cant track where visitors come from, saw similar decreases in its overall numbers during the same period of time, according to its public engagement data. Attendance numbers dipped 67 percent across the Smithsonians various museums, from roughly 23.3 million to 7.6 million in the 2019 fiscal year.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Courtesy of the museum.

Meanwhile the New York Times reported this week that, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where international travelers account for about a third of attendance, daily visitor numbers have been cut in half since the start of the pandemic. And the effects have been even greater when it comes to admission profits, since the museum has a pay-what-you-want policy in place for New Yorkers.

However, not every institution can expect a bump in foot traffic with the amending of travel restrictions.At the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, a southern institution less frequented by foreigners than those on the coasts (90 percent of the museums annual visitors are local), the change to the travel ban will likely have no noticeable impact, a representative said.

In the last fiscal year, 455,000 visitors came to the museum, down from nearly a million during the previous cycle. But the museum has rebounded like few others have: At this time, attendance is back above pre-pandemic levels, the museum spokesperson said.

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As the Biden Administration Lifts Travel Bans on Visitors to the U.S., Museums Hope It Will Boost Lagging Attendance - artnet News

Train travel can be as quick, cheap and easy to book as flights. Here’s how to get onboard. – Euronews

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Just a few changes to our flying habits would be enough to partly reverse global warming caused by the aviation industry. According to a new study, if we were to reduce air traffic by just 2.5 per cent each year, warming will consistently level off over the coming decades.

However, with the current growth rate of aviation, the industry will be responsible for around nearly 0.1C of heating by 2050. This is a huge amount for one industry to be responsible for.

Report author, Milan Klwer, from the University of Oxford and colleagues from Manchester Metropolitan University calculated that to date, aircraft are responsible for 0.04C of global heating. This is about 4 per cent of the 1.2C temperature increase humans have caused since the Industrial Revolution.

If aviation continues to grow at about 3 per cent a year then it will have caused 0.09C of heating by 2050.

Mr Klwer warns that as world leaders and delegates at COP26 haggle over targets to limit global warming to 1.5C, aviation is unlikely to be included in them, given the lack of low-carbon alternatives to long-haul flights

Sustainable aviation fuels, and hydrogen or electric planes, are being developed, although the climate scientist believes that none of these technologies are currently available at the necessary scale. He says that at the current rate, the world will have warmed by 2C within three decades.

On Monday British Airways' first flight to the newly-reopened US departed for New York. It was fuelled by a 35 per cent blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) provided by BP and made from used cooking oil.

According to BA, it's the first commercial transatlantic flight ever to be operated with such a significant level of the fuel blended with traditional jet fuel. The flight was also carried out by the airline's most fuel-efficient long-haul aircraft, the A350, making its overall CO2 emissions more than 50 per cent less than its now-retired 747 aircraft, the company said.

"Aviation has so far been quite slow to make the step change in technology that they need to make, which is to move to hydrogen and renewable energy," said Harold Goodwin, Responsible Tourism Director at the Institute of Place Management, Managing Director of the Responsible Tourism Partnership and adviser to the World Travel Market on its Responsible Tourism programme.

"We will see short or very short-haul electric flights soon. Airbus is also making great progress on hydrogen". However, according to Mr Goodwin the developer of the famous Rolls Royce engine recently told him, "if the engineers were just given the money to get on with the job, they would have hydrogen-powered aviation in the near future."

Resolving to fly less can also contribute considerably to reducing the number of unnecessary flights, says Mr Kloewer and Mr Goodwin agrees: "People need to think about holidaying closer to home and see what's available in their own country."

Individual travellers should also try to take direct flight, and just take hand luggage rather than checking in bags to reduce the aircraft's weight.

"Fly with the budget carriers in the more modern planes then carbon emissions will go down. Any traveller can now look up the most carbon-efficient flights on Google."

"I've had a look at some of those and the majority of them, the most carbon-efficient, are also the cheapest".

On current trends, Mr Goodwin believes that by 2050 the aviation industry will be subject to serious regulation.

The risks to the aviation industry and for travel and tourism, in general, are extremely serious; "For countries like the Gambia or the Caribbean islands, which are highly dependent on tourism, losing the opportunity to travel by air is a real existential threat for them".

Mr Goodwin suggests that we only fly once a year and make it a longer trip, rather than lots of short trips.

"Look at the way the Japanese travel. They come to Europe, they do several different European countries and they stay for a while. It's that kind of approach.

The group of travellers that concerns Mr Goodwin the most are those on zero-hours contracts or short term contracts, who are "very prone to travelling short notice on short hall on European city breaks. They generally fly because they have no paid holidays". A three week holiday for them is "not an option."

"I think we need to think about how the travel and tourism industry works to try and encourage a proper holiday structure for people so they can travel for longer."

In his study, Mr Klwer suggests that politicians should shift subsidies from flying to more sustainable modes of transport, such as train journeys.

"Travelling by train is not such an issue in Europe," says Mr Goodwin, "but it's a big issue in the UK because we just don't have the rapid transit available".

"In China and Japan, where the bullet trains are operating, it's really quick. There are a lot of people not using flights anymore, including tour operators. Those changes will make a really big difference".

"If you look at Intrepid, they are doing all the transfers within the itinerary for their travellers. But without flying.

One travel company that's stepping up is No Fly Travel Club. As the name implies, they organise trips that don't involve any flights.

Itineraries mostly use high-speed rail thereby helping customers to shrink their carbon footprint by 70 per cent. Weekend breaks include exploring Mediterranean Marseille, a night-train adventure to Vienna and wine tasting in the Loire Valley.

Founder Catherine Livesley said that when people want to take a city break, pre-pandemic, "just hopping on a plane becomes the default option" because train travel can be confusing to organise and people aren't aware of all the great places you can reach by train.

In designing their trips the company looked at how straightforward the journey would be: "Not necessarily how long, but how many connections and with most places there is only one change".

"Also the cities or locations have a lot of small businesses that are sustainable and you can make your own decisions while you're there, such as eating organic food or buying local produce".

No Fly Travel Club have recently launched flight-free city breaks, departing from London.

These can often be as quick as flying to your destination. "For example, the train to Marseille takes roughly seven hours and by the time you've got to the airport and flown there, the time works out more or less the same, and the price doesn't work out that different, either," says Catherine.

Prices for the trip start from 450 per person and go up to 800-900 per person. "Some are slightly more high-end, but there's a range of prices because we really wanted it to be accessible. There's no point having a sustainable city break that only millionaires can afford".

Firstly, there needs to be more awareness of the options available to us, says Catherine. "In the UK we're so fortunate to be plugged into this network of European rail. You can reach so many destinations in less than a day's travel and I honestly don't think people know that".

A lot of people want to see rail travel become "more accessible, cheaper" she added.

"Unfortunately, [UK Chancellor of the Exchequer] Rishi Sunak's decided to provide more subsidies for domestic flights. But it would be possible to make rail travel cheaper if governments decided to move in that direction".

Part of what No Fly Travel Club does is campaigning on these issues and raising awareness at the government level of what can be done to help people choose lower carbon types of transport.

"We work with flight free UK and other campaign groups, but at the moment it's about generating awareness of this problem".

"We need to give people these choices and not just default to the airlines being the voice of authority on aviation".

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Train travel can be as quick, cheap and easy to book as flights. Here's how to get onboard. - Euronews

Seeing the World Through a Grain of Rice – The New York Times

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Before there was bread or pasta, much less meat or fish, there was rice. Growing up in Hawaii, Texas and Maryland, I ate rice three times a day: with fish for breakfast; with Spam and nori for lunch; with hamburger or more fish or tofu for dinner. In my childhood, Thanksgiving turkey was served not with mashed potatoes but rice; steak not with frites but rice; scrambled eggs not with toast but rice. (It wasnt until I went to college on the East Coast that I finally experienced classic American dishes accompanied by their traditional starches.) And it was always the same kind: white, short-grain Japanese rice, polished and glossy, pleasantly clumpy and quick to yield between the teeth, clinging to the chopstick, sticking to the spoon. In adulthood, when rice became a kind of decadence, sacrificed in adherence to a supposedly healthier, definitely less satisfying low-carb diet, the mere scent of it made me wistful how much easier life seemed before rice became so complicated.

- Tracing Mexicos history through its ambivalent relationship to rice, a staple inextricable from colonialism.

- When scorched on the bottom of the pot by a skilled cook, rice transforms from bland supporting actor to rich, complex protagonist.

- Mansaf, a Bedouin dish of lamb and rice, is both a national symbol in Jordan and a talisman of home for suburban Detroits Arab American diaspora.

- Senegal, which consumes more rice per capita, most of it imported, than almost any other African nation, is attempting to resuscitate homegrown varieties.

Over the past few years, however, Ive returned to rice, eating it as I once did (if not as often as I once did), with everything from meatloaf to poached salmon. And why not? Much of the rest of the world never abandoned it. After wheat, rice is our most, and most widely consumed, grain and, although it has origins in both Asia and Africa, its today difficult to find a culture that hasnt made it its own, often in recipes that have become synonymous with a regional or national cuisine: risotto in Italy, horchata in Mexico, rice and beans in the Dominican Republic. The fact that, as Aatish Taseer learns on his trip to Oaxaca, rice remains in some places a 500-year-old interloper, its introduction the result of conquest and colonization, fails to diminish our species gift for culinary interpretation and resourcefulness.

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Seeing the World Through a Grain of Rice - The New York Times

Frdric Bastiat Quotes (Author of The Law)

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Life Is a Gift from God.We hold from God the gift which includes all others. This gift is life -- physical, intellectual, and moral life.

But life cannot maintain itself alone. The Creator of life has entrusted us with the responsibility of preserving, developing, and perfecting it. In order that we may accomplish this, He has provided us with a collection of marvelous faculties. And He has put us in the midst of a variety of natural resources. By the application of our faculties to these natural resources we convert them into products, and use them. This process is necessary in order that life may run its appointed course.

Life, faculties, production--in other words, individuality, liberty, property -- this is man. And in spite of the cunning of artful political leaders, these three gifts from God precede all human legislation, and are superior to it.

Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, liberty, and property existed beforehand that caused men to make laws in the first place. Frederic Bastiat, The Law

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Frdric Bastiat Quotes (Author of The Law)

Communism Quotes (1054 quotes) – Goodreads

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley feudal ties that bound man to his 'natural superiors,' and has left remaining no other nexus between man and man than naked self-interest, callous 'cash payment.' It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervor, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange value, and in place of the numberless indefeasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single, unconscionable freedomFree Trade. In one word, for exploitation, veiled by religious and political illusions, it has substituted naked, shameless, direct, brutal exploitation.

The bourgeoisie has stripped of its halo every occupation hitherto honored and looked up to with reverent awe. It has converted the physician, the lawyer, the priest, the poet, the man of science, into its paid wage laborers.

The bourgeoisie has torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation. Karl Marx, The Communist Manifesto

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Communism Quotes (1054 quotes) - Goodreads

Hubble telescope spots celestial ‘eye,’ a galaxy with an …

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

A cosmic hurricane shows its 'eye' in a new image from the Hubble Space Telescope.

The spiral galaxy NGC 5728 has quite a powerhouse at its center. This structure located 130 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Libra is in a unique cosmic category thanks to its active core.

NGC 5728 is a Seyfert galaxy, which means that one of its particular characteristics is the active galactic nucleus at its core that shines bright thanks to all the gas and dust that is hurled around its central black hole. Sometimes galactic cores are busy and luminous enough to outshine the rest of the galaxy in visible and infrared light. But Seyfert galaxies like NGC 5728 are a special Goldilocks treat, because human instruments can still view the rest of Seyfert galaxies clearly.

Related: Vibrant globular cluster sparkles in new Hubble telescope photo

The European Space Agency (ESA) published this new image on Monday (Sept. 27). According to ESA, which jointly operates the Hubble Space Telescope with NASA, the spacecraft used its Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) to capture this view. Officials said in a statement that describes the photo that even as glorious as this cosmic scene appears here, there is also a lot going on near NGC 5728 that the camera doesn't capture.

"As this image shows, NGC 5728 is clearly observable, and at optical and infrared wavelengths it looks quite normal," ESA officials wrote in the description. "It is fascinating to know that the galaxy's centre is emitting vast amounts of light in parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that WFC3 just isn't sensitive to!"

It turns out that the iris of NGC 5728's galactic 'eye' might in fact be emitting some visible and infrared light that the camera would otherwise detect if it weren't for the glowing dust surrounding the core.

Follow Doris Elin Urrutia on Twitter @salazar_elin. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

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Hubble telescope spots celestial 'eye,' a galaxy with an ...

Gene Simmons to the Unvaccinated: "You Are an Enemy" – Futurism

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

It shouldnt be so surprising that Kiss legend Gene Simmons is loudly in support of vaccines, but here we are.

In an interview published on celebrity video streaming startup TalkShopLive, the rock star panned delusional anti-vaxxers for putting the people around them at risk.

If youre willing to walk among us unvaccinated, Simmons said, you are an enemy.

I dont care about your political beliefs, he added. You are not allowed to infect anybody just because you think youve got rights that are delusional.

For Simmons, the outrage is justifiably personal: both he and his fellow Kiss frontman Paul Stanley caught breakthrough COVID in late August after being vaccinated. And earlier in the year, a guitar tech for the band died from the deadly virus.

Simmons really went off in the interview as he tends to do likening anti-vaxxers to people who speed through red lights and ignore traffic laws.

I dont want to catch your disease, Simmons raged. I dont want to risk my life just because you want to go through a red light. This whole idea, this delusional, evil idea that you get to do whatever you want and the rest of the world be damned is really terrible.

Being himself, however, the Kiss singer couldnt helping taking potshots at both sides of the evil political spectrum, accusing Democrats and Republicans alike of spouting all kinds of nonsense.

Politics are the enemy, he said, reminding us all that he lived through the 60s. Humanism and humanity is what we should all be concerned about. Love thy neighbor as thyself.

He went on to compare so-called vaccine skeptics to Flat Earthers, blasting them for claiming that the estimated five million people who have died so far of COVID somehow dropped dead for other reasons.

No, bitch, they died because they got COVID, Simmons said.

Latent glamness and vulgarity aside, Simmons stance on the vaccine culture war is refreshing given that so many other celebrities, like Eric Clapton and Matthew freakin McConaughey, are publicly railing against vaccine mandates.

Hes not wrong: WHO: Anti-Vaxxers Now One of the Greatest Threats to World

More on the man himself: Google News Genetics Section Is Full of Articles About People Named Gene

Care about supporting clean energy adoption? Find out how much money (and planet!) you could save by switching to solar power at UnderstandSolar.com. By signing up through this link, Futurism.com may receive a small commission.

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Gene Simmons to the Unvaccinated: "You Are an Enemy" - Futurism

NASA Head Says Moon Landing Delayed a Year, Blames Jeff Bezos’ Lawsuit – Futurism

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Its official: NASA boss Bill Nelson says the mission to return humans to the Moon is delayed by a year and,he said,its mostly Jeff Bezos fault.

During a press conference yesterday, Nelson gave an update on the ambitious plan to return astronauts to the lunar surface. Unfortunately, he said that the agency is now pushing a crewed lunar landing to 2025 rather than the originally planned 2024 and citing lawsuits as a major reason why.

We lost nearly seven months in litigation, and that rightly has pushed the first human landing, likely to no later than 2025, Nelson said at the press conference.

While he didnt mention Bezos Blue Origin by name, he was clearly talking about the companys frivolous lawsuit over the HLScontract which it launched when NASA awarded SpaceX the project which has thrown a wrench into the Artemis programs timeline. The NASA chief has even directly called out the company several times over the litigation.

Now the agency has officially delayed two of the biggest launches for Artemis. The first is the Artemis I, which will launch an uncrewed Orion capsule around the Moon and back to Earth next year. The second is Artemis II, which will launch a crewed Orion capsule around the Moon in May 2024 though it was originally planned to fly in 2023.

It should be noted that while the lawsuit is a big reason for the delay, its not the only reason. Factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of congressional funding, as well as changes to the scope of the Orion project also played a role.

Nelson also said that the delays means that NASA runs the risk of losing ground to the Chinese space program, which is increasingly capable of landing its astronauts on the Moon before the US adding a bit of international space race intrigue to the situation.

Overall, though, its just another embarrassing egg-on-face moment for Bezos and Blue Origin. Early this month, a federal judge shot down its lawsuit against NASA. Now theres zero doubt that its litigious temper tantrum has caused the US to fall behind one of its biggest geopolitical foes.

And all because he couldnt stand to lose out to rival in Elon Musk whos had no issue clowning on the Amazon founder for it.

More on Blue Origins lawsuit: Federal Judge Shoots Down Blue Origins Lawsuit Against NASA

Scientists Surprised by Mysterious Barrier at the Core of our Galaxy – Futurism

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

It's also accelerating some cosmic rays to near the speed of light.Rays Banned

A team of Chinese researchers has discovered a mysterious barrier that appears to be stopping cosmic rays from penetrating through to the center of the Milky Way. Even more strangely, the same region seems to be accelerating these rays to blistering speeds.

The research underlines just how difficult it is to get a precise reading of what the hell is going on inside the swirling ball of excited cosmic rays that makes up the center of our galaxy.

Highly energetic events such as two galaxies smashing into each other, or objects like supermassive black holes, spew out storms of cosmic rays,which essentially amount to protons. These rays often are accelerated to almost the speed of light by these events and celestial objects,which interact in fascinating ways withour galaxys magnetic field, which appears to form them into whats referred to as the cosmic sea.

Scientistsworking theory is that theres a supermassive black hole, called Sagittarius A*, sitting at the center of our galaxy, where it whips cosmic rays into a whirlwind.

In their paper published this week in the journal Nature Communications, the team found that some of these rays were unable to push their way past a dense barrier and enter a central molecular cloud of interstellar dust and hydrogen gas known as the cosmic ray sea.

The team used data collected using the Fermi Large Area Telescope, a space observatory that analyzes a host of cosmological phenomena including gamma ray bursts and solar flares.

Other rays that werent entirely stopped by this barrier first slowed down and then mysteriously sped up again as they passed through the central cloud, leading the researchers to believe theres something like a particle accelerator at the galactic center.

The most apparent answer for this acceleration would be the existence of Sagittarius A* but the team wasnt able to come to a definitive conclusion, nor rule out other possible explanations, including the remnants of a supernova.

In other words, thereare still many questions when it comes to our galaxys turbulent center. This newresearch just goes to show just how much there is still to learn.

READ MORE: Data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope suggests there is a particle accelerator in the galactic center [Phys.org]

More on Sagittarius: Nobel Prize Winner on Falling Into a Black Hole: I Would Not Want To

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Scientists Surprised by Mysterious Barrier at the Core of our Galaxy - Futurism

Bitcoin Crushes All-Time Record, With JPMorgan Predicting $146,000 – Futurism

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Is Bitcoin the new gold?All-Time Records

The value of Bitcoin hit all-time highstoday, trading above $68,000 Tuesday morning and investors are predicting that its rise isnt over yet, CNBC reports.

The price calmed back down to around $66,700 at the time of writing,but theres stillplenty of appetite for Bitcoin, and investors are more enthusiastic about the cryptocurrencys short-term future than ever before. However as weve seen many times before its impossible to predict when exactly the Bitcoin gravy train will run out of steam and start plummeting again.

Analysts suspect rising inflation, caused by stimulus plans and government spending, may be behind the surge of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies including Ether.

Inflation will see the value of money decrease over time, whereas Bitcoin has a fixed limit on the number of coins which can be created, Susannah Streeter, from financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown, told UK newspaper The Evening Standard.

In other words, investors are starting to treat Bitcoin like gold, an inflation hedge allowing them to hold on to value long-term.

Inflation is a major consideration for investors today, and the younger generation of investors often favors cryptocurrency as a hedge over gold, Wilfred Daye, the head of the trading platform Securitize Capital, told The Guardian.

Wall Street is also expecting the trend to continue, with JPMorgan doubling down on its prediction that Bitcoin will eventually rise to a whopping $146,000, according to CNBC.

Its not just finance folks who are excited, either. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey called for Bitcoin to be the native currency for the internet during an investors call last week.

The digital currency is also about to get its first upgrade in four years, called Taproot. The tech allows transactions to gain a new level of privacy and efficiency, laying the groundwork for the smart contracts popularized by Ethereum.

How much headroom there still is for the value of Bitcoin remains to be seen. But as inflation is expected to continue to rise, we may see the digital currency keep rallying in the coming months.

READ MORE: Bitcoin hits new all-time high above $68,000 as cryptocurrencies extend rally [CNBC]

More on Bitcoin: Bitcoin Hits Highest Price in Its Entire History

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Bitcoin Crushes All-Time Record, With JPMorgan Predicting $146,000 - Futurism

The US Government Says These NFTs Are Now Illegal – Futurism

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Tough luck, NFT fans.Forbidden NFT

Non-fungible tokens, better known as NFTs, have rocked the worlds of both blockchain and art this year, while generating endless new debates about everything from money laundering and fraud to what it really means to own a digital asset.

And now the dramas getting even deeper, with the US governments Office of Foreign Assets Control declaring this week that numerous NFTs, and even one entire exchange, are now verboten.

The list of banned stuff, first spotted by blockchain startup Elliptic and highlighted byVices Motherboard, include a Latvian NFT marketplace called Chatex as well as dozens of specific works of digital art including, intriguingly, some assets listed on a US-based exchange.

In other words, the fracas is a collision of art world drama, federal government drama, blockchain drama and international sanctions drama a spicy meatball of legal, technical and financial shenanigans that could shed light on the most explosive aspects of NFT culture were likely to see moving forward.

Basically, it sounds like the feds think Chatex was using digital asset sales to launder money from ransomware and darknet shenanigans.

The most interesting part of the saga, though, is arguably that the outlawed NFTs included ones listed on the US-based exchange OpenSea though the site did remove the listings afterMotherboard reached out about the issue.

We automatically block addresses on the U.S. sanctions list from buying, selling, or transferring on OpenSea, an OpenSea spokesperson told Motherboard in a statement. Nobody was able to transact with these NFTs once the addresses were added to the sanctions list. As an additional measure, the items and accounts are no longer visible on OpenSea.

More on NFTs: 12-Year-Old Earns $400,000 Selling NFTs to Idiots

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The US Government Says These NFTs Are Now Illegal - Futurism

Study: Earth Has Another Tiny Moon That Broke Off from the Big One – Futurism

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

It'll orbit the Earth for just 300 more years. Quasi-Moon

In 2016, scientists discovered that the Earth has a second Moon that unlike its much morewidely-known siblingthats visible in the night sky circles our planet at 38 to 100 times the distance of our primary Moon.

For years, the origin of this quasi-Moon has eluded astronomers. But now, they might have an answer. In a new study published in Nature, scientists say they found evidence that the quasi-Moon dubbed Kamooalew, the Hawaiian word for a moving space object is an ancient fragment of the Earths primary Moon. They believe that the mini-Moon might have broken off of the lunar surface due to an epic collision,in time immemorial,with an asteroid or other astronomical object.

We see thousands of craters on the Moon, so some of this lunar ejecta has to be sticking around in space, Ben Sharkey, graduate student of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory at the University of Arizona and lead author of the paper, told Time of the new research.

Using a telescope, the team found that Kamooalew is made up of common silicates not unlike other asteroids, according to Times reporting. However, they discovered that the quasi-Moons infrared signature differed from typical asteroids.

Thatdifference was a mystery until Sharkey compared the data with findings from lunar samples taken during the 1971 Apollo 14 mission. That comparison revealed that the space-weathering that lunar silicates undergo explained the difference in infrared activity meaning that Kamooalew likely came from our primary Moon.

Visually, what youre seeing is weathered silicate, Sharkey said to Time. The eons of exposure to space environment and the micrometeorite impacts, its almost like a fingerprint and its hard to miss.

While the second Moon is undoubtedly cool, we wouldnt get too attached. According to the paper, itll orbit Earth for roughly 300 more years before itll likely yeet itselfinto the void of space.

READ MORE: Earth Has a Second Moon For Another 300 Years, At Least [Time]

More on mini-moon: NASA Just Confirmed That Earth Has a New Mini-Moon

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Study: Earth Has Another Tiny Moon That Broke Off from the Big One - Futurism

NASA Astronaut: SpaceX Forcing Her to Pee in Diaper Is "Suboptimal" – Futurism

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

A NASA astronaut stationed aboard the International Space Station acknowledged this week that a design flaw in the toilet built into SpaceXs Crew Dragon module will force she and her colleagues to use diapers during their upcoming return journey to Earth.

Yes, we are unable to use the toilet on Dragon for the return trip, and of course, thats suboptimal, McArthur told reporters on Friday, according toSpace.com.

You might remember some drama during SpaceXs first space tourism launch, back in September, when it was widely reported that the civilian crew of Inspiration4 ran into some trouble with the spacecrafts waste management system.

Then, in October, it emerged that an engineering problem with Crew Dragons commode had been leaking human waste under the crafts floor and not just in the particular Crew Dragon module used on the Inspiration4 mission, dubbed Resilience, but apparently throughout the entire fleet (there was seemingly no danger to the craft, leading one space reporter to quip that Crew Dragon appears to be resilient to piss.)

Still, the debacle means that SpaceX needs to upgrade the lavatory facilities in every Crew Dragon spacecraft including the one currently parked at the space station, Endeavor, which SpaceX has no means of servicing until it returns to terra firma.

Hence the diapers. Of course, space travel is filled with challenges and discomfort, and it sounds as though McArthur is planning to take things in stride.

But, you know, spaceflight is full of lots of little challenges and this is just one more that well encounter and take care of in our mission, McArthur added during her remarks, according to Space.com. So were not too worried about it. I think we have a good plan going forward.

Intriguingly, fellow NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough also alluded to latrine-related concerns during the same media appearance. In this case, he lamented that due to ongoing delays with yet another SpaceX launch of astronauts to the ISS, its unlikely that his crew comprised of himself and McArthur, as well as Japans Akihiko Hoside and Frances Thomas Pesquet will share any handover time with the replacement crew to walk them through the more challenging parts of life in orbit.

A lot of that handover time is just showing little things on living in space the things we dont get trained on, like eating and going to the bathroom and sleeping and those kinds of little tidbits that we would pass on to the next crew if they were here, Kimbrough said, according toSpace.com.

But, Kimbrough said, Mark Vande Hei is certainly capable to do that and get that next crew up to speed, referring to yet another NASA astronaut who will remain on the station after McArthur and Kimbroughs squad departs.

READ MORE: The astronauts of SpaceXs Crew-2 mission talk toilet trouble in space and more, but when will they land? [Space.com]

More on space toilets: NASA Says It Needs a New Space Toilet for the Artemis Moon Missions

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NASA Astronaut: SpaceX Forcing Her to Pee in Diaper Is "Suboptimal" - Futurism

The Moon Has Enough Oxygen Buried Beneath Its Surface to Sustain Billions of People – Futurism

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

It turns out theres plenty of oxygen on the Moon after all but theres a catch.

The Moons near-vacuum atmosphere doesnt have anywhere near enough oxygen to sustain human life. But as Southern Cross University soil researcher John Grant wrote this week inThe Conversation, its top layer of rocky soil, known as regolith, likely contains enough oxygen for 8 billion people to survive for about 100,000 years.

The only problem, of course, is that you cant breathe rocks.

Thats where a new joint program between the Australian Space Agency and NASA comes in. Inked in October, the deal will send an Aussie rover to the Moon via NASAs Artemis program to collect lunar rocks and, as NASA put it in a press release, attempt to extract oxygen from lunar regolith.The results have the potential to be civilization-shifting because if lunar settlers can synthesize breathable air in situ, a long-term Moon base would become vastly more feasible.

The technology for the extraction, known as electrolysis no, not the laser hair removal already exists and is a pretty straightforward process, Grant said.

On Earth this process is commonly used in manufacturing, such as to produce aluminium, he wrote. An electrical current is passed through a liquid form of aluminium oxide (commonly called alumina) via electrodes, to separate the aluminium from the oxygen.

Oxygen makes up about 45 percent of lunar soil, Grant noted, but to extract it from the other elements that make up the regoliths composition, such as silicon, aluminum, and magnesium, scientists will have to usea lot of energy and industrial equipment to break them apart.

To be sustainable, the Southern Cross University soil scientist supposed, it would need to be supported by solar energy or other energy sources available on the Moon.

While the logistics of extracting oxygen on the lunar surface represents a mighty challenge, Grant noted that Space Applications Services, a Belgian startup, has announced plans to construct three reactors and send them to the Moon to create oxygen via electrolysis.

And it could happensoon, if all goes according to plan. The company has said that it plans to send its experimental reactors to the Moon by 2025 in tandem with the European Space Agencys in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) program.

While its awesome to imagine a vibrant human presence on the Moon,dont forget that the hoi polloi will almost certainly not be invited.

Read more: The Moons top layer alone has enough oxygen to sustain 8 billion people for 100,000 years [The Conversation]

More on Moon mining: China Analyzing Moon Rocks as Potential Fusion Power Source

Futurist lays out how to survive rising temperatures and climate change – The National

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Earths climate is changing. This is a foregone conclusion, laid out earlier this year in a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that outlined how it is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, oceans and land.

Already each year, 150,000 people die as a result of climate change effects, according to estimates by the World Health Organisation.

Adaptations are now needed in order to survive. Futurist Parag Khanna outlines how to adapt in his new book, Move: The Forces Uprooting Us.

Khanna argues that humans have a knack for moving and this can be our superpower in the uncertain decades to come.

Were really incredibly good at mass migration, which is a funny thing that people often forget, he told The National. Thats how America became America. Its how South America became South America. Its literally mass migrations. Were terrible at ecological conservation. Were terrible at maintaining military stability.

Khanna points to two factors pushing humans to get moving: changing demographics and uninhabitable land.

An image captured by Nasa's Terra satellite on May 2, 2000, shows the North Patagonia Ice Sheet in Chile.A single large glacier covered with crevasses is visible, while a semi-circular terminal moraine indicates that the glacier was once more extensive. Nasa

He agrees with research from the University of Washington and a separate study from the UN that the worlds population will peak this century and then begin to decline. There is some disagreement over the exact timing and count, but peak humanity has major implications for our future.

From that point forward, survival becomes a distribution game, Mr Khanna writes. How will we choose to organise ourselves across the planets 150 million-square kilometres of territory?

As Earth makes its push towards nine, 10 or 11 billion humans before dropping off, there will be a further run on resources food, water, energy that will threaten the stability of our environment. As consumption grows, worldwide waste volumes will continue unabated, increasing another 75 per cent until the middle of the century, according to Swiss bank Julius Baer.

This is clearly something which would put an increasing burden on the environment, but also on society, Carsten Menke, its head of next-generation research, told The National.

In the face of population peak and runaway consumption, Khanna proposes Civilisation 3.0.

Civilisation 1.0 was nomadic and agricultural, when the global human population was relatively small and localised and the environment dictated where we would live. The 2.0 version came with industrialisation, when people flocked to ever-growing urban centres, became sedentary and over time developed a globalised supply chain that exploits nature for profit.

The negative feedback loop between man and nature is killing us both, according to Khanna, and this means we have to again adapt.

Civilisation 3.0 will need to be mobile and sustainable. Khanna suggests that we will move inland towards greater elevation and to the cooler northern reaches of the planet. More people will be nomadic; settlements may be temporary. We will disperse, but we will remain connected, he writes.

Signs of this change are already here. Amid growing labour shortages across North America, Europe and northern Asia, which are set to grow more acute amid an ageing population, Khanna suggests opening the taps of immigration.

Canada is already allowing in as many as 500,000 people a year. Khanna says this is helping Canada diversify its economy into emerging growth sectors and replenish a stalling population a critical piece to maintaining a social safety net as people age.

And there isnt a big political backlash against it, he said. While Canada is not a representative example, Khanna says xenophobic populism will become an increasingly difficult option amid the demographic shift and climate change.

Its perfectly plausible for a country like Hungary or Italy to say we dont want more migrants. But that country can also commit suicide, and that country is not a role model, he said. I think that were already at the point where countries are waking up and saying, wait a minute, what the hell are we doing warding off young people? Were desperate for young people.

Leuser Mountain National Park in Aceh, Indonesia, is listed as a Unesco World Heritage Site. Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Survival and, beyond that, even economic prosperity, will depend on humanitys ability to embrace movement across borders.

As parts of Asia become uninhabitable owing to rising temperatures, Khanna estimates tens of millions more Asians will be forced to relocate permanently across Eurasia to find work. He also predicts a large number of south Asians and Chinese will head north towards southern Russia and Kazakhstan, regions abundant in fertile land and almost wholly lacking in people.

He also predicts some countries wont make it, either due to ecological decay, unstable politics, free-falling economies and brain drain.

Even vacated states, Khanna writes, can be useful.

Wherever their populations go, Central and West African countries have rich deposits of cobalt, iron ore and bauxite that will be mined until there is nothing left, while sub-Saharan African countries such as Namibia, South Africa and Angola hold significant reserves of diamonds, gold, uranium, zinc and other minerals. Bolivia and Afghanistan have giant pits of lithium essential for batteries.

The six million people of Turkmenistan ... may have to migrate into western Kazakhstan or southern Russia, even as their gas reserves and solar power are harnessed for regional markets. There are other roles that vacated states will play in the global division of labour: as dumps for briny refuse from desalination plants and waste from nuclear reactors.

A massive resettlement of planet Earth means a new understanding or even new definitions for borders and sovereignty. Khanna wonders if we might have designated lands best suited for agriculture, forestry, marine life or habitation.

In this spirit, countries could lease critical habitats to international co-operatives for their sustainable cultivation. When spaces are so important that no one country should control them exclusively, we can design mechanisms that balance sustainability with fair access.

This is a solution-oriented approach to something governments have been talking about for at least three decades.

Khanna writes that previous civilisations failed because they did not adapt to the complexity they themselves created. The mission, then, today is to cut down on the complexity of the globalised world and focus on self-sufficient localised hubs.

A world of more compact, even mobile communes could be less risky than one where huge populations are concentrated in coastal megacities vulnerable to sea-level rise and disease, he writes.

Ignoring these complexities and maintaining the status quo is a risk, one that puts millions of lives in danger.

In 1992, most countries joined an international treaty the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to start the work of combatting global warming and to support one another as rising temperatures wrought consequences. But the movement of people as a result of a warming climate has not been addressed, even at the Cop26 meeting currently under way in Glasgow.

The countries of the world will agree on how to colonise the Moon before they will agree that there will be free movement of people on Earth, Khanna said. We will literally never, ever, ever, ever have a global migration accord. Thats a shame. But its a fact.

Updated: November 11th 2021, 9:01 AM

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Futurist lays out how to survive rising temperatures and climate change - The National

Leading UK sportsbook and casino operator The Pools improves affiliate compliance with suite of innovative tools – Telemedia Online

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

The Pools, a UK-based sports book and casino operator famous for running the weekly Football Pools since 1923 is set to use new technology to manage compliance and monitoring as it ups it cyber security game.

Compliance specialist,Rightlander.comhas put pen to paper on a deal that will see it provide online sportsbook and casino operator The Pools with its innovative technologies.

The Pools will now use Rightlanders advanced solutions to take its compliance procedures to the next level. The technology which encompasses a comprehensive range of affiliate compliance tools will scan the sportsbook and casino aliate websites, monitoring all activity which mentions or links to their brands for compliance related breaches, whilst also searching for certain events and conditions defined by the operator.

This puts the power in the operators hands, allowing it to ensure that all affiliates sending traffic to its sites are doing so in a compliant and responsible manner.

Andrea Foley, Marketing Manager at The Pools, comments: We have been growing digitally, inventing new games for new audiences, while remaining faithful to our heritage.As a responsible operator it is important to us that any affiliates promoting our products are fully compliant and meet industry guidelines. Working with Rightlander ensures that all activity linked to our brand is monitored and any breaches are quickly brought to our attention.

Nicole Mitton,Head of Customer Success atRightlander.com, adds: Rightlander has had the privilege of working with The Pools since the recent launch of their affiliate programme and its extremely encouraging to see affiliate advertising monitoring being implemented right from the start. We look forward to working helping them improve their affiliate compliance initiatives

Rightlander has signed a raft of tier one operator partners including Awin, bet35, Income Access, Kindred, Aviva and The Very Group. The provider offers compliance checks across 35 territories including the United Kingdom helping top operators and affiliates stay compliant across multiple regulated jurisdictions.

Leading UK sportsbook and casino operator The Pools improves affiliate compliance with suite of innovative tools - Telemedia Online

Visit San Manuel Stadium home of the Inland Empire 66ers – MLB.com

Posted on November 13, 2021 by Danzig

Welcome to San Manuel Stadium, where mascot Bernie bobbles his belly in the Southern California sun, fans relish San Bernardino Mountains views and the Inland Empire 66ers race for the Low-A West title.

Inland Empire 66ers (Affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels since 2011)Established: 1987 (in the Class A California League)Ballpark: San Manuel Stadium (opened 1996, as The Ranch)League: Low-A WestNotable Alumni: Ken Griffey Jr., Paul Konerko, Felix Hernandez, Adrian Beltre, Ted Lilly, Ramon Martinez, Eric Karros, Rafael Soriano, Nathan Eovaldi, Kenley Jansen, Brandon MarshChampionships: 1995, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2013

It may be possible to achieve a complete understanding of the great American pastime without taking in a baseball game along historic Route 66 hosted by a Minor League team named after historic Route 66, but who wants to find out? The wiser course is to get your kicks at an Inland Empire 66ers game.

Contemporary Minor League Baseball came to the hub of California's San Bernardino and Riverside Counties with the arrival of the San Bernardino Spirit in 1987. The Spirit were a Seattle Mariners affiliate at the time of their arrival, switching to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1995. In 1996 the Spirit relocated to Rancho Cucamonga and, in a corresponding move, the Salinas Spurs relocated to San Bernardino and began operating as the Stampede. The Los Angeles affiliation remained.

From a fan's perspective, the biggest change came with the opening of the park now known as San Manuel Stadium in 1996, which coincided with the Spirit being rebranded as the Stampede.

When the team rebranded again in 2002, it was as though the franchise had found its true self, embracing the entire two-county community while paying homage to the area's car culture and the region's historical standing as the gateway from the American Southwest to the big cities and growing suburbs of Southern California. There they were: the Inland Empire 66ers.

From 2007-10, the 66ers were a Dodgers affiliate, and they've been an Angels affiliate since 2011, so Inland Empire has affixed itself prominently and firmly to the baseball landscape of the area.

Google Maps66ers schedule66ers roster280 South E Street,San Bernardino, CA 92401909-888-9922Capacity: 8,000Dimensions: left field, 330 feet; center field, 410 feet; right field, 330 feet

Designed by HOK -- the same architecture firm responsible for Camden Yards, Coors Field and, more recently, the Triple-A Aviators' Las Vegas Ballpark -- San Manuel Stadium has a classic feel that takes full advantage of its geographical setting. Views of the city's skyline (modest but not without charm) beyond parts of the outfield wall give way to the majesty of the San Bernardino Mountains in the distance. Looking in a northerly direction beyond left field, the mountains, foregrounded by a variety of stately trees, feel especially near.

The ballpark is situated a few blocks from the 215 freeway (take the 5th Street exit if you want to stop at In-n-Out), which connects to the 210 to the north and the 10 to the South. San Bernardino International Airport is within four miles to the east, and Ontario International Airport is about a 40-minute drive west on the 10. The San Bernardino Santa Fe Depot, with Amtrak service via the Southwest Chief and Metrolink connections on two lines, is a mile and a half away.

Features

The views beyond the outfield wall distinguish San Manuel Stadium more -- and more favorably -- than any in-park add-on ever could. That doesn't mean the interior of the ballpark wants for character. The distinctly designed videoboard in right somehow complements both the action on the field and the mountain backdrop, and it's a pleasure to walk around the concourse -- an arched entryway and concession stands nestled into bright stucco walls leave no doubt that a visitor is in Southern California.

Those looking for seating options beyond field-level boxes and club seating can check out a dozen luxury suites, an outdoor suite with a full-service bar and all-you-can drink beer, two party patios and ample and affordable lawn seating along the left-field line.

Mascot

Bernie -- a pan-smacking, belly-rattling, butt-boogeying something or other -- predates the 66ers identity itself, having debuted during the reign of the Stampede.

A mascot doesn't end up with that kind of staying power unless he's truly special -- and a little enigmatic.

Locals love Friday games for the 50-cent hot dog special, but those who want to bite into something quintessentially SoCal would do well to schedule a trip to San Manuel around a game when the 66ers are playing as the California Burritos -- an alternate identity that honors the local practice of adding french fries to burritos.

In the past, California Burritos games have rolled up such epicurean and entertaining delights as competitions between local vendors with fan voting to determine the best California burrito, a burrito-eating contest involving specimens weighing five pounds and the free-spirited distribution of mini-burritos to fans in the stands.

Local favorite Rosa Maria's has been a sponsor and has a pronounced presence on California Burritos nights.

Sophia's Mexican Food has also been active during California Burritos games, but the good news is that Sophia's is the 66ers' in-stadium taco specialty stand -- meaning a fan doesn't need to do any special planning to be able to scarf some classic California-style Mexican dishes during a game.

Local attractions

The road from which the 66ers get their name can also take a visitor all the way to the beaches under Santa Monica Pier in less than 80 miles, meaning all of the attractions of Los Angeles are within reach for pregame tourism action. Head east instead of west, and so is Joshua Tree National Park.

But a wayfaring gentleperson who wants to minimize time spent in traffic can take heart. There's plenty to see and do without venturing out of the IE.

Outdoors enthusiasts can find some of the region's best hikes in the mountains visible from the ballpark.

Right in San Bernardino, the Mitla Cafe, said to be the inspiration for Taco Bell, is as of as much socio-political importance as culinary renown; it was a key gathering place for Mexican-American families, activists and organizers, and a favorite of Cesar Chavez.

Visitors looking to make a theme out of popular food history can swing by the original McDonald's -- now a museum -- two miles across town.

Those who prefer their museums a little more arts-focused can check out Cal State San Bernardino's Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art, then, maybe for some balance, head over to the Glen Helen Raceway to take in some motocross action.

The enormous Yaamava' Resort & Casino at San Manuel (owned and operated by the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians), replete with several restaurants and live-performance venues, is within a half-hour drive.

If you haven't gotten your fill at Rosa Maria's or the Mitla Cafe, you can stop by Molly's Cafe within shouting distance of the ballpark, or take a quick drive across town for a Peruvian feast at El Rico Polo or Chinese cuisine at Happy Family Vegetarian.

Serious foodies who want some of the region's most acclaimed grub but don't want to drive all the way into L.A. may already know that the San Gabriel Valley, about an hour west by automobile, is loaded with world-class Chinese and Taiwanese restaurants.

Some readers will likely have already begun searching for rental cabins in the San Bernardino Mountains or in the desert to the east.

Others may have started checking rates at the Yaamava' Resort.

A number of hotels and motels are in the city of San Bernardino. Those who are planning to travel to LA on the day of or morning after a game may want to check out Casa 424, a boutique hotel in Claremont. The Mission Inn, a striking, upscale hotel and restaurant in Riverside, is about a 15-minute drive from the ballyard.

Southern California was practically built for the baseball-seeking roadtripper. Blink, and you're in Rancho Cucamonga to check out the rival Quakes -- the Dodgers' Low-A affiliate. Obviously, both Dodger Stadium and Angel Stadium are within an easy jaunt, too. After an Angels game, why not scoot over the Santa Ana Mountains for a trip down the 15 freeway to catch the Lake Elsinore Storm, then carry on southward to catch the Padres in San Diego?

If it's early enough in the year, you may want to check out elite college ball at UC Riverside, UCLA, USC, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, Cal State Fullerton, Cal State Long Beach and so on and so forth.

Literally speaking, all a 66er needs to do get to The Big A is hop on the 91 freeway southbound and make a turn in Orange County. To crack the Angels roster, though, he'll likely need to first advance to High-A Tri-City (in Pasco, Washington), Double-A Rocket City (Madison, Alabama) and Triple-A Salt Lake (Utah).

Low-A: Inland Empire 66ersHigh-A: Tri-City Dust DevilsDouble-A: Rocket City Trash Pandas (Ballpark Guide)Triple-A: Salt Lake Bees

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