The future of space travel could include tourism and relocation – Washington Examiner

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It's no shocker when several people loudly threaten to leave the country if an election doesn't go their way. Yet it's hard to go anywhere this year, with a pandemic locking most people in place. Will the time come when we hear promises to bolt the planet?

"Will the election make some people want to leave the planet? Probably. I've already seen some friends on Facebook say so," said Glenn Reynolds, a law professor at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and author of the new short book America's New Destiny in Space.

According to Reynolds, it won't be too long before people can make good on that threat. Because of the work of SpaceX and other private space exploration companies, the price per kilogram (or per pound) of getting people and materials into space is plummeting like a meteor in the earth's atmosphere.

Previously, it cost about $55,000 to get a single kilogram into orbit. Now, the price has fallen to about $2,700. It is projected to fall further with the next generation of rockets, going down to $270 or lower. As the price falls, many more things become financially possible.

Reynolds's book claims that not only will space travel and habitation become more affordable, it will also be sustainable, meaning the economic activity outside the earth's atmosphere will eventually pay for the ride and the construction of new environments to support humans.

Sean Higgins is a fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute with academic training in history. He has some doubts.

"I believe [living in space] will only happen if there is a way to harvest resources like, for example, energy or minerals. Historically, the driving force behind most colonization was the search for resources: Find a place that had something of value, and stake a claim to it, then have people relocate to that place to ensure that the claim holds," Higgins told the Washington Examiner.

"The problem with space is that it is, by definition, empty. It's right there in the word 'space.' So there's not much there to exploit, which is a problem because living in space is itself resource-intensive. Colonizing another planet is theoretically possible, but again, it would have to have a lot of resources to justify the effort," he added.

The extraplanetary economic opportunity that is most often touted is asteroid mining. Some asteroids are known to have deposits of ores and minerals that would make them incredibly valuable, in the trillions of dollars, at current market rates.

Yet Reynolds points out some economic hiccups with harvesting asteroids. It would cost a lot of money to get the equipment there to do that. The resources would still have to be brought back through Earth's punishing atmosphere. And even if the resources could be brought here in large quantities, their value would drop sharply because scarcity is keeping the prices up.

Tim Schumann is an occasional technology investor in the Seattle area. He thinks asteroid mining will not be an incredible gold rush but that it could create new opportunities. "It opens up possibilities to do new and interesting things with metals that used to be prohibitively expensive," he told the Washington Examiner.

Energy is another story. Earth's atmosphere filters out much solar radiation and other cosmic interference. That encourages life here. It also means that solar panels capture far less energy on this planet than they could, unobstructed, up in space. The capture in space and transmission to Earth of large amounts of energy could significantly reduce humanity's future reliance on fossil fuels.

Reynolds, 60, foresees a combination of space tourism, clean energy generation, and resource extraction, creating an economy for significant human habitation outside Earth's atmosphere. Does he see himself living in space in the future?

He said he could see himself living in a controlled environment made possible by what is called an O'Neill cylinder for a time. However, he added, "In a pioneering moon or Mars settlement? I'm probably a little old for that, alas. When I was younger, I would have said yes, and I thought I might even have the chance. Now, it seems likely that I'll visit space, if at all, only as a tourist."

Schumann, in his 30s, is slightly more optimistic about his options to blast off. Asked if he would like to live in space, he joked, "Well, I'd prefer it to dead." He said he thinks he and many peers will likely end up "working in outer space for short periods of time" and that future generations will probably venture further into space and stay longer.

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The future of space travel could include tourism and relocation - Washington Examiner

Humans have now lived on the International Space Station for 20 years – Business Insider – Business Insider

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When astronaut Bill Shepherd and cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev boarded the first pieces of the International Space Station on November 2, 2000, they clasped hands in unison.

"At that moment, we were thinking of the present," Krikalev told NASA in October 2010. But, he added, "subconsciously, we understood that was a certain threshold we were supposed to cross."

Since Expedition 1, the facility's first long-term mission, humans have lived aboard the ISS every second of the next 7,300 days, all while the now-football field-size laboratory has careened around Earth at 17,500 mph.

The station has far outlasted expectations engineers gave it a 15-year life expectancy though its future remains uncertain. NASA thinks the ISS can remain in orbit until 2028 or so, but that depends on whether or not the US and other countries keep funding the project, to the tune of billions per year.

An early version of the Space Station, back when it consisted of just three primary modules, on September 1, 2000. NASA

Private space companies are hoping to build new stations with the help of NASA; some may be way fancier than the current station, or have a lot more room.

But no matter what comes next, engineers and commercial operators will look to the space station as the foundation for all of our future space travel endeavors.

They'll learn from crew members' solutions to common engineering problems, like when one cosmonaut used tea leaves to find a leak in one of the station's main modules. And they could build on ISS research by digging deeper into how to grow fresh produce off-planet, or how the human body reacts to months of microgravity.

Expedition One commander William (Bill) Shepherd in the Zvezda Service module of the International Space Station (ISS) Alpha, May 24, 2011. NASA

Shepherd, a NASA astronaut, has said Expedition-1's first day was "hectic" as the crew prepared to broadcast leaving their spaceship and entering the space station.

"There was kind of a very busy scramble to do the initial things that we had to do and, particularly, to find the TV hook-up and the TV cable," he told AmericaSpace in October 2015. "We were really close to the wire getting all that rigged and happy, and we almost missed it."

The team eventually succeeded in hooking up the equipment, though things never really quieted down: The crew spent more than four months conducting 22 science experiments between piecing the station together. Shepherd likened their mission to "trying to build a house and live in it at the same time."

On that mission, Shepherd, Krikalev and Gidzenko installed the station's solar arrays, which boosted the station's power, plus the $1.4 billion US "Destiny" research module. They also exercised multiple hours a day to stave off bone and muscle loss that can occur in microgravity.

On March 18, 2001, the crew packed up and left after their replacements arrived: Expedition 2 aboard NASA's space shuttle Discovery. But Expedition 1's legacy lives on in the sections they installed, and in hidden surprises, like an aluminum cover for a ventilation duct with a message scrawled on it.

"I wrote on the back of it that this was something that was manufactured by the first expedition, figuring that no one would ever see that," Shepherd said. But in 2014, one of the crews finally found his message.

"There are a few other things hidden away in various parts of the original modules on Space Station that I don't think people have found yet... But some day," he said.

The International Space Station (ISS). NASA

Thanks to nearly 100 crewed missions over its first 20 years, the ISS now boasts dozens of modules, or sections, installed by astronauts and cosmonauts. In all, the flying laboratory now has more livable room than a six-bedroom house.

As it's gotten bigger, ambitions for the station's use have also grown. Most crews now conduct upwards of 200 experiments during a six-month mission a 10-fold increase from two decades ago.

All told, the station has hosted 3,000 science experiments since 2000. Crew members' work has ranged from growing fresh produce in space to studying how living in space affects the human body, an area vital to understand before long-term missions to the moon and Mars begin.

Cosmonaut Maxim Suraev, Expedition 22 flight engineer, holds Mizun lettuce plants from the BIO-5 Rasteniya-2 (Plants-2) experiment in the Service Module during Expedition 20. NASA

In one prominent example, known as the Twin Study, NASA astronaut Scott Kelly spent 340 days aboard the Space Station. His identical twin brother and fellow astronaut, Mark, remained on Earth.

The study found that Scott Kelly's time on the station likely changed his body mass, his bone density, and even the way his genes expressed themselves.

In addition to scientific research, ISS crew members have helped shoot feature films, like the IMAX movie "Space Station." And recently, NASA has ratcheted up commercial activity at the facility. In October, it sent up bottles of Este Lauder skincare product and instructed astronauts to photograph them for a commercial. The agency is also in talks with a production company to make a space-based reality show, called "Space Hero," that would allow one contest-winner to travel to the station and live there for 10 days.

Astronaut Robert L. Curbeam Jr. (left) and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang, both STS-116 mission specialists, participate in a spacewalk on December 12, 2006. NASA

The ISS has cost NASA and other space agencies approximately $150 billion to build and operate. And like any large and elaborate home, it needs constant upkeep and repairs; the agency still spends about $3 billion to $4 billion per year so crew members can keep the station in working order.

Sometimes the work takes them outside. To date, crew members have performed at least 231 spacewalks, many to conduct repair work.

Such operations, also called "extravehicular activities," usually require intense concentration and stamina, since they more nakedly expose crew members to the dangers of space. They're also grueling, since the spacesuits, called extravehicular mobility units, weigh about 280 pounds and limit normal human motions.

But they're not all risky tedium: They can also dazzle in rare moments, as retired astronaut Peggy Whitson previously told Business Insider while recounting a moment outside the ISS.

"I could see myself in a space suit, I could see the Earth behind me in the solar arrays, and I was like, 'holy cow, I really am an astronaut!' Because you forget. You're in this moment. You're getting a job done," Whitson said.

"Mixed feelings about International Women's Day: why do we still have 364 mens days a year? Proud to have Peggy Whitson by my side: future 2-time Space Station commander." Thomas Pesquet courtesy of ESA/NASA

Astronaut Terry Virts also experienced his own zen moment during a maintenance procedure. When he had a few moments to rest, he paused outside the station as it orbited 240 miles above the Earth.

"The only sound I heard was the faint, high-pitched whine of the spacesuit fan, and my own breathing, and for a few glorious seconds it was just me and the universe," the retired astronaut wrote in his book "HOW TO ASTRONAUT: An Insider's Guide to Leaving Planet Earth." (Astronauts sometimes describe a powerful "overview effect" from such experiences.)

Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy takes a break during a six-hour spacewalk to help with assembly and maintenance on the International Space Station, August 22, 2013. Johnson Space Center

But, he added, such moments were rare.

"Ninety-nine percent of my time was spent repairing equipment and storing gear and putting grease on bolts and running on a treadmill. And 1% of it was spent hearing from God and seeing creation from a perspective that I'd never thought possible," he wrote.

And even as crew members work around the clock to keep the station in normal working order, unexpected problems arise.

Since 2000, crews onboard the ISS have dealt with more than a dozen moderate to serious maintenance issues, including oxygen generator failures, air leaks, and torn solar panels.

Such problems have become more frequent in recent years, particularly on the station's Russian side where some of the oldest modules reside. The segment has seen a toilet go bust, an oxygen-supply system break down, and an air leak grow larger.

NASA astronaut Serena Aun-Chancellor works on the current US space station toilet. NASA

Crew members found the leak by watching tea leaves float around in microgravity, then patched it with Kapton tape until a more permanent fix can be made.

Such issues are only likely to grow more common as the ISS hurtles into its twilight years.

"All modules of the Russian segment are exhausted," Gennady Padalka, a cosmonaut, told RIANovostion October 15, 2020.

The space station is projected to remain in orbit until at least 2024, though possibly through 2030.

But all good things must come to an end. And when the ISS does, other habitable stations are expected to take its place. Some companies, like Blue Origin, are already working on their own "orbital habitats," which would apparently lay the foundations for a space-based economy of millions of workers.

Others, like Axiom, hope to build new modules that add on to the space station initially, yet later detach to become part of an independent orbital outpost before the world's space agencies retire the ISS into the Pacific Ocean.

An artist's rendering of Axiom's Earth Observatory, a section within its planned International Space Station module. Axiom Space

The Axiom plan is likely to be a welcome development, at least for the current crew aboard the station.

Asked what they think a fitting 20th birthday gift for the ISS would be, all three crew members of Expedition 64, the crew currently living there Kate Rubins, Sergey Ryzhikov, and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov agreed on what they'd want.

"We welcome any and all modules," Rubins said on a recent conference call. "Particularly if they have some stowage space."

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Humans have now lived on the International Space Station for 20 years - Business Insider - Business Insider

Who can own property on the moon and mars? – The New Indian Express

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A few months ago, amidst Covid, newspapers in West Bengal carried reports about a man who bought an acre of land on Mars. When he brandished the title deed, the media asked whether he planned to spend his honeymoon (he was about to get married) on the red planet. Those who buy a bottle of Laphroaig also get a title deed, with a lease on one square feet of land in Islay. But Islay is terrestrial, Mars is not.

There is indeed a company (perhaps there is more than one) that sells you an acre of land on Mars with a deed registered with the International Association of Human Planetary Exploration (IAOHPE). I havent found anything suggesting this is an authentic organisation. But if there are people gullible enough to pay for this doubtful package (there are standard, deluxe and premium rates) and like the resultant ego trip, why not? It seems to be no different from the idea of purchasing honorary doctorate degrees from places with dubious academic merit.

Anyone who has bought land in India knows that registration of a sale deed does not guarantee ownership or title. But this is an inappropriate analogy. For registering a sale deed, the seller is presumed to possess title. For Mars, or the moon for that matter, there can be no such presumption.While Mars is relatively new, land on the moon has been around for some time, again with deeds registered by IAOHPE, or without it. Sushant Singh Rajput was only one example. There was the German who claimed Frederick the Great gave his ancestor the moon. Interplanetary Development Corporation and Lunar Embassy Commission hawked lunar real estate.

Every science fiction connoisseur will remember Robert Heinleins 1949 novella, The Man who Sold the Moon. That man was a businessman named Delos David Harriman. At the time, at least in fiction, Heinlein invoked a legal maxim that has gone through extremely interesting evolution in jurisprudence. This fancy sounding Latin (law always becomes more impressive when Latin is used) maxim is, Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos, abbreviated more simply as the ad coelum doctrine.

In plain English, a person who owns a plot of land not only has rights to the land, but also to the air above and subsurface below the land. In the novella, using this principle, Harriman persuades the United Nations to grant his company rights to the moon. With air travel (the change started with balloon flights) and now space travel, ad coelum has become circumscribed. No infinitely above and infinitely below. There are limits.

On specifics of rights on the moon, Mars and asteroids, there is an Outer Space Treaty (OST, 1967) and this covers the moon and other celestial bodies. Most countries have signed this, though some have signed, but have not yet ratified it. Article II of this Treaty seems clear enough, at least in intent. Outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means. All law (and legislation) is overtaken by events, just as the ad coelum doctrine eventually had to be modified.

The world in 2020 is different from that in 1967. Other than in the realm of science fiction, who would have imagined in 1967 that private companies would venture into space, or that chicken nuggets would float around in space? The likes of IAOHPE can argue that Article II applies only to sovereign states, not individual parties. If there is such a legal case, I suspect Article VI of the OST is sufficient to settle matters. States Parties to the Treaty shall bear international responsibility for national activities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, whether such activities are carried on by governmental agencies or by non-governmental entities, and for assuring that national activities are carried out in conformity with the provisions set forth in the present Treaty.

The activities of non-governmental entities in outer space, including the moon and other celestial bodies, shall require authorisation and continuing supervision by the appropriate State Party to the Treaty. The problem with the Treaty is elsewhere. Reflecting the vintage, the OST is primarily about peaceful space exploration and limiting the Cold War in space. It didnt anticipate property rights in space. As with land, property rights are a bundle of rights.

Ownership is only one element. Delinking from ownership, what about mining extra-terrestrial resources? There have been add-ons to the OST, such as on return of objects from space (astronauts included), international registration and liability for objects launched and limitations on what governments can do on celestial bodies. India is a party to these. But these dont address the core issue of exploitation of resources, not always by governments, but also private companies. UN treaties are often honoured in the breach.

In any event, such a new treaty under the UN umbrella is unlikely. If the US can enact national legislation in 2015 (Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, one should read what this says about space resource exploration and utilisation), why shouldnt India? We have a space programme and private entry has recently been allowed into these. However, Indian National Space Promotion andAuthorisation Centre (In-Space), New Space India Ltd (NSIL) and Antrix Corporation require legislative backing on commercial exploitation of resources too, even if this conflicts with prior positions India adopted.

Bibek debroyChairman, Economic Advisory Council to the PM (Tweets @bibekdebroy)

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Who can own property on the moon and mars? - The New Indian Express

NASA breakthrough: Humans could travel to Mars in HALF the time after major development – Daily Express

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Ultra Safe Nuclear Technologies, a Seattle, Washington-based company, reported they had sent NASA a concept design for nuclear thermal propulsion engine. As part of a study on space flight, they designed a NTP with the aim of getting Mars in just three months for future space travel missions. It comes after NASA officials have said nuclear-powered systems will be required for further exploration into space.

NTP systems use nuclear fission, power from splitting atoms, to create thrust, and are generally more efficient than existing chemical rockets.

Michael Eades, principal engineer at USNC-Tech, issued a statement on the companys nuclear engine, touting it as even more reliable than other designs.

He also claimed the companys NTP design has a specific impulse, referring to the amount of thrust from a propellant, more than twice that of chemical systems."

Mr Eades added: We want to lead the effort to open new frontiers in space, and do it quickly and safely.

READ MORE:SpaceX news: Elon Musk's firm aiming to provide internet to first residents of Mars

NTP systems have been looked at as promising ways to slash space travel time with heavier payloads than modern advanced rockets.

Experts believe the systems will be able to halve the travel time to Mars, which is currently held to be seven months one way.

Paolo Venneri, UNSC-Tech CEO, has claimed their design uses nuclear design aspects from reactor, and added: Key to USNC-Tech's design is a conscious overlap between terrestrial and space reactor technologies.

"This allows us to leverage the advancements in nuclear technology and infrastructure from terrestrial systems and apply them to our space reactors."

The proposal followed NASA scientists and engineers admitting nuclear-powered engines were the next big step forward for space travel.

Former NASA administrator Daniel Goldin recently argued "it's time to grow up" and go nuclear for future space exploration missions.

In a statement, NASA said adopting NTP would save the company millions, and added: What if it costs less, carries more, and uses less fuel? This radical system is in-space electric propulsion.

"It can reduce the amount of fuel, or propellant, needed by up to 90 percent compared to chemical propulsion systems, saving millions in launch costs while providing greater missions flexibility."

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It also follows companies eyeing up ways to make interplanetary travel more of a reality in the near-future.

Elon Musks SpaceX have touted their Starship rocket as almost ready to start travelling to Mars.

Mr Musk, CEO of the company, said in a conversation with Mars Society founder Robert Zubrin that SpaceX is on track to begin its first unmanned mission to Mars within four years time.

He added, referring to a once-every-26-month period: "I think we have a fighting chance of making that second Mars transfer window.

An expert has also warned NASA are being challenge by China over being the dominant space power.

Dr Malcolm Davis, Senior Analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, toldExpress.co.uk: The Chinese have made it very clear they intend to be a comprehensive space power, certainly by 2049. That is in their official statements.

I think they're probably moving faster than that to try and achieve that goal.

So we'll see how they go about that. It's not just the military side of things there, its also the civil and commercial side of things.

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NASA breakthrough: Humans could travel to Mars in HALF the time after major development - Daily Express

Halloween is brought to you by these Florida lobbyists and political associations – Florida Politics

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The witching hour is upon us.

Maybe ghosts, ghouls and superheroes wont fill the streets this year, but the coronavirus pandemic cant take all the fun out of Halloween.

While the coronavirus pandemic never got as bad as the horror classic Dawn of the Dead, heading to the mall was a spooky proposition a few months ago. Now that masks and social distancing protocols are the norm, shoppers are starting to head back to the register.

Thats good news for the Florida Retail Federation, which is expecting Halloween to do wonders for stores across the state according to a consumer survey conducted by the National Retail Federation, Halloween spending is expected to cross the $8 billion mark this year. While thats a significant dip from last year, its not as bad as once feared.

When FRF needs help in the Legislature, they turn to French Brown of Dean Mead, Jon Johnson and Darrick McGee of Johnson & Blanton, and their in-house team of R. Scott Shalley, Jake Farmer, Lorena Holley and Grace Lovell.

After making the trip to Wal-Mart or Target to grab some garb for the kiddos and something sweet, theres the question of what to do with the rest of the night.

In a normal year, Halloween falling on a Saturday would mean plenty of options parties for adults, Halloween Horror Nights for the tourist crowd and of course trick-or-treating for kids without fear of missing bedtime on a school night.

Universal Studios might be seen as a little brother to Disney for most of the year, but not in October. Unfortunately, their monthlong Halloween bash was scrubbed this year, but the Horror Nights spirit lives in in a scaled-down celebration.

The theme park has set up a pair of haunted houses, one is themed after the 1935 film The Bride of Frankenstein Lives and the other is titled Revenge of the Tooth Fairy dentophobics be warned, this one flips the tooth fairy mythos on its head.

Just as horror fans rely on Universal for scares, the tourism juggernaut relies on a talented team of lobbyists to advance its priorities in Tallahassee. The current roster: Brett Bacot, Jim Magill and Kimberly McGlynn of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney; Will McKinley, Angela Dempsey, Fred Dickinson, Erik Kirk and Sophie Smith of PooleMcKinley; Missy Timmins of Timmins Consulting; and in-houser Melanie Becker.

As for trick-or-treating and partying the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention placed both on the high-risk list. Its for the greater good, of course, but its no less disappointing than getting a tube of toothpaste at the door. Still, there a few places for kids to safely sport their costumes.

Down in the Glades area, U.S. Sugar has teamed up with the cities of Moore Haven, LaBelle, Clewiston, Belle Glade, and Indiantown to make sure trick-or-treaters dont go home empty-handed Saturday night. The events range from drive-in candy pickups to socially distanced, mask required haunted houses.

U.S. Sugars is among Floridas biggest businesses and, accordingly, they have many of the big-name lobbyists at the biggest firms on retainer.

The list includes Brian Ballard and Chris Dorworth of Ballard Partners; Gregory Black of Waypoint Strategies; Carlos Cruz of Converge Government Affairs; Charlie Dudley and Cory Guzzo of Floridian Partners; Mercer Fearington, Seth McKeel, Sydney Ridley and Clark Smith of The Southern Group; Richard Heffley and Kelly Horton of Heffley & Associates; Frank Mayernick and Tracy Mayernick of The Mayernick Group; Kirk Pepper of GrayRobinson; Christopher Smith of Tripp Scott PA; and Screven Watson of Screven Watson & Associates.

With few knocks at the door and limited party options, many of us will be flipping through channels or, more likely, streaming services looking for a festive film.

Sunshine State cinema savants can pocket this piece of trivia: Creature from the Black Lagoon was shot in Florida more specifically, Silver Springs, Wakulla Springs and Jax. The definitive deep ones film went on to be considered a classic, but theres been few other Fresh from Florida films to be so honored in the 65 years since it bowed.

If Film Florida gets its way, that could change. The trade association has been fighting for years to lure film productions back to Florida, most recently through an innovative grant model. It hasnt squeaked through the Legislature yet, but the proposal has definitely gained traction among influential lawmakers such as Sen. Joe Gruters.

The renewed interest is thanks in part to the lobbying efforts of Al Cardenas, Slater Bayliss, Chris Chaney, Stephen Shiver and Sarah Busk Suskey of The Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partners.

Of course, not everyone is into creature features. For those that want a little Sci-Fi mixed in, all-time greats such as It Came from Outer Space, Alien and The Thing are always good picks for a reliable fright. Space travel is in vogue right now, and the premier name in the business is shooting rockets from the Space Coast to the stars.

Elon Musks SpaceX (or Space Exploration Technologies for the long winded) brought joy to people the world over early on in the pandemic when it launched a Falcon9 into orbit from Kennedy Space Center. That rocket carried two astronauts to the International Space Station for NASA.

While the mission was a success, SpaceXs team of rocket scientists know their limits. Thats why the company turns to Jeff Sharkey andTaylor Biehl of Capital Alliance Group to bring its priorities in for a safe landing at the Capitol.

Back on terra firma, theres another tech revolution in its nascent phase: Self-driving cars. And unlike the nightmare-inducing Maximum Overdrive, the new-fangled innovation is apparently safe enough for Sen. Jeff Brandes to hop in the non-driver seat.

Musks Tesla Motors is one of the companies making waves in autonomous vehicles, but theres a truckload more looking to boost their presence in Florida, Starsky Robotics and Google (via Waymo) among them. But until the programming geniuses behind AVs find a way to automate the Legislature, theyll be in need of some backup in Tallahassee.

For Starsky, those duties have been farmed out to Cesar Fernandez, Jonathan Kilman, Paul Lowell and Brad Nail of Converge Government Affairs while Waymo has Rhett ODoski, Sara Clements, Ryder Rudd and Sean Stafford of McGuireWoods Consulting in the drivers seat.

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Halloween is brought to you by these Florida lobbyists and political associations - Florida Politics

Nasa reveals that there is water on the moon in breakthrough that could lead to deep-space travel – The Independent

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Water has been definitively found on the Moon, Nasa has said, and there are a set of water traps that could hold it stably.

The research suggests that water could be distributed right across the lunar surface, not just trapped in the cold, shadowed parts of the Moon.

The discovery is a major breakthrough in the mission to explore the rest of the solar system, as well as giving a better understanding of the lunar surface.

It also raises new questions about how exactly the water got there, and how it is able to survive the harsh conditions on the Moon.

It could, for instance, be trapped in glass beads on the surface that form when micrometeorites crash into the Moon and melt a part of the lunar surface, either forming water or capturing it in the beads as it does.

Scientists had previously thought that any water on the sunlit side of the Moon would immediately be lost. But it appears that it is in fact present, and not just on the parts that are shaded from the sun.

Nasa was keen to stress that the amount of water is very limited, with the new discovery representing only around one per cent of the amount of water found in the Sahara desert. But even that very small amount of water was not previously confirmed to exist, and it remains unclear how it could be created or stay on the surface.

Researchers had previously found evidence of hydration on the lunar surface. But it was unclear whether that hydrogen was in the form of hydroxyl the chemical that makes up drain cleaners or in the form of H2O, or water.

Now scientists have found unambiguously that there is a water on the surface.

We had indications that H2O the familiar water we know might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon, said Paul Hertz, director of the Astrophysics Division in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

Now we know it is there. This discovery challenges our understanding of the lunar surface and raises intriguing questions about resources relevant for deep space exploration.

That could be used for humans who travel to the Moon and create a permanent lunar base there, as Nasa hopes to. It could also help create fuel to travel elsewhere in the solar system.

Nasa hopes to head to the Moon in 2024, taking the first person in more than 50 years and the first woman ever to step foot on the lunar surface. By the end of the decade, it wants to have established a sustainable human presence on the Moon.

Water is critical for exploring space: not just as a fuel or drinking, but it can also be turned into oxygen to breathe. But it is heavy, and therefore very expensive to be carried into space on a rocket, and so finding it on the Moon could make space travel significantly cheaper and easier.

Water is a valuable resource, for both scientific purposes and for use by our explorers, said Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist for NASAs Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.

If we can use the resources at the Moon, then we can carry less water and more equipment to help enable new scientific discoveries.

Scientists still dont know exactly where the water is being stored on the Moon, or if it can be used at all. They said the new discovery is just the beginning of future research that will involve exploring the state and location of the water on the surface.

Without a thick atmosphere, water on the sunlit lunar surface should just be lost to space, said Casey Honniball, the lead author, who published the results from her graduate thesis work at the University of Hawaii at Mnoa in Honolulu. Yet somehow were seeing it. Something is generating the water, and something must be trapping it there.

Researchers suggest that in some cases tiny patches of ice might exist in permanent shadows no bigger than a penny.

They explored phenomena on the moon called cold traps, which are shadowy regions of the surface that exist in a state of eternal darkness.

It is thought that many have gone without a single ray of sunlight for potentially billions of years.

Now scientists say there may be a lot more of these nooks and crannies than previous data suggests.

Paul Hayne, assistant professor in the laboratory of atmospheric and space physics at University of Colorado Boulder, said: "If you can imagine standing on the surface of the moon near one of its poles, you would see shadows all over the place.

"Many of those tiny shadows could be full of ice."

Drawing on detailed data from Nasa's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the researchers estimate the moon could harbour roughly 15,000 square miles of permanent shadows in various shapes and sizes.

According to scientists, these might be reservoirs capable of preserving water via ice.

Prof Hayne added: "If we're right, water is going to be more accessible for drinking water, for rocket fuel, everything that Nasa needs water for."

In one of two papers published in Nature Astronomy, Casey Honniball, from the University of Hawaii, and colleagues analysed data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (Sofia) airborne telescope that observed the moon at six micrometres.

At this wavelength, they were able to detect a spectral signature of water that is not shared with other hydroxyl compounds.

They found water is present at high southern latitudes.

The observations arose from something of a test observation, to see whether Sofia could examine the Moon. The flying observatory is usually used to look deeper into space, and it was not clear that it could even see the lunar surface properly since it is so close and bright.

It was, in fact, the first time SOFIA has looked at the Moon, and we werent even completely sure if we would get reliable data, but questions about the Moons water compelled us to try, said Naseem Rangwala, SOFIAs project scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley, in a statement.

Its incredible that this discovery came out of what was essentially a test, and now that we know we can do this, were planning more flights to do more observations.

In the other study, Prof Hayne assessed a whole range of possible sizes for cold traps, down to one centimetre in diameter.

The team found that small-scale micro cold traps - some just 1cm wide - are hundreds to thousands of times more numerous than larger cold traps, and they can be found at both poles.

The authors suggest that approximately 40,000 square km of the lunar surface has the capacity to trap water.

Researchers say the findings indicate water is efficiently produced or delivered on the moon by various processes, and is likely to be stored in the moon's cold traps at both polar region.

The team pulled data from real-life observations of the moon, then used mathematical tools to recreate what its surface might look like at a very small scale.

They say it is a bit like a golf ball.

However the researchers caution that they cannot prove these shadows actually hold pockets of ice, and the only way to do that would be to go there in person or with rovers and dig.

But they say the results are promising, and future missions could shed even more light on the moon's water resources.

Prof Hayne said: "Astronauts may not need to go into these deep, dark shadows.

"They could walk around and find one that's a metre wide and that might be just as likely to harbour ice."

Additional reporting by Press Association

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Nasa reveals that there is water on the moon in breakthrough that could lead to deep-space travel - The Independent

Horoscope today: Here are the astrological predictions for October 31 – Mumbai Mirror

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If its your birthday today Those in a relationship may feel slightly confused about it, but avoid giving an ultimatum about it. Buying property is an option. Negotiations for new business/contracts/deals/projects bring results much quicker than last year. Professionally you are in a better space. Travel for work/business is possible after December, but it depends entirely on how you feel about it. Do follow a healthy diet.

Capricorn: One potential client/contract looks a little undecided right now; but carry on with alternate plans without undue waste of time. Love msg: An important milestone is celebrated. Colours: grey/blue.

Taurus: Make sure creative goals can be translated to a success story. Financial advantages are revealed due to some investments made last year. Love msg: Singles enter the marriage dasha. Colours: maroon/yellow.

Aquarius: Be very aware of body language and not sending the wrong signals. Do follow a healthy diet. Love msg: A relationship is in a state of flux and change. Colours: brown/beige.

Gemini: A karmic cycle of selling property begins. A better financial time begins too. Do get enough sleep. Love msg: Your actual feelings come as a surprise to someone special. Colours: tan/purple.

Libra: Optimism and acceptance of what there is in life makes it sweeter. Life is good. Love msg: This is a time of making conscious and well thought out choices. Colours: brown/grey.

Pisces: Both of you feel responsible and know important issues need to be addressed and sorted out. Health is good. Love msg: A turn for the better in a relationship. Colours: black/khaki.

Cancer: Some decide on refurnishing the home or office. A cycle of changes ensures happiness and career/business in a forward movement. Love msg: A period of emotional turmoil ends. Colours: green/black.

Scorpio: Wanting to end a business partnership should be thought out in detail before deciding what to do. Love msg: Relatives and friends may wonder why you are being so secretive. Colours: red/grey.

Aries: A karmic cycle for acquiring or selling immovable assets begins. Health is good. Love msg: A karmic cycle for some involves a chance meeting with someone from the past. Colours: pink/lavender.

Leo: Helping a friend through a tough time has taught you many lessons through second hand experience. Do get enough sleep. Love msg: Reach for happiness by following your heart. Colours: orange/red.

Sagittarius: The boss is quite co-operative and appreciative about certain ideas discussed with you. A slow moving day. Love msg: Singles meet someone they have admired for quite a while. Colours: khaki/pink.

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Horoscope today: Here are the astrological predictions for October 31 - Mumbai Mirror

What Fast & Furious 10 & 11 Need To Do To Properly End The Fast Saga – Screen Rant

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Fast & Furious 10 & 11 are set to be the concluding chapters of the franchise - here's what they need to do to bring it all to a close.

The Fast and Furious series is set to conclude with its 11th film, but the franchise will need to tie up a few loose ends before it wraps up. As moviegoers await the chance the se the upcoming F9, delayed to May 2021 from May of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fast and Furious series is still growing. The franchise has spanned an astonishing two decades from its modest beginnings in 2001's The Fast and the Furious. The journey in that time has been one for the record books, going from street racing action movies that were moderate hits in their time to the biggest action movie franchise on the planet.

The series has also undergoneamind-boggling metamorphosis, slowly phasing out the Earth-bound stakes it once occupied to now sitting on a similar plane as superhero movies. A run like that is enviable by any measure, andnews recently brokethat the 10th and 11th chapters of the series will be its last. Given what a monumental tentpole the franchise has become for Universal Pictures, one certainly couldn't be faulted for viewing such a claim with skepticism. There's also a pretty fair chance that this falls in the "Yes and No" category, with theprimaryFast and Furious series indeed coming to end after number 11, while the larger franchise continues to live on through spin-offs such as Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw and Netflix's Fast and Furious: Spy Racers animated series.

RELATED: Fast & Furious Tokyo Drift IS Now One Of The Franchises Most Important Movies

In any case, the 10th and 11thFast and Furiousmoviescannot truly end the series without addressing a number of key issues pertaining to its story and characters. The increasingly outrageous territory the franchise has expanded into also presents it with an opening to do a few things that would have been bafflingly absurd when it first began, but which now fit right in with the kind of gloriously unhinged thrill ride that the series has come to embody. Here is what Fast and Furious 10 and 11 need to do in order to give the series the finale that it deserves.

The most obvious, and the most called for, resolution of the Fast Saga is in the promise of justice being done for Han's attempted murder by Deckard Shaw. Han was supposedly killed by Shaw in bothFast and Furious: Tokyo Drift and Furious 7due to their overlapping timelines, only for the trailer for F9 to reveal Han alive and well in the present day and returning to Dom's crew. This opens a whole can of worms on its own with how Han survived the explosion of his car and where he's been all this time, though the series easily skirted that exact complication with Letty's return after her own supposed death in Fast and Furious 6. More importantly, there's also a lot of water under the bridge that is Shaw's attack on Dom's family in Furious 7.

The Fate of the Furiouscasually retconned Shaw from a villain into an outright hero, even inducting him into Dom's inner circle, and by Hobbs and Shaw, the only narrative link to prior assault on Dom and company was he and Hobbs continuing to butt heads more out of egos than a true grudge. From his own perspective, Shaw was acting in retaliation for his brother Owen Shaw's near-death from his battle with Dom's family in Fast and Furious 6, only for everyone (Owen included) to set that aside when it became clear they shared a common enemy in Cipher in The Fate of the Furious.

Though Shaw isn't appearing in F9, his return to the mainline series is assured, and it would be horrendously negligent to not directly address his attempt to kill Han. A face-to-face encounter goes without saying, and perhaps even a physical altercation does too, its doubtless Hanwill refuse to trust Shaw. TheFast Sagafound its own way for Hobbs to bury the hatchet with Shaw over his previous attempt to kill him, and however it goes about doing so, it has to extend some form of justice to Han, as well.

Of course, with Han returning, there's no reason why other characters can't, and it would actually be a huge missed opportunity if the last chapters of the Fast and Furious series didn't pull in everyone that they possibly could. Given that Han is back, the return of his girlfriend Gisele Yashar is right at the top of the list, all the more so for Gal Gadot's Wonder Womanprestige. Though Gisele seemingly died herself in Fast and Furious 6, Han's return itself is really the biggest argumentfor Gisele to also jump back in.

Eva Mendes returning as Monica Fuentes would be a lot trickier, given Mendes having essentially retired from acting, but if she were to show any interest incoming back for even a cameo, Monica's return would certainly expand the ensemble of the franchise's finale. Johnny Strong's Leon was also one of the more minor associates of Dom and his crew, but bringing him back in some capacity would also be a wise choice as the series comes to an end, and the same would be the case for Lucas Black's Sean Boswell from Tokyo Drift, as well as Tego Calderon and Don Omar as Leo and Santos from Fast Five (bringing back Dwayne Johnson as Luke Hobbs also goes without saying.) One thing's for sure - in a series predicated on the idea of family, the last two Fast and Furious movies should bring back every retired character that it possibly can.

RELATED: Dom vs. Brian: Who The Best Driver In Fast & Furious Really Is

At a glance, the notion of time-travel in a Fast and Furious movie sounds ridiculous, but realistically, should it? Few movie franchises have undergone such a radical facelift as the Fast and Furious series has, beginning as a pretty transparent Point Break knock-off to Dom BASE-jumping a car from one skyscraper to another in Furious 7. Once the series hit its stride in Fast Five, half of the fun of each new chapter has been in how each can be more over-the-top than the last, and sci-fi elements are also now firmly embedded into the franchise with Hobbs and Shaw's cybernetically augmented villain Brixton Lore and the Eteon organization. The point is, the Fast Saga abandoned any pretense of being a grounded action movie series long ago.

There's also the fact that F9 is now set to take the series into space, and while that feels perfectly fitting for just what the franchise is now, that also makes a hard to imagine just what the 10th and 11th installments can do to one-up it. After bringing space travel into the mix, time-travel is very possibly the only thing left for the series to dive into that can take it into even more outlandish territory. It could even make the concluding chapters of the series a kind of Avengers: Infinity War/Avengers: Endgamesituation, and bringing the whole story full circle in what is now the true Fast and Furious style. Time-travel might be jumping the shark for The Expendables or John Wick, but in a franchise that has gradually transitioned from street racing to space travel and essentially shrugged while doing it, it's justthe nextlogical frontier.

Going back to the family aspect of the franchise, that certainly needs to be central to how Fast and Furious 10 and 11 close the curtain on the series. With Han returning, that throws the door wide open for a whole slew of characters to come back into the mix, andthis could turn the final installments of the franchise into a kind of family reunion, literally and thematically. Moreover, as the central pillar of the whole series, the biggest question of all is how Dom's story should wrap up.

Considering how long the series has lasted, and done so against all odds and expectations, a final street race or scene of Dom riding off into the sunset would be fitting. At the same time,Dom going out in a blaze of glory might be the most fulfilling way to conclude his story. Tying into the family theme that the series is renown for, Dom would certainly be far from reluctant to lay down his life for the sake of anyone in his crew, so perhaps a final showdown in which Dom, armed with a pair of torque wrenches, no doubt, makes the ultimate sacrifice for his family would be the best way to finally conclude the legend of Dominic Toretto.

That the Fast and Furious series continued long enough to hit their groove with Fast Five and rise to where it is now is an astonishing accomplishment, and its ending will surely be an emotional farewell for audiences, even if it's likely to continue in some form through spin-offs and whatnot. However the book ends up being closed on the series, there are a number of beats that it should hit, a few that it absolutely has to, and a few plot elements that are simply a logical extension of the wild vehicular adventure it's transitioned into. The Fast and Furious series always lived its life a quarter-mile at a time, and the only proper way for it to conclude is for it to end that way.

NEXT: Fast & Furious: Everything That Happened To Dom That The Movies Didn't Show

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WandaVision Adds Orange Is The New Black Cast Member

Growing up, Brad developed an innate love of movies and storytelling, and was instantly enamored with the world of adventure while following the exploits of Indiana Jones, Japanese kaiju, and superheroes. Today, Brad channels his thoughts on all manner of movies, from comic book films, sci-fi thrillers, comedies, and everything in between through his writings on Screen Rant. Brad also offers philosophical musings on martial arts and the filmographies of everyone from Jackie Chan to Donnie Yen on Kung Fu Kingdom, where he's also had the privilege of interviewing many of the world's great stunt professionals, and hearing plenty of gripping stories on injuries incurred in their line of work and the intricacies of designing the acts of death defiance he first thrilled to as a youngster. When he's not writing, Brad enjoys going on a ride with the latest action hit or Netflix original, though he's also known to just pop in "The Room" from time to time. Follow Brad on Twitter @BradCurran.

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Alien: Isolation Is Still An Unmatched Horror Experience – GameSpot

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When it comes to video games portraying the atmosphere and tone of its film influences, Alien: Isolation is in a class of its own. Translating the Alien film series into a unique horror game focused on persistent terror as opposed to fleeting cheap thrills, this survival horror experience channels a sense of dread and slow-burn tension that forces players to respect the very thing that stalks them. Though its reception at launch was met with some polarizing responses--including from GameSpot's former reviews editor Kevin VanOrd--and along with modest sales, this comparatively unorthodox take on the Alien franchise became a favorite in the years since its release--even prompting fans to make an unofficial VR mod to amp up the scares.

On the sixth anniversary of its release and in time for Halloween 2020, GameSpot is taking a look back at Creative Assembly's uncompromising horror game, and how it made players to learn to fear the Xenomorph once again.

Right from outset, Alien: Isolation sets the tone for what players can expect. Its eerie 1977-era 20th Century Fox fanfare opening is a throwback to the beginnings of the Alien franchise. Creative Assembly wears its reverence for the source material on its sleeves, reveling in the iconic 70s retro-futurism that defined the movies. In the game, the nostalgia of it is alluring, but Isolation does more than pay its source material lip-service, it builds on and presents a story of its own that both fits into and enhances the movies.

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Ridley Scott's 1979 film is still regarded as one of the most influential and powerful horror films ever. Channeling elements of slasher films and science fiction, the crew of the Nostromo stumble upon a strange alien life-form of Lovecraftian cosmic horror, quickly spiraling out into a fight for survival. Despite their reliance on futuristic, yet run-down technology capable of interstellar space travel, the film was very much a humbling experience for its characters. For survival horror, this feeling of vulnerability and perilousness is an especially vital pillar of the genre--which Alien: Isolation ratchets up considerably throughout.

Initially developed as a third-person stealth action game with an in-depth cover system, the developers at Creative Assembly soon shifted to first-person to have a more intimate feel. Along with this, it introduced design tenets from the immersive-sim sub-genre--a la Dishonored and BioShock--and leaned on the tension and gameplay of classic survival horror games. Set 15 years after the Nostromo's destruction, Alien: Isolation brings Ellen Ripley's daughter Amanda to the Space Station Sevastopol to uncover clues behind her mother's disappearance. But of course, an alien organism is already onboard, unleashing a seemingly unstoppable creature focused entirely on picking off members of the space station one by one.

Unlike the bombast of movie's sequels, the game stays true to the first movie's subdued, disquieting feel. Aside from the flamethrower, firearms are the least useful of tools at the player's disposal, as the Alien is invulnerable to bullets, and is always lurking in the vents and tunnels of the station. Alien: Isolation is a re-examination of what horror and the fragility of character is in gaming, hammering the notion that you're trapped, and with no way out.

Video games as a medium have quite a history of boiling complex, highly-intelligent apex predators into a moving target for players to unload bullets into. This is especially true for how the Alien series has evolved in the gaming medium, with most of these games revolving around shooting swarms of Xenomorphs with smart-guns, pulse-rifles--and even with the Predator making an appearance. Because of this, the Alien creature became the quintessential video game cannon-fodder. However, Isolation was cold and cruel in showing players how futile this approach was, instead forcing players to relearn their relationship to the Xenomorph and, ultimately, respect it. While your goals and destination are mostly one-note, Isolation allows players to come up with their own solutions, either from sacrificing resources to craft new items, or by making a bold move to take advantage of nearby enemies as a distraction to make a quick getaway.

With a focus on staying on top of your resources, avoiding enemy encounters when possible, and a static save system that makes simply recording your progress a risk in itself--the main hook of Isolation's design is making players constantly aware of how vulnerable they are. Coming a year after the lackluster and uninspired action-horror game Aliens: Colonial Marines, the developers at Creative Assembly distinguished their Alien game with authenticity. Alien: Isolation, in many ways, relishes in subverting expectations; whether that's making players the prey instead of the predator, or giving players conditioned to expect a shooter something entirely different.

Though Isolation's lead character comes from one of the sequel's deleted scenes, Isolation benefits from extrapolating out what made the original movie memorable. In addition to Amanda, however, are an assortment of side-characters that can be played as in the Survival mode, offering their side of the story on the Sevastopol. As a ramshackle space station falling apart, populated with knock-off Working Joes androids that couldn't be sold off due to how creepy and off-putting they look, the setting feels like a haunted house floating in the cold depths of space. And to make matters worse--there's a high-intelligent, merciless killer lurking about.

Alien: Isolation saw its release in a particularly interesting year for horror gaming. The genre had gone through a rather surprising upswing with notable releases from independent developers like Five Nights at Freddy's, to some more larger scale releases like the enigmatic P.T--the teaser for the now dead Silent Hills. What these games have in common with Alien: Isolation was that they forced players into a position of disempowerment, either keeping them in a specific location, or tasking them with making to it one location from another, while avoiding the gaze of the antagonist.

With the survival horror genre, much of the experience is about humbling the player and getting them to feel the sense of uncertainty that looms throughout their trek. Alien: Isolation isn't about the big victories of taking down bosses over the course of several hours, but rather the smaller victories scattered throughout; slinking back into the shadows as the Xenomorph enters the room, narrowly avoiding certain death, or managing to grab an item of a desk in the same room as a Working Joe. Broadly speaking, Alien: Isolation spends 12-15 hours ratcheting up the tension when needed, and then gradually loosening it up. But in the midst of it all, the ever-present threat of the Xenomorph feels like the touch of fingertips on your neck, threatening to choke the life out of you at a moment's notice. Its delicate cycling of tension feels more like a constant chokehold.

While Creative Assembly and Sega may never make a game like Isolation again, it will be remembered for its bold, brave inventive realisation of the Alien franchise's potential. It understood what the property was capable of beyond the shooting galleries and recycling of cheesy one-liners. Alien: Isolation stands as a remarkable achievement for its re-examination and re-invigoration of the horror experience in gaming, and is likely one of the best things to happen to the Alien franchise in a long time.

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Alien: Isolation Is Still An Unmatched Horror Experience - GameSpot

Ghosts, Space Aliens and Monsters – QNotes

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Anyone familiar with cable television programs knows that Americans love the occult. Series like Ancient Aliens, Finding Bigfoot, Haunted History, MonsterQuest and Most Terrifying Places in America are more popular than shows about Adolf Hitler, real housewives or tiger kings. The fact that the objects of the search are never found does not matter. Ghosts, space aliens and monsters continue to dominate our imagination, whether they are real or not.

As a lifelong student of the occult, I admit that shows about ghosts, space aliens and monsters are a guilty pleasure of mine, along with DC Comics and chips n salsa. This does not mean that I believe in them. Take ghosts for instance. Many people believe that death is not the end, and that a persons soul or spirit travels to another realm after their bodys demise. (Here I am an agnostic, though I hope the believers are right.) From that comes the belief that many souls, whose bodies died abruptly or violently, remain at or near the site of their deaths, seeking closure. Though I do not believe in ghosts, I know some people who do. In fact, I once had a roommate who claimed that the ghost of my late partner, Michael Greenspan, haunted his bedroom. I investigated the matter, found nothing amiss, and threw out my roommate.

Still, I enjoy watching programs where ghost hunters investigate haunted houses in search of a presence.

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Space aliens, or unidentified flying objects (UFOs), have stirred our imagination since the 1940s. They are not as farfetched as they seem. We could argue that, in a universe that is as vast as ours, intelligent life is not limited to our planet Earth. We could further argue that, if there is intelligent life elsewhere, those beings could have developed a form of space travel that is more advanced than ours. Furthermore, if their curiosity is as advanced as their technology, it is not inconceivable for them to have visited us, if only to see what is going on around here. This does not mean that space aliens came over in ancient times and helped us built the Pyramids in Egypt or Machu Picchu in Peru, no matter what Chariots of the Gods or its television offspring, Ancient Aliens, might say.

The dictionary defines cryptozoology as the search for and study of animals whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated. Todays cryptozoology might be tomorrows hard science as new species are discovered every year. Still, some cryptids existence remains in doubt. If such creatures are large or deadly, we call them monsters, and here our fascination is tinged with fear. The most famous of these monsters are the Bigfoot or Sasquatch of North America, along with their Asian cousins, the Yeti. In this case I am a believer. Though I have never seen a Sasquatch, I do not doubt that a population of giant apes, descended from Gigantopithecus, roams the forests of the Pacific Northwest and, perhaps, other places. On the other hand, no science is as fraught with hoax as the study of Sasquatch. Many so-called Bigfoot sightings turn out to be bears, men in ghillie suits or figments of someones imagination. Sadly, no photo or video of a Sasquatch is clear or conclusive, even the famous Patterson-Gimlin film (1967). Only the capture of a Sasquatchs body, living or dead, will prove to the world, once and for all, that this creature is real.

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Woah, We’re Halfway There: NASA’s Perseverance Rover Is Midway to Mars – SciTechDaily

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Sometimes half measures can be a good thing especially on a journey this long. The agencys latest rover only has about 146 million miles left to reach its destination.

NASAs Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission has logged a lot of flight miles since being lofted skyward on July 30 146.3 million miles (235.4 million kilometers) to be exact. Turns out that is exactly the same distance it has to go before the spacecraft hits the Red Planets atmosphere like a 11,900 mph (19,000 kph) freight train on February 18, 2021.

At 1:40 p.m. Pacific Time today, our spacecraft will have just as many miles in its metaphorical rearview mirror as it will out its metaphorical windshield, said Julie Kangas, a navigator working on the Perseverance rover mission at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. While I dont think there will be cake, especially since most of us are working from home, its still a pretty neat milestone. Next stop, Jezero Crater.

The Suns gravitational influence plays a significant role in shaping not just spacecraft trajectories to Mars (as well as to everywhere else in the solar system), but also the relative movement of the two planets. So Perseverances route to the Red Planet follows a curved trajectory rather than an arrow-straight path.

NASAs Mars 2020 Perseverance rover reached its halfway point 146.3 million miles (235.4 million kilometers) on its journey to Jezero Crater on October 27, 2020, at 1:40 p.m. PDT (4:40 EDT). Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Although were halfway into the distance we need to travel to Mars, the rover is not halfway between the two worlds, Kangas explained. In straight-line distance, Earth is 26.6 million miles [42.7 million kilometers] behind Perseverance and Mars is 17.9 million miles [28.8 million kilometers] in front.

At the current distance, it takes 2 minutes, 22 seconds for a transmission to travel from mission controllers at JPL via the Deep Space Network to the spacecraft. By time of landing, Perseverance will have covered 292.5 million miles (470.8 million kilometers), and Mars will be about 130 million miles (209 million kilometers) away from Earth; at that point, a transmission will take about 11.5 minutes to reach the spacecraft.

NASAs Mars 2020 Perseverance rover has logged 146.3 million (235.4 million kilometers) of space miles exactly half of what will be covered before reaching the Red Planet. View the full interactive experience at Eyes on the Solar System.

The mission team continues to check out spacecraft systems big and small during interplanetary cruise. Perseverances RIMFAX and MOXIE instruments were tested and determined to be in good shape on October 15. MEDA got a thumbs up on October 19. There was even a line item to check the condition of the X-ray tube in the PIXL instrument on October 16, which also went as planned.

If it is part of our spacecraft and electricity runs through it, we want to confirm it is still working properly following launch, said Keith Comeaux, deputy chief engineer for the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission. Between these checkouts along with charging the rovers and Mars Helicopters batteries, uploading files and sequences for surface operations, and planning for and executing trajectory correction maneuvers our plate is full right up to landing.

This illustration of the Mars 2020 spacecraft in interplanetary space was generated using imagery from NASAs Eyes on the Solar System. The image is from the missions midway point between Earth and Mars. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

A key objective of Perseverances mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planets geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith (broken rock and dust).

Subsequent missions, currently under consideration by NASA in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these cached samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 mission is part of a larger program that includes missions to the Moon as a way to prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet. Charged with returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, NASA will establish a sustained human presence on and around the Moon by 2028 through NASAs Artemis lunar exploration plans.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers.

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Woah, We're Halfway There: NASA's Perseverance Rover Is Midway to Mars - SciTechDaily

On The Podcast: All The Reasons Why Quibi Didnt Work – Tubefilter

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Subscribe toPlanet UploadonApple Podcasts, but were everywhere else, too. Just go toPlanetUploadPod.com.

There are some 34,000 Google News search results for the term Quibi shuts down. And not to belabor a news story thats obviously been covered ad nauseam, but heres one more.

Just six months after the launch of billionaire Jeffrey Katenzenbergs and billionaire Meg Whitmans $1.75 billion entertainment venture, the platform that was meant to revolutionize content consumption on the go never really even got started. And now its going away. Quibi was able to onboard roughly 1.5 million users on and around its launch by way of a 90-day free trial enticement. Only about 8% of those users stayed around after the trial ended, all despite the seemingly entertaining programming from a kind of whos who list of Hollywood stars.

Here are all the things that went wrong, in no particular order of importance:

For the better part of the last two years, Katezenberg and Whitman tried to convince every major trade and media publication that theres a place in the world for short-form, high-production-value, snackable content. They arent necessarily wrong! Who doesnt want to watch a 10-minute installment of a series where Anna Kendrick finds solace and a friend in a personified sex dollinstead of doom scroll through Twitter while youre waiting in line or captive on some form of transit? In the very least its an interesting option, but Katzenberg and Whitman spent so much time hyping the platform that there was very little headspace left in consumers minds to get into the content.

After 18 months of hearing how this new app is going to bring about a paradigm shift in media consumption and Hollywood as we know it, audiences were conditioned to expect that it would actually do that. When Quibi didnt immediately deliver on that promise, no amount of marketing dollars (let alone $63 million) with sexy sizzle reels could change the hearts and minds of consumers whose trust was already lost. The vast majority just didnt care enough anymore to get invested in the content.

Did you see some of Amazons influencer marketing for season 2 of The Boys? Its fantastic. Micahel Reeves self-aware branded spot that uses the storyboard from Amazons marketing team as the backdrop for the whole nine-minute upload is fantastic. Julian Bass fast Twitter video is great, too.

And did you catch David Dobriks multiple TikToks and single YouTube video with Sacha Baron Cohen for Amazons Borat Subsequent Movie Film? No idea how much Dobrik made on the deal, but it was worth every penny.

Did you see all of Quibis memorable marketing campaigns that pushed shows out to otherwise unknown audiences in compelling ways by way of trusted individuals with massive followings? Nobody did. They didnt exist.

Heres another thing at Quibi that didnt exist. The ability to watch its programming ANYWHERE else other than inside the application.

TikTok has become a rival to the consumption behemoth that is YouTube in terms of hours of audience watchtime largely in part because everyone knows about TikTok. Thats due to a massive reported $1 billion marketing spend and the fact that you can watch TikTok videos basically everywhere. That Julian Bass I mentioned above? He first caught fire for a TikTok that he uploaded to Twitter. The original TikTok version has 14+ million views. The Twitter easy reupload has 24 million.

You know what Quibi video has the most videos on Twitter? Its a clip from a series starring Rachel Brosnahan called Golden Arm, where she has a golden arm with which she simply wont part ways. The video was shot on a cellphone of another cellphone playing the video. Its bananas, has 1.9 million views, and -because of the complicated process it took to capture is likely the only Quibi clip the vast majority of people familiar with Quibi have ever seen.

Yes, I realize user-generated TikToks are different than Hollywood-level productions in terms of distribution rights. But this closed-wall mentality was present in all aspects of the companys promotional processes, a la sending a cease and desist letter to a fan podcast. Who tries to shutdown organic, fan-made marketing in 2020?

These factors and more contributed to the fact that Quibi will no longer be in service on or around December 1. What will happen to the content after that moment in time is still unclear. Im hoping it will surface somewhere else. Because the rub in all of this is the programming actually looks like something a lot of people would enjoy.

We talk about all this and more in our latest installment of our still-relatively-new podcast, Planet Upload. Subscribe to Planet Upload on Apple Podcasts, but were everywhere else, too. Just go to PlanetUploadPod.com. The episode where we talk all about all the above and more is also embedded below. I hope you dig it.

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On The Podcast: All The Reasons Why Quibi Didnt Work - Tubefilter

Here is how Photoshop’s sky replacement handles a night photo – DIYphotography

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A few days ago I tested Photoshops new Sky Replacement feature on a tricky waterfall image. Since Photoshop handled that challenge so well I, started wondering if the same sky replacement feature will work the same with a night photo. Well, actually, it was shot in the early morning in Jotunheimen, Norway. The sky, however, was shot in the evening that same day.

I was hanging with Dag Ole Nordhaug, testing the Samyang 18mm. We had some amazing scenery around us, but sadly very little going on in the skies. There were no clouds above, just low hanging clouds and fog rolling from the mountains. I had actually planned to trash the morning image, but when Photoshop released their latest update I changed my mind. It is very difficult to add a new sky to an image when fog and clouds bleed into the sky. How will the new Photoshop handle this challenge, I thought to myself. Lets find out.

Here is the image I started with. I edited the base exposure in Lightroom while keeping in mind that I will swap the sky later on with a night sky.

I shot the night sky image in the evening of that same day:

So those are the two images I am going to blend. Here is an overview of the process.

The first thing I did after launching the Sky Replacement tool was to add a group that I named Night. That was pretty straight forward. I just clicked on the Folder icon. I may have placed the folder a tad awry, but it is straightforward to rearrange folders and images. Just drag and drop.

Then, I clicked the plus icon to upload an image to the folder. It is also possible to right-click on the folder itself, which launches a pop-up menu where one of the options is Import Skies. The first image I added was a RAW file. It took a while for Photoshop to process the RAW file, and it was converted into a PNG file.

Tip: A much better solution would have been to upload a JPG with an edited sky. It would definitely be less time consuming, and the sky would need no further adjustments. With the raw file, I had also to edit the sky.

The algorithm got a bit confused with the fact that I did not upload a cropped image containing only the sky, so the first output looked like this:

I just dragged the sky where I wanted it. The sky replacement panel activates the move tool by default.

Photoshop blended in the night sky almost to perfection. The blending line along the low hanging clouds is amazing, and some of the stars dimly shine through where the clouds are less dense. Some arbitrary stars placed upon the brightest parts of the mountain is the only issue.

I used the Spot Healing Brush to remove any unwanted stars. This is the finished image, which I have edited to my liking:

And just as a reminder, this is where I started:

I am quite impressed with the way Photoshop blends in a night sky. Photoshop carried out a swift and precise job that would have been very time-consuming to do manually. . I would rather have to clone out a few stars than have to hand-blend images that contain low hanging clouds or fog. Well done, Adobe!

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Here is how Photoshop's sky replacement handles a night photo - DIYphotography

How to link stories and posts the best way to turn your Instagram into a perfect narrative – iLounge

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Your Instagram handles speaks a lot about you and your brand. In 2020, its beneficial to organise it in a perfect narrative. It not only fetches you a lot of Instagram likes, but also presents a good image of your profile.

When we talk about a perfective narrative, we actually mean that your Instagram account is a consistent storyline without any breaks. It follows a particular niche and it has all the high-quality content one would ever need, over that niche.

And a good narration of your profile also includes the support of your audience, which comes in the form of likes, comments, views, everything they call your engagement rates! Actually, you can always buy Instagram likes from vendors so your posts will start look more attractive to your crowd, but you should not push it too far.

One more thing that is germane to our discussion, is linking stories and posts in the best way to reflect that perfect narrative.

Its complex, but it lies within our area and we should learn more about it.

There are several ways in which a person can do so.

As a business page, you should not just focus on photos and videos of your niche, but also stories. If you are not doing this, then you might just be at a loss.

You must always keep in mind that they are more visible to the audience, when compared to posts. Their reach is better.

Their placement is at the top of your wall, and the first thing which catches your eye is them! And therefore, you can start sharing the content that you post there.

In 2020, people spend a lot of time in watching Instagram stories. Therefore, use it for your benefits and earning more likes.

Even this has been part of the trend on Instagram. And whenever youd have something special to show on your wall, people will always be excited in advance. If their excitement converts to happiness by looking at your content, then definitely you will gain more and more Instagram likes!

It can be anything.

We can take a food bloggers example. You can first share glimpses of your next popular, in-demand recipe and drop hints of the same in stories, and whenever youd release it, people would show their happiness through likes!

The same can be thought even from a tech bloggers perspective. Here, we can consider the same situation, that can happen when you upload a gadget review or something engaging. The outcome wouldnt be different even here!

If your brand is pushing out a new product, then for the same you can go live on Instagram. The whole event can be shared in the best possible manner with your followers and they would even like it.

But what matters is to share that whole event even as an IGTV video, which appears alongside all the posts.

In that way, there will be a link between the two, and those who would have missed your stories earlier, can watch it on your wall.

This is actually useful. Theres a lot of content out there on Instagram that is available in front of us, and its likely that a user misses out on it.

So, you do get an option of sharing it at the top of everybodys wall, where there is no chance of missing it.

In this way, your profile would definitely appear as a non-breaking, smooth narrative and all your followers as well as visitors are going to like it. The same would also fetch you a lot of Instagram likes.

As amazing as it sounds, this technique can actually bring you a lot of likes, and make your audience love your page!

Its not often that readers are interested in long captions and posts. At such places, where even you cant help lengthy posts, you can share its pieces at the top of your users wall. That way, your followers will not miss out on anything and you can also create your own trend in the Instagram community.

Thoughts and ideas like these, require a lot of space in order to gain a good position in the industry.

So, these tips can help you in turning your Instagram profile into a well-narrated story! And they can also get you likes.

Nowadays we see that people arent aware of all these techniques, and they prefer to buy Instagram likes. You can do the same by simply tapping here to visit one of the biggest vendors. It can be good for your profile and its presentation, but then if you have organic ways, you dont really have to spend money.

Also considering that sellers sometimes dont provide real likes and stuff your profile with fake bots, its better to stay away from it. However, if you have made up your mind for buying likes anyway, then you can make sure to trust some renowned seller.

If the deliverables help your profile in growing, then go after it no ones stopping you. Its always your choice.

The trend has seen that now people use this trick more than often, in order to reach the top. It provides them assistance and also acts as a lubricant.

Those who dont want to go down that lane, can use the tips that we have mentioned above.

Thats what we can conclude.

The format of Instagram stories has changed over the period of time and now people use it a lot for viewing the content of their friends and followers. For a business profile like yours, they can do wonders if used properly.

Till now, the perception was that they can only be used for interacting and stuff. Well, thats still true but then there can be a good connection between them and that can promote your online business and Instagram profile.

So, make the most out of it!

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How to link stories and posts the best way to turn your Instagram into a perfect narrative - iLounge

FileCloud Introduces Most Intuitive File-Sharing Experience Ever: FileCloud Aurora – Business Wire

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AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FileCloud, a cloud-agnostic enterprise file sync, sharing and data governance platform, today launched FileCloud Aurora 20.2, the latest version of its secure enterprise product. Aurora introduces a gorgeous re-imagination of FileClouds browser, mobile and sync clients. This update features a sleek and responsive design that provides teams with a powerful, comfortable and fluid file-sharing experience.

Aurora delivers a clean user interface that has been reimagined based on years of experience working with real customers. Designed to be both beautiful and functional, Auroras responsive UI enhances user experience with visual hints and intuitive capabilities. Every action is reinforced with animations, and each area of the directory is marked with a different color so that users can depend on visual cues. Mouseover functionality, more descriptive labels and tooltips also help users work without being burdened by miscommunication and confusion.

With the companys guarantee of from login to sharing in seconds, it makes sense that productivity is at the core of the Aurora experience. Major quality-of-life enhancements cut down on time wasted on tedious double-clicking, dragging and searching. Single-click actions allow users to hover over file listings and immediately perform common actions such as refreshing, sharing, viewing, locking or unlocking. Aurora also introduces dozens of keyboard shortcuts, letting users act on their files without taking their hands off their keyboards.

Navigation is easier than ever with all directories accessible on the collapsible sidebar, giving users complete control over the quantity of information on their screen. The new infinite scrolling provides seamless navigation through even thousands of files and folders. Users can now also favorite, or star, files and folders that they frequently use for easier and quicker access. Recently viewed or accessed files also automatically appear on the dashboard, right next to all starred items, for maximum efficiency and convenience.

Aurora is a major update thats all about making your information work for you and not the other way around, said Madhan Kanagavel, FileClouds founder and CEO. We set out to build the ultimate user experience for the best file-sharing solution on the planet, and I believe we did it.

New functions like clipboard-image-pasting allow users to copy an image onto their clipboard and directly upload the image file into their library via pasting or keyboard shortcut ctrl-v saving time on having to download, save and then upload the image. The new built-in Markdown editor embraces the popular markup language, letting users append notes, wikis and comments on files directly within the file-sharing solution itself.

Lastly, this update also focuses on accessibility, having been designed with the Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) in mind. High contrast, color options, visual cues and other customization options increase usability for a broader range of audiences.

Other major improvements include:

Aurora also is completely compatible with older versions of the FileCloud interface, so all existing files and URLs will remain unchanged.

To find out more about Aurora, visit https://www.getfilecloud.com/filecloud-aurora/.

About FileCloudFileCloud is a unified, secure enterprise file service platform that organizes enterprise data and enhances collaboration and productivity while providing ironclad data protection and governance. The platform offers powerful file sharing, sync, and mobile access capabilities on public, private, and hybrid clouds. FileCloud was developed by CodeLathe Inc., based in Austin, Texas. The company offers two productsFileCloud, an enterprise file services platform, and AirSend, a collaboration hub for teams and clientsthat are used by millions of customers around the world, ranging from individuals to Global 2000 enterprises, educational institutions, government organizations, and managed service providers For more information, visit http://www.getfilecloud.com.

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FileCloud Introduces Most Intuitive File-Sharing Experience Ever: FileCloud Aurora - Business Wire

Emily Atack on the impact of the horrific sexual harassment she faces every day – The Irish Sun

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WHEN Emily Atack watched her new, self-penned sketch show, she shocked herself.

I kind of had an out-of-body experience and said: Ooh, shes a potty mouth, isnt she!? I cant actually believe how rude I am.

9

Its true that The Emily Atack Show, which kicks off on ITV2 this week, probably isnt the kinda thing youd want to settle down on the sofa to watch with your nan.

With Emilys no-holds-barred skits on sex, one-night stands and dating disasters, interlaced with clips from her unashamedly frank stand-up routine, wholesome family viewing it certainly aint.

But Emily, 30, says this is real life, its the sort of stuff she laughs about with her mates (farts and willies I always revert back to silliness) and she hopes to help break down some of the barriers when it comes to women talking openly about sex.

I want to scream from the rooftops that girls can talk about this s**t as well! It doesnt make us disgusting or slags it is part of life.

Men are allowed to talk about it until theyre blue in the face, and they get legendary status the more they do.

Nevertheless, Emily recently found herself worrying over whether she should tone down her natural naughtiness after becoming concerned it was attracting the sexual harassment she faces on a daily basis, mostly via direct messages.

9

Anonymous predatory men using fake accounts regularly send her d**k pics and videos of themselves masturbating and it had started to chip away at her to the point where she was blaming herself.

I was questioning everything and ringing the producer of my show saying maybe we needed to take certain bits out that were too much. I was talking to my sister about whether I should start putting a different version of myself out there, stop talking as much about sex and change how I dress.

I have big boobs and sometimes my cleavage is on show and so I was questioning all of these things was I asking for it? I was blaming myself.

And then I thought: no. Because its not difficult not to be a disgusting pervert, is it? When I go out with a short skirt on does that mean I am asking to be raped? Why cant a stranger control himself to not send me a video of him w**king? If he cant control that then that is on him and he has serious problems.

She worries that the generation of girls behind her will become so desensitised to sleazy, unsolicited photos coming via their social media messages that it ends up as a normal occurrence, and just another thing women accept they have to put up with.

The reason why Im speaking about it is because I had accepted this was my reality. Im a young woman who lives by herself and having men constantly sexually harass you in that way makes you feel so isolated.

9

We know that public trolling is out of control, but this is something else. Its a blind spot, real under-the-radar stuff.

My DMs are really dark. It takes some guy using a fake account five seconds to upload a picture or a video, but it ruins my entire day and I cant get the image of that disgusting man and his horrible penis out of my mind. That is a penis I havent asked to see, but Ive had no choice, and thats completely wrong.

If a man exposed himself to her on the street, Emily says she wouldnt hesitate to report him. And yet she hasnt been to the police.

Weirdly, it never even crossed my mind. Im not slagging the police off, but I have a feeling if I called them it wouldnt go anywhere. For some reason, theres something about this sort of harassment that feels intangible, like it doesnt exist. But its very real and very dangerous.

This is happening every single day. If I was flashed at every time I went outside the house, it would destroy my life, it would be awful. But it has become a thing that it is happening to me every day via messages and its something I have completely built a tolerance to, which is really sad.

Conversation with Emily comes easily shes down to earth, candid and naturally funny. She knows exactly who she is and where shes headed. But shes not always been quite so assured, and it was only after finally accepting a place on Im A Celebrity! two years ago (after previously turning the show down), that she started to get herself together.

Despite a promising start to her career in 2008 with her role as Charlotte on The Inbetweeners, job offers had stalled and she has spoken in the past of going through something of a quarter-life crisis.

9

But finishing Im A Celebrity! as the universally loved runner-up, having utterly endeared herself to the viewers as well as making TV bigwigs sit up and take notice, opened up a whole new world of opportunity as well as restoring the faith in herself that shed lost.

That show changed my life. I cant talk about it without welling up. I just cant believe how perfectly timed everything was. Id doubted myself for so many years, I thought I was weak, she says.

I went in there as a lost person, heartbroken over the end of a relationship [with model Jack Vacher] and I didnt know who I was any more. I felt a bit like a toddler lost in a supermarket.

I feel like that in life sometimes Im a bit here, there and everywhere and I dont always know what the right decisions are but the jungle allowed me to process all of those things and to find my route.

After that it was like a domino effect, you do one good thing and that gives you the confidence to do the next thing. Its all been a part of growing up and finding a confidence I thought had gone.

Emily thinks part of her appeal was the curveball she threw at peoples preconceptions viewers expected her to be one thing and were surprised to discover she wasnt at all.

9

Id been the pin-up girl from The Inbetweeners, which was great but wasnt going to last forever. You know, things start sagging a bit! So I went in there and everybody thought I was going to be the bikini girl standing in the shower.

I mean, I f**king wish! And when they saw I wasnt and that Im actually lumpy and bumpy and very normal, people were surprised.

I know people look at me and put me in a box if youve posed in lads mags in your pants, you get pigeon-holed. But I know I am a good person, I know Im not a d**khead, so I knew I would do all right in that sense. I just didnt have a clue how life-changing it would be.

If Im A Celebrity! taught her she was fine on her own, lockdown reinforced that. But she admits she still feels better when in a relationship.

The fact is, I dont want to be on my own. I put this persona out there that Im happy being single and Im a strong, independent woman and I am all of those things and I will always fly the flag for single women but the reality is Im quite a needy person and I dont want to be by myself!

Although this last year has at least proved that I can get through it. The more struggles life throws at me, the more I surprise myself with how I cope, and being OK on my own is one of them.

9

She adds: Having a period of time by yourself is important, you find out who you are, whereas in the past I have always been in relationships and used that as an emotional crutch and I lost my own identity. In the past Ive lived for other people.

She insists shes officially single, although she was papped kissing 21-year-old model Charlie Edwards in the street last month.

Im definitely not in a committed relationship right now, she says, suddenly uncharacteristically coy.

Im keeping my options open and Im enjoying myself. Put it this way, Im definitely making up for lockdown. Im having fun and there are some really lovely guys out there.

Like Charlie, for instance?

Hmm, what Ive learned in this industry is that if you go on one date with someone then hes labelled as your boyfriend and that brings pressure because suddenly you have to have that conversation.

9

A few months ago I went on a date with someone and we had a really nice time but we were pictured together and it was in the paper and he completely freaked out.

It was a massive moment for me realising that whoever Im seen in public with, it might have an effect on their life, so I have to be careful.

But I dont want to sit in and keep things secret, Im not like that. I see myself as a very normal person so I want to date in restaurants and pubs and have a kiss in the street. But I can only do those things if the other person is comfortable with it.

And with the added risk that they might end up in one of her stand-up routines, of course Emily grimaces, recalling one filming session when her parents, comic actress Kate Robbins and musician Keith Atack, were in the audience and she (very deliberately) told a particularly, ahem, revealing story.

I have to be honest, Im quite a free spirit and I dont embarrass easily and if people know me theyll know whether they want to watch my show or not. But, yeah, there is this one episode where I admit something to my mum and dad, something so mental, and it was purely to get their reaction.

She says Kate and Keith could only cover their faces in horror.

9

I know, I know! Theres stuff your mum and dad really dont need to know, but the audience were screaming. I just want to give people watching a sense of escapism.

Its coming at a time where we all need to laugh at naughty things theres no reference to Covid whatsoever because I wanted people to be reminded of life and all the things we usually talk to our mates about. We will have that again, eventually.

All the success Emily is enjoying right now (shes also just taken over as a team captain on Celebrity Juice) feels bittersweet, coming at a time when the arts industry is on its knees with theatres and live venues shut down and events cancelled.

On the day we meet, the governments now-infamous Rethink, Reskill, Reboot advert suggesting Fatima the ballerina might want to give up her dream of being a dancer to go into cyber is going viral on social media, hot on the heels of Chancellor Rishi Sunaks unwelcome advice that people working in the arts will have to adapt to other jobs.

Emily is, understandably, furious.

Its such a kick in the gut, she says. Its basically saying: Go and get a real job. This is our livelihood and its a difficult industry to be in at the best of times so for someone to come along and say that, is so insulting.

Entertainment is whats kept everyone going in lockdown and so to imply its not a real job is b*****ks. I wish I had more of an articulate answer, but it just really p**ses me off.

9

Everyone is trying to navigate their way through this the best way they can and I hope the arts is something [the government] will realise we desperately need, because later on when were allowed to do normal things again, the first thing were all going to want to do is have a bloody good laugh. I hope and pray we get the support to come through it.

Has it been difficult to square her own professional joy with the struggle so many of her friends and colleagues are experiencing?

Yes, because it has been the most successful year Ive ever had career-wise, but its happening in such a weird time. My heart breaks for every single person on the planet. Happiness is so limited at the moment, isnt it?

But Im so lucky to be working, and that Im healthy, and if you have those two things then that is all we can ask for right now.

In the beauty chair with Emily

Whats your skincare routine?

Tropic Smoothing Cleanser and Vitamin Toner every day.

Make-up bag essential?

Bare Minerals Tinted Hydrating Gel Cream.

Best beauty bargain?

Maybelline False Lash Effect Mascara.

Biggest beauty splurge?

I love visiting Shane Cooper for a facial.

Top make-up hack?

Using a good lipliner thats slightly darker than my lips for a fuller pout. I love Mac liners.

How has your relationship with make-up evolved?

I now prefer the more natural skin look, especially to show my freckles in the summer.

Beauty icon?

Probably Alicia Keys or Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.

HOL LOT OF SEX APPEALHolly Willougbys Halloween costumes from Morticia to Harley Quinn

LET LOOSERuth Langsford on turning 60, life with Eamonn and fear of losing her job

MEGA BLINGHow Meghan Markle is rocking over 650k worth of Princess Dianas jewellery

LOOK HEIRKate Middletons VERY un-Royal Halloween looks- from skimpy shorts to sexy boots

HEIR THISMeg made Harry resentful of the way he was treated compared to party boy Wills'

Shes nervous about the inevitable pressure that comes with the new show, made more acute by the fact it has her name in the title, but she knows that fulfilling ambition often means taking a few risks.

Im terrified of it all, but Im going through a phase in my life where Im doing everything that scares me. And I hope I can show that you dont have to look a certain way or talk about certain things to work in comedy. You dont have to be a bookish Cambridge graduate and talk about politics to do stand-up and be funny. You can be a Love Island fan, wear false eyelashes and fake tan and have blonde hair extensions!

All Ive ever wanted is my own sketch show and to be a captain on Celebrity Juice, so this is like a joke. I need to remember this moment.

Hair: Dino Pereira using Kiehls Since 1851 Magic Elixir

Make-up: Lan Nguyen-Grealis using Becca Cosmetics

Styling: Nana Acheampong

GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAILexclusive@the-sun.co.uk

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Emily Atack on the impact of the horrific sexual harassment she faces every day - The Irish Sun

Saturday Night at The Howff with Bemz, Ben Seal and Adam Stafford – bellacaledonia.org.uk

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howff /haf/. A favourite meeting place or haunt, especially a pub.

This week at The Howff, Bella Caledonia welcomes Adam Stafford, Ben Seal and Bemz.

DEATH & MORE is the new album from Fifes Queer-Dad Poly-Plum-Producer Ben Seal. Hot off the back of four powerful singles; DEATH, TRUTH, C U AROUND & GLORY, comes Bens first album under their own name. DEATH & MORE is an eccentric pop record, which handles hefty concepts and profound ideas with elegance and eloquence, bolstered by catchy melodies and stand out production. The album is rife with existential angst, opening with the track DEATH and ending on EVERYTHING, a track about Bens mothers lifelong illness. It is clear that they are a musician comfortable with sombre subject matter, but as GLORY proves a swan through the night with a transvestite owl and the subsequent dawn sex not fixed to it. Ben Seal has spent the last fifteen years producing music and has been working out of the Piggery studio in Fife for seven. They say The bucolic atmos and general bonhomie of the countryside is very appealing in lockdown and has spurred this outburst. DEATH & MORE is a triumph of the creativity that ennui can engender, with a delightfully playful feel.

https://www.urbanfarmhand.net/

Adam Staffords experience of lockdown has been one of renewal, revolving around the discovery of a little red book hidden beneath some tupperware in a cardboard box. Full of old lyrics and memories, this book was a snapshot of a past life, providing the possibility for reassessment, wholly embraced by Stafford as the world collectively paused to take a breath. Armed with his box of cassette tapes, packed with hundreds of demos, he decided to re-learn some songs, take fragmented ideas from the past ten years and chop, re-write and re-sculpt until an entirely new album was born. Diamonds of a Horse Famine is the result, and in nine songs, Stafford cements his reputation as one of Scotlands finest arrangers of cinematic soundscapes, tied together, as ever, with versatile instrumentation and cathartic, affecting vocals. This new record is ultimately a step towards nostalgia; the unearthing of forgotten stories and past mistakes told from differing perspectives, its focus on introspection certifying it as the quintessential lockdown soundtrack.

https://songbytoadrecords.bandcamp.com/album/diamonds-of-a-horse-famine

At the age of 26, Jubemi Iyiku has a maturity that many rappers would only be beginning to work towards. Under the moniker Bemz, his sound and lyricism is honest, raw and commanding but having been involved in music on and off for almost a decade, hes not a totally new face in Scotlands hip hop scene. With the release of his new EP Saint of Lost Causes this month, hes also not one that is likely to remain unknown for much longer.

Saint of Lost Causes is Bemzs return to music following his Life EP in 2018, with six tracks that explore where he has been and where his potential next steps will take him, both personally and professionally. Working with people like Axor, Cold North and Kobi Onyame, who features on the track Suddenly, Bemz takes on a number of styles, emphasising his strengths as well as his desire to grow and progress as an artist. Ahead of the release, we caught up with Bemz to chat about the EP as well as his thoughts on hip hop in Scotland and his future plans.

https://bemzrtw.bandcamp.com/

Original post:

Saturday Night at The Howff with Bemz, Ben Seal and Adam Stafford - bellacaledonia.org.uk

2020-2026 Marine Toilets Market Top Countries Analysis and Manufacturers With Impact of COVID-19 by Sealand (Dometic), Thetford, Sanimarin -…

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The most likely scenario is that the Global and United States Marine Toilets Market sales are going to be xx in 2020 from Marine Toilets million in 2019, with a modification xx between 2019 and 2020. additionally, supported the most recent study, its to predict that the Covid-19 are going to be in restraint in key countries just like the u. s., Western Europe, East Asia. the world Marine Toilets market size is predicted to grow at xx or additional annually for following 5 years.

Access Free Sample Copy of Marine Toilets Market Report 2020: https://calibreresearch.com/report/covid19-impact-marine-toilets-market-23125#request-sample

For the forecast period 2020-2026, the Marine Toilets Market growth among segments give correct calculations and forecasts for sales by kind and by Application in terms of volume and worth. This analysis will assist you expand your business by targeting qualified niche markets. Regional analysis is another extremely comprehensive a part of the analysis and analysis study of the world Marine Toilets market given within the report. This section sheds light-weight on the sales growth of various regional and country-level Marine Toilets markets. For the historical and forecast amount 2020 to 2026, it provides elaborate and correct country-wise volume analysis and region-wise market size analysis of the world Marine Toilets market.

NOTE: Our reports include the analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on this industry. Our new sample is updated which correspond in new report showing impact of Covid-19 on Industry trends. Also we are offering 20% discount

Global and United States Marine Toilets Market Insights, Forecast to 2026 research report delivers an in depth watch on leading competitors with strategic analysis, small and macro market trend and situations, rating analysis and a holistic summary of the market things within the forecast amount.

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Major Market Players indulged in this report are:

JabscoRaritan EngineeringReliance ProductsSealand (Dometic)ThetfordSanimarinOcean Technologies

Global and United States Marine Toilets Market 2020 Segments by Product Types:

Electric ToiletsManual ToiletsSelf-Contained Toilets

The Application of the World Marine Toilets Market 2020-2026:

Tanker VesselsContainer VesselsBulk VesselsOther

According to world Marine Toilets marketing research, supported kind, applications. The Marine Toilets section is predicted to account for the most important market share, and its conjointly projected to register the very best rate of growth. The report analyses the world Marine Toilets market supported marketing as on-line and offline channels. Offline marketing is emerged because the major section attributable to increasing variety of retail stores globally, that area unit providing all sorts product looking on client preference. Moreover, the shoppers area unit shopping for the product from retail channels simply be choosing the product supported their selection.

Primary analysis entails telecom interviews with quite few business consultants on acceptance of appointment for conducting telecom interviews, causation questionnaires by e-mail interactions, and in some things face-to-face interactions for a further elaborate and unbiased analysis on the Marine Toilets Market , for the duration of in quite few geographies. Interviews area unit generally administered on AN in progress study with Marine Toilets trade consultants on the way to induce the foremost recent understandings of the market and demonstrate the prevailing analysis of the study. Primary interviews give data on obligatory factors like Marine Toilets market developments, market size, competitive landscape, progress developments, outlook, then forth. These factors facilitate to demonstrate aboard reinforcing the secondary analysis findings and conjointly as facilitate to develop our skilled teams understanding of the Marine Toilets market.

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The secondary analysis contains sources very similar to press releases, firm annual reviews, and journals associated with the trade. totally different sources embody trade magazines, commerce journals, government internet sites, and associations that were reviewed for gathering precise information on opportunities for enterprise expansions in Marine Toilets Market .

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2020-2026 Marine Toilets Market Top Countries Analysis and Manufacturers With Impact of COVID-19 by Sealand (Dometic), Thetford, Sanimarin -...

Know How Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Is Moving Forward in Key Regions to Reach at Next Level in Forthcoming Years 2020-2026? Illadel Graff Supply…

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IndustryAndResearch recently included a market research report theSeal and Pour Bag Clips Market Rising Trends, Technology Advancements and Demand 2020 to 2025.The Seal and Pour Bag Clips report obtain factual data, deliberately significant contender data, and Seal and Pour Bag Clips insights of knowledge to fabricate compelling R&D techniques. It investigated Seal and Pour Bag Clips rising players with the cogent extensive product portfolio and set up favorable Seal and Pour Bag Clips counter recommendations to yield competitive advantages. It likewise finds and decides noteworthy and different sorts of investigation a work in progress for Seal and Pour Bag Clips. Besides, it sort out expected new Seal and Pour Bag Clips comers or accomplices in the Seal and Pour Bag Clips investigation. It additionally investigates rational activities by understanding the key locales of significant organizations.The Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market division by its product type (Packed on Card Type, Packed in Plastic Bag Type), by Application(Supermarkets/Hypermarkets, Convenience Stores, Independent Retailers, Online Sales, Others)and by Region (North America,South and Central America, Middle East and Africa, Europe and Asia-Pacific). As indicated by the research, the Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market is profoundly contending and different because of worldwide and neighborhood merchants. Moreover, the report gives amazing proposals and suggestions to assist players with making solid development techniques and guarantee noteworthy deals in the Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market. We likewise give a thorough investigation of their product portfolios to investigate the products and applications they focus on while working in the worldwide Seal and Pour Bag Clips market. Besides, the report offers two separate market conjectures one for the creation sideand another for theutilization side of the worldwide Seal and Pour Bag Clips market.It gives helpful proposals to new just as set up players of the worldwide Seal and Pour Bag Clips market.

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Our market examiners are specialists in profoundly fragmenting the worldwide Seal and Pour Bag Clips market and completely assessing the development capability of every single section concentrated in the report. Directly toward the start of the examination study, the segments are analyzed based on utilization and development rate for an review time of nine years. The division study remembered for the report offers a splendid investigation of the worldwide Seal and Pour Bag Clips market, contemplating the market capability of various sections examined. It helps market members to zero in on high-growth zones of the worldwide Seal and Pour Bag Clips market and plan incredible business strategies to make sure about a place of solidarity in the business. Driving players of the worldwide Seal and Pour Bag Clips market are dissected considering their piece of the overall industry, late turns of events, new product dispatches, organizations, mergers or acquisitions, and markets served. The significant central members are:Wuudi, EH-LIFE, IconChef, Twixit, KitchenCraft, Turbo Plus, Pawaca. At that point, it plans mergers and acquisitions impeccably by inspecting Seal and Pour Bag Clips central participants and its the most hopeful examination. Close by it construct healing measures for new ventures by comprehension Seal and Pour Bag Clips information and the center of sign investigation. Also, it investigates and comprises Seal and Pour Bag Clips market in-authorizing and out-authorizing systems by assessing inevitable accomplices with the most exceptional tasks to impact and degree Seal and Pour Bag Clips business capacities and market scope.

The analysis objectives of the report are:

To equitably share inside and out data with respect to the critical components affecting the expansion of industry (development limit, possibilities, drivers and industry explicit test and dangers). To know the Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market by pinpointing its many sub sections. To profile the significant players and investigate their development plans. To attempt the sum and estimation of the Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market sub-markets, contingent upon key areas (different indispensable states). To examine the Global Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market concerning development patterns, possibilities and furthermore their investment in the whole area. To look at and study the Global Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market size (volume and worth) structure the organization, basic locales/nations, products and applications, foundation data and furthermore expectations to 2025. Essential overall Global Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market fabricating organizations, to indicate, explain and examine the product deals sum, worth and piece of the pie, market contention scene, SWOT investigation and improvement plans for the following coming years. To inspect serious advancement, for example, developments, game plans, new product dispatches and acquisitions available.

Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Segment Analysis:

Global Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market, By Product Type:Packed on Card Type, Packed in Plastic Bag Type

Global Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market, By Application:Supermarkets/Hypermarkets, Convenience Stores, Independent Retailers, Online Sales, Others

Regional Segmentation:

North America (The US, Canada, and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, the UK, and Rest of the World)Asia Pacific (China, Japan, India, and Rest of Asia Pacific)Latin America (Brazil and Rest of Latin America.)Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, , South Africa, and Rest of Middle East & Africa)

Global Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Report 2020 by Key Players, Types, Applications, Countries, Market Size, Forecast to 2026

Chapter 1.Report OverviewChapter 2.Market Snapshot

2.1 Major Companies Overview

2.2 Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Concentration

2.3 Six-Year Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)

Chapter 3.Value Chain of Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market

3.1 Upstream

3.2 Downstream

3.3 Porters & Five Forces Analysis and SWOT Analysis

Chapter 4.Players Profiles

4.1 Company Profiles

4.2 Product Introduction

4.3 Production, Revenue (2015-2020)

4.4 SWOT Analysis

Chapter 5.Global Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Analysis by Regions

5.1 Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Status and Prospect (2016-2026)

5.2 Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Size and Growth Rate (2016-2026)

5.3 Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Local Capacity, Import, Export, Local Consumption Analysis (2015-2026)

Chapter 6.North America Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Analysis by Countries

Chapter 7.China Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Analysis by Countries

Chapter 8.Europe Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Analysis by Countries

Chapter 9.Asia-Pacific Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Analysis by Countries

Chapter 10.India Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Analysis by Countries

Chapter 11.Middle East and Africa Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Analysis by Countries

Chapter 12.South America Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Analysis by Countries

Chapter 13.Global Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Segment by Types

Chapter 14.Global Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Segment by Applications

Chapter 15.Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Forecast by Regions (2020-2026)

Chapter 16.Appendix

Get Complete TOC with Tables and Figure :https://www.industryandresearch.com/report/Global-Seal-and-Pour-Bag-Clips-Market-Size-ShareTrends-Analysis-Report-By-Product-Type-By-Application-By-Region-And-Segment-Forecasts-to-20202025/195946#tablecontent

Report Highlights Exhaustive valuing investigation based on product, application, and provincial segments The definite evaluation of the vendor scene and driving organizations to help comprehend the degree of rivalry in the Seal and Pour Bag Clips market-Profound insights of knowledge about administrative and speculation situations of the Seal and Pour Bag Clips market Examination of market impact factors and their effect on the estimate and viewpoint of the Seal and Pour Bag Clips market A guide of development openings accessible in the Seal and Pour Bag Clips market with the identification of key variables The comprehensive examination of different patterns of the Seal and Pour Bag Clips market to help distinguish market developments

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Know How Seal and Pour Bag Clips Market Is Moving Forward in Key Regions to Reach at Next Level in Forthcoming Years 2020-2026? Illadel Graff Supply...

David Jay Kees | Obituaries | winchesterstar.com – The Winchester Star

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David Jay Kees, 60, of Winchester, died Wednesday, October 28, 2020 in Winchester.

He was born May 9, 1960 in Winchester, the son of James H. and Juanita Baker Kees.

He was married to Donna Jean Kees.

Mr. Kees was a member of the Emmanuel Baptist Church, the Sons of American Legion Squadron 21 and the Rock Harbor Golf & Country Club. He was an avid hunter and golfer.

Surviving in addition to his wife are a stepdaughter, Lisa D. Renner of Winchester; two brothers, Dana G. Kees of Winchester and Mark W. Kees of South Carolina; a sister, Genoa T. Kees of Winchester; a grandson, Eddie Seal, III; a great-granddaughter, Autumn Seal and nieces and nephews, Chris Kees, Shane Kees, Jennifer Kees Cress, Thomas "T.J." Kees, Michael Kees and Brittany Kees.

In addition to his parents he was preceded in death by a granddaughter, Sierra Seal and two brothers, Steve Owen Kees and James Scott Kees.

A private service will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Concern Hotline, 301 N. Cameron Street, Suite 201, Winchester, VA 22601.

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David Jay Kees | Obituaries | winchesterstar.com - The Winchester Star