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Diamond Core Drill Rods Market Progresses, Global Trends, Size, Evolution Rate And Forecast 2020-2026| Sandvik, Tube Technologies, Matrix, DATC,…

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Los Angeles, United State: The research study presented here with is a powerful tool that players can use to cement a strong position in the global Diamond Core Drill Rods market. It digs deep into critical aspects of the global Diamond Core Drill Rods market, which include market dynamics, competition, cost and price, regional expansion, key business strategies, consumption, and marketing channels. Readers are provided with special analysis on consumers, distributors, the value chain, and production growth trends. The report offers in-depth and accurate insights on the regional growth, leading players, and level of competition in the global Diamond Core Drill Rods market. The researchers have also put high emphasis on market taxonomy by preparing a comprehensive segmental analysis.

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The job of an analyst is not just to identify key players of the given Diamond Core Drill Rods market. Analysts make rigorous efforts, spend hours on research and analysis, gather unique information from market experts, and use their own experience and industry knowledge to come up with a detailed and accurate Diamond Core Drill Rods research study. Company profiling is one of the most important sections of a market research report as it provides useful intelligence to players for effectively working on their business downfalls or pushing their business forward. This report not only pin-points top players of the global Diamond Core Drill Rods market but also shows their market progress throughout the forecast period, provides their market growth projections, and explores key aspects of their business.

Key Players Mentioned in the Global Diamond Core Drill Rods Market Research Report: Sandvik, Tube Technologies, Matrix, DATC, Technidrill, Boart Longyear, MBI Drilling Products, Taesung, NLC Company, Di-Corp, Barkom, Atlas Copco (Epiroc), Fordia, Xuanhua Jinke Drilling Machinery

Global Diamond Core Drill Rods Market by Type: Bonded, Sintered

Global Diamond Core Drill Rods Market by Application: Mining, Construction

The Diamond Core Drill Rods market report provides market forecasts and estimates for all segments included in the research study. Each type and application segment studied in the Diamond Core Drill Rods report is broadly examined for determining its growth prospects and projecting its market size for every year of the forecast period. The segmental study also provides regional market size forecasts for product and application segments of the global Diamond Core Drill Rods market. Furthermore, it shows which players are more dominant in a particular segment, be it product or application.

For this research study, important information and data related to the global Diamond Core Drill Rods market were gathered with the help of secondary sources such as case studies, reference customers, independent investigations, demographic and economic data, government publications, and company publications and reports. Primary research was mainly performed to clearly understand current and future market expectations and validate and revalidate all the data and information in the Diamond Core Drill Rods report on the basis of acceptability and accuracy. The researchers interviewed key industry participants such as buyers, product distributors, raw material suppliers, and market leading companies to verify the forecasts and estimates presented in the Diamond Core Drill Rods report.

Questions Answered by the Report:

Which are the dominant players of the global Diamond Core Drill Rods market?

What will be the size of the global Diamond Core Drill Rods market in the coming years?

Which segment will lead the global Diamond Core Drill Rods market?

How will the market development trends change in the next five years?

What is the nature of the competitive landscape of the global Diamond Core Drill Rods market?

What are the go-to strategies adopted in the global Diamond Core Drill Rods market?

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Diamond Core Drill Rods Market Progresses, Global Trends, Size, Evolution Rate And Forecast 2020-2026| Sandvik, Tube Technologies, Matrix, DATC,...

NUCLEAR DECOMMISSIONING SERVICES MARKET EVOLUTION, INCREDIBLE POSSIBILITIES ANALYSIS AND FORECAST GROWTH TO 2028 Owned – Owned

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market to grow exponentially at a CAGR of XX % by 2028

A recent report published by QMI on Nuclear Decommissioning Services market is a detailed assessment of the most important market dynamics. After carrying out thorough research on the market of nuclear decommissioning services historical as well as current growth parameters, business expectations for growth are obtained with utmost precision.

The study identifies specific and important factors affecting the market for nuclear decommissioning services during the forecast period. It can enable manufacturers of nuclear decommissioning services to change their production and marketing strategies in order to envisage maximum growth.

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Understanding Nuclear Decommissioning Services market-

Nuclear decommissioning is the process of dismantling a nuclear facility so that it no longer requires radiation protection. The complexities of decommissioning nuclear energy include technological, economic and social factors. Radioactive material disposal procedures are occupationally hazardous time-consuming, costly, and also present environmental risks that need to be addressed to ensure that radioactive materials are safely stored on site or transported for storage elsewhere.

The decommissioning process aims at reducing residual radioactivity levels. It is dispensed by activity frameworks, transferring radioactive materials to acceptable disposal sites, storing spent nuclear fuel until it can be withdrawn for disposal or safe storage from the nuclear power plant site, and releasing the property for other purposes.

Nuclear Decommissioning Services Market growth is projected to gain high momentum over the forecast period due to growing energy demands in developing nations to result in commissioning. Nuclear decommissioning is a process in which a nuclear facility is removed insofar as there is no radiation protection need. The radioactive materials are harmful to the environment and are dangerous. There is a growing awareness of the adverse effects of nuclear power plants emitting radiation.

The global nuclear-decommissioning services market has been divided on the basis of reactor type into pressurized heavy water reactor (PHWR), boiling water reactor (BWR), fast breeder reactor(FBR), gas-cooled reactor(GCR), and pressurized water reactor. In 2015, the BWR reactor group had the largest market share in the market for nuclear decommissioning services. Due to strict government regulations to phase out nuclear reactors by 2022, this can be due to an increase in the number of ventures undergoing decommissioning. Majority of European nuclear power plants operate on BWRs.

Based on capacity, the nuclear-decommissioning services market has been split into up to 800MW, 801-1,000MW, and above 1,000MW. The decommissioning strategy is immediate dismantling, deferred dismantling, and entombment.

Important Factors Impacting Market Growth:o The strong cost of decommissioningo Accidents and increasing political pressure for pre-closureo Rising energy demands in developing regions to result in commissioning

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Europe accounted for the highest market share in the global nuclear decommissioning services market. A strict European government regulation to support nuclear decommissioning activities is a major factor boosting market growth in the region. In the next five years, Europe is expected to become the worlds largest market for decontamination and decontamination (D&D). Asia Pacific is projected one of the fastest growing regions for nuclear decommissioning services market over the forecast period. Some of the fastest developing economies and increasing demand for energy & power to cater high population & industries is projected to drive the demand in this region. China and India are expected to register major demand over the forecast period. Middle East that includes UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Qatar, and others promises strong market potential during the forecast period. Rest of the World including South America and Africa are trending nations in terms of market demand during the forecast period.

Companies Covered: On the competitive scenario, the prominent players on the Nuclear Decommissioning Services market were discussed in detail. With past developments, the leading players in this industry have been profiled, and other key players include Westinghouse Electric Company, Aecom, Babcock International Group PLC, Onet Technologies, Nuvia Group, EnerconServics, Inc., and SoginS.P.A

Market Segmentation:By Reactor Type:o Boiling Water Reactoro Pressurized Water Reactoro Gas Cooled Reactoro Pressurized Heavy Water Reactoro Fast Breeder Reactor

By Decommissioning Strategy:o Deferred Dismantlingo Immediate Dismantlingo Entombment

By Capacity:o Up to 800MWo 801-1,000MWo Above 1,000MW

By Region:o North Americao By Country (US, Canada, Mexico)o By Rector Typeo By Decommissioning Strategyo By Capacity

o Western Europeo By Country (Germany, UK, France, Italy, Spain, Rest of Western Europe)o By Rector Typeo By Decommissioning Strategyo By Capacity

o Eastern Europeo By Country (Russia, Turkey, Rest of Eastern Europe)o By Rector Typeo By Decommissioning Strategyo By Capacity

o Asia Pacifico By Country (China, Japan, India, South Korea, Australia, Rest of Asia Pacific)o By Rector Typeo By Decommissioning Strategyo By Capacity

o Middle Easto By Country (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iran, Rest of Middle East)o By Rector Typeo By Decommissioning Strategyo By Capacity

o Rest of the Worldo By Region (South America, Africa)o By Rector Typeo By Decommissioning Strategyo By Capacity

Contact:Quince Market InsightsAjay D. (Knowledge Partner)Office No- A109Pune, Maharashtra 411028Phone: +91 9850603687 / 7972869557Email:[emailprotected]Web:www.quincemarketinsights.com

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NUCLEAR DECOMMISSIONING SERVICES MARKET EVOLUTION, INCREDIBLE POSSIBILITIES ANALYSIS AND FORECAST GROWTH TO 2028 Owned - Owned

WWE NOT Planning Evolution II Event This Year – Ringside News

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

WWE has a big event planned for August 23rd. They wanted to hold SummerSlam in Boston, but that wasnt in the cards. They are holding the biggest party of the summer in a much smaller location now, and they are holding another event the next week.

The August 30th event was immediately accompanied with a lot of excitement. There was a thought that Evolution II could finally be coming. Unfortunately, fans are going to have to wait longer for that to happen.

Ringside News has learned that August 30th will not be Evolution II. The company is planning a special event for August 30th, but it wont be a female-exclusive event.

We were explicitly told that the August 30th event isnt planned to be Evolution II at the moment. Ringside News exclusively reported that WWE isnt even thinking about WrestleMania right now. Those plans went out the window.

The company is currently focused on booking SummerSlam and whatever they decide to hold on August 30th. A lot has changed in the past few weeks and nothing is 100% locked down.

Evolution took place on October 28th, 2018. Since then the womens roster and the rest of the WWE Universe have waited for another similar event. They held an all-female NXT event, but no such main roster show has been presented.

The Office Post-COVID: Death or Evolution? – Lexology

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

The death of the office has been announced many times. Its funeral rites are being read again.

However, while COVID 19 has accelerated the death of physical retail at warp speed, my prediction is that, once again, the office will evolve out of this crisis into something new.

First, an observation that applies to many forms of real estate, pubs, clubs and football stadia as well as the office. The pandemic will not change human nature. We need real face to face contact. No amount of video conferencing is a substitute for learning from your boss, noting your counterparty's telling hesitation in a meeting, or the office Christmas party. Thus my sense is that we will gravitate to the strange universe of the office for a while yet.

Here are a few harmless predictions, to add to the millions.

Overall office space will reduce, but what remains will be better used, as we value what can only be done face to face, but also appreciate what can be done, and sometimes better, digitally. Some sectors of the market will grow, while others falter. Location and configuration will be key

1980s style low-rise suburban business parks with parking spaces may have their time in the sun again, briefly, as people initially drive to work and avoid public transport, but such places always were terrifically boring, and I suspect this perception won't change. The virus may prompt a linked trend towards low-rise suburban residential development, linked by roads and local rail. Good news perhaps for Milton Keynes and the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, but will this reverse the pull of London and other major cities as a place to work, as well as live, in the longer term? I would place a bet not.

This is not at all the end for the Central London office market. Skyscrapers in the City and Docklands that are hard to empty and fill quickly, and have no outside space, may have passed their peak. However, low-rise period offices in City fringe locations, accessible by stairs or short lifts, and with attractive features such as roof gardens and large bike stores, may become much sought after, as large professional service firms downsize and "homeshore" their staff a couple of days a week, and focus on a Central London hub for senior management. A drop in demand for space in London by existing occupiers will also enable regional professional services firms to have a small London presence. It used to be a sign of antiquity if you had to cool your London office by opening an actual window, as opposed to having air conditioning. Suddenly, that quaintness seems quite attractive again.

Mayfair will remain Mayfair, of course.

While people will be suspicious post-virus of co-working in the truly flexible sense, professionals visiting London and other cities less frequently than before, will need a space to log on and to host meetings. Private members' clubs and business-related clubhouses, already of great interest pre-crisis for private equity, will become a growth sector as exclusivity offers by definition a limited range of interactions, and with the right people, and so the dividing line between personal and business networking will blur further.

Never underestimate the masterly power of inertia. Habits that dont change immediately after a shock, tend not to change at all. Unless firms have an upcoming break or other looming lease event, it is likely that they will have settled back into something like the "old normal", by the time they have to consider their next move. Most firms will want to use their existing assets, especially if they cannot be sublet or assigned easily. If it's not over until the Head of Corporate's karoake act at the office Christmas party, he's still warming up.

This article first appeared in Estates Gazette on 10th July 2020.

Originally posted here:

The Office Post-COVID: Death or Evolution? - Lexology

This Short Video Shows the Evolution of the Xbox Logo Over the Past 19 Years – Beebom

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Today, when we talk about high-end gaming consoles, we take the latest one from Sonys PlayStation line-up and the latest one from Microsofts Xbox range. However, it has been a long time since Microsoft entered the gaming console market to compete with Sony and other gaming console manufacturers. Now, the company shared this short video showing the evolution of the Xbox logo over the past years.

The official Twitter handle of Microsoft Xbox recently shared a short 25-second video via a tweet (below). The video shows all the Xbox logos from the time when the first Xbox came to the market.

As you can see, the video starts with the first-ever Xbox logo. This is the one that came with the first Xbox, almost 19 years ago (time really flies). Following the first logo, the video goes over each and every iteration of the Xbox logo since 2001.

Not only it shows the Xbox logo changes with the official animations, but the video also showcases the original background score that came with each new logo. So, if it does not make you feel nostalgic visually, the sounds will make you feel like a child again.

According to the video, after 2001s original Xbox logo (below), Microsoft changed the logo of its gaming console in 2005, then 2013, and finally in 2020 with the unveiling of the upcoming Xbox Series X.

So, if you are an Xbox fan and have been using the gaming console for years, this video might bring some fond memories of your previous Xbox consoles. So, do check it out and let us know about your favorite Xbox of all time in the comments below.

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This Short Video Shows the Evolution of the Xbox Logo Over the Past 19 Years - Beebom

Potential Impact of COVID-19 on Research report explores the Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine) Market for the forecast period, 2020-2026 -…

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine) Marketreport provides in-depth COVID19 impact analysis ofMarket Overview, Product Scope, Market Drivers, Trends, Opportunities,Market Driving Force and Market Risks. It also profile the topmost prime manufacturers (Amgen, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Abbott, UCB, Roche, Celgene, Sanofi, Merck & Co, Biogen, Stryker, Gilead Sciences, Pfizer, 3M Company, Johnson & Johnson, Smith&Nephew, Leadiant Biosciences, Kyowa Hakko Kirin, Shire, Ipsen, Endo International) are analyzed emphatically by competitive landscape contrast, with respect toPrice, Sales,Capacity, Import, Export, Consumption, Gross, Gross Margin, Revenue and Market Share. Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine) industry breakdown data are shown at the regional level, to show the sales, revenue and growth by regions.Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine) Market describe Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine) Sales Channel,Distributors, Customers, Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix and Data Source.

Key Target Audience of Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine) Market:Manufacturers of Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine), Raw material suppliers, Market research and consulting firms, Government bodies such as regulating authorities and policy makers, Organizations, forums and alliances related to Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine) market.

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In-Depth Qualitative Analyses Include Identification and Investigation Of The Following Aspects:Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine) Market Structure, Growth Drivers, Restraints and Challenges, Emerging Product Trends & Market Opportunities, Porters Fiver Forces.

Summary of Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine) Market:It is defined as the study of controlling, manipulating and creating systems based on their atomic or molecular specifications. As stated by the US National Science and Technology Council, the essence of nanotechnology is the ability to manipulate matters at atomic, molecular and supra-molecular levels for creation of newer structures and devices. Generally, this science deals with structures sized between 1 to 100 nanometer (nm) in at least one dimension and involves in modulation and fabrication of nanomaterials and nanodevices.

Nanotechnology is becoming a crucial driving force behind innovation in medicine and healthcare, with a range of advances including nanoscale therapeutics, biosensors, implantable devices, drug delivery systems, and imaging technologies.

The classification of Healthcare Nanotechnology includes Nanomedicine, Nano Medical Devices, Nano Diagnosis and Other product. And the sales proportion of Nanomedicine in 2017 is about 86.5%, and the proportion is in increasing trend from 2013 to 2017.

On the basis on the end users/applications,this report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, sales volume, market share and growth rate of Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine) market foreach application, including-

Anticancer CNS Product Anti-infective Other

On the basis of product,this report displays the sales volume, revenue (Million USD), product price, market share and growth rate ofeach type, primarily split into-

Nanomedicine Nano Medical Devices Nano Diagnosis Other

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Important Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine) Market Data Available In This Report:

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Potential Impact of COVID-19 on Research report explores the Healthcare Nanotechnology (Nanomedicine) Market for the forecast period, 2020-2026 -...

New nanomedicines for mRNA therapeutics in breast cancer and heart failure – Mirage News

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

TAU researcher Prof. Dan Peer, from the school of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology, is one of 11 partners in the international project EXPERT that has been awarded a total of 14.9 million EUR from the EU Horizon 2020. The project is working to find efficient ways to deliver protein coding mRNA by using various nanoparticles for the treatment of breast cancer and myocardial infarction, which are two of the most pressing health challenges in European society today.

Prof. Dan Peer, Director, Laboratory of Precision NanoMedicine, School of Molecular Cell Biology and Biotechnology, George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences and Department of Materials Sciences and Engineering, Iby and Aladar Fleischman Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University Center for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology and Tel Aviv University Cancer Biology Research Center.

It is about developing mRNA therapy for the treatment of breast cancer. Much of it involves testing different methods to improve the delivery of mRNA to cells in vivo. These methods are fundamentally based either on lipid nanoparticles (LNPs), biological nanoparticles called exosomes, or cell penetrating peptides (CPPs). In addition to this, we intend to analyze what these nanoparticles bind to in biological fluids in order to better understand what drives uptake in specific cells types.

Our lab was the first to show systemic, cell specific delivery of mRNA molecules that express therapeutic proteins in designated cells. We will further develop our ASSET platform for cell specific targeting of lipid nanoparticles to achieve improved delivery of therapeutic mRNAs and optimize formulations that enable systemic administration in different preclinical models. Part of the work will also consist of understanding how nanoparticle surfaces bind to host factors in blood and how this can affect the uptake of nanoparticles.

We will now see how these delivery methods work side by side in cell culture and animal models. The hope is then to be able to deliver an mRNA cocktail with one of the aforementioned vectors for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer. In parallel, these vectors will also be evaluated for delivery of VEGF mRNA in the treatment of myocardial infarction.

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New nanomedicines for mRNA therapeutics in breast cancer and heart failure - Mirage News

New Comprehensive Report on Antibacterial Nano Coatings Market to Witness an Outstanding Growth during 2020 2025 with Top Players Like Nanogate AG,…

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Latest Research Report: Antibacterial Nano Coatings industry

This has brought along several changes in This report also covers the impact of COVID-19 on the global market.

Global Antibacterial Nano Coatings Market documents a detailed study of different aspects of the Global Market. It shows the steady growth in market in spite of the fluctuations and changing market trends. The report is based on certain important parameters.

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Antibacterial Nano Coatings Market competition by top manufacturers as follow: , Buhler Partec GmbH, 3M, Bio-Gate AG, Toto, Smith and Nephew, Eikos, Cima NanoTech, Integran Technologies, Nanogate AG, Nanovere Technologies, Nanophase Technologies

The risingtechnology in Antibacterial Nano Coatingsmarketis also depicted in thisresearchreport. Factors that are boosting the growth of the market, and giving a positive push to thrive in the global market is explained in detail. It includes a meticulous analysis of market trends, market shares and revenue growth patterns and the volume and value of the market. It is also based on a meticulously structured methodology. These methods help to analyze markets on the basis of thorough research and analysis.

The Type Coverage in the Market are: Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD)Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD)Others

Market Segment by Applications, covers:MedicineFood PackagingWater TreatmentCoating

The research report summarizes companies from different industries. This Antibacterial Nano Coatings Market report has been combined with a variety of market segments such as applications, end users and sales. Focus on existing market analysis and future innovation to provide better insight into your business. This study includes sophisticated technology for the market and diverse perspectives of various industry professionals.

Antibacterial Nano Coatings is the arena of accounting worried with the summary, analysis and reporting of financial dealings pertaining to a business. This includes the training of financial statements available for public ingesting. The service involves brief, studying, checking and reporting of the financial contacts to tax collection activities and objects. It also involves checking and making financial declarations, scheming accounting systems, emerging finances and accounting advisory.

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Market segment by Regions/Countries, this report coversNorth AmericaEuropeChinaRest of Asia PacificCentral & South AmericaMiddle East & Africa

Report Highlights: Detailed overview of parent market Changing market dynamics in the industry In-depth market segmentation Historical, current and projected market size in terms of volume and value Recent industry trends and developments Competitive landscape Strategies of key players and products offered Potential and niche segments, geographical regions exhibiting promising growth A neutral perspective on market performance Must-have information for market players to sustain and enhance their market footprint

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New Comprehensive Report on Antibacterial Nano Coatings Market to Witness an Outstanding Growth during 2020 2025 with Top Players Like Nanogate AG,...

Solar-Powered Nanotubes Could Bring Water to the World – Popular Mechanics

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Adapted from Nano Letters 2020, DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c01088

Could a solar-powered generator made from wood and bacteria help bring clean water to the world? Researchers in China have developed a prototype they say improves the concept of a solar steam generator, making it more efficient and feasible by boosting each of its components.

To design better solar steam generators, researchers must find ways to improve light absorption, heat management, water transport and evaporation, the American Chemical Society (ACS) said in a statement. Shu-Hong Yu and colleagues at the University of Science and Technology of China wanted to combine all four improvements in a single device.

The generator theyve designed is a marvel of intersecting nanotechnology. First, the structure is built from wood. The surface is seeded with bacteria that begin to ferment the surface cellulose into nanofibers.

Then, the researchers spray on glass microbubbles that bond with the cellulose to form a gel structure. Finally, the entire surface is frosted with carbon nanotubes.

What results is a layered material that draws water up through the wood and cellulose and into the realm of the nanotubes, where sunlight warms the water and evaporates it as steam. Contaminants remain below, and steam gathers into clean condensation at the top of the device. And the layer of insulating glass microbubbles keeps heat insulated inside the chamber where the steam reaction takes place.

Theres a simple reason this design is so successful in reducing friction points found in other solar steam generator concepts. As the researchers explain in their paper:

This means theyve used a combination of materials that naturally fold together, fit well, and form a natural surface ideal for this work. Because of that, the resulting generator has higher rates of evaporation and overall energy efficiency than existing solar steam generator designs.

This promising work could lead to further developments with other materials, too. Carbon nanotubes have been the subject of research across what seems like all sciences, but with water in particular, theyve shown promise in multiple different kinds of filtration and energy generation. In this case, their structure draws water upward, where their properties and makeup then help to concentrate solar energy.

The advantages of a solar generator like this are myriad. Lack of access to clean water often comes with lack of access to traditional energy sources. If someone who must fill buckets from a well each day can then pour water into a non-powered filtration system, that piece of equipment can sit anywhere theres sunshine.

But this concept can only work if the energy generation is efficient enough to be worthwhile, and testing new nanomaterials and composites is an important part of reaching that goal.

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Solar-Powered Nanotubes Could Bring Water to the World - Popular Mechanics

Covid-19 might have injected a new life into the conspiracy theory scene, but the fire was already ablaze – Daily Maverick

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Nearly three decades ago in 1991, English former footballer, former Green Party spokesperson, and former BBC sports journalist, David Icke, came out of the closet as it were, to confirm his true identity first during a press conference and then a week later on BBCs primetime show, Wogan.

Icke told the world that he was, in fact, the son of the Godhead. Unsurprisingly, he was ridiculed. I couldnt walk down the street without people laughing at me. Going into a pub, there was an uproar. A comedian only had to say my name to get a laugh, he would later tell the television host.

Nonetheless, Icke would go on to publish several books during the 90s five were initially published by mainstream publishers. It was the controversy around his 1994 book, The Robots Rebellion, and its embrace of a century-old anti-Semitic literary forgery, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, that would eventually lead him to self-publishing.

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion claims to be the minutes of a meeting of Jewish secret rulers of the world and contains gems such as, Protocol 9: The weapons in our hands are limitless ambition, burning greediness, merciless vengeance, hatred and malice. It is from us that all-engulfing terror proceeds We will not give [the people of the world] peace until they openly acknowledge our international Super-Government.

As far back as 1921, it was debunked and proven to be a fabricated text, thought to be the work of Russian secret police and not a very clever one. It didnt need to be clever, though these days it is shared online and in print by neofascist, fundamentalist and antisemitic groups who still claim it is a genuine document.

Yet Icke referred to it in his book and claimed it as evidence of a plot by an illuminati reptilian race that controls the world. Yes, he believes that governments, banks, the internet, the British royal family, are all either colluding with or are members of this shape-shifting alien lizard race from another dimension that controls the world. He wrote several more books expounding on his theories, questioning the holocaust, and identifying specific politicians as Satan-worshippers and reptilian descendants.

By the turn of the century, Icke was a world-touring speaker and author.

According to Education out of Bounds: Reimagining Cultural Studies for Posthuman Age a 2010 book that examines the prevalence of the monster trope in popular imagination by the year 2000, Icke had been invited to lecture in at least twenty-five countries, and, Ickes most recognised publication the massive 533-page Rosetta stone for conspiracy junkies, The Biggest Secret has already gone through multiple re-printings since its release in 1999; his latest conspiracy/ufology testament, Alice in Wonderland and the World Trade Center Disaster, passes for vogue among American, British, and Canadian audiences as well as in non-Anglo international cultural arenas such as South Africa (where the book has been an enduring Top 5 seller).

South Africa, beloved country, we need to talk.

Most recently, Icke has jumped on the 5G causes Covid conspiracist wagon. He has also claimed that you cant catch the coronavirus by shaking hands, and that it is not real, but part of some plan to kill people. It is these views that led to him getting kicked off Facebook, where his page had over 800,000 followers, and off YouTube, where his channel had over 900,000 subscribers in May 2020. However, he is still active on his verified Twitter account with over 340,000 followers. He continues to champion climate change denialists, promote his books and talks, challenge the wearing of masks, and share videos of black people who question the Black Lives Matter movement.

Looking over the past three decades of conspiracy theories this self-proclaimed son of the Godhead has pushed, one might be surprised at his large following. Surely a man who once claimed the world was going to end in 1990, and that we are ruled by lizards, should by now, even in the fringiest of fringes, be approached with suspicion.

Alas, it is not so even Alice Walker, beloved author of The Color Purple is a fan. In 2018, in a New York Times article responding to a question about books on her nightstand, Walker said, And the Truth Shall Set You Free, by David Icke. In Ickes books there is the whole of existence, on this planet and several others, to think about. A curious persons dream come true. Walker is referring to the 1995 self-published title by Icke, which caused controversy due to its suggestion that Jews funded the Holocaust.

At this moment in time, characterised by uncertainty, millions of readers looked to the likes of Icke for explanations. According to an in-depth investigation by the UKs Press Gazette, his website davidicke.com was visited 4.3m times in April up from 1.3m in March, 600,000 in February and 700,000 in January.

Icke is not alone either there are numerous conspiracy theory super spreaders with large followings, such as Alex Jones Infowars and the London Real. The latter, by the way, are also big fans of Icke. Their 3 May three-hour long interview with Icke, where he reiterates his belief that the virus doesnt exist, among other wild claims, currently has 4.5 million views and growing.

Then theres also American Fox News opinion hosts such as Laura Ingraham, who have millions of viewers, supporting a conspiracy theory that suggests Bill Gates is behind the virus, so that he can install microchips on people and track them. Or their other popular host, Tucker Carlson, telling his viewers night after night that the Black Lives Matter protests have nothing to do with racial inequality, but rather that theyre part of a secret plot by the Democrats to take over from Republicans.

Encountering someone who believes in a conspiracy theory that one might consider a step too far, might make one think that conspiracist ideation is something that happens among a minority on the fringes of society. However, judging by the popularity of conspiracist platforms, and the amount of false claims that websites like snopes.com and factcheck.org and africacheck.org have to regularly debunk, it would seem they are anything but fringe.

In addition to the stuff we all see spreading across Facebook and Twitter, and on TV channels, there is also a wealth of misinformation spreading in more private and less visible groups, like neighbourhood and family WhatsApp groups.

This writer has certainly had to get into a few heated debates on family WhatsApp groups, whether to debunk claims including aspirin cures coronavirus or that lemon and baking soda cures the virus. Whether youre someone who might be tempted to buy into some of these false claims, or looking to arm yourself with knowledge in the face of so much misinformation and conspiracy ideation, based on my experience with my not-so-fringe family WhatsApp group, I would recommend paying this page on Africa Check a visit, where they list and debunk some of the most popular false claims and conspiracies related to the coronavirus.

In the last four decades, the body of research into the spread of conspiracy theories has grown, the majority of it coming from researchers in the US. Take, for example, this study titled Medical Conspiracy Theories and Health Behaviours, conducted in August and September 2013 in the US and weighted to be nationally representative. They found that 37% of respondents believed that the US Food and Drug Administration intentionally suppressed natural cures for cancer because of drug company pressure 31% neither agreed nor disagreed, and only 32% disagreed.

Then there are the anti-vaxxers the study also found that only 44% disagree that doctors want to vaccinate children, even though they know vaccines are harmful. And on and on.

These studies looked particularly at conspiracy theories that affect the health sector, and therefore behaviours that might affect the decisions taken. Others looked into what makes all kinds of conspiracy theories attractive in the first place, and what elements make up a conspiracy theory, as seen in this 2018 paper, Conspiracy theories: Evolved Functions and Psychological Mechanisms.

The authors break it down into at least five critical ingredients. The first is our need to see people, objects and events as interconnected. As humans we look for patterns and narratives to explain things. This is a quality that has served us well in our evolution; it has helped us to avoid threats and be able to identify alliances, among other things. Second, conspiracy theories assume some sort of agency, a deliberateness, on the part of the conspirators: theyre out to get us. Third, a conspiracy always involves some sort of coalition, a group working against us . Fourth, theres always an element of threat, be it to cause harm or to deceive. Lastly, secrecy: They dont want you to know.

Two authors, Stephan Lewandowsky from the University of Bristols School of Psychological Science, and John Cook, from George Masons Center for Climate Change Communication, have compiled The Conspiracy Theory Handbook, published in March 2020 and freely available to download. At 12 pages including the cover, it is a fairly short read, albeit an important one towards understanding conspiracist ideation.

In a nutshell, the pair emphasise the importance of fact-based debunking, logic-based debunking, challenging the credibility of sources, as well as being armed with links to fact checkers.

Their handbook goes further and makes recommendations on how to speak to conspiracy theorists, like showing empathy and avoiding the temptation to ridicule. Many conspiracy theorists also see themselves as critical thinkers the handbook emphasises the importance of affirming their capacity for critical thought, but then redirecting it towards the conspiracy theory itself.

The book is just one of many easily available online resources for dealing with conspiracy theories. But there is no guarantee that the tools it provides will help one succeed in the mission to debunk misinformation.

While some conspiracies might be easier to debunk in a world where some conspiracy platforms have larger audiences than many legitimate news platforms many will not be as easy. Afterall, the Laura Ingrahams, Sean Hannitys and Tucker Carlsons are among the most watched shows in the US, regularly beating primetime shows on other channels like MSNBC and CNN.

Closer to home, we had cases like that of Mzwandile Masina, mayor of the City of Ekurhuleni, who claimed back in March that a coronavirus vaccine had been found, and that he would direct funds towards its procurement.

Best to maintain a healthy scepticism and stay armed with facts, no matter how tempting it is to believe that corona doesnt exist, or that you can cure it with lemon and bicarbonate of soda, or that Bill Gates is out to get you, or that the British royal family is actually a race of lizards from the fourth dimension. DM/ML

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Covid-19 might have injected a new life into the conspiracy theory scene, but the fire was already ablaze - Daily Maverick

How do you beat a pro on Zwift? An investigation – Cycling Weekly

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

What fresh hell is this? Im standing up, wrenching every last microjoule onto the Wattbike pedals, eyes glued to the iPad: 360 watts, 375, 400, briefly touching 415 as Im forced to accept that, whatever I have left, its not enough. Watching fast-pedalling avatars line out ahead single-file like over-stretched elastic, Im anchored at the sore end for the imminent snap. Were merely six minutes into Ronde van Zwift a virtual substitute (of sorts) for the Tour of Flanders but my day is done.

In honour of the real Ronde, cancelled because of Covid-19, Zwift had invited the Alpecin-Fenix team, along with a selection of the worlds best Zwifting specialists, to do battle over 27.6km, three laps of its hilly Richmond course. Standout favourite for the win was naturally Mathieu van der Poel, he of apparently limitless talents. And what am I doing here? I was invited to join a euphemistically tagged all-stars team of journalists and guests; AKA cannon fodder.

The rest of the race is for me a lonely TT to the finish. On a separate screen I watch the video feeds of the leading riders on their turbos in their respective homes, faces grim with determination, in and out of the saddle, sweat pouring. With eight kilometres to go, Alpecin-Fenixs Louis Vervaeke launches an attack, but its swiftly countered by Canadian triathlete Lionel Sanders, riding as a guest on the Canyon ZCC team.

The whittled-down group of four remain together until just before the final ascent of Libby Hill, with 4km to go, when Sanders activates an aero power-up and explodes off the front. Its a jaw-dropping moment; he holds nigh-on 8w/kg thats 580 watts right to the top of the climb. Fully committed now, he grits it out, veins bulging as he holds 6.5w/kg for the next 3km, before somehow turning the screw even further, up to 600 watts, to fend off a stupendously powerful sprint by Swedish cross-country MTB racer Samuel Brnnlund (post-race stats reveal that Brnnlund held 13.4w/kg for a full 15 seconds).

Whats even more astonishing are the results: never mind van der Poels absence from the final skirmish, no one from Alpecin-Fenix makes it into the top 10. In fact, theres not a single current pro road racer among them. Sanders is a triathlete, Brnnlund an off-roader, and the rest are a mix of former pros and MTBers-turned-Zwift specialists, all representing elite Zwifting teams. Does this really mean what it seems to imply that Zwifting is its own discipline, requiring a different, special set of skills that not even the best pro road racers possess? And if so, how can I become a Zwift specialist too?

Lionel Sanders in the virtual Tour of Flanders (Zwift)

Its almost too painful to accept: a triathlete has wiped the floor with one of the best cyclists in the world. OK, Sanders is no average triathlete; he held the Ironman world record (7hr 44min) until it was broken by Britains Tim Don in 2017. The 32-year-old Canadian, with his trademark headband, tattoos and ripped upper body, looks more like an MMA fighter than a cyclist. Does Zwifting suit a brawnier, tougher, frankly more badass sort of athlete? I decide to be brave and ask him.

Sanders is an intriguing character; he has been publicly open about the fact he struggled with depression and substance abuse in his late-teens, dropped out of university and didnt return to sport until several years later, in 2009. These days, hes a triathlon superstar with a substantial following on social media. When my email finally finds its way through to him, he replies to my questions candidly and in generous detail.

To be a good rider on Zwift, he gets straight to the point, you have to have an excellent power-to-weight ratio. If you dont have that, nothing else really matters.

But power is nothing without control; again and again through his email, Sanders refers to Zwift IQ e-racing intelligence. You need to be constantly watching the sidebar to see if someone is attacking, he begins a list of tips. You dont want to spend too much time near the back of the pack in case a gap opens. You need to have the right power-up and use it at the right time, and then, of course, you also need a little bit of good luck.

Sadly, there is no short cut to a high Zwifting IQ. Sanders stresses the importance of accruing hour upon hour of experience on the platform, almost like flying hours for a pilot trying to earn their licence. I have spent 45 days of my life on Zwift, and I am still learning, he writes. Sanders has stated elsewhere that he does almost all of his bike training indoors. He is a Zwifting specialist in the truest sense, a fact he fully acknowledges when I ask how it felt to beat Van der Poel.

It was a lot of fun, but I have been racing on Zwift long enough to know to take these results with a grain of salt, he modestly reflects. Mathieu has very little Zwift experience. I have probably 20 or 30 times more race and training experience on the platform. In real lifehe would whoop my ass on this course, I know that.

Sanders closest Canyon ZCC team-mate in the race, in third place, is another Lionel, Belgiums national Zwifting champion Lionel Vujasin. He started out racing MTB and cyclo-cross, so I want to know how he has transitioned to Zwifting so successfully. Im not gonna lie, I was pretty average [off-road], says Vujasin. I had the endurance, but not so much the technical skills.

Im slightly taken aback. Vujasin is currently ranked sixth overall on ZwiftPower (the site that collates results, stats and rankings while filtering out dubious performances) he is one of the best Zwifters in the world. How did he get there from being just a mid-pack MTBer?

Well, my physical abilities were well-conditioned from mountain biking, says the 30-year-old, and the rest is all about experience with Zwift. I went to live events early on, met a lot of the big names, and started to learn its all about the skills specific to the game anticipation getting a feel for how your avatar moves.

Without getting too transhumanist about it, this is beginning to sound like the merging of man and machine the champion Zwifter being he who becomes most intimately attuned to the intricacies of the software. Vujasin talks about being able to predict the virtual road positioning of his avatar just by being able to read the game, allowing him to stay sheltered and make the most of Zwifts simulated drafting.

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Interestingly, he shares not only a first name with Sanders, but is the same body weight, 73kg, and has a similarly mighty FTP (approximately 420 watts). Does he think Zwift favours a certain physical type, wiry and lean, aerobically strong but with a killer sprint too likea Classics specialist?

If you asked me to select the one rider in the world who had the most potential to be the ultimate Zwift racer, says Vujasin, it would be someone like Filippo Ganna.

Its hard to disagree: having four-minute power enough to break the individual pursuit world record combined with world-class time trialling ability certainly does seem a handy skillset for Zwift racing. Bit of a tall order for us mere mortals, mind.

Guys from cyclo-cross can also do really well, Vujasin reassures, because theyre used to continual on/off bursts of hard effort. Thats my own strength: I like to make the race more difficult for the other guys. A mix of cyclo-cross and track abilities would be the ideal.

According to Vujasin, maximising performance on a static bike calls for a kind of forgetting of the real-world rules. Sprinting is a good example firstly the strategy: Usually in Zwift races its a double effort you jump on the wheel of someone whos passing you, then you try to kick again for the line.

And secondly, technique: Its all about your position on the trainer only a specialist on Zwift can produce as much [peak] power inside as outdoors. Its funny when I posted an image of myself sprinting on Instagram, so many people commented that it looked horrible. To sprint effectively on Zwift, youre very front-heavy, standing taller to open the hip flexors, on the hoods, not the drops you dont need to be aerodynamic at all.

Freddy Ovett has been racing up to three times a day on Zwift (Freddy Ovett)

Though many pro riders seem to be underperforming on Zwift, there are some notable exceptions. One of the highest-ranked pros on ZwiftPower is 26-year-old Freddy Ovett, the Israel Cycling Academy rider, with a long list of wins to his name. Prior to lockdown, Ovett had barely ridden on Zwift, except for a few obligatory rides for a previous team.

I hated it, to be honest, he tells me over Skype. Like a typical pro, I found it got in the way of my normal training; it was just a hassle and I didnt understand it.

So why the change of heart? I started lockdown without Zwift, and I dont know what drew me into it. Maybe just the fact some of my mates were on there. I jumped on and did a few races, and just really enjoyed it.

Scrolling through Ovetts recent Zwift results, two things jump out: first, that he recently set a scorching 20-minute best power of 6.1w/kg; and second, that he has been racing up to three times a day on the platform Im surprised to see a pro rider getting so immersed in the virtual realm rather than following a structured, controlled training programme.

Yeah, my coach definitely wasnt like, Sure, go ride three Zwift races, admits Ovett, but I would look at the programme he had set, and hes comfortable with us combining parts of each others ideas, so I would use the Zwift racing to get what I needed out of the day, not to get results.

What makes Zwift racing an effective form of training? Its just bang-for-your-buck training, says Ovett. Because you dont really have control over the situation or the races, aside from profile and distance.

The uncontrollables include competitors and Ovett treats it as part of the unpredictable challenge when he finds himself chasing down avatars putting out improbable watts per kilo.You get these guys entering all sorts of weights, he says, but I just treat them as pacemakers they actually help me push myself. I know a lot of people get upset about these sorts of guys, but I actually like how they drag me on.

For the benefit of younger readers, its worth pointing out that Ovett is the son of celebrated British middle-distance runner Steve, Olympic champion and track nemesis of Seb Coe. Freddy started out as a runner like his dad, but switched to cycling after picking up injuries could it be that Zwift favours certain athletic traits inherited from other disciplines?

I think theres a big separation between racing for one hour or less and the three-, four-, five-hour type of duration we pros race, says Ovett. A lot of guys, especially runners and triathletes, can do really good power for an hour because they havent necessarily built up massive mileage on the bike Of course, that doesnt necessarily correlate to being a good [real-world] bike racer, which is something Im working on as well.

Road-racing purists might not enjoy getting a kicking from MTBers and triathletes in the virtual world, but we need to focus on the bigger picture: arguably the best thing about Zwift is its accessibility. Sure, you need a smart-trainer, but there are no other logistic hurdles; you dont need a race licence, theres no travel involved, and its literally impossible to crash. For those of us unable to race outdoors I have faulty peripheral vision thanks to an inherited eye condition Zwifting has opened up a whole new competitive world, liberating us to get fully involved on equal terms.

In a similar boat to me is former closed-circuit TT champion Rachael Elliott, who in February 2018, aged 39, suffered a stroke during training, leaving her with Parinauds syndrome, meaning she can no longer move her eyes, which are fixed looking downward. Despite this disability or perhaps because of it Elliott has become a force to be reckoned with on Zwift; at the time of writing, she is the top-ranked female on ZwiftPower.

I raced myself fit, Elliott laughs. My FTP is almost back to where it was pre-stroke, and rather than getting stressed about intervals, Im solely racing, with the efforts dictated by what other people are doing often forcing me to go as hard as I can to keep up.

Earlier this year, Elliott averaged 300 watts on her way to winning a Newbury Velo Club 10 on Zwift, equating to 5.3w/kg despite still having some residual weakness from the stroke. Her sight issue means that the display screen has to be positioned on the floor, with a specially adapted user interface showing her power directly above her avatar. Its a comeback story worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster.

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Elliott had hoped to get involved in paracycling, but British Cycling rejected her application on the grounds she does not fit the classification criteria an unfathomable situation, given that the raison detre of para-sport is meant to be inclusivity. In stark contrast, Zwift is providing not only a replacement competitive outlet for the 42-year-old, but a whole new arena of world-class racing with prize money to match.

Most of the pro-am races have prizes attached, says Elliott, referring to Zwifts invitational series, which she competes in with her team Kiss Racing. In the womens pro peloton, some riders have been very outspoken about how they can earn more money e-racing than they can from racing the Giro.

In these top-level races, its not unusual to pick up 1,000 for an individual win, and a few thousand to split among team members for a major team result.

There are no full-time pros on our team, says Elliott, so the most theyd win in a normal race is 30 quid to buy a round of drinks at the pub. Now theyre winning the sort of money they just wouldnt see in normal races.

Of course, the downside of prize money is that, for the morally fallible, its an added temptation to cheat.

A woman who runs a very prominent womens team contacted me last week really angry about a pro race [on Zwift] that had been done without any verification, recounts Elliott. She told me how certain riders were putting out 400 watts and riding off the front alevel of performance theyre not capable of in real life.

The counter measure newly introduced for pro-am races is that eligible riders have to video themselves undertaking a gamut of performance tests, doubly measured using twin power meters, which then provides a form of data passport against which future performances are benchmarked.

Im going to do my verification test this afternoon after speaking to you, says Elliott. Itll take two hours you have to film yourself calibrating both power sources, then do all the tests Its awfully stressful!

Although she competes on the world stage of Zwifting, Elliott objects to virtual racing being spoken of in the same breath as bona fide racing in the great outdoors.

It angers me when people try to compare Zwift racing to, say, the Tour de France. Its not and never can be its an entirely different form of racing, needing entirely different skills.In other words, being a professional bike racer requires masterful bike-handling, tactical nous and long-range resilience against repeated changes of pace over long days in the saddle, a skill set that takes years to accrue.

A Zwift race contains only the shortest, sharpest ingredients from outdoor racing, as Elliott explains: Its like a cyclo-cross start followed by a ferocious crit race, then a punishing sprint.

Id intended to mine Elliott for her training tips on becoming a Zwift specialist, but she insists its mostly just about competing frequently and surrendering to the addictive, arguably masochistic, thrill of the racing. She does, however, underscore the importance of knowing your way around the virtual garage.

Youve got to know the equipment, she says. I use the website Zwift Insider all the time, to find out which bike and wheel combination will be fastest over a particular course.There are Zwifting wonks constantly testing the relationships between virtual parts and their performance.

It can be quite geeky, Elliott admits. As well as equipment research, she sleuths her rivals strengths and weaknesses before each race. It takes an awful lot of time Ill spend three or four times longer on reading to prepare for a race than on actually racing it.

David Bradford (Daniel Gould)

Its now three months since my rude awakening at Ronde van Zwift, and the shock and awe havent put me off. While writing this feature, Ive been racing on Zwift twice a week, and my results have been steadily improving but without a podium finish to my name. My big chance comes at Stage 5 of the Tour for All Keith Hill Afterparty, mostly flat but with a hilltop finish when I find myself on the start line amid the smallest field Ive ever seen on Zwift. Theres just one hitch: lurking next to me is an avatar conspicuously clad in Trek-Segafredo kit.

The banner falls and our small lead group soon settles to a manageable pace; the name hovering above the Trek figure is E Liepins. My brother Matt flitting in and offering unwelcome punditry googles Liepins on his phone, then looks up with a smirk. Dont worry, hes a sprinter youll just have to go long. With about 20km to go, the pace of the group softens further, and I take the deranged decision to act on Matts advice. Hitting an aero power-up, I launch a long-range solo attack, surging away, then holding as close as I dare to my (theoretical) FTP of 350 watts.

Miraculously, it seems to work: I get away and the gap steadily widens kilometre after kilometre.

With little more than 5km to go, Ive eked out a buffer of nearly a minute, and Im daring to dream: its mine for the taking. But then we hit Keith Hill, and were barely over the initial small ramp before I notice the gap has halved and Liepi power is lit up in orange, signalling incendiary-level wattage. What the? It all happens so fast; Im not even halfway up the steep middle section when he scorches past and leaves me for dust. Two chasing riders also get past, killing off any last vestige of podium hope; Im spent, there is literally nothing I can do except cling on for fourth.

It turns out that Emls Liepi is not merely a sprinter but a highly accomplished all-rounder whose palmares include podiums in one-day and stage races alike. Once Ive dressed the wounds to my pride, I catch up with the 27-year-old Latvian on Skype, hoping he can expand on the harsh lesson he has just taught me.

That guys crazy! Liepi recalls his initial reaction to my solo break. But when the gap got to one minute, I was thinking, For sure, he will win.

It feels absurd to ask a WorldTour pro how he beat an impudent amateur like me, but here goes: how did he obliterate that gap? I started the climb at 700 watts, then 600 600 a bit longer, and finally dropped the other guys. It was really hard, actually, that climb.

Well, that makes me feel better: at least he had to break a sweat. Its short-lived consolation, however, as Liepi recounts his warm-up for the race.

It was raining, so I agreed with my coach to do the session indoors, 90 minutes at 300 watts, then the race, he says, deadpan. What? Yeah, 10 times nine minutes at 300 watts, which is not really easy. I jumped straight into the race afterwards; it was the next one available.

This feature originally appeared in the print edition of Cycling Weekly, on sale in newsagents and supermarkets, priced 3.25.

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How do you beat a pro on Zwift? An investigation - Cycling Weekly

John Roberts Just Annoyed Everybody. Is He the New Anthony Kennedy? – Reason

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

When Anthony Kennedy retired from the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018, he enjoyed the unique distinction of having been denounced by every major political faction in the country. For conservatives, Kennedy was the activist judge who "invented" a right to gay marriage. For progressives, he was the corporate shill who authored Citizens United. For libertarians, he was guilty of both enabling eminent domain abuse and squashing the rights of local medical marijuana users in favor of a national drug control scheme. At one point or another, it seemed like everybody had cause to hate on Anthony Kennedy.

John Roberts is the new Anthony Kennedy. As the Supreme Court's 2019-2020 term came to its dramatic close this week, the chief justice not only solidified his role as a swing vote in highly charged cases, but also managed to annoy practically everybody along the way.

Will the religious right ever forgive Roberts for siding with the Court's Democratic appointees to strike down an anti-abortion law? In Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt (2016), the chief justice dissented when the Court overturned a Texas statute that required abortion providers to have admitting privileges at local hospitals. But in this term's June Medical Services v. Russo, Roberts did the opposite, concurring in a decision that voided a nearly identical abortion regulation from Louisiana.

"I joined the dissent in Whole Woman's Health and continue to believe that the case was wrongly decided," Roberts wrote in a lone concurrence. However, "stare decisis requires us, absent special circumstances, to treat like cases alike," he continued. "The Louisiana law imposes a burden on access to abortion just as severe as that imposed by the Texas law, for the same reasons. Therefore Louisiana's law cannot stand under our precedents."

Plenty of progressives praised Roberts for that. But their cheers quickly turned to jeers when the chief justice delivered a huge victory just one day later for both school choice and religious liberty advocates in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue. "A State need not subsidize private education," Roberts wrote. "But once a State decides to do so, it cannot disqualify some private schools solely because they are religious." The Court has "long recognized the rights of parents to direct 'the religious upbringing' of their children," he observed. "Many parents exercise that right by sending their children to religious schools, a choice protected by the Constitution."

And then there was Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, in which the chief justice led the Court in declaring the single-director structure of the Elizabeth Warren-invented Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to be unconstitutional. "The CFPB Director has no boss, peers, or voters to report to," Roberts wrote. "Yet the Director wields vast rulemaking, enforcement, and adjudicatory authority over a significant portion of the U. S. economy. The question before us is whether this arrangement violates the Constitution's separation of powers." Roberts held that it did. Not exactly a happy outcome for supporters of the so-called administrative state.

Libertarians, of course, were criticizing Roberts before it was cool. In National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012), Roberts characterized his vote to uphold Obamacare as an act of conservative judicial restraint, invoking the early 20th century jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., who once declared, "if my fellow citizens want to go to Hell I will help them. It's my job." Here's how Roberts put it: "It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices." To say the least, that deferential approach is the antithesis of the libertarian legal movement's vision of the proper role of the courts in our constitutional system.

To be sure, Roberts is not the only swing vote on the Supreme Court these days. Justice Neil Gorsuch actually had a record that was more "liberal" than Justice Kennedy's when the two sat on the Court together in 2017-2018. In this term's Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, Gorsuch led the Court in extending federal anti-discrimination protections to gay and transgender employees. That ruling was widely celebrated as a liberal victory, though Gorsuch did base his reasoning on the textualist principles championed by the late Antonin Scalia, a conservative legal icon.

Still, it was Roberts who was truly at the center of the SCOTUS storm, having cast key votes on some of the most contentious issues in modern American life, from COVID-19 lockdowns to the subpoenaing of President Donald Trump's financial records.

Like it or not, it's the Roberts Court now.

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John Roberts Just Annoyed Everybody. Is He the New Anthony Kennedy? - Reason

In 1st Of Its Kind Webinar On Quantum Information And Computation In India, IIIT Hyderabad Successfully Conducts Quantum Talks 2020 – IndianWeb2.com

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

21 lectures by distinguished professors from across the country over 5 days

International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIITH) successfully conducted Quantum Talks 2020, the first of its kind webinar on quantum information and computation in India.

IIITHs robust quantum computing group with experts from the field and allied areas created an online platform that brought together the best minds from across the country and offered students a holistic view of the entire spectrum of modern research in quantum physics. Quantum computation, information processing and communication have emerged at the forefront of science and technology research in the last two decades. Quantum computers can fundamentally change what we do.

The 5-day symposium included 21 lectures by distinguished professors from various institutions across the country (University of Hyderabad, IIIT Hyderabad, IIT Kanpur, IIT Jodhpur, IISER Thiruvananthapuram, IISER Kolkata, IISER Mohali, Harish Chandra Research Institute, University of Calcutta, Indian Statistical Institute, Bangalore University, IISER Bhopal, National Institute of Technology Patna, Delhi Technical University, S N Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Institute of Physics, Raman Research Institute and Institute of Mathematical Science) and covered the areas of quantum foundation, non-locality, cryptography, entanglement theory, quantum correlations, quantum thermodynamics and many body physics and of experimental research in quantum information.

Prof Indranil Chakrabarty and Prof Samyadeb Bhattacharya, co-organizers of the event fromCenter for Security, Theory & Algorithmic Research (CSTAR) at IIITH said, We are heartened by the encouraging response to such an initiative. Going forward, IIITH hopes to enable more of such platforms to stimulate discussions on quantum computing.

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In 1st Of Its Kind Webinar On Quantum Information And Computation In India, IIIT Hyderabad Successfully Conducts Quantum Talks 2020 - IndianWeb2.com

Atos takes the most powerful quantum simulator in the world to the next level with Atos QLM E – Quantaneo, the Quantum Computing Source

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

By promising to apply, in the near-term, computation capabilities that are beyond the reach of even the most powerful existing computers to solve complex, real-life problems, NISQ devices will play an important role in determining the commercial potential of quantum computing. Herein lies a double challenge for the industry: developing NISQ-optimized algorithms is as important as building the machines, since both are required to identify concrete applications.

Integrating NVIDIAs V100S PCIe GPUs, Atos QLM E has been optimized to drastically reduce the simulation time of hybrid classical-quantum algorithms simulations, leading to quicker progress in application research. It will allow researchers, students and engineers to leverage some of the most promising variational algorithms (like VQE or QAOA) to further explore models fostering new drugs discovery, tackling pollution with innovative materials or better anticipation of climate change and severe weather phenomena, etc.

Bob Sorensen, Chief Analyst for Quantum Computing at Hyperion Research, said: Atos continues to play a key role in the advancement of the quantum computing sector by offering yet another world-class digital quantum simulator with increasingly powerful capabilities, this time through the inclusion of leading-edge NVIDIA GPUs. This latest Atos QLM offering uses a quantum hardware agnostic architecture that is well suited to support faster development of new quantum systems and related architectures as well as new and innovative quantum algorithms, architectures, and use cases. Since launching the first commercially available quantum system in 2017, Atos has concentrated its efforts on helping an increasing base of users better explore a wide range of practical business and scientific applications, a critical requirement for the overall advancement and long-term viability of the quantum computing sector writ large. The launch of the Atos QLM E is an exciting step for Atos but also for its clients and potential new end users, both of whom could benefit from access to these leading-edge digital quantum simulation capabilities.

Agns Boudot, Senior Vice President, Head of HPC & Quantum at Atos, explained: We are proud to help imagine tomorrows quantum applications. As we are entering the NISQ era, the search for concrete problems that can be solved by quantum computing technologies becomes critical, as it will determine the role they will play in helping society shape a better future. Combining unprecedented simulation performances and a programming and execution environment for hybrid algorithms, Atos QLM E represents a major step towards achieving near time breakthroughs.

Atos QLM E is available in six configurations, ranging from 2 to 32 NVIDIA V100S PCIe GPUs. Atos QLM customers have the possibility to upgrade to Atos QLM E at any moment.

The Atos QLM user community continues to grow. Launched in 2017, this platform is being used in numerous countries worldwide including Austria, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Senegal, UK and the United States, empowering major research programs in various sectors like industry or energy. Atos ambitious program to anticipate the future of quantum computing the Atos Quantum program was launched in November 2016. As a result of this initiative, Atos was the first organization to offer a quantum noisy simulation module within its Atos QLM offer.

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Atos takes the most powerful quantum simulator in the world to the next level with Atos QLM E - Quantaneo, the Quantum Computing Source

Quantum Computing Technologies Market to Witness a Pronounce Growth During 2025 – News by aeresearch

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

The research report on Quantum Computing Technologies market report consists of a thorough assessment of this industry domain. As per the report, the market is expected to generate notable revenue and display a remunerative growth rate during the analysis timeframe.

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Quantum Computing Technologies Market to Witness a Pronounce Growth During 2025 - News by aeresearch

How to beat the virus? It’s in the Talmud – Jewish News

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Right, we have a problem; 500 of us have died of the virus and thats considerably more than should have. Why the disaster, with 500 families in mourning.? The classic Jewish answer is to ask a rabbi; you get an answer a responsa and the rabbi might well quote a Rabbi who died a thousand years ago. there is no time limit to a responsa in Judaism.

So where do we look for an answer to todays problem? How about the 6th century Talmud. You think Im joking. How can a body of laws, 1,500 years old, have relevance today, when were dealing with a previously unknown virus?

Well, we have something like 600 plus laws and over 200 of them are to do with medicine. The Egyptians, the Romans and the heathens believed that if you caught a disease, it was the punishment of the gods and nothing could be done about it. The Biblical Jew, though, set out to find cures and a lot of the doctors were rabbis. Good Queen Bess had three Jewish doctors and popes, emperors and kings followed suit over the years.

How good were they?If you look up the book of Samuel youll find that the Jews were warned that the plague which was hitting the Philistines, was being brought by the rats; they didnt know that in Britain till the early 20th century.

So what are we told to do to avoid something like this virus?

First of all we are told to wash our hands. Sounds familiar? Remember Seder night? Well, were supposed to wash our hands pretty regularly. Most people didnt wash. There was one bathroom and two toilets in the whole of Louis XIVs Palace of Versailles. The Rothschilds had a bath and used to lend it to Kings in Germany, having it trundled through the streets to everybodys surprise. Mostly, though, nobody washed

You could still get a nasty virus. What to do then? The Talmud is clear; you isolate the patient. Sounds familiar again? Isolate them and theres a good chance they wont pass it on to somebody else. Well never know how our 500 victims caught coronavirus, but somebody had to give it to them. Today you can get a test if you have any kind of coronavirus symptom. Do what the Talmud says.

Then there are two further relevant laws in the Talmud. One is dina de malchuta dina. That means that the law of the country in which we Iive is to be the law of the Jews. The government didnt make it a law that everybody should stay home to avoid the R level going over one, but we should have done it because it was as near a law as they could make it.

There is one more law in the Talmud which is particularly valid in the present crisis. Thats pekuach nefesh. That you can break any Jewish law if there is a danger to life. Those people who are taking part in services in the hotel in Bournemouth are breaking pekuach nefesh.

Maybe it wont result in fatalities. Please G-d that will be the case. It might not be, however. Those 500 fatalities caught coronavirus from somebody. If theyd stayed home, they might well have still been with us.

As Jews, weve been accused over the centuries of bringing the plague because we often didnt get it as badly as the neighbours. Jewish houses had to be scrupulously clean; look at getting rid of the hometz before Passover.

As many as 50,000 Brits will have died from this pandemic and, percentagewise, weve lost more of the community than our numbers justify. Is there any doubt that if wed followed the laws in the Talmud we would have done better.

It isnt about what kind of Jew you are; from Charedi to Liberal. Its about a lot of very clever ancestors who came up with the right answers. They went so far as to make it a law that every Biblical Jewish soldier had to be given a spade to bury their effluent. We will not go into what happened at the Palace of Versailles. At Balmoral after the First World War, the Prince of Wales didnt have a bathroom.

Im staying locked down until the virus has disappeared. The vast majority of the Jewish fatalities were over 65.

Derek is an author & former editor of the Jewish Year Book

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How to beat the virus? It's in the Talmud - Jewish News

What’s in the ag industry’s future? | Agriculture | messenger-inquirer.com – messenger-inquirer

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

The fact is we are the most progressive, freest, and richest people on earth, but dont know it or appreciate it. Foreigners see this much plainer than we do. President Ulysses S. Grant spoke those words in 1878 during an 18-month world travel experience after the conclusion of serving as a two-term president during the post-Civil War reconstruction period. Those words leave an impression on me, realizing that even in the darkest period of our history, citizens of the United States were at a greater advantage than the rest of the world. The world, but specifically the United States, is in another dark period. Illness, financial recession, and animosity in culture and politics are how historians will recall 2020. Yet 142 years after Grant spoke those words, we are still the most progressive, freest, and richest people on earth, and foreigners still see this much plainer than we do.

Through this COVID-19 period, agriculture has continued normal seasonal activities but has felt the effect of how life has changed. Non-traditional instruction, virtual church services, personal isolation, and countless businesses closing has changed how life is lived, and we do not yet know what normal will become. Certainly, a vaccine to treat and protect against the pathogen will be the antidote needed to restore life and economy, but until that occurs, nothing will return to normal.

How will agriculture rebound from the dismal margins induced by enormous stocks and less export and domestic demand of grain? What will be the future of quantitative easing desperately needed to stabilize the economy and future of direct subsidies needed to keep farms operating? How will agricultural lending evolve and how will farms adapt? How will stress and anxiety be overcome if COVID-19 and dismal revenues continue in 2021? 2020 has presented unique challenges in all aspects of life. Managing a farm business in uncertain times can be difficult. Join our host Dr. Steve Isaacs, of the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, for a weekly webinar series, Crossing Through This: Managing Farm and Family in 2020. The webinars will be hosted via Zoom, which can be downloaded to your computer or smartphone, on Thursdays at 6 p.m. CST.

The first session is scheduled for July 23, with Dr. David Kohl of AgriVisions, LLC presenting on how to go from a black swan to a phoenix. COVID-19 is a black swan event that no one saw coming and has brought severe consequences. He will share his unique views and prospects for the future and how to become like another metaphorical bird, the phoenix, which rises from the ashes with new life.

The second session scheduled for July 30 will feature three speakers. Dr. Kohl will go over four pillars of business success, Mark Barker of Farm Credit Mid-America will cover recognizing the stress involved in agriculture today and controlling what you can, and Dr. Deborah Reed with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment will provide well-being tips.

The third session scheduled for Aug. 6 will begin with Dr. Kohl discussing life after government supports. Next, Brian Lacefield of USDA Farm Service Agency will share information on current FSA programs and loans available to help during these times. The session will close with Dr. Reed providing more well-being tips.

The final session is scheduled for Aug. 13. Dr. Kohl will open with the topics of business planning and mental health. Dr. Reed will follow with ways to maintain optimal health, both physical and mental, during these times of uncertainty.

The deadline to register for this four-part program is July 20. An e-mail will be sent prior to each session with the link to join the meeting. Meetings are live and limited to 300 people, so register early at https://bit.ly/2020FarmFamily.

Though the 2020 Daviess County Fair has been canceled, 4-Hers will still have an opportunity to show livestock and enter project exhibits to be judged. Set-up and how the events are run will be different in order to follow best safety practices. Please be on the lookout on our website and Facebook page for more information on when these events are scheduled and how it will look for exhibitors and guests as the Fair approaches. If you have questions, please call Stacey or Lindsey at the Extension Office, 270-685-8480.

Clint Hardy is the Daviess County Cooperative Extension Service agent for agriculture and natural resources. His column runs weekly on the Agriculture page.

The Continued Shutdown of Latin America and Caribbean is Hurting Regional Airlines – AviationPros.com

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Jul. 10--With COVID-19 infections accelerating, the majority of Latin America and Caribbean countries still closed to commercial travel, and Europe imposing travel restrictions, the tourism and aviation industry risks losing millions of jobs and seeing more airlines filing bankruptcy, two leading industry organizations say.

On Thursday, the International Air Transport Association and the World Travel & Tourism Council called on regional governments not to abandon the airline industry in the midst of the global coronavirus pandemic. They also reiterated demands for financial support for regional carriers, and a clear restart dates for commercial travel from regional governments.

"We need governments to support and strengthen the restart by quickly implementing the International Civil Aviation Organization's global guidelines for restoring air connectivity," said Alexandre de Juniac, director general and CEO of International Air Transport Association.

The push for Latin America and the Caribbean to reopen their airspace comes amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections, which have made the region the new epicenter of the deadly respiratory disease with at least 100,000 new cases being registered a day, the Pan American Health Organization said this week.

Fearing that the number of new cases will not go down for several weeks, many governments have pushed back restarting domestic and international air travel, which tourism and aviation experts say will not help their industries' recovery.

"This pandemic is affecting five times what was affected in the [2008] financial crisis, which is absolutely traumatic," said Maribel Rodriguez, a senior vice president for the World Travel & Tourism Council.

Rodriguez, who has been advocating for the removal of travel restrictions, said the tourism-dependent Caribbean risks losing anywhere between 1.6 million and 2 million tourism-related jobs, while Latin America could lose as many as 6.1 million.

Peter Cerd, the International Air Transport Association's regional vice-president for the Americas, said that in the last two weeks several regional carriers have applied for financial restructuring under Chapter 11, and many more could do the same.

"The impact the virus is having on the air transportation system is exacerbated by the uncertainty of the dates for the reopening of the operations in some countries coupled with the lack of clear measures to support the sector," Cerd said. "This combination is jeopardizing thousands of jobs and contributions to the [gross domestic produce] in our region."

In March, as the virus began to spread, most countries in the Americas quickly responded by shutting down their land, sea and air borders. In some cases, not even stranded nationals were allowed to return.

The decision undoubtedly bought time and allowed nations to prepare their health systems to confront COVID-19. But it also decimated economies as countries closed schools, imposed 24-hour lockdowns and grounded commercial flights.

Last month, several countries in the Caribbean, where the virus has been mostly contained in the former British colonies, began reopening their airspace. But the majority of borders remain closed in South and Central America, where leaders are continuing to see climbing infections and deaths.

Cerd said that globally the aviation industry is expected to suffer a net loss of $84.3 billion this year. For Latin America and Caribbean airlines, where there has been a 98.1 percent drop in demand for air travel, the expected loss for airlines is $4 billion.

"For Latin America we now predict that $98 billion of GDP supported by air transport is at risk along with 4.1 million jobs," Cerd said. "We are expecting revenue losses of between 52 to 81 percent as compared to 2019 in the many markets."

A big chunk of that will come from the currently cut off trans-Atlantic market, a key revenue earner for many airlines in the region.

Last week, the European Union finalized a list of countries whose health situation was deemed safe enough to allow residents to enter the bloc after it reopened its air space.

Only Canada and Uruguay made the cut in the Americas region, while the United Kingdom came up with its own list. The UK's list consists of its overseas territories and former colonies in the Caribbean.

"Even though the list is reviewed every two weeks, the continued border closures will disproportionately hit airlines based in Latin America and the Caribbean," Cerd said. "Each month the EU remains closed translates into a net loss of about $300 million in airline ticket revenues generated by Latin America and Caribbean."

The continued travel restrictions, both by the European Union and countries in the region, he added, "will not help the badly needed restart process."

The decision to reopen borders is a tricky one, and one PAHO has said should be guided by data and a country's ability to quickly respond to a spike in new infections. Citing the fact that the industry has operated more than 800 repatriation flights in the region since March, Cerd said that there is "no scientific evidence aviation has been a vector of the virus."

The CDC has advised that air travel does increase a person's risk of getting COVID-19 because of the cramped conditions on planes, but notes that on-board filtration systems make it harder for viruses to spread. Caribbean nations that have reopened borders to outside travel have all reported seeing new infections attributed to imported cases, which is what led most to suspend air travel in March.

"We knew that the inevitable result would be travel-related incidents of the virus entering our territory," U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan Jr. said last month after cases went up following the reopening of the airspace and hotels to tourists.

Still, the International Air Transport Association is insisting that as Latin America continues to be the epicenter of COVID-19 infections, the projections for the aviation industry are getting worse by the day, putting it and the region at a disadvantage compared to other markets around the world.

"Latin America and the Caribbean simply lack viable alternatives such as roads or railroads. Therefore aviation must be allowed to resume as quickly as possible," Cerd said.

He added that the necessary guidelines on how aviation could function without becoming a vector to the spread of COVID-19 are outlined in the International Civil Aviation Organization's guidelines.

"The protocols have been devised with both medical and scientific knowledge and clearly spell out how aviation could once again safely fulfill its role as a catalyst for the social, economic development of the region," said Cerd. "However, too many governments are dragging their feet in terms of implementation."

Cerd said this week, the airlines' trade association met with Colombian President Ivn Duque Mrquez to ask for a specific restart date for domestic operations so airlines can have planning certainty. The country instead is proposing test flights, which the association said are not enough, and urged for a Sept. 1 date for the commencement of international air flights.

Ecuador, he said, has shown leadership in the restart of flights in the region but the ministry of transport's decision to postpone a request to remove a 14-day quarantine for travelers is hurting travel.

"We are beginning to see that even with the restart of air travel in Ecuador, people are beginning to stop flying there because of the quarantine measures," Cerd said. "We understand the sanitary situation in the country but we hope the Ecuadoran government will listen to the industry and lift the quarantine as soon as possible."

He also said the Mexican government, which never closed its airports, is reviewing their request for relief measures for airlines. In Brazil, the Lower House has approved an extension of refunds in order to stimulate travel and has terminated the $18 international departure tax. The measure must now be voted by the Senate.

"The situation was already difficult coming into the year in Latin America with social, economic, political unrest. It was already going to be a challenging year for the industry; we were hoping to make a small profit as an industry in Latin America," Cerd said. "Obviously that has now dissipated with the COVID crisis and we're now going into the fourth month with many of our countries being closed, the EU imposing travel restrictions for the vast majority of countries in Latin America and obviously, this is having a huge effect on the Latin American carriers."

Visit Miami Herald at http://www.miamiherald.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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The Continued Shutdown of Latin America and Caribbean is Hurting Regional Airlines - AviationPros.com

Experience the world – in cosy, virtual tours, Travel News & Top Stories – The Straits Times

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

It is not the end of the world for travel lovers deprived of an escape to elsewhere during the pandemic.

Perhaps you are an urban explorer, nature lover or foodie?

A profusion of new virtual experiences in every genre now lies at the end of an Internet connection.

These streamlined private tours of an hour or so are devised to keep globetrotters on the go while tour guides keep their jobs.

Ms Sara Cooke, director of communications for Vancouver-based ToursByLocals, says: "A virtual tour is a reminder that we can still have a shared experience with people around the world, even while we're confined to home.

"You can 'travel to Normandy' with people you love and miss."

Though there are limits to immersiveness on a virtual jaunt, online wandering is a fresh stream of revenue and will possibly remain a post-pandemic trend.

Global travel companies Airbnb, Viator, ToursByLocals, Withlocals and even Japan's indie Craft Tabby are among players who pivoted to these online offerings around April or May.

Since Airbnb launched its Online Experiences in April, bookings in Singapore have grown almost sevenfold, with food and drink the most popular category here and globally. About 600 experiences have debuted on the platform.

Ms Anna Belousova shows virtual tourists how to make cottage-cheese pancakes from a family recipe.PHOTO: COURTESY OF ANNA BELOUSOVA

The trend is fed by the unabated desire to travel - safely.

Multi-currency wallet platform YouTrip, which recently surveyed 6,000 Singaporeans in its Travel Intent Survey, found that seven in 10 still desire to travel this year.

A virtual tour is a reminder that we can still have a shared experience with people around the world, even while we're confined to home. You can 'travel to Normandy' with people you love and miss.

MS SARA COOKE, director of communications for Vancouver-based ToursByLocals

Forty per cent are willing to visit Covid-19 hot spots next year - compared with 15 per cent this year - a hopeful signal of the gradual recovery of travel.

Meanwhile, TripAdvisor found that more than two-thirds of travellers are already thinking of where they want to travel to next.

And, while cities were previously popular, the TripAdvisor study found that off-the-beaten-track destinations will be favoured after all this is over.

But even if islands or blissfully remote places become the post-coronavirus default, cities are certainly safe for virtual travellers right now.

Indeed, California-based Viator's top five online tours are all set in cities, except for Tuscany. Its Jack The Ripper Murder Mystery tour takes visitors back to the Victorian-era London of 1888.

Choices are increasing and themes encompass animals, art, baking, cocktails, dance, family, movies, social impact, wellness and more.

Take Airbnb, for example, which lets animal enthusiasts meet rescued mini horses that are therapy animals in the United States.

What about street art in Buenos Aires or Delhi? Or cultivate optimism with an American Olympian and try laughter yoga in Portugal.

This month, the company started a collection of online culinary experiences that include four from Singapore. One new host is chef Malcolm Lee of Michelin-starred Peranakan restaurant Candlenut.

Real tours are multi-sensory and immersive, so guides who lead virtual tours have to work harder and more creatively.

Mr Lee Xian Jie, 30, a partner in Craft Tabby, which specialises in hidden Kyoto sights, says: "Both guide and participant are peering through a small window to the other's world, so it is a real challenge to break down that barrier."

He says the key is to pay close attention to the faces of participants "so that any quizzical look or flash of interest in the eyes" gets a response.

For a flower-hunting experience, he can tell when guests want to peer closely at a flower for longer or seem interested in how the flower has influenced haiku poets.

To heighten the immersive factor, guides may use music, quizzes and a moving dashcam. Guests can opt to cook alongside their guides on the other side of the screen, because ingredient lists can be sent ahead of time for Arabic coffee, for instance.

Offline or online, the most successful guides have engaging personalities and research fully.

"Flower Hunting In Kyoto With Mori The Doggo"hosted by Mori, the pet of Singaporean Lee Xian Jie. PHOTO: LEE XIAN JIE

Mr Parin Mehta, director (Asia-Pacific) of Airbnb Experiences, says: "Guests interact with dynamic hosts who share their passions and provide unique insider access to local cultures and activities. These are real people making real connections in real time."

Companies also book experiences. "The interactive nature of the Online Experiences, conducted from home, meets a real need for companies looking to build rapport and collaboration in remote teams."

The lower fee is also appealing - apart from not paying airfare.

Ms Cooke of ToursByLocals says: "Rates are much lower than in-person private tours. The tours run on average from US$40 (S$56) to US$75 total for typically up to six users, and usually run 11/2 hours. A typical private tour would be three hours and cost closer to US$300."

Online experiences are shorter - to steer clear of video-conferencing fatigue. Tours are often 45 to 90 minutes, except for longer cooking classes.

For Russophile Fen Chia, 36, virtual travel ticks many boxes. She tuned in for a Russian breakfast pancake class in a dacha, or countryside summer house.

She is curious about dacha culture and it was her first glimpse of one.

"Virtual tours are particularly valuable for experiences which are not easily available to the casual traveller, even during normal circumstances," the tech-sector publicist says.

"A cooking class set in a dacha is one example. I would be equally interested in a virtual visit to a Soviet-era sanatorium in the Caucasus or one of the hard-to-access Russian republics.

"All it takes is a good Internet connection, video-cam and command of English on the part of the host."

Although many paid virtual tours were forged in a sombre time, they may become a significant trend even when it is safe to venture out again.

Travel companies have noticed positive reviews. Going virtual can be a teaser for a future trip or a time to plan dream itineraries with a local expert. It can even be an add-on after a trip.

Ms Cooke from ToursByLocals says: "For people for whom finances, or perhaps health and mobility are a challenge, a virtual tour can give them a window into a different culture and a chance to spend time making a connection with a place that it's not possible for them to travel to."

Virtual reality - the tech-enabled sibling of virtual tours - can significantly transform how people travel.

The National Geographic magazine reported: "Virtual reality may even expand travel opportunities in years to come, as researchers focus their work on experiences that are expensive, dangerous, rare or even impossible in the real world.

"Bucket-list items such as whale-watching or seeing the Sistine Chapel could become accessible to everyone, with all the thrills, but very few of the environmental impacts."

Already, some guides like Russian Anna Belousova, 30, are expanding their online portfolio. From March, she began to craft experiences focused on the Red Square, Moscow space exploration and cooking.

Next, she is thinking about the trendy Red October art cluster, Depo Food Mall, and the hidden streets and lanes downtown.

She reflects: "My virtual tours and online cooking classes help me greatly to stay on track, to get a sense of professional purpose during these dark times, to have a source of income and to get such vital motivation that I can tackle the day, since I've always been such a workaholic in a positive way - tour guiding is my passion and joy."

Travel + Leisure names Vermont resort one of the best in the world – The Boston Globe

Posted on July 12, 2020 by Danzig

Vacations and getaways have been shelved by many apprehensive travelers due to COVID-19, but for those still looking for local trips, theres a spot of good news. According to the readers of Travel + Leisure magazine, five of the top 15 resort hotels in the continental United States are located in New England. Rabbit Hill Inn, located in Lower Waterford, Vt., was a big winner in the travel glossys annual reader poll.

Rabbit Hill Inn, which labels itself as a Deliciously romantic Vermont experience, was named the top resort hotel in the Northeast, the number three resort in the country, and the number 27 resort hotel in the world. In its write-up of the inn, Travel + Leisure editors said The 19-room lodge has everything readers want from a luxe, quintessentially New England stay. Its the second year in a row that Rabbit Hill has earned the top spot on the list.

Also scoring high was perpetual favorite Twin Farms in Barnard, Vt. It was named the second best resort in the Northeast, number eight in the United States, and 93 in the world. Verdant farmland and woods surround Twin Farms, in central Vermont, where modern life can feel like a distant memory, the magazine wrote.

While New England resort hotels fared well, Bostons city hotels were primarily snubbed in the survey, which was completed before the coronavirus pandemic nearly shutdown the travel industry. The Row at Assembly Square in Somerville landed in the number five spot on the list of the top 15 US city hotels. Unlike previous years, there was no list ranking Boston hotels. Boston also missed the list of the top cities in the United States. (Charleston, S.C., was ranked top by Travel + Leisure readers.)

In addition to Rabbit Hill Inn and Twin Farms, the Chanler at Cliff Walk in Newport, Wequassett Resort & Golf Club in Harwich, and the Vanderbilt, Auberge Resorts Collection in Newport also placed in the top 15 resort hotels in the continental United States.

The entire list of winners can be found at http://www.travelandleisure.com/worlds-best.

Christopher Muther can be reached at christopher.muther@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Chris_Muther.

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Travel + Leisure names Vermont resort one of the best in the world - The Boston Globe

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