Cris Cyborg Says She’d Fight Rousey in WWE, Doubts Ronda’s …

3/3/2018 12:40 AM PST

EXCLUSIVE

Cris Cyborg says there ain't a chanceRonda Rousey would come back to fight her in the UFC ... so, she's lettin' Ronda know she's 100% down to rumble in her new home -- WWE!!

We spoke to Cyborg before her upcoming fight with Yana Kunitskayaat UFC 222 ... and had to get her thoughts on Rousey -- Cris' ex-UFC rival who she literally wanted to "kill" back in the day.

Cyborg told TMZ Sports she's over the beef ... but would gladly accept an invite to toss her around in the ring.

The only problem -- "If she don't fight (me) in MMA, I don't think she gonna agree fight (me) in WWE."

But, Cris says she's got a plan to get Ronda's attention -- and it involves a STEEL CHAIR.

Before Ronda eats steel, Cyborg's gotta take out Yana --a UFC newcomer who told us she's got the goods to pull off the MASSIVE upset.

We'll see ...

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Quietism and Activism | On the Mark

On Twitter I have many friends that I wish I could meet in real life and talk things over with for awhile. Some of them are the sort that refuses to deal with politics at all and want to withdraw their consent to be governed by the evil state in any peaceful manner than they can find to do. Others seem to want a revolution to bring down the evil central state and save the world from the U.S. Empire and its murderous military. I was reading a few tweets the other day and both kinds of friends were expressing their views when I thought of Raymond Smullyan and his little book that is a whimsical guide to the meaning and value of eastern philosophy to westerners.

I am a big fan of Raymond M. Smullyans book called The Tao is Silent and sometimes I think I like it even better than many of the Murray Rothbard books I have read. (high praise for Smullyan indeed) In one chapter of the book he wrote about the difference between the quietists and the activists.

Smullyan wrote:

There is one ethical philosophy which might be characterized as letting things go their own way, not interfering, not imposing ones will on nature, letting things happen of their own accord, not trying to reform the world, not trying to improve the world, but simply accepting things as they come. Such a philosophy is, I believe, called quietism. This philosophy is intensely irritating to many people called activists who believe this is the worse course possible and is in fact responsible for most of the evils in the world. They would say that the last thing we should do is to let things go their own way; if we do that, things will go terribly! It is up to us to prevent the bad things in the world from happening! I cannot think of any philosophy more irritating to some than quietism! Indeed, many will say that quietism is the perfect philosophy for the purely selfish individual who has everything he wants in life and to hell with the others!

In opposition to the activists, the quietist quietly points out (or sometimes actively points out) that the trouble with activism is that people who go forth trying to improve the world even those with the best intentions (at least on a conscious level!)usually bungle matters, and only succeed in making things even worse than they already are. The quietist reminds us, for example, that revolutions often establish even worse tyrannies than they overthrow.

It is not my function here to take sides in the quietism-activism controversy. I admit that my personal bias is towards the quietistsI trust them more than I do the activists. But I do not believe that most efforts to improve the world are bungling rather than helpful. Some are bungling, and some are helpful, and I do not have enough statistical data to decide which are preponderant. But, as I said, my sympathies lie more with the quietist.

The above was typed in by hand from my old dead tree book as I dont know how to copy anything from my Kindle e-book so any errors in transcription would be entirely mine. (If anyone out there wants to educate me on how to use my Kindly, my iPad, or my cloud reader to copy excerpts for my blog I sure would be thankful.)

Like Smullvan, I tend to side with the quietists and I often abhor the activists. But Stoval, I thought you were an activist! No, I try to educate people and am at most a rabble rouser. I am a Taoist and that may explain my total fascination for the American polymaths book. I think that everyone should read that little gem of philosophy.

I tend to think that we should speak out against the state and try to educate the masses on the nature of the state and why it is an evil institution that can not be useful to us. Voluntary cooperation is the only path that leads to mankind living in peace, prosperity, and harmony. In many ways, Voluntaryism is exactly what the ancient Taoists were advocating.

I find that I would be a total Quietist except that the state is attacking me at all times by its very existence. So, I am activist enough to want to find a way to end the aggression against me. That means I am in the middle someplace but far, far closer to a quietist than an activist.

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Ethereum Price Forecast: Why ETH Could Surge from Now till June

Ethereum News Update
Scaling questions abound for Bitcoin and Ethereum, but at least Ethereum is well on its way to a solution. And no, I don’t mean "Raiden."

As the most famous of Ethereum’s potential saviors, Raiden could still end up declogging the Ethereum network, but it will have to outrace a new entrant called the “Liquidity.Network.” (Source: "Ethereum's Raiden Network Has New Scaling Competiton," CoinDesk, March 4, 2018.)

In other words, Raiden has competition.

Although both companies are using similar concepts—adding a “shell” over the.

The post Ethereum Price Forecast: Why ETH Could Surge from Now till June appeared first on Profit Confidential.

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Ethereum Price Forecast: Why ETH Could Surge from Now till June

Litecoin Price Forecast: February’s Top Performer Is Not a One-Hit Wonder

Daily Litecoin News Update
Crypto prices surprised us with more unpredictability in the past month than the erratic February weather. Litecoin, for instance, came in like a lamb and went out like a lion. The Litecoin price skyrocketed more than 70% in February, despite a marketwide price slump in the first half of the month. Of all the top cryptocurrencies, Litecoin remained the best-performing crypto by a considerable margin.

How did it make this possible?

There have been a number of contributing factors, all of which, in my view, point to further.

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Litecoin Price Forecast: February’s Top Performer Is Not a One-Hit Wonder

(VIDEO) Cleburne ISD board experiences virtual reality …

With construction going steady on the new Cleburne High School project, Corgan Architects are finding new ways to update the district on its progress.

Using virtual reality, the Cleburne ISD board of trustees walked the halls of the new school during Monday nights special called work session.

As the plans for the school are created and updated, Corgan Vice President and Project Manager Doug Koehne said they will update the VR experience so others can see what the school will look like and how the space will be used.

Local community members, parents and students were able to participate in the VR experience during the second annual CHS Career & Technical Education showcase on Feb. 15, and Koehne said they received some great feedback.

After experiencing the virtual reality program, board Vice President John Finnell said the artist renderings looked great and he cant wait until the school opens in December 2019.

While interviewing district staff before the project began, Koehne said some of the things that were important to include in the schematics was to have circulation throughout the building and natural light.

There is more than one way to get from one area of the school to the other, he said. There will also be lots of windows for more natural light to come in.

Also throughout the school, there will be opportunities for students to showcase their work in their various classes, he said.

CISD Superintendent Kyle Heath said the school is not only for the students to enjoy but also for the teachers and staff to enjoy.

Other business

With half the school year already completed, district officials updated the board on several goals and projects they hope to accomplish over the next few years.

CISD CTE Director Mark McClure gave trustees a continuous improvement plan for his department.

He said his goal is to develop more business relationships with local industry partners to provide students internship opportunities when they take CTE courses so they can succeed in the workplace after graduating.

McClure has visited other school districts in the area to see their CTE programs and how they partner with local industries.

Whether the students want to go into construction, public safety or the health sciences field, he said its important for them to have internship opportunities, paid or unpaid.

In other news, two other district officials updated trustees on the progress theyve made in their respective departments.

CISD Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Andrea Hensley gave trustees an update on instruction within the district and how their goal is to implement district-wide curriculum to ensure students are learning what they are suppose to learn in the classroom in every grade.

CISD District Operations Executive Director Barry Hipp gave trustees an update on the departments long-range facilities plan, which was established in 2012, to ensure they kept up with maintenance needs throughout the district.

Since the plan was created, Hipp said theyve scheduled maintenance in many areas, including HVAC systems, roofing, painting, flooring and parking lots.

To view a video of Finnell participating in the VR experience, visit http://www.cleburnetimesreview.com. For more information and updates on the CHS project, visit http://www.c-isd.com and click on 2016 Bond.

Administrators give department updates

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Welsh police force is first in UK to use virtual reality to …

Police in the United Kingdom have started taking advantage of virtual reality technology to train officers. Gwent Police, located in Wales, recently launched the new VR training system, becoming the first police force in the U.K. to do so.

The technology makes it possible to train officers to deal with situations that they may encounter on the streets, and to test how they react to various scenarios, which is difficult to ascertain under routine training conditions, but can potentially be replicated (or replicated as closely as possible) by using immersive VR.

The scenario used for training involves a 280-degree VR scene in which the officer moves an avatar around, interacts with other characters, uses handcuffs, carries out arrests, and enters properties in a branching narrative.

[Virtual reality] provides the ability of a safe learning environment, which promotes open conversations about opportunities for options for action, investigation and safeguarding, Superintendent Vicki Townsend told Digital Trends. Often within policing, there is no right or wrong answer to how a situation is managed. Its about understanding what you would do, the power and legislation you utilize to take that action, and why you have done it. The scenarios provide the opportunity as a group to maximize this learning by focusing on the decision-making model, and allows the development of officers from peers with more or different experiences.

The use of virtual reality as a training technique is something that has already been explored by military medics, astronauts, surgeons, and a range of other professions where its important to get hands-on experience. VR enables them to test skills in a safe environment, where the chance of physical risk (to themselves or others) is lessened.

As VR technology matures further, more and more sectors and professions will likely adapt these tools to their own purposes and requirements.

We are currently delivering the training as part of the force training days to frontline officers, Townsend said. Forty officers get an input [each] week. This started in January and is due to finish in May. This is is the first scenario that we built. We have planned to build 10 scenarios We are also hoping to build multi-agency-based scenarios.

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Welsh police force is first in UK to use virtual reality to ...

Virtual Reality and the Future of Journalism | Chicago …

Virtual reality is taking journalism and storytelling to a new level by giving consumers the sensation of being in the middle of an event or story.

During the Winter Olympics in South Korea, NBC featured VR for 30 events, giving audiences 360-degree views of competitions.

The New York Times has also integrated VR into its journalism, not only giving readers a new perspective on the Olympics and its athletes, but also putting them in the middle of a battle with ISIS in Iraq, for example.

The Times has also launched what it is calling an augmented reality experience, which it describes as a bridge between the physical and digital world. The first experiment puts a New York Times honor box within your physical space via an app and your cellphone camera. The digital reproduction allows you to walk around it as well as to look at it from above and behind.

Our WTTW colleague and filmmaker Barbara Allenworkedwith Stanfords virtual reality labto build a VR experience around the flooding and devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

I think people saw what happened, but didnt really understand the feeling of what happened to those people, Allen said. With the virtual reality experience, it allows you to have a more empathetic feeling and understand of what those people went through.

(HammerandTusk / Pixabay)

Allen also created a VR experience with the Joffrey Ballet for BuzzFeed. It puts the consumer in the middle of dance rehearsals, allowing them to move the camera around the space to follow any and all of the dancers.

Besides storytelling, VR has many practical applications including training pilots, surgeons, firefighters and even interior decorating. It even helped Allen conquer her fear of heights.

Allen joins us in discussion.

Related stories:

From Virtual Reality to Physical Barriers: Building a Safer School

Feb. 26: What can school districts do to prevent a mass shooting? While the gun debate rages on, schools have to come up with other ways to make sure students are safe.

Virtual Reality Submarine to Set Sail at Lincoln Park Zoo

Oct. 18, 2017: A new experience coming this fall to Lincoln Park Zoo will allow visitors dive into the ocean and explore landscapes and wildlife at the North and South Poles or in deep ocean waters.

Augmented Reality App Sharpens Focus on St. Valentines Day Massacre

Feb. 17, 2017: Last fall, 21st century technology was used to tell the story of a 20th century tragedy: the Eastland Disaster. The team behind that project is set to launch a second installment of its augmented reality app. Learn more.

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How and why our experiments with virtual reality motion made …

Experiments with VR motion controllers show improving immersion increases the risk of VR sickness and that the ill effects are a varied and complex matter.

One of the joys of working in the R&D Labs at Tapptic is the excuse to spend a week playing with new gadgets, but all good things can turn sour. And our experiments testing new hand-held motion controller systems and pushing the boundaries of virtual reality motion to the limits isnt one wed recommend, because it caused some of our human guinea pigs to feel severe discomfort and nauseous.

This article will describe our experiments, explain how they made us feel sick, and how we tried to reduce nausea and other ill effects. It will also outline our consequent analysis of VR sickness syndrome and conclusions that both the causes and the symptoms of VR sickness are more complex, profound and varied than many VR motion studies suggest.

While wandering around the Electronic Entertainment Expo Los Angeles last year, a motion controller system caught our attention. People were testing a VR game calledSprint Vector, clutching special handheld controllers that enabled them to run and jump in a VR simulation by swinging their arms back-and-forth, like a soldier on a speed march, and throwing both arms up in the air to make their avatar jump while the players real legs remain stationary.

For those who havent played a VR game before, the usual method of in-game locomotion is teleportation, where the player looks and points with the controller toward where they want to go and presses a button to move there. Teleportation came about as a way to avoid motion sickness, commonly experienced when using a joystick or keyboard directional buttons in VR games, but this lacks the immersive nature of being able to actually walk or run and to move forward while looking right or left in your virtual world.

Above: HTC Vive factory

So lets teleport to Poland. Micha Owsianko, the VR expert at Tapptic, built a simulation to test the HTC Viveheadset with the handheld motion controllers. We conducted a number of experiments including walking and running using the handheld controllers, with the avatars direction of movement determined by, first, the way users head was facing, and subsequently, the way the torso was facing. We also examined what happens when the avatar walks/runs through virtual objects such as walls.

Ten people took part in the study. All were affected in some way, but some were unconcerned, while for others the effects of VR sickness were severe and prolonged, and in one case did not kick in until long after the experiment had finished.

Before we discuss the experiments, lets explore the causes and symptoms of VR sickness.

The common symptoms of VR sickness are disorientation, lack of balance, headaches, and eye fatigue, as well as feeling sick, even retching and vomiting. These are similar to motion sickness, like car, seasickness, and simulator sickness (a long-time problem with Air Force flight simulators). Some of the causes are also similar, but with one major difference: You dont need physical motion to experience VR sickness.

Like motion sickness, VR can cause nausea when there is a disconnection between your external sensory information (what you see and hear) and your internal sensors, known as the vestibular system. This means: if what you see and what you feel doesnt match, you will feel ill and can actually vomit. Not everyone will be affected in this way, but its one of the main reasons why VR sickness happens.

But there are other causes of VR sickness that have nothing to do with motion. One of these is the eyes. Serious gamers claim that higher frame rate, such as 60 frames per second (FPS), delivers a much better gaming experience than 30 fps (for reference, the fps of a standard movie is shot at 24 fps, high-definition HD film doubles this, at least).

Perhaps there is biological reason for this: In order to minimize eye fatigue and disorientation, you need a smooth and consistently high frame rate. Expert opinion varies on what fps is acceptable for VR, but at Tapptic we believe 60 FPS per eye is the minimum requirement for VR (and 120 FPS for full HD resolution). This means you need powerful machines to run VR or settle for simpler simulations.

Another ingredient for the visual disorientation is field of view. Interestingly, this is more acute for women than men. Did you know that women tend to have better peripheral vision than men? So women see a more panoramic view, while men tend to have better straight-ahead distance vision. This means that women need a bigger field of view in VR to avoid feeling nauseous.

Then theres the full array of proprioceptors in our body. These are muscle spindles that are located in muscle fibres throughout the body. They inform us where each limb is, how the joints are positioned and how much pressure each part of the body is experiencing, without the eyes needing to see them. If the messages stop or if the eyes and proprioceptors tell you different things, it may result in an out of body experience.

This mismatch between what the proprioceptors tell you is happening (real world) and what your eyes tell you is happening (VR world) can cause sickness. Our studies reveal this is particularly likely to occur when the VR simulation allows you to walk through objects. So if the VR avatar walks through a wall, the brain expects proprioceptors to report that you have hit a wall. And, we suspect, prior to impact the brain may warn the body to brace and/or prevent impact. When your real body feels no impact from the VR collision because there is no haptic feedback, it does funny things to your brain and stomach.

Most studies focus on the frame rate (vision) and motion orientation (vestibular system), suggesting that the impact of proprioceptors is not fully appreciated.

Above: HTC Vive refinery

The psychological implications of VR sickness are often overlooked.

When writing his 1987paper on flight simulator sickness, J.S. Crowley identified that airmen who had experienced physical symptoms of simulator sickness feared repeating training sessions in the simulator. While flight simulators are different to modern VR headsets, the physical symptoms are very similar to VR sickness i.e. eye fatigue, disorientation, nausea, vomiting, etc.

My own experience suggests there are psychological implications of VR also. It might sound silly, but after my severe and delayed reaction to the VR experiments, even a week on, I felt some fear about taking part in more VR testing.

Despite prolonged experimentation with the Vive VR system, the effects didnt hit me right away. They appeared several hours after I finished, and when they kicked in, I felt terrible. I could no longer work, had to leave the office early, go home, and sleep off the effects for a couple hours. This delayed reaction is concerning. If the negative effects are triggered during the simulation, then it makes it extremely difficult to manage when to stop.

A generally good rule of thumb is this: If your face or ears are getting hot or you get disoriented, stop right away. If you ignore these warning signs and continue using VR, then you risk going to a deep sickness state, which can last for hours and give you a headache that strong painkillers wont shift.

It took Micha, our VR expert, a couple of hours to put together a demo for the HTC VIVE system, and a few more hours of refinement, polishing and testing, to have a working system. This enabled us to move around the VR world, holding the Vive handheld controllers, while swinging our arms to simulate the walking of the virtual avatar. The faster you swung your arms, the faster the avatar moved.

The two of us tested it for some time with no obvious ill effects. Then we invited some colleagues to take part, several of whom began to feel nauseous very quickly.

We tried a number of refinements:

Results on the next page:

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How and why our experiments with virtual reality motion made ...

Watch a virtual reality Haptx glove in action / Boing Boing

This Ready Player One fan, who wasn't an admirer of virtual reality, test drives the Seattle-based Haptx haptic glove. The experience converts him into a VR "believer." The Haptx glove isn't yet on the market, but according to their press release, will be available to "select customers" this year.

Ive heard good things about Scrimish, an epic 10 minute battle of strategy, memory, and misdirection. Its on sale on Amazon for $7 (regularly $15) so I just bought it. The sale ends today. Ill review it after we play a few rounds.

We stand with women around the world to make their voices heard and their presence known. To bring them front and center, today and every day. Join us as we say #HereWeArehttps://t.co/bVXGJ1NibP Twitter (@Twitter) March 5, 2018 Twitter ran a commercial during the Academy Awards last night featuring Denice Frohman reciting a poem about female []

According to Engadget, Americas futurist military think tank, DARPA, wants to figure out the means to slow down the biological functions of the human body to provide more time for medics and doctors to treat their wounded patients. If the notion of biostasis sounds like the stuff of science fiction to you, thats because it []

Coding is one of the most valuable skills to have in todays job market, but with the plethora of programming languages out there, picking the right ones to learn first can be challenging, not to mention expensive. However, there are resources geared toward getting beginners up to speed with the essential tools of the coding []

One of the biggest struggles for jet-setter is managing to charge their devices abroad. But, thankfully, theOMNIA TA502 Travel Adapter is here to put an end to that. This pint-sized charger lets you power up your devices in more than 150 countries, and its now on sale in the Boing Boing Store.With this travel-sized charger, []

While many tech innovations tend to follow a boom and bust cycle, its safe to say that cloud technology is here to stay. As more companies go digital and leverage data to boost their bottom lines, demand is high for skilled cloud professionals capable of managing it all. TheAmazon Web Services Certification Training Mega Bundle []

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Watch a virtual reality Haptx glove in action / Boing Boing

Robotics

Michigan Roboticsaims to accelerate the development of new robotics capabilities by bringing together roboticists of all stripes under one roof so that they can share problems and solutions. Core robotics faculty will be housed in a $75 million facility with shared collaboration and laboratory space, to be completed in 2020. They will work closely withinterdisciplinary robotics researchers from across the University.

Michigan Robotics is currently seeking new faculty. We want the top robotics talent on the planet to apply to our program

The first director of Michigan Robotics is Jessy Grizzle, the Elmer G. Gilbert Distinguished University Professor and the Jerry W. and Carol L. Levin Professor of Engineering, best known for his bipedal robots, MABEL and MARLO.

Autonomy is about handling the unknown. Robots need to be able to navigate and map new environments, manipulate unfamiliar objects, cope with unforeseen circumstances, and carry on in spite of malfunctions. We attack the problem from all angles, an approach we call full spectrum autonomy.

The faculty at Michigan Roboticscover the heart of robotics, including mechanics, electronics, perception, control and navigation. Whether our robots walk, swim, fly or drive, we struggle with many of the same challenges. In the new robotics building, solutions may be just a few doors down.

The robotics program at Michigan offers MS and PhD engineering degrees that integrate knowledge from across a range of technical fields for applications to robotics. This program focuses on three core disciplines essential to robotics:

Learn more about graduate programs in robotics

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Robotics

Bitcoin Price Prediction: Regulations Are a Blessing in Disguise for Bitcoin

Daily Bitcoin News Update
Following in the footsteps of its northern neighbor, Mexico is crafting regulations for cryptocurrencies. The Mexican Congress passed a bill four days ago, which now awaits the president’s final signature to go into effect. With this, Mexico joins the growing list of countries undertaking crypto regulations—a trend that, we believe, plays in favor of Bitcoin rather than against it.

Let me explain.

Exchange hacks and cryptocurrency heists have seen an unprecedented rise in the recent months, and as hundreds of millions get lost in these digital robberies, investors are turning wary of crypto investing.

Productive regulations may pave the way.

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Bitcoin Price Prediction: Regulations Are a Blessing in Disguise for Bitcoin

Ripple Price Prediction: XRP Surges Past $1 as Skeptics Concede

Ripple News Update
Cryptocurrency markets are relatively upbeat on Monday morning, but even in a sea of green, Ripple stands out with double-digit growth.

It rose 16.16% in the past 24 hours, bringing the XRP to USD exchange rate to $1.05.

This was an important threshold for Ripple. Trading volumes had diminished in recent weeks, dragging XRP into the pile of cryptocurrencies worth less than one dollar.

However, those volumes returned with force this weekend, surging from about $280.0 million to near $800.0 million in a single day. By the time this article.

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Ripple Price Prediction: XRP Surges Past $1 as Skeptics Concede

Seven Islands State Birding Park Tennessee State Parks

PUBLIC NOTICE: Effective November 18, the Seven Islands Loop Trail will be closed until August 18, 2018 due to construction of an ADA Trail and Pedestrian Bridge at Seven Islands State Birding Park. We appreciate your patience as we work to make theSeven Islandsmore accessibleto all visitors, while providingnew ways to enjoy the park's unique features.

The diverse natural landscape of aquatic and grassland habitats makes Seven Islands State Birding Park a premier birding destination with more than 190 species of birds sighted. The park encompasses 416acres along the French Broad River in Knox County, approximately 19 miles east of Knoxville. This peninsula of land features more than eight miles of natural trails, rolling hills and views of the Smoky Mountains. In addition to being a wildlife refuge popular for hiking and wildlife observation, the park is a research and educational facility for schools and other groups and a demonstration area for land use and habitat management techniques. Songbirds, hawks and waterfowl can be seen along the meadow trails and several old barns are a favorite refuge for Barn Owls. For paddlers and anglers, there is a small canoe/kayak launch that provides access to the French Broad River.

The lands comprising the Seven Islands State Birding Park were acquired in 2002 as a wildlife refuge through a cooperative effort of the Seven Islands Foundation, a non-profit land conservancy, and the Knox County Parks and Recreation Department. The vision, goals and objectives of the Seven Island Foundation included preservation of this property as a wildlife sanctuary and refuge. The state of Tennessee will continue to manage this as a state park for native flora and fauna and low impact, non-consumptive, outdoor activities for enjoyment of the wildlife diversity and natural beauty of Seven Islands. Seven Islands became the 56th Tennessee State Park in July 2013.

In addition to preserving Seven Islands natural resources, future planning and management at the park puts a new focus on improving ADA accessibility. We are currently working on upgrading our restroom facilities, and parking areas, as well as adding more benches, and renovating our existing trails to improve accessibility. One project in progress, is the creation of an ADA trail that will take visitors to a fully accessible pedestrian bridge crossing the French Broad River to Newman's Island. This is an exciting project, and we are looking forward to providing a safe and satisfying experience for all visitors.

Dogs are permitted in the park. They must be on a leash at all times, and we do ask that you clean up after them.

Looking for a trail map? Click the link below to see a list of the maps available at this park. The page includes all the trail maps we have available, organized by park. We have free and paid options that provide you the details you need to have your next great adventure in Tennessee.

VIEW MAPS

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Seven Islands State Birding Park Tennessee State Parks

River Islands Golf Club Welcome to River Islands Golf Club!

East Tennessees #1 Golf Course and Premier Daily Fee Golf Club was created to rival the countrys most prestigious golf clubs, bringing world class, daily fee golf to Tennessee. Conveniently located in Kodak, Tennessee ideally situated between Knoxville and the Great Smoky Mountains River Islands Golf Club is spectacularly set on over 175 acres of breathtaking views where bald eagles soar high above the river otters playing along the river banks. Featuring a true, links style, Arthur Hills design, River Islands has been a must play course in Tennessee since it opened in 1991.

The course covers over 7,000 yards and takes you over sweeping knolls, into lush valleys, below sharp bluffs, and across a flowing river dotted with islands. With brand newMiniVerde greensand beautiful Zoysia fairways, River Islands offers a challenging yet beautiful experience.

The course travels along the edge of the French Broad River with three islands in the middle of the river serving as focal points of the course. The championship layout and manicured conditions make River Islands a consistently superb playing experience.

River Islands hosts one of the most extensive practice facilities in the area, providing quality PGA instruction.Youll also enjoy our Clubhouse, offeringspecial events including golf outings.

Attentive service and a commitment to excellence are the hallmarks of River Islands Golf Club, which is dedicated to offering players of all levels a total golf experience in keeping with the rich traditions of the worlds greatest game. Discover for yourself why River Islands Golf Club is truly a round to remember.

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Satanism | Hollywood Subliminals

Satanism is a broad term referring to a group of Western religions comprising diverse ideological and philosophical beliefs. Their shared features include symbolic association with, or admiration for the character of, Satan, or similar rebellious, promethean, and, in their view, liberating figures.

Particularly after the European Enlightenment, some works, such as Paradise Lost, were taken up by Romantics and described as presenting the biblical Satan as an allegory representing a crisis of faith, individualism, free will, wisdom and enlightenment. Those works actually featuring Satan as a heroic character are fewer in number, but do exist; George Bernard Shaw, and Mark Twain (cf. Letters from the Earth) included such characterizations in their works long before religious Satanists took up the pen. From then on, Satan and Satanism started to gain a new meaning outside of Christianity.

Although the public practice of Satanism began in 1966 with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan, some historical precedents exist: a group called the Ophite Cultus Satanas was founded in Ohio by Herbert Arthur Sloane in 1948. Inspired by Gnosticism and Gerald Gardners Wicca, the coven venerated Satan as both a horned god and ophite messiah.

Satanist groups that appeared after the 1960s are widely diverse, but two major trends are Theistic Satanism and Atheistic Satanism. Theistic Satanists venerate Satan as a supernatural deity. In contrast, Atheistic Satanists consider themselves atheists, agnostics, ignostics or apatheists and regard Satan as merely symbolic of certain human traits. This categorization of Satanism (which could be categorized in other ways, for example Traditional versus Modern), is not necessarily adopted by Satanists themselves, who usually do not specify which type of Satanism they adhere to. Some Satanists believe in a god in the sense of a Prime Mover but, like Atheistic Satanists, do not worship it, due to the deist belief that a god plays no part in mortal lives.

Satan in Paradise Lost, as illustrated by Gustave Dor

Despite heavy criticism from other religious groups, there are signs that Satanistic beliefs have become more socially tolerated. Satanism is now allowed in the Royal Navy of the British Armed Forces, despite much opposition from Christians, and, in 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States debated over protecting the religious rights of prison inmates after a lawsuit challenging the issue was filed to them.

Contemporary Satanism is mainly an American phenomenon, the ideas spreading with the effects of globalization and the Internet. The Internet promotes awareness of other Satanists, and is also the main battleground for the definitions of Satanism today. Satanism started to reach Eastern Europe in the 1990s, in time with the fall of the Soviet Union, and most noticeably in Poland and Lithuania, predominantly Roman Catholic countries.

Satanism developed in the context of the Christian faith, as an ideological backlash to certain tenets promoted in Christianity. The character of Satan revered by Satanists, therefore, is mainly regarded as the prototypical anti-Christian figure. There have been some Satanists, however, who have shown reverence for the similar, albeit differently-characterized Islamic concept of Satan (Arabic: Shayn), also known as Iblis (Arabic: Ibls) although this is much more uncommon as Satanist philosophy has primarily flourished in the Occident, and has likely not reached any Muslim-majority countries. As he is an antagonist in all of the major Abrahamic traditions, Satan is also mentioned in certain Jewish literature, although he is treated more as a nuisance than the primary enemy of God in Judaism.

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The Temple of Set is an initiatory occult society claiming to be the worlds leading left-hand path religious organization. It was established in 1975 by Michael A. Aquino and certain members of the priesthood of the Church of Satan, who left because of administrative and philosophical disagreements. ToS deliberately self-differentiates from CoS in several ways, most significantly in theology and sociology. The philosophy of the Temple of Set may be summed up as enlightened individualism enhancement and improvement of oneself by personal education, experiment and initiation. This process is necessarily different and distinctive for each individual. The members do not all have the same view on whether Set is real or not, and theyre not expected to.

Setianism, in theory, is similar to theistic Satanism. The principle deity of Setianism is the ancient Egyptian god Set, or Seth, the god of adversary. Set supposedly is the Dark Lord behind the Hebrew entity Satan. Set, as the first principle of consciousness, is emulated by Setians, who symbolize the concept of individual, subjective intelligence distinct from the natural order as the Black Flame. (Some people who are not members of the Temple of Set find spiritual inspiration in the Egyptian god Set, and may share some beliefs with the organization. The belief system in general is referred to as Setianism.)

Members of the Temple of Set are mostly male, between the ages of twenty and fifty.

The Temple of Set is an occultist organization following the left-hand path. Setians practice a religious philosophy of Self Initiation that involves the progressive refinement and improvement of themselves through the theoretical study and practical application of the Black Arts. This philosophy is summarized in the Word Xeper, which is Egyptian and means I have come into being.

The Temple of Set was reconsecrated in 1975, by Dr. Michael A. Aquino, in a Working of Greater Black Magic

that resulted in what believers regard as an inspired text titled The Book of Coming Forth by Night. This Working became necessary when many Satanists, along with the majority of the Priesthood of the Church of Satan, left that organization because of administrative and philosophical disagreements with its founder. The Temple of Set was incorporated in California that same year as a nonprofit church.

The Temple of Set is an occult initiatory school in which varying degrees of expertise, experience, and apprehension of metaphysics are recognized among members.

The Temple of Set holds an annual conclave where members of the Temple can come together to meet and exchange ideas. Workshops are held in which members discuss a wide variety of topics and activities. The conclave usually lasts about a week and is held in various global locations, though it usually takes place within the USA. There are also occasional regional gatherings, organized and attended by interested Setians, at their own initiative.

In addition to the international organization, the Temple sponsors initiatory Orders and local groups called Pylons. Pylons generally explore a wide range of metaphysical topics and exercises, since their members are determined largely by the accident of residence. Order members share specific interests, and Order activities therefore focus more deeply on these selected interests.

The Temple also makes available to members a variety of informational resources for individual reference as desired. The central of these resources is the Jewelled Tablets of Set which contain information relevant to the Degrees of the Organization. The very core of their teaching can be found within the material provided to the I* of the Temple, The Crystal Tablet of Set. All further volume in the series are built upon this documents foundation.

The Temple adheres to selective membership policies; fewer than half of all applicants are accepted for membership with the two year recognition period. The Temples membership does have a fairly large turnover rate; most members leave eventually for a wide variety of reasons. Only a minority of members remain with the Temple more than a decade. Members pay a membership fee. The Temple admits members on all continents except Antarctica, though it is largely a U.S.-based organization.

All officers and workers within the Temple of Set are volunteers. Some receive reimbursement for expenses incurred for the Temple; none receive a salary. All officers are selected from within the Priesthood.

The philosophy of the Temple of Set may be summed up as enlightened individualism: enhancement and improvement of oneself by personal education, experiment, and initiation. This process, necessarily different and distinctive for each individual, is referred to within the Temple by the Egyptian hieroglyphic term Kheper, or Xeper (a phonetic of _Xpr_), as the Temple of Set prefers to write it. Xeper is symbolized by the scarab beetle, significant of personal rebirth and immortality within the Temple of Set. The term is deemed central to Setian philosophy and practice, having been introduced at the founding of the Temple of Set in 1975, when Aquino made the claim that the Egyptian god Set communicated the word Xeper in the sense of become to him during the North Solstice X Working aka The Santa Barbara Working. The Word was re-uttered in 1996 by Don Webb in the more focused translation I have come into being.

Setians recognize several levels or degrees of initiation, and identify their members by their degree. These degrees are:

The Priesthood of the Temple of Set is restricted to members holding the Third Degree or higher. Full membership comes about on recognition to the second degree, which has a time frame of around two years. Recognition is performed by members of the priesthood, though it is up to the individual to find a priest to work with towards this end. However, there is no set criteria for recognition and no obligation for the priesthood to work with new initiates towards recognition.

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Theistic Satanism, sometimes referred to as Traditional Satanism, or Spiritual Satanism, is a form of Satanism with the primary belief that Satan is an actual deity or force to revere or worship. Other characteristics of Theistic Satanism may include a belief in magic, which is manipulated through ritual. Unlike LaVeyan Satanism founded by Anton LaVey in the 1960s, Theistic Satanism is theistic as opposed to atheistic, believing that Satan (Hebrew: ha-Satan, the accuser) is a real being rather than a symbol of individualism.

The history of Theistic Satanism, and assessments of its existence and prevalence in history, is obscured by it having been grounds for execution at some times in the past, and due to people having been accused of it who did not consider themselves to worship Satan, such as in the witch trials in Early Modern Europe. Most of Theistic Satanism exists in relatively new models and ideologies, and many claiming to not be involved with Christianity at all.

Darth Vader, the Dark Lord of the Sith represents SET (or Seth) the Ancient Egyptian God of Evil and Darkness. The original ancient archetype who Satan was modeled off in Christian Mythology Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

The worship of Satan was a frequent charge against those charged in the witch trials in Early Modern Europe and other witch-hunts such as the Salem witch trials. Worship of Satan was claimed to take place at the witches sabbat. The charge of Satan worship has also been made against groups or individuals regarded with suspicion, such as the Knights Templar, or minority religions. It is not known to what extent accusations of groups worshiping Satan in the time of the witch trials identified people who did consider themselves Satanists, rather than being the result of religious superstition or mass hysteria, or charges made against individuals suffering from mental illness. Confessions are unreliable, particularly as they were usually obtained under torture. However, noted scholar Jeffrey Burton Russell, Professor Emeritus of the University of California at Santa Barbara, has made extensive arguments in his book Witchcraft in the Middle Ages that not all witch trial records can be dismissed and that there is in fact evidence linking witchcraft to gnostic heresies. Russell comes to this conclusion after having studied the source documents themselves. Individuals involved in the poison affair were accused of Satanism and witchcraft.

Some members of Ordo Flammeus Serpens (OFS), a group that venerates demons, say that they were trained by a traditional family sect, or are generational demonolaters whose religion has been passed down through the family. Claims such as these are unproven. Tani Jantsang of Satanic Reds refers to herself as a generational Satanist, but what she means by that is that her family would have been labelled Satanic by Christianity, although they are in fact non-Islamic Turko-Tatar. Theistic Satanists are inspired by incidences they see as evidence of previous followers of their faith. The concept of Satan may incorporate elements from older religions than Judaism. Ha-satan is the role of one of Yahwehs court, whose duties include testing the faith of humanity; the concept may be derived from a judicial function in Israeli court, similar to a prosecuting attorney. The Jewish Encyclopedia says that parts of the Old Testament where Satan is seen to act independently of God may have been influenced by Zoroastrianism; however, the same article states that The Angelology of the Talmud, moreover, proves that, according to the older view (until about 200 C.E.), punishment was inflicted by angels and not by Satan. In the course of time, however, official Judaism, beginning perhaps with Johanan (d. 279), absorbed the popular concepts of Satan, which doubtless forced their way gradually from the lower classes to the most cultured. and that according to later Talmudic tradition about Satan He is the incarnation of all evil, and his thoughts and activities are devoted to the destruction of man; so that Satan, the impulse to evil (yeer ha-ra), and the angel of death are one and the same personality. He descends from heaven and leads astray, then ascends and brings accusations against mankind. Historically, Satanist was a pejorative term for those with opinions that differed from predominant religious or moral beliefs. Paul Tuitean believes the idea of acts of reverse Christianity was created by the Inquisition, but George Battaille believes that inversions of Christian rituals such as the Mass may have existed prior to the descriptions of them which were obtained through the witchcraft trials.

In the 18th century various kinds of popular Satanic literature began to be produced in France, including some well-known grimoires with instructions for making a pact with the Devil. The Marquis de Sade describes defiling crucifixes and other holy objects, and in Justine gives a fictional account of the Black Mass, although Ronald Hayman has said Sades need for blasphemy was an emotional reaction and rebellion from which Sade moved on, seeking to develop a more reasoned atheistic philosophy. In the 19th century, Eliphas Levi published his French books of the occult, and in 1855 produced his well-known drawing of the Baphomet which continues to be used by some Satanists today (for example the sigil of Baphomet). Finally, in 1891, Joris-Karl Huysmans published his Satanic novel, L-Bas, which included a detailed description of a Black Mass which he may have known first-hand was being performed in Paris at the time, or the account may have been based on the masses carried out by tienne Guibourg, rather than by Huysmans attending himself. Quotations from Huysmans Black Mass are also used in some Satanic rituals to this day since it is one of the few sources that purports to describe the words used in a Black Mass. The type of Satanism described in L-Bas suggests that prayers are said to the Devil, hosts are stolen from the Catholic Church, and sexual acts are combined with Roman Catholic altar objects and rituals, to produce a variety of Satanism which exalts the Devil and degrades the God of Christianity by inverting Roman Catholic rites. George Bataille claims that Huysmans description of the Black Mass is indisputably authentic. Not all Theistic Satanists today routinely perform the Black Mass, possibly because the mass is not a part of modern evangelical Christianity in Protestant countries and so not such an unintentional influence on Satanist practices in those countries.

Michael Aquino published a rare 1970 text of a Church of Satan black mass, the Missa Solemnis, in his book The Church of Satan, and Anton LaVey included a different Church of Satan black mass, the Messe Noire, in his 1972 book The Satanic Rituals. LaVeys books on Satanism, which began in the 1960s, were for a long time the few available which advertised themselves as being Satanic, although others detailed the history of witchcraft and Satanism, such as The Black Arts by Richard Cavendish published in 1967 and the classic French work Satanism and Witchcraft, by Jules Michelet. Anton LaVey specifically denounced devil worshippers and the idea of praying to Satan.

Seeking knowledge is seen by some Theistic Satanists as important to Satan, due to his being equated with the Serpent in Genesis encouraging mankind to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Some perceive Satan as Baphomet, a hermaphroditic bestower of knowledge (gnosis). Satanic groups, such as Luciferians, also seek to gain greater gnosis; these Satanists view Yahweh as the demiurge and Satan as the transcendent being beyond.

Self-development is important to Theistic Satanists. This is due to the Satanists view of Satan, who is seen to encourage individuality and freedom of thought, and the quest to raise ones self up despite resistance, through means such as magic and initiative. They believe Satan wants a more equal relationship with his followers than the Christian God does with his. From a Theistic Satanist perspective, Christianity does not define good or evil in terms of benefit or harm to humanity, but rather on the submission to or rebellion against God. Some Satanists seek to remove any means by which they are controlled or repressed by others and follow the herd, and reject non-governmental authoritarianism.

As Satan in the Old Testament tests people, theistic Satanists may believe that Satan sends them tests in life in order to develop them as an individual. They value taking responsibility for oneself. Despite the emphasis on self-development, Theistic Satanists often feel that there is a will of Satan for the world and for their own lives. They may promise to help bring about the will of Satan, and seek to gain insight about it through prayer, study or magic. In the temptation of Christ in the desert, Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me (Matthew 4:8f). Satan is known in the Bible as the prince of this world, and Satanists may feel that he can help them meet their needs and desires if they pray or work magic. They would also have to do what they could in everyday life to achieve their goals, however.

Theistic Satanists may try not to project an image that reflects negatively on their religion as a whole and reinforces stereotypes, such as promoting Nazism found in a few groups, abuse or crime. However, some groups, such as the Order of Nine Angles, criticise the emphasis on promoting a good image for Satanism; the ONA described LaVeyan Satanism as weak, deluded and American form of sham-Satanic groups, the poseurs, and ONA member Stephen Brown claimed that the Temple of Set seems intent only on creating a good public impression, with promoting an image. The order emphasises that its way is and is meant to be dangerous and [g]enuine Satanists are dangerous people to know; associating with them is a risk. In particular, there is argument over animal sacrifice, with most groups seeing it as both unnecessary and putting Satanism in a bad light, and distancing themselves from the few groups that practice it.

Some groups like the Misanthropic Luciferian Order have criticized both the Church of Satan and the Temple of Set as trying to make Setianism and the ruler of darkness, Set, into something accepted and harmless, this way attempting to become a big religion, accepted and acknowledged by the rest of the Judaeo-Christian society. The order rejects Christianity, Judaism and Islam as the opposite of everything that strengthens the spirit and is only good for killing what little that is beautiful, noble and honourable in this filthy world.

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Offshore companies – Investopedia

What is 'Offshore'

Offshore identifies any item that is located or based outside of one's national boundaries. The term "offshore" is used to describe foreign banks, corporations, investments and deposits. A company may legitimately move offshore for the purpose of tax avoidance or to enjoy relaxed regulations. Offshore financial institutions can also be used for illicit purposes such as money laundering and tax evasion.

Offshore can refer to a variety of foreign-based entities or accounts. In order to qualify as offshore, the accounts must be based in any country other than the customers or investors home nation, existing somewhat separately from the persons other resources and assets.

In the terms of business activities, offshoring is often referred to as outsourcing. This is the act of establishing certain portions of the business functions, such as manufacturing or call centers, in a nation other than the one in which the business most often does business. This is often done to take advantage of more favorable conditions in a foreign country, such as lower wage requirements or looser regulations, and can result in significant cost savings for the business.

Offshore investing can involve any situation in which the investors reside outside of the nation in which they are investing. This may require the creation of accounts in the nation in which the investor wishes to participate.

Offshore banking involves the securing of assets in financial institutions in foreign countries. This practice, which may be limited by the laws of the customers home nation, can be used to avoid certain unfavorable circumstances should the funds be kept in a financial institution in the home nation. This can include the avoidance of tax obligations as well as making it more difficult for these assets to be seized by a person or entity in the home nation. For those who work internationally, the ability to save and use funds in a foreign currency for international dealings can be a benefit. This can provide a simpler way to access funds in the needed currency without have to account for rapidly changing exchange rates.

Due to the fact that banking regulations vary from nation to nation, it is possible the country in which your funds are located does not offer the same protections as other nations.

Businesses with significant sales overseas, such as Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp., may take the opportunity to keep related profits overseas in markets with lower tax burdens. In 2015, it was estimated that $2.10 trillion in profits were held overseas, across 304 U.S. corporations, which was an 8% rise when compared to 2014.

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Offshore companies - Investopedia

William D. McDowell Observatory | NJSEA

Free open viewing is held every Wednesday evening, weather permitting. Check dates below, times change according to season.Please note: The buildings are closed at 10:30 PM.

Feb. 28

Mar. 7, 14, 21, 28Apr. 4, 11, 18, 25May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30

Click here for Spring Schedule and detailed information

The state-of-the-art Observatory features a research-grade, Classical-Cassegrain telescope housed within a six-meter retractable dome with a 20-inch mirror and is capable of viewing objects millions of light years away. The Observatory is operated by astronomers from Bergen Community College.

The telescope has several special filters designed to help minimize the effects of the areas light pollution. The precision instrument also includes specialized cameras to photograph various astronomical objects, a photometer to measure the brightness of stars and study how they vary over time, and a spectroscope to analyze wavelengths of light to determine the chemical composition of light-emitting objects.

All ages are welcome and children must be accompanied by an adult. Twenty-five people may occupy the Observatory at any one time. Entry is on a first-come, first-serve basis. Check-in at the Science Center adjacent to the Observatory.

Note: To access the observatory telescope, a visitor must be able to climb 25 steps in spiral formation. The stairs have railings on either side, approximately 2 feet apart.

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William D. McDowell Observatory | NJSEA

Cyberpunk 2077 Is ‘More Ambitious’ Than Witcher 3, CD Projekt …

By Hope Corrigan

CD Projekt Red says its upcoming Cyberpunk 2077 RPG to be more ambitious than The Witcher 3.

PC Gamer reports CD Projekt Red briefly discussed Cyberpunk 2077, comparing it to the company's critically acclaimed RPG from 2015 The Witcher 3, in a video during Pareto SecuritiesGaming Seminar.

"Cyberpunk is our new Witcher 3, but even more ambitious," CD Projekt CEO Adam Kicinski said. "Our goal is to establish a new blockbuster franchise from the beginning. We work [in a] new universe, futuristic universe. We believe it's very appealing to players, not only RPG players but this is [a] true RPG, like Witcher, like Witcher 3, for mature audiences. It's handcrafted, detailed, of course open-world, with open-ended gameplay."

"Great game, more ambitious than Witcher 3, and we believe that we can aim [at] more ambitious business goals as well of course, still having gamer-centric focus and quality focus as a main priority," he explained.

While huge in scope, these claims aren't too surprising given more developers have been working on Cyberpunk 2077 than there were on The Witcher 3 in it's most intensive month.

At the seminar, he also shot down anyhopes for a Witcher 4, a sentiment CD Projekt has expressed before.

"We can't create Witcher 4, because that was a trilogy from the beginning," he said. "No one said that one day we won't decide to develop something in the Witcher universe. But now we're focusing on Cyberpunk and Gwent."

Speaking of Gwent, Kicinskitouched on the success of the Witcher 3 digital card game spinoff Gwent and sales on the GOG platform.

"Recently, in the first half of 2017, we enjoyed a really huge increase of our own internal sales via GOG distribution channel," Kicinski said. "A big part of that was coming from the Gwent project."

Hope Corrigan is an Australian freelancer who misses Geralt but couldn't be more excited for Cyberpunk 2077. You can follow her onFacebook,Twitter, andTwitch.

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Cyberpunk 2077 Is 'More Ambitious' Than Witcher 3, CD Projekt ...