SPORTS SHORTS: Comets topple No. 12 Cougars, 3-1 – Marshalltown Times Republican

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ACKLEY Samantha Ubben surrendered only one hit and the BCLUW softball team improved to 3-0 in NICL West Division play with a 3-1 victory against Class 1A No. 12 AGWSR here Monday night.

Ubben struck out eight, walked one and allowed only one Cougar hit. It was an Anna Jaspers home run, however, that cut AGWSRs deficit to 2-1 in the bottom of the fourth.

BCLUW (8-4, 3-0) struck for two runs in the top of the first inning and another in the seventh, using its trademark small-ball tactics to turn five hits into three runs. Sara Sharp led the Comets with two hits, scoring an insurance run in the seventh on a grounder off the bat of Leah Yantis.

Taryan Barrick struck out six from the circle for AGWSR (8-3, 1-2), which saw a five-game winning streak snapped.

BCLUW hosts 2A No. 4 Collins-Maxwell/Baxter tonight in Conrad, while AGWSR goes to Aplington-Parkersburg.

Mustangs make quick work of Spartans

GRUNDY CENTER The East Marshall softball team scored in each of its five at-bats, rattling off a 13-3 win against Grundy Center in an NICL West Division pairing on Monday night.

The Spartans (2-4, 0-3) managed four hits against East Marshall hurler Kodie Hoskey, who struck out four and walked none.

Madison Farrington doubled and homered, driving in three for the Mustangs (6-5, 2-1), while Maria Rasmusson had a double among her three hits. Melinda Puumala added two hits and Hoskey had a double among her two hits.

Brittany Burroughs got the loss in the circle for Grundy Center (2-4, 0-3).

Mann drives in three as BCLUW wins

ACKLEY Logan Mann hit a run-scoring single in the fifth inning and a two-run homer in the seventh, providing the BCLUW baseball team with enough offense to ward off AGWSR 4-2 in Mondays NICL West Division contest.

The Comets (6-3, 3-0) went in front 1-0 on Manns RBI single, driving in Ian Showers with the first run of the game in the top of the fifth. Troy Dolphin singled and scored ahead of Manns round-tripper in the seventh, which made it 4-0 Comets before AGWSR scratched together two runs in the bottom half.

Blake Mann went 6 1/3 innings for the win, striking out 11 and walking two. Brad Barkema came on for the save, getting the final two outs as BCLUW ran its win streak to five games.

Luke Starr got the loss for AGWSR (1-4, 0-3), which issued a combined nine walks to Comet batters. Starr had two hits and Nathan Karsjens the only other for the Cougars.

AGWSR goes to East Marshall in divisional play Wednesday, while BCLUW visits Iowa Falls-Alden on Thursday.

East Marshall baseball nets first victory

GRUNDY CENTER Three four-run outbursts helped the East Marshall baseball team chart its first win of the season, defeating Grundy Center 13-8 in an NICL West Division showdown here Monday.

Justin Ridout pitched five innings for the win, allowing six runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out six.

Jordan McAnulty led the East Marshall bats, going 4-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Ridout helped his own cause, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs. Zane Johnson, Lansin Lacina, Colton Weese, Jacob Svendsen and Gage Hulin each added a hit for East Marshall (1-7, 1-1).

Travis Kuester allowed eight runs in four innings for Grundy Center (1-4, 1-2).

Mohawks sweep Bobcat softball

MASON CITY The Mason City softball team (4-6, 2-2) swept Marshalltown (0-9, 0-4) in Mondays CIML Iowa Conference doubleheader, 5-1 and 6-5. No other details were available as of press time.

HOUSTON Connor Wong hit a tiebreaking homer in the ninth inning and Houston advanced to the final round of its ...

MASON CITY Wyatt Himes drove in the only run in the first game and scored the go-ahead run in the second, ...

GILBERT Kallie Malloy tossed a three-hit shutout in the first win and 6 1/3 innings of one-hit relief in the ...

HUXLEY The BCLUW softball team bowed twice to opponents at the Ballard Tournament on Saturday, splitting their ...

HOUSTON Cole Bedford hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning, Corbin Martin struck out nine in seven innings ...

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SPORTS SHORTS: Comets topple No. 12 Cougars, 3-1 - Marshalltown Times Republican

Rockets 3-0; Comets 0-3 at Osky Classic – Ottumwacourier

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Less than 24 hours earlier, second-ranked Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont couldn't buy a big hit.

Saturday morning at Oskaloosa, senior Haegen Boyer had three run-scoring hits of her own in the very first game of Indian softball team's home classic. Boyer cracked three home runs in the first of three wins for second-ranked (2A) EBF (8-3) as the Rockets beat Pella (12-2), Mount Vernon (10-9) and Newton (15-0).

The victories were the perfect remedy for the state championship hopefuls, who suffered a disappointing South Central Conference home loss on Friday night to Centerville. Freshman pitcher Alyssa McElvain worked around eight hits by EBF, stranding 12 Rocket baserunners in a 1-0 Redette victory.

"That loss kind of opened our eyes a little bit and that we need to focus in to get what we deserve," Boyer said. "I was just focused from the first pitch I saw. Those are the kind of things that can happen when you're focused."

Cardinal, however, had a much different day at Oskaloosa. The Comets (1-13) lost to three teams from the Little Hawkeye Conference falling to the top-ranked (4A) Indians (13-0), Knoxville (13-1) and Pella Christian (8-2).

"The girls have gained something from every game they've been a part of. The biggest thing is that they've learned how to play together," first-year Cardinal head softball coach Sabrina Morrison said. "We've got young girls that just need to gain some more experience. We're just working on improving one game at a time."

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Rockets 3-0; Comets 0-3 at Osky Classic - Ottumwacourier

InterContinental Samui Baan Taling Ngam, Koh Samui wins four World Travel Awards – ITCM

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InterContinental Samui Baan Taling Ngam, Koh Samui wins four World Travel Awards
ITCM
The World Travel Awards are one of the most prestigious awards in the industry. They are voted for by a cast of professionals working within the travel and tourism industry, as well as the general public. Since opening in 2011, InterContinental Samui ...

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InterContinental Samui Baan Taling Ngam, Koh Samui wins four World Travel Awards - ITCM

How world travel helped a PEI author deal with grief – CBC.ca

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A new P.E.I. book chronicles a journey around the world and through the heart, as the author struggles with grief following the still birth of her daughter.

Mo Duffy Cobb and her husband had often thought about taking a long journey, but the idea took on a new urgency in 2008. Their second daughter, Tya, was still born at 39 weeks.

"We were grief stricken. We were frustrated with the world, with P.E.I.," said Cobb.

Their certainty about the world and even their marriage was gone. They sold their house and packed off for Europe with their two-year-old daughter, Leila.

They started in Belgium, moved on to Germany and then England, and from there caught a plane to Singapore.

They were backpacking around the world with a toddler, and that was a challenge, but Cobb said it also opened up experiences that would otherwise be closed.

"I feel like she opened us up to the world even further, because it was really a family affair," she said.

"We got to meet so many people, moms and kids and working people and she really brought the trip alive for us. We wouldn't have had access to a lot of those young families. It was very play-based adventure."

From Singapore the family went on to Bali, Malaysia, Borneo, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.

It was in Asia that Cobb found some of the solace she was looking for:new ways of thinking about the death of her daughter.

"Here in my living room in P.E.I. things were very black and white. Ty was here and then she was gone, and so I was expected to shut the door and move on," she said.

"Whereas when we got to Bali it was a totally different experience. The culture there with Hinduism,the influences there, every night people are leaving baskets of fruits and flowers, 'What are those baskets for?' 'Oh, they're for our ancestors.' It's a continual honouring of the people who are no longer with you."

After a nine-month journey the family returned to P.E.I., and settled down once again. They have two more children now.

"I think I did weave something in there that has a little bit of peace at the end," said Cobb.

Unpacked: From PEI to Palawan was published last month by Pottersfield Press.

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How world travel helped a PEI author deal with grief - CBC.ca

Trump’s latest tweets will probably hurt effort to restore travel ban – Washington Post

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(Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)

President Trump on Monday derided the revised travel ban as a watered down version of the first and criticized his own Justice Departments handling of the case potentially hurting the administrations defense of the ban as the legal battle over it reaches a critical new stage.

Trump in a tweet called the new ban politically correct, ignoring the fact that he himself signed the executive order replacing the first ban with a revised version that targeted six, rather than seven, Muslim-majority countries and that blocked the issuance of new visas rather than revoking current ones.

Trump said the Justice Department should seek a much tougher version and made clear despite his press secretarys past remarks to the contrary that the executive order is a ban, not a pause on some sources of immigration or an enhanced vetting system.

People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN! Trump wrote.

[Federal appeals court maintains freeze of Trumps travel ban. Attorney general vows Supreme Court appeal.]

The presidents tweets could significantly damage his administrations effort to restore the ban, which has been put on hold by two federal courts.

Next week, those suing are expected to file arguments on the matter with the Supreme Court, and Trumps latest remarks will surely be part of their briefs. The administration appealed to the nations highest court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upheld the freeze on the ban last month.

Neal Katyal, the lawyer who argued for the challengers in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, wrote on Twitter, Its kinda odd to have the defendant in HawaiivTrump acting as our co-counsel. We dont need the help but will take it! He also wrote that he was waiting now for the inevitable cover-my-tweet posts from him that the Solicitor General will no doubt insist upon.

Even George Conway, a prominent lawyer who recently took himself out of the running to lead the Justice Departments Civil Division and who is the husband of top Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway, posted on Twitter that the remarks might hurt the legal case.

These tweets may make some ppl feel better, but they certainly wont help OSG get 5 votes in SCOTUS, which is what actually matters. Sad, he wrote, using abbreviations for Office of Solicitor General and the Supreme Court.

[Conway: Presidents tweets certainly wont help]

A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the president was not at all concerned that his tweets might muddy the legal case, and his attention was instead on the substance of his executive order. She said she was not aware of any vetting of his tweets by lawyers or aides.

The president is very focused on exactly what that order spells out, and thats protecting Americans, protecting national security, and he has every constitutional authority to do that through that executive order and he maintains that, and that position hasnt changed in the slightest, Sanders said.

Trump himself indicated late in the day that he had no intention of backing down from his early morning sentiments, tweeting, Thats right, we need a TRAVEL BAN for certain DANGEROUS countries, not some politically correct term that wont help us protect our people!

Federal judges across the country have focused acutely on Trumps own comments in ordering that the ban be frozen, determining that the presidents words expose the measure as being a tool for discrimination disguised as a national security directive.

[President Trumps lawyers on revised travel ban repeatedly asked about campaign promises]

The majority opinion in the 4th Circuit maintaining the freeze on the ban quoted extensively from Trumps tweets and media interviews, and from those of his advisers. On the campaign trail, Trump called for a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.

Omar C. Jadwat, the American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who argued the case in the 4th Circuit, wrote that Trumps tweets amounted to a promise: let me do this and Ill take it as license to do even worse. In an interview, Jadwat said the presidents tweets seem to undermine the picture the governments been trying to paint.

I cant say for sure what our brief is going to look like, but this stuff seems relevant, Jadwat said.

Government lawyers have sought to convince judges that they should not consider the presidents statements but instead limit their analysis to the text of the ban. They have also sought to portray the presidents words as campaign trail rhetoric, and noted that many of the remarks in question though not all came before Trump was elected.

We shouldnt start down the road of psychoanalyzing what people meant on the campaign trail, acting solicitor general Jeffrey B. Wall told judges at a recent court hearing in the 9th Circuit.

Trumps latest tweets which were later set to dramatic music and posted in a video on his Facebook page will provide those challenging the ban more examples of post-election remarks and a stronger case that Trumps revised travel ban had the same purpose as the original version.

That version, which unilaterally revoked the visas of tens of thousands of people from seven Muslim-majority countries, was seen as much harder to defend because it was more onerous and had a provision in the text that seemed designed to exempt Christian travelers.

Trump tweeted Monday that the Justice Department should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to the Supreme Court. In addition to creating possible headaches in court, that misstates the process. Trump signed the executive order imposing the ban. The Justice Department defends his policies in court.

Trump also wrote that the Justice Department should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court & seek much tougher version! The Supreme Court would not be the body to enact a ban; the justices will be weighing whether Trumps order is constitutional.

The travel ban seems to have been on Trumps mind since the terrorist attack in London on Saturday, when Trump wrote on Twitter, We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!

[Trump ramps up push for travel ban even as opposition hardens]

Legal analysts were quick to point out that the president was hurting his own case.

In case its not obvious, these will only undermine the governments case before #SCOTUS for both a stay & on the merits of the #TravelBan, University of Texas law professor Stephen Vladeck posted on Twitter. These will also go a long way toward mooting debate over use of campaign statements; no need when, as President, he still says these things.

Trump also wrote on Twitter that the administration was already EXTREME VETTING travelers coming into the United States which he said was necessary to keep the country safe because courts are slow and political! The Department of Homeland Security has previously suggested such vetting was taking place, but that, too, seems to undercut the Justice Departments legal position.

The travel ban was supposed to be a temporary measure, designed to afford the administration time to conduct a review and decide what new vetting procedures were necessary. When a federal judge in Hawaii ordered the ban frozen, though, the government interpreted his order as stopping even that review and the judge declined to clarify that it did not.

Wall told the 4th Circuit last month that the administration had put our pens down and had done nothing to review the vetting procedures for these countries.

If the administration already has implemented new vetting procedures, that would seem to call into question the necessity of a temporary ban. Legal analysts, though, have previously said that presidents remarks indicate he might not view the measure as temporary despite what the text of the executive order says.

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Graphic: What Trump changed in the new travel ban

Trump was terrorized by the London attack, while Britain stood firm

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Trump's latest tweets will probably hurt effort to restore travel ban - Washington Post

Travel and security warning for Scotland-England World Cup qualifier – BBC News

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BBC News
Travel and security warning for Scotland-England World Cup qualifier
BBC News
Special travel and security plans will be put in place on Saturday when Scotland take on England in their football World Cup qualifier. Extra carriages are being added to key train routes and ScotRail Alliance warned services would be very busy.

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Travel and security warning for Scotland-England World Cup qualifier - BBC News

Sigatoka River Safari Wins At World Travel Awards – Fiji Sun Online

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Sigatoka River Safari recognised at Tourism Oscars.

Leading Fijian Tour operator, Sigatoka River Safari, is proud to announce it has won Australasias Leading Adventure Tour Operator at the 24th annual World Travel Awards held recently in Shanghai China.

This annual red-carpet event is considered the Oscars of the tourism industry and is acknowledged across the globe as the ultimate travel accolade. Voted on by travel and tourism professionals worldwide, these awards aim to celebrate organisations that push the boundaries of industry excellence.

According to Australian founder and owner of Sigatoka River Safari, Jay Whyte: We are delighted that our company has been honoured by the prestigious World Travel Awards.

To be recognised at this worldwide level for all our tours, the Sigatoka River Safari, Off-Road Caves Safari, River Jets and Water Blob, is an amazing achievement and a true testament to our dedicated team, who each day work hard to ensure our guests experience unforgettable and authentic Fijian tours.

Sigatoka River Safari first began operations in 2006 and is the worlds first jet-boat safari and village experience of its kind. It offers visitors of all ages a half-day adventure into the heart and soul of Fiji. Passengers travel along the Sigatoka River aboard custom-built safari jet boats and visit authentic Fijian villages, experiencing a day in the life of the real kaiviti (Fijian).

Passengers take part in a kava ceremony, tour the village and are treated to a traditional Fijian lunch complete with singing and dancing. Sigatoka River Safari works with 15 different villages to minimise the impact of tourism on the village lifestyle, a key element in their success to date.

A truly popular tour with tourists, Sigatoka River Safari is rated as the Number 1 Outdoor Activity in Fiji on Trip Advisor and is not new to winning awards, previously being welcomed into TripAdvisors Hall of Fame as a result of achieving the Trip Advisor Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years since 2011. Sigatoka River Safari also won Best Fiji Experience in 2008 and Best Adventure Tour in 2007 at the annual AON Fiji Excellence in Tourism Awards.

In 2012 Jay Whyte launched the Off-Road Caves Safari, adding to his successful Sigatoka River Safari brand. Off-Road Caves Safari is Fijis original and only off-road safari taking passengers in custom made Off Road vehicles through Sigatokas beautiful interior to the Naihehe Cave, Fijis largest Cave system, to learn about its fascinating cannibalism history.

Following the caves, enjoy lunch and a swim in the nearby river, before heading back to the Land Rovers and beginning the homeward journey.

Off-Road Caves Safari has also been awarded a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for the past four consecutive years since 2014.

Following the success of Sigatoka River Safari and Off-Road Caves Safari, Water Blob and River Jets then joined the thriving tour portfolio in 2014 and 2015.

The Water Blob is a 35ft vinyl inflatable tube, situated on the Sigatoka River and designed for kids and adults of all ages to jump on and fly off and have a blast doing it.

River Jets is a heart-stopping thrilling jet boat ride, which travels along the Sigatoka River while executing exhilarating full 360 spins and lots of twists and turns. A tour not for the faint hearted, River Jets promises a high octane and excitement thrill ride.

Sigatoka River Safari, Off-Road Caves Safari and River Jets depart daily from Sigatoka River Safari office in Sigatoka Town with complimentary return transfers available from the Coral Coast, Nadi and Denarau resorts. The Water Blob operates sessions daily and offers a complimentary return shuttle bus also departing from the Sigatoka River Safari office in Sigatoka Town.

Sigatoka River Safari is also launching another Worlds First and Fiji Original on 1st July 2017 a ELECTRIC VELOCIPEDE experience on the old sugar railway line on the Coral Coast of Fiji.

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Sigatoka River Safari Wins At World Travel Awards - Fiji Sun Online

Ohio Supercomputer Center runs largest scale calculation ever – Phys.Org

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June 6, 2017 The Owens Cluster is the most powerful supercomputer in OSC history. Credit: Ohio Supercomputer Center

The Ohio Supercomputer Center recently displayed the power of its new Owens Cluster by running the single-largest scale calculation in the Center's history.

Scientel IT Corp used 16,800 cores of the Owens Cluster on May 24 to test database software optimized to run on supercomputer systems. The seamless run created 1.25 Terabytes of synthetic data.

Big Data-specialist Scientel developed Gensonix Super DB, a software designed for big data environments that can use thousands of data-processing nodes compared to other database software that use considerably fewer nodes at a time. Scientel CEO Norman Kutemperor said Genosonix Super DB is the only product designed and optimized for supercomputers to take full advantage of high performance computing architecture that helps support big data processing.

"This is a wonderful testimonial of the capabilities of Genoxonix Super DB for Big Data," Kutemperor said. "The robust nature of the OSC Owens Cluster provided the reliability for this large parallel job."

To demonstrate the power of Genosonix Super DB, the Scientel team created a sample weather database application to run using OSC's Owens Cluster. For this rare large run, Scientel used 600 of the system's available 648 compute nodes. The Owens Cluster has additional nodes dedicated to GPU use and data analytics, for a total of 824 nodes on the Dell-built supercomputer. During the run, the Owens Cluster reached a processing speed of over 86 million data transactions per minute with no errors.

"As the largest run ever completed on OSC's systems, Scientel helped us demonstrate the power of the Owens Cluster," said David Hudak, Ph.D., OSC interim executive director. "Owens regularly delivers a high volume of smaller-scale runs, providing outstanding price performance for OSC's clients. The ability to scale calculations to this size demonstrates another unique capability of Owens not found elsewhere in the state and unmatched by our previous systems."

With satisfactory test results on the software, Scientel will take Genosonix Super DB to the forefront of technology to process large varieties of data and compute intense problems in areas such as cancer research, drug development, traffic analysis, and space exploration. A single application written for Genosonix Super DB can use more than 100,000 cores to handle multiple petabytes of data in real time.

"[The OSC staff] are extremely knowledgeable and very capable of understanding customer requirements, even when jobs are super scaled," Kutemperor said. "Their support and enthusiasm for projects of this nature are outstanding."

Explore further: Officials dedicate OSC's newest, most powerful supercomputer

J.C. "Jesse" Owens possessed both elite speed and raw power, which he honed and blended on his way to winning four Olympic gold medals in 1936.

A prototype part of the software system to manage data from the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope has run on the world's second fastest supercomputer in China.

Fujitsu today announced the launch of FEFS (Fujitsu Exabyte File System), a scalable file system software package for building file systems for x86 HPC clusters in Japan.

For the third time in its history, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility is home to one of the world's 500 fastest supercomputers. The SciPhi-XVI supercomputer was just listed as a TOP500 Supercomputer Site on November ...

The hybrid cluster Xiuhcoatl at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV) performs 250 trillion operations per second. The potential of this supercomputer is now available to researchers, companies and industry, ...

The Ohio Supercomputer Center's newest system would fall within the top half of the list of the world's most powerful supercomputers based purely on speed, but the cluster would rank even higher ninth in the United ...

Using Earth-abundant materials, EPFL scientists have built the first low-cost system for splitting CO2 into CO, a reaction necessary for turning renewable energy into fuel.

While convenient, Siri, WeChat and other voice-based smartphone apps can expose you to a growing security threat: voice hacking.

Apple nodded to several up-and-coming technology trends, unveiling a new "smart" home speaker and device features touching on virtual reality, online privacy and a form of artificial intelligence called machine learning.

A wireless, battery-less pacemaker that can be implanted directly into a patient's heart is being introduced by researchers from Rice University and their colleagues at the Texas Heart Institute (THI) at the IEEE's International ...

Apple appears poised to unveil a voice-activated, internet-connected speaker that would create a new digital pipeline into people's homes.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging reveals changes in blood-oxygen levels in different parts of the brain, but the data show nothing about what is actually happening in and between brain cells, information needed to better ...

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New Five Nanometer Transistor Unveiled by IBM and Cohorts – TOP500 News

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IBM and its partners have developed a novel technology to build 5nm chips, based on silicon nanosheet transistors. Compared to 10nm chips using FinFET transistors, the new technology promises to deliver a 40 percent performance increase, a 75 percent power savings, or some combination of the two.

5nm silicon nanosheet transistors. Credit: IBM

Dr. Huiming Bu, Director of Silicon Integration and Device Research at IBM Research says the approach involves placing the nanosheets in horizontal layers during chip fabrication. The change from todays vertical fin architecture to horizontal layers of silicon opened a fourth gate on the transistor that enabled superior electrical signals to pass through and between other transistors on a chip, Dr. Bu told TOP500 News.

Scientists at IBM Research and its partner SUNY Polytechnic Institute (Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineerings NanoTech Complex) have been working on nanosheet semiconductors in the lab for more than 10 years. But this weeks announcement appears to put the technology on a glide path to commercialization. According to researchers, this is the first time anyone has demonstrated the feasibility of building chips with these nanosheets that will outperform comparable devices built with FinFET technology.

The 5nm chips will employ the same Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography used for IBMs 7nm test node chips that the company unveiled in 2015. That technology would deliver 20 billion transistors on a chip, while this new nanosheet approach would increase that to 30 billion.

According to the announcement, the technology also provides an extra benefit. Researchers have found a way to use EUV technology to adjust the width of the nanosheets within a single manufacturing process or chip design. The practical effect of this technique is described as follows:

This adjustability permits the fine-tuning of performance and power for specific circuits something not possible with todays FinFET transistor architecture production, which is limited by its current-carrying fin height. Therefore, while FinFET chips can scale to 5nm, simply reducing the amount of space between fins does not provide increased current flow for additional performance.

FinFET, short for Fin Field Effect Transistor, is the 3D semiconductor technology Intel began using in commercial chips in 2012, and adopted over the following couple of years by GlobalFoundries and TSMC, among others. Most chip manufacturers plan to use some version of FinFET through the 7nm node. But as the transistor pitch shrinks, taller and thinner fin structures are needed, which makes their manufacture increasingly difficult.

But if all goes as planned, Samsung and Globalfoundaries will be able ditch FinFET and move to nanosheet technology for the 5nm node. As IBM alliance partners, both of these chipmakers will have full access to this technology, since they share patents associated with the nanosheet transistor structure and fabrication.

Chip wafer with 5nm silicon nanosheet transistors. Credit: Connie Zhou

Keep in mind that this initial work represents a feasibility demonstration only. Mass manufacturing of nanosheet transistors could take place within a few years, but would depend upon moving these techniques into a production environment.

This latest development is likely to reignite arguments about the viability of Moores Law. But the more immediate goal of shrinking transistor sizes down to 5nm whether it happens at a Moores Law rate or not at least now has what appears to be a viable path. Moreover, Dr. Bu says they forsee a way for nanosheet transistors to scale beyond 5nm, perhaps using different materials.

The economics of building nanosheet fabs still has to be worked out. Intel says it will spend $7 billion to build its 7nm fab in Arizona, while GlobalFoundaries says it will shell out several billion for new tools to update its Malta, New York facility for 7nm production. Its hard to imagine a 5nm facility based on a novel technology would be less expensive than either of those.

Nevertheless, the escalation in computing demand is making some of the economic arguments against continued transistor shrinkage irrelevant. Even a $10 or $20 billion fab could be a viable investment, given the insatiable appetite for computing from areas like artificial intelligence, virtual reality, the internet of things (IoT) and mobile devices, not to mention supercomputing. At the same time, energy for computing is becoming more expensive, both in operating costs and from the perspective of environment impact. Given that, anything demonstrating 40 percent better performance or 75 percent better energy efficiency is likely to find its way into the market.

Details of the technology will be presented at the 2017 Symposia on VLSI Technology and Circuits conference being held this week in Kyoto, Japan.

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New Five Nanometer Transistor Unveiled by IBM and Cohorts - TOP500 News

The New iMac Pro Is Apple’s Most Bonkers Computer Ever – WIRED

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The New iMac Pro Is Apple's Most Bonkers Computer Ever - WIRED

How Does Spirituality Fit Into My Child’s Day? – Coronado Eagle and Journal

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Spirituality is the quality of being concerned with the human spirit. Its a concept based on love. Christ Church Day School, which opened its doors in 1957, was founded on the love of God and the love of our fellow human beings. This unconditional love applies to all children, no matter what their religion.

Parents interested in placing their children at this exceptional institution may have questions about how religion and spirituality fit into the school environment as well as how their familys religion will be accepted into the school.

First, parents should know that they are not required to be members of the church to attend the school. Not only will no child be turned away due to their familys religion, but CCDS also prides themselves on the diversity theyve fostered within the school due to this open arms policy.

The mission of CCDS is to provide academic excellence while nurturing children to become lifelong learners who embody the values the school has instilled in them. Character education is a big part of who they are and the message that is woven through all aspects of learning as well as chapel services and other community building activities.

Students start each morning hearing a prayer over the intercom led by the sixth graders. They also say a blessing in their classroom before heading out to lunch. Chaplain Charlette Preslar, an alumnus of CCDS, teaches a spiritual nurture class to every grade at the school. This once a week class lasts thirty minutes and incorporates relevant curriculum.

Though students do go to chapel twice a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays), theology is not taught in the classroom. Instead, academics are guided by a value-based program called Spiritual Nurture. Each month focuses on a different virtue such as kindness, respect, fairness, or compassion. The selected virtue can be incorporated into classroom lessons or activities and highlighted in a school-wide service project. As the children get older, the responsibility to serve shifts into their hands as they are given required community service hours to perform.

During chapel services, a bible story is read that is related in some way to the virtue children are learning about and practicing for that month. In this thirty-minute, child-centered service led by Preslar, there are readings, songs with the choir, a homily, and communion. Also, individual prayers can be given to class chaplains so that they may be read in church.

Parents are always encouraged to attend the chapel services, and the school welcomes the opportunity to incorporate activities related to other religions so students can learn about them and experience something different from their own life. An example of one such opportunity was during Christmas time when a rabbi came and talked about the menorah. Its important for the children not only to be aware of other religions but to learn acceptance as CCDS models.

Since Christ Church Day School is an elementary school, religion is a topic a bit too complicated for most of these young children to understand. But you are never too young to learn love and kindness. These students are learning there are lots of children different from them and that there are even children less fortunate than them who need help and kindness. Schoolwide projects such as Operation Christmas Child is just one example of how students reach out to those in need. Guided by CCDSs example, these students are learning that loving their fellow human beings is the most important lesson of all.

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How Does Spirituality Fit Into My Child's Day? - Coronado Eagle and Journal

Dr William Bloom: How to find your spirituality – Press and Journal

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Dr William Bloom is a leading pioneer in spirituality

Dr William Bloom is well spoken, and somehow manages to be both calming and disarming all at once, so direct is his manner.

He insists on being called William rather than Doctor Bloom, and his passion for his area of expertise is obvious.

But William is no ordinary doctor, and he is ready and waiting for the cynicism and disbelief which surrounds his field.

For William is a leading pioneer in spirituality and is launching the first nationally accredited diploma course for Spirituality & Wellness at Findhorn College, near Forres, in the autumn.

Admissions are now open, and William hopes to pass on knowledge which can ultimately enable people to lead healthier and happier lives.

Now 68, he has spent decades studying spirituality but also has some less traditionally calming hobbies.

With two children and three stepchildren, he lives in Glastonbury with his wife, Sabrina.

My main hobby is actually motorcycles which you might not expect, and I think thats what surprises people about spirituality, he said.

Its not about crystals, its about connecting with life.

In an age of ever advancing medicine, William believes spirituality has found its rightful place and is gradually being recognised by the medical profession.

The course qualifies as a level three diploma in the health and social care sector.

But what exactly is spirituality, and can it really be of any benefit in comparison to standard health care?

William certainly believes this to be the case, but admits he will only feel pride once the cause has really lifted off the ground and all 35 places are filled.

When people ask me about spirituality, thats exactly what I want them to do, he said.

Its a brilliant question and underpins the entire course.

I understand the cynicism but there has been a major culture shift when it comes to spirituality.

It was once seen as a bit wacky and some people probably still view it that way, but its not flaky or evangelical at all.

Theres now much greater acceptance that spirituality can help both mentally and physically.

My mother was a cynical journalist whilst my dad was a cynical psychiatrist, and it made me suspicious too.

But I always had this feeling that there was something magical about life, there had to be something more.

Ive been working towards this course for my entire career. Ive been a meditator since my early twenties and I find it a really useful tool.

What I hope this course will do is give people a good grounding the bottom line is that there are aspects of spirituality which can help people live longer.

William believes that people have needed and turned to spirituality for thousands of years.

If you think back to the Middle Ages when people were facing the plague, and you fast forward to the modern day, when there is perhaps more pressure than ever before, I think spirituality is very important, he said.

The course will consist of 90 hours of classroom teaching time, and during that process we hope to enable people to make the most of a spiritual connection.

Spirituality is everyones natural instinct to connect with the wonder and energy of life and to explore its meaning.

Today there are innumerable ways to make this connection to god, spirit, our joie de vivre or whatever we want to call it from yoga, meditation, prayer and caring for others, to dancing, walking, singing and sport.

Ive spoken to people in the religious sector such as vicars you might imagine that the time they feel at their most spiritual is when theyre preaching a sermon.

One vicar once said he actually felt most connected when he was walking through the countryside and thats what this is all about.

Were now in a digital world where were never truly switched off from crisis. I think the key thing to understand is that spirituality is about self-management.

Its about being able to stand in a long supermarket queue where everyone else is feeling the stress, but youre completely calm.

Its about putting your body completely at ease, which gives you both mental and physical benefits its hugely rewarding.

William believes that many of the people who apply for the course will be in a care situation, whether theyre caring for people professionally or caring for family members.

Being more at ease with life benefits the body because it translates through the central nervous system, he said.

This lessens the risk of a stroke, pain, illness and also improves resilience.

I dont think Im yet at a stage where I can feel really proud about the course. Im cautious.

There is so much potential and well just have to see what happens. I just hope it will help people thats the ultimate goal.

For more information on the course, visit http://www.spiritualcompanions.org/courses

STRESS RELIEF

The most important elements of spirituality belief, community, lifestyle, caring all reduce existential anxiety. This then works through neural networks and the endocrine system to calm people physically and psychologically

LESSENS THE RISK OF A HEART ATTACK

Yoga breathing exercises enable our heart rate variability (HRV) to become integrated and harmonious, reducing the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

COMBATS LONELINESS

Having friends and a community are good for peoples general health. A spiritual lifestyle also encompasses finding a sense of community and connection with the natural world.

REDUCES RISK OF MENTAL ILLNESS

Belief in a spiritual aspect to life brings comfort, reassurance and a sense of meaning.

This reduces the risk of mental illness and supports recovery.

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Dr William Bloom: How to find your spirituality - Press and Journal

Author reveals her path to discovering link between neuroscience, spirituality and emotional health: Dr. Sylvia … – Insight News

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Sylvia Bartley

Add author to the already impressive list of accomplishments for Dr. Sylvia Bartley, global director at Medtronic Philanthropy.

In Turning the Tide: Neuroscience, Spirituality and My Path Toward Emotional Health, Bartley, who holds a doctorate in neurophysiology, shares how she manages her emotional health with non-traditional mindful practices. Equal parts personal memoir, science writing and spiritual exploration, the book links the brain to the soul, inspiring readers to change the world with that knowledge.

Recognizing her spiritual side and emotional health are intertwined and yet opposites; Bartley takes the fields of spirituality and science and blends them together in a pursuit of truth and wellbeing. She explains, My scientific curiosity has helped my spiritual life evolve drastically, and in turn my spiritual life has been my foundation during the most rigorous moments of my scientific career.

Bartley describes pushing through forces working against her as a young girl and student. These early experiences shaped her spiritually and emotionally; her study of the brain taught her about meditation and how careful attention to her inner self has helped her manage her emotional health.

My central belief is simple neuroscience and spirituality are not opposites, and can instead be used to feed and further each other, said Bartley. Individually, this union can have tremendous effects on our emotional health.

Bartley will have a book launch next Wednesday (June 14) from 5 p.m. 8 p.m. at the Womans Club of Minneapolis, 410 Oak Grove St., Minneapolis. Her book will also be available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The scientist and author will be a guest on Conversations with Al McFarlane this coming Tuesday (June 6) on KFAI 90.3 FM (www.kfai.org).

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Author reveals her path to discovering link between neuroscience, spirituality and emotional health: Dr. Sylvia ... - Insight News

Gambit’s summer 2017 Health book listings: Meditation, self-care and spirituality – bestofneworleans.com

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Ayurveda Therapist Training Course. Swan River Yoga Mandir, 2940 Canal St., (504) 301-3134; http://www.swanriver- yoga.com Michelle Baker and Meghan Hayes offer Module 1 of Ayurveda training to become a certified Ayurveda therapist or to promote natural healing. (Module 2 is in October.) Visit the website for details and registration. July 7 through 9.

Energy Clearing Class. Swan River Yoga Mandir, 2940 Canal St., (504) 301-3134; http://www.swanriveryoga.com Reiki master Michelle Baker leads two classes on self-Reiki with mantra and meditation. No experience necessary. Registration $20. 4:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. June 18 and July 9.

Japanese Reiki Seminar. East Bank Regional Library, 4747 W. Napoleon Ave., Metairie, (504) 838-1190; http://www.jefferson.lib.la.us Stephen Swartz gives a talk on "The Beauty of Japanese Reiki." Free admission. 7 p.m. June 15.

Morning Meditation. Unity of New Orleans Spiritual Center, 3722 St. Charles Ave., (504) 899-3390; http://www.unity- templeneworleans.com Mike Wittenbrink leads a weekly group meditation. 9 a.m. Weekly on Sundays.

Practices in Self Care. Wild Lotus Yoga, 4842 Perrier St., (504) 899-0047; http://www.wild- lotusyoga.com The five-week course is designed to teach busy people simple and quick self-care techniques. Registration $90 by June 15, $108 after. 7:45 p.m. to 9 p.m. Starts June 22.

Prayer and Healing Meditation. Unity of New Orleans Spiritual Center, 3722 St. Charles Ave., (504) 899-3390; http://www.unitytempleneworleans.com Harriet Stafford leads a weekly prayer and healing service with guided meditation, readings and affirmations. 11 a.m. to noon. Weekly on Wednesdays.

Realigning Your Energy. Madisonville Library, 1123 Main St., Madisonville, (985) 845-4819; http://www.sttammany.lib.la.us Wellness coach Alice Landry leads a workshop on tools and techniques to realign energy to better cope with life's challenges. Registration recommended; call (985) 845-4819. Free admission. 10 a.m. to noon. June 10.

Shamanic Meditation. Rosa F. Keller Library and Community Center, 4300 S. Broad St., (504) 596-2660; http://www.nola- library.org Matthew Ancira leads meditation and Barbara Dupart offers a yoga class the first Saturday of every month. Free admission. 10 a.m. July 1 and Aug. 5.

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Gambit's summer 2017 Health book listings: Meditation, self-care and spirituality - bestofneworleans.com

888Poker’s Bruno Politano on the importance of mindset and spirituality – CalvinAyre.com

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Lee Davy catches up with 888Poker Ambassador Bruno Politano at 888Live Barcelona to talk about his coaching business in Brazil, the importance of mindset, and the role spirituality has had in his life.

I will always remember the sight of Falcao in 82; arms outstretched; veins trying to reach the moon, mouth wide open like some yuppie who has been snowballing coke all night.

Its the one defining memory I have of Brazil.

And thats what Im thinking about as I take a sip from my green juice, quietly observing the Brazilian 888Poker Ambassadors like a pack of wolves at the opening night party as part of 888Live Barcelona.

Bruno Kawauti.

Nicolau Villa-Lobos.

Bruno Politano

The World Cup winner, Denilson.

I decide to ask Politano.

I cruise over, secretly thinking Im Falcao, and tap him on the shoulder.

Fancy a chat?

Of course, he says with a smile that would give the Cheshire cat a run for his money.

Who is Bruno Foster Politano?

I am a normal guy. I grew up in the North West part of Brazil.

Hang on; you cant be a normal guy, you have just been laughing and joking with a World Cup winner {Denilson} and are good friends with Neymar Jr.

But I am still a normal, calm guy. My life is poker. I travel a lot playing poker, coaching poker I have a school called Line Up, in Brazil. We have 500 students and are growing. I have also been representing 888Poker since my November Nine appearance in 2014.

Cardrunners and The Ivey League have closed down in the US this year, but your business is growing well in Brazil.

After I made the final table we had our boom. The market in Brazil is good for players, media, live tournaments, and training schools. The Brazilian market is a good place to invest in poker. The market has been growing these past five years, and we have lots of recreational players.

Talk about Neymar Jr.

Hes a big name in soccer, but hes just a normal guy. A very human, funny, happy guy. I met him after the November Nine. My friend who plays for Valencia is good friends with him, and thats how we met. He is a multi-millionaire, but he is just like you and me.

Do you have children?

No, but thats my plan, in 1-2 years. I have a fiancee in Brazil.

What do you value in life?

The most important thing for me is my mind. What I think about is everything to me. Every action is a result of thought in my mind my soul. I believe in energy; good vibrations and positivity. The things that have value in this life come from your soul. Its not just helping people; its how you think about people thats the most important thing for me. For me, thinking this way is the best part of life. It allows me to feel good with who I am, my soul, my family, and my future kids.

This must help you with your poker game.

I think this is the best part of me playing poker, not technically, but the way I control my mind.

Its one thing to intellectually know that your thoughts create your feelings, which in turn create your actions, but its another to implement the theory.

Its very hard. Meditation is not for this. Its like levels of life. I have thought like this since I was 15. I have had a lot of contact with people who think this way. I have learned a lot. Its my religion. I am spiritual. I believe in God, but God for me is not a person, it is energy. But its the same God for everyone.

Believing like this changed everything in my life. Its how I work, and conduct my relationships with my fiancee and friends. I feel an energy between us and I have never seen you in my life. I feel this adds value to my life. I see the world, the people, and I see my soul.

How did you go from a 14-year old not thinking like this to a 15-year old that did?

Its a process. It doesnt happen in one day. My Mum and my Dad are spiritual, but they never forced anything on me. They would tell me to follow my heart and choose a religion because its important for my life. I chose spirituality because its easy. I love what I do, how I feel, and I how my family raised me. We are a strong family: me, my Dad, my Mum and my two sisters always had lunch and dinner the same time together. If my Dad were running 30-minutes late, we wouldnt eat until he got home.

They also taught me other values such as the importance of hard work and money. But spirituality has helped me in life the most, and I practice and live like this all the time.

There is good energy here today, but at times, like in the Rio, for example, there is also a bad energy, how do you handle the changes in energy?

I feel the same as you. Its clear for everyone. This bad energy needs to be here because this guy needs to learn that if his energy is bad, its not good for him. He will learn. If not, he will spend all of his life putting out bad energy for him and others. Imagine this guy playing all day complaining, and he comes home and complains and moans to his family bad energy for his table, for him, for his wife, for his kids, the next day.

I see this differently. I lose my chips. I go to dinner. I control what I want, what I think, what I feel. When I come into the Rio and feel a bad energy, I understand it needs to happen. If this guy does not learn, he never can touch his good energy side of his soul, always bad energy. He needs to learn through his experiences.

Is this the philosophy you teach your students?

I dont teach them about spirituality because you cannot teach this. You need to feel it and know you need to have faith for everything. I work with the students on their winning mentality. Its similar, but not about faith. Its good vibrations. I have 500 students, and I cant talk about spirituality with them all. If you are a poker student, and I talk to you about this you might think I am crazy. Its easier to talk to you that how to play AK. I dont have permission to introduce this concept into their lives. Its important they learn to choose for themselves.

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888Poker's Bruno Politano on the importance of mindset and spirituality - CalvinAyre.com

Spirituality at sea – The Tidings

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Memorial Day, the unofficial start of summer, has passed. By now, many have already made their summer travel plans. For those who want to do more than simply lay on the beach, those plans may include destinations and experiences that nurture their spirituality. Its a trend that is expected to continue.

According to Travel-Review.com, The spiritual journey makes it possible to discover a destination in a slower and a more immersive way, and to combine culture, spirituality, and adventure into the same unique experience. While 2017 is considered the year of the spiritual journey, it will be only the beginning, astourists of the future should increasingly take an interest in the religious testimonies of destinations.

Parishioners from parishes throughout Southern California are proof that the trend is real. Several hundred have already booked passage on the first-ever Catholic Cruise to Mexico in July. Theyll be led on this faith-filled pilgrimage by the Dioceses own Bishop Kevin Vann and Auxiliary Bishop Timothy Freyer.

Ryan Lilyengren, director of communications for the Diocese, said: If you are looking for the perfect summer vacation, this is it. Never before have two bishops led a cruise pilgrimage to Mexico that will be filled with special Catholic entertainment on the ship, live performances by our music ministers, charitable outreach in Mexico, Mass on the boat and in Mexico, and all the amazing amenities on a state-of-the-art cruise ship.

The four-day Carnival Cruise will depart from the Port of Long Beach on July 21 and travel to Ensenada Mexico and back.

On the trip, travelers will be entertained by acclaimed musician Francis Cabildo, Director of Christ Cathedral Music Ministries Dr. John Romeri, and others. A special Mass, concelebrated by bishops Vann and Freyer is scheduled at the cathedral in Ensenada, Santuario. There are several day-trip options for travelers, including a service project at a local orphanage.

ITINERARY:

Day 1 Sail to Ensenada Mexico / XLT Praise and Worship with Francis Cabildo

Day 2 Bishops Mass at Santuario / Day Trip Options / Evening Vespers with music by Dr. John Romeri

Day 3 Fun Day at sea / Activities / Evening concert with Francis Cabildo

Day 4 Disembark between 7 - 10 a.m.

Its not too late to book your cruise. Call Travel of Orange for more information: (714) 538-0010

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Spirituality at sea - The Tidings

New Delhi Times – India’s Only International Newspaper- Read … – New Delhi Times

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By Dr. Pramila Srivastava

Mothers are a blessing given by the Almighty. Whilst putting all their efforts in nurturing a baby, a mother sacrifices all her ambitions, wishes and identity unknowingly paving a way to personal spiritual attainment. The essence of spiritual attainment is self-sacrifice- thinking about others before thinking about your own self and motherhood is all about helping others grow and develop into a person that God has sent them on earth to be. With Motherhood come complex responsibilities with major emotional shifts and other challenges along the way. The most empowered of all could feel weak at times; being a woman in a patriarchal world is itself a challenge so feeling weak is strengthening as well. Our weakness in the tough times gives us power to overcome them, we learn about our capabilities and we rise above our own stature. We learn to live with joy, love and the positive along with acknowledging daily inequalities, judgements, anxieties and disappointments.

A mother is a spiritual being as a woman in her path of motherhood learns to transcend from her ego and her own self for the sake of another. A woman on this path develops empathy for others and feels compassion and through this is able to enlighten in her the sense of sacrifice. Motherhood is at par with any other spiritual path. Within our daily routine of life lies the traditional spiritual path that encourages us to transcend selfishness, practice compassion and develop empathy for others. Mothers do this every moment of the day in their own way. In the process, a mother learns to develop in all directions rather than getting stalled in any one of them. Motherhood is the most appropriate vehicle to achieve enlightenment. At every step of motherhood, a woman can explore other facets of life and follow other paths but the motherhood can never be taken away. Therefore, it pushes one relentlessly towards consciousness. It allows understanding and embracing what we are while loving another human being unconditionally and helping them to grow in what they are capable of. Through motherhood, a woman is able to get to a place where she can understand the spiritual as well as non- spiritual aspects of life.

Motherhood teaches us to discover who we really are within and beyond and help others to do the same. It is not confined within the boundaries of giving birth, it is about parenting- treating and teaching somebody the values and morals of life through an understanding. It is about believing in someone to achieve what they are capable of. For instance, the nuns and the sisters sacrifice everything that is materialistic or what is perceived as natural for the society; they give up a home, a marriage and conceiving children. Contrary to what the world thinks they believe God to be their spouse and consider all children as their own. Religious women do it through their prayers and live the profoundest moments in the simplest way through the simplest human experiences.

Spiritual Motherhood is about self-giving and caring. It is not just for biological mothers as long as it involves nurturing and caring without self- interest. Limited to the perspectives and the crannies of life, at times we forget to acknowledge a mothers sacrifice, her confusing yet brilliant upbringing methods, her way of seeing the beauty in us that we fail to fathom. We never see people who do not get the nurturing, motherly love and guidance that they should have, but a mother does. A mother after experiencing motherhood becomes a spiritual soul without following any particular path, but only this one. She becomes the spirit herself that guides us through life. Spirituality is a personal journey embedded in our daily lives, which can only be achieve with a peace of mind. Achieving spiritual enlightenment becomes a journey in itself to wisdom. Motherhood helps achieve that light through the mundane. The unseen spiritual potential is reached when a mother is facing her life squarely and committing to the responsibility that comes with the honour of personal spiritual attainment. A mother sees the sacred within the ordinary whenever possible.

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New Delhi Times - India's Only International Newspaper- Read ... - New Delhi Times

Don’t lose your head over mind-altering drugs – Inquirer.net

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In a recent interview by Inquirer Entertainment columnist Ruben Napoles, veteran Hollywood actress Goldie Hawn said, Our children are overstressed. A lot of them are on psychotropic (i.e. psychedelic) drugs. This isnt just in the United States.

Indeed, psychedelic (also called psychoactive) drugs have quietly invaded Philippine society without anybody, much less the authorities, noticing them. The governments battle against drugs seems to be limited exclusively to shabu.

But psychedelic drugs are as dangerous as shabu. Thats why they are illegal in 170 countries, including the Philippines, which is a signatory to the 1971 United Nations Convention on Psychedelic Drugs.

Manifesting

The term psychedelic comes from two Greek words psyche meaning soul or mind, and delein to manifest. Thus, psychedelic means soul (or mind) manifesting. The term implies that the drug can access the soul and develop unusual potentials of the human mind.

There are many varieties of psychedelic or psychoactive drugs that are popular since the early 60s such as LSD, mescaline (found in peyote cactus plant), psilocybin and MDMA (or ecstasy).

Its latest and most potent incarnation is DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) contained in the Amazon brew called Ayahuasca.

I find it alarming that this dangerous, highly potent drug is being peddled and promoted as a magical doorway to spiritual enlightenment and awakening akin to cosmic consciousness. The internet is full of such messianic messages, especially YouTube.

Hallucinogen

DMT has been called the biggest secret they dont want you to know, where you can experience the impossible, awaken your Kundalini and your third eye. It has been called the spirit molecule because it supposedly awakens your true spiritual nature and brings about cosmic consciousness or Samadhi.

This is not necessarily true. DMT produces long lasting (over three hours), deep metaphysical experience similar to that of psilocybin mushroombut more intense. The drug is also known to interact with antidepressants. The experience varies from individual to individual.

Ayahuasca produces hallucination and delusions. In a study conducted in 1990-1995, University of New Mexico psychiatrist Rick Strassman found that some volunteers injected with high dosage of DMT reported experiences with perceived alien entities, and visiting other worlds. These beings of light appeared to be expecting them.

Other studies show DMT can induce profound time dilation, visual and auditory illusions and other experiences that defy verbal or visual description. Some report intense erotic imagery and sensations.

Its physical and psychological effects include vomiting, nausea, fear, paranoia, tremors, and other strange physical sensations. Users see physical objects change shape or morph. They feel sensations that seem real but are not.

What an Ayahuasca or DMT user experiences is unpredictabledepending on the personality of the user, the environment, setting and the people around them.

Like LSD, psilocybin and other hallucinogenic drugs, DMT produces its effects though the action of the serotonin receptors in the brain. They produce perception-altering effects by acting on the neural circuitry in the brain that use, serotonin. The more prominent effects occur in the prefrontal cortexan areainvolved in mood, cognition, and perception as well as other regions regulating arousal and psychological response to stress and panic.

Because the chemical DMT is found in its natural state in the brain of humans (and other mammals) in small quantities, it has been theorized that it is responsible for the spiritual awakening that Eastern mystics and masters experience when it is stimulated or awakened by deep meditation and other spiritual practices. Using DMT, it is believed, shortcuts the process. One can have a choice of instant spiritual enlightening instead of decades of sitting still in a lotus position on a mountain top or in a temple.

DMT or Ayahuasca has been described as an entheogen, meaning spiritually enhancing agent. But it is also hallucinogenic or inducing hallucinations.

DMT is a psychomimetic or psychogenic drug, meaning it mimics psychosis. But, in fact, it makes one temporarily psychotic with auditory and visual hallucinations, as well as delusions experienced by psychotics.

To mimic something or somebody means imitating the actions, thinking and behavior of that thing or person. If I am an actor mimicking an insane person, I will imagine and act like him.

But when under the influence of DMT, you dont think you are mimicking or imitating psychotic behavior, but actually become psychotic, if only temporarily. Sometimes, according to some reports, the effect becomes permanent.

The use of psychedelic drugs became popular in the 60s counterculture or hippie community, when Harvard professor Timothy Leary and others began experimenting with LSD and writing about it. They were dismissed by Harvard because one of them gave the drug to an undergraduate student. Leary then began to promote its use for medicinal and healing purposes.

A decade earlier, writer Aldous Huxley took a hallucinogenic drug, psilocybin, and wrote down his experience in a book titled Doors of Perception.

Alarming

What makes Ayahuasca or DMT alarming is that its promoters are like religious crusaders who claim to have found the secret of enlightenment and spiritual awakening by using the drug.

I am not completely against the use of Ayahuasca or other psychedelic drugs. It may be safe when done under the guidance of an experienced shaman or native medicine men in the Amazon jungles, Mexico or Peru. To toy with the delicate brain is to court disaster.

E-mail jaimetlicauco@yahoo.com or visit http://www.innermindlearning.com.

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Don't lose your head over mind-altering drugs - Inquirer.net

SpaceX’s recycled Dragon capsule reaches, resupplies space station – The Mercury News

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The International Space Station welcomed its first returning vehicle in years Monday a SpaceX Dragon capsule making its second delivery.

Space shuttle Atlantis was the last repeat visitor six years ago. Its now a museum relic at NASAs Kennedy Space Center.

NASA astronaut Jack Fischer noted the special significance of Hawthorne-based SpaceXs recycling effort as soon as he caught the Dragon supply ship with the stations big robot arm.

Thats right, its flying its second mission, Fischer said. We have a new generation of vehicles now led by commercial partners like SpaceX.

SpaceX is working to reuse as many parts of its rockets and spacecraft as possible to slash launch costs. The California-based company launched its first recycled booster with a satellite in March; another will fly in a few weeks.

The Dragon pulled up two days after launching from Florida. This same capsule dropped off a shipment in 2014. SpaceX refurbished it for an unprecedented second trip, keeping the hull, thrusters and most other parts but replacing the heat shield and parachutes.

Until their retirement in 2011, NASAs shuttles made multiple flights to the space station.

This new 6,000-pound shipment includes live lab animals: 40 mice, 400 adult fruit flies and 2,000 fruit fly eggs that should hatch any day. The mice are part of a bone loss study, while the flies are flying so researchers can study their hearts in weightlessness. Even more than mice and rats, the hearts of fruit flies are similar in many ways to the human heart, beating at about the same rate, for instance.

Some of these animals will return to Earth aboard the Dragon in about a month.

SpaceX officials anticipate using Dragon capsules as many as three times.

Its starting to feel kinda normal to reuse rockets. Good. Thats how it is for cars & airplanes and how it should be for rockets, SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk said via Twitter following Saturdays liftoff of the Dragon and landing of the Falcon rockets first stage.

Musk said the latest touchdown was pretty much dead center at the SpaceX landing zone at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Liftoff occurred next door at Kennedy Space Center.

The Dragon is the only station supply ship capable of returning items, like science samples. On Sunday, an Orbital ATK cargo ship named in honor of the late John Glenn departed the station. It will remain in orbit a week before burning up in the atmosphere upon re-entry. Glenn, the first American to orbit the world, died in December at age 95.

Godspeed & fair winds S.S. John Glenn, Fischer wrote in a tweet.

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SpaceX's recycled Dragon capsule reaches, resupplies space station - The Mercury News

Ex-NASA commander of International Space Station says intelligent aliens ARE out there – Express.co.uk

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Dr Leroy Chiao made the admission when he visited the University of Wollongong in New South Wales, Australia, to speak to students.

As ISS commander, Dr Chiao spent months in space dwelling on whether aliens are out there.

Recent discoveries of water on one of Saturn's moons, and amino acids on comets, left him in no doubt about extra-terrestrial life existing, he said.

He added: "To find this kind of evidence of life in our own backyard means to me the idea there's other life in the universe is pretty much a given.

"I think there's all kinds of life out there, including intelligent life, but the reason we haven't found each other is because of vast distances."

He also spoke about the experience of being in space.

Getty Images

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The Crop Circles are often believed to be created by aliens, as there is no proper explanation behind this phenomenon.

I think there's all kinds of life out there, including intelligent life, but the reason we haven't found each other is because of vast distances.

Dr Leroy Chiao

He said: "It's very physical. You're working against the pressures of the suit and you're aware of where you're putting your tethers.

"It's surreal and like a dream. You can't believe you're out there in a suit doing this kind of work.

"But at the same time you're well trained, but if you rest for a minute and look where you are, you think 'Is this real?'"

The ISS orbits Earth every 90 minutes and the crew sees 16 sunrises and sunsets per day

NASA

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ISS Nasa live cam cuts after 'suddenly locking on to mystery glowing UFO'

He added: "I don't think anyone flies into space without some form of fundamental introspection about what life is about.

"For me, I was surprised how much more beautiful it is than what the pictures show.

"It looks very peaceful and nice, and intellectually I knew there was war, famine and conflict down there and that dichotomy was hard to reconcile.

"It makes you stop and think, and it gave me that perspective of what's important in life."

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Ex-NASA commander of International Space Station says intelligent aliens ARE out there - Express.co.uk