Monthly Archives: February 2022

Stunning might be the best way to describe Starward Industries debut trailer for The Invincible, as the inhospitable alien planet of Regis III strikes a fine balance between barren and captivating. The little we have seen so far of the game has been highly polished, an impressive feat considering the scale of the world and the developers status as an independent studio. The Invincibles source material, a novel from Stanisaw Lem of the same name, likewise provides fertile soil for gamers hoping for a new retro-futuristic universe to explore. We had the opportunity to interview Starward founder Marek Markuszewski to learn more about The Invincible, including in-depth details about its story-driven structure and how it will immerse us in its world in a way most games have not.

As a bonus, check out an exclusive piece of backpack concept art below.

The Escapist: Tell us about yourself and your role at Starward Industries. Why is the team at Starward the perfect group to tackle something like The Invincible?

Marek Markuszewski: My name is Marek Markuszewski, I am the founder of the studio, and the man behind the idea of adapting one of Lems prose, which thankfully is an idea that everyone in the studio is on board with! Many of the people at Starward have previously worked on larger-scale projects such as The Witcher franchise, Dying Light, and loads more. I myself have gained experience over the years at CD Projekt Red as a producer on titles such as The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine.

Our studio was built from scratch. I strongly bet on the experience and independence of potential coworkers. This is how in the beginning I managed to select a dozen or so amazing people. And now we are a group of more than 20 creative individuals with different skills and specializations, who together form a complete, mutually inspiring creative organism. It was about choosing people who are not only extremely talented and experienced, but also ones that can quickly find themselves in the project and understand the idea behind our first game and the studio itself. We are committed to making games where quality comes first.

Can you walk me through The Invincibles core gameplay loop?

Marek Markuszewski: The Invincible is first and foremost a narrative-driven game. Its a game in which the story takes center stage. While playing, we want players to be transported to a different world. To give players as much of a sense of being someone else, we centered our gameplay around immersion. Any action that the player will perform, we designed and implemented it so that it supports the narrative at any given moment.

Thinking about gameplay mechanics, our dialogue system is quite a feature and plays a major role in the game. We have a few pieces of equipment that stay with Yasna for most of the time and help her survive, navigate, search, communicate, and solve the unknowns.

Lets talk about scope. How big is Regis III?

Marek Markuszewski: Regis III is similar to Mars in size. However, we do not offer a whole planet to explore. Its not an open-world game, but we do have some semi-open-world areas along our path, with different sizes depending on whether were traveling on foot or we have vehicles available like rovers, transporters, energobots, or maybe even flying saucers. Our journey will lead you through several distinctive environments offering very different themes, moods, and experiences.

Can we expect The Invincible to be a long game, or is this a shorter experience?

Marek Markuszewski: Were aiming for a shorter but intensive experience. You can expect several hours of main storyline and an additional few hours of side activities. Players can explore their surroundings and find additional information which may have an impact on the ending.

Will The Invincible be an action-oriented experience, a slow-burn sci-fi adventure focused on telling a gripping story, or maybe something in-between?

Marek Markuszewski: Its a rather unhurried, but a very intense story like Lems book itself. The focus is on the experience within the given environments. Each successive story episode brings the player closer to the truth and awakens inner reflections, providing a great emotional charge. Moving around Regis III, the player becomes a witness to unusual phenomena, and the people they meet along the way add to the slow change that takes place within the main characters.

We put great emphasis on the construction of the world, on the creation of characters, their motivation, personality, dialogues, and choices. To us, this could be the trick that can guarantee a cinematic experience. But The Invincible is also, or perhaps above all, an adventure with twists and turns. There will be moments where you will have to make tough decisions, tough choices, and time will not be on your side. Those moments will create tension. And there will be a few moments of action too.

How will The Invincible offer an immersive experience? Im curious to know if there will be a traditional HUD or if Starward is going for a more minimalistic approach.

Marek Markuszewski: Were taking a minimalistic approach with designing HUD elements, definitely. However, were not taking any shortcuts with interactions all of those have full animation support, letting players feel closer as the protagonist with the world and objects around them.

There are plenty of elements and mechanics that strengthen the immersiveness of The Invincible. To give you a few examples: We have a complex system for basic movement simulating wearing a space suit with a heavy helmet. No fake effect on HUD or fixed helmet to camera its a real 3D object visible from the FPP (first-person perspective) camera, behaving according to the characters state and movement of the head, with environment effects visible on the front glass shield like dust, rain, or the steam of a breathing character. Our character also leaves a variety of marks on the ground such as footsteps, which are different depending on the type of terrain. The terrain type and its slope influence the speed of movement and animations.

Were of course building an immersive world with consistent well-researched and thought-through design of surroundings, vehicles, and robots. We want everything in that world to be there for a reason.

To give you another example from a different design area, we want to take immersion much further through our approach to the dialogue system and dialogues in general. Our character does not speak without the players input. Players do decide when Yasna should start a conversation and what tone she goes with. We want our dialogues to be natural, organic, and smooth, both in tone and in design.

What sort of tone is Starward going for in The Invincible?

Marek Markuszewski: Our games tone is quite bitter, but not without a spark of hope for the future. It is about humanity as such, its penchant for extending the boundaries of Earth and the consequences that follow. We tell the story of man using both elements of irony, praising his achievements, and presenting the complexity of the human individual.

Its described as a thriller, but is The Invincible a scary game?

Marek Markuszewski: In The Invincible you wont have any jumpscares, but in the course of the gameplay the player should feel anxiety. Inner uncertainty, the feeling of being lost, fear of the unknown is intertwined in the game with the real, external threat to the protagonists life and fear for her companions. I think players will get a sense of unease by the discovery that theyll make on Regis III, a scientific phenomenon and a reflection on the human species. However, the game The Invincible is also full of winks and ironic comments which we hope gives it a bit of lightness too.

What are some examples of how players can guide the direction of the games story?

Marek Markuszewski: The games style of progression is linear, with the games story and direction closely linked to the players choices. We wanted people to have a personal experience, in which they direct the story through the words they pick and actions they take. There will be moments in which you will have to choose your course of action.

Do you ignore your commanders advice and take a route which your instinct says its right, or do you follow the mission plan? Do you take one particular route through a dangerous passageway that will buy you more time, or do you stay on safe ground and risk that the time thats afforded to you will run out? The choices players will make will not only impact the mission, but also that of their relationships with other characters. They will also lead to one of the multiple endings that we have in our game.

The Invincible is inspired by Stanisaw Lems novel of the same name. Can you talk about the connections to the novel and similarities we can expect in the game?

Marek Markuszewski: We use Lems description of the world and technology, and we weave and incorporate his concepts and ideas on humanity and what we can possibly find in this vast universe. We also keep the atmosphere from the book and its message. We have provided iconic scenes from the book but with new characters embedded. The players can also meet its characters, but the events we tell in the game are shown from a new perspective. Fans of the book will come across those memorable scenes that Lem brought to us all those years ago.

In short, we didnt want to tamper with the characters and events of the book. I think that thanks to our chosen treatment, and our adaptation of the source material to our medium and our chosen genre (a FPP narrative adventure), we create a version of events that will also give something new to the fans of the book itself.

What are some of the challenges that come with adapting literature into a video game?

Marek Markuszewski: Adapting books always involves considerable challenges, but it is also a huge opportunity. By translating literature into game scenarios we can offer readers a deeper, more interactive experience. We also work with material that is often already well established in culture, tested as a source of reflection, entertainment, and reaching out to people.

However, this is not an easy process. We have to deal with specific rules in the world of the literary original, the already established visions of fans, the vision of the space, or the assumptions towards the characters. As with any visual adaptation, our vision of the source materials might be different to someone else. Defining a new complex world is also a great challenge. We had to create a visual world and fill it with details which sometimes were mentioned in the book without descriptions. However, we do hope that people will feel that we did the book justice and that we can bring even more new people to the worlds and stories written by Lem.

Can we expect the PC and console versions to launch simultaneously?

Marek Markuszewski: Yes. We plan to release The Invincible simultaneously on both consoles and PC.

Is there anything else youd like to add about The Invincible, Starward, adaptations, or anything else?

Marek Markuszewski: We encourage everyone to get a feel of the atmosphere of the game by visiting our website: theinvinciblegame.com. You can find a lot of interesting materials, regularly developing comic stories interweaving with the story from the game, news from our studio, and loads more. Join us on our socials too for all those little sneaky little bites of info. And finally, add us to your Wishlist on Steam and Follow our News updates there. We will be sharing more info on The Invincible throughout the year.

We thank Marek Markuszewski for his time! The Invincible is currently scheduled to launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X | S, and PC in 2022.

This interview about The Invincible has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Read more from the original source:
The Invincible Interview: A Fully Immersive Retro-Futuristic Adventure - The Escapist

The American Wests megadrought has made the region the driest its been in more than a millennium, scientists say.

A new paper in thejournal Nature Climate Change details work studying the soil in the Southwestern United States that found that the years between 2000 and 2021 was the driest 22-year period since at least 800 CE.

When measuring soil moisture in the Southwest and reconstructing conditions from centuries past, UCLA climate scientist and lead author of the study Park Williams toldthe Associated Press that when it comes to the megadrought the US entered in the early 2000s, the worst-case scenario keeps getting worse.

Before 2021, Williams and his co-researchers Benjamin Cook and Jason Smerdon of Columbia Universitys Lahmont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, NY hypothesized that the years 2000-2018 megadrought was the driest on record for the region since the 1500s a record its now surpassed, thanks to the new findings.

By studying ancient records in the form of tree rings, the researchers found that 2002 was the driest single year on record since 1580 until 2021, that is.

I was wondering if wed ever see a year like 2002 again in my life and in fact, we saw it 20 years later, within the same drought, Williams toldthe AP.

Researchers had hoped this uberdrought might be abating in 2019 due to record rainfalls, but found in 2020 that it was only getting worse, the AP reports.

For this drought to have just cranked up back to maximum drought intensity in late 2020 through 2021 is a quite emphatic statement by this 2000s drought saying that were nowhere close to the end, Williams told the AP, adding that so far, the drought in 2022 has already been five percent drier than the previous record from the 16th century.

Beyond measuring the American Wests driest epochs, the researchers also calculated its causes and, very unsurprisingly, found that 42 percent of this megadrought is associated with anthropogenic (read: human-caused) climate change.

This is right in line with what people were thinking of in the 1900s as a worst-case scenario, Williams told the AP. But today I think we need to be even preparing for conditions in the future that are far worse than this.

As Jonathan Overpeck, the dean of environment at the University of Michigan, told the news wire, this study is an important wake-up call.

Climate change is literally baking the water supply and forests of the Southwest, Over peck continued, and it could get a whole lot worse if we dont halt climate change soon.

READ MORE:West megadrought worsens to driest in at least 1,200 years [The Associated Press]

More megadroughts:Scientist Warns of Megadrought That Could Collapse Entire Civilizations

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The American West's "Megadrought" Is The Worst It's Been in 1,200 Years - Futurism

Growing plants indoors can be a great hobby for anyone who doesnt have a yard or who wants to grow plants all year round. Experienced growers appreciate the amount of control they have over the vitality of the plants simply because an indoor grow setup is isolated from many contaminating factors, like a large number of insect species, uncontrollable temperature changes, and severe storms that could damage the plants.

However, for plants to grow and thrive indoors, they need enough light to carry out the process of photosynthesis. In addition, the amount of natural light that a plant receives throughout the day plays a large part in its life cycle. By increasing or decreasing the amount of light, you can mimic the natural change in seasons and trigger flowering at an increased rate. Or, you can allow the plant to continue to grow, extending the growing season to get a greater yield from a larger plant when it does flower.

The best grow lights offer balanced lighting that is relatively easy to set and control. Many products even have built-in timers that automatically turn the light off after a specified period of time, ensuring the plants dont get more light than intended. For more information about grow lights, take a look at our tips for picking the best ones for your needs, and check out our picks of the top products.

Best Overall: MARS HYDRO TS 1000W Led Grow Light Best Budget: GE Lighting LED Grow Light Best Hanging: HLG 100 Rspec Horticulture Lighting Group Quantum Board Best Bulb: SunBlaster 13 Watt CFL Grow Lamp 4 Pack Best for Herbs: GrowLED LED Indoor Garden Grow Light

Years of experience in setting up and operating home grows formed the basis for selecting the top grow light products available. However, extensive research into over 30 different products was also necessary to accurately compare the benefits and drawbacks of each option. This included many top-tier products, like Gavita grow lights and Kind LED grow lights, though not every high-quality option was chosen for the list of best grow lights.

Specific attention was given to the brightness of each light, the spectrum of light produced by each product, and the specific type of grow light. Plants typically need access to the entire spectrum of light in order to grow from seedlings to flowering, but the red and blue spectrum of light is the most important for strong, healthy plant development. With this in mind, preference was given to products that were able to produce the full light spectrum at a high enough photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) to best facilitate photosynthesis in the plants. In addition, products that boasted any additional features, like a remote control or a built-in timer, were typically preferred over similar grow lights that lacked these features.

Why It Made the Cut: Compact and efficient, this Mars Hydro grow light is an excellent option that provides up to 343 mol/s (micromoles per second) of light to help grow strong, healthy plants.

Specs: Type: Spread quantum board LED grow lights Light Spectrum: White/Full Brightness: 343 mol/s

Pros: Great choice for beginners Increase or reduce brightness with the included dimmer system Works with both 120V and 240V systems

Cons: Designed for a small tent

Apartments and condos often only have enough space for a small grow tent, but the MARS HYDRO Grow Light is a compact choice for beginners and experienced growers that lack the space or desire to upgrade to a larger tent. Suitable for grow tents of about 2.5 to 3 square feet, this grow light provides high-efficiency white lighting that is necessary for plants during their entire life cycle. The light is capable of producing up to 343 mol/s, but it also comes with a dimmer so that the light can be gradually increased or reduced to mimic changing seasons or simply to benefit the growth of the plant.

The MARS HYDRO grow light is a spread style LED light with a square, 3-foot by 3-foot quantum board design. It can be used with both 120V and 240V systems and it comes with the necessary wires to hang the light from a suitable support. Since just one light may not be enough for some larger setups, this grow light is capable of connecting with identical lights to form a dimmer control daisy chain, so users only need to adjust one dial to change the lighting for the entire chain of lights.

Why It Made the Cut: Hobby growers can save with this affordable GE grow light that provides full spectrum lighting at 72 mol/s.

Specs: Type: Spread bar LED grow lights Light Spectrum: White Brightness: 72 mol/s

Pros: Inexpensive investment for a basic setup Ideal for lighting shelves Daisy chain connection with up to seven additional lights Low heat product

Cons: Narrow light coverage

Try out a new hobby at an affordable price by investing in this inexpensive GE Lighting LED Grow Light that has a maximum brightness of 72 mol/s. While the light coverage of this GE grow light is relatively narrow, it is well suited for use on a shelf. Simply place seedlings and smaller plants on a shelf and secure the grow light so that it shines down onto the plants. This method makes good use of the narrow light design and the white spectrum light created by this product is ideal for plants at any stage of life.

Another option is to link up to eight identical GE grow lights in a daisy chain in order to provide light to a much larger area. These spread bar-style LED grow lights have the added advantage of being able to operate without generating excessive heat. This makes them a great choice for smaller tents where the amount of heat produced by larger lights could negatively impact the health of the plants.

Why It Made the Cut: Connect this hanging HLG grow light to help plants proceed through the full cycle from seedling to flower with full spectrum light production.

Specs: Type: Spread quantum board LED grow lights Light Spectrum: White Brightness: 225 mol/s

Pros: Suitable for soil, hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic systems Simple to set up and control Passively cooled Excellent canopy light penetration

Cons: Non-dimmable design

The HLG 100 Rspec Quantum Board Grow Lights are designed for effective lighting without a lot of difficulty during setup. Simply use the included wires and carabiner to hang the light from a central location to provide the best lighting to the target plants. These grow lights can produce up to 225 mol/s and are best used during plants vegetative and blooming stages. However, the white light that these grow lights generate can be used throughout the entirety of the plants life cycle, ensuring they receive an adequate amount of light for ongoing photosynthesis.

This HLG grow light has a square spread quantum board design and it is passively cooled so growers wont need to worry about added noise from a fan. Use this light with just about any type of setup, including soil, hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic systems, but keep in mind that the lights are non-dimmable. This means that the amount of light a plant receives will need to be initially set according to the distance between the plant and the light, and a specific schedule dictating when the light will be on or off.

Why It Made the Cut: High-efficiency fluorescent bulb design can be used in any standard light socket for versatile home grow lighting.

Specs: Type: Bulb Light Spectrum: White Brightness: 16 mol/s

Pros: Versatile use in any standard light socket Four-bulb value pack Full spectrum lighting Up to 10,000-hour lifespan

Cons: Low brightness level

Many grow setups take advantage of the efficiency offered by LED lights, but a CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) grow light like the SunBlaster 13 Watt CFL Grow Lamp 4 Pack is still a highly effective method for growing healthy plants. Each bulb in this four-pack produces about 16 mol/s (which we calculated using the bulbs lumen output). It isnt a lot of light compared to a standard spread quantum board LED grow light, but some houseplants gather natural light through windows and doors, so they only require a small boost in full spectrum lighting to help improve photosynthesis.

Additionally, this pack comes with four bulbs that can each be used in any standard light socket. When used together, the lights can produce 64 mol/s, and each bulb has an average lifespan of up to 10,000 hours. Tall standing plants can sometimes be difficult to adequately light from above, but these grow light bulbs can be placed in small- or medium-sized lamps to provide full spectrum lighting from an ideal angle.

Why It Made the Cut: Made for growing herbs indoors, this grow light is an excellent option for a novice grower or a cooking enthusiast.

Specs: Type: Spread bar LED grow lights Light Spectrum: White Brightness: 1153 umol//s

Pros: Designed for growing herbs indoors Automatic on/off timer Height adjustable

Cons: Small coverage area

The GrowLED LED Indoor Garden Grow Light includes a base for seed starters, hydroponic boxes or soil pots, and an extendable arm that holds the light at an ideal height for the current stage of growth. When the plants begin to climb up towards the light, just raise the height of the lights to give the plants room to grow. Due to the grow lights innovative design, the plants are positioned directly under the light, ensuring that the light isnt wasted on any of the four sides.

New growers will appreciate this products simplicity it makes it easy to grow herbs right in the kitchen. The grow light also comes with an integrated timer that is automatically set for 16 hours of ongoing operation. The light automatically turns off after this period, replicating an average daylight cycle for the plants. Click and Grows Smart Garden 9 is also a great option.

Grow lights are meant to help your plants grow strong and healthy, so its important to have a good understanding of what to look for before choosing a product for your setup. Consider the brightness of the light, the light spectrum that each product can produce, and the type of grow light that would be best for the size and configuration of your grow tent.

In most circumstances the brightness of a light would be measured in lumens. However, lumens can only be used to measure visible light. Plants are capable of absorbing a wider spectrum of light for photosynthesis, which is known as the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) zone. So, the PPF and PPFD are required to adequately measure the brightness of a grow light.

PPF is the standard measurement used for determining the amount of light within the PAR zone created by a single light source per second. Grow light manufacturers measure PPF in micromoles per second (mol/second). In general, grow lights with a high PPF value are considered more effective, especially if the lights can be dimmed to reduce light when necessary.

PPFD is the preferred measurement when you know the size of the area where the light will be set up. The PPFD indicates the amount of light within the PAR zone that will actually reach the plants or fall within a given surface area each second. Grow light manufacturers will sometimes provide the PPFD, though its important to note the size of the tent or room where the PPFD was set otherwise, the measurement isnt as useful for determining the actual output. PPFD is typically measured in micromoles per meter squared per second (mol/m/s).

Natural light from the sun has a spectrum of waves that includes blue light, purple light, red light, indigo light, infrared light, and more. Plants are exposed to the full spectrum when they grow outdoors, but for indoor setups, you will need to consider light spectrum when choosing the best grow lights. Certain colors are more important for your plants growth than others, so its common to see grow lights that offer full spectrum white lights as well as others that feature a series of colored lights to better control the plants various growth stages.

Blue light is essential for plants to grow from seedlings because its the first color on the light spectrum that can be absorbed by plants when they are still in a vegetative state. Its also necessary throughout the remainder of the plants life to help with photosynthesis, leaf expansion, photoperiodic flowering, and leaf curvature towards light.

Purple light isnt as important as blue light, but it can improve photosynthetic processes, especially when the plants are young. Adding purple light at later stages doesnt harm plants, but the effects of this light decline as most plants mature.

Red light is another key light on the spectrum for healthy plant growth. It can be used to help seedlings sprout and grow, but the effects of red light arent really noticeable until the later stages of growth and budding. Both blue and red light are the most important for growing healthy plants.

White light is the easiest option to go with, especially for beginner growers, because it contains every color on the spectrum. For this reason, white lights are typically referred to as full spectrum lights by manufacturers. White lights encourage growth throughout the entire plant life cycle, but experienced growers may prefer the precise balance and control over plant development that they can achieve with blue, purple, and red spectrum lights.

When it comes to choosing a grow light there are a few different types that can help to customize the setup to your specifications. The appearance, light output, and light spectrum are the main differences between the spread grow lights, chip-on-board (COB) grow lights, and traditional grow lights.

Spread grow lights typically use a square or rectangular quantum board with a high number of light-emitting diodes. They can also have spider-style arms that each have densely packed LEDs, allowing the grower to maneuver each arm to a suitable position for ideal lighting. Some products consist of a single arm or bar design.

Bulbs are not commonly used for larger home grows, but if you are providing light for seedling or setting up a standing lamp for a taller plant, grow light bulbs can be an effective way to illuminate your plants.

Chip-on-Board (COB) grow lights are known to have a higher light density than other LED grow lights. The reason a COB LED grow light can handle more LEDs than a spread or traditional grow light is because of how the LED chips are mounted. By mounting bare LED chips directly to the substrate, multiple LED chips can be used to create a single module in a very tight area.

Traditional grow lights have a more compact design than spread grow lights, and they typically have a balanced assortment of multicolored LEDs that operate in unison to provide the light that the plant needs instead of relying on white light.

Q: How long should grow lights be on?Grow lights provide the light necessary to encourage healthy plant growth. This means that the grow lights typically need to be on for 12 to 16 hours, depending on the current stage of growth. For instance, seedlings should typically receive about 14 to 16 hours of natural light per day.

Q: Do LED grow lights use a lot of electricity?Depending on the size of the setup, grow lights can use a significant amount of energy. However, most home grows are relatively small, so you can expect to pay about $15 to $50 per month in order to operate a grow light for 12 to 16 hours a day.

Q: Do you have to use LED lights?A home grow doesnt need to have LED lights for the plants to flourish. LEDs are a popular option because they dont use a lot of electricity, dont generate a high level of heat, and they typically last longer than incandescent or fluorescent lights. In most cases LED grow lights are simply the best option.

Q: How much do grow lights cost?The initial price of a grow light can range from just $20 to well over $500 depending on the wattage, size, light spectrum, and the type of grow light. Additionally, you might need to pay a bit more on your electric bills grow lights have a monthly cost of about $15 to $50 for 12 to 16 hours of daily operation.

Beginners and experts alike approve of the full spectrum MARS HYDRO Led Grow Light because its easy to use and helps plants flourish through every stage of growth. However, if you prefer a more affordable solution, then the GE Lighting LED Grow Light is a great choice.

This post was created by a non-news editorial team at Recurrent Media, Futurisms owner. Futurism may receive a portion of sales on products linked within this post.

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Best Grow Lights of 2022 - Futurism

Tesla CEO Elon Musk has reportedly donated roughly $5.74 billion of $16.4 billion worth he got from selling five million Tesla shares last year to charity, MarketWatch reports and the contribution appears to have been made just days after UN World Food Program (WFP) executive director David Beasley called on Musk to contribute billions toward battling the world hunger crisis.

Theres just one problem: we have no idea where the money went. And Musk may have also used the opportunity to reap the tax benefits of making such a large donation the oldest move in the billionaire playbook.

Back in November, Musk balked at the suggestion, taking Beasleys suggestion wildly out of context.

If WFP can describe on this Twitter thread exactly how $6B will solve world hunger, I will sell Tesla stock right now and do it, Musk tweeted at the time. But it must be open source accounting, so the public sees precisely how the money is spent.

Beasley fired back, though, providing a detailed plan on how the funds would be spent.

If the latest report turns out to be true, theres a chance Musk may have been impressed by that effort and decided to pony up.

It sounds as though the WFP hasnt received any funds yet, though.

Whether WFP receives any of this money is yet to be seen, but I am excited to hear that Elon is engaged, Beasley told MarketWatch in a statement on Tuesday. This is an amazing and great first step.

Musk also reached out to his Twitter followers in January to figure out what causes to donate to.

[By the way], critical feedback is always super appreciated, as well as ways to donate money that really make a difference (way harder than it seems), he wrote.

Theres a decent chance Musk poured the money into his own philanthropic organization, the Musk Foundation. He wouldnt be the first billionaire to have stuffed their own charities.

The donation makes Musk Americas second-biggest donor after Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in 2021, according to Reuters. But it still amounts to a tiny fraction of his net worth.

Musk also spent much of his time last year whining about taxation plans put forward by US politicians Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, calling them out for going after the ultra rich.

Then in December, Musk bragged that he will pay over $11 billion in taxes this year, an amount that roughly makes up the rest of the five million Tesla shares he didnt donate to charity.

And if you opened your eyes for 2 seconds, you would realize I will pay more taxes than any American in history this year, he added. Dont spend it all at once oh wait you did already.

But many experts saw through the ruse. The shares are a ticking tax time bomb, as Brian Foley, an executive compensation consultant, told The New York Times in November. Offhand I cant think of any way for him to get around paying the tax.

Donating, of course, couldve saved Musk a sizeable sum.

His tax benefit would be huge, Bob Lord, associate fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, told Reuters. Hed save between 40% and 50% of the $5.7 billion in tax, depending on whether he could take the deduction against his California income and hed avoid the gains tax he would have to pay if he sold the stock.

Its still unclear,in other words,whether Musk decided to give away billions for the good of the world or to minimize his tax bill. But in either case, its arguably better than nothing.

READ MORE: Elon Musk gave 5 million Tesla shares to charity, but World Food Program has not received anything yet [MarketWatch]

More on Musk and charity: Theres a Reason Elon Musk Is Suddenly Desperate to Sell Tesla Stock

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Elon Musk May Have Donated $6 Billion to Fight World Hunger, But Nobody Seems Sure - Futurism

Enormously talented and upcoming electronic music artist Hertzium has provided a new concept of AI (Artificial Intelligence) music with his meaningful creations. The artist has come up with the idea of producing music from a dystopian future. The tracks from the artist focus on the rich beats along with timeless music. The refreshing soundscape from the artist has added a new taste to all the electronic music lovers around the world. The head-nodding creations from the artist include tracks like Machine Learning, Relax, and many more. The true implementation of technology and its right use has been well highlighted with the artists tracks. The artist is associated with Label Name/Production House Hertzium Music.

The Spain Electronic Artist has recently come up with his brand new EP Machine Learning, which is comprised of four tracks. The artist is winning the hearts of the audience and is aspiring to become one of the famous faces in the genre of Electronic music. The artist brings up a perfect blend and smooth composition of all the various electronic instruments played in his tracks. The hype creating and beats full of suspense bring a refreshing vibe that can make music enthusiasts dance with joy. Some of the other works from the artist are Deep Fake, and Hacking.

The artist has become a role model to follow for many upcoming artists across the world. Inspired by humans, the artist is setting an example for many to follow with his amazing productions. Hertzium has never taken no for an answer and has always listened to his heart and followed his passion for electronic music. The artists tracks Machine Learning, Relax from his latest EP is available for listeners on all the major music-streaming platforms. Follow the artist on Soundcloud, Spotify, Facebook, and Instagram for receiving all the latest updates regarding his upcoming releases and more.

To visit his SoundCloud profile, go through the below links:

Machine Learning:https://soundcloud.com/hertzium/machine-learning

Relax:https://soundcloud.com/hertzium/relax

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The Futuristic Dimension of New Age Music has been Introduced by Spain Electronic Artist Hertzium | The Magazineplus - The Magazine Plus

In "The Phantom Menace," the movie about the aging space wizard disillusioned with the organized religion that forces him to serve as a glorified bodyguard until he decides to sacrifice everything to ensure a young orphan boy is indoctrinated into his cult and raised as a child soldier, we often see Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) using a small communicator device to report to his superiors. The device, no bigger than a thumb drive, was not only capable of long-distance communication with zero lag despite being used in the desert, but was even capable of performing blood tests on the fly take that, Elizabeth Holmes!

When you're crafting the next evolution in sci-fi communication, where do you look for inspiration? Some avant-garde sculpture? Perhaps the already-existing cellular phone? Not if you're George Walton Lucas Jr. Because then you'd look for something much more alien-looking, something that screamed "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" a women's razor. More specifically, the device (officially referred to as a Hush-98 comlink) comes from a resin cast of a Gillette Ladies Sensor Excel Razor, according to CBS News. That's right, the long-haired, bearded space wizard who probably hasn't shaved in years carried around a razor in his pocket at all times.

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The Futuristic Star Wars Prop That Was Actually Just A Razor - /Film

An incredibly futuristic five-bedroom Edinburgh property, with a heated driveway, has emerged on the market in one of the most highly sought after areas in the city.

Located on Lanark Road, Colinton, this property has all the bells and whistles you'd ever dream off.

It does, however, come with a sizeable asking price, as you can imagine from even the first image. The price for such a luxurious property, in this case, is sitting at 1.5 million. Just a little over the average Edinburgh property price, then.

READ MORE: Edinburgh property: The capital's most expensive streets that are home to millionaires

With as many as five bathrooms accompanying the five-bedrooms, it would be any families dream home, also featuring a huge rear garden, outdoor terraced dining area and walk-in shower room.

With a private and spacious driveway up to the property including heating below, saving the owners those snowy and icy day issues during the winter, a huge double garage is also present to shelter vehicles from the elements.

Rightmove describe this property as: "Built in 2011, this impressive property sits within a mature garden surrounded by trees and close to the Water of Leith. The interior has been finished to an extremely high standard with thought given to maximising light and a feeling of space.

"Its five bedrooms (all of which are en suite), four reception rooms, study and boot room are all accessed via a designer bespoke glass and floating timber staircase situated in the heart of the property which is illuminated by a giant glass cupola.

"The sleek modern kitchen on the ground floor looks out over the rear garden and is perfect for entertaining with the addition of open plan dining and seating areas. A further sitting area and separate library can be found on the first floor. Balconies on both the first and second floors afford wonderful views of the private garden and surrounding area."

Upon entrance, the hall is separated with a beautiful staircase with glass panelling, going down to the garden level floor and up to the first floor of the property.

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Further ahead, the spacious sitting and dining room is separated in the middle by a stone wall and old wood-burning fire.

The whole room is blessed with natural light from the glass window looking out towards the rear garden. To the side of the wood-burning fire, a huge book shelf and sliding doors onto the first level terraced seating area is available, perfect for al-fresco dining during the summer months.

To the right of the ground floor level, a work-from-home office space is currently occupying a spacious box room, even including an en-suite toilet and bath.

On the downstairs garden level, the main kitchen and dining area showcases an excellent use of open-plan living, with the kitchen and dining area being separated by a huge middle island that can be used for preparing food or as a breakfast bench.

With views of the garden from a the wall-length window, there is an abundance of natural light within most of the property's rooms.

Beyond the glass sliding doors, there is an outdoor patio area with furniture and excellent views of the huge rear garden.

Additional kitchen facilities and storage cupboards are available in another room behind the main kitchen, with utilities such as a washing machine and tumble dryer.

On the same level, there is a cinema room with a huge wall-mounted flatscreen TV and a sofa with footrests and attractive LED lighting with a sound-system in place, creating your families very own home cinema experience.

On the top floor, the remaining four-bedrooms, all of which include an en-suite bathroom or shower room are present with plenty natural light and views of the lower garden level which stretches into the distance.

The principal bedroom also includes access to a first floor balcony with glass panels and an outdoor dining table and chairs, offering residents the chance to dine outside with their morning brew and breakfast, as well as helping to circulate air throughout the top floor during the summer.

As well as appearing easy on the eye, the principal bedroom also has access to a huge bath tub and walk-in shower room with decorative modern tiles surrounding it.

The remaining bedrooms all have ample storage access with integrated wardrobes and desk space, as well as double beds.

Outside of the property, the rear garden is a site to behold. There are multiple trees and shrubs that can be accessed via a stone path all the way around the building.

As well as the interior of the building being incredibly modern and precise, the outside is also a stunning site with wooden panels and white stone walls accompanying the wide stone wall that separates the front and rear gardens.

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Futuristic Edinburgh five-bedroom property with heated driveway and cinema room - Edinburgh Live