-Sn!PeR-

Pro. Keep it up buddy, welcome to the team in advance.

President Joe Biden had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. He’s under an impeachment inquiry, his son was indicted in Delaware, inflation seems to be tilting back up, the United Auto Workers went on strike after Biden said they wouldn’t, and the chattering class is talking about him not running for reelection. Some of these factors explain why my colleague Zach Wolf wrote that “Biden’s two worst weaknesses were exposed” this past week, and it’s also why I’ve written about the president’s difficulties heading into next year. But while Biden clearly has problems – no president with an approval rating hovering around 40% is in good shape – some of his issues appear to be overblown at this time. Here are three reasons why: 1. Biden’s going to win the Democratic primary, unless something drastic happens A Washington Post op-ed by columnist David Ignatius that called on Biden not to run for reelection got a lot of play this past week. Putting aside whether Biden should or shouldn’t run, the fact is that he is running. A lot of people will point to polls (like those from CNN) showing that a majority of Democrats don’t think the party should renominate him. But these surveys only tell you so much. They’re matching Biden against himself and not anyone else. When asked in the CNN poll to name a preferred alternative to Biden, only a little more than 10% wanted someone else and could name a specific person. When matched up against the announced Democratic opposition (Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Marianne Williamson), Biden is crushing it. He’s over 70%, on average, in recent polling. Moreover, Biden’s job approval rating with Democrats hovers around 80%. That is well above the level at which past incumbents have faced strong primary challenges. Those challenges (such as when Ted Kennedy challenged incumbent Jimmy Carter in 1980) came at a time when the president had an approval rating in the 50s or 60s among his own party members. It is worth analyzing whether the fact that a lot of Democrats don’t think Biden should be renominated masks a larger problem he could face in a general election. But Biden’s pulling in more than 90% of Democrats in Fox News and Quinnipiac University general election polling released this past week. In both polls, his share slightly exceeded former President Donald Trump’s among Republicans (though within the margin of error). The fact is Biden’s got problems, but worrying about renomination is not one of them. 2. The impeachment inquiry isn’t damaging Biden … yet From a political point of view, Biden’s connections to his son Hunter have caused the president nothing but heartache. Most voters think Biden did something inappropriate related to his son’s business dealings. So, it might naturally follow that House Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into the president’s ties to his son’s foreign business deals would be harmful to his political future. About 40% of voters, on average, think Joe Biden did something illegal. Most voters don’t. Some Republicans are no doubt hoping that Biden’s own troubles will make their likely nominee (Trump), who is under four indictments, look less bad by comparison. A majority of voters, however, think that Trump committed a crime. The public doesn’t see the Biden and Trump cases the same way. A Wall Street Journal poll from the end of August found that a majority of Americans (52%) did not want Biden to be impeached. Republicans will have to prove their case in the court of public opinion. It’s conceivable that Republicans will overshoot the mark like they have in the past. The impeachment inquiry into Bill Clinton in 1998 preceded one of the best performances by a president’s party in a midterm election. Clinton’s Democratic Party picked up seats in the House, which has happened three times for the president’s party in midterms over the last century. To see how impeachment could turn things upside down for the GOP this cycle, consider independent voters. While the vast majority of independents disapprove of the job Biden is doing as president (64%) in our latest CNN poll, only 39% think he did something illegal. An election about a potentially unpo[CENSORED]r impeachment would be better for Biden than one about an issue that really hurts him (such as voters seeing him as too old). 3. Voters don’t like the state of the economy; it may not matter that much Stop me if you heard this one before: Biden is the president heading into an election, voters are unhappy with the state of the economy, and his party does much better in the elections than a lot of people thought. That’s what happened in the 2022 midterms. The inflation rate is lower now than it was then, but it’s on the uptick. Voters, both now and then, overwhelmingly disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy. They even say the economy matters more than any other issue, like they did in 2022. What none of this data takes into account is that Americans almost always call the economy the top issue, according to Gallup. Believe it or not, fewer Americans say the economy is the top problem facing the country now (31%) than they have in either the median (40%) or average (45%) presidential election since 1988. If you think about recent presidential elections in which the economy was the big issue (1992, 2008 and 2012), the state of the economy dominated the headlines. But as mentioned above, right now, there are a lot of other things going on in the country, as was also the case during the 2022 midterms. It’s not as if the economy is helping Biden. I’m just not sure it’s hurting him. After all, there’s a reason why Democrats have consistently outperformed the 2020 presidential baseline in special elections this year. If things were really that bad for Biden and the Democrats, they’d most likely be losing elections all over the country. That simply isn’t happening at this point. Source.

Carlos Sainz claimed his second career F1 victory, the first coming at the 2022 British Grand Prix Carlos Sainz won the Singapore Grand Prix with a controlled drive for Ferrari that ended Max Verstappen and Red Bull's winning run. Sainz managed the race expertly from the front while Verstappen fought back to fifth place after starting in 11th on a difficult weekend for Red Bull. Sainz led McLaren's Lando Norris and Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton nose to tail across the line after George Russell crashed out of third place on the last lap. Russell and Hamilton gambled on a late pit stop for fresh tyres and charged back up to Sainz and Norris but could not pass before Russell's late error. It was a dramatic climax to an intriguing race that ebbed and flowed throughout its close to two-hour running time, with a safety car, a virtual safety car and some close racing through the field, a fitting event to mark the ending of Verstappen's all-time record of 10 consecutive victories. Sainz's second win for Ferrari after last year's British Grand Prix was the first time a Red Bull had failed to win since Russell won the penultimate race of last season in Brazil. How the Singapore Grand Prix unfolded How did Ferrari pull it off? Ferrari had clearly entered the race determined to deliver the win, and pull every strategic game they could to do so, sacrificing Sainz's team-mate Charles Leclerc on the way. Leclerc, who qualified third, was the only driver in the top 10 on the grid to start on soft tyres and the move paid off as he passed Russell off the line to make it a Ferrari one-two in the opening laps. Sainz controlled the pace, as is typical for a leader in Singapore, while Leclerc was asked by Ferrari to back up the rest of the field and give his team-mate a five-second lead. Leclerc did not quite do that, staying within a second of Sainz for 10 laps or so, and then dropping back to about three seconds away. But he certainly helped Sainz significantly when a safety car was deployed on lap 20 after Logan Sargeant broke his front wing by running wide into a wall and dragged debris around the track as he returned to the pits. Leclerc backed off on that lap, holding up the cars behind him, and Sainz was nine seconds in front by the time he led the field into the pits at the end of the lap. It worked a treat for Sainz, who returned to the track in the lead, but left Leclerc vulnerable, and he dropped behind Russell, Norris and Lewis Hamilton before returning to the track because Ferrari had to hold him before releasing him from the pits as traffic passed by. At the restart, Sainz was leading Verstappen, who had vaulted up the field by not stopping under the safety car, but the world champion's old hard tyres left him vulnerable and he soon tumbled back down the field. Russell, now sitting behind Sainz, made it clear he knew the Ferrari driver was managing his pace, and that this was to stop Mercedes making another pit stop and deploying the fresh set of medium tyres they alone among the teams had saved for the race. But when Esteban Ocon's Alpine stopped in the pit-lane exit on lap 43, the virtual safety car was deployed and Mercedes pulled the trigger, stopping both Russell and Hamilton for those fresh medium tyres. Russell rejoined in fourth place, just over 15 seconds behind Leclerc, with Hamilton in fifth close behind him. Russell caught and passed Leclerc on lap 54, and then set off after Norris and Sainz up front, with Hamilton now right behind him and apparently even faster. With five laps to go, the top four were nose to tail, and Sainz deliberately slowed to give Norris the benefit of the DRS and make it harder for the Mercedes to pass him. On lap 59, with three to go, Russell had a run on Norris towards Turn 16, the final chicane, but the McLaren driver managed to cut off his attack. Russell never got quite as close again and there was late drama as he crashed at Turn 10 on the final lap and Sainz led Norris and Hamilton across the line, the three separated by only 1.2 seconds. Verstappen salvages decent result from frustrating weekend Verstappen went into the race on hard tyres, aiming to run a long first stint and hope to leapfrog cars in front as they made their pit stops. He had worked his way up from 11th to eighth within a few laps before getting stuck behind a battle between Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso and Ocon. Staying out vaulted him up to second behind Sainz at the first safety car - and perhaps could even have given him the lead had Leclerc not backed up the field. But he soon dropped back again and when he finally stopped on lap 40 for fresh tyres he fell to 15th. But he stayed patient and picked off slower cars in front of him on his fresher tyres, and by the closing laps was putting pressure on Leclerc, but just ran out of time to try to pass. Verstappen now leads team-mate Sergio Perez by 151 points, which means he cannot win the title in Japan next weekend, as he would need to leave that race 180 points in front to do so, and only a maximum of 26 are available. Hamilton's third place vaults him up to third in the championship, 10 points ahead of Alonso, who had a difficult race in Singapore. The Spaniard earned a five-second penalty for crossing the pit-entry line at a first pit stop, then was passed by Ocon while trying to overtake Perez mid-race. Aston Martin gambled on a late stop for soft tyres under the virtual safety car but Alonso ran wide at Turn 14 when he rejoined and ended up finishing 15th and last. Source.

Joa Studholme’s job title at paint company Farrow & Ball is “colour curator”, which makes her sound like a hipster doing something groovy and opaque, or a rare breed of fine art specialist. In practice, she is something altogether more down-to-earth: a paint and colour consultant with a large dollop of Mary Poppins empathy, pragmatism and cheeriness mixed in for good measure. Over the past 25 years, Studholme has parachuted into upwards of 4,000 homes to advise daunted newbies, or fraught couples, on their colour schemes. “They don’t know where to begin,” she says, as we sit in the bay window of her partially decorated new flat in London’s Notting Hill. The walls and woodwork, including the shutters, are painted in Dead Salmon in a dead flat finish. “Or there’s a marital issue,” she continues, invariably over the choice of palette. One half hankering after something daring and fun, the other wanting safe neutrals frequently results in complete deadlock. “Everyone is embracing colour much more,” says Studholme. “All those years of grey mania are over. I used to drift around houses around Notting Hill and they were all pretty much identical – seas of marble and shades of greige – absolutely beautiful, of course, but also very soulless. Now people have realised that their homes have to work so much harder for them. You’d be amazed how many want to have womb-like, cocoon-like bedrooms.” The question is, which colours and where? Studholme, together with Farrow & Ball’s creative director Charlotte Cosby, has written How to Redecorate to talk people through the process, step by step. “It’s a manual on decorating, not a glossy coffee table book,” Studholme says. “The idea is to go through it sequentially.” The first steps are the crucial ones: skip them and you’ll end up back where you started, feeling overwhelmed and unable to make decisions. If you do things in the right order, and break down both the process and the project before you begin, you can’t fail, she enthuses, with characteristic passion. Step one: take on board the architecture of the room you want to redecorate. Is it large or small, dark or light? Is it an awkward shape? Step two: bear in mind how the light falls in a room, as this will determine how your paint colours change during the course of the day. Step three, and this pertains to a single-room project or a whole house or flat: be guided by your own style and how you live – follow your gut instinct. A penchant for colour brings new choices, she says, with woodwork a key consideration. “Ask yourself: are you wedded to white woodwork? Have you thought about dark? Most people are, like: ‘That’s a bit scary, I’ve never thought of it.’” The advantage of trim that is darker than the walls, she says, is that it makes a space seem lighter, while using the same colour on both walls and trim makes the space feel bigger and sleeker. If you want to change things up, there’s no need to redecorate your entire home. “Start small,” says Studholme, “with the inside of a cupboard or a loo.” This gives you a chance to find out how comfortable you are with bolder choices. If you want the wow factor, but not in the whole house, do something darker or bold in the hall. “A statement hall gives you licence to be much more neutral in the rooms leading off it.” The spare room is another chance at self-expression. “If you have the indulgence of an extra room, go for a colour which perhaps you wouldn’t want to live with every day. I’m all over doing really strong colours and crazy decoration in guest rooms. Why not give your guests a treat?” Another good trick to add pizzazz is to paint the edge of one or two doors in a strikingly different colour. Put a strip of masking tape on the edge of the door, then paint it in a feature colour. A strip of bright yellow on a child’s bedroom door is a real favourite. “It’s the small things that get you going,” she says. Fitting a piece of painted cardboard into the back of a dresser or chest of drawers is another hack. “It’s like the coloured lining of a jacket. It’s a flourish.” Studholme is forever repainting the table legs of her kitchen table, too. Or rather, someone else is painting them. “I can’t paint,” she admits. “I’m too messy, I’m banned.” When I ask what the biggest decorating mistakes are, she is reluctant to declare any. “I’m not sure there is such a thing as a mistake,” she says. But I push for an answer, and then she is unequivocal. “The biggest mistake is people who default to bright white for ceilings. If a ceiling is really white, you can read the confines of it, it is defined. The height comes down and it instantly makes the room look much smaller. It’s as if you have created a beautiful outfit and you haven’t done your hair.” That bad, I gasp? Yes, she laughs, that bad. Source.

The entertainment industry has questions to answer over allegations against comedian Russell Brand, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said. Brand has been accused of rape and sexual assaults between 2006 and 2013 in a joint investigation by Channel 4, the Times and Sunday Times. He denied the allegations, and said his relationships were "always consensual". Mr Cleverly told the BBC those in power must "be better" at listening to the voices of the "relatively powerless". A production company has also launched an "urgent" internal investigation into the allegations. He told BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg: "I think there are some real challenges where you have these very, very acute differentials in power - whether that be in the entertainment industry, whether that be in politics, and we see this in the commercial world as well. "I think we have to be particularly careful when we listen to the voices of the people who are relatively powerless because we, I think collectively, have missed opportunities to do the right thing and intervene much, much earlier, and we've got to be better at this." Asked whether there were questions for the industry, Mr Cleverly replied: "Sadly, I think there are." MPs are expected to push for answers from big institutions that were involved in Brand's career on the crucial questions of who knew what, and when. Dame Caroline Dinenage, who chairs the House of Commons media committee, said: "We will be closely monitoring the responses of the media, especially our public service broadcasters, to these allegations, and looking at the questions that this, yet again, raises about the culture in the industry as a whole." Elsewhere, a production company has launched an "urgent" internal investigation into the allegations. Endemol, the company behind shows Brand appeared on such as Big Brother's Big Mouth, was bought by Banijay UK in 2020. A statement from Banijay UK on Sunday said it was aware of the "very serious allegations" relating to the "alleged serious misconduct of Russell Brand while presenting shows produced by Endemol", so it announced its inquiry. Meanwhile, the Trevi Women & Children's Charity said it had cut ties with the 48-year-old comedian and had been "deeply saddened and upset" following the allegations. During those years when the assaults are alleged to have taken place, the star had various high-profile jobs, including at BBC Radio 2 and Channel 4, and as a Hollywood actor. Author Irvine Welsh, also speaking on Kuenssberg's programme, said the entertainment industry "has to get its house in order so people do feel comfortable and it's an environment where they can come forward and can be listened to". But things have "changed for the better" in recent years since the start of the Me Too movement, he added. Other claims made in the investigation relate to Brand's allegedly controlling, abusive and predatory behaviour. Sunday Times media editor Rosamund Urwin, who worked on the story, told BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House there were "a lot of questions to be answered" by TV companies. She said: "I think in the coming days we will see a lot more scrutiny, including in our paper, of who knew what when, and why on earth this man was continuing to go on Channel 4 shows as late as 2018/19 when there certainly were widespread rumours that would have at least needed investigating before you put him on your channel." On Saturday, Brand went ahead with a scheduled comedy gig in north-west London. During the set, Brand alluded to the accusations but did not address them directly. He told the audience there were things he wanted to talk about but could not. On Friday, the star released a video in which he denied "serious criminal allegations" that were about to be made against him. The actor and comedian said he was the subject of a "co-ordinated attack" involving "some very serious allegations that I absolutely refute". "These allegations pertain to the time when I was working in the mainstream, when I was in the newspapers all the time, when I was in the movies, and as I've written about extensively in my books I was very, very promiscuous," he said. "Now during that time of promiscuity the relationships I had were absolutely, always consensual." While not referring to the comedian by name, the Metropolitan Police said it was "aware of media reporting of a series of allegations of sexual assault" but had not received any direct reports. "If anyone believes they have been the victim of a sexual assault, no matter how long ago it happened, we would encourage them to contact police." Raised concerns One woman known as Alice told Channel 4's Dispatches and the Sunday Times that Brand assaulted her when he was in his early 30s and she was 16 and still at school. She said she took her allegations to his literary agent Angharad Wood, the co-founder of Tavistock Wood, owned by Curtis Brown, in 2020. But she said she received a "very aggressive" legal letter in response. Tavistock Wood told the BBC: "Russell Brand categorically and vehemently denied the allegation made in 2020, but we now believe we were horribly misled by him. Tavistock Wood has terminated all professional ties to Brand." The Sunday Times reported that Alice later went to work for Channel 4 and raised concerns about his behaviour with the broadcaster in 2013 or 14. The paper also said TV researchers and runners working on Channel 4 shows alleged that Brand would get staff to approach young female audience members, some of whom were later upset by how they felt they had been treated by him. One researcher said Brand's alleged behaviour was reported to production company Endemol, which made programmes for Channel 4. The company told the paper it could find no record of problems being raised formally or discussed. Channel 4 said it was "appalled to learn of these deeply troubling allegations, including behaviour alleged to have taken place on programmes made for Channel 4 between 2004 and 2007". A spokesman said it was "determined to understand the full nature of what went on" and had "found no evidence to suggest the alleged incidents were brought to the attention of Channel 4". Controversy The relationship with the 16-year-old is alleged to have taken place at a time when Brand was working as a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music. It is also alleged that Brand would undress in the studio while working on the show. Dispatches also said Brand made sexual remarks on air about a newsreader, which he later implied he had been told by BBC production staff to apologise for. The Times added sources had told the newspaper that a complaint was made to BBC management about an "alarming display of aggression and disrespect" from Brand. Urwin told Radio 4: "There was a level of controversy around everything he did, but we have these allegations of what went on at the BBC that seem completely and utterly inappropriate for a workplace, and were inappropriate for 2006 too." A BBC spokesman said Brand left the corporation after a serious editorial breach in 2008, adding: "We hope that demonstrates that the BBC takes issues seriously and is prepared to act." The corporation said it had "evolved its approach" towards talent and complaints over successive years and had "clear expectations around conduct at work". It said it would "always listen to people if they come forward with any concerns, on any issue related to any individual working at the BBC, past or present". Source.

There are a lot of easter eggs and oddities in Baldur's Gate 3 and it seems like there's plenty left to uncover yet. For instance, one dataminer has just managed to trigger a dialogue scene in which bestest barbarian Karlach becomes aware she's a character in a game and looks right through the screen into your soul. It begins with Karlach suggesting she try something she learned from a cleric of Zariel, a technique for looking into someone's eyes and determining whether they're telling the truth or not. Things go awry almost immediately when she stops looking at the character, and instead stares at the player. If you play along with her questions, Karlach gets more than she bargained for, and has a glimpse of reality. "I see… a great web," she says. "Intersecting lines—permutations—and behind them, chaos. And then the hand that decides: yes, no. But it barely knows itself." What's more, she sees her own place in that web. "I'm stuck here, forever. In these tangled lines, in these hundred hours, or less, or more…" More than a hundred hours for those of us on our second playthroughs, that's for sure. Karlach finishes by seeming to embody the developers for a second. "You're having fun, aren't you?" she asks the player directly. You're free to answer in several different ways, but if you care enough to make it to this point I can only assume you're having plenty of fun. I know I am. It feels fitting for a scene like this to happen in a Baldur's Gate game. After all, Baldur's Gate 2 had a party of adventurers who had been turned to stone you could rescue and give a quest to who would then try to double-cross you, fail, and reload their save. Not to mention poke lines like Xzar's "Stop touching me!" and Jaheira's "Yes, oh omnipresent authority figure?" (Karlach has one in Baldur's Gate 3 when you on her, sometimes saying, "Don't. Poke. The Karlach.") This Baldur's Gate 3 easter egg scene was uncovered and posted to YouTube by Chubblot, who also posted a fuller version of the scene showing the outcome of every dialogue option. Interestingly, when they first posted it to Twitter, assuming it was cut content, Karlach's voice actor Samantha Béart responded to explain that it's still in the game. "Congrats on finding this," she wrote, "perhaps I'll talk about it when someone triggers this organically (rather than yanking the file and then getting confused about context)". Guess we'll just have to bring Karlach along in every playthrough until we find out how to trigger this dialogue then. That won't really be a problem, she came in top of our ranking of Baldur's Gate 3 party members after all. Source.

Name of the game: Deep Rock Galactic Price: $29.99 - $9.89 Link Store: https://store.steampowered.com/app/548430/Deep_Rock_Galactic/ Offer ends up after X hours: SPECIAL PROMOTION! Offer ends 30 September Requirements:

iPhone 15 Pro Max was released as the high-end variant of the iPhone 15 series that launched last week at the Apple 'Wonderlust' event. The smartphone sports a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display with Apple's Ceramic Shield material. In a similar price range as iPhone 15 Pro Max, Samsung launched its Galaxy S23 Ultra in February this year. It features a 6.8-inch Edge QHD+ Dynamic AMOLED 2X Display. Both smartphones are top-of-the-line variants of their respective series and offer up to 1TB storage. As Apple recently launched its iPhone 15 Pro Max, let's compare the handset with the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, which is offered in the same price range for its highest storage variant. Here's a look at the similarities and differences between the two smartphones. iPhone 15 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Price in India The recently launched iPhone 15 Pro Max has launched on September 12, and will be available for sale in India starting September 22. The smartphone will be sold in Black Titanium, Blue Titanium, Natural Titanium, and White Titanium variants. The 256GB storage model of the iPhone 15 Pro Max is priced at ₹1,59,900, while the 512GB storage option comes at a price of ₹1,79,900. The 1TB storage variant of the smartphone is available for ₹1,99,900. On the other hand, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra starts at Rs. 1,24,999 for the 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant. The 512GB storage model comes in at Rs. 1,34,999, while the 1TB storage variant is priced at Rs. 1,54,999. The smartphone is available for purchase in India and is up for sale in Phantom Black, Cream, Green, and Lavender Red, Graphite, Lime, and Sky Blue colourways. iPhone 15 Pro Max vs Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra: Specifications The iPhone 15 Pro Max features a 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display and offer up to 2,000 nits of peak brightness. It is powered by Apple's new 3nm chipset A17 Pro SoC. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, on the other hand, sports a 6.8-inch Edge QHD+ (3,088 x 1,440 pixels) Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. It is equipped with a custom version of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. It runs Android 13 with One UI 5.1 on top. With a Grade 5 titanium and aluminium sub-structure, the iPhone 15 Pro Max offers durability. It has also received an Action Button, instead of iPhone's Mute switch. For optics, the Galaxy S23 Ultra sports a quad rear camera setup, led by a 200-megapixel primary wide camera with a 12-megapixel ultra-wide lens, a 10-megapixel telephoto camera and a fourth 10-megapixel telephoto shooter. The selfie camera gets a 12-megapixel shooter. Meanwhile, the iPhone 15 Pro Max houses a quad camera setup, which has a 48-megapixel wide angle camera, a 12-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera, a 12-megapixel 3x telephoto camera, and a 12-megapixel periscope camera. For selfies, it sports a 12-megapixel TrueDepth camera. Talking about battery specifications, the recently launched smartphone has received a USB Type-C port this year. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is claimed to offer more than 24 hours of battery life. The Galaxy S23 Ultra, on the other side, packs a 5,000mAh battery that supports 45W wired charging. Both handsets come with an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Source.

Uninstalling software from Windows can be a pain, but it’s much easier once you know how to remove unwanted apps using BCUninstaller. This powerful app is great for newbies and power users alike, and gives you comprehensive controls for removing almost any app or process you want from Microsoft’s operating system. As well as that, it can penetrate the murky depths of Windows 11 and uncover leftover remnants from previous uninstallations – files that weren’t properly purged, registry keys that can be removed, and much more. It’s that kind of thoroughness that you won’t get with the basic remover found inside Windows’ Settings app. It does all this without charging a penny, as it is completely free to use from start to finish. Considering everything it can do, that’s great news for Windows users. So, whether you’re sick of losing space to unfinished uninstallations or just want a better way to remove unnecessary apps from your PC, BCUninstaller is the way to go. Here’s how you use it. Source.

Gigabyte and I go way back – almost six years. I remember helping my friend assemble his PC at the time, which featured an AMD Ryzen 7 1700X and a Gigabyte GA-AX370 Gaming 5 motherboard. At the time, the board was sick. The DIMM slots were RGB and the VRM cooler is an actual heatsink. Eventually, I purchased the Aorus Gaming 7, which featured RGB on the DIMM slots and PCIe. Here in 2023, we have Gigabyte’s newest case, the C301 Glass. It’s a traditional mid-tower chassis with addressable RGB and an airflow-focused design. While the C301 looks to be a solid competitor, at $100, can it compete with the best PC cases? We’ll have to put it through our usual testing to say for sure. But first, here are the specs, direct from Gigabyte. Specifications of the Gigabyte C301 Glass Type ATX Mid-Tower Motherboard Support Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, ATX, E-ATX Dimensions (HxWxD) 19 x 8 x 18 inches Max GPU Length 15.7 inches CPU Cooler Height 6.69 inches External Bays X Internal Bays 2x 2.5 and 2x 3.5-inch 4x 2.5 inch Expansion Slots 7 Front I/O 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C 1x USB 3.0 LED Switch Audio Jack Other Vertical GPU Bracket Front Fans 3x 120 or 140mm Rear Fans 1x 120mm Top Fans 3x 120 or 2x 140mm Side Fans X Bottom Fans X Weight 17 pounds Warranty 5 years Features of the Gigabyte C301 Glass Gigabyte is one of the biggest names in the component and PC realm, with products ranging from peripherals to motherboards, monitors, and much more. Heck, the motherboard I’m using in my personal rig to write this review is a Gigabye Z690 Aorus Master. While I love my motherboard, I didn’t immediately love the C301 Glass on sight. The Gigabyte C301 Glass is an ATX mid-tower that comes in white (like our review unit) or black, and includes four aRGB fans. The number of included fans is nice for this price, but they are 3-pin, so you will need to do some tinkering within the BIOS to balance sound and cooling levels. And while the C301’s included fans are aRGB, the lighting is sub-par. The illumination from the fans is not uniform. It’s focused in the center, around the logo, and in daylight that’s all that lights up. I also found it weird that the fans did not have an orange default setting. Isn’t orange the company’s color? Maybe I'm just annoyed because orange is my favorite color. While the included fans may not be the best, there are lots of options for adding your own. The C301 can fit three 120 or three 140mm fans up front; three 120 or two 140mm up top; and a single 120mm fan in the rear for exhaust. For those who plan to install radiators, the front or top of the case can house 360mm rads no greater than 30mm and a 120 in the rear. The case’s finish is diappointing; after removing the thumb screws from the PCIe bracket lock, some of the paint came away with the screw. This doesn’t bode well for the long-term durability of the paint job – especially if you plan on adding multiple upgrades. Much of the rest of the case is pretty standard – but not all of it. There’s a typical mesh front panel, but the panel in front of the motherboard tray looks like its missing something. I originally thought it was a space for SSDs, but it’s not. The area just looks skeletal, with random holes and lines punched in it. The case’s product page doesn’t indicate that the area is designed to be used for anything. Odd. While a riser cable is not included, Gigabyte does throw in a vertical GPU mounting bracket. So you can mount your graphics card in the bottom of the PSU shroud area if you bring your own GPU cable. Room for storage devices is respectable: There are two 2.5-inch SSD sleds behind the motherboard tray. And a cage beneath the PSU shroud holds either two 3.5- or 2.5-inch storage devices. I’d recommend you remove the cage if it’s not in use, as it limits the amount of extra cable space. While I appreciate the included RGB controller, one or two fan headers would’ve been nice to see here. However, you’re most likely going to be replacing the fans with brighter ones anyway, so you can use the included splitter. Internal Layout The Gigabyte C301 Glass stands at 19 x 8 x 18 inches (HWD), which is about average these days. Like most modern cases that aren’t on the extreme budget and of things, the C301 comes with pre-installed stand-offs for easy motherboard installation. This case can certainly hold its own on the airflow front, which is evident in our testing results, which we’ll get to shortly. Usually, I’m not a fan of PSU windows in cases, but Gigabyte does sell the GP-AP1, which features an integrated screen. Testing Hardware Our testing hardware is built around Intel’s 12 Gen “Alder Lake” platform, specifically a Core i7-12700KF, which is cooled by a Noctua U12s air cooler. Our graphics card is a Gigabyte RTX 3070 Ti Gaming OC. Acoustic Results for the Gigabyte C301 Glass Our acoustic tests consist of three scenarios: We run the CPU at full load, the CPU and GPU at full load, and an optimized mode. The CPU full load test runs the CPU and case fans at their maximum speed. For the CPU and GPU full load acoustic test, we also stress the Gigabyte RTX 3070 Ti Gaming OC and set the fans at 75% speed, because in gaming the fans never run at 100 percent and are far too loud when they do. For the optimized mode, we run the GPU fan speed at 30% and run the CPU and included case fans at the lowest RPM that they will spin. Bottom Line Over the years, Gigabyte has made a big impact in the DIY PC community, which spans across almost every piece of hardware. The C301 Glass is a decent case overall, especially if you like the way it looks. But it needs to be $20 or so cheaper to compete, especially considering the issues we had with paint coming off along with its screws. You can buy the Phanteks Eclipse G360A for the same price and get much better RGB fans, a better finish, and similarly good performance. The Gigabyte case does come with a front/top USB-C port, though, which is something the Phanteks case sadly still lacks. Source.

V1: 0 votes V2: 5 votes V3: 1 vote I won, thank you guys for participating in the vote !

Former President Donald Trump on Friday said he would appoint a task force to review the cases of people he claimed had been unjustly prosecuted related to their political beliefs by the Biden administration, should he win a second term in 2024. “Tonight, I’m announcing that the moment I win the election, I will appoint a special task force to rapidly review the cases of every political prisoner whose been unjustly persecuted by the Biden administration,” Trump said at the Pray Vote Stand Summit hosted by the Family Research Council in Washington, DC. Trump said he wanted to “study the situation very quickly, and sign their pardons or commutations on day one.” The comments from Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, come as he faces a total of 91 charges across four criminal cases that he has claimed are politically motivated. He has pleaded not guilty in the cases – two federal and two state – related to election subversion in Georgia, a hush-money payment to an adult-film star in 2016 in Manhattan, the alleged mishandling of classified national defense documents and a federal investigation related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Trump has before suggested he would likely pardon many January 6, 2021, rioters convicted of federal offenses, should he win reelection in 2024, though he said Thursday that it is “very unlikely” that he would pardon himself. In his Friday remarks, Trump said of the potential pardons or commutations: “I want to sign them on day one. I want to see what’s going on. It’s a horrible thing that’s happening. Twenty-two years, 18 years, 10 years. It’s a terrible thing.” In recent months, Stewart Rhodes, the founder of far-right militia group the Oath Keepers, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for leading a wide-ranging plot to keep Trump in power after he lost the 2020 election, and Enrique Tarrio, the former head of the far-right Proud Boys, was sentenced to 22 years for seditious conspiracy and leading a failed plot to prevent the transfer of power from Trump to Joe Biden. Dominic Pezzola, a lower-level member of the Proud Boys, was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Trump on Friday also pointed to the recent conviction of anti-abortion activists who were charged with illegally blocking people seeking reproductive health services from accessing a DC clinic, saying that “under Biden, others are being sentenced to 10, 15 and even 20 years in prison for retribution for their political beliefs.” Source.

We're often told "life's too short" and we should "seize the day," but compared with the rest of Earth's inhabitants, humans have far more time here than most. So, which animal has the shortest life span? It's hard to say for sure. Fleeting lives are difficult for researchers to study in detail, and plenty of animals are still waiting to be discovered. That said, mayflies are a strong contender for the critter with the least longevity. These aquatic insects hatch from eggs as nymphs and live underwater for up to two years. They then develop wings for the final stages — the subimago and imago stages — of their life cycle to mate. Many mayflies live for less than 24 hours in their winged forms, while some don't last even 5 minutes. Most mayfly species transition from water to land and air in the subimago stage and then reproduce in the imago stage. They don't have functional mouths or digestive systems in either stage and instead live off the energy reserves built up as a nymph, Luke Jacobus, a mayfly researcher and professor of biology at Indiana University—Purdue University Columbus, told Live Science in an email. "With no bulky digestive system, females have more room for eggs inside their bodies," Jacobus said. "I have seen an individual so full of eggs that eggs were even inside her head. With sometimes more than 10,000 eggs per female, they can make efficient use of their short adult lives." Like other live-fast, die-young species, mayflies are heavily preyed upon and need to produce a high number of young so that enough survive to adulthood and reproduce. But Jacobus noted that while it's tempting to ask "why" do mayflies have short lives, a better question is "why not?" "Ancient fossil mayflies are not much different from those we see today," Jacobus said. "The system they have works very well for them." Heath Ogden, a professor of evolutionary biology at Utah Valley University who studies the evolution of mayflies, told Live Science that these insects first appeared around 350 million years ago. Ogden also noted that "evolution tinkers," and in the tinkering of this insect lineage, evolution found that investing more time as a nymph was a really good strategy. "It seems like evolution decided you're mostly just going to do everything you need to do in terms of nutrient gathering as a nymph, and as an adult, you're just a mechanism of flying, reproducing and laying eggs," he said. American sand-burrowing mayflies (Dolania americana) have the shortest adult lives of any recorded species, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Biodiversity Portal. Males live less than one hour once they reach adulthood, and females have just five minutes to breed before they die. However, American sand-burrowing mayflies still spend up to two years as nymphs before that surprisingly brief adult stage. American sand-burrowing mayflies (Dolania americana) have the shortest adult lives of any recorded species, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Biodiversity Portal. Males live less than one hour once they reach adulthood, and females have just five minutes to breed before they die. However, American sand-burrowing mayflies still spend up to two years as nymphs before that surprisingly brief adult stage. Elsewhere in the animal kingdom, seven-figure pygmy gobies (Eviota sigillata) complete their entire life cycle within two months and have the shortest life span of any known vertebrate, according to the Australian Museum. The fish spend three weeks of their lives in a juvenile larval form in the open ocean; they then settle on a reef for one or two weeks to mature, before living no more than three and a half weeks as adults, according to a 2005 article in the journal Current Biology. Source.

From the October 2023 issue of Car and Driver. On the family-car evolutionary chart, the station wagon slithered out of the primordial ooze to beget the minivan, which the body-on-frame SUV drove to the brink of extinction. Soon enough, car companies realized that all most people want from an SUV is the look, which led to another form of mass-market people-moving machinery: the three-row crossover. This genetic mutation combines a buff-truck attitude with a carlike driving experience, and just about everybody makes one—hell, even Bentley. Thus, the competition is ruthless, with a new crop of candidates arriving nearly annually. Indeed, there's a slew of fresh competitors vying to oust the reigning champ of the segment, the four-time 10Best-winning Kia Telluride. Mazda's CX-90 brings a new rear-drive platform with turbocharged inline-six power and an upmarket interior. The Honda Pilot is redesigned for 2023 with a new V-6 and a beefed-up torque-vectoring rear end. Toyota's Grand Highlander Platinum is a hybrid powerhouse, putting 362 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque to the task of family schlepping. Jeep now has the stretched Grand Cherokee L, which adds a third row while avoiding wiener-dog proportions. And, of course, there's the Telluride, aging gracefully in its fourth model year. Yes, there are plenty of other three-row crossovers—we know. If your favorite isn't here, that's because it's due for an incipient overhaul, it posted a mediocre showing in a previous comparo, or we asked for one and couldn't get it. We also aimed for a mid-$50,000s price point, give or take a few thousand bucks, so that rules out your Dodge Durango Hellcats and Bentley Bentaygas. Think of this like the Academy Awards: It's an honor just to be nominated. Nonetheless, over three days of pounding pavement and crunching gravel around Michigan's Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, a winner emerged. Try to avoid skipping ahead, because the results might surprise you. 5th Place: Honda Pilot The Pilot is chock full of typically clever Honda engineering. Consider its eight-passenger seating stat, which lends the Pilot people-moving capability on par with minivans and the largest of body-on-frame SUVs. The center seat in the second row is removable, so if you don't need to accommodate a full Olympic rowing team, you can convert the second row to captain's chairs and stow the center seat in a cubby under the rear cargo floor. Like the off-road-oriented TrailSport, the Elite also gets Honda's trick torque-vectoring rear differential. Its all-wheel-drive system can send up to 70 percent of the engine's torque to the rear axle, where an electric motor powers a pair of hydraulic pumps and clutch packs that can then send 100 percent of that torque to either side. Translation: The Pilot was the only vehicle in the test that could hold a drift, howling its way to a first-place 0.84-g skidpad result. It was also the second-least-expensive machine, with an as-tested price of $53,755. Plus, its third row offers easy access. Push a button, and the second-row seat slides forward out of the way. So what gives with the last-place finish? Blame the lack of acceleration. The Pilot uses Honda's new double-overhead-cam 3.5-liter V-6, which makes 285 horsepower and 262 pound-feet of torque—five more horsepower and identical torque relative to the old SOHC engine. That nominal power increase is up against significant weight gain (more than 300 pounds compared to a 2020 model we tested), with predictable results: The Pilot got poky. Whereas the 2020 Pilot hit 60 mph in 6.2 seconds, the 2023 needed 7.2 seconds, putting it in second-to-last place in that category here. It was the slowest to 30 mph, pointing to off-the-line sluggishness that never really improves as the revs rise. One tester noted, "When you floored it to pass, you had to hope a car wouldn't come around the bend a half-mile ahead." Mind you, this was all with a single human aboard, near sea level. Add a carload of passengers and a mountain grade, and the Pilot will need even more time. If that lack of acceleration and the Pilot's featherlight steering effort were compensated by a rock-star interior or a breakthrough exterior design, that would be nice. But the Pilot is merely fine on both counts. Compared with the previous generation, it didn't make any huge leaps forward and took at least one step back. Honda obviously knows how to build fun cars, but this isn't one of them. Paging Acura: Get that 355-hp turbocharged V-6 over to the Pilot production line, stat. 4th Place: Jeep Grand Cherokee L The Jeep is a bit of an anomaly here—it belongs, yet it doesn't. On paper, the Grand Cherokee L aligns with this crowd, but in reality, it fancies itself a more serious luxury SUV. "I am America's Range Rover," it seems to say. "If you try to compare me to a transverse-engine anything, I will climb that dune over there and pout." And a Grand Cherokee is an American Range Rover, if you spend enough money. That's the challenge in this context—there are a lot of features you can tack on to a Grand Cherokee L that were absent on this one because its $61,000 as-tested price already pushed past our target budget. So: no sunroof, no front passenger's-side display screen, no V-8. All of those things are available, and going wild with options can rocket the price beyond $80,000. At which point, you might start considering actual Range Rovers. This Limited L seats only six passengers, but all of them hospitably. There's enough legroom for six-footers to occupy each row comfortably (simultaneously, we should add), and the third row's scooped-out headliner—sort of like SUV Gurney bubbles—ensures adequate headroom in the wayback. The balanced rear-drive platform and its longitudinally oriented engine pay dividends in both styling and handling, with the Grand Cherokee L notching a second-place showing on the skidpad at 0.82 g. The Jeep was in a dead heat with the Honda in almost every acceleration test, which means the same criticism applies here—needs more power. Although we did like the vocal nature of the Jeep's 293-hp 3.6-liter V-6, and the Jeep's 6200-pound tow rating far surpasses everyone else's 5000-pound max. It also has a ride so frictionlessly serene that at least one of us crawled underneath to see whether it had air springs. Nope, steel coils at all four corners, but expertly dialed in (air springs are standard on the pricier Overland and Summit trims). This points to a philosophical problem for the Grand Cherokee L Limited 4x4: As nice as it is, you know what you're missing by sticking to a budget. McIntosh audio, nappa leather, massage seats, and a Hemi under the hood could all be yours. But not for $61,000. 3rd Place: Kia Telluride The Telluride has been such a smash hit for Kia that sometimes a civilian would infiltrate our comparo convoy and confuse us. Hey, which one of you put that Pearl Jam decal on the Telluride? Whoops, wrong white Telluride. But in this case, familiarity doesn't breed contempt since we love the 10Best-winning Kia as much as we always have. Again, we were amazed at the sheer amount of equipment the Telluride crams in while boasting the lowest price, both the SX Prestige's base ($51,955) and as-tested ($52,970). The top-trim Telluride wants for nothing, with leather, a faux-suede headliner, heated and ventilated first- and second-row seats, and a panoramic roof. The Telluride is also much roomier inside than its exterior dimensions would imply. What black magic is at work when the shortest vehicle can fit the longest length of pipe—more than 12 feet!—inside? The Kia also tied for first place in front- and second-row passenger volume, as well as in cargo volume behind the third row. And, as we've raved ever since its 2020 introduction, the Telluride just feels good. The moment you put your hands on the wheel, you sense that this is a refined machine built by people who care. Among the gripes directed solely at the Telluride, one five-foot-three tester opined that the driving position is calibrated to NBA small forwards, saying, "It feels designed for taller people, longer-legged people, bigger-footed people. There's no seating position where my arms and legs are both comfortable. I end up sort of tiptoeing the accelerator, and my knee starts to hurt." But mostly, critiques of the Telluride end up framed as juxtapositions against its fresher competitors. The 291-hp V-6 underhood returned only midpack acceleration. Its interior is nice, but some of the materials lack the richness of the CX-90's. Ever since it came on the scene, we've maintained that you can't do better than a Kia Telluride. We're amending that statement slightly to say that you have to spend a little more to do better than the Kia Telluride. But the Telluride had a target on its liftgate, and eventually, somebody was going to score a direct hit. Or, as it turns out, two somebodies. 2nd Place: Toyota Grand Highlander If you've driven a Toyota hybrid of the Prius ilk, the Grand Highlander will utterly destroy your expectations for a hybrid. There's no CVT, no groaning naturally aspirated four-cylinder. This is the new hybrid system that debuted in the Crown, and it's a riot. The gas engine is a turbocharged 2.4-liter four, the transmission is a six-speed automatic with a wet clutch, and the total output is a swole 362 horsepower and 400 pound-feet of torque, the latter attained at just 2000 rpm. In our unscientific rolling drags on northern Michigan's uphill passing lanes, the Toyota collected pink slips from all challengers. The subsequent test-track numbers confirmed its dominance, as the Toyota sprinted to 60 mph in 5.6 seconds and hit the quarter-mile in 14.3 seconds at 98 mph. At the same time, it delivered the best overall fuel economy, at 25 mpg. This powertrain makes good on the longtime hybrid promise of enhancements to both acceleration and fuel economy. The Grand Highlander's gusto is even more impressive given its hugeness. Grand indeed, the Toyota took first place in nearly every cargo-volume metric and could swallow the largest flat panel (not quite the prototypical four-by-eight sheet of plywood, but not far off). If only it were a little more generous to cargo of the human variety. The third row would challenge the resilience of a Naked and Afraid contestant, with scant legroom unless the second row is all the way forward. And can we please stop trying to reinvent the shifter? The setup will be familiar to anyone coming from a Prius, but it might confound drivers graduating from the regular Highlander, which has a perfectly useful conventional shifter. Other than that, the interior design works well, although moving from the plushness of the CX-90 and Telluride back into the Grand Highlander makes it apparent that the Toyota is leaving the best materials for Lexus's version, the TX. Supple ride quality does enhance interior comfort, but impacts resonate loudly through the suspension and into the structure. The Grand Highlander is big, fast, and efficient, but it's not quite the complete package. 1st Place: Mazda CX-90 You come at the king, you best not miss. It's as if Mazda had a punch list of the Telluride's best attributes and went right down, item by item, and surpassed them all. Smooth, powerful engine? The Mazda's turbocharged 3.3-liter inline-six makes 340 horsepower and 369 pound-feet of torque, enabling a 6.4-second sprint to 60 mph, second only to the Toyota. (The Mazda does require premium fuel to make its full rated horsepower—on regular fuel, it's 319 ponies.) The CX-90 was not only quickest to 130 mph, but it's also one of only two vehicles here that even do 130 mph, which speaks to Mazda's confidence in the CX-90's high-speed composure. When our testers opened the crossovers' doors for the first time, only one interior consistently drew involuntary wows—the Mazda's, with its quilted leather and swath of faux suede across the dash. And while Mazdas are known for pleasing the driver, the CX-90 is mighty fine for the passengers too. One logbook note read, "Feels the most business class of the second rows. Everything you're looking at and touching is nice." The rear-drive platform enables a rakish long hood and athletic proportions, which are enhanced by the biggest tires in the group—275/45R-21s. Pull out into traffic with an aggressive jab of the throttle, and the Mazda will bark the inside rear tire, reminding you of its rear-biased all-wheel-drive system. Sluggish steering with odd weighting makes the CX-90 seem ponderous on the interstate, but the rest of the experience is quiet and refined. Any demerits mainly boil down to price—the CX-90 in this test is expensive. While the 280-hp Turbo Select model starts at $40,970, our loaded-to-the-gunwales Turbo S Premium Plus carries a $61,920 as-tested price. And you know what? It's worth it. Source.

"It was our off day and I had just finished working out when I got the text. I was like, 'No way?' Then, like an hour later, everybody started congratulating me because they had posted the roster on the website or whatever." Dan Whelan is recalling the moment he learned he would be the starting punter for NFL team the Green Bay Packers this year - and reflecting on his regular-season debut in last Sunday's impressive 38-20 win at the Chicago Bears. Originally from Enniskerry in Co Wicklow before moving as a teenager to California, the 24-year-old punter thus became the first Irish-born player in the league since Neil O'Donoghue was kicking for the St Louis Cardinals back in 1985. To the surprise of some pundits, Whelan has supplanted nine-year veteran Pat O'Donnell for the punter position at Green Bay. The pair had worked closely together in pre-season - and parted on very good terms. "He actually left a pretty nice note in my locker," says Whelan. "So then I texted him. We had a pretty good relationship so I'll definitely be staying in contact." Whelan slept soundly before debut Whelan's NFL debut went as well as he could have dared to hope - even the night before the game when, he claims, he slept very soundly. "Phenomenal," he laughs. "I had a bath - and that was the first bath I've had since… well probably back when I was in Ireland! "That helped me sleep really well. I didn't even know there was going to be a bath that would fit me [Whelan is 6ft 5in] but it took me, so I went for it." Part of the pre-match spectacle these days are shots of the player arrivals at the stadium, with the more fashion conscious and flamboyant strutting to the locker room in their finest matchday livery. Whelan isn't sure he is going to fall into that bracket. "I feel like sometimes that I am," he reflects with a grin. "And then sometimes I'll be like naaaaa… just put on a T-shirt and shorts. And this time? It was just the T-shirt and shorts. "And the atmosphere, I soaked it all in during the pre-game. It was similar to all the other games I've ever played in really - but just with maybe 50,000 more people." Whelan would go on to play his part in the Packers' victory. He had five punts in the game, including a monster 68-yarder, from the Green Bay 32 to the Chicago end zone. Whelan also has the role of holder for Packers kicker Anders Carlson, who was perfect on the day, including kicking a 52-yard field goal. Carlson, the younger brother of Las Vegas Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson, is also in his rookie NFL season. "We have both just been going through each day together, you know?" says Whelan. "I have actually started to love holding - I didn't used to but now I probably hold more than I punt. We get points for the team so that's the most important part. "As for the punting, I am just doing my job so if I can do my best, I'll put the defence in pretty good field position. "I feel like when I first got here, I was trying too hard. I was just thinking too much, like I was in the big league now. But it's the same task in hand. You need to just focus on the here and now and nothing else matters." Wicklow man 'grateful' for support from home The 38-20 victory at the Bears was something of a statement by Green Bay, now in the post-Aaron Rodgers era. Justin Love, Rodgers' successor at quarterback, threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns in a comprehensive victory. "Everybody was thrilled, but not shocked - we're a pretty good team," says Whelan about the mood in the Packers locker room after the win. "We are all able to play football here. It definitely gave our team a lot of confidence and self-belief. It's now about progress each week." The Packers move on to another road game at the Atlanta Falcons this Sunday, before Whelan makes his home debut at the legendary Lambeau Field in Week Three against the New Orleans Saints - the team who waived him just over a year ago. After the uncertainty of this summer, living out of a suitcase while trying to nail down a permanent place on the team roster, Whelan is now starting to get settled in Wisconsin. "I just got an apartment," he says. "I am stoked to be out of the hotel after something like nine months. But I am still sleeping on a mattress on the floor so far, because I don't have a bed frame or anything yet." He has already overcome bigger hurdles this summer - and remains flattered by all the interest from well-wishers across the Atlantic. "Based on articles and stuff that I'm getting tagged in, I do feel like there's a lot of support out there and so I am pretty grateful for it," he says. Source.

A 28-year-old ophthalmologist reportedly died in Kolkata following a dengue outbreak. He was diagnosed with Dengue Hemorrhage Shock Syndrome, reported PTI. According to the news agency report, Dr Debodyuti Chattopadhyay recently underwent a kidney transplant, but after surgery, he suffered from diabetes and multiple organ failure, leading to his death. What is Dengue Hemorrhage Shock Syndrome (DHSS)? Dengue Hemorrhagic Shock Syndrome (DHSS) is a critical complication of dengue infection that demands proper understanding and immediate vigilance, stressed Dr Sauren Panja, senior consultant and administrative lead-critical care services, internal medicine at Narayana Health RN Tagore Hospital Mukundpur Kolkata. Calling it “a critical form of dengue” i.e., severe dengue is characterised by severe plasma leakage leading to shock (low blood pressure), said Dr Aravinda G M, consultant – internal medicine, Manipal Hospital, Jayanagar, Bangalore. “Initially, it mirrors common dengue symptoms – high fever, severe headaches, muscle pain, and a rash. Yet, it swiftly transforms into a life-threatening condition characterised by severe bleeding, abdominal pain, continuous vomiting, and shortness of breath,” elucidated Dr Panja. According to Dr Aravinda, warning signs of severe dengue begin the 1st or 2nd day after the fever subsides which include severe stomach pain, persistent vomiting, blood from gums or nose, blood in urine, stools or vomit, bleeding under the skin, difficulty or rapid breathing, fatigue, and irritability or restlessness. While the dengue virus itself is the culprit, triggering an aberrant immune response and disrupting the body’s ability for coagulation due to low platelets, it leads to bleeding tendencies and the leakage of fluids from intravascular space, culminating in shock and organ failure. Who is at risk? It primarily affects individuals who have been previously exposed to different serotypes of the dengue virus, said Dr Harikishan J, senior general physician, Kamineni Hospitals, L.B Nagar, Hyderabad. “This is known as antibody-dependent enhancement, leads to a more severe and aggressive form of the disease,” said Dr Harikishan. According to Dr Harikishan, individuals residing in or travelling to regions where dengue is prevalent are at risk. “Those with a history of dengue infection and young children are particularly susceptible to DHSS. Additionally, people with compromised immune systems may be at greater risk,” said Dr Harikishan. Treatment Treating severe dengue requires maintaining good hydration (oral or intravenous), monitoring of platelet count and hematocrit, as well as organ support accordingly. “Treatment should never be delayed. Timely diagnosis and hospitalisation are pivotal in case of warning signs. Swift interventions such as fluid replacement and blood transfusions (in case of bleeding manifestations) are essential to stabilise the patient and mitigate the risk of shock,” said Dr Panja. Preventive measures? According to Dr Panja, prevention relies on robust mosquito control measures – from insect repellents to the elimination of breeding sites. Eliminate mosquito breeding sites by emptying containers that collect stagnant water, using mosquito nets, and applying insect repellent. “In regions where dengue is prevalent, vaccines may be available to reduce the risk of infection. Wear long sleeves and pants, especially during peak mosquito activity times,” said Dr Harikishan. How is DHSS different from dengue? DHSS stands apart from typical dengue due to its “rapid progression and severe bleeding tendencies”, explained Dr Panja. “Those at greater risk include infants, young children, and individuals with a history of prior dengue infections, as subsequent infections elevate the likelihood of developing DHSS. In dengue-prone regions, early detection and mosquito control measures are the strongest defence against this potentially fatal syndrome,” said Dr Panja. Source.

Mourners have descended on the town of Ulundi to attend the funeral of veteran South African politician and Zulu chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi. He has been granted a state funeral in honour of his contribution to the fight against white-minority rule. As a mark of respect, the national power firm has also agreed Ulundi will not be subject to the national rolling electricity cuts during the events. But his death at the age of 95 has opened up a debate about his legacy. Born into the Zulu royal family, he remained their traditional prime minister until his death. However, it was his role in politics that has split opinions. He founded the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) after becoming disillusioned with the African National Congress (ANC) in 1975 at the height of apartheid. He opposed the ANC's stance on armed action and sanctions, arguing that they harmed black South Africans. For this, his supporters believe he deserves all the accolades being showered on him - and the hundreds of people who lined the streets on Friday leading to the Kwa-Phindangene Palace in Ulundi, along with praise-singing Zulu regiments clad in traditional attire, see him as a man of peace. Prof Kealeboga Maphunye, head of African politics at the University of South Africa, acknowledges Buthelezi was "a respected traditional leader who made a contribution in history in ensuring that the dignity of black people, particularly Zulus, was not trampled on by the apartheid regime". Yet it was what happened during the transition to multi-party democracy in the early 1990s, when an estimated 20,000 people died in violence between the ANC and IFP, that has drawn criticism and opened up old wounds. "We cannot forget that Buthelezi's supporters were involved in acts that undermined his legacy," Prof Maphunye told the BBC. The City Press newspaper editor-in-chief Mondli Makhanya was more forthright in his front-page editorial, a day after Buthelezi's death, calling him a "murderous apartheid collaborator who was behind hit squads linked to his organisation". Makhanya went on to describe positive tributes about him as "the culmination of the greatest whitewashing of history that South Africa has seen". Thokoza township in the east of Johannesburg is one of many areas that experienced political violence by those determined to derail the road to the country's first democratic elections in 1994. A monument to the 600 people who died there now stands on Khumalo Street, once the dividing line between two warring communities. On Thursday people gathered at the memorial determined that their relatives who died would not be forgotten at this time. "I lost my uncle during the violent clashes. He was bludgeoned to death," a man, who asked not to be named, told the BBC. He had called on Buthelezi to "humble" himself and apologise for the atrocities that were committed in his name. "But instead of apologising, he denied involvement till his death," he said. The IFP has dismissed these criticisms, saying neither Buthelezi nor his party can be blamed for planning the violence. After Nelson Mandela won the country's first democratic elections, he and Buthelezi buried the hatchet and the IFP leader went on to serve two terms as home affairs minister in the ANC government. Buthelezi's son, Prince Zuzifa, said: "The IFP shares our pain in seeing long-discredited propaganda revived by a few individuals who have no sense of humanity but we will not be drawn into their spiral of hatred… history will vindicate our father." Events to commemorate the Zulu leader began on Wednesday in Ulundi with a memorial service organised by the IFP and addressed by dignitaries and politicians of all parties. But this too has become overshadowed by accusations that some are using the commemorations to play politics ahead of elections next year, with politicians accused of being prepared to revise history with votes in mind. This criticism has particularly been levelled at the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the country's second-largest opposition party launched 10 years ago. Its head of political education, Mbuyiseni Ndlozi, took to the stage to praise the IFP founder: "Never be shaken by the negativity of ill-informed, ignorant people. "Never be shaken by opportunists, hypocrites who want to educate us about our own history and the leadership that stabilised this country into a politically peaceful environment," he told the crowd of mourners. For the IFP the funeral is also a good opportunity to canvas for votes and for other parties to woo a possible coalition partner in KwaZulu-Natal province, homeland to the country's largest ethnic group. Buthelezi retired from active politics five years ago, but recently won praise for the overseeing the peaceful installation of the recently crowned Zulu monarch Misuzulu ka Zwelithini, amid a battle for the throne among his brothers. Although it was reported that he and the king were at loggerheads recently over the running and management of the Ingonyama Trust, a body with the role of managing communal land in KwaZulu Natal province. Buthelezi regarded the trust as one of his great successes - and its creation did pave the way for the IFP to participate in the 1994 elections - although it has come in for criticism, with some seeing it as unconstitutional, as it leaves millions of people in rural areas under rule of the king. But for historian Mphumeleli Ngidi, Buthelezi's nearly 70 years of service show an unfailing dedication to preserving Zulu customs and rituals at a critical juncture in South Africa's history - and for this alone there is no doubt he will be revered. Source.

Name of the game: Assetto Corsa Competizione Price: $39.99 - $11.99 Link Store: https://store.steampowered.com/app/805550/Assetto_Corsa_Competizione/ Offer ends up after X hours: WEEKEND DEAL! Offer ends 21 September Requirements:

Starfield, the new huge role-playing game developed by Bethesda, generally runs more efficiently on AMD GPUs than NVIDIA GPUs thanks to some architectural advantages, as suggested by a new in-depth analysis shared online this week. ChipsAndCheese took a good look at the game's performance on both manufacturers' current flagship cards, RTX 4090 and RX 7900 XTX, highlighting how AMD's card provides better efficiency at all resolutions, although the gap gets narrower at higher resolutions. As summarized by Reddit user Mikereysalo, ChipsAndCheese highlights how the AMD card overachieves in this game thanks to some architectural advantages, which include having fewer cores with bigger register files, which allow the GPU to track more threads per core, leading to higher occupancy that benefits performance, a higher L2 bandwidth granted by smaller L2 cache, and using wave 64 instead of wave32, which tracks only half the threads as wave32, but with some performance benefits. As such, it's not that NVIDIA GPUs are underperforming in Starfield's case but that AMD GPUs are overperforming. Even so, ChipsAndCheese concludes that NVIDIA's strategy is ultimately validated by the RTX 4090's massive shader array, which allows it to come out on top with 55.2 FPS, executed in 18.1 ms in the analyzed frame. AMD's 7900 XTX falls a bit short at nearly 50 FPS, rendered in 20.2 ms. The full analysis provides plenty of interesting facts on the matter, so make sure to check it out to understand how Bethesda's game takes advantage of the unique architectural features of AMD GPUs. While performance is an issue for some, Starfield is still a more than worthy role-playing game to get, thanks to an engaging story, huge amount of meaningful content, and solid combat, as I highlighted in my review. With an engaging story, well-developed characters and lore, and a huge amount of meaningful content, Starfield is one of Bethesda's finest games and one of the best role-playing games released in the past few years. The lack of seamless exploration and real innovation of the typical gameplay formula from the studio are noteworthy, but those willing to forego these issues will find a reactive and sprawling sci-fi universe to lose themselves in for hundreds, if not thousands, of hours. Starfield is now available on PC, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S worldwide. The game is also available as part of the Xbox Game Pass library on PC and consoles. Source.

In Desta: The Memories Between, you play as Desta, who takes on the unenviable, but relatable task of overthinking future conversations that you don't want to have. This anxiety manifests itself as a tactical dodgeball game in your dreams where you think through the worst possible conversation scenarios with old friends and family while visiting home for the first time in years. To turn that familiar human experience into a grid-based dodgeball game sounds strange on paper, but in practice, it works and delivers alongside it a solid tactics game that uses the mobile platform well. Interpreting this rehearsal of future conversations as tactical dream dodgeball works well because it feels about as normal as the average anxiety dream. It only really makes sense while it's happening and only falls apart when you try and explain it later. In this way, Desta nails the feeling of a dream, which is difficult to do in any entertainment medium. As a video game, it also works well as a fun tactics game. Every person in your life that you're dreading a confrontation with appears to you in your dreams (alongside some nobodies to serve as cannon fodder) on a layout of squares with randomized barriers. Old friends introduce themselves by berating you for the thing you're anxious about, manifesting your worst-case scenario. You take turns moving positions, picking up dodgeballs, and tossing the ball at them to inflict damage and whittle down their health while making sure you're in a position to not receive the same punishment. The core idea is familiar to anyone who has played a comparable strategy game, but the dodgeball adds an element of action and finesse that works well on a touchscreen. Once in position, you pull back on your character to launch the dodgeball like a slingshot, making sure to release at the right moment for added speed. You can bounce the ball against enemies to hit other enemies, or bounce the ball into the hands of your teammates. You can even throw the ball against a wall to bounce it around a corner, or make sure it bounces back to you so the ball is in your hand for the next turn. Throwing the ball is a fun system that gives you lots of additional options in the arena, and when the bounces work in your favor it feels great. Unfortunately, it can also hurt you in a way that doesn't always feel fair. Sometimes the physics don't quite work and the shot I thought was lined up perfectly bounced in an unexpected, detrimental way. With the touchscreen, I also occasionally accidentally threw a ball when I was just trying to rotate the camera, which was frustrating. Most moves can be undone without any penalty, which is great, but for understandable reasons, once you throw the ball, that turn is over. Special abilities are unlocked as you play but are randomized each time you attempt a run. For example, one allows you to use all your action points to inflict more damage with a single throw, while another enables you to switch positions with an enemy to give yourself the advantage. This randomization is a good way to introduce you to abilities you may like but would not have otherwise tried, but it also locks you into some abilities that don't feel particularly useful. If you use an ability enough and level it up, you get to keep it across runs, which is great, but early in the game you're at the mercy of whatever you get and there were a few I just never found a great use for. Desta is a roguelike which means you do have to restart a run when you wake up from a dream after getting hit by a dodgeball too many times. You level up and gain more health and movement spaces per turn as you go, as do the teammates you add to your team through the course of the game. Leveling you and your friends up, even with runs that don't go well, is great, and it encouraged me to be experimental when things weren't going my way. The downside of tackling the game through a series of runs are the repeated conversations. The dialogue changes a little bit each time you encounter the character you've been dreading talking to again and again, but I can only hear my childhood friend yell at me for not reaching out to her so many times. I could even sense Desta getting annoyed as they had to go over the conversation with their high school teacher they never properly thanked for the support again for the fifth time. The dialogue is well-written, the characters are fully realized and well-performed, and I was excited to see Desta overcome her anxieties--that excitement just waned as she did it again and again with the same people. Desta: The Memories Between is an interesting follow-up to developer Ustwo's breakout hit, Monument Valley. It swaps the abstract, yet emotional storytelling for something more overt, but still dreamlike. The overall setup, visual aesthetic, and soundtrack is great and the tactical combat is fun, but repeated conversations make some of the runs feel like a chore, and sometimes the dodgeball feels more like a loose cannon. Desta's journey, however, is a relatable one and helping them complete it--even in a dream--was a cathartic experience that made me want to text that friend I had not spoken with in years. Source.

While playing Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 and searching for a way to verbalize my overall impressions, I kept coming back to the phrase "more of the same" but in this case it's important to clarify that "more of the same'' means more of one of the most accomplished, thrilling, and authentic superhero experiences of all time. It means more of a game that allows us to live out the fantasy of being a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man better than any other medium. For my money, Insomniac's games are the only place where longtime web-heads can think about that iconic phrase "with great power must come great responsibility," feel the full weight of what it means, and have personal involvement in making sure Spider-Man lives up to Uncle Ben's guiding principle. The weight of that responsibility has never been more apparent or felt as heavy as it does in Marvel's Spider-Man 2, which presents a much larger neighborhood for Spidey to do his friendly adventuring in. With the addition of Queens and Brooklyn, the sequel's open-world is double the size of the original and, by leveraging the power of the PlayStation 5, Insonmanic is able to ensure that players are always keenly attuned to just how much of New York is relying on them. Standing atop the Avengers Tower as Miles Morales, I couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the city stretching out far into the horizon. Expansive video game worlds aren't exactly new and exciting these days, but there's something different about the world of Insomniac's Spider-Man titles. There's a realistic familiarity to it, even more so now that the PS5 is able to render buildings as far as the eye can see and introduce small but subtle details that, while undoubtedly mundane, also make the world feel more alive: a plane passing overhead, boats cruising across the Hudson river, flocks of birds weaving between buildings, and people shuffling around the streets, to name just a few. But for as overwhelming as it is, it makes that moment where you step out into it all the more exciting. And when it comes to moving through open-worlds, very few games make it as exciting as Marvel's Spider-Man did, and its sequel does. That much became apparent the moment I stepped off the Avenger's tower as Miles, falling at breakneck speed, the iconic silhouette of Spider-Man cutting through a golden blanket of sunlight as the final minutes of daylight tick away. Not to put too fine a point on it, but in this moment I was so glad to have "more of the same." As Miles pullmeted towards street level, the wind rushing past his ears, the anticipation of firing a web that would latch onto a nearby anchor point built up until I hit the button as the thumping base and bouncing snare of a trap beat shattered the silence and and I was instantaneously swung back up into the sky, spinning wildly but still with the kind of controlled grace that only Spider-Man can have. It immediately put a smile on my face and, within seconds, the muscle memory of being Spider-Man in Insomniac's last two games kicked in with exhilarating familiarity. Before I knew it I was catapulting myself across rooftops; falling low enough to the ground before firing off a web that Miles's feet would graze the pavement on the upswing; zipping around and across buildings, arms brushing windows as I sprinted along windows and through fire escapes. Within moments I was back into the swing of things, but this time around Insomniac has made some additions to traversal to both account for the larger landmass available in the sequel, as well as to give players more options. Some of these are small--but nevertheless cool--additions like a slingshot launch that has Spider-Man use fire webs onto two surfaces on either side of him, then fire himself up and into the air to quickly gain speed and distance. Others, like the Web Wings, are much more significant. At any time, Spider-Man, either Peter or Miles, can deploy web-based wings under their arms that let them glide for long distance but, in practice, effectively enable them to fly. It's a surprising new addition that ostensibly means that those moments from the last game where you suddenly found yourself careening over a large park or body of water with nothing to latch onto and swing from are a thing of the past. Now you can pop out your wings and majestically glide back to more densely constructed areas to continue swinging. It's an excellent addition to Spider-Man's traversal skills, but it did make me question the impact it would have on swinging. After all, why swing when you can fly? As it turns out, Insomniac asked itself the same question and ensure that gliding/flying didn't rob the swinging of its function and, more importantly, thrills. "We took a lot of the same approach with the Web Wings that we do with all of our traversal," explained senior programing director Doug Shehan. "Which is to make sure that we've always said that we look at traversal as a cohesive whole. As Spider-man you have a huge pallet of moves that you can do in traversal. Swinging is obviously a huge part of it, but there's also wall-running, and web-zipping, and point-launching. So when we approached the web wings we were trying to solve a couple problems. One of which was what are we doing in the new boroughs where everything is lower. Another of which was how we were going to cross the river--it solves those problems. So we really set out to make something that was really engaging, really fun, but balanced with the rest of traversal. "It was really, really important that we made sure that effective use of the web wings was getting it so that people were more integrating them into the rest of their traversal and using them opportunistically, as opposed to using them exclusively. People can [use them exclusively], but the side effect of that is if you just use them and try to glide for a long way you're going to slow down a lot. The only way to get there fast is to dive and to shed height, and then we're getting you into integrating everything else and you use swinging to really build that speed back up, fling yourself up in the air, glide a little further, go around a building, engage with point launch, fire off of that swing again, use the web wings again. And so what we found pretty early was that it integrated really well if we found that right balance." The world itself in Spider-Man 2 has changed to encourage players to consider what traversal opportunities it presents and how Spider-Man's skillset can leverage them. One of the major new additions for the wings is wind tunnels and the updrafts, which give the web-slinger a boost in speed while carrying him across the city. Naturally, they factor into the activities you can do in the open-world too--namely chasing down drones belonging to Kraven the Hunter, the main antagonist of the sequel. However, one of the most interesting changes for the game is the way these opportunities, as well as other mission and activities, become visible to the player. Taking a page of of Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Knight, Insomniac has place a greater emphasis on trying to keep the player out of menus and in the world. It has done this by placing visual tells in the world that indicate opportunities to the player. Crimes in progress return, so you can expect to be pulled in different directions to help the citizens of New York as you go about your own super heroics, but now other side-missions will also pop up and be marked in the world. Most importantly, they're only visible when you engage the augmented reality vision the Spider-Men have, which means that you can see what's available to you at the tap of a button, but also the world doesn't feel cluttered with distracting beams of light. For someone like me, who revels in just moving around the world of Spider-Man as the character, the sequel is already shaping up to be a more thrilling prospect. Even today, I load up the previous two games and just swing about for the thrill of it, and with the various new abilities at Peter and Miles's disposal, zipping around New York feels quicker-paced and more engaging. The changes to traversal are just one part of a broader group of tweaks and additions made for Spider-Man 2. While many of these will feel like natural progression from the previous games, others are more significantly different. In particular the new combat options that are enabled by the presence of the symbiote, which has bonded itself to Peter, for better or for worse. The new abilities make the two Spider-Men feel more distinct as the symbiote-powered combat style feels more aggressive and destructive, resulting in a Peter that feels powerful in a way that is reckless and create a sense of unease for people that are used to seeing him as a heroic, considerate, and good person. Miles, meanwhile, is precise and more classically Spider-Man-like in his ass-kicking, but this belies a real crisis of confidence and identity he is feeling in the game. While the traversal served as the thing I most focused on in the gameplay session, I did spend a good chunk of time cracking heads while taking down goons and also advancing the story. Both the combat--including how each of the Spider-Men can be developed separately and together--and the story for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 are discussed at length in the preview video above and, given nature of it and how important I feel it is to go in fresh, I won't explain too much of what's going on in the game. For astute Spider-Man fans, the pieces of the puzzle were all presented in the previous two games and even with the little I saw it became clear that Insomniac is trying to put its own twist on the well-trodden symbiote Spider-Man story. There are characters being positioned in roles that feel like they could interpret those familiar narrative beats in new ways, just like it did with Doc Ock previously. At the same time lesser known and used characters like Kraven the Hunter look like they're going to be used in effective ways to push the overall narrative while also having their own smaller arcs--the same can be said of Martin Li, who returns from the first game and is a key focus for Miles in his current turmoil. Source.