King_of_dark

Waiting for new hardware to release can be a grueling process. But this maker, known as Guido Burger, took matters into their own hands by creating an Adafruit Feather RP2040 before it was officially released. The new board from Adafruit is available for sale as of now, but stock is limited. It uses the new RP2040 chip found on the Raspberry Pi Pico. Check out our Adafruit Feather RP2040 review for a closer look at the specs and what it can do.Adafruit released the files on Github for any user interested in creating or modifying the board. However, RP2040 chips aren't widely available. In order to pull off this project, Guido Burger had to reflow an RP2040 from a Raspberry Pi Pico module. While the design files are available for free, users still need to purchase PCBs and assemble the components. This is more expensive and time-consuming but also makes customization an option.

In February, Electronic Arts finally pulled the plug on BioWare's big-bust third-person shooter Anthem, declaring that "not everything we had planned as a studio before COVID-19 can be accomplished without putting undue stress on our teams." With its fate sealed, game director Jonathan Warner announced today that after nearly a decade at the studio, he's moving on to other things. "So, today is my last day at BioWare, I’m moving on to do new things," Warner tweeted. "BioWare has been home to my grateful heart for nearly 10 years and I want to wish them all the best. DA ME and SWTOR are in good hands and I can’t wait to play from this side of the screen." So, today is my last day at BioWare, I’m moving on to do new things.BioWare has been home to my grateful heart for nearly 10 years and I want to wish them all the best. DA ME and SWTOR are in good hands and I can’t wait to play from this side of the screen. #ThankYou #BioWare pic.twitter.com/g5zp7hkSV5March 26, 2021Along with Anthem, Warner is credited as game director on Mass Effect: Andromeda and as a producer on Mass Effect (for the Mass Effect Trilogy) and Mass Effect 3: Citadel, and his LinkedIn page also lists him as BioWare's chief of staff, a position he's held since May 2019. Prior to joining the studio, he was a producer at The Walt Disney Company and a test lead at Microsoft Games Studio. Despite significant hype (remember the Neill Blomkamp short film?) and a modicum of pre-release promise, Anthem was a tremendous disappointment at launch, to the point that BioWare had to acknowledge that its issues were beyond the help of mere patches. In late 2019 it was reported that a "complete overhaul" was in the works, which BioWare eventually confirmed. But it was never able to gain meaningful traction, and the effort was abandoned in February.

Europe may be one of the saloon’s last bastions, but Ford has just announced that the Mondeo — which was once wildly po[CENSORED]r, especially in the UK — will be cancelled in 2022 and not replaced. It's part of a wider decline of the Ford saloon, once a bedrock of its range, offering the likes of the much-loved, and much-aspired to, Granada (pictured). In America, it announced plans to eliminate saloons, estates, minivans, and hatchbacks in 2018, and it quickly put its plan into motion by consigning the Fiesta, Focus, and Taurus nameplates to the automotive attic — at least in America. Production of its last saloon, the Fusion, ended in August 2020 in Hermosillo, Mexico. The only model that hasn’t been cancelled or replaced by an SUV is the Mustang. Ford’s decision represents a stunning about-face because its saloons regularly appeared on the list of its best-sellers for decades. Times change, markets evolve and the unthinkable sometimes becomes inevitable. Ford of Australia unknowingly blazed this path; it canned the rear-wheel-drive Falcon in 2016 and hasn’t looked back. Join us for a look at the rise and fall of the Ford saloon car, and some of its other related models and other shapes that aren't SUVs:

he charming town of Hamburg has added an exciting new patio home community that is open and ready for buyers. Called ‘The Cottages,’ Wetzl Development’s completed model is ready for tours. “Wetzl Development has been building in the Southtowns for over 40 years. Both apartment complexes and single-family luxury homes. Stonebridge Patio Homes is also one of our developments,” said Wetzl Development Project Coordinator. The three streets surrounding the development are Newton Road, McKinley Parkway and Boston State Road. The Cottages have a beautiful view of the Boston Hills and are minutes away from the Village of Hamburg with all its dining and shopping options. Just down the road are Hamburg Brewing, Pellicano Vineyard Hamburg Winery and access to Route 219. The 18 Mile Creek Golf Course is literally across the street. Wetzl Development broke ground in October 2020, with 17 of the 45 lots sold. With six floorplans to choose from that range from 1,233-2,254 square feet, there is a model for everyone. The homes are inspired by English cottages designed with a modern twist. Each model also comes with standard features as well as various options. The model was based on the flexible Andover plan has 2 bedrooms and 2 baths. Some of the models make room for a third and fourth bedroom, and come with a second-floor loft options. All plans come with a full basement with 8’ ceiling height and two car garages. A first-floor laundry is also featured in all of the models. Depending on your lifestyle, the floorplans really are varied with some including breakfast areas. Patios are also an option that can be added. Interior features include 8’/9’ ceilings on the first and second floors (if the model has one). Buyers have the choice of gas or electric for the range and dryer. Buyers also have choices of hardwood or ceramic tile in the foyer, mudroom, laundry, kitchen and bathroom. Walk-in showers and closets are standard in the master bedrooms and all patio homes also have a fireplace in the family room. There rae granite countertops in the kitchen and Wilson art laminated countertops in the bath. Kohler fixtures are used as are Whirlpool/Frigidaire dishwasher and microwave. Exterior features include 30-year architectural roof singles, Pella Pro Line windows, maintenance free vinyl siding and a partial stone front. Each home is also landscaped. For those looking for a maintenance-free lifestyle, The Cottages are condo status, with an HOA set to be $150 per month that covers all plowing and shoveling, lawn mowing, front home landscaping, water/sewer, and trash pickup. The model, located at 6385 Boston State Road, Hamburg is open Saturday and Sunday om 1 to 4 p.m. and by appointment. Prices start in the $390’s. For more information regarding The Cottages, contact Brenda Pope at 716-649-3499, ext. #1 or Judy Black at 716-310-4085. To see floorplans,

The prime minister called on activists to remind voters about the "incredible scientific breakthrough" of the vaccine ahead of May's elections in England. Mr Johnson said one difference between the Tories and Labour was a belief in the need for "capitalist energy". The party leader said the UK would recover "jab by jab, job by job". He told activists at a virtual party forum: "Let's not be put off our stride. Let's remember that across the country it is Conservatives, Conservative councils and Conservative councillors that deliver better value for money. And let's take our great one nation message to the people." The 6 May elections will include polls for district and county councils, police and crime commissioners and city mayors, including in London. Voting in Scottish and Welsh parliament elections will take place on the same day and there will be a parliamentary by-election in Hartlepool. 'Covid-safe' English local polls to go ahead in May Door-to-door campaigning to be allowed from March In a pre-recorded speech filmed and broadcast by the Conservative Party, Mr Johnson championed investment in communities through measures like the reversal of the Beeching railway cuts and money for new green buses. He said that Chancellor Rishi Sunak's Budget showed the party was "holding taxes down and spending wisely" and harnessing the advantages brought about through Brexit. Mr Johnson said he had spoken with "amazing" scientists in Scotland at a plant making a "variant-busting vaccine". And in Northern Ireland, the PM said he had visited engineers working on 3D technology. In Wales, he championed a Wrexham factory that is packaging vials of vaccine "to fight and defeat the armies of disease". Meanwhile, opponents "would literally try to smash up" the United Kingdom "and destroy forever the formula for British success", he said.

this is just a description. I am used it like laughing with my friends, But in serious times I don't do that for sure

We hear you all asking the same question — “Gateway is still a thing?” Yes, it is, and as it turns out, it knows a thing or two about gaming laptop deals. It may be called the Gateway Creator Series, but everything from the 120Hz display and 10th Gen Intel Core i5 CPU to the RTX 2060 GPU just screams “gaming.” This tech might be last-gen at this point, but this still an impressive machine, seeing as it's selling for under $800!If you’re more “gamer” than “creator” and your budget is tight, this is an absolute steal of a special offer. A 10th Gen Intel Core i5 CPU, RTX 2060 GPU with 6GB GDDR6, 8GB DDR4 RAM and a 256GB SSD puts this at a serious mid tier spec with a real beginner’s budget price. Plus, Gateway didn't skimp on the display, with an FHD panel and 120Hz refresh rate. View Deal Catching our team off guard with its sheer value for money, the Gateway Creator Series features a 15.6-inch FHD display with a 120Hz refresh rate and audio tuned by THX for an immersive experience. Under the hood, you’ll find an Intel Core i5-10300H processor with a clock speed up to 4.5GHz, alongside an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 GPU and 6GB GDDR6. Multitasking is handled with 8GB DDR4 RAM. The 256GB NVMe SSD is on the smaller side, but we’ll forgive that at such a low price point. Besides, you can just boost the storage with an external SSD.

The latest development build of Microsoft Edge for Linux debuts two crucial functions for Linux users. The re-imagined Chrome-based Microsoft Edge is the first web browser from the Redmond-based software giant that’s officially supported on Linux. The cross-platform browser that’s already available on macOS, besides iOS and Android, is still under active development on Linux and can only be downloaded from under the Dev channel. Starting with version 91.0.831.1, the browser has rolled out the sign-in and sync features for Linux users as well.For now the features only work with Microsoft accounts. Microsoft also points out that the features only support personal Microsoft Accounts, which means that Azure Active Directory (AAD) accounts are not yet supported.Once signed in, the browser will sync your favorites, passwords, extensions, and other settings, across all the installations of the browser using the same Microsoft account. Note however that the feature is disabled by default and will have to be explicitly enabled under the edge://flag settings by enabling the MSA sign in option. The Dev channel is meant for early-bird testers and should be used with caution. Enabling the feature can have all sorts of consequences, including the browser misbehaving or even crashing completely.

the Left 4 Dead-alike co-op shooter that was expected to be out this summer, has been delayed. Publisher Warner Bros. announced today that the game is now set to launch on October 12, instead of arriving on June 22 as planned. "Turtle Rock Studios is working hard to make Back 4 Blood the best game it can possibly be at launch and the team needs more time to do this," the publisher said on Twitter. "Therefore, we will release Back 4 Blood on October 12, 2021. We thank our community for its continued support and are excited to share that there will be an open beta this summer."It's not all bad news, at least: We won't be able to buy in the summer, but at least we'll be able to play it for a bit and see how it's shaping up. As you'd expect from the title, Back 4 Blood is a Left 4 Dead sequel in all but its name, and as we said in our December preview, that formula may not actually hold up quite as well as we remember—it's been more than ten years since Left 4 Dead 2, after all. Warner didn't detail any the specific reasons for the delay, but it's possible that it wants to ensure Turtle Rock can spend a little extra time ensuring that B4B is more than just Left 4 Dead 3.Back 4 Blood is available for pre-purchase on Steam. You can find out more about what's coming atAndy covers the day-to-day happenings in the big, wide world of PC gaming—the stuff we call "news." In his off hours, he wishes he had time to play the 80-hour RPGs and immersive sims he used to love so much.

Ford has announced that its Mondeo will die in 2022 and not be directly replaced. It’s not the biggest surprise in the world as it’s seen its sales sharply decline in Europe in recent years. Yet it still marks a watershed, as the Mondeo came to have cultural and political meaning as, in the UK at least, a marker of ‘Middle England.’ But times have since changed. Join us for a close look into the Mondeo story:

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 25 - President Sergio Mattarella said Dante Alighieri's life and work still teach us lessons today as Italy's celebrates the 700th anniversary of the death of the author of the Divine Comedy on Dantedì - Dante Day. The great poet died in Ravenna after being exiled from Florence due to his political activities. "Dante gave a lesson of coherence for everyone, politicians included, because you must not go against your conscience," Mattarella told Corriere della Sera. "And one of the most important parts of his legacy is the dilemma between justice and compassion". The 'Supreme Poet' will be celebrated across the country with the highest-profile event being a televised reading of Canto XXV of the Paradiso by comic actor, director and Dante buff Roberto Benigni at the presidential Quirinal Palace at 19:10 in the presence of Mattarella and Culture Minister Dario Franceschini. In the famed canto, Dante's muse Beatrice vouches for the poet and pilgrim's possession of hope in redemption. March 25 was chosen as Dante Day as scholars believe it was on this date that Italy's greatest poet descended into Hell for the first part of his epic journey through the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. Later on Thursday Benigni will recite on Rai3 the iconic Paolo and Francesca episode from Canto V of the Inferno, a tale of forbidden love and honour killing that has inspired artists including Rodin and Dante Gabriele Rossetti, as well as countless musical interpretations. Dante as a pilgrim was so struck by the story of passionate love that he fainted in Inferno, while Dante the philosopher and religious thinker condemned the lovers for their adultery. (ANSA).

TORONTO -- While Canadians remain under a travel advisory, one Indian Ocean island nation is reopening to tourists, no vaccine required. As of March 12, the Seychelles had provided the first vaccine dose to 63.5 per cent of the total po[CENSORED]tion, while only 27 per cent had also received their second dose, according to an update on the Seychelles government website. The island will be taking a wait-and-see approach to the COVID-19 situation. “What they say is they're just going to monitor the situation,” travel expert Loren Christie told CTV’s Your Morning on Thursday. “This is very unusual and there's not a lot of other countries to measure up against it.” People will be keeping a close eye as border restrictions lift in Seychelles, Christie says, particularly because their herd immunity threshold is lower than other countries’. “It's a little bit more of a higher percentage of the po[CENSORED]tion to be vaccinated, around 85 per cent versus the 63.5 of the Seychelles, so people will be watching to see how it goes for sure,” he said. While there’s no quarantine, there are still restrictions: travellers to the Seychelles still require a negative PCR test within 72 hours before arriving in the country, Health Travel Authorization is required, and they must have travel insurance that covers COVID-19 related care. In Canada, border restrictions remain in place and the federal government still advises against all non-essential travel.Travellers returning to Canada by plane must have a negative PCR test 72 hours before departure. Once arriving in Canada, travellers begin their 14-day quarantine by spending three nights in a government approved hotel while awaiting new PCR test results. Once results have been received, Canadians can finish their quarantine at home, where they will administer a self-test on day 10 and await those results. A recent poll suggests that Canadians aren’t too eager to reopen the border and allow travellers from the U.S. to enter. The poll, conducted by the Association of Canadian Studies, showed that 70 per cent of Canadians were either very worried or somewhat worried about allowing American vacationers into the country. Only 31 per cent of Americans felt similarly about lifting border restrictions. Safety should be the number one priority when reopening, said Christie. “We have to make sure that residents feel safe, comfortable, inviting people in,” said Christie. Part of making residents and tourists feel safe is making sure they understand the guidelines and are confident they’re good. “The lesson that you could learn with any of the countries around the world that have done varying stages of opening up to tourists, is make sure that the rules are very clearly understood and easily enforceable,” he said. He said that Dubai ran into trouble over the winter after allowing European travellers in, which resulted in another lockdown. “Even more recently, think about Miami Beach just last week during spring break, you know, people were not obeying the rules there to the point where they had to call in law enforcement and you had the mayor on TV saying to people, please don't come,” he added. The Canadian government needs to commit to a reopening plan so that Canadians can feel safe welcoming tourists across the border again, Christie said. “It's imperative that we get the health and safety right and whether that's proof of vaccination, or negative COVID testing or an efficient contract chasing method, all of that is important,” he said. “But I think what we really need, what we're missing right now, we don't have the governments committed to what is the criteria to reopen the border.” With that information, Canadians can prepare for tourism and tick the boxes needed to get it going again, he said. “They need to release what that is to everybody so we can all feel confident,” he said. “Travellers can plan to travel and businesses in the tourism industry have a roadmap on which to reopen and get ready to welcome tourists.”

Salesforce has revealed an updated version of its Sales Cloud CRM growth platform complete with AI-driven features under the banner of Sales Cloud 360. The update has been designed to meet the changing needs of businesses post-COVID with a firm focus on improving its digital-based sales tools. Business professionals will have a suite of CRM features at their disposal including a more dynamic Salesforce Meetings tool that packs in a 360 view of all attendees. Meanwhile, Pipeline Inspection is another new tool that uses AI to home in on the most critical deals that appear in the workflow of sales staff. And, with only 38% of salespeople saying they’ve received training on virtual selling over the past year, Salesforce has built in myTrailhead, a digital skills platform that has been integrated into the Sales Cloud package. Take a look at the best accounting software The best tax software around today Check out the best POS systems Salesforce carried out research and compiled data from 250 sales professionals in the run up to the release. The results of its survey show that 51% expect to travel less than they did prior to the pandemic, while 45% reckon most of their selling will be done virtually in the future. A substantial 61% of professionals questioned also felt that their roles have changed permanently since the arrival of coronavirus, resulting in an increasing need to use their CRM systems in a slightly different way.The new package will also boast Einstein Conversation Insights, which is a feature that analyzes video call transcripts and then visualizes trending keywords including product names, competitor mentions and other key points raised during meetings. AI will again be called into play for making sales predictions, offering insights and delivering automated explanations. With businesses under pressure to deploy new systems rapidly Salesforce made a point of creating the new CRM to be quick and easy to configure. It has built in MuleSoft Composer for Salesforce, a feature that connects data and apps without the need for any coding. It’ll allow sales operations teams to deploy the system more rapidly and automate sales processes, along with connecting their own apps and systems into the Salesforce platform. “Salesforce created the playbook for sales 22 years ago, and today we’re rewriting it for an all-digital world,” said Warren Wick, EVP AMER Commercial Sales and Chief Revenue Officer, Sales Cloud. “Over the past year, we held more than six million calls with customers to understand what they needed to be successful as they worked to transform their business with more urgency than ever before. We’ve reimagined Sales Cloud to guide every company as they rethink the digital sales experience, from leads to coaching to processing revenue.”

Whether or not you grew up wanting the Nintendo Power Glove doesn't matter. Now anyone can make their own—or at least something similar—with this awesome creation by maker Hriday Badot. Using a Raspberry Pi Pico with an MPU-6050 accelerometer module, he was able to steer and drive a car in the racing game Asphalt 8. To accelerate, Badot tilts his hand forward. Steering left and right is as easy as leaning your hand to the sides. The motions are intuitive for driving but could easily be adapted to control other types of games, as well. Everything was programmed using CircuitPython. The MPU-6050 module is connected to the Raspberry Pi Pico which feeds gyroscope and acceleration data in real-time. The Pico interprets this information into controller input signals.The best Raspberry Pi projects are the ones that keep giving! According to Badot, there are plans in the works to upgrade the project with new features and adapt it for other platforms, including virtual reality systems.

World Of Warcraft Classic is returning to Outland—and if you're particularly eager to return to The Burning Crusade, you can now opt-in to Blizzard's closed beta for the throwback expansion. Beta testing for WoW Classic's first expansion began this month, Blizzard revealed over on the game's forums (via Wowhead). While still a closed beta, you can sign up to be chosen for beta testing by hitting opt-in over on the expansion's store page, adding your name to the pool of players randomly chosen to receive testing invites. Once selected, the beta should appear alongside your other WoW installs in the Battle.net launcher. Beta testers can choose to create a new character, or carry over any of their existing WoW Classic characters.While unconfirmed, we reckon The Burning Crusade will eventually launch later this summer or fall. You'll be able to boost one existing Classic character to 60 to jump into Outland immediately, with post-launch updates to drip in over the coming months. After that, it's only a matter of time before Classic rolls into WoW's best expansion, Wrath Of The Lich King, right? Blizzard hasn't confirmed as much, but is far from writing it off entirely.A one-time dog sledder, pancake flipper, alien wrangler and indie darling, Nat now scours the internet looking for the hottest PC gaming news. Destined to become Scotland's first Battlemech pilot.

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 24 - Italy will mark Dante Day Thursday on the 700th anniversary of the Divine Comedy author's death in Ravenna. The 'Supreme Poet' will be celebrated across the country with the highest-profile event being a televised reading of Canto XXV of the Paradiso by comic actor, director and Dante buff Roberto Benigni at the presidential Quirinal Palace at 19:10 in the presence of President Sergio Mattarella and Culture Minister Dario Franceschini. In the famed canto, Dante's muse Beatrice vouches for the poet and pilgrim's possession of hope in redemption. March 25 was chosen as Dante Day as scholars believe it was on this date that Italy's greatest poet descended into Hell for the first part of his epic journey through the Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso. Later on Thursday Benigni will recite on Rai3 the iconic Paolo and Francesca episode from Canto V of the Inferno, a tale of forbidden love and honour killing that has inspired artists including Rodin and Dante Gabriele Rossetti, as well as countless musical interpretations. Dante as a pilgrim was so struck by the story of passionate love that he fainted in Inferno, while Dante the philosopher and religious thinker condemned the lovers for their adultery. (ANSA).

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 24 - Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio confirmed Italy's commitment to the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on Wednesday, sources said. He also confirmed Italy is willing to keep playing a lead role in Iraq, according to the sources. Di Maio said that NATO should do more to manage instability in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) area, the sources said. Di Maio and Stoltenberg talked about relations with Russia too, the sources said. (ANSA).

Good acticity

Microsoft is working on a long-awaited feature for the Teams desktop client that will prevent messages getting lost in the churn. According to the company’s product roadmap, Microsoft Teams will soon allow users to respond to specific messages, quoting the original query in the response. “The original message will be quoted in the reply text box, helping everyone in the chat to more easily understand the message’s context,” Microsoft explained. Check out our list of the best video conferencing services out there We've built a list of the best headsets for conference calls right now Here's our list of the best business webcams on the market The feature will apply to one-on-one conversations, groups and in-meeting text chats and is set to land for all Teams users by the end of next month.The ability to respond to specific messages is nothing new in the world of collaboration tools. Slack, for example, has allowed users to create message chains for years and the Teams mobile app also already offers the feature. The upcoming update will restore parity between the desktop version of Microsoft Teams and its rivals in the field of collaboration. The feature will be particularly helpful in situations in which multiple conversations are occurring in a channel at once. The ability to quote the original message in a reply will make the thread of conversation much easier to follow and ensure fewer queries go unnoticed or unaddressed. Not only will users be able to reply to specific messages, however, but they’ll be given a much wider selection of emojis to use in their responses. Microsoft has also revealed it is working on a major expansion to the Teams emoji library, which will be expanded from just 85 items to more than 800.

When it comes to finding a good gaming monitor deal, it can be hard to strike the right balance between resolution, refresh rate and price. Acer’s Nitro XZ272U handily delivers on all fronts with a QHD resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate, while keeping a reasonable price that is made even better with this $60 discount. You can pick one up now for its lowest ever price of $269.The 1500R curve of this 27-inch panel brings your peripheral vision into the 16:9 cinematic gaming experience. Of course, the star of the show here is that pairing of 1440p resolution and 165Hz refresh rate, but it’s worth highlighting the vivid 130% sRGB color gamut and HDR for a deep and colorful picture at all times. Alongside this are other gaming enthusiast essentials like AMD FreeSync, HDMI and DisplayPort connections and display utility software for customizing your image without fiddling with buttons. And, of course, ergonomics have been kept in mind with VESA-compatible mounting and plenty of height and angle adjustability on its stand. Plus, with blue light shielding technology, your eyes are protected from unnecessary strain over longer sessions.

Andrzej Zawadzki, a lead gameplay designer on Cyberpunk 2077, has announced that he will be leaving CD Projekt Red after nearly eight years with the studio. Zawadzki announced his departure on Twitter, saying, "After almost 8 years, my time at CDPR has come to an end. It's time for the new adventure. To every person I've met on the way – thank you It was an honor and pleasure. See you around :)" After almost 8 years, my time at CDPR has come to an end. It's time for the new adventure.To every person I've met on the way - thank you It was an honor and pleasure.See you around pic.twitter.com/Hts3TE9VzWMarch 22, 2021Zawadzki joined CD Projekt Red as a QA tester, working on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and its DLC Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine. According to his LinkedIn, he was then given the role of Junior Gameplay Designer in 2016 and began working on Cyberpunk 2077. During the course of its development, Zawadzki took on different roles including RPG Coordinator, before becoming the game's Senior Gameplay Designer in March 2020.

Helm Motorcars - a company set up last year to restore and modernise Series 1 Jaguar E-Types - has revealed the first completed car of an initial run of 20. Each Jaguar E-Type Reimagined retains at least 30% of the original, reinforced steel monocoque shell, and the car’s 3.8-litre, naturally aspirated engine has been rebuilt with the addition of fuel injection for added reliability and performance. Producing around 300bhp, 0-62mph could take as little as 4.5sec. The E-Type has registered 160mph on tests conducted on a rolling road. Various elements are completely new: the car features a bespoke five-speed gearbox, speed-sensitive power steering, alloy front brakes, adjustable suspension, a heated screen and soft-close doors, among several additions. All of the wiring is modern too. The renovated interior has been designed and produced by Bill Amberg, whose studio has been in operation for over 30 years. It features a mix of suede and semi-aniline leather throughout, with handcrafted aluminium panels wrapped by Amberg’s team of leather experts. Leather also features on the toggle switches, steering wheel and grab handles, and every example of the car comes with a matching luggage set. It is claimed that a total of 3800 hours of work go into each individual E-Type. Helm says the base price for the Jaguar E-Type Reimagined is £420,000, with prices rising depending on the exact demands of each customer. Of the 20 examples to be built, two have already been sold. Company founder Chedeen Battick is said to have spent more than a decade tracking down and restoring Jaguars for Automo, another E-Type specialist. “I wanted to create the E-Type the way I feel it should be, remaining sensitive to its history, but without a vinyl interior, and without the hassle of carburettor trouble,” said Chedeen. “We combine British craftsmanship with the finest standards of modern automotive engineering, instilling a feeling of love, care and attention to detail within each component.” The original Jaguar E-Type was designed by Malcolm Sayer in 1961. The first Helm car will be launched on 24 March, with private viewings available on request.

In just about any other year, the ad’s boldly proclaimed tagline, “Stay positive,” would be seen as straightforward encouragement to remember to look on the bright side of things and be thankful for all the little sources of happiness you’ve been blessed with. However, with the ad coming in the middle of a global pandemic, where many people’s inner monologues consist of bouncing back and forth between the questions “Am I/my family/my friends going to get sick?” and “Wait…are we already sick but just don’t know it yet?”, some people’s immediate interpretation of the word “positive” isn’t in the sense of “happy,” but “infected,” making it seem like Seibu Sogo is saying “Make sure that your COVID-19 infection lasts through the holidays!” It’s probably not helping that the Stay Positive print poster shows two friends giving each other hugs with extremely extended arms, standing so far apart that they’re not even in the same room, visually hammering home a reminder that the coronavirus is floating around out there right before bringing up the word “positive.” Negative online reactions have included: “Get ready for Christmas by staying infected!” “I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help laughing about this.” “NOBODY noticed this?” “We’re at the point now where advertising production companies really should have two or three people who’re really good at foreign languages on their design teams.” “They should contract for a native speaker to check these things.” “Should have gone with something like ‘Stay strong’ instead.” “This is terrible, Seibu. The meaning of ‘Stay positive for Crhismas’ [sic] depends on things like the time and conditions in which it’s said.” On the other hand, a number of commenters have no problem with the ads, instead taking them in the way that they were obviously intended. “’Stay positive’ is a perfectly normal way to say ‘stay upbeat.’” “I think Seibu Sogo’s ad is fine. It’s better than ‘Save the World from Kyoto,’ anyway.” “If you hear ‘Stay positive’ and you think the only thing they could be talking about is the coronavirus, I think you’ve got something wrong with your head.” “Come on now, let’s try to think more positively.” In Seibu Sogo’s defense, the English word “positive,” with the corrupted pronunciation pojitibu, is a commonly used loanword in Japanese, and is used only in the sense of “happy/optimistic.” While there’s plenty of talk about people’s coronavirus infection status going on in Japan these days, when speaking of someone who’s tested positive for a disease, the term used is always the indigenous Japanese yosei, or alternatively kansensha (“infected person”). The use of “stay” also nudges the needle towards the “happy” interpretation of positive, since saying “stay infected” would sort of imply that being infected is mankind’s default state, which isn’t the case. Sources: Seibu Sogo, Twitter/@cetus03 via Jin, Twitter Read more stories from SoraNews24.