Posts

Showing posts from January, 2023

Wizards' win in San Antonio ends one of the NBA's strangest losing streaks, which lasted 8,451 days

Image
A late-January, Monday-night game between the Washington Wizards and San Antonio Spurs is not exactly a marquee matchup. Still, there was more on the line in this contest than most people probably realized. With their 127-106 win, the Wizards ended one of the NBA's strangest losing streaks. Before this Game , the Wizards hadn't won in San Antonio since Dec. 11, 1999, when they picked up a 99-89 victory thanks to 31 points, four rebounds, and five assists from Mitch Richmond, who out-dueled a young Tim Duncan (23 points and 13 rebounds).  Even considering that Eastern Conference teams play each Western Conference team on the road just once per season, that was still a 22- Game losing streak that lasted 8,451 days. Four players on the Wizards' roster and seven players on the Spurs' roster in this Game had not even been born yet the last time the Wizards were victorious in San Antonio. 

WATCH VIDEO: The Eerie Sound Waves Sent Out By A Black Hole.

Image
Since 2003, the black hole at the center of the Perseus galaxy cluster has been associated with sound. This is because astronomers discovered that pressure waves sent out by the black hole caused ripples in the cluster’s hot gas that could be translated into a note — one that humans cannot hear some 57 octaves below middle C. Now a new sonification brings more notes to this black hole sound machine. This new sonification — that is, the translation of astronomical data into sound — is being released for NASA’s Black Hole Week this year. In some ways, this sonification is unlike any other done before because it revisits the actual sound waves discovered in data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory. The popular misconception that there is no sound in space originates with the fact that most of space is essentially a vacuum, providing no medium for sound waves to propagate through. A galaxy cluster, on the other hand, has copious amounts of gas that envelop the hundreds or even

RI Weather for January 29, 2023 – John Donnelly

Image
by John Donnelly, meteorologist Abnormal warmth continues for another day, high reaching into the upper 40’s from morning lows in the low 30’s with a wind shifted to southerly gusting to 25 mph. Cloud cover thickens and eventually leads to some light afternoon and early evening showers over the area as a weak front develops and moves inform the midwest, but most of the rain will have been scoured out by the Appalachians. ___ John Donnelly was born in Hialeah, Florida and moved back to Rhode Island and settled in Johnston, where he grew up until graduating from Lyndon State College in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology. As a child John always wanted to know how air moved, and he ran towards, not away from, thunder and lighting and various other ominous weather phenomena. He returned in 2001 to the old family neighborhood of Elmhurst where the McCabe’s, Donnelly’s, Walker’s and Callan’s have been since after the Civil War . Source: https://thefox

Cordova Iceworm Festival Week (Jan 28th to Feb 4th)

Image
Quick facts When was it? Jan 27th, 2018 - Feb 3rd, 2018 Jan 26th, 2019 - Feb 1st, 2019 Jan 25th, 2020 - Feb 1st, 2020 Jan 30th, 2021 - Feb 6th, 2021 Jan 29th, 2022 - Feb 5th, 2022 Jan 28th, 2023 - Feb 4th, 2023 What's the official website? Official Site Tagged as Countries & Cultures What's the hashtag? #CordovaIcewormFestivalWeek Have we missed something? Deep within the glacial ice of Alaska’s frozen north lives a creature so unusual that it has its own festival. Its name sounds like something out of a fantasy novel, and the conditions that it thrives in are inimical to most other forms of life. We are talking, of course, about the Iceworm. Every year a festival is held to celebrate this creature, lift the spirits of those who live in the area, and to show that even in the depths of winter there’s something to celebrate! History of Cordova Iceworm Festival Week The first Iceworm Festival would be held in 1961 when the local city planners d

Shakira’s return to Cannes, very SÑ”xy in a tight black dress split to the hip

Image
This Wednesday, May 25 at the Cannes Film Festival, Shakira dazzled in a very SÑ”xy dress . At 45, the singer is still stunning. Shakira has capsized the Croisette! This Wednesday, May 25, the Colombian singer walked the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival during the climb of the steps of the film Elvis, directed by Baz Luhrmann. As usual, the wife of Gérard Piqué dazzled in a particularly SÑ”xy outfit. For the occasion, she had chosen a strapless black dress with a flattering neckline split on the side. To perfect her outfit, Shakira had bet on a pair of black pumps and above all, a pair of high transparent gloves for an irresistible look. Divine with her long loose hair, Shakira had embellished her outfit with a sublime pearl necklace and a huge diamond on her fingers. At the microphone of France Télévisions, Shakira said she was particularly happy to be present for the screening of this film. “Elvis is the king. He was revolutionary, he transgressed and he was ahead of

Bulls hold yet another team meeting after collapse vs. Pacers: 'We keep talking about the same issues'

Five weeks ago , after what the Chicago Sun-Times ' Joe Cowley described as a "blowup between players" at halftime of the Chicago Bulls' loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. NBC Sports' K.C. Johnson reported that "multiple teammates directed frustration at Zach LaVine, and the situation intensified." Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the team had held multiple meetings "to try to work our their issues," including "one-on-one, face-to-face sitdowns" between LaVine and DeMar DeRozan. The Bulls were 11-18 at the time, and the Wolves had just beaten them by a score of 150-124. Everything was terrible.  After that, though, Chicago won 11 of its next 17 Game s, a stretch in which it was above average on offense and ranked eighth on defense. There was an embarrassing loss against the Houston Rockets the day after Christmas, but, in general, the Bulls looked li

Kevin Durant injury update: Nets star could return from MCL sprain before All-Star break, per report

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant could be back relatively soon. The team announced Tuesday that he'll return to on-court basketball activities and running this week, and The Athletic reported that he could suit up again before the All-Star Game (Feb. 19) and participate in the game itself. Durant sprained his MCL on Jan. 8.  The full update from the Nets: Kevin Durant's right MCL sprain was reevaluated yesterday by Dr. Riley Williams III at the Hospital for Special Surgery. Dr. Williams is very pleased with Durant's recovery thus far, as he is progressing well and as expected. Durant will continue to strengthen his knee and begin running and on-court basketball activities this week. He is scheduled to be reassessed in another two weeks.  Initially, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Durant was expected to be sidelined for about a month. If he is cleared to play in two weeks, he will have misse

Hungary won't veto EU arms funding to Ukraine, official says

Hungary's foreign minister says his country won't block a planned tranche of 500 million euros ($543 million) in European Union arms funding to Ukraine to use in the war with Russia BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Hungary's foreign minister said Monday that while his government isn't in favor of the European Union sending funding for weapons to Ukraine, it won't block a planned tranche of 500 million euros ($543 million) in assistance to Kyiv to use in the war with Russia. Speaking at a news briefing on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Pet er Szijjarto dismissed as “lies” media reports that emerged last week that Hungary planned to veto the funds earmarked for Ukraine under the bloc's European Peace Facility. Hungary opposes the delivery of Western weapons to Ukraine — something Szijjarto said could “lead to the prolongation or potential escalation” of the war — but the government won't veto the aid package, he said. “We don’t consider w

Feds seize more than $600 million in assets from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried: Court filing

Image
The federal government has seized more than $600 million in assets from disgraced Cryptocurrency executive Sam-Bankman Fried this month, according to a new court filing . The federal government has seized more than $600 million in assets from disgraced Cryptocurrency executive Sam-Bankman Fried this month, according to a new court filing . The seizures are part of the criminal case against Bankman-Fried, 30, who has pleaded not guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges linked to the alleged theft of billions of dollars from customers of and investors in FTX, the now-bankrupt crypto exchange he founded. MORE: What to know about Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX's embattled founder Federal prosecutors provided on Friday a list of assets subject to forfeiture as a result of the criminal charges, including cash held in various banks and accounts along with more than 55 million Robinhood shares. The most recent seizure came on Thursday, when the government took $94,570,490.63 in U.S. currency

We don’t understand why the cosmos is shockingly unbalanced.

Image
Two analyses of a million galaxies show that their distribution may not be symmetrical, which may mean that our understandings of gravity and the early universe are incorrect Space 18 June 2022 The Sculptor galaxy Stocktrek Images, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo The mirror symmetry of the universe may be in trouble. Based on our current understanding of the large-scale structure of the cosmos and what we know about how gravity works, if we look at how galaxies are distributed throughout the universe and then compare it with its mirror image, the two should be basically indistinguishable. But two separate analyses of our best map of galaxies have now found that this principle, called parity symmetry or just parity, doesn’t seem to hold true. Each analysis examined galaxies from the … No commitment, cancel anytime* Offer ends 14th March 2023. *Cancel anytime within 14 days of payment to receive a refund on unserved issues. Existing subscribers, please log in with your email

Penguin Awareness Day (January 20th)

Image
Quick facts When is it? Every January 20th It's also known as... National Penguin Day Tagged as Animals What are the hashtags? #PenguinAwarenessDay #NationalPenguinDay Have we missed something? Penguins are fun and interesting Animals that are unique in many different ways. There are currently over 18 different known species of penguin and some of them have been around the planet for well over 65 million years. They’re a beloved animal thanks to many popular depictions in movies and children’s stories, but they’re also fascinating birds that have piqued the interest of many people all over the world. However, what most people don’t realize is that penguin numbers around the world are dwindling. Every year, the penguin population shrinks at an alarming rate and most of the world doesn’t realize this because they don’t get to see “real” penguins in their natural habitat. That’s why Penguin Awareness Day is such a good opportunity to learn more about penguins an

Shooting death of Sinzae Reed, Ohio teen killed by man claiming self-defense, now ruled a homicide

Image
The shooting death of a Black teenager by a white man in Columbus, Ohio, who claimed self-defense was officially ruled a homicide by an autopsy report released Tuesday. The fatal shooting of a Black teenager by a white man in Columbus, Ohio, who claimed self-defense was officially ruled a homicide in an autopsy report. According to a police complaint in October, a witness to the shooting saw Krieg Butler, 36, shoot and kill 13-year-old Sinzae Reed outside of an apartment complex on Oct. 12. The witness said Butler exited his truck, fired shots at Sinzae and drove off, the complaint said. Butler was arrested days after the shooting and charged with murder, but those charges were dropped pending completion of the investigation after prosecutors said Butler claimed self -defense in the shooting during his arraignment in October, according to a statement from the Columbus Police Department. The Franklin County autopsy report released Tuesday said the teen was shot twice, once in the hand

Goldman, M. Stanley profits plunge as dealmaking dries up

The profits for two iconic Wall Street firms _ Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley _ plunged sharply last quarter as volatile markets cut deeply into investment banking NEW YORK -- The profits for two iconic Wall Street firms — Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — plunged sharply last quarter as volatile markets cut deeply into investment banking. Goldman's profits tumbled 66% to $1.33 billion in the fourth quarter, it said Tuesday, well below what Wall Street had expected. Profits at Morgan Stanley slumped 40% to $2.2 billion, barely beating analyst projections. Expectations for Goldman and Morgan were already grim after quarterly results last week from JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Bank of America. Goldman on Tuesday disclosed to investors that its consumer banking division was struggling far more than what was previously known publicly. The bank set aside $972 million to cover potential credit losses in the quarter, which the bank said came from higher charge offs in its rather new

NBA's best in-game dunks of all time: Comparing Ja Morant's insane slam to Blake Griffin, Michael Jordan, more

Image
As much as we love the NBA Dunk Contest, it will simply never compare to the exhilaration of a well-executed in- Game poster dunk. The brief moment of anticipation when you see the player load up, the hesitation when you think for a split-second, "there's no way he's actually going to finish this," and finally, the thrilling explosion when the ball is thrown through the rim. I've been a connoisseur of dunks for the better part of my time on this Earth. I religiously re-watched my recorded VHS versions (yeah, yeah ... laugh it up, Gen Z) of Vince Carter, Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady's legendary 2000 NBA Dunk Contest and James White's 2001 McDonald's All-American Dunk Contest. In 2004, I jumped out of the camping-style folding chair in my college dorm room when Jason Richardson went between-the-legs off the glass, forgetting that my Minolta digital camera was in my lap -- it sh

NTSB: Cloud shot up in front of plane before turbulence

A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report says a cloud shot up vertically like a plume of smoke in a matter of seconds before a Hawaiian Airlines flight last month hit severe turbulence, injuring 25 people on board, including six seriously HONOLULU -- A cloud shot up vertically like a plume of smoke in a matter of seconds before a Hawaiian Airlines flight last month hit severe turbulence and 25 people on board were injured, according to a preliminary report Friday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The captain of the Dec. 18 flight from Phoenix to Honolulu told investigators that flight conditions were smooth with clear skies when the cloud shot up in front of the plane and there was no time to change course, the report said. He called the lead flight attendant and told her there might be turbulence . Within one to three seconds, the plane “encountered severe turbulence ,” the report states. Shortly afterward, the lead flight attendant told the crew there

The Biggest Gaming News For January 10, 2023

Happy Tuesday, folks! It's been another busy day in the gaming industry as usual, filled with personal triumphs, new beginnings, and slight disappointment. The Last of Us has been dominating headlines ever since the start of 2023, but this time it's dragging Elden Ring into things as Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann has hinted that its next Game may be influenced by the title. Elsewhere, Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida has shot down chances of the game getting a PC port shortly after release, while Red Dead Redemption 2 has seen an unexpected surge in players on Steam despite its lack of new content. For all the details, just read on. THEGAMER VIDEO OF THE DAY Related: The Last Of Us Part 2 Is Harder To Adapt Than It Seems Naughty Dog Is Taking Game Direction Tips From Hidetaka Miyazaki And Elden Ring For a while now, FromSoftware games have had a more unique way of telling stories, letting the environment do th