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Daily Archives: July 27, 2022
Original ‘Invaders from Mars’ Returns With New 4K Restoration This September! [Exclusive] – Bloody Disgusting
Posted: July 27, 2022 at 11:45 am
Remade by Tobe Hooper in 1986, the original sci-fi classic Invaders from Mars was released in 1953, and Ignite Films is celebrating the films 70th anniversary with a brand new release.
Directed by William Cameron Menzies, Invaders from Mars has received a sensational 4K restoration, and Ignite Films is bringing it to Blu-ray & 4K UHD on September 26, 2022.
Pre-orders for the new release have launched TODAY!
Special bonus features include a restored 4K version of the original 1953 trailer, an interview with the films star, Jimmy Hunt, an in-depth look at the restoration process led by Scott MacQueen, Restoration Supervisor, plus a new documentary about the film featuring interviews with directors Joe Dante (Gremlins), John Landis (An American Werewolf in London), Visual Effects Academy-Award winner Robert Skotak, and other luminaries.
The full list of Bonus Features includes:
From the official press release, heres everything you need to know
Im excited for audiences, old and new, to finally be able to watch this masterpiece of both film and restoration on Blu-ray and 4K UHD!, said Ignite Films Director Jan Willem Bosman Jansen. We have taken great care to cover as many aspects of the movie in our bonus materials and design to bring it back to life for as wide an audience as possible. The work we have done is also a homage to the overall genius of William Cameron Menzies, and I cannot speak for him of course, but I think he would be thrilled with how his movie looks today.
Fearful memories of this timeless 1953 bone-chiller still haunt the dreams of fans who have never forgotten the story of David MacLean, a young boy (Jimmy Hunt) who witnesses an alien invasion. Invaders from Mars was filmed from a childs point of view, using exaggerated sets and upward angles. It became a modern classic and was also one of two early 50s classic alien-invasion science fiction films (the other is Robert Wises The Day the Earth Stood Still) reflecting Cold War tensions, the Red Scare and paranoid anxiety typical of many films in the 50s.
Invaders from Mars stars Jimmy Hunt, Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Morris Ankrum, Leif Erickson, and Hillary Brooke.
Cinecon will honor former child actor Jimmy Hunt with a special screening of the 4K restoration of Invaders From Mars at this years festival, which will run Labor Day weekend, from September 1-5, 2022 in Hollywood. Other special screenings of the 4K restoration have wowed audiences at the TCM Classic Film Festival, Hollywood, CA in April, Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna, Italy, and the Fine Arts Film Festival, Venice, CA in June.
The restoration of Invaders from Mars has been much hoped for and a long time coming but the process was not an easy one. Leading the effort was longtime enthusiast and preservationist of classic cinema Scott MacQueen, who previously was head of preservation at UCLA Film & Television Archive for more than a decade, before retiring in 2021.
The biggest challenge for MacQueen was that the color negative confirmed for printing in SUPERcineCOLOR lacked many shots and needed to be sourced from 70-year-old prints.
Invaders from Mars was one of the most complex projects I have ever undertaken, said Restoration Supervisor Scott MacQueen. In the days of analog restoration, it would not have been possible, but 21st century digital tools have been game-changers. Released in an archaic process that is irretrievable today, Invaders from Mars was pieced together from five different sources. Additionally, eight minutes of European scenes and an alternate ending, and the original trailer, have been preserved. As star Jimmy Hunt says, Invaders from Mars has never looked so good, added MacQueen.
The 4K restoration process of the sci-fi classic Invaders from Mars required a lengthy search for the final elements, which was conducted by Ignites Janet Schorer. Additionally, it was imperative to locate the elements necessary to fill in the gaps in the original camera negative, which was stored with great care at the UCLA Film & Television Archive. The George Eastman Museum and National Film and Sound Archive of Australia were instrumental in supplying additional key elements which were essential to completing the film.
In support of the release, Ignite Films has created The Maze, a home for critical and analytical writing pertaining to the exciting restoration and release of Invaders from Mars. Named after the landmark 3D horror noir by William Cameron Menzies, every corner and avenue of the history and subtext of Invaders from Mars will be explored in The Maze by some of film historys greatest critical minds. Led by editor and critic Scout Tafoya. The Maze is available on the Ignite Films website.
Ignite Films will initially release the 4K restoration of Invaders From Mars in US/Region 1 on September 26, and will roll-out the release worldwide, excluding the UK, where Arrow Films will distribute. The Big Pieces Company is supporting the release in the US and overseeing international sales.
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The Terraforming Mars card game is as good as we’d hoped it would be – Ars Technica
Posted: at 11:45 am
The 2016 board game Terraforming Mars is an amazing title.
As evidence, I present the following image:
Nate Anderson
And if a board game becomes popular, you can be sure of one thing: A card game version will eventually arrive. If thats a hit, get ready for the dice version. And then, market willing, comes the roll-and-write version. That may sound like cynical resignation to cash-grabby companies endlessly returning to the same well, but these reimagined versions arent necessarily a bad thing. In fact, some of my favorite games are card or dice versions of bigger board games.
Thats where last years Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition comes in. A card-game spin on the original,Ares Expedition aims to capture the feel of the board game in a smaller, tighter package.
We are pleased to report that it succeeds. Advertisement
Any complaints we had about the production values of the original board game have been fixed.
Aaron Zimmerman
The central board tracks how far along you and your opponents are in terraforming Mars.
Aaron Zimmerman
The new games theme is identical to the original board games. You and up to three opponents take on the role of CEOs of megacorporations working to turn the inhospitable terrain of the red planet into something humanity can call home. While your actions contribute to the main goal of raising three key global parametersthe planets temperature must hit 8 Celsius, atmospheric oxygen must rise to 14 percent, and oceanic coverage must become sufficient to kickstart the planets own hydrologic cyclethis is not a cooperative game.
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The Terraforming Mars card game is as good as we'd hoped it would be - Ars Technica
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Deepcool Le Mars AIO RL With "All In One" Anti-Leak Technology – Nation World News
Posted: at 11:45 am
Deepcool Liquid Cooler Series Announced Deepcool le mars aio, new rl All-in-one (AIO) with anti-leak technology.
One of the global brands in designing and manufacturing high-performance computing components for enthusiasts around the world: Deepcoolannounces the launch of a new generation of liquid coolers All-in-one (AIO). and offering exceptional value, series le mars,
alive with green led lighting single color mars, advanced cooling performance and technology anti-fugas Deepcool.
The LE series has a large copper cold plate and an efficient arrangement of Micro channels for optimum performance Why refrigeration? LE300 Supports heat dissipation 180W. untilwhen LE500large, supports Hand 220W, The front of the pump features a Mars Green illuminated steady light loop and DeepCool logo for a unique aesthetic.
low profile water pump The LE series enables better compatibility with Mini-ITX systems without sacrificing cooling performance.
Fans included in the LE Series Liquid Cooler AIO there is a limit dynamic pwm D500A 2250 rpm which provides enhanced air flow 85.85CFM . until and a constant pressure Hasta 3,27mm Aq, keeping noise to a minimum.
loss fan provide a lively steady light Mars Green equipped with single color anti-leakage technology Patented by Deepcool, the LE Series features technology that helps the system achieve automatic pressure balancing. Significant improvement in the operation safety of the all-in-one liquid cooler.
installation es quick and easy Thanks to the newly designed mounting bracket. Ensures that the liquid cooler mounts securely on multiple platforms Friendly with the last baseboard of both Intel to like amd,
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Deepcool Le Mars AIO RL With "All In One" Anti-Leak Technology - Nation World News
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Female VALORANT team accused of having boyfriend stand in during online Galorants tournament – Dot Esports
Posted: at 11:45 am
An all-female VALORANT team has been accused of cheating during the recent Galorants Astral Clash event.
Team Fallacy is being accused of cheating at a recent online tournament, with one of the players boyfriends allegedly standing in during a match. An entire document was released to support the shocking accusations, stating Mars boyfriend, ex-TSM FTX star Payen, was using her account during the event.
The document was shared because the event was the Last Chance Qualifier for the Astral Clash LAN tournament in California, with the winner getting a fully paid-for trip.
The Google doc went over an abundance of circumstantial and screenshot evidence that all came together to make mars look guilty of cheating, from suspicious behavior to past performance.
A clip of Mars allegedly getting a 1v5 ace is what initially led to the allegations. During the clip, Mars cannot be heard saying a single thing, which many found to be a strange response from someone who won in a 1v5 situation.
Looking into the situation further, VALORANT players noticed there was a lot of similarities with how Payen plays the shooter. For example, Mars uses F instead of C as a keybind, but went back to default binds during the tournament, the same as her boyfriend Payen. Mars also typically uses a dot crosshair but was using Payens usual crosshair during the 1v5 moment.
Finally, we could not find a single clip of mars using the Discord in-game overlay while playing with her team. Payen, on the other hand, has multiple clips on his Twitter where he has it on. In this 1v5 clip, the Discord overlay is on, the document read.
The Google doc went on to explain that Payen was seen queuing with the Fallacy roster in ranked a day before the event. Interestingly, Mars wasnt there. The document questioned why Payen would be there instead of Mars, speculating that it was because they wouldnt be playing with her in the tournament.
So far, its all accusations.
Riot Games has yet to make any rulings after the evidence was released and mars has her Twitter locked so she has been silent about the situation. This has left fans in the dark about the validity of the accusations.
Some believe all of the items listed in the document are not enough to amount to someone cheating, with some noting that changing a keybind is not too unheard of.
But others feel that all of it together adds up to be a bit suspicious, at least.
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Annual Technology Showcase highlights innovation big and small – Mountain View Voice
Posted: at 11:44 am
The diversity of Mountain Views tech scene was on full display at the 7th Annual Technology Showcase this year, with companies and organizations ranging in size from one-person operations to those with hundreds of employees. The event was back in person for the first time since the pandemic began.
Presented jointly by the Mountain View Chamber of Commerce and the city of Mountain View on July 19 at the Civic Center Plaza, this years showcase featured everything from 3D robots to space labs. The Voice talked to a few of the entrepreneurs and innovators that make Mountain View one of the tech epicenters of Silicon Valley.
Jinxbot 3D Printing
Jason Reynolds is a one-man show who does it all for his company. Hes the founder and sole employee of Jinxbot, a 3D printing service business that he started out of his garage. Jinxbot began with one printer and a dream, Reynolds said, and now he has more than a dozen printers fulfilling orders that can be picked up locally or shipped.
Jinxbot offers 3D printing services from three types of printers, including a new process called SLS (selective laser sintering) printing. It uses a nylon medium creates printed products that are stronger, highly detailed and temperature-resistant.
Its just become more commercially available, Reynolds told the Voice. So Ive taken a lot of that cost on for Jinxbot and am providing that technology to everybody who wants it.
His quick turnaround times usually 48 to 72 hours and one-on-one correspondence with his customers are what set Jinxbot apart from other 3D printing service companies, Reynolds said.
A lot of times, 3D printing services will kind of be like a black box: you submit a file or an order for a part, and youre not sure what youre going to get, Reynolds said as one of his 3D printers whirred next to him. With me, Im going to reach out once I get your file and ask questions Hey, did you want it strong this way? Have you thought about support material this way? That way, you know youre going to get the part that you want.
Reynolds said his favorite part of running Jinxbot is getting to help people bring their visions to life.
I get to meet a lot of interesting people, he said. People are really excited about their projects and what theyre doing.
Currently located on Church Street and Calderon Avenue, Jinxbot will soon be expanding to a larger space off of Old Middlefield Way.
Hacker Dojo
A nonprofit on a mission to create an inclusive and accessible space for tech enthusiasts to learn, play and build together, Hacker Dojo was founded in 2009 in Mountain View. After moving to Santa Clara in 2016 and then having to take a pandemic-induced hiatus, the tech-focused maker space is now back in the city where it all started: in April 2022, Hacker Dojo reopened its doors in a new space on Maude Avenue in Mountain View.
As a nonprofit organization, were non-essential, so we had to close our door for two years, Executive Director Ed Choudhry told the Voice during the Tech Showcase. In that time frame, we did a lot of soul searching for the organization: whats our new mission, and how do we navigate through this? And what weve come to find is that were great for in-person: Were for those who are online, coming off-line to connect and share ideas and to learn from one another.
Every great tech startup has to start somewhere, Choudhry said, and thats what Hacker Dojo aims to provide.
Were the platform, the in-person space, to get that idea started, he said. This is before you get funding, before you have any kind of users. Youre just kind of socializing the idea. Maybe I want someone to help me out, maybe I just want more feedback on this idea. Were that community to help support that.
Spartan Robotics
Marissa Tsoi, an incoming senior at Mountain View High School, has committed countless hours to her school's Spartan Robotics team since she was a freshman. But because of COVID-19, this was the first year that Tsoi and her team were able to experience not only building a robot from scratch, but competing against other high school robotics teams in person. The Spartans robot was on display at the Tech Showcase.
During Tsois freshman year, the team built a robot but never got to compete with it due to the pandemic shutdown.
It was really different, Tsoi said of her navigating robotics team during COVID. It was a lot of Zoom meetings, and just doing what you could virtually, so you kind of missed out on the hands-on sort of thing thats really fun. So this is the first year that weve actually gone through the entire process of building and competing a robot.
Each year in January, robotics teams across the nation are assigned a game from the FIRST Robotics Competition. This year, teams had to build a robot that could shoot balls into a goal.
We basically spent around 25 hours a week at our lab at Mountain View High School working to design this robot since early January, Tsoi told the Voice at the Tech Showcase. And all of that accumulates into the competitions we compete at.
Spartan Robotics took part in two regional competitions this year in March and April, Tsoi said. From there, the team qualified for the World Championships in Houston.
We were able to make it all the way to become finalists in our subdivision there, which was a really great accomplishment for us given that it was just coming off of COVID, Tsoi said. I think everyone on the team learned so much, just going through the design process.
NASA Ames
NASA brought some of its best and brightest to this years Tech Showcase to talk about what the Ames Research Center is up to. Lovorka Degoricija, science communicator and outreach specialist with NASAs GeneLab, told the Voice about how citizen scientists can get involved with space research here on Earth.
GeneLab is essentially an open science repository that analyzes all of the model organisms that are sent into space on the International Space Station in order to conduct experiments, Degoricija said. GeneLab analyzes these organisms using various biological techniques to understand how the space environment affects our biology at a molecular level.
With intentions to go to the moon and eventually to Mars, understanding how space affects living organisms is crucial to keeping future astronauts safe, Degoricija said. NASA sends model organisms like rodents, fruit flies, worms, bacteria and plants to space and then when those organisms are brought back to Earth, GeneLab analyzes them.
We really need to understand how space affects us, she said. We also want to have some kind of a food source on those flights, so we also look at plants and how they are affected by the space environment.
Conceptually, GeneLab is similar to crowdsourcing, Degoricija said.
Its open to the public, anybody can access this, she said. Were looking for citizen scientists to help analyze data to help NASAs mission in furthering the understanding of how space affects biology at a much faster pace.
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Annual Technology Showcase highlights innovation big and small - Mountain View Voice
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Using Technology to Improve Observation Rates and Drive Appropriate Admissions – HealthLeaders Media
Posted: at 11:44 am
For all their advantages, EHRs aren't so good at detecting changes in patient status that separate those being observed and those who end up admitted. Nursing staff are often left to comb and click through records in an endless game of catch-up.
But at Doylestown Health, AI and algorithmic technology are delivering this in a more efficient manner.
The suburban Philadelphia healthcare network, centered around an independent 270-bed hospital, is using predictive analytics technology from XSOLIS to improve medical utilization management. In the first six months of use, officials say they've improved observation rates by 20% and observation to inpatient conversion rates by 37%. And three years later, the initial return on investment of 4.6x has now improved to 7.3x.
Mary Beth Mitchell, MSN, RN, CPHQ, CCM, SSBB, senior executive director of care transformation strategies at Doylestown Health, oversaw this transformation, as well as hospice/palliative care and clinical documentation improvement, while heading the hospital's case management department.
Mary Beth Mitchell, MSN, RN, CPHQ, CCM, SSBB, senior executive director of care transformation strategies at Doylestown Health. Photo courtesy Doylestown Health.
Mitchell says hospitals would like to be able to admit all presenting patients, but payers insist on observation status as a less-costly alternative based on how sick the patient is. That usually does not last more than 48 hours.
"We are required contractually to review and assure that we have the patient in the appropriate status, so that when we bill the insurer, we're billing appropriate," she says.
Utilization review (UR) nurses must review every patient who comes in and is placed in a bed, whether they're on observation status or inpatient status, to be sure they are in the right status, Mitchell says. These nurses create patient synopses that are sent to the payer, who then can agree or disagree with the status assigned to the patient by the hospital.
Prior to adopting the XSOLIS technology platform, those nurses would, on a daily basis, start at one end of the 270-patient roster, either by payer or by floor, and work their way through to the other end, one chart at a time, to look for changes in patient status that rise to the threshold of changing status from observation to inpatient or vice versa, Mitchell says.
"I could look at a chart in the morning, and the patient looks appropriate for observation," she says. "But during the course of the day, lots of stuff happens to patients. But [UR nurses] are not going to look at that chart again till the next day, because this is a manual process."
Some hospitals start with certain diagnoses, but they're still guessing what they will find in those particular charts, Mitchell says.
The technology platform "assigns a severity for us, and through their AI platform [we] are able to use that severity to predict that the patient should be inpatient or observation status," she says.
The technology continually combs through each chart, looking for events entered by clinicians and notifying UR nurses when those events rise to the level of suggesting a change in status, Mitchell says.
"It's almost like an assistant, re-reviewing your charts constantly," she says.
Since UR nurses typically work on a Monday-through-Friday schedule, the technology is particularly useful in catching changes in patient status late on Fridays, also alerting those nurses about changes over the weekend when they arrive Monday morning, she says.
Unlike the presentation of data in EHRs, where less relevant data is often a distracting presence for UR nurses, the technology highlights key measures.
"When I'm going through an EHR, I have to click in and out of every tab," Mitchell says. "I have to look at every medication the patient is on. I really don't want to sift through things that aren't meaningful. [The technology] boils that down. For the medication lists, we only see what's considered notable meds."
The XSOLIS platform presents synopses of the recommended status changes to UR nurses, who can snip them and send them to payers via electronic fax or other means, Mitchell says.
The technology also accounts for traditional Medicare's standards for admissions and the fact that most private payers use one of two criteria Milliman or Interqual.
One drawback is that this process can reduce the UR nurse's role to being a box-checker Mitchell says. But using the right technology can restore their ability to practice to the top of their license by allowing them to consider multiple diagnoses for a patient.
"The nursing staff loves this, because they're getting to use their clinical skills," she says. "It's more fulfilling to do their job."
Mitchell says healthcare organizations should thoroughly examine and test the technology platform before putting it into use. Different vendors and products offer different pathways and goals, making it vital to ensure that one platform can fit seamlessly into a health system's workflow and meet the needs of administrators and staff.
"We asked for data," she says. "We asked to speak with other hospitals. Were they actually seeing this make a difference? How are they utilizing it? By the time we made the decision, we felt pretty comfortable this was going to help us accomplish what we needed it to accomplish."
"It's really important in this day and age for hospitals to learn to leverage technology to their advantage," Mitchell adds. "Any time you do something manually, somebody's going to miss something. We leverage the technology to help us."
Scott Mace is a contributing writer for HealthLeaders.
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SmartSummit: The role of technology in restaurant recruitment and retention – Smartbrief
Posted: at 11:44 am
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Many restaurants have faced staffing shortages during the pandemic, whether they are trying to staff back up after layoffs forced by pandemic shutdowns or seeking to replace staffers who left the industry amid the Great Resignation. As of April 2022, restaurants and bars were still 6.4% below their pre-pandemic employment levels which the Bureau of Labor Statistics has called the industrys most severe labor shortage on record.
Three experts from the industry spoke about the role technology tools can play in restaurant recruitment and retention during SmartBriefs July 21 SmartSummit webinar, The role of technology in restaurant recruitment and retention sponsored by HourWork.
Nine in 10 operators said being understaffed is having a significant or moderate impact on their restaurants ability to grow and succeed, according to the National Restaurant Associations 2022 State of the Restaurant Industry report.
The need to hire and retain staffers has driven restaurant operators to try new methods for recruitment and management appealing to prospective employees in new ways and shaking up staffing models.
For Bartaco, paying employees weekly and promoting its higher pay rates which fall between $19-30 an hour, including tips has helped the 22-unit chain increase staffing levels to about 95%, according to Director of Talent Acquisition Jamie Starner, who noted that the restaurant receives about 30,000 applications a month.
Washington, D.C.-based restaurant group Destination Unknown Restaurants has also seen success with a new staffing model that gives full-time front-of-house employees a yearly salary, while back-of-house employees get competitive hourly pay.
We need to make our restaurants places where people want to come back to work, said Kelly Phillips, co-founder and hospitality director for Destination Unknown.
That has worked out well for usMost of our restaurants are fully staffed at this point, Phillips said.
While pay and benefits are certainly key to attracting and retaining employees, panelists also underscored the importance of tech tools that make it easier to connect with prospective employees and improve employees experience once they come on board.
About three-quarters of webinar attendees who responded to a live poll said they have invested in recruitment and/or retention technology solutions in the past two years. More than half of respondents (55.6%) said those investments have made a difference, while 22.2% said they havent seen a difference yet.
One tool that is simple to implement and has made a difference for many restaurants is QR codes. Many eateries turned to QR codes early in the pandemic to allow customers to order and pay from their mobile devices, but the codes can also help restaurants connect with potential new hires.
PJW Restaurant Group, which owns and operates 26 restaurants across six brands in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, uses QR codes on flyers and social media postings to connect applicants with the companys career site.
You dont need a lot of bells and whistles in your technology to be able to set that up, said Jen McGonigle, director of people and talent development for PJW, who is also chairperson of the National Restaurant Associations HR, Safety & Risk Executive Study Group.
Bartaco, which offers QR code ordering and payment for diners, also added QR codes that connect to its career site to all of its recruiting materials, including business cards.
Simplifying dining room operations with QR codes has also allowed Bartaco to expand its recruiting pool beyond applicants with restaurant experience to include people with retail or customer service backgrounds.
Were able to broaden that pool and really look at the soft skills that will enable them to come in and throw a party with us, said Starner, who is also the founder and president of the Restaurant Recruitment Roundtable.
Using tech tools to offer staffers a simpler and more streamlined work experience from seeing their schedule to waiting on customers can create an environment that makes them feel valued and supported.
Were using the latest technology so thats really eliminated a lot of headaches, so its an easy restaurant for them to work in, said Phillips, who cited Destination Unknowns use of the Toast POS system for tableside payments. It all comes down to making sure our team is happy, and technology is playing a really big role in that.
When considering tech tools to add to the mix, McGonigle cautioned that new solutions shouldnt be overly complicated. Its really easy to get caught up in the technology and it can be overwhelming when youre trying to train people and teach some new aspect that theyre going to be incorporating into their day-to-day life. So I always look at that and what the user experience is going to be like, she said.
To keep pace with the projected growth of the restaurant industry, operators will need to consider how technology factors into creating a company culture that aligns with what matters most to workers.
McGonigle said PJW tries to poll employees as frequently as possible to get insights into what matters most to them. Weve been reevaluating our benefits package and seeing how we can offer more based on what were hearing, she said, noting that work-life balance, flexible hours and access to schedules are all top-of-mind for staffers.
Phillips pointed out that tech tools can help managers reduce the amount of time they spend on scheduling, payroll and inventory so they can spend more time working directly with their team members. Management matters, she said. A lot of people stay and go because of a manager.
Bartaco offers mentorship opportunities for employees, as well as dining discounts and flexible schedules that allow for at least two days off each week. Were just trying to stay really nimble and open minded when it comes to the needs of our employees and how do we retain them, which is important because people can leave and go get a job next door, Starner said. Taking care of your employees is as important as hiring themits the whole employee life cycle.
To watch the event in its entirety and hear more insights about restaurant recruitment and retention from Starner, Phillips and McGonigle, access the SmartSummit on demand.
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SmartSummit: The role of technology in restaurant recruitment and retention - Smartbrief
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DHS Concludes Innovative Technology OpEx to Strengthen Urban First Responder Operations – HS Today – HSToday
Posted: at 11:44 am
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS)Science and Technology Directorate(S&T) and itsNational Urban Security Technology Laboratory(NUSTL) hosted Urban OpEx 2022, an Operational Experimentation (OpEx) where first responders evaluated new and emerging technology solutions in realistic, urban settings throughout the New York Metropolitan area during the week of July 18 22.
Operating environments and emergency response capability needs are always evolving and that makes innovation so importantfor today, tomorrow, next year, and beyond, said Kathryn Coulter Mitchell, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Science and Technology. First responders have to tackle evolving threats in their day-to-day operations and during larger-scale emergency incidents. Urban OpEx paves the way for innovation because were putting technology developers and first responders in the same room to understand what they need from one another.
Building on the successes of past Urban OpEx events, DHS S&T partnered with federal, state and local first responder agencies to test leading-edge technologies that address high-priority capability gaps. The weeklong experiment showcased seven technologies including handheld sensors, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), AI-enabled gun detection, incident management and situational awareness platforms, deployable communications and deployable robotics. First responder evaluators assessed the viability of these technologies for urban search and rescue missions, post disaster assessments, chemical detection at large events, anomaly and threat detection, perimeter surveillance, critical infrastructure inspections, transporting blood and medical supplies, and communicating in remote and degraded environments.
First responders operate under truly unique and challenging conditions. Understanding how new technologies might affect their operations, if they will add value or create distractions can be a challenge, said Bhargav Patel, NUSTLs Senior Technologist. Urban OpEx is an attempt to address this challenge by creating structured experiments contextualized around realistic scenarios.
Urban OpEx maximized opportunities to gather end-user feedback and perspectives from a broad spectrum of participants. More than 150 participants attended the event from public safety agencies around the nation. First responders from the New York City Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Fire Department, New York City Emergency Management Department, New York City Police Department, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Lubbock (Texas) Fire Rescue, and San Diego Fire and Rescue evaluated the technologies alongside representatives from federal, state and local agencies including the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Coast Guard, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, Department of Defense, Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office, North Carolina Department of Information Technology, New York City Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, New York City Mayors Office, New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, among others. Industry participants from Ghost Robotics, Parsons Corporation, Pendar Technologies, Persistent Systems, Skydio, TDCOMM, and ZeroEyes participated under Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with DHS S&T.
Information and feedback collected during Urban OpEx 2022 will be published in a series of technology reports in theDHS publications library. Federal, state, local, tribal, and territorial first responders can access the reports to inform their decision-making and guide future technology investments.
Read theUrban OpEx 2022 Fact Sheetto learn more.
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Carbon capture technology and how it works – National Grid
Posted: at 11:44 am
1. Carbon sinks
Natural forms of CCS are called carbon sinks and they are vast spaces where the natural habitats capture CO2 from the atmosphere these include forests, oceans, grasslands and wetlands.
Scientists, as well as environmental and conservation experts, recognise that the preservation and cultivation of carbon sinks could increase the amount of carbon taken from our atmosphere in the shortest space of time.
Grasslands and wetlands in particular have a much quicker turnaround for carbon storage, with coastal wetlands storing more carbon per hectare than other habitats like forests.1
Where woodland is used, experts believe certain types of tree - such as birch or willow are optimal for land-based carbon capture as they absorb more CO2 comparatively than other tree species.
One way were working to biologically capture carbon is by preserving and rehabilitating an ancient peat bog located close to one of our substations in South Wales.
The 15-hectare bog stores the equivalent of 32,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, which is equal to the average annual emissions of 22,000 petrol cars. Restoring it has also provided conditions for rare butterflies and vegetation to flourish.
Deep saline aquifers are underground geological formations; vast expanses of porous, sedimentary rock, which are filled with salt water. CO2 can be injected into these and stored permanently in fact, saline aquifers have the largest identified storage potential among all other forms of engineered CCS.
The Endurance aquifer, located in the North Sea off the coast of the UK, is one such formation, which sits approximately 1 mile (1.6km) below the sea bed. Roughly the size of Manhattan Island and the height of The Shard or the Empire State Building, its porous composition allows for carbon dioxide to be injected into it and stored safely for potentially thousands of years.
In the US, multiple large-scale saline aquifers are now being used for CCS purposes, such as the Citronelle Project in Alabama. During its three-year trial period, it was successful in storing more than 150,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, which was captured from a nearby pilot facility.
Carbon capture technologies are still being developed globally, with individual countries creating strategies that respond to their own net zero goals. For example, in China companies have developed experimental commercial air filters huge towers that clean air of pollutants on a huge scale. These giant air towers purify air by drawing it into glass rooms, which are heated using solar power creating a greenhouse effect. This hot air up is pushed up the tower through a series of filters, before being released back into the atmosphere as clean air.
One such giant air-purifier tower in Xian has reportedly been cleaning more than 353 million cubic feet of air each day, dramatically improving local air quality. Manufacturers believe they are close to developing even larger towers, where just one could clean enough air on a daily basis for a small city.
The most recent advancements in CCS technology includes new types of liquids, which are highly effective at absorbing CO2. Two dimensional ionic liquids have a molecular structure that allow for higher rates of CO2 to be absorbed. Scientists believe editing liquids can offer more precise control in the chemical engineering process and are considered environmentally friendly.
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Chairman Behnam Announces Technology and Customer Outreach Reorganization | CFTC – Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Posted: at 11:44 am
Washington, D.C. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam today announced a reorganization of FinTech and customer protection efforts and changes to key roles as the agency evolves to address changing markets and market demographics. Chairman Behnam is bolstering the agencys FinTech efforts by creating the Office of Technology Innovation (OTI), formerly LabCFTC, and naming Jorge Herrada as its director. In addition, the chairman announced today that FinTech specialist Jason Somensatto, in addition to continuing his role in OTI, will be joining the Chairmans Office along with legal advisor David Felsenthal. Further, and responding to an unprecedented rise in retail futures, options and digital asset trading, Chairman Behnam today announced the realignment of the Office of Customer Education and Outreach (OCEO) within the Office of Public Affairs. Steve Adamske is the director of the Office of Public Affairs and will also serve as interim director of OCEO with additional personnel changes to be announced at a later date.
The new Office of Technology Innovation will continue the CFTCs efforts in incorporating innovation and technology into the agencys regulatory oversight and mission critical functions by supporting the operating divisions and the Commissions participation in domestic and international coordination. OTIs new structure provides greater flexibility, ensuring that it continues to serve internal and external stakeholders by, among other things, continuing to support outreach and providing rotational opportunities for CFTC employees to gain exposure and expertise.
This reorganization and staff additions bolster an already strong team of division directors and office leadership previously announced by Chairman Behnam including the agencys first Chief Diversity Officer.
The accelerated engagement with FinTech through LabCFTC fulfilled its mission as set forth by former Chairman Giancarlo, and the clear intersection between financial innovation and our markets now requires an updated strategy, said Chairman Behnam. Our resources will be better utilized through an Office of Technology Innovation, reporting directly to the Chairmans office and staffed by a Director, a FinTech Policy and Technology Specialist, a strategic Communications and Education leader, and rotational opportunities for all CFTC employees to gain exposure and expertise.
As new participants and infrastructure providers access and participate in our markets, the CFTC has a greater responsibility to provide trusted and verifiable information, education and outreach, said Chairman Behnam. Customers and market participants alike must act responsibly, and it is incumbent upon regulators to ensure that the investing public, including those in underserved communities, has the tools and information to make informed decisions that may impact their personal finances and the larger markets. OCEO is well equipped to do just that.
Jorge Herrada, Office of Technology Innovation Director
Jorge Herrada will serve as the new director of the Office of Technology Innovation after recently completing a one-year detail as the Senior Technology Advisor to the TechLab at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, where he helped to guide the vision and experiments regarding Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Prior to joining the Federal Reserve Board, Jorge served for four years as the Senior Technology Advisor for LabCFTC, where he focused on innovation, advanced technology, analytics, finance, Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), and cryptocurrencies. He led the CFTC Technology Advisory Committees Virtual Currencies Subcommittee, the DLT Subcommittee, and the High-Frequency Subcommittee. Prior to joining the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Mr. Herrada served as a Senior Principal at American Management Systems (AMS--now CGI). At AMS, he was a systems architect and software engineer. Mr. Herrada earned an MBA from the University of Chicago, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and a BS in Management Science from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania.
Jason Somensatto, FinTech Policy and Technology Advisor
Jason Somensatto will join Chairman Behnams office as FinTech Policy Specialist where he will advise the Chairman on the CFTCs oversight of the digital asset market. He joined the CFTC in February 2021 and previously served as the Acting Director of LabCFTC. Before joining the CFTC, Mr. Somensatto was the senior counsel for a startup developing exchange infrastructure for the digital asset market. Since 2014, he has published several articles and spoken publicly on the intersection of financial regulation and distributed ledger technology. Mr. Somensatto also spent over a decade as an attorney in private practice where he represented clients in government investigations and enforcement matters. He holds a JD from the George Washington University Law School and a BA from the University of Virginia.
David Felsenthal, Counsel to the Chairman
David Felsenthal has been appointed counsel to the Chairman. He will work on issues related to digital assets, climate and other matters. Previously, he was a partner and head of the derivatives practice at Clifford Chance US LLP. Prior to that, Mr. Felsenthal was a lawyer at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He has spoken and written extensively on issues related to derivatives, regulation and finance. He holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a BA from Princeton University.
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