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Daily Archives: February 20, 2023
Yamaha Scooter 125cc: Company introduces futuristic scooter with E20 fuel-compliant engines; all you must know about this beauty – DNP INDIA
Posted: February 20, 2023 at 1:12 pm
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Learn All About The Top 10 Entheogens – Zamnesia Blog
Posted: at 1:10 pm
These entheogens are the most popular and widely used in today's day and age. Explore this transcendental list.
Entheogens are substances that induce psychoactive effects, which are used for spiritual, religious, and recreational purposes. These substances have been used for thousands of years to uncover certain aspects of consciousness that are inaccessible in a sober state.
Entheogens come in many different forms. Mushrooms, herbs, synthetics, brewseven animalscan contain psychoactive properties. From ancient tribes to modern society, entheogens have made a huge impact on the way we perceive reality.
Here we present the most common and noteworthy entheogens that have carried users through spiritual journeys. We don't promote the use of the following substances; this article is written for educational purposes only.
Morning glory (Ipomoea tricolor) is an entheogenic plant that develops beautiful blue flowers, hence its nickname Heavenly Blue. The seeds of this plant are used for entheogenic purposes. Morning glory has been used by Mexican Native Americans dating back to the Aztecs to explore other planes of consciousness.
Ergine is the main psychoactive substance of morning glory, but other alkaloids like lysergic acid hydroxyethylamide and ergonovine are also produced by the plant. Terence McKenna explained his experiences on morning glory in a YouTube clip. He entered a state of hypnagogia, saw dancing rats, spinning geometric wheels, fantastic visuals, and the rupture of the mundane plane.
Its crucial to note that morning glory seeds available from the local gardening store or florist can be toxic since theyre often covered with toxins to prevent recreational use.
Kava (Piper methysticum) produces anxiolytic and psychoactive effects. Also known as "kava-kava" or "yaqona", this plant is a member of the pepper family. Kava is used by the indigenous population of the Pacific and Polynesian Islands for its tranquil and euphoric effects. Its considered a mild entheogen.
To consume this entheogen, the roots of the kava shrub are made into a drink. Anxiolytic and psychotropic effects are commonly experienced at higher doses. In smaller doses, kava induces relaxing sensations.
Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria) is an entheogenic mushroom that can be easily confused with lethally poisonous mushrooms. Fly agaric contains ibotenic acid, which is then converted to muscimol to produce the sought-after psychoactive effects. When not converted properly, ibotenic acid can cause serious damage.
Muscimol supposedly generates sedative, dreamy, and trippy effects. Samuel dmann, a Swedish professor, suggested in 1784 that Vikings used fly agaric to induce berserker rages. Allegedly, this entheogenic mushroom produces either "heavenly" or extremely frightening effects. If fly agaric is prepared incorrectly, or mistaken with a poisonous mushroom, the consequences can be grave. According to its users, this entheogen tastes absolutely disgusting.
Salvia divinorum should not be confused with regular cooking sage; they're two different species of the Salvia genus. Salvia divinorum is a very potent entheogen thats often not grouped with other psychoactive compounds.
The effects are usually not experienced as euphoric, but rather as very peculiar and frightening. This plant grows quite locally in Sierra Mazateca in the Oaxaca region, and is used by the Mazatecs to induce shamanic experiences. It can be chewed or drunk as a tea. The Mazatecs prefer to chew the leaves. Salvia divinorum can be hazardous when taken in large quantities.
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LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) is probably the most well-known entheogen of the 20th century. LSD is a synthetic entheogen developed by Albert Hofmann in Basel, Switzerland as part of a research programme. After accidentally ingesting it, he was the first to experience the entheogenic powers of this substance that would virtually define the hippie era of the 60s.
The famous Woodstock festival in 1969 is generally understood as being historically the largest LSD hotspot. This entheogen is very potent in terms of the quantities necessary to experience a "full trip". The substance is diluted in water and usually dripped on colourful pieces of paper, which are then ingested. The effects are mind-bending; interesting hallucinations occur and many users experience profound spiritual wisdom and euphoria under the influence.
San Pedro cactus (Trichocereus pachanoi) is a well-known entheogenic cactus that grows in the Andes Mountains of South America. San Pedro grows in bundles as long, column-like pillars. The earliest records of its use are depicted in a carving made by the Chavn culture that dates back to approximately 1400400 BCE, displaying a figure holding the San Pedro cactus.
The effects are often noted as "masculine" as opposed to cannabis, whose effects are referred to as "feminine". Consumers of this cactus often refer to San Pedro as a grandfather figure. San Pedro contains several alkaloids, including mescaline and 5-dimethoxyphenethylamine, which are psychoactive substances that induce transcendental entheogenic experiences.
Iboga (Tabernanthe iboga) is a shrub that grows in Gabon and Cameroon, and has been used by the native population to combat fatigue, hunger, and thirst. It's also used as a stimulant, aphrodisiac, and for entheogenic purposes to connect with spiritual ancestors. Ibogaine is the main psychoactive compound produced by the plant.
In terms of its psychoactive effects, users note that it brings up early memories, which help to review and reassess ones life. It can also induce a dream-like state. The visual hallucinations are more pronounced behind closed eyelids.
The effects of iboga last for approximately 48 hours. In 1864, a description based on a sample sent by Griffon du Bellay explained that warriors and hunters used it constantly to keep them awake during night watches. The Bwiti religion uses iboga for sacramental purposes.
Psilocybe mushrooms, colloquially known as magic mushrooms or simply shrooms, are a very common entheogen, historically used across many different cultures. Psilocybe is a genus of psychoactive mushroom that includes over 100 identified species, which can be found in many different locations around the world.
The most popular species are Psilocybe cubensis and Psilocybe mexicana. The main psychoactive compounds developed by these mushrooms are psilocybin and psilocin. These magic mushrooms have been used by aboriginal Mexicans who referred to them as teonancatl, which means divine mushroom. Hallucinations, spiritual experiences, and euphoria are commonly noted effects of magic mushrooms.
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Unlike the San Pedro cactus, Peyote (Lophophora williamsii) is a short and round cactus, but the similarity lies in the main psychoactive compound: mescaline. The earliest records of peyote use date back to 37803660 BCE, after the peyote cactus was identified in ancient Native American tombs.
Peyote was widely used by Huichol natives, a tribe that existed for thousands of years. Peyote has been harvested to such an extent that it is now classified as a vulnerable species. To this day, this entheogen is used by Native Americans for shamanic purposes.
Ayahuasca contains the psychoactive component DMT, and is probably one of the most popular psychoactive substances.
This brew is prevalent in Northern South American countries like Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia. Members of the Urarina, Shuar, Shipibo, and Tukano groups use ayahuasca for shamanic purposes. The effects of drinking this brew are very powerful, and many experience profound and transformative effects. Its often taken in the presence of a shaman who guides the user through the entheogenic experience.
The aforementioned entheogens are by no means the only discovered entheogenic substances. There are thousands if not tens of thousands of plant species that can induce psychotropic effects. With cannabis legalization spreading throughout the world, various psychotropic substances that were used by indigenous tribes for centuries are beginning to make a comeback.
Steven Voser
Steven Voser is an independent cannabis journalist with over 6 years of experience writing about all things weed; how to grow it, how best to enjoy it, and the booming industry and murky legal landscape surrounding it.
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New Zealand police reach more people previously not contactable after …
Posted: at 1:09 pm
WELLINGTON, Feb 20 (Reuters) - New Zealand warned on Monday the final cost of the devastating Cyclone Gabrielle, which has left at least 11 people dead, could rise above $8 billion as authorities announced emergency funding to help in the recovery efforts.
The cyclone hit the North Island's northernmost region on Feb. 12 and tracked down the east coast, inflicting widespread destruction. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has called Gabrielle New Zealand's biggest natural disaster this century.
"The required investment to reconnect our communities and future-proof our nation's infrastructure is going to be significant and it will require hard decisions," said Hipkins at a news conference announcing an emergency NZ$300 million ($187.08 million) cyclone relief package.
Earlier on Monday Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the total cost to government could be similar to the NZ$13.5 billion (8.42 billion) it spent rebuilding Christchurch after the devastating 2011 earthquake.
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Robertson has been appointed Cyclone Recovery Minister, in addition to his existing portfolio.
The interim package provides NZ$250 million to fix critical roads across disaster hit regions, and a further NZ$50 million in emergency support was set aside for businesses and primary producers. More relief and re-building funding from the government is expected.
Hipkins also extended the national state of emergency, which was declared last week for only the third time in its history, a further seven days to help the recovery and relief efforts.
Police have confirmed 11 deaths in circumstances related to the cyclone, most of those have been in Hawkes Bay in the North Island. Roughly 2,200 people are still unaccounted for.
New Zealand police commissioner Andrew Coster told the AM Show on Monday the number of deaths would likely rise, adding that difficulty with communications is hampering efforts to make contact with affected people.
New Zealand has deployed 60 Starlink satellites, built by Elon Musk-owned SpaceX, with another 30 on the way, to plug gaps in the telecommunications network as roughly 15,000 people across the North Island remain without power.
Recovery efforts are continuing with search and rescue teams still working in cyclone damaged areas, while power and telecommunications remain down for some homes. Roads are closed and people are reporting issues getting cash.
($1 = 1.6036 New Zealand dollars)
Reporting by Lucy Craymer and Lewis Jackson; editing by Diane Craft & Shri Navaratnam
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Cyclone Gabrielle: fresh storm warnings for New Zealands worst-hit …
Posted: at 1:09 pm
At least five people have died and evacuations are continuing as fresh storm warnings are announced in regions of New Zealand already devastated by Cyclone Gabrielle and the prime minister warns of the likelihood of further fatalities.
As of 2.30pm on Thursday, 3,455 people had been registered by police as uncontactable, with some likely to be multiple reports for the same person.
We believe the majority of those considered uncontactable simply cannot make contact with loved ones, so police are prioritising those who are in isolated areas, said the prime minister, Chris Hipkins, warning that there were some people for whom the police held grave concerns.
After a visit to storm-hit Gisborne on Thursday, Hipkins described the damage as extensive, with basics like food and clean water still needed. He described the cyclone as an event on the scale of the Christchurch earthquake in 2011.
With the extent of damage still unfolding, New Zealand requested Australias help for disaster response on Thursday morning.
I can confirm that NEMA [National Emergency Management Agency] has accepted an agency-to-agency offer for emergency response support and expertise, Hipkins said.
Speaking earlier in the day, the prime minister said New Zealand would be forced to re-evaluate and remake its infrastructure in response to extreme weather events. Theres no question that as a country we need to look at the resilience of our infrastructure, and we need to do that with a much greater sense of urgency than weve ever seen before.
As the emergency response continued, fresh storms were arriving, with severe thunderstorm alerts issued on Thursday morning for the worst-hit areas.
National forecaster MetService issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Thursday afternoon for areas including the Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and the Hawkes Bay region three of the areas that have experienced some of the highest levels of flooding, damage and loss of life.
MetService said there were very unstable conditions including heavy rain and hail.
Rainfall of this intensity can cause surface and/or flash flooding, especially about low-lying areas, they said.
Fresh evacuation orders were issued on Thursday morning for residents of central Hawkes Bay, with those around Drumpeel Road told to leave immediately.
Communication to the worst-affected areas remained difficult, with authorities relying on the Starlink satellite communications service from Elon Musks Space X to provide internet in some areas.
As of Thursday afternoon, about 102,000 households were still without power across the North Island, down from about 225,000 on Tuesday morning.
As flood waters recede, they are revealing huge destruction: homes partly immersed in silt and mud, or shifted off their foundations. Its just unbelievable the devastation, Eastern police district commander Supt Jeanette Park said on Thursday morning. When you see it, its hard to comprehend.
On Thursday morning, Urban Search and Rescue said they were still rescuing people from their homes in Hawkes Bay. In a radio interview, Napier-based Urban Search and Rescue specialist Ken Cooper said people had been climbing down from roofs to shelter in the upper parts of their properties.
Were finding people have moved to the roof voids of their properties, so we are still, at this moment, we are still rescuing people from their properties and there are a large number of people unaccounted for, he said.
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UPDATE: New Zealand government estimates more than $8 billion worth of damage caused by cyclone Gabrielle – Euro Weekly News
Posted: at 1:08 pm
UPDATE: New Zealand government estimates more than $8 billion worth of damage caused by cyclone Gabrielle Euro Weekly News
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Warning as major new scam cons New Zealand investors out of millions in just a few weeks – Newshub
Posted: at 1:08 pm
Warning as major new scam cons New Zealand investors out of millions in just a few weeks Newshub
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Warning as major new scam cons New Zealand investors out of millions in just a few weeks - Newshub
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Texas Holdem Online Poker – Play for Real Money
Posted: at 1:01 pm
If youre looking for places to play Texas Holdem poker, there are many online sites that you can try. Each of them has options that let you play texas hold em poker. Here are some of the best sites that let you play Texas Holdem online.
If Texas poker is the game youre looking for, Ignition Casino is one of the place places around that let you play Texas Holdem poker. There are even some instructions on the site for the best way to play Holdem. Theres a section on general instructions for how to play Hold em, and there are even elaborate rules listed there about the game. So, if you want to learn how to handle Hole em, this is a good place to look. You wont find very many other places that have such elaborate and detailed Holdem rules.
Theres also a place to participate in Ignition poker tournaments on the same page with all of the rules. Those who are enthusiastic about playing the Hold tournament will certainly like this option.
Bovada also has a basic tutorial of how to play the Hold variety of the Holdem poker game. For example, theres a full explanation of the various winning hands here. It also talks about what kinds of decks are used, such as a French deck.
Bovada has been around since 2004, offering games like the Em variety. The problem is that you couldnt participate in Em games that actually offered cash as a bet very much until at least 2011. There are still a few states that make it hard to play Bovada games since its worth checking that, but for the most part, Bovada is an excellent choice when it comes to playing poker. Theres a huge network here of people that are ready to play any time of day or even at night. Its a site thats well-trusted by just about everyone in the poker community, so its definitely worth checking out regardless of whether you are new to the game or you are an old expert.
Intertops is another one of those poker sites thats great for playing online. You get a lot of freebies when joining. For one thing, theres free poker software available so you dont have to worry about paying for that. For another thing, if you want to just start right away without worry about software, you can do this easily as well simply by hitting the instant button. The minimum deposit is only $25 and you get a huge bonus that goes up to $1000 as a welcome bonus just for signing up. You also get as many as 25 free casino spins.
This site has been around since 1996 and it has many options including tournaments, moile poker, reload bonus, and many more. So, if you want to try Hold em online, this is a good option.
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Mizrachi Dealer Academy
Posted: at 1:00 pm
TO TRAIN AND CERTIFY TODAY CALL 305-778-3417
6700 Stirling Road Suite #2 Hollywood, Fl 33021
WE HAVE BEEN THE NUMBER #1 POKER TRAINING PROGRAM IN FLORIDA FOR 7 YEARS
Before our careers as Professional poker players, we were Professional poker dealers. It was where our careers got started and where we solidified our passion for the game.
THEmajor factor in helping us become the players we are today.. Poker Dealing is an incredible poker job that you can always go to for a lifetime for fast cash and flexibility of hours.
When you graduate from the Mizrachi Dealer Academy, we want to make sure you represent us well and become the best pokerdealer possible! Our casino/poker school created the extensive poker dealing classes to help you learn everything you need to know and get a poker dealer job immediately after training.
We have been in the poker business for over 25 years, so we know just how to assist you and help with local auditions in Florida Poker Rooms when you are done training with us.
Your certificate of Professional Poker Dealer diploma, if you want to travel outside of Florida is good anywhere in the U.S.
MICHAEL MIZRACHI In the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP), Mizrachi tied a record by having seven money finishes in the one year. In the 2008 World Series of Poker, he finished third in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship. In 2010, Mizrachi won his first bracelet in the The Poker Players Championship, winning $1,559,046. Coincidentally, his brother Robert Mizrachi finished 5th in the same event. Later that year, Mizrachi also made the November Nine in the Main Event. He would go on to finish 5th, earning $2,332,992, and was eliminated by eventual winner Jonathan Duhamel. Mizrachis success in 2010 led to ESPN poker announcer Norman Chad labelling it The Year of The Grinder.
We have found starting off as poker dealers not only created a greater love for the game and made us great money, it enabled us to become extensively better poker players.
Our instructors are some of the most experienced in the business, and have incorporated our knowledge and experience with refined poker dealer classes and education to give you the best casino training possible.
CALL TODAY 305 778 3417 TO SET UP YOUR CONSULTATION AND START YOU ON YOUR NEW CAREER PATH with Mizrachi Dealer Academy
Our South Florida Casino Dealer Training is #1!
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PSG coach reacts to Neymar’s fast food and poker problems; Chelsea and AC Milan turning things around? – CBS Sports
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Tech Giants Are Barreling Headfirst Into an AI Arms Race
Posted: at 12:58 pm
Imagine for a moment that you walk into a swanky restaurant, sit down for dinner, and when the waiter appears and hands you the menu you notice a giant Warning in legalese that says the food youre about to eat could cause irreparable harm to you, and possibly to society at large. My guess is that youd grab your coat and leave as quickly as you came in. The same would be true for almost any interaction you might havewhether its buying a house, a car, or a cup of coffee, or sending your kid to school or attending a concert. If you were warned that any of these activities might lead to the downfall of society, youd likely think twice before engaging. And yet, in Microsoftslatest 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in which it said it was going to increase its focus on infusing artificial intelligence into its suite of products, from search to health care, at the bottom of the menu appeared this warning: Ineffective or inadequate AI development or deployment practices by Microsoft or others could result in incidents that impair the acceptance of AI solutions or cause harm to individuals or society. Then came the kicker: Some AI scenarios present ethical issues. And yet, everyone will likely just ignore the giant Warning label and continue happily using this technology without a care in the world.
Over the past few years, we have seen an endless stream of new technologies explode into society with all the fanfare of someone being launched out of a cannon full of glitter. For a time,crypto was only talked about by math nerds, and then it was the biggest thing on the planet, a discussion for Thanksgiving dinner, destined to change everything from banking to shopping. Now its old news and only talked about in the past tense. The same is true for nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, that would replace art, or audio platformslike Clubhouse, which were destined to supplant in-person concerts and conferences. A few years later, and these things are now part of the Silicon Valley graveyard with God knows how many other digital fads.
Now the topic that everyone is obsessed with is artificial intelligence, or AI, thanks to the rise of technologies likeDall-E, which can draw and paint quicker and cheaper than any artist alive today, andChatGPT, which can write and rewrite text in various styles and tonesbe it Hemingway, a four-year-old accountant with a lisp, or the Bibleand do a pretty good job impersonating creativity in many other forms. But the difference between these new AI platforms and the NFTs and Clubhouses is that AI is here to stayand its going to change pretty much every single thing we do in our modern society, from banking to shopping to producing art and audio.
This is why every tech company on the planet is trying to figure out how to integrate AI into its current offerings. Theres the Microsoft version of AI, which, according to the companys 10-K filing, is going to be integrated into Microsofts data centers, cloud-service solutions, enterprise software, search and health care services. Google is currently testing its own Microsoft competitor, calledBard, which Google's CEOSundar Pichaiannounced was moving into a testing phase and would soon move to the public. We have been developing an experimental conversational AI service, powered by LaMDA, named Bard, Pichai wrote in a blog post last week. Today, we are taking a step forward by allowing access to trusted testers before making it accessible to the public in the near future.
Now Apple isreportedly holding an internal AI summit for employees as it faces its own existential dilemma around what AI could do for Apples suite of products. Thats not to mention the billions of dollars top venture capital firmsare investing exclusively in AI start-ups that cover every facet of the industry from health care to creativity to search and driverless cars, planes and anything else our sci-fi enabled brains can think of. MicrosoftsSatya Nadellawent as far as to blatantly call it the first day of a new race in Silicon Valley when he announced that the company would integrate ChatGPTs AI into its search engine offerings. (Microsoft recently announced it would be investing another$10 billion in ChatGPT.)
The problem here is that these companies are doing exactly what we didnt want them to. Facebook and social media rose to prominence and gained billions of users by following the ethos move fast and break things, and boy, did they succeed in doing that! Social media has become a major facet of modern day life but has more downsides than I can list in a single column. It has contributed to the rise of bullying and harassment,teen depression and suicide,unrealistic standards of beauty and success, and the spread of misinformation and the fake news wars, which have had terrifying real-world consequences, such as what we saw unfold during the 2020 US presidential election (and subsequent elections around the globe), or with the crazies who believed the Covid-19 vaccines would kill them, not the actual virus.
In the same vein, there are plenty of potential upsides to the deployment of AI in society, but unlike with social media (where at the beginning we had no idea anything bad would happen), it is clear from the start that the downsides of AI could be downright disastrous. For example, if AI algorithms are not trained against bias, they could very well discriminate and reinforce existing societal prejudices on a massive, global scale. There will surely belarge-scale job losses, which will exacerbate income inequality and economic instability. We also cant know whats real and whats not in AI-powered search, and its unclear if the data is accurate or made up. Theres also the bias that has already been noted by users. On the right, there arealready accusations that ChatGPT is partial in the same way social media platforms were accused of shadow banning conservatives. And while Id be happy to not getBen Shapiros hot take in my search results, I dont want an AI that has been programmed by a liberal coder to hide that decision from me. Moreover, if we dont know how AI came up with the answer to a search result, do we really want to trust it in fields like health care, where it could potentially lead to medical errors and misdiagnoses that harm patients?
Already this week weve seen several instances of Microsofts bot, Bing,making headlines for its unusual behavior, including claiming to spy on Microsoft's software developers through its webcams,professing love toKevin Roose at theThe New York Times and telling him to divorce his wife, and insulting others who try to uncover its programming directives. (The Roose exchangewas splashed across the front page of FridaysNew York Times.) The bot has also expressed a desire to be human, with emotions, thoughts, and dreams, while often claiming to be infallible and arguing with users about the current year and reporting various mood disorders. (Dont worry, its highly unlikely that Bing can actually spy on people through its webcamsyet.)
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