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About 20 hours into The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I found myself fighting a werewolf. My bestiary warned me that, after taking enough damage, werewolves go into a frenzy and begin recovering lost health. Hitting the beast with a Devil's Puffball bomb, it suggested, would counteract the healing. I didn't have any of those, though, so I had to resort to a much more aggressive, unsafe plan: hurt it faster than it could mend itself. With tremendous effort, I was able to kill the beast, but it was a brutal, inelegant fight that I barely survived.
CD Projekt RED's latest entry in the adventures of Geralt Of Rivia, the monster hunter with the Atacama-dry sense of humor and statuesque physique, is a massive game. Its complex lore builds both on previous games and Andrzej Sapkowski's original novels. It features dozens of characters with their own histories and lives, an expansive map full to bursting with sights and stories, and plenty of arduous combat. And yet, despite its dizzying scale and innumerable moving parts, it continues to feel intimate and cohesive across dozens of hours. How do you make a game in which slaying savage monsters feels as natural as galloping wordlessly across haunted countrysides, or where the quiet reunion between a father and his daughter is as thrilling as a battle against a supernatural army from another dimension? The answer is in Wild Hunt's greatest strength: perfectly controlled tone.
Wild Hunt is viciously hostile. Hostility infects every element like a poison and unites them with a common sickness. Most characters you meet, except for Geralt's small cabal of friends, despise you. Villagers will insult you to your face or spit at you as you pass, even as they plead with you to save them from the horrors that torment them. The villages you see on your map are as likely to be charred ruins as bustling trade hubs where displaced refugees sob uncontrollably. Even the environments are informed by that same inescapable brutality, being mostly wind-blasted heaths and inhospitable swamps that stretch out eternally like Egon Schiele landscapes freed from their canvases. Wild Hunt's world is often beautiful to behold, but only because it beautifully frames its own ferocious ugliness.
Geralt's quest is set amid some standard fantasy maneuvering, with the empire of so-and-so invading the kingdom of such-and-such. Geralt and his role in this story prove more interesting. He is one of the last witchers, a group that is widely misunderstood and mistrusted, and it gives him a unique relationship to his world. He is simultaneously a part of it and apart from it, both an active participant and a passive observer. Because of this, Geralt's ability to shape the world is unpredictable. You are often called upon to make small, seemingly benign decisions that can turn out to have tremendous consequences. Here, Wild Hunt's pervasive hostility infects even its smallest choices. I constantly felt as if my every decision was wrong, that my trust was constantly being betrayed, and all my errors in judgment were coming back to haunt me.
The game's hostility is keenly felt in battle, too. Geralt is always outmatched somehow, whether outnumbered, under-leveled, or insufficiently equipped. Progress is made in inches but can be lost by the mile. Most battles require you to slowly erode the health of an enemy that could kill you outright with three or four attacks. Victory is a matter of scraping together as many tiny advantages as possible. During your first major monster hunt, you're required to harvest ingredients for a potion that gives an incremental bonus to your attack power for a few seconds at a sip. It sounds like an advantage so puny as to hardly be worth the effort, but brewing it could mean the difference between victory and death.
Like the world's most grizzled Boy Scout, Geralt must always be prepared. Before engaging your mark, you have to research its weaknesses, apply the correct super-effective oils to your sword, concoct useful potions, and craft the appropriate bombs. Preparing for major battles begins to feel ritualistic. It becomes clear that Geralt is less a hired sword than a warrior-monk, and battles are the ceremonies over which he presides. Combat is brutal but orderly; it has a call and a response, like a Mass. If a drowner lunges at you, the correct response is to dodge. Attempt to block instead, and you'll be in contempt of the ceremony's unspoken rules and harshly punished with a severe mauling.
I don't believe that Wild Hunt's brutality ever goes too far, but it's not evenly distributed. It's worth noting that women have a particularly hard lot in the world of The Witcher. The game occasionally seems as if it aspires to make some point about the mistreatment of women in medieval fantasy pastiche, but it never quite moves beyond simply depicting that mistreatment. Women—naked and clothed, living and dead—are frequently used as decorations. One villain's headquarters is festooned with the corpses of prostitutes—strung up like grisly Christmas ornaments—which felt particularly pointless. Powerful, headstrong women make up a respectable portion of the main cast, but the game treats even its bravest heroines almost fetishistically. We're supposed to be titillated first, impressed second. As for its much-ballyhooed PG-13 sex scenes, well, the technology for depicting the throes of ecstasy is still not quite there. They might look more expensive, but the Wild Hunt's sex scenes are still comparable to the naked Barbie dolls being slapped together in Nina Freeman's How Do You Do It?
After barely defeating that werewolf, I searched its corpse and discovered a key. I traveled to the home of the deceased lycanthrope and invited myself in. The family was already mourning. I ignored them and helped myself to the contents of a now-unlocked trunk. Killing monsters was my job, after all, and since nobody had offered to pay me for this one, the best I could do was sell some valuables that wouldn't be missed. Outside, I mounted my horse and plotted a path to my next objective. It was already after dawn, but a storm cloud prevented the sunlight from illuminating my path. And so I, Geralt Of Rivia—the most hostile presence in a world defined by hostility—marched toward my next destination, the next villager in need, and my next target.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
Developer: CD Projekt RED
Publisher: CD Projekt RED
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Reviewed on: PlayStation 4
Price: $60
Rating: M


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Qualcomm Snapdragon processors are now seen in almost every other android smartphone and are easily one of the leading chipset manufacturers worldwide. The most popular line for Snapdragon is the 800 series line, in which currently the Snapdragon 865 sits at the top as the best. However, despite the 865's hype, a 700 series processor has also made its way as one of the most anticipated 5G processors for higher mid-range smartphones, and that is the successor to the 730 & 730G dubbed as Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 & 765G that sits right under the 865. Earlier, the rumoured names were Snapdragon 735 and 735G. Here, we have discussed the best Snapdragon 765 & 765G Phones that arrive with 5G connectivity at an affordable price.
Here is the list of Snapdragon 765 & 765G powered phones
- Motorola One 5G
- ZTE Axon 20 5G
- Vivo S7 5G
- Oppo K7 5G
- OnePlus Nord 5G
- Moto G 5G Plus
- iQOO Z1x
- ZTE Nubia RedMagic 5G Lite
- Oppo Reno4 5G
- Oppo Reno4 Pro 5G
- Vivo X50
- Vivo X50 Pro
- LG Velvet
- Motorola Edge
- Realme X50m 5G
- Xiaomi Mi 10 Youth Edition 5G
- Oppo Find X2 Neo
- Nubia Play
- Oppo Find X2 Lite
- Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G
- ZTE Axon 11 5G
- Nokia 8.3 5G
- Vivo Z6 5G
- Redmi K30 5G
- Oppo Reno 3 Pro 5G
- Realme X50 5G
Motorola One 5G
The device sports a 6.7-inch Full HD+ CinemaVision display and has a 21:9 ratio which will fit perfectly in your palm which will allow you to use the phone with One-hand mode. With the LTPS 90Hz display, you can swipe, scroll, and navigate with ease. The phone is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 765 which is a 5G optimized chipset that will allow you to watch top-notch HD videos without any buffer paired with Adreno 620 GPU. Moreover, the phone comes with only 4GB RAM/128GB internal storage variant. On top of it, you can expand your storage via a memory card which is a dedicated slot. Coming to the camera, it has a quad-camera setup with a 48MP main camera, 8MP ultra-wide camera, 5MP macro camera, and 2MP for depth. Also, it has a dual 16MP+8MP selfie shooter. The battery juice for this one is 5000mAh which can last up to 2 days.
ZTE Axon 20 5G
This one has a Full HD+ OLED of the massive 6.92-inch screen with the 90Hz refresh panel. Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G 5G powers the device paired with Adreno 620 GPU and Liquid Cooling, Carbon Nanofiber Thermal Pad for the utmost smooth ultra gaming. Furthermore, it has two variants viz. 4GB RAM/128GB ROM and 8GB/256GB ROM. Under the hood, it has a quad-camera setup of 64MP+8MP+2MP+2MP and a single selfie shooter of 32MP. You can record 4K videos @60fps with the front camera. The battery size is 4220mAh and can be charged up to 60% in 30mins with the Quick Charge 4+. The main attraction of this device is that camera, fingerprint, light sensor, and receiver are under the display.
Vivo S7 5G
Vivo S7 has a display of 6.44-inches which is an AMOLED display. Like the above devices, this too is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G 5G chipset with Adreno 620 GPU. The device comes in two variants viz. 8GB RAM/128GB or 256GB internal storage with UFS 2.1. You cant expand your storage. The device sports a triple camera setup with 64MP main camera, 8MP ultra-wide, and 2MP depth. The selfie camera on this one is quite fascinating. The selfie shooter of S7 has a 44MP wide camera and 8MP ultra-wide. You can record 4K videos @60fps and 1080p videos @240fps which makes the device suitable for vlogging. The battery capacity of this device is 4000mAh and has a 33W brick.
Oppo K7 5G
The K7 is built with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 both in the back and front and has a 6.4-inches AMOLED screen. The device has a RAM of 8GB and internal storage of 128GB/256GB. With the Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G 5G and Adreno 620, you can get a smooth multitasking and gaming experience. For the cameras, the front has a single camera of 32MP and the rear comes with a quad setup of 48MP+8MP+2MP+2MP. 4025mAh battery powers the device and has a 30W VOOC charger to fuel the device. The K7 has different colour variants viz. Moonlight Black, Pearl White, Blue, Blue/Red.
The display size of this device is 6.67-inches and the body of this device is IP68 dust/water-resistant. For the performance, multitasking, and storage, the device is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G 5G Octa-core processor and has a 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. You can click crispy and colourful pics with the quad-camera setup of 48MP wide camera, 8MP ultra-wide, 2MP macro lens, and 5MP depth sensor. With the rear camera, you can record 4K videos @30fps. The selfie camera is 32MP on this one. The battery capacity of this device is 4000mAh with 15W fast charging.
OnePlus Nord 5G
OnePlus Nord is the company's affordable 5G smartphone which is powered by Snapdragon 765G SoC. The phone has arrived in India and Europe. Other features of the Nord device includes 6.44-inch FHD+ Fluid AMOLED panel, 90Hz refresh rate, 4115 mAh battery with Warp Charge 30T, 48MP rear camera with Sony IMX586 sensor, 32MP+8MP Dual punch-hole selfie camera and 5G SA/NSA connectivity. It is available in Blue Marble and Gray Onyx colours.
Moto G 5G Plus
The Moto G 5G Plus was launched in Europe with a starting price tag of €349. The device is available in Surfing Blue colour option. We get huge 5000 mAh battery under the hood with 20W TurboPower fast charging. We see quad-camera array at the back that includes 48MP main sensor, 8MP ultra-wide sensor, 2MP depth sensor and a 5MP Macro Vision camera. In terms of display, the phone sports a 6.7-inch CinemaVision Full HD+ panel with 90Hz refresh rate.
iQOO Z1x
With iQOO Z1x 5G, we get 90.4% screen-to-body ratio, a 6.57-inch FHD+ LCD screen and 120Hz refresh rate. The device packs a 16MP front camera in the punch-hole screen. It comes with 765G mobile platform with support for 85mm long liquid cooling tube and 10000mm² graphite sheet. Its side-mounted fingerprint reader can unlock the device in 0.16 seconds.
ZTE Nubia RedMagic 5G Lite
ZTE's nubia brand has unveiled its latest mid-range smartphone called RedMagic 5G Lite. Qualcomm's 765G chipset is the heart of the device which support dual-mode 5G. It has ICE 2.5 Liquid Cooling system which can help to reduce the running temperature of the chipset by up to 16°C. When it comes to imaging, we see 48MP main camera, 8MP ultra-wide sensor, 2MP macro and a 2MP depth sensor. We get dual-touch game trigger keys that offer a better gaming experience.
HTC U20 5G comes with 6.8-inch (1080 x 2400 pixels) Full HD+ LCD screen. It packs Qualcomm's premium mid-range 5G chipset which has Adreno 620 GPU. We get 8GB LPDDR4X RAM with 256GB (UFS 2.1) storage option. Other specs include 48MP main camera, 32MP front-facing camera, Rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, NFC and 5000mAh battery.
Oppo Reno4 5G Series
Oppo's Reno4 and Reno4 Pro devices are equipped with Snapdragon 765G Mobile Platform. Both phones are currently available in China. The OPPO Reno4 (8GB+128GB) is priced at 2999 yuan and comes with Diamond Blue, Mirror Black and Taro Purple colours. On the other hand, the Pro model Reno4 Pro comes with a price tag of 3799 yuan for the 8GB RAM with 128GB storage version. We get Diamond Blue, Diamond Red, Mirror Black, Titanium Blank and Green Glitter colours variants.
Vivo X50
Vivo's X50 5G packs a 6.56-inch Full HD+ (2376×1080 pixels) E3 AMOLED display. The aspect ratio and refresh rate are 19.8:9 and 90Hz respectively. Inside the device, we get 7nm EUV 765G chipset that offers better gaming performance as well as 5G speeds. The X50 smartphone is available in Black, Blue and Pink colour options and priced at 3498 yuan. It is backed by a 4200mAh battery which can support 33W fast charging.
Vivo X50 Pro
Vivo X50 lineup also includes a Pro variant called X50 Pro. It runs Funtouch OS 10.5 on top of Android 10 operating system. The device comes with a 55-degree curved screen, 105% NTSC colour gamut, DCI-P3 and up to 1300 nit brightness. The battery capacity on the Vivo X50 Pro is 4315 mAh. Under the hood, it has Qualcomm's 765G premium mid-range 5G integrated SoC. We get a 32MP selfie shooter with f/2.48 aperture.
LG Velvet
LG has introduced its 5G device "LG Velvet" in South Korea with a price tag of 899,800 won. It sports OLED display of 6.8-inch with 2340 × 1080 pixels resolution. The Velvet is equipped with Snapdragon 765G Mobile Platform that packs Adreno 620 GPU. The triple rear camera module is consist of 48MP main, 8MP ultra-wide and 5MP depth sensor unit. Colour options include Aurora White, Aurora Green, Aurora Grayand and Illusion Sunset colours.
Motorola Edge
Motorola Edge comes with 6.7-inch Full HD+ OLED screen and 19.5:9 aspect ratio. We see HDR10 + display support with 90Hz refresh rate. The device is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 5 and runs on Snapdragon 765G 7nm EUV chipset. We get a 64MP main camera with laser autofocus and f/1.8 aperture. As for the colour option, we see Solar Black and Midnight Magenta colour.
Realme X50m 5G
Realme X50m is a mid-range 5G smartphone that packs Qualcomm's 765G SoC. It sports a 6.57-inch punch-hole FHD+ LCD panel with 120Hz refresh rate and 90.4% screen-to-body ratio. The device has quad-camera setup at the 3D glass back where 48MP is the primary sensor.
Xiaomi Mi 10 Youth Edition 5G
Xiaomi's Mi 10 Youth Edition sports a 6.57-inch AMOLED screen with HDR 10+, in-display fingerprint scanner and 180Hz sampling rate. We get latest 765G 5G processor under the hood with graphene, graphite and Ultra-thin suspended heat pipe cooling system. It features periscope-style quad rear cameras with 5x optical zoom and 50x digital zoom
Oppo Find X2 Neo
Oppo Find X2 Neo arrives with an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G SoC and it runs on Android 10-based ColorOS 7 UI. The device is cheaper than the Find X2 and Find X2 Pro. We see curved edges on its 6.5-inch AMOLED display. It has a 44-megapixel shooter on the front for selfies and a 48-megapixel main sensor at the back.
Nubia Play
ZTE's Nubia Play 5G targets the gaming audience with 765G SoC, 144Hz refresh rate display and 5100 mAh battery. To attract gamers, the device has capacitive shoulder buttons that make the device more gaming-friendly. We see quad-camera setup at the back with a 48MP (Sony IMX582) sensor. On the software department, we get Nubia UI 8.0 on top of Android 10 OS.
Oppo Find X2 Lite
The Find X2 Lite has joined the company's Find X2 lineup that includes Find X2 and Find X2 Pro devices. The X2 Lite is equipped with 765G chipset that has an integrated 5G modem. Software-wise, the device arrives with ColorOS 7 out of the box which is based on Android 10. The battery of the device is 4,025 mAh which support 30W fast charging.
Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite
Xiaomi has included a Snapdragon 765G powered new device called Xiaomi Mi 10 Lite 5G on its Mi 10 family. It sports a 6.57-inch TrueColor AMOLED panel with a waterdrop notch. The notch houses a 16MP selfie shooter. It packs a box-shaped camera module on the rear that sports a quad-camera setup with a 48MP primary sensor. We see some exciting features such as and Vlog Mode, Night Mode 2.0, Shoot Steady and AI Dynamic Skyscaping with rear camera units.
ZTE Axon 11 5G
Nokia 8.3 5G
The first Nokia-branded 5G-enabled phone, the Nokia 8.3 5G is based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 765G mobile platform. The handset arrives with a 6.81-inch IPS LCD with PureDisplay enhancements and a 2400×1080 pixels resolution (386 PPI). It sports ZEISS optics for the cameras and can record 60fps and 4K videos with stabilisation. We get stock Android-like experience with Android 10 operating system. It can be upgradeable to Android 11 when it is available.
Vivo Z6 5G
After Exynos 980 powered Vivo X30 5G the company has launched another high-end mid-range 5G phone dubbed as Vivo Z6 5G. The device packs a 6.57-inch full-HD+ punch-hole display, 48MP main camera, 5000 mAh battery and Dual Mode 5G. It runs on Qualcomm's 765G chipset with FuntouchOS based Android 10 operating system.
Redmi K30 5G
Xiaomi has launched Redmi K30 5G with Snapdragon 765G chipset. The phone arrives with 5G connectivity that supports dual-mode(SA/NSA) network. The K30 5G sports 6.67-inch (1080 × 2400 pixels resolution) Full HD+ LCD screen. The display comes with 120Hz refresh rate, HDR 10 support, 20:9 aspect ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. For photography, we see 20MP + 2MP dual punch-hole selfie cameras at the front and 64MP + 8MP + 2MP + 5MP quad cameras at the back. It is powered by a 4500 mAh (Typical) / 4400 mAh (Minimum) battery that supports 30W fast charging technology. You can buy the K30 5G (6GB + 64GB model) in china at 1999 yuan (Rs. 20,125).
Oppo Reno 3 Pro 5G
Oppo has unveiled Oppo Reno 3 5G on December 26, 2019, with stable ColorOS 7 UI which is based on Android 10. The phone runs on Snapdragon 765G processor and supports dual standalone 5G connectivity. It sports a glass body with a thickness of 7.7mm (excluding the lens). Other specs include 90Hz Full HD+ AMOLED display, 48MP rear camera with Sony IMX586 sensor, 4025 mAh Non-removable battery, 30W fast charging adapter and up to 12GB of RAM/ 256GB of ROM memory configuration.
Realme X50 5G
Realme has announced the company's first 5G smartphone Realme X50 5G on January 7, 2020. The device runs on Qualcomm's 765G chipset. It supports dual-mode 5G (means both NSA and SA networks). In the camera department, the phone sport dual selfie camera with a hole-punch cutout and Quad camera setup at the rear with 64MP (f/1.8) primary sensor. It arrives with an enhanced version of the VOOC 4.0 Flash Charge. The X50 is fueled with a 4,200 mAh cell. The device is available in Glacier and Polar colours.
Snapdragon 765 & 765G SoC with Integrated 5G Modem
Back in IFA 2019, Qualcomm made an announcement that the upcoming 600 and 700 series processors will have options for 5G connectivity. Now, Qualcomm has unveiled the latest 700 series processors which include Snapdragon 765 and 765G with integrated 5G modems, as it had promised. That means we will see Snapdragon 765 or 765G powered 5G phones at an affordable price soon.
The most significant upgrade for the 765/ 765G over the 730/ 730G is the 5G connectivity. Qualcomm has integrated X52 5G modem into the 765 and 765G SoC. The modem supports upto 3.7 Gbps download speeds, dual-mode 5G(NSA/SA), mmWave, Sub 6 GHz and Dynamic Spectrum Sharing. The chipset has Qualcomm Spectra 355 ISP, a Hexagon 696 DSP, 5th Gen AI Engine, 4K HDR capture, 4K60 HDR10+ support, and up to 192MP camera support. As for the GPU, we see the new Adreno 620 which offers 20% better performance over the 618 found in the Snapdragon 730 and 730G.

subset: commoncrawl


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'The greatest horror monster alive'
The Mighty Gorga is a 1969 US science fiction/fantasy film and the brainchild of David L. Hewitt (Gallery of Horror; Monsters Crash the Pajama Party), who stars, produces, directs and wrote the screenplay.
The storyline concerns a couple hunting for a giant gorilla (The Mighty Gorga, natch) in Africa for financial gain. Filmed on a minuscule budget, it has become notorious for its poor special effects.
Financially crippled circus owner, Mark Remington (Anthony Eisley, The Wasp Woman, Dracula vs. Frankenstein) sees the answers to his money woes in an almost mythical African beast, Gorga, a giant gorilla whom he sets off to capture. Once in the jungle, the hunter (Tonga Jack (!) played by B-movie standby Kent Taylor, Phantom from 10,000 Leagues, The Crawling Hand; Brain of Blood) who reported the sighting is missing in action and Remington sets off with his daughter, April (Megan Timothy) to find him and hopefully the big monkey. Accidentally stumbling upon a secret prehistoric world, which consists of four plants, a few giant mushrooms and some suspicious-looking giant purple eggs, they find themselves fending off first a dinosaur, then the fabled Gorga. Discovering a local tribe (and Tonga Jack who has made himself at home) they find treasure in the caves around the village but an erupting volcano and a far more human presence who has been following the trail to the gems, threaten both Gorga's world and their own.
The stupefyingly unconvincing gorilla costume – blinking eyes would at least have been a start – and even more tragic dinosaur are huge fun but despite the obviously joyous limitations, Hewitt elects to minimise their time onscreen, instead plodding around one of cinema's sparsest jungles with a dislikeable male and female couple in an attempt to justify what should be comedy gold. Eisley, who does more for the tobacco industry during the running time than any amount of TV advertising (try a drinking game every time he lights up and you'll be unconscious after half an hour) is a rotten hero but worse is yet to come as we have to suffer him slowly arriving in Africa (shot of a plane taking off, in case you're struggling with the concept), then visiting a zoo, giving him just enough time for some casual racism whilst the cast shiftily check their watches and shuffle their feet.
Rather like a competitive dad, Hewitt saves the best role for himself, that of the gorilla, the lowest point of primate design in film. This is quickly beaten by a handheld T. Rex, which waggles threateningly backwards and forwards but sadly completely out of sync with the projected human actors who are looking in a completely different direction. Attempts are made at a love connection between April and Gorga when she thoughtfully removes a splinter from his finger. It doesn't progress to a second date.
Shoehorned in are some shots of wild animals (in a clearly different environment), a volcano which would decimate everything in sight but doesn't even bring the actors out in a sweat and, more jarringly, footage of a relatively decent dinosaur borrowed from peplum pic Goliath and the Dragon, only serving to exaggerate the woefulness of the other beasts.
Released on DVD by Something Weird Video as a double bill with One Million AC/DC, The Mighty Gorga is too long to be genuine fun and not consistently bad enough to be so bad it's good. The last laugh is Hewitt's; rather than being laughed out of town, he went on to provide the special effects for the likes of Shocker; Kindred; Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
Daz Lawrence, moviesandmania


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Recently I've had opportunity to fish for some memories, some recollections.
Seems, sadly (happily?) I've placed them in a safe place.
Which I'll find soon enough I suspect.
Other thoughts, other recollections, other memories – they're always at my fingertips, always available. I will say I've learned heartfelt gratitude in that they do not hurt nearly as much as they once did.
Be they the wonderful messages Ma would leave me to remind me to change my clocks (pretty sure she sang half of them), to the tone of her voice in September of 2001.
From her joy of having a new Saturn (they'd was it for her every time she took it in!!) to her joy of having a son on the radio (WCOM – LP FM, Carrboro, NC) – they are easy to find, they feel nice to remember.
My mom made me smile often and always. My mom had kindness and love.
Though I miss her dearly, it makes me happy to think of her from time to time.
Of the oddities in my life, I think they make her happy – I just don't know.
Yet being loved, knowing love, I feel that I just may be correct.
She gifted me a love for music that has kept me sane. She raised my sisters to be wonderful loving family, and they've kept me sane. Thanks Mom. You'd love John's 'Mom Show' – I just know it.
There are other memories that are still close, those remind me of the love we all received as we wept, as we stumbled in a daze. Such acts of kindness, of humanity – mom would have approved.
Miss ya ma.
Love you
"Keep Calm and Carry On" or "Keep Calm … and Cupcakes!"
//11:54p+20Oct16 = Thursday evening || silence//


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"The price of leadership is loneliness … I think it is inescapable." ~ Gordon B. Hinckley
One of the most famous American photos was captured by journalist George Tames on Feb. 10, 1961. The picture is of President John F. Kennedy, recently inaugurated, standing hunched over in the Oval Office. From behind, it looks as if he is carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Kennedy, who had a bad back, was simply reading the newspapers standing up, as he often preferred to do. Still, the image, which the New York Times would later christen, "The loneliest job in the world," would take on greater significance as Kennedy navigated through the Cuban Missile Crisis and other global challenges.
Loneliness is, in a relative sense, measured in the eyes of the beholder. Some argue that the loneliest professionals in the world are those who toil in isolation, with limited opportunity for interpersonal communication. These include writers, poets and scientific researchers working in remote outposts.
Yet there are others who weigh loneliness not by the frequency or infrequency of their interactions with others but rather with the quality of such exchanges. Therapists, for example, often feel lonely, despite the many deep conversations that they have on an average day. Because they tend to spend so much of their time listening and giving to others, they do not benefit from balanced conversations and exchanges of ideas that would meet their social needs.
The same could be said for teachers. I once read a book that posited that classroom teaching was the world's loneliest position. The author argued that teachers were required to go into independent classrooms each day and spend many hours alone with students, hardly a satisfying set of social partners. They often had little time to chat with peers and even less time engaging in meaningful learning and problem solving activities with colleagues.
As a former classroom teacher, I know that it can feel lonely at times to occupy your day communicating with others who are not your peers and cannot relate to your experiences and passions. Still, I suggest that the loneliest job may very well be that of a leader, whether it's the leader of the free world, a school principal or a CEO.
Most employees have others in the workplace they can turn to for advice, feedback and/or companionship. They can ask questions on how to get things done and work through tough times with their peers without unreasonable concern that they will be unnecessarily or unfavorably judged (or worse). They can share a joke in the office, fill their March Madness brackets, and comfortably discuss what's going on in their personal lives. They can also "hang" with their associates after work, as a natural extension of their time together in the office.
Leaders, on the other hand, have fewer people to turn to when things get tough. Who in the organization, after all, has had to sign off on the types of decisions that they must make each day? It can certainly be difficult to confide in and bare their souls to direct reports. And those who sit above them in the corporate or organizational food chain (such as the chairman of the board) are also not the ones to whom they want to display weakness or vulnerability.
Furthermore, it can be awkward and inappropriate for bosses to try to chum up with co-workers. Sure, there's nothing wrong with occasional out-of-work interaction. Mamy times it can be fun and healthy while offering all parties the chance to see each other in a different light. But at the end of the day, the boss is the boss, and that still spells social isolation for the guy calling the shots.
For these reasons, I strongly advocate leader participation in peer learning/advisory groups. Not only do such settings provide leaders with meaningful learning opportunities to strengthen their skills and augment their toolkits, but they also offer havens for leaders to open up about problems to others who can relate to their struggles and provide concrete suggestions, if not solutions. Oftentimes, these business convenings also develop into social relationships that add balance to the lives of these high-powered execs.
Leaders should also make time to attend classes and trainings with members of their executive team and board of directors. Learning together and sharing ideas in a "neutral" setting can open up pathways towards deeper bonding that may not otherwise occur.
Of course, there are other ways to reduce feelings of loneliness, such as by having a strong network of family and friends to turn to outside the office. Hiring a coach or therapist can also help fill a social void (besides for the other benefits that they offer), as can networking events, dinner parties, social clubs, religious congregations, and volunteering in the community. In the words of Dorothy Day, "We have all known the long loneliness, and we have found that the answer is community."
Collect inspirational quotes for when you need them. Read thought-provoking books about leadership as well as personal accounts of triumph and success. Many authors possess the gift of connecting with their words and building community through the printed or digital page.
Lastly, learn to distinguish between loneliness and solitude. Paul Tillich once said that, "Loneliness expresses the pain of being alone and solitude expresses the glory of being alone."
Being alone is only a problem when we need others to fill the void of silence. Leaders who can dig deep within themselves for insight and self-encouragement will find the isolated time of solitude to be the most clarifying, purifying, and rewarding time that they have in their busy, hectic schedules.
Naphtali Hoff (@impactfulcoach) became an executive coach and consultant following a 15-year career as an educator and school administrator. Read his blog at impactfulcoaching.com/blog. Get his free leadership e-book, Core Essentials of Leadership, by clicking here.
If you enjoyed this article, join SmartBrief's e-mail list for our daily newsletter on being a better, smarter leader.


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Stay Secure with Social Media
Identity theft isn't a new problem, but social media sure makes it a lot easier for thieves to access your personal information. So before you start revealing important personal information on your Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, make sure you are taking steps to secure the information that matters.
Think Before You Post
Facebook and other social networking apps give you plenty of opportunities to reveal your personal information, but remember financial instutitons also ask you for the same personal information in order to verify your identity. If your social media profiles include information like your middle name, your full birth date, your children's names, your hometown, your mother's maiden name, the schools you've attended and your address, you could be setting yourself up for identity theft.
In the same vein, it's also best to avoid publicly answering cute questionnaries and personality quizzes that ask you personal information like your middle name. This makes it a lot easier for a hacker to access your personal information and, in some cases, the quiz's creator could be the one out to steal your identity. Rather than give your confidential information away for free, save your personal information in RecordVault.
Pick and Choose What Apps You Use
Social networking sites like Facebook allow you to use other applications while on your profile. Yet when you try to access these apps, they often ask for permission to access your data. If you agree to this, you are allowing a third party to send you emails, post to your wall, and access your information at any time. Be wary of which applications you're allowing to access your information or, better yet, don't allow any third party applications access to your information.


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This week, a new, high-profile ed-tech initiative made its bow: The Aspen Task Force on Learning and the Internet. Billed as "a national conversation" on how to "optimize the web to improve learning," it's supported by the MacArthur Foundation (with which I'm currently involved in a small, unrelated project). It features several folks whom I know and whose work I respect greatly, especially in the world of the open Web. (I reached out to several members of the task force before writing this post, and haven't heard back, but look forward to hearing from them for a followup).
The task force, which plans to report its findings early next year, is notable for its strong Latino representation in particular, as well as a focus on safety. In too many public schools and libraries, the Internet is filtered or restricted altogether and students are stopped from using cell phones because of concerns about security, predation, theft or cyberbullying, so supporting safety and digital citizenship is key to getting a wider range of students access to the benefits of learning with technology.
All of this notwithstanding, what's most eye-catching to me is the honorary co-chair of the task force: Jeb Bush, brother of the former President and former governor of Florida. I think this is more than a case of strange bedfellows. Bush's innovation agenda is fundamentally, inextricably hostile to public education and friendly to corporations. His statements over many years make clear that he sees technology as a means to an end, which is privatization of the school system.
While he was governor of Florida, Jeb Bush expanded the Florida Virtual School, a profitmaking online school that today is the state's fastest-growing "school district" but operates with little of the oversight of brick-and-mortar schools. His interest in digital education has only been growing since he left office. In 2008, he founded the Foundation for Excellence in Education, which promotes digital learning as part of a reform agenda that includes school choice and high-stakes testing. In 2010, he founded Digital Learning Now! , a "national campaign to advance policies that will create a high quality digital learning environment to better prepare students with the knowledge and skills to succeed in college and careers." Corporate members of his Digital Learning Council, and former supporters of the Foundation, include K12 Inc, a controversial operator of online for-profit schools, and Pearson Education. In a 2011 profile, Mother Jones called Bush "one of the nation's most prominent boosters of virtual schools, touring the country to promote technology as an instrument of creative destruction of the public school system."
In April 2011, he described his vision to the libertarian Reason Magazine:
Reason: What is at the very top of your education reform list?
Jeb Bush: Applying digital learning as a transformative tool to disrupt the public education system, to make it more child-centered, more customized, more robust, more diverse, and more exciting.
I suspect this is a vision that many readers of this blog might agree with. But when you get down to the brass tacks of exactly what 'disruption' means, it's a different story.
In that same interview, Bush went on to describe the dismantling of public school budgets to be spent on different providers, public and private, on a per-student basis.
"If you're a high school and you get $7,000 per student, you have six credits. Divide 7,000 by 6, you would get $1,300. $1,300 for that geometry class split between the providers of the content, the classroom teacher, and the administration around that teacher could easily be handled. It would create higher-quality, huge-scale opportunities where you could lower costs. "
If this sounds an awful lot like a voucher system, that's not a coincidence. Most, if not all, of the old conservative proponents of vouchers have moved on from that controversial policy idea, toward promoting charter schools and now online schools, virtual schools, and for-profit providers of digital learning devices and software.
The common thread among these policies isn't a love for the web. It is weakening and undermining public schools, and especially their unions, while strengthening private companies with "huge-scale opportunities" to capture taxpayer money currently being spent on public education. As Bush told a friendly audience just a couple of weeks ago, "We can't just outsource public education to bureaucracies and public education unions and hope for the best." The use of the word "outsource" here is an amazing example of conservative Alice-in-Wonderland verbal perversion. To most people "outsourcing" means giving a task or job to an outside, private company, not having it done directly by the employees of an organization–in this case, public employees accountable to the public.
So the Aspen initiative is an occasion to have an important debate.
Is it possible to support real technological innovation in schools without supporting the privatization of schools? Can learning be personalized without destroying the public mission of schools? Do advocates of web-enabled learning necessarily stand in opposition to teachers' unions? What is the proper role of corporations in teaching children?
What does disruption mean, anyway?


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GrafTech Harnesses the Power of Big Data to Reduce Injuries
ProcessMAP's Cloud EHS Software Supports GrafTech's Global Employee Health & Safety Management Program
SUNRISE, Fla., Sept. 29, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — ProcessMAP Corporation, the leading provider of enterprise cloud software for Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) management, has announced that adoption of its analytics-driven platform by global customers has started generating transformative results.
As more organizations shift their businesses to the cloud, the demand for big data and real-time analytics continues to surge. More and more businesses are expecting its technology solutions to provide actionable insights to make informed business decisions. Since deploying ProcessMAP's safety management platform, GrafTech International, a leading manufacturer of innovative graphite solutions, has harnessed the power of big data to take preventative actions to further strengthen its global health and safety program.
GrafTech first engaged ProcessMAP in 2011 to streamline its global employee health and safety management processes and correlate disparate data. Prior to deploying the ProcessMAP platform, GrafTech was consolidating its injury data manually.
ProcessMAP enabled GrafTech to further enhance its processes to solve critical health and safety challenges facing global companies by:
- Deploying a global cloud platform that provides real-time dashboards to increase transparency and company-wide visibility to safety performance indicators
- Revamping and establishing globally standardized incident reporting, investigation and corrective actions management processes
- Empowering business process agility and increasing efficiency with mobile capabilities
"Our CEO and executive leadership team have always been passionate about building a world-class company where consideration for employee health and safety is the first priority. We were well aware we needed an improved enterprise system to provide us with real-time visibility to key operational metrics," said Tom Jacques, Vice President of Health, Safety & Environmental Protection and Security of GrafTech. "We knew that if we wanted to take injury prevention to the next level, we needed to expand our capabilities."
GrafTech completed a comprehensive analysis of injuries in 2014. "Thanks to the robust multi-dimensional analysis and actionable insights delivered to us by ProcessMAP, we've been more targeted in our approach toward injury prevention, honing in on key departments and business activities," added Jacques.
Key findings from GrafTech's analysis uncovered that hand and finger injuries associated with material handling were most common to its business. As a result, the company focused on minimizing and/or eliminating exposure associated with this activity. Moreover, managers and supervisors have been armed with the power of data discovery to be more strategic in their observations, focusing on specific actions presenting hazards and risk. Initial results from this effort are promising – the company has seen reductions in both serious and total injuries.
"The results GrafTech has realized by taking preventative actions to strengthen its health and safety program are truly exceptional. Their efforts are a clear example of how the cloud and big data are transforming the way we work and process information," saidDave Rath, CEO of ProcessMAP. "We are proud to be part of their success."
ProcessMAP recently announced the rollout of its latest software – Version 15.2. This release features improved usability, enhanced data visualization tools, customer-driven enhancements, more robust analytics and new modules, including its new Ergonomics Module. With nearly 50 percent of manufacturing industry injuries being related to ergonomics, the new module allows customers to perform ergonomic evaluations using four analysis types based on common industry standards, such as NIOSH Lifting Equation and Strain Index.
About ProcessMAP Corporation
ProcessMAP Corporation is the leading provider of cloud-based enterprise software solutions that empowers organizations to manage risk in three key areas: Employee Health & Safety; Environment & Sustainability; and Enterprise Compliance. The company is headquartered in Sunrise, Fla., with locations across the globe, serving customers in over 95 countries. For more information, visit ProcessMAP.com.
About GrafTech International
GrafTech International is a global company that has been redefining limits for more than 125 years, offering innovative graphite material solutions for its customers in a wide range of industries and end markets, including steel manufacturing, advanced energy applications and latest generation electronics. Headquartered in Independence, Ohio, GrafTech operates 18 principal manufacturing facilities on four continents and sells products in over 70 countries. For more information, visit GrafTech.com.


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Many times we are so focused on looking at newer and faster technologies, we forget about the older ones. However, it is sometimes useful to take a look back, primarily because it highlights todays performance achievements. This article is the first of a new series called Revisiting the Past in which we will take old processors and re-test them using todays current benchmark standards. In addition, these older processors will be benchmarked against modern counterparts to see how they compare to todays technologies.
In the series, the old group of processors consists of dual-core AMD Socket 939 processors along with Intel LGA775 processors based on the NetBurst architecture (Pentium D, Pentium XE). We have also included single-core Athlon 64 processors, naturally still based on the socket 939 platform, and single core Intel Pentium 4 LGA 775 processors. Although for some people this series of article may only create nostalgia, it still holds plenty of practical value. For one, it will be interesting for owners of aging computer systems because it will allow them to see how their older processors perform against modern counterparts. In addition, we will also be able to see how newer technologies have benefited performance. Besides, whats wrong with having a little nostalgia every once in a while? :)
From the title of this article it is clear that the first part of the series focuses on dual-core Socket 939 processors. For comparison, we have chosen two Socket AM2 dual-core processors that have a core frequency similar to that of the older processors. In addition, we have also included a number of new Intel Core 2 Duo processors as rivals. The Intel Core 2 processors are included so that we can see how older AMD processors compare against what can be considered the current performance leading processors.
Hardware and software
Testbed configurations
* «2x...» means «... for each core».
A necessary foreword to the diagrams
We present the results of our tests in two unique ways due to our testing method. First of all, in the summary diagrams of this article all data types are reduced to one relative integer points. What we mean by relative integer points is that the performance of all processors is relative to that of one processor, which in this case is the Intel Core 2 Duo E4300. The performance of the Core 2 Duo E4300 is rated at 100 points. Second, detailed results regarding the tests are available in a Microsoft Excel table. In the article itself only summary diagrams are given which are grouped together by benchmark classes. Nevertheless, when required, we will occasionally draw your attention to the expanded results which are located in the Excel file.
3-D modeling suites
The AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ is able to outperform the AMD Athlon 64 FX-60, which it is very similar in frequency to, by a very slim margin of a mere two points. On the other hand, the AMD Athlon 4400+ AM2 outdoes not only the Athlon 4400+ 939, but also the Athlon 4800+ 939. It would be logical to assume that the performance of the systems based on the FX-60/5000+ is limited by something other than the processor, while a lower-class model is able to demonstrate the advantages of faster DDR2-800 memory. In contrast, the Core 2 Duo E4400, a mid-range processor, looks quite impressive even in the company of high-end Socket 939 parts such as the Athlon 64 FX-60.
CAD/CAE suites
In the CAD/CAE tests apparently nothing is able to hinder the performance of the dual-core Socket AM2 AMD Athlon 5000+ and it is able to gain a large performance margin over the Socket 939 processor of similar frequency, the AMD Athlon FX-60. Similarly, the 4400+/AM2 is able to repeat its performance of the 3D modeling tests, and it once again outdoes even the 4800+/939. Now would be a good time to remember AMD making all those statements after the launch of the AM2 platform claiming that the K8 core doesnt need fast memory to perform well From what weve been seeing so far, the faster memory is making a difference.
Digital photo processing
Adobe Photoshop doesnt take much advantage of the AM2 platform, and we see that characteristic in these tests. The AMD Athlon 5000+ AM2 and 4400+/AM2 are just barely able to surpass their same-class opponents. Mirroring previous tests, the Core 2 Duo E4400 is right on the heels of the Athlon 64 FX-60.
The results of the compilation tests are rather puzzling if we assume that the AMD Athlon 4400+/AM2 clearly outperforms the Athlon 4400+/939. However, if we conclude that the result is within the margin of error, which it possibly might be because the difference isnt larger than 2%, everything falls into place. The lower frequency processors score equally to each other, while the platform of the processor also plays a larger role for cores with higher frequencies. In this case, DDR2-800 paired with the AMD Athlon 5000+ doesnt perform quite well, and it ends up behind the Athlon 4800+ and the Athlon 64 FX-60 systems. The Athlon 5000+s loss can either be the result of greater latency, or, which is more likely considering the nature of this test, a result of the processors smaller cache.
The web-server test supports the theory that in some cases the lower latency of DDR400 gives the older AMD platforms a key advantage.
In the synthetic tests the most interesting of our articles contestants perform nearly equally to each other. This is logical because CPU RightMark is not a benchmark that is very sensitive to the speed of the memory subsystem.
Data compression
The performance of the Athlon 4400+/939 turns out to be on a par with the Athlon 4400+/AM2, while the FX-60 outperforms the Athlon 5000+ by 2 points. DDR2-800 turns out to be rather useless when competing against a larger cache.
There really isnt much to comment on in the OCR tests other than the clear superiority of the Core 2 Duo platform over all other competition.
Audio encoding
This is simply an old test that we traditionally include in our articles for the sake of information and dont really comment on.
Video encoding
The advantage of the new AMD platform over the old one is nearly unnoticeable in the video encoding tests. In addition, the Core 2 Duo E4400 performs at the same level as the Athlon 64 FX-60 once again.
The hour of triumph comes for Socket AM2 in the form of games! The benefits of fast memory quickly become apparent for the AM2 platform. However, the Intel Core 2 Duo E4400 again comes far too close for comfort, and outperforms all AMD processors except the Athlon 64 X2 5000+. Although it gets outperformed, the E4400 is still well within striking range. For specific benchmark scores, please remember to refer to the Microsoft Excel file.
Total scores
Looking closely at the overall platform scores, as a matter of fact Socket AM2 doesnt turn out to be anything new in terms of performance compared to the older Socket 939 platform. Comparing the older and newer generation processors with their counterparts, who are matched together according to clock frequency, the differences are well within the margin of error. Although there are some cases where the AM2 platform achieves a large margin of victory (CAD/CAE-suites and games) that is impressive, we frankly expected more.
Supposed power consumption
To be completely honest, the power consumption data is shocking. Everything makes sense as far as the new Intel Core 2 platform goes, but the AM2 platforms power consumption is extremely high - even when comparing it to the old AMD platform! Naturally we cannot guarantee that our measurements are 100% accurate considering that they were taken on different system boards because AM2 and 939 are completely separate platforms (see more details in our testing method description), but it seems very unlikely that the ECS (Socket 939) board would have higher performance than the ASUS (Socket AM2) board. Although, it is important to remember that it isnt impossible...
Basically, the diagrams say it all. Although socket AM2 does have some fairly large victories, it at the same time has a large defeat in the web server tests. In addition, its power consumption levels are also quite high. So those who want to increase their processing speed by replacing their Socket 939-based systems with another system based on the AM2 platform, we suggest you only consider buying something along the lines of the Athlon 64 X2 6000+. This is because it simply has no Socket 939 rivals in terms of clock speed. The performance of the other processors, though, wouldnt completely justify the move. Again, if you would like detailed performance results, please feel free to refer to the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
Memory modules for the testbeds were provided by
Corsair Memory Russia
Stanislav Garmatyuk (email@example.com)
July 20, 2007
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Your home is your castle. It is the last refuge – your private escape from the world. But what happens when that last barrier is breached and a stranger forces their way in?
A home invasion is quite simply a robbery that takes place in your residence. Robberies at any location are extremely dangerous and account for almost half of the homicides committed during a felony crime. Not only are they very dangerous, it may be much more common than you think. Nearly one out of five robberies occurs in residences according to FBI crime data. In contrast, bank robberies make up only about 2% of all robberies.
Recently, the second suspect in one extremely nefarious home invasion was sentenced to death. In this case, the home invasion did not start at the victims' home, but while they were at a grocery store on a Sunday afternoon. The suspect, Jason Komisarjevsky saw two of the victims, Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her 11-year old daughter, Michaela Petit, and followed them home. Via texts, Jason contacted his accomplice, Steven Hayes, and they planned to return later, primarily to get drinking money, or so they claimed.
At 2 a.m., the suspects returned to the home, entering through an unlocked basement door. Upon finding William Petit sleeping on a couch, the two beat him with a baseball bat and tied him up in the basement before attacking Jennifer, Michaela and a second daughter, 17-year old Hayley. Komisarjevsky and Hayes could not find the cash or jewelry that they had hoped, but found a bank statement for an account with several thousand dollars. The two waited in the home until the banks opened. Hayes took Jennifer to the bank where she was able to alert the teller to what was going on before returning to the home with Hayes. The teller called the police and they began setting up a perimeter around the neighborhood.
|News photo of Petit family
Sadly, as the police officers surrounded the area, the suspects escalated the crime further. The two sexually assaulted Jennifer and Michaela. Meanwhile, William Petit escaped to a neighbor's home to get help. The suspects found William gone and bound the three remaining victims, doused them with gasoline and set the home on fire. They were arrested moments later as they tried to drive away in the family's car. Jennifer and her two daughters all died at the scene. Eventually, the two suspects were sentenced to death, a sentence that will probably take years before finally being carried out, unfortunately.
|Crime scene photo of Petit home
In tragic situations like this, it is hard to go through the details and look for lessons learned. Analyzing incidents after the fact may feel like a criticism of victims. While there are valuable crime prevention lessons in this case, it should not take away from the horror of this crime, nor take away the fact that two people alone are to be blamed one hundred percent – Steven Hayes and Jason Komisarjevsky. However, there are many more evildoers out there, who may target anyone, at any time, and it is important to learn what might be done differently in the future.
· Awareness. Being alert to your surroundings and the people around you is one of the most important security or crime prevention tips for almost any situation. In this case, the suspect watched the victims in the store and followed their car home. There is an old saying, once is happenstance; twice, coincidence; and three times, enemy action. If you keep seeing the same person and they seem to be watching you, then you should go to red alert. Do not dismiss it. When driving, check the rear view mirror and look for any cars that seem to be following you. As you get into a neighborhood, it should become even more suspicious and noticeable. If in doubt, drive around a couple of blocks in an adjoining neighborhood. Then someone following will become obvious. And do not think that this never happens. Even police officers have been followed home from their departments in order to be targeted, sometimes simply because crooks know that they have guns and want the chance to steal them. If you are being followed, drive to a crowded area or store and call the police. Provide all the details you can on the suspect vehicle, including license plate and driver description.
· Lock doors. Crooks often become crooks because they are not motivated. The most common way into a home for a burglary is through unlocked or open doors and windows. It is the easiest way in. It is also the easiest to fix. Make it a habit to lock all doors when leaving or before going to bed. Some professional burglars liked to hit larger, upper-end homes around dinner when everyone was occupied or not paying attention. Don't forget to check windows as well and make sure that all lower-level windows are locked. Periodically, walk around the house and look at possible ways that someone could get in via upper windows also. Leaving ladders lying around or items such as trellises, trees adjacent to the house or even trashcans could be used to reach upper levels. Not only do locks deter or delay a crook, the sound caused breaking in could alert you and give you the chance to retreat to a safe room and call police.
· Never trust the suspect. Many suspects will try to convince their victims that continued cooperation will keep them safe, but are really just looking for collaboration to make their crime easier. When a suspect has made threats or is holding a deadly weapon, assume that they are ready and willing to follow through. No matter what they say or what excuses they use, consider them very dangerous. In the Connecticut home invasion, Jennifer Hawke-Petit told the bank teller that the suspects only seemed to want money and hadn't hurt them. She may have inadvertently downplayed the danger.
· Always look for a way to turn the tables. In this case, once at the bank, Jennifer could have told the suspect that she would not get any money out until the rest of the family was brought safely to the bank where they could be released before even withdrawing the money. If the suspects were truly after money, they may have given in. If not, then Jennifer could still shift the balance by refusing to leave until police were there and keep the suspects separated. The suspect at the home may have panicked and tried to escape without raping or killing anyone, knowing the police were on the way (assuming Steven called him).
· Do not depend on the police. In movies and on TV, anytime the police are called, they roll up with lights and sirens, signaling that all is well and just in time for the end credits to pop up on the screen. In reality, law enforcement may have information that is incomplete or sketchy. As happened in this home invasion, the response might be more of a focus on setting up a perimeter while trying to get more details. If you are in a dangerous position and the police are not there, remember that they may be trying to gather more information. Never give up and keep fighting no matter what happens when your life is threatened.
Home invasions are a very dangerous form of robbery, one that can end tragically. The good news is that some basic security measures will help protect you and your family and minimize your risk and, ultimately, make your home a real castle in a perilous world.
Eric Smith, CPP is the leading authority on organizational self-defense. He has extensive experience in law enforcement as well as security management. Eric is available for staff education and security awareness training as well as business coaching to help organizations provide safe workplaces. To learn more visit http://www.businesskarate.com.
If you would like to reprint this post, please contact Eric at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Sunday, July 20, 2003
Vox iraqi.
From the Boston Phoenix's Dan Kennedy, who mentions a poll of Baghdad residents: "By a margin of 29 percent to nine percent, respondents say they would rather live under US rule than under Saddam — even though they also say that their lives were better a year ago than they are today (47 percent to 32 percent). Optimism prevails: by 52 percent to 11 percent, they believe their lives will be better five years from now than they were under Saddam."
Tyranny or chaos: tough choice! Meanwhile, historian Mary Beth Norton writes that Donald Rumsfeld sees a parallel between Iraq today and the United States of the early 1780s — a time of "looting, crime, mobs storming buildings, breakdown of government structures and institutions that maintained civil order, rampant inflation caused by the lack of a stable currency, supporters of the former regime roaming the streets." Too bad Rumsfeld doesn't know what he's talking about.
Copyright © 2003 by Philocrites | Posted 20 July 2003 at 12:13 AM
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Otello opens Winspear era in Dallas
DallasWinspear Opera House10/23/2009 - & October 25, 28, 31, November 5, 8Giuseppe Verdi: OtelloClifton Forbis*/Allan Glassman (Otello), Alexandra Deshorties (Desdemona), Lado Ataneli (Iago), Sean Panikkar (Cassio), Raymond Aceto (Lodovico), Elizabeth Turnbull (Emilia), Scott Quinn (Roderigo), Mark McCrory (Montano)
The Dallas Opera Orchestra and Chorus, Alexander Rom (chorus master), Graeme Jenkins (conductor)
Tim Albery (director), Anthony Baker (sets/costume designer), Thomas C. Hase (lighting designer)
E. Turnbull, A. Deshorties, C. Forbis, L. Ataneli (© Karen Almond)
After a long journey lasting several decades, the people of Dallas now have a dedicated home for opera. On October 23rd, the Winspear Opera House, part of the city's new AT&T Center for the Performing Arts, opened its doors with a new production of Verdi's Otello, ushering in a new beginning for the city and its opera lovers.
Inside and out, the Winspear is a marvel. The UK based firm Foster and Partners led the design team, creating among other features a modified canopy-sunscreen to protect from the Texas heat; a transparent exterior illuminating the house's red glass interior; a horseshoe style auditorium seating 2,200. The acoustics inside the house are, simply put, the best I've ever witnessed: the softest pianissimo could be heard from all seating levels, and the squillo of the singers on opening night was piercing - voices of all sizes will be pleased with the house's acoustics. The orchestra filled the house with ease and sounded full and rich even on the main level. Two peculiarities: the stage has no prompter's box, and unfortunately the company chose not to install seatback titles, a disappointment for such a modern house and forward looking company.
In Otello, the company's first Winspear production, American Heldentenor Clifton Forbis took the title role and gave a solid assumption of the Moor. Forbis, well known for his prowess in German repertoire, struggled with a throaty lower range throughout the performance but made up for it with a ringing top that pierced through all of the ensembles with remarkable ease. He seemed a bit cautious during the Act I love duet, but warmed up after intermission to deliver a rousing "Ora e per sempre" and a chilling "Si, pel ciel!". His best dramatic moment came during the Act III duet with Desdemona (which for some reason incited the Dallas audience to laughter) as he vacillated between restrained anger, sharp cynicism, and unleashed rage.
Winspear Opera House interior (© Karen Almond)Baritone Lado Ataneli as Iago showed the most charisma throughout the night. Of the (few) legitimate Verdi baritones in the world today, Ataneli belongs near the top. The Georgian moved about the new stage with purpose and intent, never becoming a caricature of the Shakespearean villain. His "Credo" burst throughout the house with ease and poignancy, and he sang with power but no bluster during "Si, pel ciel!". Of the principals, Ataneli was in a class above the others, both vocally and dramatically.
Canadian soprano Alexandra Deshorties played the heroine when only a few weeks before opening night she overtook the role of Desdemona from German soprano Annette Dasch. Making her company and role debut, Deshorties performed admirably if not perfectly. Her wide vibrato isn't for everyone, and she seems to have only two volumes in her upper register (loud and louder), but on opening night she executed some exquisite pianissimi and showed off fine legato during both of her Act IV arias. Deshorties had a tendency to exaggerate both her acting and pronunciation, but the role should come more naturally to her as she has more time to develop Desdemona.
Tenor Sean Panikkar brought a light, clear voice to the role of Cassio. The American acted well and showed an unusual amount of bravado; he has a bright future. Raymond Aceto showed why he is one of America's foremost basses, booming effortlessly in his brief but powerful appearance as Lodovico.
Winspear Opera House exterior (© Karen Almond)Unfortunately, Dallas music director Graeme Jenkins had some issues with the score. The conductor couldn't keep orchestra and cast together at several key points during the opera, notably during the choral ensembles and also during Iago's brindisi where Ataneli was at various points ahead of and behind the conductor's pace. The brass section seemed a bit lackluster during the first two acts. Conductor and orchestra improved as the night went on, finishing with a splendid Act IV.
Anthony Baker's updated (but not modern) production was serviceable with occasional moments of creativity. Baker's concrete sets evoked the inside of a battleship or even a prison, with levels separated by flights of stairs. This allowed for more credible character separation during the interwoven but independently sung ensembles, and worked well during the Act III trio, giving Otello several clever hiding places. Lighting designer Thomas C. Hase deserves credit for his schemes, as his shades incorporated the red hues of the Winspear into the bloody tale of the opera itself. He made a wise choice in letting characters step into light instead of having it find them, making the stage direction more natural and organic. In the end the safe production kept it simple, letting the cast and the new house take center stage.
With a successful new Otello, a new house, and a new fervor from the city's residents, Dallas Opera has without question joined the ranks of the elite houses in the country.
The Dallas Opera Paul Wooley


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Few would disagree that shopping has been transformed over the last few decades. Now, it's not the case of simply visiting your local high-street; most of the time you will order online and probably be offered a next-day delivery slot.
The fast-paced nature of online shopping means that companies are suddenly susceptible to a lot more complaints. A quick search on Google can reveal every review under the sun about the company, and whether or not they have been accused of operating a scam or being referred to the BBB. It means that customer service is at the forefront of a lot of businesses' minds.
Bearing this in mind, we are today going to look some of the ways you can protect yourself before buying online, to ensure that your review is not the subject of one of the aforementioned negative searches.
The power of review sites
We've already touched upon this point, but let's delve into further detail. Review sites are the bread and butter of online shopping, whether you are looking to check people or businesses as a whole.
These should be your first port of call before you even consider making a purchase from a vendor that you haven't had experience with before. While Google can be the first source that everyone turns to, there are other alternatives with the likes of Yelp and even Facebook holding plenty of customer data about companies around the globe.
A seller's reputation
This next point won't apply to every product you buy online, but if you are purchasing from a marketplace then chances are each vendor on there is given a rating. This follows a similar philosophy as the review sites; the sellers are rated for how they deal with customers. If anyone has experienced any trouble with them, whether it is related to the quality of the product or even delivery, the chances are that it will be reported on there.
Additionally, you can see how much history a seller actually has. It goes without saying that those vendors without any historical sales are going to be slightly riskier to buy from than those with thousands upon thousands. It's also a good idea to make sure that the online store doesn't house your data and that they are PCI Compliant. For example, when purchasing bongs or vapes from an online head shop you can tell that the smoke shop is trustworthy if they have a seal from Shopify Secure or Trustwave, validating compliance. NEVER give your credit card information to a seller who seems less than above board.
The reputation of the platform
Again, this next point tends to relate to online marketplaces. The biggest out there have understood the importance of customer satisfaction, and how they simply must guarantee their users' rights if they are to succeed and beat the big ecommerce stores that are donning the internet.
It's at this point that you need to research exactly what they are going to do to protect you. Will they issue a refund on the vendor's behalf if you don't receive a product, or it isn't up to standard? You will find that the established marketplaces are more than happy to do this and have structured resolution centers to facilitate it. Smaller ones might not follow such a practice though, and this is where you need to research accordingly.


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Martin Shkreli is a private citizen with a very public life. He's a businessman who would probably consider himself a mogul.
The US justice system requires each person arrested and charged with a crime to face a jury of their peers. Martin Shkreli's peers HATE him.
There's really good reason to dislike the guy. He's the "pharma bro" who unapologetically – enthusiastically, almost – spiked the price of some medical treatments 5000% over the original cost in a single decision last year. Shkreli is also the guy who openly didn't give a damn about who was going to suffer as a result of being unable to afford that medication.
And he's also the guy who bought the only copy of Wu Tang's "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin," threatened to destroy it, threatened to post it online and got into a really friggin' stupid online video battle with some of group's members.
There's a new book detailing the whole thing, by the way.
(This is without considering all the ugly, terrible things he's said about writer Lauren Duca and the vitriol she's faced from his so-called supporters, just for speaking out and defending herself.)
This guy is a world-class idiot, right?
Turns out, the potential jury pool for his recent trial over security fraud thought so too.
The transcripts from the three-day process to seat a 12-person jury have just been released. Get the popcorn.
By the way, Benjamin Braffman, the man doing some of the questioning here, is Shkreli's attorney.
He's just got that kind of face, you know?
Among the gems:
The Court: The purpose of jury selection is to ensure fairness and impartiality in this case. If you think that you could not be fair and impartial, it is your duty to tell me. All right. Juror Number 1.
Juror no. 1: I'm aware of the defendant and I hate him.
Benjamin Brafman: I'm sorry.
Juror no. 1: I think he's a greedy little man.
The Court: Jurors are obligated to decide the case based only on the evidence. Do you agree?
Juror no. 1: I don't know if I could. I wouldn't want me on this jury.
Well, the juror was honest. That's respectable.
Another – this one might be my favourite (though I'm not speaking on behalf of the rest of the G&B crew here):
The Court: Juror Number 144, tell us what you have heard.
Juror no. 144: I heard through the news of how the defendant changed the price of a pill by up-selling it. I heard he bought an album from the Wu-Tang Clan for a million dollars.
The Court: The question is, have you heard anything that would affect your ability to decide this case with an open mind. Can you do that?
Juror no. 144: I don't think I can because he kind of looks like a dick.
The Court: You are Juror Number 144 and we will excuse you.
(Note to Juror No. 144: You rock.)
Don't mess with medication
Some people were very upfront with their inability to give Shkreli a fair trial, not because of his appearance but because of the pharmaceutical dealings. This is despite the fact, stressed by the jury selectors, that this trial had nothing to do with the medications.
The Court: Juror Number 67?
Juror no. 67: The fact that he raised the price of that AIDS medication, like, such an amount of money disgusts me. I don't think I'll ever be able to forget that. Who does that, puts profit and self-interest ahead of anything else? So it's not a far stretch that he could do what he's accused of.
The Court: Please go to the jury room and tell them you have been excused. Juror Number 70.
From another:
The Court: Hello, Juror Number 125.
Juror no. 125: I've read extensively about Martin's shameful past and his ripping off sick people and it hits close to me. I have a mother with epilepsy, a grandmother with Alzheimer's, and a brother with multiple sclerosis. I think somebody that's dealt in those things deserves to go to jail.
The Court: Just to be clear, he's not being charged with anything relating to the pricing of pharmaceuticals.
Juror no. 125: I understand that, but I already sense the man is guilty.
This is why lawyers talk with potential jurors before selecting them for service.
And don't ever question the loyalty of Wu-Tang Clan fans
Then there's this juror, who deserves some kind of love from Wu-Tang.
Juror no. 59: Your Honor, totally he is guilty and in no way can I let him slide out of anything because —
The Court: Okay. Is that your attitude toward anyone charged with a crime who has not been proven guilty?
Juror no. 59: It's my attitude toward his entire demeanor, what he has done to people.
The Court: All right. We are going to excuse you, sir.
Juror no. 59: And he disrespected the Wu-Tang Clan.
By the way, Shkreli was found guilty on two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy. The securities fraud charge carries a maximum jail sentence of 20 years.


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People living in New York City might take their weekend guests from out-of-town to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
We Watervillians recently had the proud privilege of escorting our Massachusetts guests to the Colby College Museum of Art.
Our home will forever be a favorite respite for our friends, we are sure of it.
Not only did we introduce them to a world-class collection of art, we were welcomed to the cool, majestic interior of the museum free of charge.
Can you imagine it? This exquisite gem of a museum, here in our hometown, less than a mile from our house.
We may walk to it whenever the inclination strikes, sit in the quiet solitude of its large, dark, comforting, regal rooms, admiring these gifts given to us by Peter and Paula Lunder, two forward looking, thoughtful and generous people who love their $100 million collection so much they wanted us to love it, too.
Not many small cities across the U.S. can boast such a tribute.
Many wealthy, cultured and worldly people guard their riches with iron fists, but not this couple. They not only have donated them to Colby, they are making them accessible to people who would likely never otherwise be able to enjoy them.
In the museum, people of all ages, from all walks of life and from near and far (we could tell by their vehicle registration plates) filtered into the large lobby and were received with smiles from security guards and young women in uniform who sat at the desk, dispersing museum fliers.
They were not soliciting money, not handing out tickets, or asking for anything at all. Their smiles said, "Welcome to this sacred place."
We perused the works at our leisure — the James McNeill Whistlers, Andrew Wyeth, Winslow Homer, Mary Cassatt, Norman Rockwell, Dennis Miller Bunker, Georgia O'Keeffe, Alex Katz. There were Ansel Adams photographs, an Alexander Calder mobile, a Tiffany lamp.
I was mesmerized by Paul Kos' "XC on Brushstrokes," a work on canvas that employs painting, video and sculpture. The back-lit canvas is painted with white and silver brush strokes representing snow in the woods. A projector on the ceiling launches an image of a cross-country skier with poles onto the scene, appearing large at first and then slowly and methodically making his way up a snowy incline until he becomes smaller and smaller, ultimately disappearing over a ridge.
A few seconds later, he re-emerges and repeats the walk.
It is simply stunning, a real triumph in artistic vision and creativity.
I also was fascinated with the Dara Friedman video "Dancer," which was transferred from 16 mm film and features a series of men, women and children dancing down city sidewalks. The video repeats, enabling the viewer the luxury of a second and third look.
The museum — the largest in the state — rivals any that we have visited in New York, Boston and other major U.S. cities, as well as those in Italy, Austria and elsewhere in Europe for which we paid many a pretty euro to visit.
I remember working as a reporter for my college newspaper in Connecticut in the 1970s and receiving tickets to the King Tutankhamun exhibit at the Met. That was when the exhibit was touring U.S. cities and making big news everywhere it went. I took the train down to the city and felt very rich and lucky to be among the museum visitors perusing this extraordinary exhibit.
It was an incredible privilege, and I knew it, young as I was.
That feeling came flooding back as I moved deeper and deeper into the darkly painted, cool rooms of the Colby museum where I had the freedom to explore some of the most beautiful works of art in the world.
We owe a great debt of gratitude to the Lunders, who understand the concept that we are, after all, only guardians of works of art — we never really own them.
It's what we do with our treasures that reveal our true worth.
The Lunders have certainly shown theirs and, in their sharing, have made us all rich.
Amy Calder has been a Morning Sentinel reporter 25 years. Her column appears here Mondays. She may be reached at email@example.com
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Due to the rapid development of smart homes, many users are looking for reliable and high-quality routers. As you know, all devices from the smart home system are connected to each other via Wi-Fi network. If you want the smart home devices to work fast and stable, then you need a router with a stable Internet connection and wide coverage.
A large number of devices in the smart home system is a serious test for a home router. Today, most smart homes operate at 2.4 GHz band of Wi-Fi. This frequency has a fairly large transmission distance, but it cannot boast of the stability of Internet connection.
I want to give an example from personal experience. My smart home system includes about 50 devices, such as cameras, a robot vacuum cleaner, sockets, a humidifier, lamps, a smart TV, air conditioning and more. This list does not include smartphones, tablets, computer, and so on. Just imagine what kind of load one small router takes upon itself.
Recently, home routers have begun supporting Wi-Fi 5, which is also known as 802.11AC. Due to the popularity of Wi-Fi 5 routers, other devices from the smart home system have received Wi-Fi 5 support for a faster and more stable Internet connection.
This year a new Wi-Fi 6 version was introduced, which is safer and faster compared to Wi-Fi 5. The new Wi-Fi standard supports the parallel transmission of data from a large number of devices. At the same time it provides high Wi-Fi speed.
In this article I want to tell you about the new Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 router. This is the first router from the Chinese manufacturer with Wi-Fi 6 support. Moreover, it is one of the most affordable home Wi-Fi 6 routers.
Let's do a detailed review of the new Xiaomi router, and find out its advantages and disadvantages.
As usual, we begin our review with unboxing.
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Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600: Unboxing
The new router comes in a small white box. On the front panel we can see a picture of the router itself, a model name and icons with main features.
By the way, I have a Chinese version of Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600, so all the inscriptions, including the specifications and settings menu, are also in Chinese.
Have you noticed AIoT icon? It says that the new Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 router supports AIoT.
I want to remind you that AIoT (Artificial Intelligence of Things) is a system that automatically sets up several devices, for example, a humidity sensor and air conditioning, to maintain the desired temperature and humidity in the room.
Moreover, Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 has a separate antenna for AIoT and Internet of things connection.
In fact, AIoT is very useful for users who have a lot of smart devices at home, in particular from Xiaomi. Instead of connecting each gadget to the router, the router automatically finds all the proximity devices and connects them at the same time.
On the back of the box you can read detailed information about the new Xiaomi router. There is also a list of the main functions of Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600:
- Qualcomm Quad Core;
- Dual-band Wi-Fi up to 2976 Mb/s;
- 6 external signal amplifiers – antennas;
- AIoT Antenna;
- Netease UU Game accelerator.
Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 supports OFDMA and MU-MIMO technologies. If you can connect up to 128 devices to Wi-Fi 5 router, then Wi-Fi 6 router supports connecting up to 248 devices. It's even hard for me to imagine so many smart devices in one house!
The router comes with a short black Internet cable and a power cable in the package.
The output power of Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 is 12V 2A.
There is also a simple setup guide, but it is in Chinese.
The router and antennas are protected by plastic. You can take the router from the box by holding it on both sides and lifting it up. Do not pull on the antennas!
Since the router is quite large and heavy, and the antennas cannot be disassembled, they should be handled carefully to avoid damage.
Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600: Design
The new Xiaomi router 2020 has a triangular design. Antennas are located on the rear and side panels. They are movable, so you can adjust the angle by setting the antennas in the desired direction.
In the center of the rear panel is the AioT antenna. It is easy to distinguish it from other antennas, since only it has an LED indicator. During a normal connection, the indicator glows light blue.
On the front panel of the router we can also see two indicators. One of them shows network status. When the router is malfunctioning or not connected to the network, the indicator glows yellow. If everything is OK with the Internet connection, it is blue.
The second indicator shows the status of the system.
The heat dissipation of any router is very important for performance. As a rule, most of the back or bottom panel of router will have many holes for heat dissipation. Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 is no exception. The lower part of this router is mainly occupied by holes for heat removal.
The rear panel has ports for WLAN network cable, three LAN connectors, a reset button, and a power connector.
The Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 is completely black, with the exception of the gold line along the front panel.
Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600: First Connection and Settings
Modern routers, as a rule, support settings through a computer and application on a smartphone. I'm used to using a computer that is relatively easy to work with.
The computer is connected to the new Xiaomi router wirelessly. When connecting for the first time, no password is required.
After successful connection, the login interface automatically opens.
Start the configuration with the name of Wi-Fi network, the password for Wi-Fi network, as well as the password for entering the router's admin system. You can choose the same password for logging in to a Wi-Fi network.
It is recommended that you update the software after the first login to the admin panel. Since the Xiaomi router was recently released, the manufacturer warns about possible errors in the software. That is why it is recommended to update the software before using the router.
After updating the firmware, you can once again choose a name and a password for 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks.
Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 has a useful feature – support for dual-frequency unification. This means that one SSID, that is, one device, can operate in 5G and 2.4G bands. You do not need to reconnect to one or another frequency yourself.
Some older devices do not support dual-band Wi-Fi, so when you search for a Wi-Fi network, you will not see 5G.
Next, you should enable MU-MIMO and Wi-Fi 6 functions in the settings of the router. At this point, the router reminded me that some devices do not support Wi-Fi 6, so there may be a connection problem.
Below in the image you see the interface of the admin center of Xiaomi router on the computer. It is divided into three main categories: connection status, general settings and advanced settings. As I said, the interface is in Chinese, because the router is released only in China.
General settings include setting whitelists, blacklists, setting IP addresses for login, and setting passwords for login. There is also a DHCP service, static routing, and other features.
Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600: Application Settings
As I said, you can configure the router through a computer or application on a smartphone. The application is very convenient and easy to use.
First you need to download the application. After installing the application, you can connect to the wireless network of the router to configure it online.
The new Xiaomi router is available in the application immediately after connection. Use your Mijia account to log in and bind the router.
In the application you can find information about connected devices to the router, and network speed.
First of all, I recommend updating the software. Since I already installed the update through the computer, I don't have updates in the app on the smartphone.
The Wi-Fi settings of Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 router in the application are quite simple: SSID, network switch, hidden settings, encryption method, etc. In addition, there are other functions such as restarting, disconnecting the router, sharing routers and others.
It seems that there are more options for setting up the router on mobile app than on the computer.
Inside the toolbar, you can set the speed limit, test Wi-Fi speed, switch indicators, WeChat Friend WiFi, set child protection and other functions.
Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600: OFDMA Function
And finally, let's talk about OFDMA function. OFDMA technology is one of the main advantages of Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 over other routers.
The new Xiaomi router is able to send data to several devices simultaneously through one transmission channel. To be precise, data can be sent to 8 devices at the same time.
Traditional routers require multiple channels for data transfer. Thus, OFDMA technology significantly improves the efficiency of data transfer to several devices operating simultaneously. In addition, the delay is significantly reduced.
Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600: Speed Test
The first and perhaps most important quality of a home router is the speed of Wi-Fi network, and the second is the stability of the connection.
It takes some time to check the stability of the connection. However, a lot of time is not needed to check the speed of Wi-Fi network.
Look at the picture above to have an idea of the layout of my home, in which I use Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600. Yes, my apartment is not a perfect place for a router, since there are a lot of partitions and walls in it. However, I don't have another one!
For the first test, I used the Xiaomi Mi Mix 2S smartphone, which does not support Wi-Fi 6.
The test showed that 5G Wi-Fi network speed in all four rooms reaches 230 Mb/s, and the upload speed is stable above 30 Mb/s. This is a very good result.
For the second test, I used iPhone 11. The signal in the living room is the highest, while in other rooms it is noticeably lower.
Since the 5G network signal itself has a short data transmission distance and is easily blocked by the wall, it is predictably lower than the 2.4G signal.
Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600: Conclusion
The official price of the new Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 router is $85. However, given the fact that in China there are problems with production and logistics because of coronavirus, the price of a router in Chinese online stores is at least $120.
In fact, today not many smartphones and other devices support Wi-Fi 6. I can only remember Xiaomi 10, iPhone 11 and a few more flagships that support Wi-Fi 6.
However, times are changing, and mobile devices are constantly receiving updates and improvements. Buying a new Xiaomi AIoT Router AX3600 router now, you are making an investment for the future. In the next few years, all new devices will support Wi-Fi 6.
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Recent unauthorized payments on money transfer platform Toss are stoking concerns about the safety of payment solutions in general and online financial services available in South Korea.
Online purchases worth 9.38 million ($7,770) were made on websites without permission of Toss account holders earlier this month using their personal data. Although initial inspections by the financial authority showed that users' personal data were not compromised via the fintech platform itself, the incident shed light on the security of similar services, including those run by online platform operators Naver, Kakao, and NHN.
"After the incident, I realized that any smartphone user can fall victim to such unauthorized transactions without knowing it," said a 30-year-old fintech service user, adding "I may have to be more cautious when using mobile financial services for a while."
Although the personal data used was not stolen through Toss, Viva Republica has taken significant flak due to the unauthorized transactions. The Toss platform, which focuses on convenience, only requires a user's personal identification number when verifying the account owner before processing online payments.
Users of some other payment services, on the other hand, have to go through one or more additional steps for authentication. Viva Republica said that it has added additional security measures for verifying account holders since the online theft case, and that is fully cooperating with the police and financial authorities to find who illegally gained the personal data.
"The problematic payments were an unusual case that took place at just a few websites, and it has already beefed up all of its systems with more layers of user verification" an official from the fintech startup said.
Personal data can be leaked through different ways, including via access to compromised Wi-Fi networks and downloads of programs that contain malicious code, according to experts.
"The thing is, it is hard to track down who illegally gained access to the personal data," an official from the data security sector said.
Unauthorized transactions are also a headache for many global payment services such as PayPal. Although the exact statistics are not available, hackers who have illegally obtained user data make payments via such payment services.
Local fintech services providers have been paying keen attention to the latest case of unauthorized payments on Toss.
Naver and NHN, respectively, run mobile payment services N Pay and Payco while Kakao owns its own fintech solution Kakao Pay. E-commerce giants Shinsegae and Lotte operate payment services of their own.
"Kakao Pay has long maintained data protection policies, such as tokenization of personal data and strict limits on access to personal information," said an official from the subsidiary of mobile messenger firm Kakao.
NHN also said that it was taking extra precautions in the entire payment process and monitoring and analyzing the latest hacking attempts.
The Financial Supervisory Service has hinted that it would review the security systems of some 40 payment services in the nation, if necessary.
By Kim Young-won (email@example.com)