Sometimes it's not what you include but what you exclude that matters?which is the idea behind this beautiful pack of playing cards by designer Joe Doucet.
Dubbed IOTA, the idea behind the cards was a simple one: just how much could be taken away while still maintaining a deck which could actually be used to play? Turns out the answer is quite a lot.
Using simple geometric shapes?triangles represent both spades and hearts, for instance?he's managed to convey just enough information to players using the bare minimum of visual cues. Incidentally, while it would be nice to have blank backs, that's not allowed for regulation playing cards, so Doucet opted for a simple, single diagonal.
All told, the result is a deck of cards which is stunningly beautiful?perhaps even too beautiful to play with. The cards will make an official debut at Doucet's Play exhibition at Wanted Design in New York, between May 17th and 20th. [Joe Doucet via Design Milk]
DETROIT (AP) -- JPMorgan Chase said Monday that it is giving $1 million to a Detroit nonprofit group to provide educational and other services to low-income families of students at three southwest side public schools, in an effort to improve the quality of life in those neighborhoods.
In addition to its grant to Southwest Solutions, the bank said it has pledged another $500,000 in grants to other Detroit groups.
Southwest Solutions provides human services programs and affordable housing and economic development. The agency will use its grant to expand its Centers for Working Families at Harms and Maybury elementary schools and Western International High School. Centers for Working Families teaches financial stability strategies to low-income families and also develops educational and employment opportunities for them.
The grant money also will be tied to an English language program for parents at two of the Detroit schools and help neighborhood preservation efforts. The agency wants to provide home repair loans or property improvement grants to 115 homeowners, and demolish 30 vacant properties near the three schools.
"We must stabilize families living in high-poverty neighborhoods by providing high quality educational opportunities and by creating job opportunities," said Sarah McClelland, Michigan market president for Chase.
Detroit's southwest side has a large Hispanic population.
An additional $500,000 in grants will assist a number of groups that provide job and financial literacy training, as well as other services, to young people and parents.
The state Department of Human Services will place a "success coach" in Western High School to work with students, staff and parents on issues inside and outside of the school.
The JPMorgan Chase investment and partnerships with the state and other groups fit in with a recently announced Detroit Public Schools 5-year strategic plan to develop quality schools as community hubs.
As part of the plan, the district will offer free pre-kindergarten classes to 4-year-olds in the city and keep some school buildings open to families 12 hours a day, seven days each week.
The district will enforce a stronger attendance policy and increase security in and around its schools.
"We want the school to be the place where not only children, but adults receive education and training, where child care services are offered for infants up to pre-k and senior care may be provided," Roberts said.
General Zod thought the reboot might look like a Monty Python sketch, but the finished product changed his mind. By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) ? Already facing a potential contempt order, Gov. Jerry Brown now must leap another hurdle to meet a court-ordered deadline this week to say how he will reduce crowding in California prisons.
The federal official who controls medical care in California prisons on Monday ordered thousands of high-risk inmates out of two Central Valley prisons in response to dozens of deaths due to Valley fever, which is caused by an airborne fungus.
The order came four days before the administration's midnight Thursday deadline to file a plan with the federal courts outlining what steps it will take to reduce the prison population by an additional 9,000 inmates by year's end. The order stems from a court finding that lowering the inmate population is the best way to improve inmate medical and mental health care.
Brown has been threatened with contempt of court if he does not meet the court-ordered population reduction, although he has promised to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Monday's directive by medical receiver J. Clark Kelso further undermines the Democratic governor's attempts to regain control of state prisons after two decades of federal oversight.
Kelso ordered the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to exclude black, Filipino and other medically risky inmates from Avenal and Pleasant Valley state prisons because those groups are more susceptible to the fungal infection, which originates in the region's soil.
The order will affect about 40 percent of the more than 8,200 inmates at the two prisons, said Joyce Hayhoe, a spokeswoman for the receiver's office.
"If we were to move hundreds or thousands of inmates from two prisons and swap them with prisoners in other prisons, that wouldn't necessarily conflict with the court (crowding) order, but it would add another layer of complexity," corrections department spokesman Jeffrey Callison said. Such a move "would be a massive undertaking at a time when other, similar measures may have to start to be in compliance with the court (crowding) order."
The department is trying to determine if Kelso has the unilateral authority to decide where inmates are housed.
Nevertheless, his order puts the administration in a bind as it searches for answers: Where does it send more than 3,000 inmates if the state's 33 adult prisons already have been deemed overcrowded by the courts? And can it do a prisoner swap by transferring other inmates to the two Central Valley prisons if the prisons have been judged so unhealthy that some inmates have been ordered out?
California already has about 8,500 inmates housed in private prisons in other states and has enacted a sweeping criminal justice realignment law that is sending thousands of lower-level felons to county jail instead of state prison. It's not clear what options are left to reduce crowding further, and Brown has challenged the court by saying he does not want to release dangerous felons back on the street.
Meanwhile, attorneys representing inmates are asking a federal judge to intervene in the valley fever development as part of a lawsuit filed more than a decade ago that seeks to improve prison medical care.
The issue surfaced again Monday after a doctor hired by the law firms representing inmates filed a sworn declaration with the federal court saying Avenal and Pleasant Valley should be shut down.
"The governor has said the prison system isn't crowded and it's providing the finest health care that money can buy. Here's another example why that isn't true," said Don Specter, director of the Prison Law Office that filed the lawsuit. "Prisoners are dying because they're in a toxic environment which causes serious illness and death on a regular basis. "
The federal judge overseeing the case has scheduled a court hearing on the matter for June.
The department had been focused on trying to minimize the spread of the dust that carries the spores that cause Valley fever.
Steps include controlling dust measures during construction, giving surgical masks to inmates and employees who request them, and providing education materials to employees and inmates. The corrections department is installing air filters and is considering measures to cover up dusty areas and screen out more dust from entering prison buildings.
Valley fever is found most often in the southwestern United States, with about a quarter of the cases in California and more than 70 percent in Arizona, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The number of cases has risen over the years and topped 20,000 in 2011, the CDC reported in December.
Warren George, an attorney with the Prison Law Office, said Valley fever was a contributing factor in 34 inmate deaths between 2006 and 2011. Since 2012, it has been a primary or secondary cause of nine inmate deaths.
The receiver's office estimates the illnesses cost taxpayers more than $23 million a year to treat.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) ? A remote-controlled roadside bomb killed three police officers in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, an attack the Taliban claimed as the opening round of their spring offensive.
The bomb exploded in Ghazni province beneath a police convoy traveling to the district of Zana Khan to take part in a military operation against insurgents, Mohammad Ali Ahmadi, the province's deputy governor, told The Associated Press.
He said the blast destroyed the vehicle carrying Col. Mohammad Hussain, the deputy provincial police chief, killing him and two other officers. Ahmadi said two officers also were wounded in the well-planned insurgent operation, adding that it clearly targeted Hussain.
Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid claimed responsibility in an email sent to the media.
He called the bombing the first attack in the spring offensive that Taliban's leadership had announced on Saturday, naming it after Khalid ibn al-Walid, a companion of Islam's Prophet Muhammad who became a legendary Muslim military commander known as the "Drawn Sword of God." The insurgents said their forces planned to infiltrate enemy ranks to conduct so-called insider attacks and target military and diplomatic sites with suicide bombers.
Insurgents have escalated attacks recently in a bid to gain power and influence ahead of next year's presidential election and the planned withdrawal of most U.S. and other foreign combat troops by the end of 2014. U.S.-backed efforts to try to reconcile the Islamic militant movement with the Afghan government are gaining little traction.
April already has been the deadliest month this year for attacks across the country, where Afghan security forces are increasingly taking the lead on the battlefield in a war that has lasted over 11 years.
On Saturday, a NATO plane crashed in southern Afghanistan, killing four international troops. The alliance said initial reports indicated no enemy activity in the area where the plane went down. Coalition personnel secured the site and were investigating the cause of the crash. NATO didn't identify the province where the crash occurred, but Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar, deputy governor of the southern province of Zabul, said an aircraft belonging to foreign forces crashed there on Saturday afternoon.
NATO declined on Sunday to provide any more information about the crash, including the type of aircraft involved, as the investigation continues.
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Fitness shouldn?t be a term that you feel any reason to shy away from. You may be reminded of the fatter you or a failed effort. Let go of those past feelings and start reveling in a healthier body. This article will give you some great advice on just that.
Do not let yourself be put off. Bicycling is another great full-body workout. Biking is an inexpensive, fun, and fit way to get to and from work. If you work less than five miles from home you should be able to get there in thirty minutes or less and since you will have to ride home again, you get two workouts in one day.
Don?t bounce around when you are stretching. This can strain the muscles unnecessarily. Don?t fall for the myth that bouncing while you stretch will make you more flexible. Bouncing actually makes it more likely that you?ll injure yourself through over-stretching. Always stretch slowly and without bouncing.
The following is a useful tip to improve the agility of your feet. Try lifting your left foot up, use your right hand to touch it, and then lower the left foot again to the floor. Next, raise your right foot and touch it using your left hand before lowering it. Continue by curling your left foot up and grabbing it behind you using your right hand; reverse the process to work your other leg. Go for 20 seconds at a time, moving as fast as you can, and repeat for a total of three to five sets.
Try using barbells or dumbbells on the bench to get fit. To do this properly, you have to select the perfect bench. Remember to choose a bench you can work on without the wood being in contact with your back. You can weaken your spine by using the wrong type of bench.
Prior to beginning a weight-training program targeting your arms, define your goals. To build additional muscle, work on lifting heavier amounts so that your body works harder. To sculpt your arms, do more repetitions of lighter weights, which will help to tone.
The abdominal area, also known as the body?s core, is one of the most important areas to focus on to build overall coordination and fitness. Get into the habit of working them out a couple days a week, not too much because like any other muscle, it does need its rest.
An excellent method of quickly building strength in the legs is to perform wall sits. You will need a big enough place to do the wall sits. Position yourself approximately eighteen inches away from the wall, and look in the opposite direction. Start leaning back and bending your knees until your back completely fits on the wall. Make sure that you keep bending your knees until you are in the sitting position and you thighs become parallel to the floor. Try and maintain this stance for as long as your muscles allow.
For toned abs, include aerobic exercises into your fitness regimen. The optimal amount is three cardio exercises a week at thirty to forty five minutes per workout. Do not do ab exercises every single day!
You can always ask friends and relatives to exercise with you and help you stick with your fitness plan. Having another person can help motivate you and help you avoid being lazy. Having a workout partner helps fuel our competitiveness. Because of this, you will probably push harder through your workouts. As a result, you?ll achieve your goals even faster.
Water is often overlooked as a healthy beverage choice. Drink it often. While you exercise, your body loses water due to the friction of muscle fibers against one another. The sweat glands in your body eliminate the heat, which results in minor dehydration.
Eating apples and pears can help improve both your health and your fitness. Include other fruits and vegetables in your diet for a healthier body.
Are you fat? Utilize a jump rope for your fitness routine. Whether you?re at home, the gym or on the road, a jump rope is an easy way to incorporate a quick workout into your day. You burn as many calories in each minute of jumping rope than in three minutes of other types of exercise. What this means is that jumping rope for only 10 short minutes burns off the same amount of calories as a half-hour workout!
If you take a lot of small breaks, you can prevent deep vein thrombosis. Get up and stretch or walk around about every 20 minutes during the work day. Help your blood circulate by stretching your arms and legs. Even a small amount of exercise done several times daily will boost your fitness significantly.
Get healthy with jumping rope! A jump rope is a portable, inexpensive and highly effective exercise tool that can help you stay fit wherever you go. Using the jump rope in short period of downtime in your daily routine; for instance, two daily, 5 or 10 minute bursts, will have great effects on your muscle tone and will help keep your heart healthy.
A lot of people think that they can exercise their abdominals every day. You should not do this if you want a six pack. Even abdominal muscles need rest. Place two or three days between each abdominal workout.
It is important to boost your workout energy, and make your fitness plan more effective, by eating protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats. You are going to want to distribute your protein, carbohydrates and fat in a 45/35/20 split. Be sure that you always eat protein with each meal because of its benefits.
If you?re finding excuses not to exercise, you need to set a specific time each day. When the day ends, you can discover if the excuse that you use is a valid one. You?ll probably discover that it wasn?t a real excuse.
As you embark on your fitness journey, make certain to consult with a doctor in advance. You can learn a lot from your physician, especially if you have any prior health problems that make it harder to get exercise. Even if you?re generally healthy, you can still get some great input by visiting with a professional.
Don?t overwhelm yourself when you start an exercise routine. If you have been out of the exercise game for a while, you need to ease gently into fitness again. Prevent injury by slowly preparing your body for exercise.
Want to improve your gaming skills? It is important that you focus on the ball used in the game. When you keep your eyes focused on the ball, you are more likely to be tuned into it when the ball comes toward you. Practice focusing on a point in the distance and then quickly switching your focus to something nearby.
Volunteer work is a great way to stay fit. There?s lots of great physical jobs that a volunteer force can do. This will be able to keep you moving while helping the community.
Any fitness regimen should include a strong stretching component. You need to take the time to properly and thoroughly stretch out your muscles before and after you workout. Failure to do so could result in a muscle injury. You should stretch to prepare your muscles before a workout and to relax your muscles after a workout.
Take some time to think about the advice offered above, and choose the tips and tricks that will work for you. Then, apply those to your routine. By sticking to a fitness plan, you will extend your life and feel healthier while doing so.
A recent survey conducted by a Pentagon Inspector General has resulted in the fact that the smartphones and tablet present in the US Army are not configured to remotely wipe and protect sensitive data. An individual is responsible for his/her phone data, but recent checks have revealed that the data security on these devices is poor and inconsistent.
image source ECI
At West Point Military Academy, New York, a total of 15 out of the 48 inspected mobile phones did not even have passwords to protect the phone. One would expect them to have passwords on their phones, but the lack of security has proven a bit of a shock. Additionally, Assistant Inspector General Alice Carey warned that if mobile devices remain insecure, there could be a possibility of malicious activities that could result in the disruption of Army networks and sensitive defense data may get compromised.
The spot checks have also resulted in another finding: that the Army?s Chief Information Officer (CIO) has not yet setup the necessary tracking of the non-Blackberry devices that the soldiers use. It was found that over 14,000 devices (cellphones and tablets included) were being used without obtaining appropriate authorization from the CIO.
It was not that long ago that the military caught soldier Bradley Manning, a data destruction expert, who used his mobile device as a removable storage media to transfer innumerable military and government files and give them away to Wikileaks.
The recent spot checks revealed some soldiers were using their devices as removable media, and this has concerned the authorities a bit. This recent survey by the Inspector General is proof of the fact that even though mobile technologies are changing daily, the security in the US Army isn?t.
The US army has been the most active in terms of embracing newer mobile technologies. The US military as a whole, has also been trying to make a major push in the mobile market. Not only does the Army have an app store in beta, it reconfigured its next-gen dismounted communications system around smartphones. Now, however, the Army is learning that relatively early device adoption is no substitute for protecting the information it?s increasingly keeping on phones and tablets.
