![]() The lessons will help you remember the characters through short histories of their origins and cartoonish images. Chineasy is an excellent introduction to traditional and simplified Chinese characters for any beginner learner. It’s just like “old English”, “middle English”, and “modern English”. It looks just like a window, which is quite handy for us learning Chinese, but why doesn’t this character look like a sun? I mean, it’s not especially hard to draw a sun, right? Well, it used to look a lot more like that burning star in the sky, but the Chinese language has been evolving for thousands of years and most characters have changed a lot. 日 The current version of this ancient building block is quite interesting. You can check out a video they put out on youtube: ![]() The magical power of the Chineasy method is that by learning one small set of building blocks, students can build many new words, characters, and phrases. I am demonstrating the beauty of this deep and broad culture through a modern interpretation using sleek and simple design.Ĭhineasy's goal is to allow people to learn to read Chinese easily by recognizing characters through simple illustrations. It is educational, social, cultural and inspirational. Knowing their language is the key towards true understanding.Ĭhineasy will become the first step for anyone in the world who wants to understand China, Chinese culture and its language. Whilst the entire Chinese population is learning English, the west is struggling to comprehend this complex economy and society with their own eyes and judgment. ![]() Tet there is not much out there to enable them to do so. People are keen to be able to communicate with the 1.3 billion people. It is evident that people are hungry to learn about China. I want to give the west a real understanding of China and an appreciation of Chinese culture through their own eyes rather than layers of packaging and manipulation. ![]() Here's a project description from ShaoLan:Ĭhineasy's aim is to bridge the gap between the East and the West. TED: ShaoLan: The Chinese zodiac, explained There's books/flashcards/notebooks/workbooks and a memory game using this method.Ĭhineasy: Chineasy site with news/videos/products/faq An ebook has been released and an app is in development to illustrate how to write and correct stroke order through simple animations and give tips on pronunciation.Ĭhineasy was nominated in the Graphics category of the Design Museum's shortlist for Designs of the Year and features in an exhibition at the museum until 25 August. The books are now being published by Thames & Hudson. Having presented the initial idea at a conference organised by innovation forum TED that was published online in May 2013, the interest she received encouraged ShaoLan to begin working on a book and launch a Chineasy website and Facebook page.Ī campaign launched on crowdfunding site Kickstarter exceeded its goal of £75000, eventually achieving £197626 of backing that was used to publish the first Chineasy books. The entrepreneur spent her evenings selecting and sketching suitable characters to form the building blocks of the Chineasy system, which she then modelled on her computer and refined to create contemporary graphic representations that could easily be understood by Westerners. "I am demonstrating the beauty of this deep and ancient culture with a modern interpretation through sleek modern design." "It is educational, social, cultural, and I hope, inspirational," said ShaoLan. Through this method learners can quickly build a large vocabulary of characters with very little effort."Īs well as providing users with a memorable way to understand the characters, Chineasy aims to offer those living in the West an insight into Chinese culture in a visual format. "When these building blocks are combined, they form compounds that can in turn be combined to create phrases. "I created a methodology that breaks down thousands of Chinese characters into a few hundred base building blocks," explained ShaoLan. Having struggled to find a straightforward way to negotiate the huge number and complexity of Chinese characters, she teamed up with graphic artist Noma Bar to develop a system of shapes representing some of the most commonly occurring symbols, which can be combined to create more complex phrases. Taiwan-born entrepreneur ShaoLan first began developing the Chineasy characters as a way to teach her own English-speaking children to read traditional Mandarin Chinese, by creating a visual connection to the words. ![]() This system of illustrated characters and animations was developed to help people learn to read Chinese, and is one of the 76 projects nominated for Designs of the Year 2014 (+ slideshow). (Not a complete dictionary, per-se, though)ĭezeen did a pretty interesting review of it here:Ĭhineasy illustrated characters designed to make learning Chinese easy ![]()
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![]() Investors should carefully consider a fund’s investment objectives, risks, fees, charges, and expenses before investing any money. Most important, as we get into the mid-first quarter, we think investors should beware the belly. Therefore, for investors looking to maximize yield we believe staying short in duration and/or implementing a barbell strategy is the proper strategy given the shape of the yield curve (see chart 2). While the muni bond market is experiencing some short-term technical tailwinds given the dearth of municipal issuance and coupon payments and maturities in January, there is a good probability this tailwind subsides as issuers come to market in the second half of the quarter. If we assume a recession is coming in 2024 versus 2023, this would keep rates elevated for longer as the Fed has no reason to pull back the reigns in its fight against inflation until the labor market shows signs of waning. The continued strength of the labor market has potentially pushed back the prospect of a recession and minimized potential Fed rate cuts that appear priced into markets. Given our expectations for rates to remain elevated at the front end, and uncertainty around inflation and longer-term interest rates in the medium to long term, we caution investors from extending in duration at the moment. Where to position your muni bond allocation in Q1 2023? 3 With long-term ratios averaging well above where they are priced currently. Following the rally over the past couple of months, muni ratios (muni versus taxable) look rich at 60%, 65%, and 88% in the respective five-, 10-, and 30-year parts of the curve. In addition, investors should be cautious given where muni yields currently are relative to taxable yields. ![]() Should inflation remain elevated, this could cause investors to rethink whether they are being adequately compensated in real terms despite high nominal yields, thus putting further upward pressure on yields. This high inflation has contributed to an extended period where real yields in munis and fixed income have remained negative. ![]() Inflation remains the biggest concern for policy makers, with headline inflation at 6.5% and core inflation at 5.7%, 2 although those numbers have been trending down recently. The Federal Reserve is expected to further tighten interest rates another 50bps in the first quarter, which could put upward pressure on yields in the short term. While the municipal bond market finished 2022 with positive momentum that has continued into early 2023, there is reason to be cautious as well. Source: Bloomberg, the Bloomberg U.S Municipal Index 1.11.23 Lastly, municipal fundamentals remain very strong and are positioned well headed into a potential economic slowdown. ![]() In years following a negative total return, the asset class has generated an average of 18.39% in total return. In fact, since the inception of the Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bonds Index muni bonds have experienced consecutive years of negative total returns just once (1980-1981). Also, if history is a guide muni bonds tend to perform favorably following a year of negative returns, as was the case in 2022. First, with the yield on The Bloomberg U.S Municipal Index at 3.54% to start the year investors are being compensated with the highest tax-exempt yields in over 10 years. There are various reasons why we feel investors should be optimistic about municipal debt in 2023. ![]() If history is any indicator of potential returns in 2023, the typical trend toward mean reversion suggests that income-driven investors could benefit by redeploying or adding to their exposure to muni bonds. After a tumultuous year in which municipal bond funds experienced record outflows, benchmark yields moved up 150 to 250 basis points and investors sustained losses in excess of 8.5% in investment-grade munis,1 it’s understandable why some investors would have a sour taste in their mouth regarding muni bonds. ![]() ![]() Surprisingly, both are toe-to-toe in terms of ice retention. To keep things consistent, I compared the ice retention rates of two similarly-sized hard coolers over a six-day period. The Yeti and the Kodi can both hold ice for five to seven days. However, since the Kodi didn’t stand against a 500-pound wrestler and a bear (not that I know of, at least), the Yeti might need to take this round home. Yeti and Kodi can both take a real beating without much damage. The rubber components are slightly lower grade, but not enough to warrant a complete replacement. They’re advertised to be “unbearably strong,” constructed with kayak-grade, roto-molded plastic. Kodi coolers also do quite well from a durability standpoint. The cooler suffered from minor claw marks and punctures, but not much else. The bear did its best to open the cooler but ultimately walked away without accessing any of its contents. The Yeti also went against a grizzly bear. The cooler survived with flying colors, with little to no scratches. To prove that they’re not all talk, Yeti manufacturers even hired a 500lb wrestler to damage a Yeti cooler. They don’t crack or shatter when accidentally dropped. All the coolers in the Yeti line are extremely resistant to damage, having been tested for high impacts, heavy loads, and campfires. One of the Yeti’s selling points is its premium durability. > The Best Kodi Coolers on the Market << Durability In terms of design, Yeti coolers win this round. ![]() Outer appearance aside, both Yeti and Kodi are equipped with thick, rubber latches, rubber lid gaskets, drain spouts, lockable corner slots, and thick inner insulation. At the time of writing, the Kodi brand doesn’t offer custom modifications.Ī notable design difference between the two is that Kodi coolers come with a LiftEase Vacuum Release valve that eliminates the struggle of opening your cooler. Their color options are somewhat limited, usually available in white, gray, brown, and aquamarine. Kodi coolers have a much more sophisticated design. Apart from their wide range of pattern and color options, Yeti offers special services in which you can have your very own custom logo imprinted on the cooler. Yeti doesn’t skimp out on modification options as well. They also have limited-edition coolers that are adorned with sport team logos and unique patterns. They come in multiple color options, from classic white to king crab orange to desert tan. Smooth plastic tops, rugged bodies, and classic, no-frills design simple, yet recognizable. They’re expensive, yes, but they look and feel expensive, too. Yeti is arguably the most popular premium cooler line in the US, and is often the first choice by many who don’t mind paying several extra dollars for a well-known brand. Kodi and Yeti have starkly different designs. Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences between the two: ![]() Yeti coolers are notable for their supreme thermal insulation, their “indestructible” outer shells, and, of course, their exorbitant price tags.īut there are quite a few cooler brands that offer comparable products at more affordable prices, like HEB’s recently released Kodi coolers. When you think of high-end American coolers, Yeti is the first to come to mind. ![]() ![]() Since Picasa is dead, you have no more worries there unless you transfer old images into Google Photos. Unfortunately, you may still find some duplicates due to glitches, manually copied files on another device, recovery attempts, edits, and other scenarios that can alter metadata. However, Google has implemented its detection algorithm to ensure that identical photos or videos don’t get uploaded twice. In closing, it’s not as easy as it used to be to get rid of duplicate Google Photo images. Photos that got moved to the trash will stay there for 60 days, so if you make a mistake and delete the wrong image, you can quickly restore it within that time frame. The above method will remove selected images from your Google Photos storage, placing them in the trash. Confirm moving selected files to the trash.
![]() ![]() Since the fungi might contaminate the shears, wipe them with 70% isopropyl alcohol after every cut. Cut off all the discolored parts of Haworthia with a sterilized pair of garden shears. The infection has made its way from the roots to inside Concolor Zebra Plant and is on its way out. You know if a fungal infection is taking place when you see discoloration on parts of the plant. The rotten roots will develop a fungal infection that will spread throughout the plant. Giving Haworthia Concolor water while its soil is still moist will cause its roots to rot. Overwatering When it comes to watering, neglect is best for succulents. Follow our tips below and save Zebra Plant Concolor while there’s time. It’s also possible that your succulent plant has gotten weaker because pests have drained it of sap. Overwatering is the leading cause of death of Haworthia Concolor. Step 6: Water the soil only when it’s completely dry. Step 5: When the roots have sprouted, remove the plastic wrap. Step 4: Place the pot near a window that receives partial sunlight. Step 3: Cover the soil with plastic wrap. Step 4: Once the roots are firmly in the soil, give Haworthia Concolor water only when the soil is dry. Lightly water the soil until the roots take hold. Step 3: Plant the offsets in a cactus mix. Step 2: Allow the offsets 2 to 3 days to dry out and develop calluses. You can also cut them off with a sterilized knife. Step 1: Gently pull out the offsets growing at the base of the main plant. You can also grow Zebra Plant Haworthia from seeds but it will be more difficult. Horticulturists love Haworthia Concolor for one other reason – the succulent makes it easy for you to propagate by gifting you with offsets. Include ingredients such as perlite, pumice, and coarse sand to improve its drainage. Haworthia Concolor can grow in almost every type of soil but show your love by planting it in fresh cactus mix. You must also buy a pot that has adequate drain holes at the bottom to allow excess water to come out of the soil. These types of pot support the proper evaporation of water from the soil. The best material for your pot is either ceramic or terracotta. Pot and SoilĬhoose a pot that has good drainage qualities. ![]() Watering the plant will keep it in a moistened condition much longer than necessary and will put it at risk of developing root rot. You’ll know that the soil has had enough water when you see it coming out of the drain holes. The soil should be given a thorough drenching. You should expect to water the soil more during the hot and dry months.Īnother important thing to keep in mind is to water the soil and never the plant. In the summer months, the soil will dry out faster compared to winter. Depending on the season, you might only have to water this succulent every seven to 10 days. Don’t water the soil unless it’s 100% dry. Haworthia Concolor will thrive with fewer watering schedules. If this is a problem, buy a Grow Light so that Zebra Plant Haworthia can still get its daily dose of light. In your outdoor garden, place the succulent in a location where it can get up to 6 hours of morning or late afternoon sun.Īs a houseplant, place the pot near a window that receives 4 to 6 hours of partial sunlight. Haworthia Concolor grows better with partial sunlight. It would be best to keep Haworthia in a pot that can be moved inside your home if temperatures drop below -1.1° C (30° F). One thing you have to remember is that this is a type of succulent plant that’s not cold-hardy. If you’re a busy person, you’ll still have time to care for Concolor Zebra Plant because it won’t require too much of your day. Haworthia Concolor is the ideal succulent plant for beginners to start out with because it’s very easy to grow and care for. Soil pH: 5.0 to 7.0 How to Grow and Care for Haworthia Concolor Soil Type: Cactus mix with perlite, pumice, or coarse sand for better drainage. Water Needs: Typical succulent watering needs which means to water only when the soil is absolutely dry. Height: 15cm (6”) Exposure: Partial sunlight for up to 6 hours. How to Grow and Care for Haworthia ConcolorĪlso known as: Concolor Zebra Plant Plant Family: Asphodelaceae Origin: Native to South Africa. ![]() ![]() It is delivered as a free standard edition, in which all backed up data, regardless of its type, can be saved to a local or external drive as well as a shared network folder. AOMEI BackupperĪOMEI Backupper is a free file sync, backup, system recovery and cloning software designed for Windows operating systems versions 7 to 10. An option to optionally run missed backups on a start-up is also provided. The supported Cloud storage services include Google Drive and Dropbox, making the backup service into an inexpensive online service.īackups can also be encrypted and scheduled daily or weekly. It can be used in Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP as well as Mac OS X 10.4 and higher. This service supports a full backup, historical backup and incremental backup which includes data from a local hard drive, network folder or external drive which can all be backed up with a FileFort backup. The free version of the software provides 10GB of cloud storage, which is free for the first 90 days.įileFort Bakup is a free and easy to use software that can be used to backup files to a cloud storage service, FTP server and all other locations. It is a reliable service which offers easy scheduling and high-speed download. It is currently only available for Windows 7 and older operating systems and comes with a built-in step-by-step wizard to guide users through the backup procedure as needed.Īll types of backups are available as well, including incremental and differential types which also come with a smart profiling tool that allows the categorising of files such as music, photos and videos so that only wanted files are backed up. With Comodo Backup, users are able to transfer files to multiple locations such as online storage, external drive, network drive and CD/DVD discs. The system is used uniquely for file backup transfers of all sizes as a free service, although in order to receive technical support it is advised to purchase the paid version. By using BackUp Maker it is easier to backup files from a hard drive automatically. The addition of filtering capabilities are provided to give users easy access to files and to be able to easily restore documents using the same application.Ī variety of media files, including CD’s and DVD’s can also be used as files for backup transfers. This software also allows users to bac kup data into several files, which is known as disk spanning. The system enables users to perform both full and partial backups of all files. BackUp Maker is designed only for Windows 10 and all older Windows operating systems. ![]() ![]() ![]() After the fingerprinting, you will have completed all steps to receive your license. You will pay a $20 processing fee to scan your fingerprints for the background check. Use the provided kiosk to fill out your licensing examination, then show the confirmation to the test proctor. In Utah, you will apply for your license on-site. If not, your report will show where you did well and where you can improve. Life and Health Insurance: 100 questions, 2 hours and 30 minutesĪll tests are multiple-choice and a 70 percent success threshold is required to pass.Health Insurance: 80 questions, 2 hours.(driver's license, passport, etc.) and one other form of I.D. If you are taking the exam for both lines, it is $74. If you are taking only the life or only the health insurance exam, the fee is $59. You can register for the exam with PSI Exams. The more study time you put in, the better your chances of passing on the first try.Īt Agent Broker Training Center, we have courses and study materials that contain all the information you can expect to see on the exam, with practice tests designed to simulate actual exam questions.Ībout The Utah Life And Health Insurance Exam But make sure you are adequately prepared. There are no specific pre-licensing requirements to take the Utah life and health insurance licensing exam. Life And Health Pre-Licensing Requirements For Utah Resident Agents Below are links for our best-selling Utah Life & Health insurance licensing courses, as well as information and links for you to read about specific requirements for earning your license. If you have a life and health insurance license in Utah, you can be the beneficiary of this demand. If you want to be a successful insurance agent, you need to deliver insurance policies that people want, like health and life insurance. is your handy guide to all you need to know about Utah insurance licensing requirements, including pre-licensing, preparation, the exam itself, and applying for your license.īenefits Of A Life And Health Insurance License You're interested in pursuing a career selling life and health insurance in Utah, but you don't have a license. How To Earn Your Utah Life & Health Insurance License About The Utah Life And Health Insurance License Utah Health Insurance Online Exam Prep Course.Utah Life Insurance Online Exam Prep Course.Utah Life & Health Insurance Online Exam Prep Course. ![]() ![]() ![]() These items can be found listed below, sorted by contract. ![]() Players looking to deck out their forts to fright and delight their visitors will find that there are six new fort decorations to unlock, as two new fort items have been added to each of three contracts in the multi-tiered contracts progression and reward system that lets players earn Fame and unlock elite items. The Sword of the Lost Legion grants a new active skill that allows players to summon a battalion of ghostly skeletons, while the Lightning Baller mace fires a large shock bolt that splinters into smaller shock bolt projectiles. The new Ancient Ember gear set, a Relic-focused set, provides two new skills: Imbue Relic, which restores all Relic Energy and resets Relic skill cooldowns, and Earthen Spike, which conjures spikes from the ground that deal 100% weapon damage to a nearby enemy when an Active Relic Skill is activated.Īdditionally, this update will bring two new weapons to the game. These spooky pets will only be available until December, so players will need to track them down before then! This ability summons two skeletons that last 12 seconds, deal 50% weapon damage and have 50% of your health. The three new pets - the Midnight Cat, Dragonling Spirit, and the Spooky Retriever - can be rescued from dungeons and bosses, and come with a new legendary pet skill, Necropupper. This special Halloween-themed content is haunting all versions of the game, which is now available on Steam, PlayStation®4 and Xbox One - and will be available soon on Nintendo Switch™. This update spawns brand-new content in the recently-launched, fast-paced dungeon crawler, including three new Halloween-themed exclusive pets, eight new Legendary items - including two new weapons, and a gear set that provides two new skills - that can be found in Fazeer’s Dun’djinn, and six new, eerie fort decorations. Perfect World Entertainment and Echtra Games are excited to announce that Torchlight III’s Halloween update “Gear ‘N’ Goblins” is available now. See what the “Gear ‘N’ Goblins” update has to offer in the press release below. Players looking to deck out their forts to fright and delight their visitors will find that there are six new fort decorations to unlock, as two new fort items have been added to each of three contracts in the multi-tiered contracts progression and reward system that lets players earn Fame and unlock elite items.Torchlight III is getting into the Halloween spirit with a very special update, and it's coming soon to Switch. Additionally, this update will bring two new weapons to the game. The new Ancient Ember gear set, a Relic-focused set, provides two new skills: Imbue Relic, which restores all Relic Energy and resets Relic skill cooldowns, and Earthen Spike, which conjures spikes from the ground that deal 100% weapon damage to a nearby enemy when an Active Relic Skill is activated. ![]() The three new pets in Torchlight III are the Midnight Cat, Dragonling Spirit, and the Spooky Retriever – can be rescued from dungeons and bosses, and come with a new legendary pet skill, Necropupper. Yeah… those don't look scary at all! Courtesy of Perfect World Entertainment. You can read more details below along with some fun screenshots. As well as two new added affixes to Fazeer's Dun'djinn: Anchored and Essential, the ability to buy Respectacles - special items players can use to respec their builds - in town via potion vendors, and a number of bug fixes. According to the developers, this update also adds quality of life improvements. You also get six new eerie fort decorations for you to spruce things up if you wish. This update has added a ton of new content including three new Halloween-themed exclusive pets, eight new Legendary items (including two new weapons, and a gear set that provides two new skills) which can be found in Fazeer's Dun'djinn. This is their version of the Halloween event which goes across PC and consoles as well. Perfect World Entertainment and Echtra Games have released the Gear 'N' Goblins into Torchlight III this week. ![]() ![]()
![]() ![]() The Platypus stays underwater for between 30-140 seconds, collecting the invertebrates from the river bottom and storing them in its cheek-pouches. The precise way in which the Platypus uses the bill to detect prey is still unknown, but the bill serves to find and sift small prey from the substrate, while larger prey is taken individually. The animal closes its eyes, ears and nostrils when foraging underwater and its primary sense organ is the bill, equipped with receptors sensitive to pressure, and with electro-receptors. The average foraging periods last for 10-12 hours per day, and the distances the animals move during this time vary between individuals and their distribution. The Platypus feeds mainly during the night on a wide variety of aquatic invertebrates. The activity patterns of these animals are determined by a number of factors including: locality, human activity, ambient temperatures, day length and food availability. During day, individuals shelter in a short burrow in bank. Platypuses are active all year round, but mostly during twilight and in the night. Within its current distribution, the occurrence of the Platypus is reasonably continuous in some, but discontinuous in other catchments. There is no evidence that the animal occurred naturally in Western Australia, despite several unsuccessful attempts to introduce it there. Nowadays it is extinct from that state, except for the introduced population on the western end of Kangaroo Island. The species was once found in the Adelaide Hills and Mount Lofty Ranges of South Australia. The western limits of the range are poorly known. It is present in eastern Queensland and New South Wales, eastern, central and southwestern Victoria and throughout Tasmania. Platypus is endemic to Australia and is dependent on rivers, streams and bodies of freshwater. The presence of logs, twigs, and roots, as well as cobbled or gravel water substrate result in increased microinvertebrate fauna (a main food source), and the Platypus also tends to be more abundant in areas with pool-riffle sequences. Hence, the ideal habitat for the species includes a river or a stream with earth banks and native vegetation that provides shading of the stream and cover near the bank. At times, the individuals use rocky crevices and stream debris as shelters, or they burrow under the roots of vegetation near the stream. When not foraging, the Platypus spends most of the time in its burrow in the bank of the river, creek or a pond. They feed in both slow-moving and rapid (riffle) parts of streams, but show preference to coarser bottom substrates, particularly cobbles and gravel. Platypuses occur in freshwater systems from tropical rainforest lowlands and plateaus of far northern Queensland to cold, high altitudes of Tasmania and the Australian Alps. In addition, males possess a horny spur on their ankles, which is connected to a venom gland in the upper leg, making the Platypus one of the few venomous mammals. The Platypus uses its tail for storage of fat reserves and the strong claws on its feet for burrowing and moving on land. Behind its distinctive bill are the grooves that house the ear openings and the eyes which close when the animal dives. The Platypus propels itself through the water by using its front, short, webbed limbs, and the partially-webbed hind feet act as rudders. Its streamline body and a broad, flat tail are covered with dense waterproof fur, which provides excellent thermal insulation. Platypus is well adapted for semi-aquatic lifestyle. When first discovered, the unusual look of a Platypus caused considerable confusion and doubt amongst European naturalists and scientists, many of whom believed that the animal was a fake. Along with echidnas, Platypuses are grouped in a separate order of mammals known as monotremes, which are distinguished from all other mammals because they lay eggs. The Platypus is a unique Australian species. ![]() |
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