Robert Eden

The North Texas Irish Festival returns to Dallas’ historic Fair Park March 6–8. The festival brings three days of live Celtic music, Irish dance, cultural demonstrations, food, shopping and interactive experiences to the North Texas region as one of the largest Irish festivals in the U.S.

Produced by the all-volunteer Southwest Celtic Music Association, the North Texas Irish Festival celebrates Irish and Celtic heritage. World-class performers, immersive cultural experiences, and activities for all ages are featured.

No food and beverage coupons are required for purchases inside the festival in 2026. Guests can buy food and beverages directly at refreshment booths using credit and debit cards. Eliminating ticket lines makes it easier to enjoy the festival all weekend long. Vendors at the festival selling all sorts of goods, from stylish Celtic wardrobe to handmade jewelry, photography and other art, also accept cash in addition to credit/debit cards.

Live Music on Multiple Stages

The magic of the Emerald Isle is perhaps best enjoyed through the acclaimed musicians invited to perform at the North Texas Irish Festival. This year’s line-up is a celebration of talent from Texas and the entire Southwest region. Performers in 2026 include:
BEHAN, Beyond The Pale, Boxing Robin, C. Michael Price, Celtic Standard Time, and Emerald Accent. Jiggernaut, Kathryn & Rusty Powell, Keltik Clan, Kinfolk, Linda King, Mark Clavey, and Misspent Youth also perform. Many more artists perform cross multiple indoor and outdoor stages throughout Fair Park. Traditional Irish folk, contemporary Celtic fusion, storytelling, and instrumental sessions are also featured throughout the weekend.

If you’ve always wanted to explore the finer points of whiskey, Marius Donnelly invites you to join him for a guided tasting journey through the Emerald Isle—one sip at a time. This special ticketed experience takes place inside the North Texas Irish Festival, with tickets available for purchase on site. A traditional Irish toast is “Sláinte” (pronounced slawn-cha), meaning “health” in Irish and Scottish Gaelic—perfect for raising a glass in Ireland, Scotland, or the Isle of Man.

The rhythmic magic of Irish step dancing comes alive with performances by top regional Irish dance schools on a dedicated dance stage, as well as alongside musical performers. Festivalgoers can also experience horse displays and live sheepherding demonstrations, offering a rare look at traditional Celtic livestock practices and heritage skills in action.

Gaelic Athletic Association will perform demonstrations of Gaelic football all weekend. A fast-paced, high-scoring Irish team sport (15 per side) that combines elements of soccer, rugby and basketball, Gaelic football is played on a grass pitch with H-shaped goals.

Irish Festival Fair Park Family Fun

The North Texas Irish Festival is designed for all generations, with a dedicated children’s area and family programming throughout the weekend. Kids and families can enjoy: Urchin Street kids’ activities and crafts, storytelling by traditional Irish “Shanachie” (storytellers), music and dance demonstrations, and interactive cultural exhibits. Magic and family entertainment, educational activities celebrating Celtic history and traditions, and animal rescue groups and education are also featured. Leashed pets are welcome, and animal rescue organizations will be onsite with adoptable pets.

North Texas Irish Festival Fun Run

March 7 kicks off with the North Texas Irish Festival Fun Run, a non-competitive 5K walk/run through the beautiful grounds of Fair Park. Open to runners and walkers of all ages and abilities (and dog-friendly!), participants receive a commemorative T-shirt, medal, festival admission, and post-race refreshments. Proceeds benefit Friends of Fair Park and the Southwest Celtic Music Association. More information and a link to registration are available at ntif.org/fun-run/.

Festivalgoers are encouraged to download the free North Texas Irish Festival app via Grandstand, which includes performer schedules, stage locations, Festival maps, parking and transportation info and real-time updates and alerts. The app is a handy tool for planning your day and never missing a favorite band.

The North Texas Irish Festival is Friday-Sunday, March 6-8. Download the free North Texas Irish Festival app to access the full event schedule: ntif.org/ntif-app/. Hours: Friday, 6-11 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m.; and Sunday, 11 a.m.–7:30 p.m.

Irish Festival Hours and Admission

Admission is free on Friday from 6 to 7 p.m.; and $20 after 7 p.m. for adults. A one-day ticket for adults is $30 on Saturday or Sunday and tickets for children aged 6-11 is $10 on any day. Tickets for children under 6 are FREE when accompanied by an adult family member. Seniors over 65 or current military members (with valid military ID) receive $5 off tickets at the gate. Pets are allowed in on a short leash. Visit NTIF.org for information on weekend passes for adults and children, general admission, and VIP passes. Tickets will also be available at the gates.

Parking is available at Fair Park, or guests can ride DART (take the Green Line!) to the front entrance of Fair Park and the North Texas Irish Festival. Detailed directions and parking tips are available at ntif.org. Interesting in volunteering at the festival? Please visit ntif.org for more information.

In addition to the hundreds of volunteers who support the festival by volunteering their time, other local civic and corporate partners make this festival possible. The North Texas Irish Festival is presented by the Southwest Celtic Music Association. Additionally, the festival is sponsored by Guinness, Dallas Tourism Improvement District, Audacy Radio, Renaissance Festival, City of Dallas and Culture Ireland.

The Southwest Celtic Music Association Inc. (SCMA)

The producing organization for the North Texas Irish Festival, SCMA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Approximately 600 volunteers help in organization, promotion and execution of this year’s festival. The first such festival was held on March 5, 1983, at the legendary Nick Farrelly’s Lounge on Oak Lawn and was billed as the First Texas Céilí. This event was so popular that it has continued every year since on the first weekend in March as the North Texas Irish Festival.

Shortly after the first festival, the all-volunteer Southwest Celtic Music Association Inc. was formed to promote the study, performance and preservation of traditional Celtic music, dance and culture. In 1984, the event was moved to Fair Park and its name changed to the North Texas Irish Festival. The Southwest Celtic Music Association Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit cultural corporation headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and serves a five-state regional area. The organization maintains a web site at scmatx.org.

The post Irish Festival Returns to Dallas Fair Park March 6-8 appeared first on Focus Daily News.

Eighteen months ago, it was plausible that artificial intelligence might take a different path than social media. Back then, AI’s development hadn’t consolidated under a small number of big tech firms. Nor had it capitalized on consumer attention, surveilling users and delivering ads.

Unfortunately, the AI industry is now taking a page from the social media playbook and has set its sights on monetizing consumer attention. When OpenAI launched its ChatGPT Search feature in late 2024 and its browser, ChatGPT Atlas, in October 2025, it kicked off a race to capture online behavioral data to power advertising. It’s part of a yearslong turnabout by OpenAI, whose CEO Sam Altman once called the combination of ads and AI “unsettling” and now promises that ads can be deployed in AI apps while preserving trust. The rampant speculation among OpenAI users who believe they see paid placements in ChatGPT responses suggests they are not convinced.

In 2024, AI search company Perplexity started experimenting with ads in its offerings. A few months after that, Microsoft introduced ads to its Copilot AI. Google’s AI Mode for search now increasingly features ads, as does Amazon’s Rufus chatbot. OpenAI announced on Jan. 16, 2026, that it will soon begin testing ads in the unpaid version of ChatGPT.

As a security expert and data scientist, we see these examples as harbingers of a future where AI companies profit from manipulating their users’ behavior for the benefit of their advertisers and investors. It’s also a reminder that time to steer the direction of AI development away from private exploitation and toward public benefit is quickly running out.

The functionality of ChatGPT Search and its Atlas browser is not really new. Meta, commercial AI competitor Perplexity and even ChatGPT itself have had similar AI search features for years, and both Google and Microsoft beat OpenAI to the punch by integrating AI with their browsers. But OpenAI’s business positioning signals a shift.

We believe the ChatGPT Search and Atlas announcements are worrisome because there is really only one way to make money on search: the advertising model pioneered ruthlessly by Google.

Advertising model

Ruled a monopolist in U.S. federal court, Google has earned more than US$1.6 trillion in advertising revenue since 2001. You may think of Google as a web search company, or a streaming video company (YouTube), or an email company (Gmail), or a mobile phone company (Android, Pixel), or maybe even an AI company (Gemini). But those products are ancillary to Google’s bottom line. The advertising segment typically accounts for 80% to 90% of its total revenue. Everything else is there to collect users’ data and direct users’ attention to its advertising revenue stream.

After two decades in this monopoly position, Google’s search product is much more tuned to the company’s needs than those of its users. When Google Search first arrived decades ago, it was revelatory in its ability to instantly find useful information across the still-nascent web. In 2025, its search result pages are dominated by low-quality and often AI-generated content, spam sites that exist solely to drive traffic to Amazon sales—a tactic known as affiliate marketing—and paid ad placements, which at times are indistinguishable from organic results.

Plenty of advertisers and observers seem to think AI-powered advertising is the future of the ad business.

Highly persuasive

Paid advertising in AI search, and AI models generally, could look very different from traditional web search. It has the potential to influence your thinking, spending patterns and even personal beliefs in much more subtle ways. Because AI can engage in active dialogue, addressing your specific questions, concerns and ideas rather than just filtering static content, its potential for influence is much greater. It’s like the difference between reading a textbook and having a conversation with its author.

Imagine you’re conversing with your AI agent about an upcoming vacation. Did it recommend a particular airline or hotel chain because they really are best for you, or does the company get a kickback for every mention? If you ask about a political issue, does the model bias its answer based on which political party has paid the company a fee, or based on the bias of the model’s corporate owners?

There is mounting evidence that AI models are at least as effective as people at persuading users to do things. A December 2023 meta-analysis of 121 randomized trials reported that AI models are as good as humans at shifting people’s perceptions, attitudes and behaviors. A more recent meta-analysis of eight studies similarly concluded there was “no significant overall difference in persuasive performance between (large language models) and humans.”

This influence may go well beyond shaping what products you buy or who you vote for. As with the field of search engine optimization, the incentive for humans to perform for AI models might shape the way people write and communicate with each other. How we express ourselves online is likely to be increasingly directed to win the attention of AIs and earn placement in the responses they return to users.

A different way forward

Much of this is discouraging, but there is much that can be done to change it.

First, it’s important to recognize that today’s AI is fundamentally untrustworthy, for the same reasons that search engines and social media platforms are.

The problem is not the technology itself; fast ways to find information and communicate with friends and family can be wonderful capabilities. The problem is the priorities of the corporations who own these platforms and for whose benefit they are operated. Recognize that you don’t have control over what data is fed to the AI, who it is shared with and how it is used. It’s important to keep that in mind when you connect devices and services to AI platforms, ask them questions, or consider buying or doing the things they suggest.

There is also a lot that people can demand of governments to restrain harmful corporate uses of AI. In the U.S., Congress could enshrine consumers’ rights to control their own personal data, as the EU already has. It could also create a data protection enforcement agency, as essentially every other developed nation has.

Governments worldwide could invest in Public AI—models built by public agencies offered universally for public benefit and transparently under public oversight. They could also restrict how corporations can collude to exploit people using AI, for example by barring advertisements for dangerous products such as cigarettes and requiring disclosure of paid endorsements.

Every technology company seeks to differentiate itself from competitors, particularly in an era when yesterday’s groundbreaking AI quickly becomes a commodity that will run on any kid’s phone. One differentiator is in building a trustworthy service. It remains to be seen whether companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic can sustain profitable businesses on the back of subscription AI services like the premium editions of ChatGPT, Plus and Pro, and Claude Pro. If they are going to continue convincing consumers and businesses to pay for these premium services, they will need to build trust.

That will require making real commitments to consumers on transparency, privacy, reliability and security that are followed through consistently and verifiably.

And while no one knows what the future business models for AI will be, we can be certain that consumers do not want to be exploited by AI, secretly or otherwise.

This essay was written with Nathan E. Sanders, and originally appeared in The Conversation.

Star Market and Shaw’s in New England are part of the Albertsons family of supermarkets. They recently send emails with the subject line: “Get up to $20 off groceries this August.” With the price of food, who wouldn’t be interested? Similar offers were probably made to customers of their other supermarket chains.

The main offer was inviting customers to create a Sincerely Health profile and you would receive a $10 off coupon (among other money back opportunities).

Of course, there is a nasty asterisk after the $10 off promise which leads to not very helpful fine print.

*MOUSE PRINT:

That tiny type says to see the rewards account for minimum purchase requirements.

Only when checking the terms online, do you learn that a $50 minimum purchase is necessary to use the $10 coupon.

*MOUSE PRINT:

A company that values playing it straight with customers more would not play games like this. They would simply say, “Create a Sincerely Health profile, and get $10 off a $50 a purchase.”

Is this too much to ask?

We asked Albertsons some pointed questions about this promotion twice, but they did not reply.

Tesla has reportedly delayed the launch of its new “affordable EV,” which is believed to be a stripped-down Model Y, in the United States.

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Elon Musk has claimed that the Democratic party organized recent protests at Tesla locations worldwide. As he usually does with his wild claims lately, he hasn’t offered any proof whatsoever.

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SpaceX launched its huge Starship rocket on the program’s eighth test flight Thursday, but a malfunction of some sort triggered multiple upper stage engine shutdowns and for the second flight in a row, the vehicle failed to reach its planned sub-orbital altitude and broke apart in a shower of debris.

“Obviously, a lot to go through, a lot to dig through. We’re going to go right at it,” said SpaceX launch commentator Dan Huot. “The primary reason we do these flight tests is to learn. We have some more to learn about this vehicle, but we’re going to be right back here in the not-too-distant future, and we’re going to get a ship to space.”

Added commentator Kate Tice: “We fly to learn, and we’re learning a lot. As is the case with developmental programs  such as the Starship program, progress isn’t always linear.”

Three days after a last-minute scrub due to unspecified technical issues, SpaceX fired up the Super Heavy first stage’s 33 methane-fueled Raptor engines at 6:30 p.m. EST. Two seconds later, the tallest, most powerful rocket in the world majestically lifted off from the company’s launch site on the Texas Gulf Coast.

Capable of generating up to 16 million pounds of thrust — more than twice the power as NASA’s Saturn 5 moon rocket — the Super Heavy-Starship arced away to the east atop of long jet of flame, thrilling spectators gathered on nearby South Padre Island just up the coast from SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas, launch site.

After boosting the Starship upper stage out of the dense lower atmosphere, the 230-foot-tall, 30-foot-wide Super Heavy first stage booster flew itself back to the launch site and into the grasp of two giant mechanical arms known as “chopsticks” mounted on the side of the launch tower.

The chopsticks closed around the slowly descending booster, locking onto structural capture fixtures on both sides of the rocket. The dramatic launch pad capture, SpaceX’s third, is a key element in the company’s plan to enable rapid refurbishment and reuse.

The 160-foot-tall Starship upper stage, meanwhile, climbed toward space as planned on the power of six Raptor engines, appearing to work flawlessly as it soared skyward toward the planned sub-orbital trajectory.

But about eight minutes and 20 seconds after liftoff, telemetry shown on SpaceX’s live webcast indicated four of the six engines had prematurely shut down. A camera on the Starship showed the spacecraft starting to spin about, clearly out of control. Several seconds later contact was lost.

Multiple videos posted on YouTube showed a spectacular shower of debris arcing back toward Earth after the vehicle broke up. It wasn’t immediately clear if the breakup was triggered by the Starship’s self-destruct system or by extreme structural loads as it fell back into the lower atmosphere.

While SpaceX will no doubt attempt its usual rapid recovery, the Federal Aviation Administration will almost certainly order another failure investigation. Given two destructive breakups in a row, it could take longer to return to flight status this time around.

The flight plan called for a battery of tests, including the deployment of four simulated Starlink satellites to test the Starship’s payload release system, the in-space restart of one of the rocket’s Raptor engines and tests of new heat shield materials and components needed for the eventual pad capture of returning Starships.

At the conclusion of the sub-orbital flight, the Starship was expected fall back into the atmosphere belly first. Once past the region of maximum atmospheric heating, the rocket was programmed to flip into a vertical orientation before settling to a tail-first rocket-powered “soft landing” in the Indian Ocean near Australia.

But it was not to be.

During the program’s seventh integrated flight test, or IFT, in January, a fire developed just above the Super Heavy first stage engines and contact was lost eight minutes and 20 seconds after launch.

Three minutes after that, the rocket’s self-destruct system triggered an explosion that broke the Starship apart, producing a spectacular shower of flaming debris that rained down along the flight path.

Telemetry indicated the fire broke out after propellant lines leading to one of the Raptors ruptured due to unexpected harmonic vibrations. SpaceX carried out a 60-second engine test firing of the Starship launched Monday, studying responses to various thrust levels.

Based on the test results, propellant feed lines were modified, fuel temperatures were changed and thrust levels were adjusted to avoid any such harmonic responses. Additional vents were installed in the area where the fire broke out and a nitrogen purge system was added to minimize the chance of fire.

It was not immediately known what went wrong Thursday.

Working the bugs out of the Super Heavy-Starship is critical to both SpaceX and NASA. SpaceX is under contract to NASA to supply a modified Starship to carry astronauts to landings near the moon’s south pole in the agency’s Artemis program.

To get a Starship lander to the moon, SpaceX must first get it into low-Earth orbit, then launch multiple Super Heavy-Starship “tankers” to refuel the moon-bound Starship for the trip to lunar orbit.

The astronauts will launch atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and fly to the moon aboard a Lockheed Martin-built Orion capsule. The crew will transfer to the waiting Starship for the descent to the lunar surface. NASA hopes to send the first woman and the next man to the moon in the 2027-28 timeframe, after an unpiloted Starship moon landing.

Rapid reusability is a key element of the program given the number of Super Heavy-Starships that will be required for a single moon landing. Multiple successful test flights will be needed to perfect the system and demonstrate the reliability required to carry astronauts.

The latest mishap comes amid ambitious SpaceX plans for major upgrades to the company’s facilities at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, building a 380-foot-tall building where Super Heavy boosters and Starships can be refurbished and processed for launch from one and possibly two Florida launch pads.

The towering “Gigabay” facility will provide 46.5 million cubic space for processing with 815,000 square feet of work space. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Another facility is planned where Starships can be built from scratch in Florida, similar to a facility already in place at Boca Chica.

“To enable initial Starship flights from Florida while our Space Coast Starship manufacturing, integration, and refurbishment facilities are being completed, we will first transport completed Super Heavy boosters and Starship upper stage ships from Starbase via barge to build up a Starship fleet in Florida,” SpaceX said in a statement Monday.

“With production, integration, refurbishment, and launch facilities in Florida as well as Texas, we will be in a position to quickly ramp Starship’s launch rate via rapid reusability.”

In our final video from Adam's visit behind the scenes of House of the Dragon, we visit the special effects workshop where Special Effects Supervisor Michael Dawson shows Adam the different platforms fabricated by his team to allow actors to ride dragons on the show! From the Stewart platform used for Game of Thrones to a new 3-axis hydraulic-powered motion base that can be controlled on location, Michael describes the shooting requirements for these rigs and Adam stands on one to get a sense of the range of motion of these massive platforms!

All episodes of House of the Dragon S2 are now streaming on #StreamonMax.
The Swords of House of the Dragon! https://youtu.be/CGZU0rQ2t4s
How House of the Dragon Makes Dragonfire: https://youtu.be/V3p4ptKs2Z8
Cricket Cages and More House of the Dragon Hero Props: https://youtu.be/NGJzsArTOKI
How House of the Dragon Made a Massive Ballista! https://youtu.be/N_cZl2SPXas
House of the Dragon's Props Workshop! https://youtu.be/Mi75r8M0p9w

Shot by Josh Self and edited by Norman Chan
Music by Jinglepunks
Additional media courtesy HBO

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Hyundai’s low-cost Casper Electric (also known overseas as the Inster EV) is getting a rugged new XRT variant. The new Casper EV XRT trim was spotted for the first time in Korea ahead of its official debut.

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John Oliver discusses the wave of people claiming there’s a wave of “migrant crime,” where the term came from, and what we can do next.

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Today’s Green Deals are meant to maximize your summer adventures amongst nature, headlined by the Jackery Explorer 2000 Pro with two 200W Solar Panels that is back at its $1,899 low for your campsite power needs. For your campsite’s meal needs, there is the Pit Boss Table Top Wood Pellet Grill at $240, while none of your adventuring can begin before you finish up your chores around the house – namely shaping up your lawn with the Greenworks 40V 20-inch Cordless Electric Push Mower for $320. Plus, all the other hangover Green Deals that are still alive and well.

Head below for other New Green Deals we’ve found today and, of course, Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

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Tesla battery supplier Panasonic Energy is considering pouring new investments potentially up to $4 billion in its De Soto, Kansas, plant to produce 4680 battery cells for the Tesla Cybertruck and Tesla’s next-gen vehicles.

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DALLAS (Feb. 12, 2024) – With the Total Solar Eclipse on April 8 fast approaching, Dallas-Fort Worth residents have only a few weeks left to prepare for the extremely rare celestial event happening in our region for the first time in over a century.

 

Total Eclipse DFW, shares this checklist of the top 10 things all DFW residents need to do now to get ready:

Clear schedules – Take the day off work and avoid scheduling any appointments on Eclipse day. Remember, this is likely a once-in-a-lifetime event for DFW, with totality not returning for 300 years. With over 1.5 million visitors expected, residents and visitors don’t want anything interfering with experiencing this spectacular phenomenon.

Get certified Eclipse glasses – Don’t risk permanent eye damage by viewing the partial Eclipse phases without proper eyewear. International Organization for Standardization (ISO)-compliant glasses are required for direct solar viewing. Because there are many fraudulent Eclipse viewer sellers, participants should only purchase Eclipse glasses from a reseller listed on the American Astronomical Society (AAS) Suppliers of Safe Solar Filters & Viewers list to avoid potential harm and legal liabilities. Total Eclipse DFW is the only AAS-approved reseller from DFW. Total Eclipse DFW’s glasses are $3 each and can be purchased online here. Residents are encouraged to order their glasses soon as experts expect a shortage.

Choose an ideal viewing spot – Carefully research prime locations along the path of totality in DFW and have a viewing plan for April 8. Massive crowds are expected, so participants should arrive several hours early to secure a spot. Have backup options in mind, too, due to expected traffic and accidents. Total Eclipse DFW has compiled over 300 DFW cities and totality times here. Those viewing in areas with as much as 99% will not experience totality, so plan to arrive in an area that will experience totality at least two hours in advance to make sure you have a good spot

Ellis County Viewing Information:

Cedar Hill, Texas
Miles from Downtown Dallas: 17 | Miles from Downtown Fort Worth: 31
Total Eclipse Totality Start Time: 13:40:05
Total Eclipse Totality Duration: 3 Minutes 58.2 Seconds

Ennis, Texas
Miles from Downtown Dallas: 35 | Miles from Downtown Fort Worth: 57
Total Eclipse Totality Start Time: 13:40:03
Total Eclipse Totality Duration: 4 Minutes 22.4 Seconds

Ferris, Texas
Miles from Downtown Dallas: 20 | Miles from Downtown Fort Worth: 50
Total Eclipse Totality Start Time: 13:40:20
Total Eclipse Totality Duration: 4 Minutes 18 Seconds

Glenn Heights, Texas
Miles from Downtown Dallas: 19 | Miles from Downtown Fort Worth: 42
Total Eclipse Totality Start Time: 13:40:07
Total Eclipse Totality Duration: 4 Minutes 8.3 Seconds

Maypearl, Texas
Miles from Downtown Dallas: 40 | Miles from Downtown Fort Worth: 44
Total Eclipse Totality Start Time: 13:39:26
Total Eclipse Totality Duration: 4 Minutes 15.4 Seconds

Midlothian, Texas
Miles from Downtown Dallas: 25 | Miles from Downtown Fort Worth: 30
Total Eclipse Totality Start Time: 13:39:49
Total Eclipse Totality Duration: 4 Minutes 4.7 Seconds

Ovilla, Texas
Miles from Downtown Dallas: 22 | Miles from Downtown Fort Worth: 41
Total Eclipse Totality Start Time: 13:40:02
Total Eclipse Totality Duration: 4 Minutes 8.2 Seconds

Red Oak, Texas
Miles from Downtown Dallas: 18 | Miles from Downtown Fort Worth: 42
Total Eclipse Totality Start Time: 13:40:07
Total Eclipse Totality Duration: 4 Minutes 13.3 Seconds

Venus, Texas
Miles from Downtown Dallas: 32 | Miles from Downtown Fort Worth: 32
Total Eclipse Totality Start Time: 13:39:36
Total Eclipse Totality Duration: 4 Minutes 1.2 Seconds

Waxahachie, Texas
Miles from Downtown Dallas: 30 | Miles from Downtown Fort Worth: 42
Total Eclipse Totality Start Time: 13:39:48
Total Eclipse Totality Duration: 4 Minutes 18.1 Seconds

Book accommodations – If traveling to DFW or have family and friends coming in for the Total Eclipse, secure lodging immediately before rooms disappear. Hotels are filling up fast, so lock in reservations now. Consider vacation rentals, too, for the full Eclipse weekend.

Monitor weather forecasts – Be ready to change locations even the day before if meteorologists predict clouds. Have a flexible backup option to drive to if needed. Thankfully, DFW has some of the best historical weather conditions for April 8. However, should overcast skies prevail during totality, thinner translucent clouds can still reveal glimpses of the moon-obscured sun; regardless, attendees can still experience the Eclipse’s striking impact on ambient surroundings like light levels, animals’ reactions and temperature changes.

Brace for heavy traffic – Local authorities are expecting gridlock before and after totality. Fill up car tanks by April 7, map alternate routes and pack provisions in case you are stuck in traffic. Plan ahead for traffic jams as a million of your friends and neighbors are trying to head home after totality, as well.

Pack provisions – For residents planning on going to a viewing location or event, bring food, water, chairs, picnic blankets, layers of clothes, sun protection and other necessities to be self-sufficient on Eclipse day. Treat this like an outdoor event or camping trip. Come prepared.

Test photo gear – Experiment with cameras and lenses ahead of time if capturing images. Confirm settings and equipment functioning, including any special solar filters. No smartphone is built to withstand the intense solar rays emitted by the sun.

Check school schedules – Many districts are closing on April 8 so families can witness the eclipse together. For schools holding classes, parents should inquire about safe viewing policies and ISO-compliant glasses for students.

Secure eclipse merch– Capture this rare celestial event’s excitement by picking up solar Eclipse merchandise like apparel, glasses, posters and pins from DFW vendors before stores sell out. Eclipse swag makes ideal gifts for Total Eclipse parties happening in the DFW metroplex on April 8!

Jo Trizila, Total Eclipse DFW founder, emphasizes, “Don’t miss this incredible four-plus minute Total Solar Eclipse here in DFW. Start preparing today using our website’s convenient guides and resources!”

 

For more information on Total Eclipse DFW, please visit https://totaleclipsedfw.com/about/.

The post 10 Things DFW Residents Must Do Before April 8 Total Solar Eclipse, the First in Over 100 Years appeared first on Focus Daily News.

Quick Take

To avoid damage from heavy rains, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have opened floodgates along Arizona’s border fencing during monsoon season since 2009. But social media users, including Sen. Ted Cruz, shared posts with the misleading claim that the Biden administration opened the gates “by design” to allow illegal immigration.

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Full Story

U.S. Customs and Border Protection opens floodgates in the barriers along Arizona’s southern border during the state’s monsoon season, which generally occurs from mid-June until the end of September. CBP uses the flood or lift gates to mitigate environmental problems and damage to the barrier structures.

A CBP spokesperson told us in an email interview that the floodgates in the Tucson sector — which covers most of the state of Arizona — have been used for many years.

“Fencing in the Tucson Sector was constructed at various times between 2009-2021,” the spokesperson said. “Throughout the history of the infrastructure, during monsoon season and ahead of potential heavy rains or flood events, CBP has opened stormwater drainage gates to ensure proper drainage and minimize potential impacts to the infrastructure. These gates prevent flooding and subsequent environmental, infrastructure and community damage.”

“A compromise in the integrity of the barrier can lead to extensive damage making the gate, or even the infrastructure unstable,” the spokesperson also said. “When gates become damaged, they need to be secured open to prevent additional damage which can prolong the gap in the infrastructure. The unregulated flow of water can also undermine the integrity of the border road disrupting agents and emergency services ability to respond to illegal entries, smuggling and other criminal activity, or persons in distress.”

Floodgates – which either swing open like doors or lift up like windows – are manually operated by CBP to allow water to flow through the border fencing. They were in use before and during the administration of former President Donald Trump, who had made a campaign promise to build “a beautiful, gorgeous, big wall” on the southern border, as we’ve written.

While in office, Trump secured $16.4 billion to expand border barrier construction along the southern border — including $10 billion in redirected military funds, although $4.75 billion of that money was not disbursed before he left office, according to the Congressional Research Service. Over the course of his four-year term, Trump constructed 85 miles of new and 373 miles of replacement barriers along the border.

The installation of new barriers during the Trump administration included fencing in the Tucson sector’s Lukeville area, where construction began in 2019. The new barrier in the Lukeville area was built with floodgates and the gates were opened in 2020 during the monsoon season before Trump left office, the CBP spokesperson told us. (An example of floodgates under construction during the Trump administration can be seen in a photo taken by Border Report at a different location along the Arizona border.)  

On his first day in office on Jan. 20, 2021, President Joe Biden ordered the federal government to stop using Defense Department funds intended for military missions on construction of border barriers.

Biden later resumed building small portions of the border fencing in Texas, California and Arizona.

But some social media users have misrepresented the Biden administration’s management of the border barriers, misleadingly claiming that this year’s opening of the floodgates was part of a plan to encourage illegal immigration.

An Aug. 26 Instagram post from conservative commentator David J. Harris, Jr., which has received more than 100,000 likes, shows a TikTok video of the floodgates open in the Lukeville area, with the text: “just in case you didn’t hear from the MSM one of those Dept in the Biden administration welded open border gates in Arizona.”

Other social media users circulated the video, with one Instagram post using the hashtag #ImpeachBiden, while a commenter on another said, “I’m actually surprised they didn’t place voting poles there.”

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas shared a photo of the opened gates on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, with a caption that claimed, “The Biden administration welded open the Trump border wall in Tucson, AZ. It’s not a crisis. It’s by design.” Cruz added his own comment: “This…is…nuts.”

But as we explained, the practice of opening the Arizona border floodgates is not new and occurred during the Trump administration to address the effects of the monsoon rains.

The Tucson sector has been the busiest sector for illegal immigration this year.

Due to the surge in illegal border crossings, the CBP closed the floodgates in the Lukeville area — the border section highlighted in the social media posts — during the first week of September, weeks earlier than usual, NewsNation reported.

Updated, Sept. 14: After our story was published, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers emailed us a statement saying it had “built and installed flood or lift gates as a component of all [Department of Defense]-funded border wall construction contracts. Pursuant to direction from the Department of Defense, USACE suspended construction of border infrastructure, including gates, in January 2021 and then terminated construction contracts by May 1, 2021.”

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Editor’s note: FactCheck.org is one of several organizations working with Facebook to debunk misinformation shared on social media. Our previous stories can be found here. Facebook has no control over our editorial content.

Sources

@406republican. “Follow us @406republican. Like us on Facebook.” Instagram. 26 Aug 2023.

“An Update on Military Funding for the Border Wall.” Congressional Research Service. 21 May 2021.

Bradley, Ali (@alibradleytv). “The floodgates along Arizona’s border are literally open— And the fed welded them that way— But it happens every year so whats the big deal? Well, migratory patterns shifted and now agents in that area are being overwhelmed— Which is unprecedented for the sector that normally deals with.” TikTok. 27 Aug 2023.

Bradley, Ali. “Arizona border floodgates closed early following migrant influx.” NewsNation. 5 Sep 2023.

Brocious, Adrianna. “‘Build the wall’ across the San Pedro River? Many say ‘no’.” AZPM. 16 Aug 2019.

Cruz, Ted (@tedcruz). “This…is…nuts. #BidenBorderCrisis.” X. 28 Aug 2023.

DJHJ Media. “David J. Harris Jr.” DavidHarrisJr.com. Accessed 6 Sep 2023.

Farley, Robert. “Trump’s Border Wall: Where Does It Stand?” FactCheck.org. 22 Dec 2020.

Gore, D’Angelo et al. “FactChecking Trump’s Presidential Bid Announcement.” FactCheck.org. 16 Nov 2022.

Harris Jr., David J. (@davidjharrisjr). “They don’t even care what we think any more… Stay alert friends.” Instagram. 26 Aug 2023.

Ingram, Paul. “Border wall work started this week in Az’s Organ Pipe Cactus Nat’l Monument.” Tucson Sentinel. 21 Aug 2019.

Ingram, Paul. “Monsoon floods damage border wall near Douglas.” Tucson Sentinel. 21 Aug 2021.

@pcgonewild. “#ImpeachBiden.” Instagram. 26 Aug 2023.

Snow, Anita. “Smugglers are steering migrants into the remote Arizona desert, posing new Border Patrol challenges.” Associated Press. 1 Sep 2023.

Spagat, Elliott. “U.S. will resume border wall construction at San Diego Park.” Associated Press. 19 Jan 2023.

University of Arizona. Climate Assessment for the Southwest. Southwestern Monsoon. Accessed 8 Sep 2023.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “Nationwide Encounters” webpage. Accessed 5 Sep 2023.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Tucson Sector Arizona. Accessed 11 Sep 2023.

White House. “Proclamation on the Termination Of Emergency With Respect To The Southern Border Of The United States And Redirection Of Funds Diverted To Border Wall Construction.” 20 Jan 2021.

YouTube. “Arizona’s open floodgates allow thousands of migrants into US | Morning in America.” Video. 24 Aug 2023.

The post Posts Misrepresent Use of Floodgates at Southern Border appeared first on FactCheck.org.

NOTICE OF A PUBLIC HEARING
THE CITY COUNCIL OF MIDLOTHIAN, TX

The City Council of the City of Midlothian will hold a Public Hearing to begin at 6:00 PM on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 in the City Council Chambers at Midlothian City Hall, (104 West Avenue E, Midlothian, TX), to consider and act upon ordinances for the following cases:

CASE NO. SUP08-2023-36: Conduct a public hearing and consider and act upon an ordinance for a Specific Use Permit (SUP) for a multi-family residential development within Planned Development 146 (PD-146). The property is generally located on Highway 287 and Old Fort Worth Road.

CASE NO. SUP09-2023-44: Conduct a public hearing and consider and act upon an ordinance for a Specific Use Permit (SUP) for building wall signage that require an exception to Section 4.6017 of the City of Midlothian Zoning Ordinance, located on Lot 2RA, block 1, Walnut Grove Center South (commonly known as 4470 East Highway 287, Suite 500), and presently zoned Commercial (C).

CASE NO. Z12-2023-45: Conduct a public hearing and consider and act upon an ordinance amending the zoning of Planned Development-4 (PD-4) to allow for signage that requires exceptions from Section 4.6000 of the Zoning Ordinance for signage, within an existing Planned development on +/- 31.17 acres, being in the L. Newton Survey, Abstract 792 and the JT Rawls Survey, Abstract 933. The property is generally located at 975 S. Highway 67.

CASE NO. OZ02-2023-24: Conduct a public hearing and consider and act upon an ordinance amending the City of Midlothian Subdivision Regulations by amending Section 3.12 “Application Process” to remove references to conceptual plans and provision relating to dormant applications; recaptioning and amending Section 3.13 “Site Plan Requirement” to remove references to conceptual site plans; amending Section 3.15 “Vacation Instrument, Replatting, Amended Plats, and Minor Plats” Subsection 1 “Vacation of a Plat” relating to the procedures for vacating a plat or replat; recaptioning and amending Section 4.12 “Site Plans” to limit the subject matter to the approval of building site plans; amending Section 4.13 “Preliminary Plats” by amending paragraph t) of Subsection 4 regarding phasing plans; Subsection 9.a) removing references to conceptual site plans; and Subsection 9.c) relating to the extension of preliminary plats; and amending Subsection 1 of Section 4.14 “Final Plats” to provide for filing plats within Johnson County when applicable. (Case No. OZ02-2023-24).

The post Midlothian Zoning Public Hearing Notices July 11, 2023 appeared first on Focus Daily News.

I just want my kids to be happy.  I know, I know, I know. It’s an impossible and unrealistic goal. I’ve been in enough therapy sessions to know that chasing “happiness” is a fool’s errand. We should really be appreciating…

The post Finding Unbridled Joy at Taylor Swift appeared first on The Holderness Family.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY OF HUTCHINS
CITY COUNCIL
JUNE 20, 2023, MEETING

The City Council of the City of Hutchins will hold a public hearing at 6:30 PM on Tuesday,
June 20, 2023, in the Council Chambers at 321 N Main. The meeting will be for
consideration of the following items.

Consider a change of zoning from (R) Retail to Single Family Residential 7 (SF-7) at the
following location;

BRING ALL OF THAT tract of land situated in the T. Freeman Survey, Abstract No. 453,
in the City of Hutchins, Dallas County, Texas and being all of that tract of land described
in deed to Donnie H. McGraw, recorded in Volume 200012, Page 3691 of the Official Public
Records of Dallas County, Texas (OPRDCT), and being more particularly described as
Hutchins Acreage, Blk. 6 Lot 8, 700 W. Palestine Street, Hutchins, Texas.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call City Hall at (972) 225-6121 and ask to
speak to Building Official Tim Rawlings

The post NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING CITY OF HUTCHINS June 20, 2023 appeared first on Focus Daily News.

Here are two recent podcasts I’ve been on to talk about Still Just A Geek, beginning with Radically Loved:

The Long, Challenging, But Worthwhile Healing From Trauma

Each person you have encountered, whether at work, out on the street, or a bus, is hurting in their own way. Everyone has been through a painful and traumatic experience. Although you have no control over what already happened in the past, you do have control over how you heal. Healing is rarely easy⁠—it’s tricky, messy, and scary, but it’s possible.

In today’s episode of Radically Loved, Wil Wheaton shares the trauma that he experienced growing up and how he was able to heal from it. He talks about his struggles during his healing from trauma and what you can do to also work through yours. Listen as Wil takes you along his journey so that you can also heal and find radical love as he has.

If you’re struggling with trauma and looking for healing, this episode is for you!

Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:

1. Find out how to confront your pain and trauma by reflection and writing.
2. Learn how to free yourself from toxicity and undergo healing from trauma through communication, therapy, and reading.
3. Discover how to break generational trauma with an authoritative parenting style.

I just loved this conversation.

I also spoke with Live Happy about mental health:

Wil Wheaton burst into the spotlight in 1986 in the iconic coming of age movie Stand By Me. He went on to play many more roles throughout his teen and young adult years, including starring as Wesley Crusher in Star Trek: The Next Generation and playing a version of himself on the hit TV show, The Big Bang Theory. But his success hid a childhood filled with trauma and abuse that led to a lifetime of depression, anxiety and complex PTSD. In his new memoir, Still Just a Geek, Wil opens up about his life and explains how he came to grips with his past. This week, he talks about why it’s so important to him to talk openly about mental health.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What led Wil to revisit his life in his new memoir.
• How writing the book helped him find empathy and compassion for his younger self.
• Why it’s so important for him to normalize the conversation around mental health.

Midlothian 4th of July Parade Saturday July 2

Midlothian’s Independence Day activities will kick off on Saturday July 2, with festivities in Heritage Park at 8 a.m., with the “United We Stand” parade stepping off on North 8th Street at 10 a.m.

Arts & Crafts Fest will open the day’s activities at 8 a.m. and run till noon in Heritage Park, 203 N. 8th Street. This will include vendor and food booths.

“United We Stand” parade will step off at 10 a.m. at Avenue B and the 8th Street Bridge, follow North 8th Street south to Heritage Park, turn west on Avenue F and end at Overlook Drive. Parade and festival sponsors are Methodist Midlothian Medical Center and Marco’s Pizza.

Registration is open now for parade entries and arts and crafts booths and food vendors at the festival. For more information, visit https://www.midlothian.tx.us/640/Midlothian-Independence-Day-Parade.

Midlothian Independence Day Fireworks Show July 3rd

The annual fireworks show, sponsored by Citizens National Bank of Texas, Methodist Midlothian Medical Center, and Midlothian Community Development Corporation, will take place on Sunday, July 3 at 9:15 p.m. The show can be viewed from the parking lot at the Midlothian Independent School District Multi-Purpose Stadium, 1800 S. 14th Street, and the surrounding vicinity. Gates to the MISD stadium will open at 6 p.m.

Rain-out date for the fireworks show is Tuesday, July 5. Please keep know that no solicitors or vendors are allowed on the MISD property or at this event.

The post Midlothian Announces 4th of July Parade & Fireworks Details appeared first on Focus Daily News.

Immersive Super Hero Experience Coming To Dallas This Summer

DALLAS, Texas, – Cityneon and Paquin Entertainment Group have just announced the launch city for the World Premiere of MARVEL AVENGERS STATION: EVOLUTION set to open this Summer at Grandscape in The Colony, just north of Downtown Dallas.

 

MARVEL AVENGERS S.T.A.T.I.O.N., which made its debut in New York in July 2014, and has showcased the Avengers worldwide in 25 cities (13 countries) including Paris, London, Las Vegas and soon Tokyo, has attracted millions of fans by allowing them to experience the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) through an immersive exhibition. Now, for the first time ever, this experience has been updated to reflect key moments from all 4 phases of the MCU, including Marvel Studios’ WandaVision, The Falcon and The Winter Soldier, Black Widow and more… This exhibition has indeed evolved into… MARVEL AVENGERS STATION: EVOLUTION!

Brand New, Upgraded Experience

“This immersive Super Hero experience is going to be bigger and better,” says Ron Tan, Executive Chairman and Group CEO of Cityneon Holdings. “After impressing global audiences with our award-winning experience, MARVEL AVENGERS S.T.A.T.I.O.N., we are confident that we will delight even more visitors with this brand-new, upgraded Super Hero experience, MARVEL AVENGERS STATION: EVOLUTION, coming to our friends in Dallas this summer.”

Justin Paquin, Producer, Paquin Entertainment Group, also shared, “We are thrilled to launch the World Premiere in Dallas where families will be amazed and entertained as they are immersed in an experience that is unlike anything they have done before.”

The exhibition consists of 7 segments where guests will experience the MCU in a journey through this high-energy facility. Here, they can explore their favorite characters, discover the weapons, vehicles and technologies of the Avengers, learn inspiring real-world science, and experience interactive challenges and simulations. In addition, guests will get an up-close look at original costumes, props and film footage straight from the big screen while surrounded by the landscapes and worlds where these epic stories take place.

 

Marvel Studios’ Iron Man was released in 2008 and lead the way for the next 22 films that culminated in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame in 2019. Now, the MCU continues to expand in exciting ways with new series, exclusively on Disney+, that connect to upcoming films. It is safe to say the popularity of the Avengers shows no sign of slowing down for the millions of fans worldwide.

 

For more information about MARVEL AVENGERS STATION: EVOLUTION, visit marvelavengerstation.com

 

CONNECT WITH MARVEL AVENGERS STATION: EVOLUTION:

@MarvelAvengersStation

The post The World Premiere of MARVEL AVENGERS STATION: EVOLUTION In Dallas appeared first on Focus Daily News.

If you’re tired of dealing with traffic, gas, and oil when going to or from work, then it’s time to change things up. Right now, Metakoo’s Cybertrack 100 e-bike is on sale for $545, which marks a new all-time low that we’ve tracked. Ready to ride up to 37 miles on a single charge as fast at 20 MPH, this e-bike makes taking short to medium trips around the city a breeze, while also letting you enjoy fresh air while traveling. We also have a wide selection of Tesla, Greenworks, and other e-bike discounts in today’s New Green Deals, so you won’t want to miss that either.

Head below for other New Green Deals that we’ve found today, more on why going electric for your yard tools like the mower on sale is important, and of course Electrek’s best EV buying and leasing deals. Also, check out the new Electrek Tesla Shop for the best deals on Tesla accessories.

more…

The post Metakoo’s e-bike with 37-mile range per charge now $545 (New low), more in New Green Deals appeared first on Electrek.

SciCheck Digest

Responding to a surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order on Oct. 31 allowing hospitals that are at or near capacity to transfer or stop admitting patients. Social media posts falsely claimed the order says hospitals can “refuse to treat the unvaccinated.” But the order doesn’t mention vaccination status.

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Full Story  

Since the emergence of the delta variant, Colorado has been experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases, placing a strain on hospitals. Hospitalizations rose to more than 1,500 COVID-19 patients, and 95% of the state’s intensive care unit beds were occupied on Nov. 18.

To ease the burden on the state’s hospitals, Gov. Jared Polis signed an executive order on Oct. 31 allowing hospitals to transfer or stop admission of any patients when the medical facilities have “reached capacity or are reasonably anticipated to reach capacity” due to the rise in COVID-19 cases. 

But social media posts have falsely claimed that the governor’s order allows hospitals to deny admission or treatment of unvaccinated patients. A screenshot of a tweet posted on Instagram reads, “Colorado Governor Signs Executive Order to TURN AWAY UNVACCINATED FROM HOSPITALS and Prioritize Treatment to Vaccinated Patients…” 

A similar claim posted on Twitter reads, “Colorado now says its ok for hospitals to refuse to treat the unvaccinated.”

But that’s not what the order says.

“The Executive Order doesn’t even mention or have anything to do with vaccination status,” Conor Cahill, press secretary for the Colorado governor’s office, said in an email to FactCheck.org. He noted that a federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, or EMTALA, prohibits hospitals from refusing to provide emergency care to anyone, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. 

The word “vaccine” does appear once in the executive order — when it says the recent surge in COVID-19 cases is “largely due to the highly contagious Delta variant and the 20% of Coloradans who have yet to get the highly effective, safe vaccine.”

One of A Kind Holiday Show Experience

Galveston, Texas (October 21, 2021) — It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas as Moody Gardens announces an all-new, one-of-a-kind holiday show experience and hotel packages for the ideal festive island getaway. Be prepared to be astonished this holiday season with brand new circus performers as Moody Gardens rings in the holidays with Lone Star Circus’ “Cirque Joyeux Holiday Show”.

This original one-hour Christmas spectacular is fun for the entire family and features a cast of international circus and variety performers. Witness the inconceivable feats of acrobats, the amazing artistry of aerialists, endearing antics of four-legged performers, the awe-inspiring and incredible strength of hand-to-hand balancers and much more. Be up-close and personal with the action-packed lineup of impressive circus performers.

Three Different Show Formats

Cirque Joyeux Holiday Show opens December 17 and runs through December 30. With three different show formats, guests can choose whether they would like to attend a Dinner, Matinee or Evening Show. The Dinner Show will be December 17, 18, 24 and 25. The Dinner Shows are sure to provide great family entertainment along with a fabulous dinner. The December 19, 22 and 29 afternoon Matinee Shows offer concessions. Afterwards spend the evening enjoying other holiday activities on the Moody Gardens property. Evening Shows on December 20, 21, 23, 27, 28 and 30 feature the same performance and provides concession options without dinner.

Moody Gardens Festival of Lights

Tickets are on sale now at MoodyChristmasShow.com. The Matinee Show prices range from $39 – $59 for adults, $25 – $45 for children and $0 – $45 for infants. Evening Show prices range from $39 – $59 for adults, $25 – $45 for children and $0 – $45 for infants. Dinner Show prices are $79 – $119 for adults, $49 – $89 for children and $0 – $89 for infants. All tickets include free admission to Moody Gardens Festival of Lights. FOL is the Gulf Coast’s largest holiday lighting event including a mile-long trail of holiday lights, music, pictures with Santa, hot cocoa with s’mores. This year there are even more lights than before!

Admission to the show can also be purchased as a hotel package for couples or families. Cirque Joyeux Holiday Show hotel packages start at $355 and include admission to the Festival of Lights.

“This show offers all of the holiday wonder, sparkle and entertainment we all appreciate during this special time of year,” said Moody Gardens Hotel General Manager Leon Garrison. “It’s definitely a memorable experience the whole family will enjoy”.

For more information call 409-744-4673 or visit www.moodygardens.org.

Moody Gardens® is a public, non-profit, educational destination utilizing nature in the advancement of rehabilitation, conservation, recreation, and research.

The post Moody Gardens Presents Cirque Joyeux Holiday Show appeared first on Focus Daily News.

Now that you've met my son, please consider sharing and donating to impact his life and so many others like him.
Livestream replay - https://youtu.be/5J3peD8LZ5o
Learn more about the charity NEXT for Autism here- https://www.nextforautism.org/current-events/color-the-spectrum/

As electric bicycle sales have soared to record numbers lately, fewer people are needing much convincing to get out of a car and onto a fun, energy efficient e-bike. But for the few left scratching their heads and wondering what all the fuss is about, this video is for you.

more…

The post Hilarious ‘Time To Buy An E-bike’ video will convince you to ride an electric bicycle appeared first on Electrek.

From an interview with an Amazon Web Services security engineer:

So when you use AWS, part of what you’re paying for is security.

Right; it’s part of what we sell. Let’s say a prospective customer comes to AWS. They say, “I like pay-as-you-go pricing. Tell me more about that.” We say, “Okay, here’s how much you can use at peak capacity. Here are the savings we can see in your case.”

Then the company says, “How do I know that I’m secure on AWS?” And this is where the heat turns up. This is where we get them. We say, “Well, let’s take a look at what you’re doing right now and see if we can offer a comparable level of security.” So they tell us about the setup of their data centers.

We say, “Oh my! It seems like we have level five security and your data center has level three security. Are you really comfortable staying where you are?” The customer figures, not only am I going to save money by going with AWS, I also just became aware that I’m not nearly as secure as I thought.

Plus, we make it easy to migrate and difficult to leave. If you have a ton of data in your data center and you want to move it to AWS but you don’t want to send it over the internet, we’ll send an eighteen-wheeler to you filled with hard drives, plug it into your data center with a fiber optic cable, and then drive it across the country to us after loading it up with your data.

What? How do you do that?

We have a product called Snowmobile. It’s a gas-guzzling truck. There are no public pictures of the inside, but it’s pretty cool. It’s like a modular datacenter on wheels. And customers rightly expect that if they load a truck with all their data, they want security for that truck. So there’s an armed guard in it at all times.

It’s a pretty easy sell. If a customer looks at that option, they say, yeah, of course I want the giant truck and the guy with a gun to move my data, not some crappy system that I develop on my own.

Lots more about how AWS views security, and Keith Alexander’s position on Amazon’s board of directors, in the interview.

Found on Slashdot.

Justice For Billy Ray Jones Facebook Page

The family of Billy Ray Jones is begging the public for help in identifying the driver of a blue Toyota Camry. They’ve created a Facebook page in order to get justice for Billy Ray.

“On the last day of July 2020, Billy Jones tragically left us in a fatal hit & run motorcycle accident on Friday, July 31, 2020.

Billy was married to his bride, Sherri since 1991 and was the father of their only child—Ashley. He was a devoted husband and an incredible father.

We are asking for the public, friends and family to help the Jones family find the hit & run driver for justice. Please post any pictures, video’s or information. We need to find the people that were there at the QT and witness what happen. We need your photos.
above all please pray for us. God Bless”

July 31 Hit & Run in Ft. Worth

FORT WORTH, TX, (July 31, 2020) – Billy Ray Jones, 52, sustained fatal injuries in a hit-and-run crash involving a vehicle and motorcycle on Friday, July 31 in Fort Worth.

A motorcyclist killed in the 200 block of East Rendon Crowley Road July 31; Billy Ray Jones
Billy Ray Jones, 52, sustained fatal injuries in a hit-and-run crash involving a vehicle and motorcycle on Friday, July 31 in Fort Worth.

Jones was riding a motorcycle in the 200 block of East Rendon Crowley Road when a light blue Camry turned in front of him, police said. He was unable to avoid the collision and ended up striking the side of the Camry.

Jones was taken to a local hospital where he, sadly, succumbed to his injuries.

Fort Worth police are seeking the identity of the Camry driver who fled the scene. Several cameras at QuikTrip recorded the incident.

FATAL HIT-AND-RUN ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION NEEDED

Contact #: 817-392-4889
Report #: 200058659
On 07/31/20 at the 200 block of E Rendon Crowley Rd, a light blue Toyota Camry (2007-2010) turned in front of a motorcyclist traveling westbound. The Camry was turning from eastbound into the QT parking lot. The motorcyclist struck the side of the Camry and was transported to a local hospital where he died.

The Camry was driven by a young Hispanic male- black hair, medium build. The driver of the Camry did not stay on scene and departed; he and the vehicle are seen on several cameras at the QT.

The investigation is open and ongoing, police said. Anyone with information can contact the Fort Worth Police Department at 817-392-4889.

 

The post Family Of Ft. Worth Hit & Run Victim Needs Your Help appeared first on Focus Daily News.

SpaceX is likely to land the first stage of the Falcon 9 rocket set for launch April 30 on a drone ship just off the coast of Cape Canaveral, not at the company’s onshore recovery site as originally planned, after a ground test of the company’s Crew Dragon capsule at the landing pad ended in an explosion Saturday.

Workers were examining wreckage from the Crew Dragon spacecraft at Landing Zone 1, the site where Falcon 9 boosters return to Cape Canaveral, prompting the company to apply for authority from the Federal Communications Commission to land the first stage on next week’s mission on SpaceX’s drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, featuring a brand new first stage, is set for liftoff at 4:22 a.m. EDT (0822 GMT) April 30 from Cape Canaveral’s Complex 40 launch pad. The launcher will carry into orbit a Dragon cargo capsule packed with several tons of supplies and experiments heading for the International Space Station.

Industry officials confirmed Tuesday that SpaceX will likely attempt a drone ship landing on next week’s mission to “ensure the integrity” of the Landing Zone 1 area and “preserve valuable information” in the aftermath of Saturday’s Crew Dragon test mishap.

According a SpaceX license application dated Monday, the drone ship will be positioned roughly 17 miles (28 kilometers) southeast of pad 40, or due east of the easternmost point of Cape Canaveral. Weather permitting, the rocket’s predawn return to Earth should be visible from land.

The landing will allow SpaceX to refurbish and re-fly the booster on a future mission. Falcon 9 launches with Dragon cargo freighters carry sufficient fuel reserves for the first stage to reverse course and return to Cape Canaveral, rather than land on SpaceX’s drone ship.

A NASA spokesperson said, as of Monday, that the Dragon cargo mission remained scheduled for launch April 30. It will be SpaceX’s 17th resupply mission to the station since 2012 under a NASA contract valued at more than $3 billion.

A hold-down firing of the Falcon 9’s Merlin main engines at pad 40 is scheduled for Thursday.

SpaceX and NASA officials in the coming days are expected to review any potential impacts on the resupply mission stemming from the investigation into the Crew Dragon test accident.

The Crew Dragon spacecraft, also known as Dragon 2, is a much different spacecraft than SpaceX’s first-generation Dragon capsule.

Saturday’s accident occurred during a hotfire test of the Crew Dragon’s SuperDraco abort thrusters, according to SpaceX and NASA officials. The SuperDraco thrusters, which would be activated to save astronauts from a failing rocket, do not fly on the Dragon variant set for launch next week.

The spacecraft that exploded on the test stand Saturday was the same vehicle that completed a six-day test flight to the International Space Station last month. SpaceX was conducting ground tests on the capsule in preparation for its reuse on an in-flight abort demonstration in the next few months, a test intended to verify the SuperDraco thrusters can safely propel the spacecraft away from a Falcon 9 rocket under extreme aerodynamic pressures.

SpaceX and NASA have said little about Saturday’s accident, but the mishap is expected to delay the Crew Dragon program by months. A different test vehicle will have to be used for the in-flight abort test, which was planned to be one of the final milestones before NASA approves the spacecraft to carry astronauts to the space station.

With the Demo-1 capsule no longer available for the in-flight abort, SpaceX will have to shuffle its plans and outfit a different vehicle for the high-altitude escape test.

The unpiloted Crew Dragon test flight to the space station in early March, designated Demo-1, achieved all of its major objectives, including the first automated docking of a U.S. spacecraft to the station. But NASA officials said at the time that engineers needed to complete further testing and analysis on the Crew Dragon’s thrusters and parachutes, along with pressurant tanks on the spacecraft and the Falcon 9 rocket, before deeming the capsule ready for human occupants.

NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley are assigned to the Crew Dragon’s first piloted mission, named Demo-2.

The most recent schedule indicated the Demo-2 launch was targeted for no earlier than July 25 from pad 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Officials familiar with the schedule said before Saturday’s mishap that the Demo-2 mission was likely to be pushed back to late September or early October.

The Crew Dragon is one of two commercial spaceships funded by NASA to ferry astronauts to and from the space station.

SpaceX has won a series of NASA contracts totaling more than $3.1 billion since 2010 to develop the human-rated Crew Dragon spacecraft. The crew contracts are separate from SpaceX’s multibillion-dollar cargo-carrying deal with NASA.

A similar set of contracts were awarded to Boeing, worth more than $4.8 billion, to support the design and development of the CST-100 Starliner spacecraft.

The Crew Dragon is designed to launch aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from pad 39A at Kennedy, while the Starliner capsule will lift off on United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket from nearby pad 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Both are designed to accommodate up to seven crew members, but will typically ferry four astronauts at a time, along with cargo.

SpaceX’s crew capsule returns to Earth with a splashdown at sea under four parachutes. Cushioned by airbags, the Starliner will land under chutes on the ground in the Western United States.

Both vehicles use liquid-fueled “pusher” escape systems to quickly boost the capsules away from a launch emergency. Other crew capsules, such as Russia’s Soyuz, NASA’s 1960s-era Apollo and future Orion spacecraft, use a “tractor” abort system relying on top-mounted towers with solid-fueled rocket motors to “pull” the vehicle away from its launch vehicle.

Once the rocket is out of the atmosphere, the abort towers are jettisoned because they are no longer needed. The Crew Dragon’s SuperDraco thrusters, which SpaceX originally designed to support propulsive pinpoint touchdowns, stay with the spacecraft from liftoff through landing.

SpaceX did away with the propulsive landing plan in 2017, electing to return the Crew Dragon capsules to Earth with more conventional ocean landings.

The Crew Dragon’s thrusters consume hypergolic hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants, which chemically ignite when mixed together. The ship’s Draco thrusters are used for in-orbit maneuvers and pointing, while eight larger SuperDraco thrusters — packaged in pairs into four propulsion modules — are used for launch aborts.

Each SuperDraco engine has a 3D-printed chamber and can produce up to 16,000 pounds of thrust, with the ability to restart multiple times.

Boeing has also run into trouble during abort testing.

During a hotfire of the Starliner’s abort engines last year, stuck valves in the craft’s propulsion system led to a fuel spill on a test stand in New Mexico.

Each CST-100 service module carries four launch abort engines, built by Aerojet Rocketdyne. The engines would only fire in flight in the event of a launch emergency, igniting with 40,000 pounds of thrust each for a few seconds to propel the capsule away from its rocket.

Like the Crew Dragon’s SuperDraco engines, the Starliner abort engines burn a mixture of toxic hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants, and are designed to almost instantly ramp up to full thrust and fire for only a few seconds. The requirement demands the abort engines to guzzle huge quantities of propellant pushed into the thrusters at high pressure.

Boeing officials said the fuel leak did not damage the test article, but the mishap forced engineers to make minor design changes to part of the Starliner’s propulsion system, including hardware and software modifications.

Earlier this month, Boeing said new valves were being installed into the Starliner’s abort engines for another hotfire test, followed by a pad abort test to prove the system’s ability to safely propel the capsule away from danger on the launch pad.

SpaceX successfully accomplished the pad abort test in May 2015 using a boilerplate version of the Crew Dragon. When the agency negotiated the commercial crew contracts, NASA did not require either company to complete an in-flight abort demonstration, and Boeing decided to forego such a test.

Boeing now plans the Starliner’s first orbital test fight, without astronauts, in mid-August, followed by the capsule’s first test flight with astronauts in November. Both demo missions will dock with the space station.

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According to Euclidean geometry the angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees. Philip Morrison shows an example of where this isn't true, and non-Euclidean geometry applies.
Watch the full lecture: http://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/watch/1968/gullivers-travels/the-world-of-captain-gulliver?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_term=description

Philip Morrison's Christmas Lectures in 1968 focussed on the importance of scale in science. Taking inspiration from Dean Swift's Gulliver in the lands of Lilliput and Brobdingnag , we go on a journey from the fundamental building blocks of the universe to the stellar size of of our galaxy.

In the first lecture we examine some of the smallest and largest objects ever made by man. Among the topics covered are the simple artihmetic of large and small numbers, geometry of size itself, and the nature of length, area, and volume.

Watch the full series: http://www.rigb.org/christmas-lectures/watch/1968/gullivers-travels?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=social&utm_term=description

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