NASA Is About to Launch the Fastest Spacecraft in History. Target: The Sun!

https://www.space.com/41447-parker-solar-probe-fastest-spacecraft-ever.html


On its closest approach to the sun near the end of the mission, the Parker Solar Probe will become the fastest spacecraft ever.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center

Early tomorrow morning

(Aug. 11), weather permitting, NASA will launch its newest spacecraft, called the

Parker Solar Probe

, aboard a huge United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket — and by December 2024, it will become the fastest spacecraft ever.


That’s when the probe will reach its closest point to the sun, coming within 3.83 million miles (6 million kilometers) of our star. At that point, the spacecraft will be speeding along at a whopping 430,000 mph (692,000 km/h). On Earth, that would be the equivalent of traveling from Washington, D.C., to Tokyo in less than a minute — or from D.C. to Philadelphia in less than a second.


But the team behind the spacecraft is surprisingly blasé about the record-breaking feat. “Designing something to go fast in space is pretty much the same as you would design it to go slow in space; space has nothing to really impede its progress,” Parker Solar Probe project manager Andrew Driesman, of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, said during a NASA news conference yesterday (Aug. 9). “The spacecraft doesn’t know it’s going fast.” [The Greatest Missions to the Sun]


 

On its closest approach to the sun near the end of the mission, the Parker Solar Probe will become the fastest spacecraft ever.

Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center


Nevertheless, it won’t be entirely smooth sailing, since the probe won’t be the only thing moving incredibly quickly. The Parker Solar Probe will also be surrounded by what scientists call a hypervelocity dust environment — a slew of tiny, fast-moving particles, some of which will inevitably bang into the spacecraft. The probe carries Kevlar blankets to protect itself from those impacts.


 


During its closest approach to the sun, the Parker Solar Probe will leave other speedy spacecraft eating metaphorical dust. For comparison, the Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched back in 1977, is currently traveling at about 38,000 mph (61,000 km/h), according to NASA — less than 10 percent of the Parker Solar Probe’s peak speed.


When it slipped into orbit around Jupiter in July 2016, NASA’s Juno probe briefly clocked in at 165,000 mph (266,000 km/h), making it the fastest spacecraft to date. That was achievable thanks, in part, to the gas giant’s own gravity — which some sticklers claim is cheating.


However, in terms of so-called heliocentric velocity only — the speed with regard to the sun, without the influence of planets — two other spacecraft currently hold the record: Helios I and II, two 1970s missions that slipped closer to the sun than Mercury is to our star, reaching speeds of about 150,000 mph (241,000 km/h).


But because things orbit faster the closer in, sailing within 4 million miles (6.4 million kilometers) of the visible surface of the sun means that the Parker Solar Probe will almost triple that speed. Better wave goodbye to it while you can.


Editor’s note: NASA’s Parker Solar Probe will launch Saturday, Aug. 11, at 3:33 a.m. EDT (0733 GMT). You can watch the launch live here on Space.com   beginning at 3 a.m. EDT (0700 GMT), courtesy of NASA TV. Visit Space.com Saturday for complete coverage of NASA’s Parker Solar Probe launch.


Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.comor follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

via Space.com https://www.space.com

August 10, 2018 at 03:51PM

Screens are killing your eyeballs, and now we know how

https://www.popsci.com/screens-killing-eyes-blue-light?dom=rss-default&src=syn


Blue light’s rap sheet is growing ever longer. Researchers have connected the high-energy visible light, which emanates from both the sun and your cell phone (and just about every other digital device in our hands and on our bedside tables), to disruptions in the body’s circadian rhythms. And physicians have drawn attention to the relationship between our favorite devices and eye problems, ranging from everyday eye strain to glaucoma to macular degeneration.

Humans can see a thin spectrum of light, ranging from red to violet. Shorter wavelengths appear blue, while the longer ones appear red. What appears as white light, whether it’s from sunlight or screen time, actually includes almost every color in the spectrum. In a recent paper published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers at the University of Toledo have begun to parse the process by which close or prolonged exposure to the 445 nanometer shortwave called “blue light” can trigger damage irreversible damage in eye cells. The results could have profound consequences for consumer technology.

“Photoreceptors are like the vehicle. Retinal is the gas,” says study author and chemistry professor Ajith Karunarathne. In the lab, when cells from the eye were exposed to blue light directly—in theory, mimicking what happens when we stare at our phone or computer screens—the high-intensity waves trigger a chemical reaction in the retinal molecules in the eye. The blue light causes the retinal to oxidize, creating “toxic chemical species,” according to Karunarathne. The retinal, energized by this particular band of light, kills the photoreceptor cells, which do not grow back once they are damaged. If retinal is the gas, Karunarathne says, then blue light is a dangerous spark.

Catastrophic damage to your vision is hardly guaranteed. But the experiment shows that blue light can kill photoreceptor cells. Murdering enough of them can lead to macular degeneration, an incurable disease that blurs or even eliminates vision.

Blue light occurs naturally in sunlight, which also contains other forms of visible light and ultraviolet and infrared rays. But, Karunarathne points out, we don’t spend that much time staring at the sun. As kids, most of us were taught it would fry our eyes. Digital devices, however, pose a bigger threat. The average American spends almost 11 hours a day in front of some type of screen, according to a 2016 Nielsen poll. Right now, reading this, you’re probably mainlining blue light.

When we stare straight at our screens—especially in the dark—we channel the light into a very small area inside our eyeball. “That can actually intensify the light emitted from the device many many fold,” Karunarathne says. “When you take a magnifying glass and hold it to the sun, you can see how intense the light at the focal point gets. You can burn something.”

Some user experience designers have been criticizing our reliance on blue light, including Amber Case, author of the book Calm Technology. On her Medium blog she documented the way blue light has become “the color of the future,” thanks in part to films like 1982’s Blade Runner. The environmentally-motivated switch from incandescent light bulbs to high-efficiency (and high-wattage) LED bulbs further pushed us into blue light’s path. But, Case writes, “[i]f pop culture has helped lead us into a blue-lit reality that’s hurting us so much, it can help lead us toward a new design aesthetic bathed in orange.”

The military, she notes, still uses red or orange light for many of its interfaces, including those in control rooms and cockpits. “They’re low-impact colors that are great for nighttime shifts,” she writes. They also eliminate blue light-induced “visual artifacts”—the sensation of being blinded by a bright screen in the dark—that often accompany blue light and can be hazardous in some scenarios.

Apple offers a “night shift” setting on its phones, which allow users to blot out the blue and filter their screens through a sunset hue. Aftermarket products designed to control the influx of blue light into our irises are also available, including desktop screen protectors. There are even blue light-filtering sunglasses marketed to specifically to gamers. But as the damage done by blue light becomes clearer—just as our vision is getting blurrier—consumers may demand bigger changes.

Going forward, Karunarathne plans to stay in data-collection mode. “This is a new trend of looking at our devices,” he says. “It will take some time to see if and how much damage these devices can cause over time. When this new generation gets older, the question is, by that time, is the damage done?” But now that he appears to have identified a biochemical pathway for blue light damage, he’s also looking for new interventions. “Who knows. One day we might be able to develop eye drops, that if you know you are going to be exposed to intense light, you could use some of those… to reduce damage.”

via Popular Science – New Technology, Science News, The Future Now https://ift.tt/2k2uJQn

August 10, 2018 at 01:55PM

Speedier broadband standards? Pai’s FCC says 25Mbps is fast enough

https://arstechnica.com/?p=1357351


The Federal Communications Commission is proposing to maintain the US broadband standard at the current level of 25Mbps downstream and 3Mbps upstream.

That’s the speed standard the FCC uses each year to determine whether advanced telecommunications capabilities are “being deployed to all Americans in a reasonable and timely fashion.”

The FCC raised the standard from 4Mbps/1Mbps to 25Mbps/3Mbps in January 2015 under then-Chairman Tom Wheeler. Ajit Pai, who was then a commissioner in the FCC’s Republican minority, voted against raising the speed standard.

As FCC chairman since 2017, Pai has kept the standard at 25Mbps/3Mbps despite calls to raise it from Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. This week, he proposed keeping the standard the same for another year.

via Ars Technica https://arstechnica.com

August 10, 2018 at 02:42PM

Acer Spins-Off Gaming Peripherals & Smart Devices Into Premium Accesories Brand

https://www.anandtech.com/show/13203/acer-accessories-spin-off-gadget-technology-unc

Acer this week announced plans to spin off its gaming accessories and smart devices businesses into a new subsidiary. The new entity, tentatively called Gadget Technology Inc, will focus on various premium gadgets, including those for gamers as well as for emerging segments of the market. The wholly owned subsidiary will formally start operations in mid-September.

Acer’s Gadget Technology will focus on market segments with “higher profit margins," covering a wide bredth of products. Initially, Gadget Technology will have two lineups of products: the first one will include premium PC gaming mice, keyboards, headphones, chairs and cases. The second one will comprise of smart devices, including air quality monitors, according to a report from the Taipei Times that cites the company’s officials.

Acer has been producing Predator-branded gaming desktops, laptops, and displays for a number of years now. To make the PCs more appealing to gamers, the company bundled various peripherals with the products, such as premium mice that featured similar design elements as the rest of the Predator series. In addition, the company offers Predator-branded keyboards, mice, headsets, bags, and mousepads separately. Furthermore, Acer has a broad lineup of wearables, smart cameras, accessories, and a number of other emerging categories.

It is unclear whether Gadget Technology will simply absorb Predator-branded peripherals as well as existing smart devices from Acer, or will just inherit IP and development teams from the parent company. On a high level, gaming peripherals from Gadget Technology are supposed to compete against dedicated gaming brands and to do so successfully the new subsidiary will need to radically expand the number of offerings. The situations seems a bit different with the “smart devices” part of the business, but normally if you want to compete for, say, smart home, you need to offer more than one product.

Having two (and potentially more) very diverse lineups of products under one roof is a bit odd. The spin off decision enables Acer to focus on PCs, but Gadget Technology will have to balance its resources while developing products because it will barely have any synergy between different design teams.

Acer’s Gadget Technology will start operations on September 14. The company will receive NT$75.66 million ($2.467 million) in assets and NT$30.66 million (~$1 million) in liabilities.

Related Reading:

Sources: Taipei Times, TSE MOPS

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August 10, 2018 at 12:10PM

Judge Orders Return Of Deported Asylum-Seekers

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/09/637269721/judge-orders-return-of-deported-asylum-seekers?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news


U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, pictured in 2008, has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting immigrants under new rules that largely bar asylum in domestic and gang violence cases.

Charles Dharapak/AP


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Charles Dharapak/AP

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, pictured in 2008, has temporarily blocked the Trump administration from deporting immigrants under new rules that largely bar asylum in domestic and gang violence cases.

Charles Dharapak/AP

Updated on Aug. 10 at 4 p.m. ET

Immigration officials have returned a mother and daughter to the United States after they were deported, which had angered a federal judge who was hearing their lawsuit.

The mother, known in court documents by the pseudonym Carmen to protect her identity, and her daughter were challenging Trump administration rules that largely bar the use of domestic and gang violence as the basis for asylum applications. District Judge Emmet Sullivan had been assured the pair would not be deported to El Salvador before midnight Thursday.

A transcript of a hearing on Thursday shows Sullivan being informed that even while a government attorney was making that assurance, the asylum-seekers were on a plane out of the country, having been deported.

Angered, Sullivan ordered the government to bring them back. He also threatened to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen in contempt of court if they didn’t obey the order.

“This is pretty outrageous,” Sullivan said. “Somebody in pursuit of justice in a United States court is just — is spirited away while her attorneys are arguing for justice for her?”

In addition to ordering the government to get the mother and daughter back, Sullivan blocked the Trump administration from deporting eight other immigrants — currently held in detention — who are part of the same lawsuit against the government for allegedly wrongfully rejecting their claims for asylum.

The order issued Thursday stated that the defendants, including Sessions, Nielsen, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service Director Lee Francis Cissna and Executive Office of Immigration Review Director James McHenry, “shall return ‘Carmen’ and her daughter to the United States FORTHWITH.”

The judge had scheduled Thursday’s emergency hearing on the motion to block the deportation after learning of their imminent removal on Aug. 9. The government agreed that Carmen and her daughter “would not be removed prior to that time.”

But despite the government’s guarantee, Sullivan learned from the American Civil Liberties Union in open court that the two had been removed from the Dilley South Texas Family Residential Center. It wasn’t until after the hearing that the government confirmed in an email that the two plaintiffs “were, in fact, on an airplane while the Court was hearing arguments” on their case.

As a result, the order states, “The Court informed government counsel that it would neither tolerate nor excuse any delay with compliance with this Order.”

The lawsuit — involving a group of asylum-seekers still in custody and others already deported — was filed Tuesday by the ACLU and Center for Gender & Refugee Studies.

It argues the administration is wrongly rejecting asylum claims based on domestic abuse and gang violence. The ACLU is asking the court to invalidate a decision by Sessions that says most victims of domestic abuse and gang violence cannot qualify for asylum.

“In its rush to deport as many immigrants as possible, the Trump administration is putting these women and children in grave danger of being raped, beaten, or killed,” Jennifer Chang Newell, managing attorney with the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said in a statement.

“We are thrilled the stay of removal was issued but sickened that the government deported two of our clients — a mom and her little girl — in the early morning hours. We will not rest until our clients are returned to safety.”

The Trump administration’s position is that many asylum-seekers are gaming the system by exaggerating their fear of returning home.

In the event that the government does not “fully comply” with Sullivan’s order to return Carmen and her daughter from El Salvador, the judge said, Sessions, Nielsen, Cissna and McHenry must appear in court to “SHOW CAUSE why they should not be held in CONTEMPT OF COURT.”

Sullivan directed the administration to give him a status update by Friday afternoon.

via NPR Topics: News https://ift.tt/2m0CM10

August 9, 2018 at 06:15PM

Jury Awards Terminally Ill Man $289 Million In Lawsuit Against Monsanto

https://www.npr.org/2018/08/10/637722786/jury-awards-terminally-ill-man-289-million-in-lawsuit-against-monsanto?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news


Plaintiff Dewayne Johnson, shown on July 9, listening to his attorney speak about his condition during the Monsanto trial in San Francisco. On Friday, a jury awarded Johnson $289 million in damages after ruling that Monsanto intentionally concealed the health risks of its popular Roundup products.

Josh Edelson/AP


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Josh Edelson/AP

Plaintiff Dewayne Johnson, shown on July 9, listening to his attorney speak about his condition during the Monsanto trial in San Francisco. On Friday, a jury awarded Johnson $289 million in damages after ruling that Monsanto intentionally concealed the health risks of its popular Roundup products.

Josh Edelson/AP

At 42, Dewayne Johnson developed a bad rash that was eventually diagnosed as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Four years later Johnson — now near death, according to his doctors — has been awarded a staggering sum of $289 million dollars in damages in a case against agricultural giant Monsanto.

The former school groundskeeper sued the company, arguing that an herbicide in the weed killer Roundup, likely caused the disease. His lawyers also contended Monsanto failed to warn consumers about the alleged risk from their product.

On Friday, a San Francisco jury agreed. They deliberated for three days before awarding Johnson $250 million in punitive damages and $39 million in compensatory damages.

“The jury found Monsanto acted with malice and oppression because they knew what they were doing was wrong and doing it with reckless disregard for human life,” said Robert F. Kennedy Jr., one of Johnson’s attorneys, according to the Associated Press.

“This should send a strong message to the boardroom of Monsanto,” Kennedy added.

Johnson’s is the first of hundreds of cancer-patient cases against Monsanto and could be a bellwether of what lies ahead for the company.

As NPR’s Bill Chappell reported:

“Claims against Monsanto received a boost in 2015, when the International Agency for Research on Cancer – part of the World Health Organization — announced that two pesticides, including glyphosate, are ‘probably carcinogenic to humans.’

Monsanto is now facing hundreds of lawsuits, many of which were filed after that 2015 announcement. Dozens of the suits were joined to be heard in the court of U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria – who, even as he allowed the case to proceed, said the plaintiffs ‘appear to face a daunting challenge’ in supporting their claims at the next phase of the case.”

“We were finally able to show the jury the secret, internal Monsanto documents proving that Monsanto has known for decades that … Roundup could cause cancer,” Johnson’s lawyer Brent Wisner said in a statement, according to The Guardian.

Monsanto has consistently denied that glyphosate-based herbicides cause cancer.

“We are sympathetic to Mr. Johnson and his family,” Monsanto Vice President Scott Partridge said in a statement following the verdict. “Today’s decision does not change the fact that more than 800 scientific studies and reviews … support the fact that glyphosate does not cause cancer, and did not cause Mr. Johnson’s cancer.”

He confirmed the company will appeal the decision “and continue to vigorously defend this product, which has a 40-year history of safe use and continues to be a vital, effective, and safe tool for farmers and others.”

via NPR Topics: News https://ift.tt/2m0CM10

August 10, 2018 at 09:12PM

The 10 Most Badass Jean-Luc Picard Moments In Star Trek History

https://www.gamespot.com/gallery/the-10-most-badass-jean-luc-picard-moments-in-star/2900-2198/

The greatest Starfleet captain in history is returning to the small screen.

On August 4, Patrick Stewart announced he will reprise his role as Jean-Luc Picard for a new Star Trek series on CBS All Access. It will take place after Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in the continuity. Finally, longtime Trekkers will have a sequel to the original television Prime timeline, as opposed to the more recent Kelvin timeline of the films.

It’s what fans have wanted for years; Star Trek: Enterprise and Star Trek: Discovery, while new "Treks," were predecessors to the original, Kirk-led series. Kirk had the guts and the heart, but Picard had the intellect, discipline, and diplomacy skills.

Our world needs more of Picard’s firm leadership, ethical principles, and unshakeable resolve. Here are Captain Picard’s 10 Most Badass Moments, whether he was in the field, in the ready room, on the bridge, or in his quarters. His greatest weapon was his ability to speak eloquently and forcefully to truth.

For more on Star Trek, check out the history of Jean-Luc Picard, how Quark became a fully realized Ferengi on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and the latest on the next two Star Trek movies.

10. Picard Defends Data’s Humanity

Episode: "Measure of a Man" (Season 2, Episode 9)

In what is widely considered the show’s first "classic" episode, Picard defends Data’s life against a Starfleet scientist who wants to dismantle him, seeing him as little more than an advanced machine. But Picard ends all argument by challenging anyone to define and quantify what it means to have a consciousness. He also asks the court to consider what future generations will think of them: "Are you prepared to condemn him and all who come after him, to servitude and slavery? Your Honor, Starfleet was founded to seek out new life; well, there it sits!"

9. Picard Invented A Tactical Maneuver

Episode: "The Battle" (Season 1, Episode 9)

Picard invented the badass "Picard Maneuver" as a younger man. His ship, the Stargazer, was attacked by a Ferengi vessel. Picard responded by going into warp (faster than light speed) and then immediately dropping out of warp. Thus, there appeared to be two ships, and the Ferengi sensors couldn’t accurately target its weapons. Cadets studied the maneuver in Starfleet Academy; it wasn’t until years later that Data devised a defense against it.

8. Alternate Timeline Picard Is Willing To Die For a Better Timeline

Episode: "Yesterday’s Enterprise" (Season 3, Episode 15)

Alternate timeline and time travel stories are integral to Star Trek. And one of the best TNG episodes to deal with these themes is "Yesterday’s Enterprise." In an alternate timeline, Starfleet is at war with the Klingon empire; the Enterprise’s bridge is a well-oiled battle station. But when alternate Picard learns that there is a better, more peaceful future than the one he’s living, he’s willing to sacrifice himself to make it possible. Before leading the Enterprise on its suicide mission to the time rift, he delivers a badass pep talk: "Let’s make sure history never forgets the name: Enterprise."

7. Picard Delivers Another Brilliant Courtroom Speech

Episode: "The Drumhead" (Season 4, Episode 21)

Picard, in the course of defending a man’s reputation, is himself accused of betraying Starfleet by an overzealous, retired admiral. After she taunts him over his experience with the Borg (Picard was assimilated and forced to participate in the killing of over 10,000 people), Picard maintains his composure. He then drops a brilliant monologue about the dangers of human rights abuses, slippery slopes discrimination, and overreaching jurisdiction. Picard then sits back like a boss; the ex-admiral melts down from his defiance and undermines her own argument.

6. Picard Pilots The Enterprise Out Of An Asteroid Field

Episode: "Booby Trap" (Season 3, Episode 6)

There’s little reason why Picard should be the one to do this; we’ve been told, multiple times, that Commander Riker is the best pilot on the entire ship. But Picard manages to navigate the Enterprise out of an asteroid belt. And when the ship loses momentum, he uses the gravitational pull of a large asteroid to slingshot the ship to safety. Talk about coolness under pressure. Even Data is duly impressed.

5. Picard Scolds Wesley Crusher Like He’s A Little Boy

Episode: "The First Duty" (Season 5, Episode 19)

Everyone hates Wesley Crusher. He’s a know-it-all kid who, for the first season, thought he knew better than most of the adults around him. But four years later, Wesley lied about his actions while a cadet in Starfleet Academy. And Picard goes full Dad Mode on Wesley for his lame "I didn’t technically lie" defense.

4. Picard Takes a Knife To The Heart, Again

Episode: "Tapestry" (Season 6, Episode 15)

When Picard is near death due to his bionic heart, he’s given a chance by Q (a nearly omnipotent being) to relive the moment when he lost his original heart; he was stabbed, through the chest, during a bar fight while he was a cadet.

But he later learns that this event had a butterfly effect on his life; it made him the complex man he would eventually become. And Picard, who would rather die a great man than live as a timid man, decides to go back in time and change history again, this time by willingly getting stabbed in the chest. Now that’s badass.

3. Picard Persuades Three Timelines To Save Humanity

Episode: "All Good Things…" (Season 7, Episodes 25 & 26)

The TNG series finale is as close to perfect as it gets. Every cast member shines. Picard saves humanity, again. And the interactions with Q bring the show full circle, back to its pilot where the Enterprise crew was put on trial for humanity’s crimes.

In the episode, Picard bounces between the past, the present, and the future, and he must convince all three Enterprise crews to go into an anomaly and create a static warp shell; the action will effectively destroy each ship.

The past Enterprise crew barely knows him. The future Enterprise crew thinks he’s going senile. But Picard’s powers of persuasion are strong. And all three Enterprise crews eventually march to their deaths on Picard’s word that they are dying for a greater good.

2. Picard Sees Four Lights

Episode: "Chain of Command" (Season 6, Episodes 10 & 11)

Picard finds himself chained, hanging in a Cardassian military officer’s office. He is being tortured in exchange for tactical information. And in a clear tribute to George Orwell’s 1984, the Cardassian asks Picard to count the lights in the room (there are four), while continually telling him there are actually five.

This particular clip shows Picard at his most defiant. Even when he’s on the cusp of losing everything he holds dear, Picard does not break, and he takes pity on his captor. And yes, there are four lights. There are always four lights, Jean-Luc.

1. Picard Draws The Line Here, And No Further!

Movie: Star Trek: First Contact

Picard is known for his even temper; he rarely loses control of himself. Data, who for most of the series had no emotions, loses control more often than Picard. But in the second TNG film, Star Trek: First Contact, Picard faces down the Borg. And all of the trauma they inflicted on him over the years comes bubbling to the service.

When Lily Sloane refers to him as Captain Ahab and calls Picard out on his destructive vengefulness, the good captain melts down and becomes angrier than we’ve ever seen him. It’s unsettling and frightening to see Picard in such a state.

But of course, he soon composes himself and sees Sloane’s point of view. Picard knows right from wrong, and he always swallows his pride to admit the latter. What a badass.

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August 10, 2018 at 04:47PM