10 Deal Breakers Christians Should Have When Dating

Donald Trump’s Fox town hall pulled in 4.4 million TV viewers in early returns. In comparison‚ the DeSantis/Haley debate pulled in 2.6 million TV viewers on CNN (which is more than double the viewers they normally pull in during a weeknight)‚ reports Reuters. It should be noted that Fox didn’t attack him with Gotcha questions. […] The post Ratings Are In: Trump Town Hall Smokes DeSantis-Haley Debate appeared first on www.independentsentinel.com.

Having a pet can change your life. Oftentimes‚ the topic of pets centers around dogs and cats. But if you ask me‚ birds don’t get nearly as much love and attention as they deserve. Like our four-legged friends‚ out feathered friends are also great options to have as companions. There are many types of birds to adore but‚ today‚ I’m going to focus on the lovebird. First of all‚ yes‚ this bird is just as adorable as their name implies. They’re considered to be one of the smaller parrot species‚ and they are known for their affectionate disposition‚ both with their mates and their beloved humans. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Milo Miles (@milo_thebirb) This can be seen in the sweet ways lovebirds interact with their owners. You can find all kinds of videos online‚ but one of my favorites has to be of this couple in Italy. While the two are enjoying a nice breakfast‚ their lovebird decides to join. Adorable Lovebird Helps Their Humans With Breakfast View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pubity (@pubity) That alone makes this a cute moment‚ but then this lovebird takes things up a notch. When one of her owners holds out a packet of sugar‚ the clever bird immediately uses their beak to open it. In doing so‚ the bird leave behind an oddly perfect zigzag shape. As you can imagine‚ this absolutely delights the sweet bird’s owners‚ sending them into a fit of laughter. This has also prompted lots of folks to wonder if they‚ too‚ should get a bird. Instagram “I’ve never heard of a lovebird before but now I want one!” one person writes. “He’s so cute and helpful.” What a great reminder that‚ when looking for a new pet to love‚ birds are a fantastic option! You can find the source of this story’s featured image here! The post The Perfect Coffee Mate: Helpful Lovebird Has A Nifty Trick For Morning Cup O’ Joe. appeared first on InspireMore.

A photo of Jupiter that has been claimed to be the "closest ever taken" of Jupiter is doing the rounds on Facebook and Twitter. It's not clear where the claim that it is the closest ever taken comes from. The image of the planet was taken by Junocam during perijove 26‚ according to the SETI Institute. Perijove means the point in orbit where a spacecraft is closest to Jupiter‚ and the mission can reach a few thousand kilometers from cloud tops. The Juno spacecraft takes many photos during flybys‚ with another close approach happening on February 3‚ 2024‚ while Cassini also took photos of the planet while on its way to Saturn.               The closest flyby so far took place on August 27‚ 2016‚ when Juno flew 4‚200 kilometers (2‚600 miles) above the planet's swirling clouds of gas at the gas giant's North pole. Nevertheless‚ the photo is a reminder of the ridiculous beauty of Jupiter that Juno has been able to capture since it began imaging the planet in 2016.            IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.Other shots of the planet that look too good to be real include a short video made by Kevin M. Gill from Cassini images‚ taken before that probe went on to photograph and then crash into Saturn. The shot shows Io and Europa orbiting Jupiter.            IFLScience is not responsible for content shared from external sites.In the clip‚ Io (which is closer to Jupiter) appears to be orbiting slower than Europa (which is further away). However‚ there's a simple explanation for this."The motion isn't wholly accurate as I made it to look prettier than it was correct‚" Gill explained on X (Twitter). "It's meant to portray the motion visible from a spacecraft that's moving at a velocity faster than the moons are orbiting. So‚ from a stationary perspective‚ Io would move faster than Europa."All the photos are real‚ even if they look too darn good to be so.

This week the fossilized skin of a reptile that existed 45 million years before the earliest known dinosaur has been discovered‚ Jupiter has been discovered to have magnetic jets‚ and giant 10-foot-tall apes once roamed China. Finally‚ we investigate why 42 is the answer to life‚ the universe‚ and everything.Subscribe to the IFLScience newsletter for all the biggest science news delivered straight to your inbox every Wednesday and Saturday. The United States Just Grew By 1 Million Square Kilometers In SizeThe United States has grown in size by 1 million square kilometers (more than 386‚000 square miles) – that’s almost twice the area of Spain. The unexpected growth spurt was not the result of strange geological forces‚ nor the invasion of a foreign land‚ but the States attempting to lay claim to its surrounding ocean-floor territory. Read the full story hereNASA Finally Removes Last Two Fasteners To Access Historic Bennu Asteroid SampleThe final hurdle to retrieving the full sample of asteroid Bennu collected by OSIRIS-REx – the first asteroid return sample in US history – has at last been overcome. NASA technicians have been able to successfully remove the two fasteners from the sampler head that have been preventing them from opening the canister fully since September. Now‚ NASA can get to the pristine asteroid material inside. Read the full story hereOldest Known Fossilized Skin Dates Back 45 Million Years Before First DinosaursFossilized skin from a reptile that lived at least 45 million years before the first dinosaur has been found. Although we know nothing else about the animal it came from‚ along with seven skin casts of similar age‚ the record-smashing 288 million-year-old discovery helps reveal the early evolution of skin. Read the full story hereJupiter Discovered To Have Magnetic Jets - And It's A Big Deal For The Whole Solar SystemMagnetosheath jets are fast plasma streams that form in the region between a planet’s magnetic field and the solar wind‚ the stream of charged particles that come from the Sun. It’s an area of peculiar magnetism where the field lines are weak and irregular‚ and the jets play an important role. These temporary events have been found around Earth and Mars‚ and now they've discovered Jupiter has them too. Read the full story hereGiant 10-Foot-Tall Apes Once Roamed China Until Their Mysterious DemiseStanding over 3 meters (10 feet) tall‚ Gigantopithecus blacki was the largest species of primate to ever walk the Earth (that we know of). This elusive beast stomped around what is now modern-day China until it fell into extinction between 295‚000 and 215‚000 years ago under mysterious circumstances. We may now know why. Read the full story hereTWIS is published weekly on our Linkedin page‚ join us there for even more content.Feature of the week: Life‚ The Universe‚ And Everything: Why 42 Really Is The Ultimate AnswerWherever you find big questions‚ one answer just keeps cropping up. We know the Answer is 42‚ but what we really need is an answer to the question of what the Question was to get that Answer. Any questions? Read the full story here More content:Have you seen our free e-magazine‚ CURIOUS? Issue 18 January 2023 is out now. Check it out for exclusive interviews‚ book excerpts‚ long reads‚ and more.PLUS‚ the entire season 3 of IFLScience's The Big Questions Podcast is available now.

Few objects in the world are more immediately recognizable than the bar code. After all‚ bar codes are all around us. They’re on the books we buy and the packages that land on our doorsteps. More than 6 billion bar codes are scanned every single day. They’ve become such an accepted part of our daily lives that it’s hard to imagine how they could look any different.I’ve researched various technologies throughout my career as a media studies professor‚ but it wasn’t until I began writing my book about the cultural history of the bar code that I realized how even the most mundane objects in our lives look the way they do because of decisions that are mostly lost to history. When I began combing through the archive of bar code history at Stony Brook University‚ I realized just how close we came to a world where we scan bull’s-eye or Sun symbols to buy our groceries.Our story begins in 1949‚ when Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver submitted a patent for the first bar code. That patent described the basic structure of using pairs of lines to represent numbers that is still used in bar code technology more than 70 years later.What their patent didn’t include‚ however‚ was anything most people today would recognize as a bar code. In fact‚ the first bar code didn’t include vertical lines at all. Instead‚ the world’s first bar code used a series of concentric circles in the shape of a bull’s-eye.Woodland and Silver initially struggled to get companies interested in their invention. But the bar code’s fortunes began to change in 1960‚ when the engineer and physicist Theodore H. Maiman built the first working laser‚ which made it possible to quickly decode a bar code’s line patterning.Not long afterward‚ in 1967‚ the railroad industry implemented Kartrak‚ which was the world’s first official bar code system. Kartrak bar codes were developed to automatically identify rail cars as they moved past scanners‚ but they used a design of lines of varying colors that looks more like a piece of modern art than the bar codes we use today.But Kartrak struggled from the start – the system wasn’t as accurate as people had hoped – and it stopped being used in the 1970s. Despite being the first bar code to be officially adopted by an industry‚ the multicolored design of the Kartrak symbol is now just a footnote in history.Around the same time Kartrak was launched‚ the grocery industry set in motion a chain of events that eventually resulted in the bar code we know today. In the late 1960s‚ various stores began bar code pilot projects that used vastly different types of bar code symbols.One of the symbols was the original bull’s-eye bar code‚ which by that point was owned by RCA because it had purchased the patent rights. But other stores used symbols developed by other companies. For example‚ a company named Carecogn had developed a Sun symbol and the Litton company created a fan symbol that were part of pilot projects. The grocery industry soon realized that this Wild West period of experimentation couldn’t last.Bar codes could work as a way to automate inventory and checkout only if everyone in the grocery industry agreed to use the same symbol. Otherwise‚ the system would be overly complex and expensive. So in 1971‚ the grocery industry formed a committee tasked with developing an industrywide data standard and choosing a symbol that stores would agree to adopt.The data standard the committee developed – the Universal Product Code – was designed to work with different types of bar code symbols. It’s still in use 50 years later.The committee then had to choose the symbol. They solicited applications from various companies and narrowed the pool down to seven finalists. That was when the drama really began.The RCA submission was the early leader among the seven finalists. The bull’s-eye bar code‚ after all‚ was the original bar code symbol‚ and RCA was a powerful company that had invested significant resources in developing the technology. RCA’s main competitor was a latecomer to the battle for bar code dominance: the IBM symbol invented in the early 1970s by George Laurier.Between March 1971 and March 1973‚ the committee extensively tested the seven finalists‚ listened to pitches from each company and met multiple times to discuss the path forward. Throughout the process‚ RCA and IBM remained the front-runners‚ and in a somewhat ironic twist‚ Joseph Woodland – the “father of the bar code” and inventor of the bull’s-eye symbol – advocated for the IBM symbol over his own invention.Realizing their symbol might not be selected‚ RCA began to pressure the committee and threatened to pull out of the bar code industry altogether if their bull’s-eye bar code was not chosen as the industry standard.The committee’s deadline to select a symbol was March 1973‚ and the decision went down to the wire. In its final meeting‚ the committee chose the IBM symbol despite concerns that‚ to quote the historian Stephen Brown‚ “by opting for the oversquare symbol instead of the bulls-eye‚ the Committee may have dramatically slowed the pace of implementation” because of RCA’s pressure.The IBM symbol became the industry standard‚ and the very first Universal Product Code bar code was scanned at a grocery store in Troy‚ Ohio‚ on June 26‚ 1974. Rather remarkably‚ the IBM symbol the committee chose is still going strong almost 50 years later. The bar codes you scan at a grocery store are essentially the same bar codes someone would have scanned in the 1970s.Based on meeting notes from the symbol selection meetings‚ the committee members felt they were doing important work. But even in their wildest dreams‚ they could not have imagined how consequential their decision ended up being.The bar code design they selected became one of the most iconic images of capitalism and has inspired architects’ building designs‚ symbolized dystopian conformity in science fiction‚ become a popular tattoo and even inspired online fan communities.But the design that changed the world came remarkably close to being a forgotten piece of history. If a few grocery executives had voted a different way‚ we might be moving through a world filled with bull’s-eyes.Jordan Frith‚ Pearce Professor of Professional Communication‚ Clemson UniversityThis article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

With the upcoming Iowa Caucuses as cover‚ CBS News’ Ed O’Keefe took it upon himself to scold Gov. Ron DeSantis’ use of the term “illegal immigrant” in a report with enough immigration advocacy to lead reasonable individuals to conclude that the report was better suited to Univision. Watch as O’Keefe suggests that the term “illegal immigrants” vilifies…illegal immigrants‚ and stealthily conflates legal with illegal immigration: ED O’KEEFE: Here in Iowa‚ a top issue of concern for Republican voters is the future of immigration and border security. VOTER: Yeah‚ the border is a big issue. VOTER: An open border is not a good thing.  O’KEEFE: Candidates speak about it frequently…  DONALD TRUMP: The border is a disaster‚ the worst border in history. O’KEEFE: …and offer solutions.  HALEY: Instead of catch and release‚ we are going to go to catch and deport.  O’KEEFE: Reporter: But some use terms that vilify undocumented immigrants. RON DESANTIS: We have a program to transport illegal aliens to sanctuary jurisdictions. O’KEEFE: Nationwide‚ Americans are increasingly concerned about the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. Nearly half say it’s a crisis. The issue is a long-standing concern for Republicans‚ but there’s increased worry among Democrats and independents. The reality here is that Iowa's 3 million residents are overwhelmingly white‚ and the state's strong economy needs immigrant labor.  JOE ENRIQUEZ HENRY: Iowans‚ especially here‚ would have a very difficult time having anything to eat at dinner time without immigrants because immigrants are the ones who process the meat‚ who farm the fields‚ who cook the food.    If it is a vilification of those who entered the country illegally to refer to them as “illegal immigrants”‚ then there is implicit an unlimited‚ blanket right to immigrate to the United States that simply does not exist no matter how hard the left wishes it so. O’Keefe offers “undocumented immigrants” as the alternative‚ which in itself is a linguistic illegal alien‚ given that it is a translation of the common-use term as it is used in its original Spanish. The term only came into existence a little over a decade ago. And “illegal immigrant”‚ used by DeSantis‚ was a softening of “illegal alien”‚ which is probably the best and most accurate descriptor of someone who did not enter the country legally. This underscores the extent to which language‚ and its policing thereof‚ is a big part of the immigration debate.  Next‚ there is the conflation of legal immigration with illegal. Noncitizen workers‚ in many cases‚ enter into the country with authorization to work at a specific farm or facility. This is a vastly different matter from the ongoing implosion of our southern border. Also‚ not all illegal immigrants that come here actually work the fields or meatpacking plants in pursuit of the American Dream.   Finally‚ there is the victim storytelling angle. In this case‚ the domestic violence survivor who’s been here for 30 years. Again‚ there is no mention of the flow of single‚ military-aged men coming in from China‚ Africa‚ and the Middle East.  One normally expects to see this kind of naked immigration advocacy on Univision‚ not CBS. To O’Keefe’s credit‚ though: he never used the term “anti-immigrant”.  Click “expand” to view the full transcript of the aforementioned report as aired on CBS Evening News on Thursday‚ January 11th‚ 2024: NORAH O’DONNELL: Well‚ the economy is one of the main topics of conversation ahead of the Iowa caucuses now just four days away‚ but it’s not the only one. CBS's Ed O'Keefe is in Ames‚ Iowa‚ where he heard what’s top of mind in the Hawkeye State.  VOTER: The borders need to be closed.  ED O’KEEFE: Here in Iowa‚ a top issue of concern for Republican voters is the future of immigration and border security. VOTER: Yeah‚ the border is a big issue. VOTER: An open border is not a good thing.  O’KEEFE: Candidates speak about it frequently…  DONALD TRUMP: The border is a disaster‚ the worst border in history. O’KEEFE: …and offer solutions.  HALEY: Instead of catch and release‚ we are going to go to catch and deport.  O’KEEFE: Reporter: But some use terms that vilify undocumented immigrants. RON DESANTIS: We have a program to transport illegal aliens to sanctuary jurisdictions. O’KEEFE: Nationwide‚ Americans are increasingly concerned about the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border. Nearly half say it’s a crisis. The issue is a long-standing concern for Republicans‚ but there’s increased worry among Democrats and independents. The reality here is that Iowa's 3 million residents are overwhelmingly white‚ and the state's strong economy needs immigrant labor.  JOE ENRIQUEZ HENRY: Iowans‚ especially here‚ would have a very difficult time having anything to eat at dinner time without immigrants because immigrants are the ones who process the meat‚ who farm the fields‚ who cook the food.    O’KEEFE: Brenda Rodriguez‚ who fled an abusive relationship in Mexico‚ has lived in the state for nearly 30 years. BRENDA RODRIGUEZ: We did it so many years being under the shadows‚ and I'm done.  O’KEEFE: So when you hear these candidates who are running say that people who come here illegally have to go home‚ what do you think of that?  RODRIGUEZ: I deserve a chance to stay. If I am paying my taxes and I am not doing anything‚ I don't think I’m a‚ you know‚ a bad person that the people from Iowa don't want me here.  O’KEEFE: Could Iowa run without immigrants like you?  RODRIGUEZ: I don't think so.  O’KEEFE: With just four days remaining until the caucuses‚ the remaining Republican candidates like Nikki Haley and Ron Desantis will be holding big campaign events like this one‚ trying to find those last-minute undecided voters. Former president Donald Trump is set to be back here holding rallies by the weekend. Norah. O’DONNELL: Ed O’Keefe on the campaign trail there in Ames. Thank you so much.  

National Public Radio is a sandbox for the Left. The “news” there is manufactured by leftists‚ for leftists. You can find it easily in the latest interviews about the Biden re-election campaign. The interviewers are clearly nervous that Biden’s messaging isn’t working. It’s not that Biden’s incompetent‚ it’s that voters are ignorant. On the January 9 Morning Edition‚ NPR host Michel Martin interviewed DNC chair Jaime Harrison and worried that the Biden focus on “saving democracy” from the "far right" threat of Trump wasn’t working. In asking Harrison about Biden’s campaign speech at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston‚ she cited black talk show host “Charlemagne tha God‚” who insisted this campaign will a “race between the cowards‚ the crooks‚ and the couch.” She summarized‚ “the couch is a viable opportunity for people who don't think that either candidate really speaks to their concerns‚ meaning that people can just stay home.” All the Democrats are terrified of low turnout among young people and minorities. Martin asked if Biden’s Charleston speech aiming to stir up black voters about the “poison” of white supremacy still engulfing America would work: “Do you think that this is a message which resonates‚ kind of across different groups who perhaps don't share the president's life experiences or the experiences of a lot of the people who go to that church?” Was Martin implying Biden sounds too white and clueless? The DNC chair gave the typical campaign surrogate answer‚ that the threat of white supremacy reaches all ages: “The racial animosity‚ racial hatred‚ the impact that racism still has -- knows no age‚ knows no bounds. I think that resonates with everybody.” Then Martin mentioned that Biden’s speech was interrupted by pro-Hamas protesters (she only said “protesters”) demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. Biden tried to tell them he was quietly nudging the Israelis to pull out. Martin worried out loud from the left: “Mr. Chairman‚ are you at all concerned that this anger about this quiet approach puts his reelection at risk?” Harrison oozed Biden’s answer displayed his typical “grace” and “empathy.” On that evening’s All Things Considered‚ anchor Scott Detrow spoke to another Biden surrogate‚ his infrastructure czar Mitch Landrieu. Despite all the messaging about Biden’s “achievements” of roads and bridges‚ Detrow said it hasn’t “sunk in‚” as “you see poll after poll. People feel like the president isn't helping me economically. The president isn't doing stuff that I value. I mean‚ that disconnect has been hard to figure out all along. How do you make sense of it?” Landrieu argued that when he was mayor of New Orleans‚ voters often didn’t think he’d achieved things‚ and “it took a while for their feelings to line up with the reality.” He said Biden’s not a bad president‚ but people just haven’t caught up. Landrieu claimed once voters realize Biden brought 40‚000 infrastructure products‚ they’ll choose Biden over Trump‚ and know the difference “between chaos and actually getting stuff done.” Detrow pushed back‚ that despite “tons of press” on infrastructure‚ “It hasn't seemed to move the needle in the big-picture way. Is it just being eaten up by everything else‚ or are we thinking about it wrong?” Landrieu argued that Gov. Andy Beshear was just reelected in Kentucky after citing the infrastructure spending. These people pretend the economy can’t be seen as better under Trump‚ before the Covid lockdowns‚ that rampant inflation and sky-high mortgage rates can be minimized by “hey‚ there’s a new bridge.” They should be worried. 

How does Palworld fighting work? As a mixture of open world‚ survival‚ crafting‚ farming‚ and pocket monster RPG games‚ Palworld is attempting to stand out from these popular genres by using your pets to help you out‚ either as allies in battle with guns‚ to help you build your base‚ or even become part of the food chain. To get started in Palworld‚ you'll need to choose your first friend‚ so our best Palworld starter guide can help you narrow down the choices. We also speculate on how Palworld breeding works so you can raise the next generation of super-powerful friends to aid you in battle. So before the Palworld release date‚ here's everything we currently know about the Palworld fighting mechanics. Continue reading Palworld fighting – element type chart‚ weapons‚ and combat explained MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Pokémon games for PC‚ Best open-world games‚ Palworld system requirements

If you've ever considered buying a League of Legends skin‚ you've probably jumped onto YouTube and checked out one of SkinSpotlights' videos. Simple yet effective showcases of upcoming skins‚ the YouTuber is the reason that so many people pick up LoL cosmetics - or‚ alternatively‚ decide to save their cash. However‚ on January 11‚ they announced that they'll be scaling back their output come patch 14.4. Continue reading League of Legends creator SkinSpotlights is “defeated‚” slashes output MORE FROM PCGAMESN: League of Legends Season 14‚ League of Legends patch 13.23‚ League of Legends tier list