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Use your phone as a pocket tutor for study on the go

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

Autumn is edging closer, and the return to a more regular office schedule looms for many people — and with it, the waiting time for transportation, meetings and appointments. Games, reading, social-media scrolls or just zoning out are common ways to spend these spells, but if you want more mental stimulation, why not boost your brain with brief lessons in subjects that interest you? Here’s a guide to finding Android and iOS apps that turn your smartphone into a traveling pocket tutor.Learn a LanguageWeb-based academic courses and music lessons have boomed in the past few years, especially as remote learning became a part of pandemic life. Although Apple and Google have their own free translation apps, some people also found online language lessons useful. No one wants to hear you practice your French pronunciation on a commuter train, but several language-instruction apps offer free or inexpensive tutorials in vocabulary and grammar that you can do quietly or while wearing headphone...

Denver property owners may not start paying sidewalk fees until July under proposed delay

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

Denver homeowners and businesses facing the prospect of paying new fees to fuel a voter-approved sidewalk repair and construction program may get a temporary reprieve as city leaders consider delaying the start by six months.City Councilwoman Amanda Sandoval has filed a proposal that would delay the launch of the city’s voter-approved sidewalk repair program fee from Jan. 1 to July 1. She said Friday that the delay would allow more time for fine-tuning of the fee program by a city task force to ensure the charges are collected in an equitable way.But the delay also would mean that city residents yearning for city crews to begin upgrading ragged walks and rollways in some neighborhoods — and filling in sidewalk gaps elsewhere — may have to wait longer, too. And it would reduce the first-year take, estimated at $40 million, by half.The council’s land use and infrastructure committee is set to consider the six-month delay in the effective date of the program on ...

What It Means To Be An Invisible Asian In The Shadow Of Model Minorities

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

The author’s great uncle, former Prime Minister of Laos, Prince Boun Oum Na Champassak, standing behind former U.S. President John F. Kennedy and the last King of Laos, Sisavang Vatthana. Billingsley says due to pervasive stereotyping, many Asian Americans struggle to feel seen or heard — yet perceptions are changing.Growing up, some people saw me as part of the “model minority”.They assumed because I was Asian American, I was stereotypically well-off and driven — with parents who fit a certain mold. If you’re Asian American, people think you’re smart — that you have tiger parents and a career path planned out by the time you finish elementary school.The thing is, not everyone saw me that way. Being mixed with Southeast Asian, sometimes people expect the opposite to be true. The reality is that I’m an ethnically ambiguous child of mainly Chinese and Vietnamese parents from Laos.You might say I’m more of an “invisible Asian.” I was what comedian Ali Wong refers to as “half jungle As...

How an award winning short film director is working to help creatives avoid the pitfalls of evolving AI

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

As AI continues to become utilized by industries throughout the world it is becoming seen as a threat by many creatives and artists alike. In a world of abundant content AI gives people the ability to create an unlimited amount of music, films and imagery. With so much content that can be potentially generated by AI real artists face the risk of being put out of their jobs.Mikhail Saburov, writer and directorMikhail Saburov, a writer and director based in Los Angeles, is sharing how he believes artists can maintain their grasp on their careers and continue to showcase their work to the world. Saburov says that as AI becomes more commonplace the focus will shift from the work itself to the artist and story behind it.Saburov says creative works of art, whether it be painting, music or film aren’t always about the content but often it invokes an emotional reaction due to the human nature as well as labor involved. To help creatives use AI as a tool instead of losing their livelihoods t...

How Crosswords Have Adapted to Political, Technological, and Cultural Shifts Over Time

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

Crosswords, with their black and white grids and intricate clues, are more than just a leisurely game. They are a testament to human creativity, intellect, and adaptability. Since their inception in the early 20th century, crosswords have undergone tremendous transformation, reflecting the seismic shifts in politics, technological advancements, and cultural dynamics. What started as a simple diversion during a newspaper’s holiday season has become an integral part of daily life for millions around the world. Crosswords challenge the mind and provide a connection to current events, historical milestones, and societal changes. The clues and answers within the grids have evolved, mirroring our language, values, norms, and beliefs. As we venture into this exploration of how crosswords have adapted to political, technological, and cultural shifts over time, we embark on a journey that is as multifaceted as the puzzles themselves. The evolution of crosswords tells a story that reach...

How Marissa Andrada Is Helping Educate Companies on DEI Initiatives

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) is a priority for most brands; that doesn’t mean it is automatically successful, though.JUST Capital recently reported that 94% of employers and 74% of employees say their organizations have committed to advancing DEI at work. However, 43% of both groups add that there’s still a long way to go before acceptable progress is made.The corporate world is ready for DEI, it just doesn’t necessarily know how to implement it. This is where a leader like Marissa Andrada can be a game-changer.Who Is Marissa Andrada?Marissa Andrada has positioned herself as the “Culture Master and Kindness Catalyst” within the work world. The successful executive and corporate influencer seeks to transform company cultures by putting people before goals, procedures and the bottom line.Andrada possesses the perfect blend of corporate experience and DEI acumen. She is the embodiment of empathy while simultaneously grasping the nuance of executing an empathetic leadership s...

With Daniels family in its heart, Mountain View cruises to victory over Leigh

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

MOUNTAIN VIEW — For a moment at least, sorrow was replaced by joy at Mountain View High on Friday night.Nine days after the death of football parent Lucinda Daniels, it was clear the Spartans were able to focus more and the result was a rout over visiting Leigh, 40-21, in a non-league contest.A horrific turn of events that began with a traumatic leg injury suffered by Mountain View’s Dillon Daniels during the season-opener at The King’s Academy on Aug. 25 and ended with a pair of strokes and ruptured brain aneurysm that took the life of his mother will remain on the minds and hearts of the team, staff, and school community.But Friday provided some reasons to smile.“Especially after that King’s game after everything that happened, we feel like we’re a lot closer and more of a family than we were before,” quarterback Kevin Conway said. “Before, sometimes we would break on ‘family,’ and I’m not sure if everyone meant it. But after that game, I know that everyone means it.”Conway ...

A’s ‘not interested in selling’ their share of Oakland Coliseum. What are the city’s options?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

OAKLAND — The A’s have no plans to part with an ownership stake in the Oakland Coliseum, even though the franchise no longer believes the property is fit for professional baseball.A’s President Dave Kaval rejected a purchase offer Thursday in a letter to the African-American Sports and Entertainment Group, which a day earlier had proposed acquiring the team’s half-ownership share of the 155-acre Coliseum complex.The local, Black-led group is in negotiations to buy the other half of the site from the city of Oakland, with plans to transform the baseball stadium, nearby arena and vast concrete parking space into a new hotspot for retail and nightlife — a $5 billion venture.But the group has found itself in an unusual relationship with the A’s, whose billionaire owner John Fisher appears to believe the Coliseum real estate is worth holding onto as a failsafe for his dreams of a Las Vegas ballpark, or perhaps as a future revenue stream.“While we...

Ranking the 49ers’ newcomers by expected impact

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

SANTA CLARA — Change is constant in the NFL, which is also an acronym for “Not For Long.”Even a roster as strong as the 49ers, who have played in the last two NFC Championship games, turned over more than a quarter of its current 53 members. Changes could still take place heading into Week 1 on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sept. 10.Here is a subjective ranking of the 14 new faces and their potential contributions to what the 49ers hope will be a Super Bowl season:1. DT Javon HargraveA quick strike in free agency to the tune of four years and a maximum of $84 million, Hargrave adds a sawed-off (6-foot-2) and relentless inside presence at 305 pounds to go along with the more angular Arik Armstead (6-7, 290). Hargrave becomes even more important should Nick Bosa’s holdout carry past Week 1. Hargrave played his first four seasons as a 3-4 nose tackle with the Steelers.2. K Jake MoodyThere’s no guarantee Moody will even be ready for Week 1 wit...

Editorial: Elect Jorge Lerma to fix Oakland schools in crisis

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 15:55:10 GMT

The future of the financially beleaguered and educationally challenged Oakland public schools will be determined by a special election Nov. 7 to fill a vacancy on the district’s governing board.Voters in District 5, which stretches from the Fruitvale to the Glenview neighborhoods, will select a new director who will hold the crucial swing vote on the seven-member board.That person will help determine whether the district continues its skid toward fiscal insolvency, or the governing board makes tough decisions needed to ensure quality education for Oakland’s kids.Like most of Oakland politics, this is not a choice between left and right, or liberal and conservative. This is a pick between two progressives, Jorge Lerma, a career educator with strong financial acumen, and Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez, a community organizer with little understanding of the district’s fiscal plight.Voters in Oakland District 5, which stretches from the Fruitvale to the Glenview neighborhood, will select a new ...