Month: December 2020

Categories
Sport

UFC 256 – From the household enterprise to the UFC report guide, Brandon Moreno is on a historic quest

UFC 256 - From the family business to the UFC record book, Brandon Moreno is on a historical quest

The half-made piñata would sit on the bottom of Pinatas Moreno in Tijuana, Mexico, and the shop owner Alfredo Moreno wouldn’t be happy.

The job wasn’t done, and his son’s other interest was probably to blame.

Brandon Moreno began his mixed martial arts training when he was 12 years old while also working part-time in his family’s company. One was a job. The other was a passion. But both have helped shape the athlete who will be the first Mexico-born fighter to fight for a UFC title on Saturday when he challenges flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo in the main UFC 256 event.

The piñata business exposed Brandon to his parents’ work ethic, which served him well in his unlikely rise to the UFC rankings. The business also served as a financial liferaft after it was cut by the UFC in 2018 and had surgery on his newborn daughter. Although Brandon was never that good at making pinatas, his efforts in the family business helped him figure out what he wanted in life.

“Every day I saw my parents work so hard to give us the best opportunities and the best possible lives,” said Moreno.

Brandon Moreno’s mother, Cecilia Carrillo, and father, Alfredo Moreno, run Pinatas Moreno in Tijuana, Mexico. The family business helped advance her son’s historic UFC title quest. ESPN

When Moreno started MMA training in 2005 at the age of 12, he was a “shabby” kid, he said. Chubby. When he was younger, his main hobbies after school were video games and junk food. At first, MMA was just a way to get the exercise you need.

In the same year Moreno started working part-time at Piñatas Moreno. Some of the work was done from home and the other part in a small warehouse nearby. Moreno’s day consisted of school, making piñatas, and then running to practice.

The more Moreno trained, the more he fell in love with fighting – the physicality and the competition. The original plan was for Moreno to go to college and then law school. But it quickly became clear that fighting wasn’t a random interest.

Deiveson Figueiredo will achieve the fastest turnaround of a UFC champion when he defends the men’s flyweight title in Saturday’s UFC 256 main event. Figueiredo, who defeated Alex Perez at UFC 255 on November 21, faces top candidate Brandon Moreno. In the co-main event, Tony Ferguson competes against Charles Oliveira. Ferguson has won 12 of their last 13 fights while Oliveira has won seven in a row.

Buy UFC 256 here

UFC 256: Figueiredo versus Moreno
• Saturday, Las Vegas
• 7:30 PM ET on ESPN2 and ESPN + PPV

“At first I thought [MMA] was a distraction for him, a hobby, “said Moreno’s mother Cecilia Carrillo.” I always wanted him to study, go to college. It was very important to me that he do it so that he can have a good life.

“But he never wavered, he always worked out and he really liked it. Since he was little he started setting goals. He always told me he would be the best in whatever he did in life,” Me become a lawyer – the best, “he told me.

Moreno’s parents supported his decision to fight rather than study. But there was a requirement. In order to cover the costs of the training and to make ends meet, Moreno had to work full time in the family business.

It was a busy schedule. Moreno woke up in the morning, exercised for two hours, and then came home for five or six hours to make piñatas. After dinner, he went to the gym for two hours before finishing the night in the warehouse and putting the finishing touches on the piñatas.

“I could make my own schedule because I wanted to train,” said Moreno. “That’s why my parents helped me so much. … I started making money myself. I grew up and started to know hard work.”

Things didn’t always go smoothly. Admittedly, Moreno was never a very good piñata maker. The process, he said, starts with cardboard glued together with homemade glue – a combination of hot water and flour. Moreno said it would take him about 30 minutes to build a piñata. Alfredo became impatient at times.

“In the end, he’d run Brandon out of the room because he couldn’t,” Carrillo said with a laugh.

“I never had the right skill to make the piñatas, but it has been a fun part of my life. I’m a better fighter than a piñata maker.” Brandon Moreno

The Morenos founded the small company in 1997. Their Colonia Guerrero neighborhood had many families making piñatas, said Carrillo, who also grew up making piñatas. The business started a few years later when the family began selling piñatas across the border in San Diego and Los Angeles.

Alfredo, Moreno’s brother, and another worker made the shells for the piñatas. Then Carrillo came in and decorated them. The piñatas come in different shapes and sizes – like stars, animals and numbers. While building the piñatas wasn’t his forte, Moreno eventually found his niche.

“He would come home and help put on the piñata sticks, and he was very good at it,” said Carrillo. “And he kept on doing it, even though at that point he was 100% committed to the sport.”

The 26-year-old Moreno worked full time at Piñatas Moreno for four years until he got a place on the UFC reality show “The Ultimate Fighter” in 2016. It was a great achievement – and a relief – for Moreno.

“I never had the right skill to make the piñatas,” Moreno said with a laugh. “But it’s been a fun part of my life. I’m a better fighter than a piñata maker.”

Moreno lost in the first round of The Ultimate Fighter in 2016, but he was impressive enough to be the only first-round loser to get a UFC contract. Brandon Magnus / Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

The Ultimate Fighter 24 was a tournament to decide who would be the next challenger to UFC flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson. To say Moreno is an unannounced prospect would be an understatement. It was last sown among the 16 participants.

Moreno lost his first fight by filing in the second round to Alexandre Pantoja, but Moreno was impressive enough to land a UFC contract. No other first-round loser received an offer.

If he steps into the octagon against Figueiredo, many will again expect Moreno to lose. Figureido is a 3: 1 betting favorite.

“I was – and always am – the outsider,” said Moreno. “I think I’m the underdog in life. But I always win. I always win [in the end]. For me, that’s the most important thing. “

2 relatives

After losing to Pantoja, Moreno won his first three official UFC bouts. But then he lost two fights and uncertainty about the future of the flyweight division prompted the UFC to release him.

The timing couldn’t have been worse. Eight months after his release, in September 2018, Moreno’s second child, Megan, was born with health problems. The family does not want to elaborate on their illness, but at some point they feared they had a tumor on their stomach. She had to be operated on. And at that time it was hard to get hold of money. Moreno’s parents came to Megan’s help with money from the piñata business.

“When we knew it was Friday and the doctor told them they could operate as soon as possible [my son] I didn’t have the money, “said Alfredo.” I told him if he needed it I would give it to him so they could operate on Monday. And so it went and everything worked out. Thank you God. We were concerned, but it went well.

“She’s strong. She’s like Brandon, he’s a fighter. He’s got a lot of energy. He never takes a step back.”

Moreno will be the first Mexico-born fighter to compete for UFC gold on Saturday. A win could help grow the sport in a country known for its rich boxing history. Jeff Bottari / Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Moreno, who lives with his wife Shirley and their three daughters, said Megan is now healthy and “amazing”.

And Moreno is excellent at what he does.

In June 2019, Moreno fought in the Legacy Fighting Alliance and won the flyweight title in that promotion. He was back in the UFC three months later – and hasn’t lost since.

Now he will make history and represent a country that is not alien to martial arts. Mexico has produced some of the greatest boxers such as Julio Cesar Chavez and Salvador Sanchez, as well as current superstar Canelo Alvarez. There have been Mexican-American UFC champions like Cain Velasquez, but never one born in Mexico.

“It means everything to me,” said Moreno. “We have a lot of the future of martial arts in Tijuana and Mexico in general. … But mixed martial arts is a relatively new sport in my country.

“I know I can change the game in my country when they have the first 100% Mexican champion in the UFC.”

From dreams of law school to pinatas in Tijuana to leaving the UFC and headlining a pay-per-view, Moreno’s trip has been a unique testament to his work ethic and perseverance.

“My life is a roller coaster,” said Moreno. “Lots of good moments, lots of bad moments too.

“At the end of the day, it’s all part of my experience.”

Categories
Technology

Testing EVs, PHEVs, and HEVs on the Street – How Totally different Are They on the Street?

Testing EVs, PHEVs, and HEVs on the Road - How Different Are They on the Road?

This article was originally published by Steve Schaefer on Clean the fleet report, a publication that provides readers with the information they need to switch to the best fuel economy cars and trucks, including electric cars, fuel cells, plug-in hybrids, hybrids, and advanced diesel and gasoline engines.

Over the past few weeks I’ve tested all three types of battery-powered electric cars – all-electric, plug-in hybrid, and hybrid. In all fairness, with the pandemic and my decision to stop testing pure gasoline vehicles, I’ve had few chances to drive test cars since March. However, I tested a Hyundai Sonata Hybrid in mid-November, spent 45 minutes with the brand new, fully electric Volkswagen ID.4 Crossover on the last day of November, and in my driveway is a stunning BMW 330e plug-in hybrid.

The organic selection is growing

If it were up to me, we would all drive gas-free electric cars today. But as we’ve seen lately, life is throwing curveballs and some things take a while longer to develop than we’d hoped. The most important thing is to set a clear direction and work towards the goal. In the case of the climate crisis, we have limited time to complete the task.

Yes, the climate crisis has not gone away just because we are in the middle of another immediate crisis.

All-electric, battery-powered cars won’t work for every driver, which is why we need alternatives. Here hybrids and plug-in hybrids still play a role.

The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid

The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid is a brand new design suitable for anyone who likes cars and is looking for a large five person sedan. Honda Accord and Toyota Camry owners, that means you! With its hybrid powertrain, the Sonata Hybrid earns up to 52 miles per gallon (combined) per EPA.

Hyundai Sonata HybridHyundai Sonata Hybrid

As with other hybrids, you never have to do anything other than jump in, hit start, and go – no charging cables or plugs. Travel wherever you want, refuel at every gas station. Of course, you will only find yourself there half as often. For the best possible effect, you can ride gently while avoiding aggressive acceleration and hard braking. Regardless of whether a hybrid replaces a standard gas sedan, it only consumes half the CO2 in a car into the atmosphere. That is not insignificant. My rating is Here.

Volkswagen ID.4 battery electric crossover

I had a masked, aloof 1-on-1 with the long awaited Volkswagen ID.4 back in September. I had to look at it, sit in it, watch a PowerPoint, and talk to knowledgeable VW representatives. I was pretty impressed.

Volkswagen ID.4 EVVolkswagen ID.4 EV

The follow-up visit on November 30th was a real drive, and in the spirit of COVID-19 safety, I got a refurbished, gleaming white pre-production car all to myself. They gave me a preset route map that guided me through city traffic, the freeway junction, and down empty, winding country roads.

The car was lock to drive and attractive in the wild. The interior is stylish and airy right up to date. The ID.4 is the second fully electric car from VW in America after the E-Golf and is based on a brand new EV-specific platform. While the E-Golf, an electrified version of the popular gas golf, can travel 124 miles at best on one charge, the new ID.4 goes twice as far.

The spiritual successor to the E-Golf is actually the ID.3 hatchback, which is already available in Europe and elsewhere. However, the leaders at VW made a careful decision to offer us a more spacious crossover in the US as this is the type of vehicle that most of us are buying in the US.

BMW 330e plug-in hybrid

The BMW in alpine white served me as a drive to the ID.4 test, which was carried out by a local VW dealer. As a plug-in hybrid, the BMW 330e uses a gas engine and an electric motor, using a much smaller battery than the all-electric VW, although a larger one than the Sonata Hybrid. You plug the car in to charge it and it only takes a couple of hours at 240 volts (level 2) or overnight on normal household electricity (level 1). The BMW is good for approximately 22 fully electric miles, making it perfect for local trips like commuting, shopping and running errands. If you take it with you on longer trips, it becomes a hybrid that uses gas and electricity efficiently.

BMW 330e plug-in hybridBMW 330e plug-in hybrid

On my trip to the dealer for the ID.4 test, I set the car to “electric” so that it only uses electricity. When the juice ran out, it automatically switched to hybrid mode to notify me of the change on the large center screen. Since my destination was 24 miles from home, I made it almost petrol free. If I could have used a charger at the dealership, I could have driven most of the journey home on battery power. I’m happy to say that the mostly gas powered return trip was almost as quiet as the electric leg of the trip, which shows that the gas engine is quiet and quiet, and that BMW used a lot of soundproofing.

My second trip in the BMW was to rehearse for a couple of hours with my three band mates who through careful planning have become part of my COVID bubble. Since the drummer’s house is only 6 km away, I was able to drive in either direction without gas. That’s what makes plug-in hybrids so attractive – mostly electric driving, but never fear of range. The downside is that you might have the best of both worlds, but you also have to lug around the hardware of both words – engine + engine, battery + fuel tank, radiator, engine oil, etc – and occasionally have to take the car with you for maintenance on these components. Battery electric cars have little service other than tire rotation, which I can verify than before Chevrolet Bolt and current Fiat 500e Owner.

I think people buy and love 3 Series BMWs because the model has a long history as the Ultimate Driving Machine®. I drove my first BMW test car in 1992 shortly after I started writing road test pillars in my local newspaper and I was blown away. My older son is enjoying his and I hope to get him into a 330e (or maybe even the rumored all-electric 3 series) when his lease expires. While a hybrid can take half a car off the road, a plug-in hybrid that is driven locally most of the time can do much better.

The lowest electrical line

With many automakers announcing big electric vehicle plans over the next few years, there will soon be a generous selection of electric vehicles in each category. Then it is up to consumers to buy or lease the cars over the next decade. Realistically, we won’t achieve 100 percent EV penetration in new car sales by 2030, but we have to try – and it will accelerate once the market is well filled.

Yes, I have often asked myself what we will do with all the perfectly good gas cars that will still be around. I envision a massive recycle and reuse operation, but they won’t go away overnight. But we have to stop driving them.

The U.S. state of California, which has long been a leader in cleaner transportation and higher fuel economy standards (and home to Tesla), has passed governor’s ordinance stating that all new vehicles for sale in the state are zero-emission (both batteries) -electric or fuel cell) after 2035. That gives us 15 years to get the deal done. It is expected that more states will follow (15 more states and the District of Columbia have signed a memorandum of understanding advocating the move in 2035). Maybe at some point we will see a national mandate. The biggest selling point, however, won’t be saving the planet, but rather driving a better, quieter, quieter car that costs less to run.

EV chargingElectric vehicle charging is key to EV growth

To support widespread adoption of electric vehicles, we need to build a robust and widespread charging system and support home charging, powered by rooftop solar panels whenever possible. We have to work towards ensuring that 100 percent of the energy used to power the fleet comes from sustainable sources. This means no more coal and a rapid reduction in natural gas for power plants. Solar and wind power are already cheaper than old-school fuels. With good battery storage, they can provide a stable and reliable energy supply for everyone. We also have other options, including local transport and micro-mobility like scooters and e-bikes. And there’s always walking when you’re close enough to your destination. No car is always cleaner than any car.

The movement to replace the combustion vehicle fleet will not be simple or easy, but driving an electric car will be easier. I’m looking forward to the day when we look around and suddenly find that electric vehicles have taken over. The streets will be much quieter.

You can follow Clean Fleet Report on Twitter and Facebook.


SHIFT is brought to you by Polestar. It’s time to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility. That’s why Polestar combines electric driving with state-of-the-art design and exciting performance. Find out how.

Published on December 11, 2020 – 18:00 UTC

Categories
Science

Why 2020 is a superb 12 months for the Geminid meteors

Why 2020 is a great year for the Geminid meteors

Do you have clear skies? Then you should definitely team up: The Geminid Meteors – one of the best, safest annual meteor showers – will peak this weekend … and near a new moon.

Gemini prospects for 2020

After a few years, one could not have wished for a better prospect for the Geminids. In 2020, the Geminids are expected to peak on Sunday, December 13th at 6:00 p.m. Universal Time (UT) / 1:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), with a projected zenith hourly rate (ZHR) of 120 East Asia is preferred in the morning hour with meteors per hour. Keep in mind, however, that the summit of the Geminids is wide … and meteor showers don’t read astronomical forecasts. Observers around the world are urged to keep an eye out for the Geminids in the morning hours before and after the summit.

Aspects for the 2020 Geminids near the expected apex of the shower on Sunday, showing the relative position of the Earth’s shadow to radiation from the shower, sun and moon. Photo credit: Dave Dickinson / Orbitron

The moon phase is almost perfect this year, as the new moon occurs just two days after the peak of the Geminids in 2020 and a total solar eclipse takes place over South America on the 14th.

The rising Geminids shine locally at 10 p.m. Image credit: Stellarium

In the 20th century, the Geminids were a relatively dark shower. Fast forward to the 21st century and the Geminids have intensified and take center stage as one of the strongest and best showers of the year, surpassing even the August Perseids. This happens when meteor streams develop over time.

A 2017 Geminid fireball. Photo credit: The virtual telescope 2.0.

What you see when you see a streak of meteorites through the sky is an ionized trail in the wake of a cosmic dust particle that flies through the faint upper atmosphere of the earth. Most of these are ancient streams of debris that are deposited by comets where their orbits intersect the earth’s path. These orbits develop as they interact with other planets (mainly Jupiter) and disperse, while other undiscovered, nodular lumps of debris find their way onto our planet’s path and make themselves known.

The source of the Geminids is actually the strange “rock comet” 3200 Phaethon. Discovered in 1983, this bizarre object is like a “baked Alaska” in orbit from 2.4 Astronomical Units (AU) (223.2 million miles or 359.2 million kilometers) to a scorching perihelion of 0.14 AU (13 million miles or 21 million kilometers) has been recorded once every 1.4 years from the Sun. Is 3200 Phaethon a trapped “dead cometary nucleus” or a previously unknown object? Whatever the case, the 3200 Phaethon appears to be shedding a lot of material and deserves another exam. Japan’s Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) mission DESTINY + (demonstration and experiment of space technology for INterplanetary VoYage flyby for Phaethon) was once proposed to explore this enigmatic object, potentially launching in 2024. The Geminids have been observed every December since mid-December -19. Century, although 3200 Phaethon was not recorded as the source for the shower until shortly after its discovery in the early 1980s by astronomer Fred Whipple.

3200 Phaethon as seen from the Arecibo Radio Observatory in 2017. Photo credit: Arecibo / NSF

Sigma Hydrid Fireball Photo Bomb (s)?

Another relatively dark shower will make itself felt in 2020: Several fireballs in early December were bound to the Sigma Hydride meteors. Based on the constellation of the southern half of the water of Hydrus, the water snake, the sigma hydrides generally hit a paltry zenith-hour rate of three per hour, just below the usual sporadic background rate … but several early fireball sightings suggest 2020 will be different could be. If you can’t trace a meteor back to the Geminids Ray near the bright star Castor (Beta Geminorum) in the constellation Gemini the Twins, you may have seen a rare Sigma Hydride meteor.

A Geminid composite / time-lapse over the LAMOST telescope in China from 2014. Photo credits and copyright: Steedjoy. Used with permission.

Don’t forget the Ursids

Another meteor shower in December is worth checking out. The Ursid meteors peak with a respectable ZHR of 15 right around the solstice on December 21st to the south. The source of the Ursids is the periodic comet 8P / Tuttle, but the source of the sigma hydrids is unknown.

A one-night animation of the Geminids 2017. Photo credit: The Virtual Telescope Project 2.0

Meteor watching is as easy as dressing warmly, reclining in a comfortable garden chair, and diligently observing the sky with a simple pair of ‘mk-1 eyeballs’. Look at a 45-90 degree angle on either side of the spotlight to catch long stately meteor trains in profile. It is true that after midnight towards morning you see more and more meteors if you stand on the forward-facing part of the earth and scoop a huge cavity with a width of 8,000 miles from space. The Geminids are a little different. The shower’s radiation is high enough that you can look for meteors a little earlier before midnight, around 10 p.m. local time. Be aware that these early meteors leave long, slow trails across the night sky and that the pace accelerates from midnight to dawn. Choose as dark a location as possible to maximize your chances of seeing as many Geminids as possible. Even the slightest amount of light pollution in the suburbs can significantly kill the number of meteors you see.

Waiting for a night of sky-gazing at the annual Nebraska Star Party. Photo credit: Dave Dickinson

Photographing meteors is as easy as using a wide angle lens with a tripod-mounted DSLR, taking long exposures (30 to 3 minutes), and viewing the results. I like to use an interval meter to automate the process. Be sure to check out our latest guide to shooting meteor showers on Astro-Gear Today.

A tarantula (!) Against the Geminid Meteors 2017 … Credit: The Virtual Telescope Project 2.0

Meteorite watching is an ideal 2020 destination: you can do it on your own or as a physically distant activity, with observers observing different areas of the sky.

Count how many meteors you see in a set period of time and you can add your observations to the science of meteoriticism by reporting your observations to the International Meteorological Organization.

Good luck and have a nice weekend with the Geminids 2020.

– Watch the Geminids live courtesy of astronomer Gianluca Masi and the Virtual Telescope Project starting December 13 at 10:00 PM UT / 5:00 PM EST.

Main image: 2017 Geminids grace the Arizona skies. Photo credit and copyright: Robert Sparks. Used with permission.

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Categories
Health

Black well being leaders try to construct confidence within the Covid vaccine amongst African Individuals

Black health leaders are trying to build confidence in the Covid vaccine among African Americans

A researcher works at a laboratory operated by Moderna Inc that said in an undated still image from a video on November 16, 2020 that his experimental vaccine was 94.5% effective in preventing COVID-19, based on interim data from one late clinical trial.

Modern | via Reuters

Dr. Lou Edje participated in the Moderna vaccine study in her healthcare system in Cincinnati, Ohio after three of her relatives died from the coronavirus earlier this year. This led her to do more to instill trust in her community and get vaccinated.

“I felt like I might be able to make a believable impact on the patients I look after every day who look just like me,” said Dr. Edje, Black and Assistant Dean of Medical Education at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Although she wasn’t told if she received the actual vaccine during the trial, she had a slight swelling in her arm after the booster shot – which leads her to believe she did. This helps when patients ask what to expect.

“Some of the side effects were a little more robust the second time around, so I’m trying to tell them exactly what I went through,” she explained.

It can take months for the public to be vaccinated with new vaccines once they are approved. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to quickly clear Pfizer’s vaccine for emergency use after an advisory panel overwhelmingly approved the shots on Thursday. Starting doses have been set for frontline health workers and elderly people in nursing homes.

Still, African-American health professionals and community health groups across the country have already started reaching out in black communities hard hit by the coronavirus. Seven in ten African Americans know someone who was hospitalized or died of Covid, according to a survey conducted by Pew Research last month. However, there is great skepticism about vaccines. Only 42% of blacks surveyed say they have been vaccinated, compared with more than 60% of Americans as a whole.

“They want to know, and have real reasons to trust. They want to know that the trial will be fair, that they are not guinea pigs for a system that is turned against them,” explained Dr. Reed Tuckson, co-founder of the Black Coalition Against Covid and former Washington, DC Commissioner for Health.

The speed at which the Covid vaccine was being developed was one of the issues that many Americans have concerns about being in the first wave to get the shot. But for African Americans, the skepticism is also based in part on history. As part of the infamous Tuskegee Study of Syphilis, African American men were treated with placebo drugs instead of antibiotics that could cure them so that they could track their progression over the years.

The Coalition on Covid has brought together major African American medical groups, including the National Medical Association and the National Black Nurses Association, as well as heads of four historically black medical schools, including Howard University and Morehouse College, to advocate for African American patients.

In the clinical arena, they have urged federal and local government officials to prioritize access for color communities where the prevalence of pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes has increased people’s vulnerability to the virus.

“We shouldn’t let the proliferation of a life-saving vaccine worsen health inequalities. In fact, it should help narrow them down,” said Tuckson.

In terms of reach, they have a number of informative town halls online with leaders like Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s foremost infectious disease expert, to address specific concerns among African Americans.

They also work with community health groups, local churches, and stakeholders who can reach out to the grassroots personally from a place of trust.

“Fifty percent of one neighborhood must have the vaccine to burn out the virus in the other 50 percent,” explained Dr. Edje. “We really need to ensure that every neighborhood has some immunity so that we can make a global impact.”

The fact that it will take time for the public to gain access to the vaccine could prove to be a silver lining. Health officials say it will show people how the first wave of those who get the shot react, which can help fight skepticism and fear.

Categories
Technology

How several types of hybrid automobiles really work

How different types of hybrid vehicles actually work

Welcome to SHIFT Basics, a collection of tips, explanations, guides, and advice to keep you up to date on mobility technologies.

When it comes to low-emission vehicles, there are broadly three categories: battery-electric, alternative fuel and hybrid-electric.

Today we’re going to look at hybrid electric vehicles, what they are and what types they are because they aren’t quite as simple as they sound.

There are three types in the world of hybrid vehicles: mild hybrid (MHEV), plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and regular hybrid electric (HEV).

[Read: Why AI is the future of home security]

Despite the major differences between the different types of hybrids, they all have one thing in common: They use an electric motor alongside a combustion engine to support the vehicle’s engine performance.

This is where the similarities end, however, as each hybrid type implements the engine differently.

Where it started, Hybrid Electric

When it comes to hybrid vehicles, there is one thing that will be remembered like a thorn on a rose: the Toyota Prius. As the first series hybrid electric vehicle, it is the one that everyone knows.

Hybrid electric vehicles like the Prius are what chic people refer to as parallel hybrids. They are so named because they can obviously use their electric motors and combustion engines in parallel.

Photo credit: Wikimedia CC The Toyota Prius can probably be credited with turning the world’s eyes to more conscious driving. It’s now a plug-in hybrid.

In simple terms, these hybrids have an engine and a motor both of which are attached to the wheels of the car. There are many ways to implement and improve this principle, but one version of this idea was patented by a Soviet engineer in 1994. This engineer happened to be suing Toyota for patent infringement, but that’s another story – read about it here.

These types of hybrids have fairly small batteries, typically under 5 kWh. They are not designed for long distances with battery power, but the electrical components are used to take the load off the internal combustion engine, to improve its efficiency and to reduce tailpipe emissions.

These types of hybrids charge their batteries when they are driving a generator powered by the wheels or when the car is slowing down with regenerative braking. Some automakers, as you can see Lexus, call these “self-loading” hybrids. This is misleading and kind of wrong. Read why here.

norway, green car reports, driving sekf, cars, future, electric, phev, hevCredit: Green Car Reports – ScreenshotNorway, a leading global supplier of electric vehicles, is taking action against companies that advertise hybrids as “self-charging”.

The advantage of this type of hybrid is that it is very accessible. I mean that in the sense that it’s not a huge departure from conventional driving. These types of hybrids are powered and fueled just like a normal combustion vehicle. The car takes care of mixing its internal combustion engine with electric motors to deliver power and efficiency. It doesn’t require any habitual changes from the driver.

The fact that these hybrids run on gasoline like a normal vehicle helps with this Alleviate range anxiety. This is also a major disadvantage: you cannot charge the battery from renewable sources. To charge the batteries, you need to burn fuel. It’s not perfect.

Scheme, hybrid, phäv, diagramPhoto credit: Wikimedia A schematic for a hybrid drive. Note: Motors and generators are connected to the drive shaft between the motor and the wheels.

They do help to reduce tailpipe emissions and are a step in the right direction towards more environmentally friendly driving. Over the years, however, they have been the focus of criticism, largely because they don’t quite live up to what manufacturers said in the real world. However, we should be grateful for cars like the Prius as the world thought about how our driving habits affect the environment.

A plug-in hybrid is the best hybrid

According to mechanical principles, plug-in hybrids are similar to normal hybrids. They use parallel motor and motor settings to drive the wheels.

The main difference is that plug-in hybrid vehicles have larger batteries and can be charged from the mains. If you wanted, you could drive a plug-in hybrid without ever using the engine. You couldn’t go very far before needing to recharge, but at least your emissions would be low.

How far plug-in hybrids can travel on battery power alone varies from vehicle to vehicle, but is typically between 10 and 50 miles. The Lynk & Co. 01 PHEV SUV should have a range of approx. 70 km with electrical energy alone.

lynk & co. Auto, future, ev, phev, hybridCredit: M BeedhamObscured in a cage, the Lynk & Co. 01 sits for people to look around. Test drives will also be offered soon for those who want to buy the car right away.

Plug-hybrid vehicles are still not the perfect solution when it comes to low-emission driving, but they are the best when it comes to hybrids.

As with normal hybrids, the plug-in versions have also been criticized for not being quite as efficient as the manufacturer claims. As Ashley Fry, Loughborough University lecturer in vehicle electrification, writes in The Conversation, PHEV emissions can vary depending on how the vehicle is driven.

Someone who drives hard and fast and does not make optimal use of the car’s electrical elements emits far more CO2 than someone who drives calmly and considerately and uses the engines as often as possible. It’s pretty easy.

Mild hybrids, the new kid on the engine block

While they might have hybrids in their name, mild hybrids are quite different from the other types of hybrid vehicles. The main difference is that the electric motor that is used to assist the internal combustion engine is not connected to the wheels.

Mild hybrids also use tiny, low-power batteries compared to traditional all-electric vehicles – usually it’s a 48V system. The batteries are charged with energy that is recovered when braking.

In a mild hybrid, a starter generator is used to directly assist the engine. In simpler terms, an electric motor is connected to the engine in order to provide additional power when starting, taking off or driving other vehicle components.

Mazda, m, 3 future, hybridPhoto credit: Mazada Mazda does not currently have plug-in hybrids but does have mild hybrid powertrains.

You see, the thing is, while the main job of an internal combustion engine is to propel a car forward and drive the wheels, it also has to power a number of ancillary components that suck all of the energy and reduce the engine’s efficiency. In other words, the operation of the air conditioner decreases the economy and increases the emissions.

Using a 48V battery system to remove these tasks from the engine and provide assistance when accelerating can reduce a vehicle’s emissions. However, the reduction is small compared to plug-in hybrids.

In reality, mild hybrids aren’t the best solution for reducing emissions, but they’re better than nothing. The advantage of mild hybrid systems is that they are typically the cheapest hybrid options, are lighter, simpler, and easier to assemble, so they can be added to vehicles with relative ease.

There you have it, now if someone starts chewing their ears off about the new hybrid they bought, you have an idea what it’s about.

SHIFT is brought to you by Polestar. It’s time to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility. That’s why Polestar combines electric driving with state-of-the-art design and exciting performance. Find out how.

Published on December 11, 2020 – 14:21 UTC

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Sport

Fantasy Soccer: FPL Gameweek 12 switch recommendation, captain choice and extra

Fantasy Football: FPL Gameweek 12 transfer advice, captain selection and more

Game week 12 of 2020-21 Fantasy Premier League is here and we have an early deadline to make changes as Leeds hosts West Ham on Friday night.

The Manchester derby will then take center stage on Saturday, while Tottenham and Liverpool both play on Sunday to extend their lead at the top of the table.

So as we head out on another busy weekend goal is at your disposal with advice on team selection, possible captain choices and much more if you want to color those arrows green and climb your leaderboards.

content

  1. Game week games
  2. Team selection tips
  3. Who is the best captain?
  4. Who are the players with the highest score?

Game week 12 games

date Attachment Time (GMT)
11th December Leeds versus West Ham 20:00
12th of December Wolves versus Aston Villa 12:30
12th of December Newcastle versus West Brom 15:00
12th of December Man Utd versus Man City 17:30
12th of December Everton versus Chelsea 20:00
13th December Southampton v Sheff Utd 12:00
13th December Crystal palace against spurs 14:15
13th December Fulham versus Liverpool 16:30
13th December Arsenal versus Burnley 19:15
13th December Leicester versus Brighton 19:15
GAMEWEEK 12 CHANGES DEADLINE: December 11th, 6:30 p.m.

Team selection tips

goalkeeper

Hugo Lloris (£ 5.5m) is the most broadcast goalkeeper, playing with a little less than 50,000 FPL bosses in Gameweek 12 at the time of writing, and choosing to bring the Tottenham captain in.

A quick look at the fixtures and Tottenham meet Crystal Palace on Sunday – with Roy Hodgson’s side inspired by an in-shape Wilfried Zaha (£ 7.4m), I just hit five to West Brom – before heading to Anfield in a top duel with Liverpool.

Spurs also have Leicester (H) and Wolves (A) to play before the end of the year and a better time to pick up the French could be at Gameweek 16 when Jose Mourinho Fulham’s men are ahead of Leeds (H ) align. , Aston Villa (A) and Sheffield United (A).

A better option could be Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier (£ 4.6m).

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have back-to-back home games against West Ham and Newcastle, while also facing Burnley and West Brom in December.

The 20-year-old Frenchman has scored 46 points so far this season – the third highest of all goalkeepers in the game – and made 40 saves in the process – the fourth highest total in the Premier League.

defender

Over 250,000 FPL managers have decided to include both Kurt Zouma (£ 5.7m) or Reece James (£ 5.3m) in the past week and it’s not hard to see why.

The blues duo has become a fixture in Frank Lampard’s starting XI in the Premier League Ben Chilwell (£ 6.2m), are the defenders with the highest number of points in the game after the first 11 games of the 2020-21 season.

Chelsea have friendly matches against Everton and Wolves in their next two games, both away, but even when they miss a goal or two, Zouma, James and Chilwell have come in handy in attacking areas.

Now could be the perfect time to contribute Trent Alexander-Arnold (£ 7.2m) after recovering from a calf injury.

Getty

The Liverpool full-back, who collected a total of 210 points last season, will now return to the starting line-up of the reds of the league and is not expected to see a price increase until the coming weeks.

However, if you’re looking for a cheaper option then West Ham is Defender Fabian Balbuena (£ 4.4m) could be your man

After not being selected in the first two games of the season, the Paraguayan is now a regular on David Moyes’ first team and one of the best players to face Leeds (A) and Crystal Palace (H).

midfield player

After his 14-point win in a 4-0 win against the Wolves Mohamed Salah (£ 12.3m) proves the most popular addition in midfield in Gameweek 12.

Given its high price tag, after the Egyptian’s positive Covid-19 test, many FPL bosses have chosen Gameweek 9, although getting him back into your XI is crucial as he is the strongest attacker in the midfielder category is.

Oddly enough, Salah played the full 90 minutes in Liverpool’s 1-1 Champions League game against Midtjylland on Wednesday night, but it is highly unlikely that Jurgen Klopp would rest him for the trip to Fulham on Sunday as things are getting tight at the top the table.

Elsewhere the injuries too Hakim Ziyech (£ 8.2m) and Callum Hudson-Odoi (£ 5.7m) opened the door Christian Pulisic (£ 8.2m) Reintegration into Chelsea’s starting XI.

Frank Lampard confirmed on Thursday that the USMNT star is available for the trip to Everton on Saturday. After the huge success in the 3-1 win over Leeds last time in the league, Pulisic is likely to play a big role at Goodison Park.

After what is expected to be a welcome week off for Aston Villa following the postponement of the Newcastle game due to a Covid-19 outbreak Jack Grealish (£ 7.7m) rarely goes as he tries to increase the 71 points he has already accumulated this season.

The England international is in second place Bruno Fernandes (£ 10.9m) and Kevin De Bruyne (£ 11.8m) For the chances created in the Premier League with 26 and the favorable pairings for Dean Smith’s team, Villa will face Wolves (A), Burnley (H), West Brom (H) and Crystal Palace (A) in the next four games.

Forward

Patrick Bamford (£ 6.2m) scored his eighth Premier League goal of the season in their last loss to Chelsea and although his price rose ahead of Gameweek 12, the Leeds forward remains an excellent pick.

Getty

West Ham head to Elland Road on Friday night and after the Hammers delivered three in their last game against Manchester United in the second half, Bamford will be confident of improving their record.

Another Englishman that is available at a relatively cheap price is Newcastle Forward Callum Wilson (£ 6.6m).

The 28-year-old took 12 points from his last game, a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, and Newcastle will face West Brom, the team with the worst defensive record in the Premier League, on Saturday.

And finally, it goes without saying, but when you have the money and don’t already have it Harry Kane (£ 10.9m) Then it is probably time to think about getting him. The Tottenham forward was at his best last time out against Arsenal and he will appreciate his chances of making it to the net against Palace on Sunday.

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Who is the best captain for Gameweek 12?

With the Manchester derby going on and Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham not playing at home, predicting who will be the most effective captain is not the easiest week.

That said Not correct has scored in his last two games in a row and the chances of scoring three against Fulham are relatively high.

Jamie Vardy (£ 10.3m) looks like a sensible replacement option too – the Leicester forward has scored six goals in his last eight games in all competitions and can look forward to meeting Brighton at King Power Stadium on Sunday.

Getty / Aim

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The top five players with the highest score

FPL

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Entertainment

21 Christmas items to advertise self-care

21 Christmas gifts to promote self-care

We love these products and hope you do too. E! has affiliate relationships so we may earn a small portion of the revenue from your purchases. Items are sold by the retailer, not E !.

We all agree it was a crazy year! Finding the perfect gift doesn’t have to be as stressful as 2020, however.

When looking for meaningful gifts for everyone on your list, it is important to consider ways you can encourage loved ones to invest more time in themselves. Whether they’re given a bath tray that can hold a glass (or bottle) of wine or facial oils to relieve tension on the face, or weighted blankets to encourage better sleep, your recipient will have no choice but to slowing down and setting aside something much needed. ” my time.”

From bath bombs and meditation pillows, to shaving gifts and beauty must-haves, we’ve selected 21 gifts to help those you love invest time in themselves.

See our tips below!

Categories
Science

Boris Johnson (hardly) bans inexpensive fuel home heating

Boris Johnson (hardly) bans affordable gas house heating

Guest essay by Eric Worrall

h / t Breitbart; Heating bills will quadruple under Boris Johnson’s recent climate brainstorming. Many people in the UK cannot afford heating bills on this scale. Around 10% of the British can already not afford their heating costs, even with government assistance and inexpensive gas heating.

The lie of the “green industrial revolution”

Boris Johnson’s plans to ban gas boilers and rely on hydrogen are more than insane.

I am bunch
December 9, 2020

Following Boris Johnson’s 10-point plan to promote the “green industrial revolution” in the UK, the government is proposing to ban gas boilers in new homes from 2025 to 2023. The 10-point plan also provides for replacement gas boilers to be phased out by 2035.

This leaves a big question hanging over any home in the UK: how are they kept warm? The fact that this question has no answer shows the lie at the heart of Johnson’s green industrial revolution. It is an anti-industrial revolution and it will cause great trouble.

Around 84 percent of British households are connected to the gas network. It sounds obvious to say that they should just switch to electricity. However, the retail price for gas is less than a quarter of the electricity price per kWh. Heating a house with electricity is therefore currently four times more expensive than heating a house with gas. Furthermore, the move merely shifts the question of where the UK is energy will come from.

…

Point two of the plan is “to generate 5 GW of low-carbon hydrogen production capacity for industry, transport, electricity and households by 2030 and to develop the first city to be fully hydrogen-heated by the end of the decade”. In contrast to natural gas, hydrogen is not an energy source – it has to be produced. There are two ways to produce hydrogen: electrolysis and steam reforming of natural gas.

Grid-scale electrolysis is simply uneconomical – an extremely conservative estimate of the requirements and costs of replacing natural gas with hydrogen, produced by electrolysis and powered by wind, would mean the UK has 20 times the number of wind farms and the wholesale cost of electricity would need would increase tenfold.

…

Read more: https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/12/09/the-lie-of-the-green-industrial-revolution/

When my family lived in the UK, in our quaint but rather older house, we did not have gas heating because our house was too far from the nearest available gas pipe. Even with the help of our wood burner, our home electric heater bills peaked at £ 600 / month ($ 800 / month) in February.

Boris Johnson has no problem paying his energy bills. If people are complaining about the new costs, maybe he thinks that they just aren’t making enough effort to save the planet, then they just don’t go along with it and do their part. Either way, the inconvenience will be short-term, right? The MET predicts that the UK will have a warm Mediterranean climate by 2050.

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Technology

Visa and MasterCard block Pornhub card funds for unlawful content material

Visa and MasterCard block Pornhub card payments for illegal content

Following a disturbing article in the New York Times last week about Pornhub, which hosted illegal content about rape and child sexual abuse, Visa and MasterCard have stopped using their cards for payments on the site. This means that you cannot currently subscribe to Pornhub Premium, renew your membership, or use the exclusive content for these services.

MasterCard has finally ceased using its cards on Pornhub and has announced that it will be investigating this issue on other websites. It’s worth noting that Pornhub parent company MindGeek runs more than a hundred adult entertainment sites. In the meantime, Visa will be on hold until an investigation is completed.

. @Mastercard just told me that the presence of illegal material on Pornhub has been confirmed so it will immediately stop using Mastercard on Pornhub. It will address the problem on other websites as well. This would not have happened without the survivors speaking courageously.

– Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) December 10, 2020

The message follows the actions of Pornhub earlier this week to block free video downloads (only paid clips can be downloaded) and only allow uploads from verified content creators in the future. Pornhub said the decisions made by these financial firms were “disappointing” as they continued their decision to block payments after the site announced its new restrictions.

As NYT columnist Nicholas Kristof noted in his article, Pornhub has not only hosted illegal content as well as revenge porn, but has suggested more of it to users through search suggestions. Videos that were recorded and uploaded without the consent of those in the footage have been on the platform for years and lead to long-lasting turbulence in the lives of these people.

This will undoubtedly hurt Pornhub’s finances; It remains to be seen whether the website will also be forced to take strict measures to strictly monitor the content it hosts. The site is said to receive more than 36 billion visits annually.

We have contacted Pornhub, Visa, and MasterCard to learn more and will update this post as soon as a response is received.

Categories
Science

Black holes get new powers after they spin quick sufficient

Black holes get new powers when they spin fast enough

General relativity is a deeply complex mathematical theory, but its description of black holes is surprisingly simple. A stable black hole can be described by only three properties: its mass, its electrical charge and its rotation or spin. Since black holes are unlikely to have much charge, only two properties are required. If you know the mass and spin of a black hole, you will know everything you need to know about the black hole.

This characteristic is often summarized by the no-hair phrase. In particular, the theorem states that once matter falls into a black hole, the only remaining property is mass. You could make a black hole out of hydrogen, chairs, or old National Geographic copies of Grandma’s attic and it wouldn’t make a difference. Mass is mass as far as general relativity is concerned. In either case, a black hole’s event horizon is perfectly smooth with no additional features. As Jacob Bekenstein said, black holes don’t have hair.

The conflict between relativity and quantum theory leads to the firewall paradox. Photo credit: Jeremy Perkins / Unsplash

For all its predictive power, general relativity has a problem with quantum theory. This is especially true for black holes. If the sentence without the hair is correct, the information contained in an object is destroyed when it crosses the event horizon. Quantum theory says that information can never be destroyed. The valid theory of gravity thus contradicts the valid quantum theory. This leads to problems like the firewall paradox, which cannot decide whether an event horizon should be hot or cold.

Various theories have been proposed to resolve this contradiction, often including extensions to the theory of relativity. However, the difference between standard relativity and these modified theories can only be seen in extreme situations, making them difficult to examine observationally. However, a new paper in Physical Review Letters shows how they can be examined by rotating a black hole.

The temperature in a room is an example of a scalar field. Photo credit: Lucas Vieira

Many modified theories of relativity have an additional parameter that is not included in standard theory. Known as a massless scalar field, Einstein’s model allows it to connect to quantum theory in non-contradicting ways. In this new work, the team investigated how such a scalar field relates to the rotation of a black hole. They found that a modified black hole is indistinguishable from the standard model at low rotations, but at high rotations the scalar field allows a black hole to have additional features. In other words, in these alternative models, rapidly rotating black holes can have hair.

The hairy aspects of rotating black holes would only be seen near the event horizon itself, but they would also affect the merging of black holes. As the authors point out, future gravitational wave observatories should be able to use rapidly rotating black holes to determine whether an alternative to general relativity is valid.

Einstein’s general theory of relativity has so far passed all the observation challenges but is likely to collapse in the most extreme environments in the universe. Studies like this show how we can discover the next theory.

Reference: Alexandru Dima et al. “Spin-Induced Spontaneous Scaling of the Black Hole.” Physical Review Letters 125.23 (2020): 231101.

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