Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Congratulations to Bryan Daugherty of 3 Washington Street, Nazareth, and the Lehigh and Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum in Bethlehem for winning our 2020 Holiday Lights Contest, Tour and Fundraiser, sponsored by Bobs Valley Wide Carpet Care,Blair Custom Homes Inc. and Saucon Source.

Daugherty used a lovely display of holiday lights to line the roof and siding of his Victorian-style home, and his trees and shrubs are decorated with festive and colorful lights.

The home received just over one-third of the nearly 500 votes cast, and beat out 26 other homes with festive displays.

Bryan Doughertys historic home at 3 Washington Street in Nazareth is the winning home in our 2020 Holiday Lights Contest.

The Lehigh and Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum at 705 Linden Street in Bethlehem is decked out with an array of multi-colored lights on the front and side of the building. It even has lights lining its railroad crossing signs.

The museum received more than 40 percent of the 329 votes cast, beating out the five other business submissions.

The Lehigh and Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum on Linden Street in Bethlehem is the winning business in our 2020 Holiday Lights Contest.

More than 800 votes were cast by our readers over the past week.

The winning entrants will receive wonderful prize baskets, which include gift cards totaling more than $100 to businesses such as Thai Thai II,ROOT Crafted Cocktail Mixers,SimpliciTea & Co., PEEPS & Co., Keystone Puband Apollo Grill.

Saucon Source thanks everyone who entered the contest and took time to vote in it. The festive efforts of our 33 entrants will result in a charitable donation to the Allentown Rescue Mission, theCenter for Animal Health and Welfareand theCommunity Food Bank for the Hellertown Area Ministerium.

We are also grateful to our friends at Bobs Valley Wide Carpet Care and Blair Custom Homes Inc. for helping put together the prize baskets our winners will receive as well as supporting this fundraiser with donation commitments. Their generosity is exemplary of how our local small business community never fails to support others in times of need.

Please stay tuned for the delivery of the prize baskets and donations in the near future.

Below is a map containing all of the contest entries, so you can treat yourself to another tour of the decorated homes and businessesand admire the displays of our two winners!

View 2020 Saucon Source Lights Tour in a full screen map

Congratulations to our winning entries in the 2020 Saucon Source Holiday Lights Contest! Bryan Daughertys home at 3 Washington Street in Nazareth borough was awarded the title of winning home for receiving the most votes, while the Lehigh and Keystone Valley Model Railroad Museum in Bethlehem received the grand prize in our business category.

The rest is here:
View the WINNERS of Saucon Sources 2020 Holiday Lights Contest - Saucon Source

Less is more in this newly built farmhouse nestled between Wilshire and Olympic boulevards in Beverly Hills. While many of its peers try to wow buyers with five-digit square footage and over-the-top amenities, this custom-built abode focuses on high-end finishes and warm, livable spaces.

The details

Location: 220 S. Wetherly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90211

Asking price: $5.695 million

Year built: 2020

Living area: 3,745 square feet with five bedrooms and five bathrooms on a 5,921-square-foot lot

Features: Black-and-white exterior; landscaped frontyard; European white oak floors; Carrara marble; San Sebastian limestone; 13-foot vaulted ceilings; open floor plan; chandelier-topped dining room; kitchen with tiered island; floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors; primary suite with private balcony; fountain-fed swimming pool; spa

About the area: In the 90211 ZIP Code, based on two sales, the median price for single-family homes in November was $2.608 million, up 11% year over year, according to CoreLogic.

Agents: Susan Perryman, Hilton & Hyland, (310) 261-1960

To submit a candidate for Home of the Week, send high-resolution color photos via Dropbox.com, permission from the photographer to publish the images and a description of the house to jack.flemming@latimes.com.

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Home of the Week: A brand-new farmhouse in Beverly Hills - Los Angeles Times

WINDSOR, ONT. -- A newly renovated home, and the surprises inside, saw a Windsor family brought together by tragedy awestruck by the promise of a new life together.

On Sunday, the keys were handed over to Terrence and Chantell Hurst, and the six Allen children the newlywed couple has taken in as their own, for a home donated by the childrens great-grandfather and made new again with the support of the community.

The Erie Street-home was renovated for the family after the Hursts decided to adopt the six orphaned Allen children following the sudden loss of the childrens parents, Carmen and Adam Allen in early September.

"This is like my dream home," said Chantell Hurst, cycling between giddy smiles and teary eyes. "Its beautiful and its truly stunning."

Caster Custom Homes partnered with 26 different businesses, foundations and donors to renovate a donated Erie Street home for the Hurst an Allen family. Sunday, December 20, 2020. (Ricardo Veneza/CTV Windsor)

Chantell knew the family and would come over to do their hair. When she heard about the familys tragedy, she felt a calling to do more.

"The Lord just laid something on my heart," said Chantell. "When they were at their house, I was doing their hair and when I realized they werent being placed anywhere, the Lord put it on my heart and then I called my husband and he just said, 'If thats what you want'."

The act saw the community respond.

Dan Caster, the president of Caster Custom Homes, worked to bring partners together to give the family a new home after he was moved by the Hursts generosity to keep the brothers and sisters together.

He has had his own brush with heartache.

"I almost lost a daughter five-and-a-half years ago in my arms," said Caster. "You realize how precious children are and you realize what life is all about. Its not all about you anymore, its about your children."

The Caster Group along with 26 partner businesses, foundations and donors came together to renovate the home donated by the Allens great grandfather.

Caster hopes the new home will be the backdrop of great new memories.

"Its all about family to me," said Caster. "I just hope they feel welcome. I hope they feel loved. Love from the community, love from the people who put all their energy forth to do this and love from our partners that helped us to renovate the home."

Not only did the business community step up but, so did the familys church community.

New Life Fellowship Bishop Paul Riley says the church community rallied around the family in their time of need.

"For something like this to happen, this is nothing but the perfect example of what love of a community and people is," said Riley.

One more surprise

The surprises did not end with the tour of all the new features of the redone house.

Caster gathered the blended family at the dinner table for a final surprise revealing a cheque for $100,000 from the Alan Quesnel Family Foundation.

"This is not at all what I was expecting," said Terrence. "Im just speechless."

Some of the Allen children held their head in their hands in disbelief while Chantell wiped tears from her eyes.

"Were blessed. We both have jobs. We dont have $100,000 I dont think weve ever even seen $100,000," said Chantell. "But, to know that you can just send your children to college, to university, to not let them want."

Chantell says the couple are still working through the adoption process but, are humbled and elated to be spending Christmas together under the same roof.

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'This is like my dream home': Renovated home donated to Windsor family brought together by tragedy - CTV News Windsor

A modern haven house with a big personality awaits you and your loved ones this holiday. This sublime home is complete with extensive updates and amenities suited for all of your holiday entertaining needs including a Henrybuilt kitchen with an additional cleverly appointed lower level kitchen, a secret floating bar, and fantastic indoor-outdoor flow with a heated covered patio and a killer roof-top deck and big walls for the art collector. Reflect upon the year with your loved ones in the intimate and private garden, the crowning gem of the home, with multiple seating areas, lovely paintings, LED lighting and steel-framed custom water feature-completely gated and secure. A new weight bearing roof awaits the arrival of Santa and his reindeer on Christmas Eve. Additional updates include a pneumatic elevator, powder room, floating stairs, 2-car tandem garage with electric charger, solar panels, interior vacuum with hide-a-hose feature, custom exterior railings, and smart-home alarm system!

Unwrap all of the magic this home has to offer at the website here >>

Love this home? Vote for it to help make it the Geek Home of the Month, and check out other featured Geek Homes of the Day here.

Contact Laura Halliday at Laura.Halliday@rsir.com or +1 206.399.5842 for more information about this home.

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Unwrap the Magic | Haven House in Seattle - GeekWire

Randall JasonArmstrong, (better known as "Randy") age 60, of Holladay, Tennessee, died in a tragic car accident on Friday, December 18th, 2020.

Randy was a skilled guitarist and songwriter, who made a big name for himself in the Central California music scene before moving to Tennessee in 1993. Randy left his mark on his hometown, and much of Middle Tennessee as a master carpenter and general contractor, building custom homes. He was an avid outdoorsman, who enjoyed hunting, camping, and fishing with his grandson, Jude.

He is preceded in death by his father, Jerry Riley Armstrong. He is survived by his mother, Jemma Armstrong; daughter, Tara Armstrong (Sean Gurdon); grandson, Jude Gurdon; sister, Alicia Armstrong (Corey) Curtis; brother, Donald Armstrong; nephew, Riley Lashlee and niece, Bergan Lashlee.

Funeral services will be conducted 1 p.m. Wednesday, December 23, 2020 at Bond Memorial Chapel with Les Stallings officiating. For those who plan to attend, please wear a mask and practice social distancing.

Visitation will be one hour prior to service time Wednesday at Bond Memorial Chapel, N. Mt. Juliet Road and Weston Drive, Mt. Juliet, TN. (615) 773-2663. http://www.bondmemorial.com

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Randall Jason Armstrong | Obituaries | wilsonpost.com - Wilson Post

The concept for a whole tiny townhouse complex made of these small homes was dreamt up by a Vancouver home builder

A Vancouver home builder working to provide a solution to homelessness in the city got tired of waiting around for laws to accommodate the project and built a prototype.

Bryn Davidson is the co-owner of Lanefab Design/Build, a company that builds custom homes and infill mini-homes or laneway houses. A few years ago Davidson heard about the Partners on Dwelling (POD) program based in Portland, Oregon which is now the Kenton Womens Village. The POD program facilitated the building of small sleeping pods that could be grouped closely together, it was this idea that got Davidson thinking his company could do something similar.

His vision was a house with a footprint of less than 10 square meters and less than 4.5 meters tall, dimensions small enough their construction would not require a building permit. These tiny homes could then be butted up against each other and be kept on empty lots throughout the city. The smallest version of these homes would be just for sleeping in but Davidsons design allows for the addition of kitchen and bathroom modules.

In an interview with Vancouver Is Awesome, Davidson said although he had been working on the project for a few years, things really started to heat up in September when residents near Strathcona Park protested what they viewed as government inaction on the homeless population staying in the park.

"That's when I really just started working on it, doing more drawings and started putting out drawings for concepts of tiny house villages on the sites of these community gardens, Davidson said. People are talking about all these different things but there wasn't a whole lot that was actually happening.

Davidson shared his design process extensively on his Twitter account. Renderings of the homes placed on the front lawn of Vancouver City Hall eventually garnered the attention of city counsellors Jean Swanson and Pete Fry, who pushed for the tiny home concept to be considered as an option for emergency housing.

In October he took his renderings to city council but the results of this attention were somewhat lacklustre for Davidson. When his idea came back to council after being studied for the projects feasibility, staff ranked down the idea. Davidson says this was in part to building code and zoning hurdles the project would have to go through.

Aside from the Strathcona Park protests, 2020 highlighted the need for additional sheltering for Vancouvers homeless population in a big way.

"The COVID situation exacerbated everything because the shelter capacities were reduced, Davidson said. We saw the Balmoral and other buildings were basically closed and emptied so we had this kind of perfect storm of things that were pushing people onto the street."

Davidson added it is not just a Downtown Eastside problem, that just happens to be where it is most visible but the pandemic has exacerbated these already dangerous issues.

On Nov. 5, Davidson started construction on the first prototype of a tiny home in a parking lot on Annacis Island. On Dec. 10, Davidson started a GoFundMe campaign to help finance the project. Thirteen days later the campaign has reached $2,740 raised of its $8,000 goal.

Ten days after creating the GoFundMe campaign, Davidson along with his girlfriend and son spent the night in the home.

Without any heat hooked up it was still warmer than the almost freezing temps outside, Davidson wrote of the experience on Twitter. We didnt need to zip up the sleeping bags

Even with the prototype nearing completion, Davidsons mission is far from over. The next steps include forming a partnership with a registered charity and getting the home in front of city officials so they can see a real-life example of what he proposed at council months earlier.

Davidson plans to accomplish this with the help of the Overdose Prevention Society.

When the prototype is completed, the tiny home will be moved to the OPS location on 58 and 62 East Hastings where it will serve as a support building for an Indigenous artist in residence at the society.

Sarah Blyth, a founding member of the OPS, says she is more than willing to showcase the tiny home, saying she is in support of showcasing all sorts of housing solutions.

"If you didn't have a place to sleep and you had to sleep in terribly cold and rough conditions, any human being needs a place to sleep that is warm and comfortable, Blyth said. When you don't have that life can be pretty difficult."

Blyth also hopes the tiny house will draw the attention of city officials and bureaucrats so they can get their eyes on it and have a real conversation about the possibilities.

Blyth added that she has asked unhoused people in the DTES about what they think of the tiny homes idea and the response has been purely positive.

The current version of one tiny house Bryn Davidson says comes with a $20,000 price tag. A number that could be significantly reduced by partnerships with charities and assistance from the City of Vancouver.

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Tiny townhouse project potential housing solution for Vancouver's DTES - Vancouver Is Awesome

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The following deed transfers were recorded at the Ontario County Clerks Office in October 2020.

1173 Earls Drive: Amanda L. Tuttle and David M. Tuttle to Amanda L. Tuttle, $0.

8 Moraine Point: Elizabeth A. Missick and Gregory J. Missick to Laura Marie DiMarco and Michael Andrew Leshley, $571,000.

1160 Cork Road: Norbert W. Kaiser to Hamid Kamal, $250,000.

6969 Wyndham Hill: S and J Morrell Inc. to Beverly J. Lanoue, $299,982.

6984 Hackney Circle: Terrill L. Morgan to Daniel Gajewski and Janine M. Gajewski, $459,500.

6608 Boughton Hill Road: Betsy H. Riedman, Betsy Holden Riedman and David J. Riedman to 6608 Boughton Hill Road Investments LLC, $950,000.

3 Beach Flint Way: Renee L. Paulsen and Peter C. Paulsen to Georgia K. Queri and Thomas K. Queri, $440,000.

41 Stoneleigh Trail: Sevasti R. Stathopoulos and Constantino G. Stathopoulos to Sevasti R. Stathopoulos, $1.

1049 Warters Cove: Sarah L. Cammilleri to Gregory Hoffman-Fragale and Chad Hoffman-Fragale, $550,000.

23 Kent Drive: Nancy L. Bethel and Kirk J. Bethel to Marney C. Womble, $190,000.

65 Barchan Dune Rise: Jennifer Paszkiewicz and Jeffrey M. Paszkiewicz to Vadym Vasyliev, $901,000.

7216 Lane Road: Carol F. Forest and Carol F. Robinson to Michael Yeaple, $216,000.

6708 Setters Run: Julie MacAnn and Gregory MacAnn to Melanie C. Caccamise and Todd R. Caccamise, $321,000.

395 Fisher Road: Jay A. Yates to Heidi C. Piper, $0.

Fisher Road: Jay A. Yates to Heidi C. Piper, $0.

916 Fenwick Lane: Naresh K. Vedula to National Transfer Services LLC, $435,000.

916 Fenwick Lane: National Transfer Services LLC to Jeffrey A. Richardson, $435,000.

192 Miles Cutting Lane: Sheri Kobryn and Roman Kobryn to Sheri Kobryn, $0.

25 Barchan Dune Rise: Barbara S. Moore and William B. Moore to Barbara S. Moore, $0.

921 Taylor Rise: Jeffrey J. Salzburg and Colleen M. Salzburg to Christine Karaoguz and Adam A. Karaoguz, $450,000.

155 Huxley Way: Sarah S. Brown and Bruce E. Brown to Laura OBrien and Robert Marks, $236,000.

7443 Summerhill Lane: Woodstone Custom Homes Inc. to Thomas A. Crescuillo and Irene M. Crescuillo, $401,086.

93 Barchan Dune Rise: David J. Klein and Dawn K. Klein to Michael S. Hess, $1,630,000.

6830 Citation Way: Salvatore M. Guglielmino and Donna L. Guglielmino to Chad W. Boehly and Angelina M. Boehly, $390,000.

7243 Hertfordshire Way: Nancy L. Vaniseghem and Kerry E. Vaniseghem to Michele Beachner and Brett E. Beachner, $410,000.

71 Barchan Dune Rise: Rosemary Zaepfel to Thomas Delaney Jr., $895,000.

242 Haywood Glen: Caitlin R. Magiera and Randall J. Magiera to Joseph J. Seiler, $425,500.

48 Hillcrest Drive: Thompson Living Trust to Zachary Byron, $270,000.

4 Beach Flint Way: Barbara K. Bernier and Kurt J. Bernier to Shawn Marshall and Wendy C. Marshall, $414,000.

6931 Wyndham Hill: Redding Living Trust to John C. Emerson, $400,000.

6741 Falcons Point: Patricia J. Popielec and Michael D. Popielec to Kalagh M. Campbell and Jonathan Caswell, $927,500.

6689 Golf View Rise: Melanie M. Butler and Melanie L. McNally to Daniel Megelick and Aimee Fried-Hardy, $451,500.

6670 Golf View Rise: Lois S. Palomaki and John M. Palomaki to Paul Nardozzi, $545,000.

324 Meadowlark Lane: Debra S. Stirone to Nicholas Samuel Farnsworth, $309,900.

12 Ambassador Drive: Sandra K. Ayers Estate to Amanda Robinson and Friend R. Olsen, $168,500.

6945 Wyndham Hill: Lori J. Thompson and Russell D. Thompson to Mary Anne Kiernan and Robert E. Lazeski, $407,500.

1277 Wellington Drive: Nancy Zavaglia and Robert Zavaglia to Sandra J. Deutsch, $224,000.

6401 Erica Trail: Trina Viggiano and Dan Viggiano III to Haley S. Erwin and William K. Erwin, $392,000.

Log Cabin Road: Martha J. Rossi and Thomas M. Rossi to Laura Anne Byrne and Patrick Norman Byrne, $20,000.

7434 Summerhill Lane: Woodstone Custom Homes Inc. to Joseph M. Pilger and Brittany A. Pilger, $555,730.

1169 Wellington Drive: Brenda Randall to Mitchell James Long and Amanda Kamarck Long, $390,000.

1530 Brace Road: Susan Brown and Susan Ricci to Vanessa I. Wooden and Steven E. Wooden, $305,000.

20 School St.: Robert Chiapperino to ESL FCU, $100,000.

32 School St.: Victor Coal and Lumber Co. Inc. and Elaine Bliss Estate to ESL FCU, $691,600.

259 County Road 9: Christina Stewart and Mitchell R. Stewart II to Christine Schillaci, $387,500.

1226 The Grove: Catherine E. Varalli to Kendra A. Kosten, $125,000.

0 W. Main St. and state Route 96: James H. Northrop to Bruce Stenglein, $7,000.

State Route 96: Lake Edge LLC to Victor East Holding Co. LLC, $535,000.

0 School St.: Michael K. Bliss to ESL FOC, $68,400.

1291 Blossom Drive: CED II LLC to PREA LLC, $50,000.

6829 Citation Way: Robert O. Bailey to Robert A. Bailey, $0.

7359 Sachem Trail: Paul M. Nardozzi to Marlene B. Jones and Jeffrey M. Jones, $422,000.

4 Medford Way: McStay Family Wealth Trust to Kiersten Palmer, $0.

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DEED TRANSFERS: Town of Victor - MPNnow.com

Following the war between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in the 1990s, deminers spent decades and tens of millions of dollars clearing the former battleground of land mines and unexploded ordnance.

Now, after 44 days of renewed fighting, they have to start again.

According to a survey of local media reports, at least 11 people have been killed by leftover explosives following the cessation of hostilities on November 10.

In the deadliest single incident, four members of an Azerbaijani family who were visiting their former home in the region of Fuzuli were killed when their car hit a land mine on November 28, the Azerbaijani general prosecutors office reported.

The only member of the Russian peacekeeping mission who has thus far been killed in action was a sapper who died as a result of an explosion on December 17.

Among the other victims: an Azerbaijani sapper, another Azerbaijani civilian visiting his former home in Fuzuli, an Azerbaijani colonel working with Russian and Armenian colleagues to recover bodies from the battlefield, two Armenian sappers, and an Azerbaijani soldier.

Until the war started this September, the last fatality as a result of unexploded ordnance on what used to be the Armenian side of the line of control was registered in 2018. The last time someone other than a deminer died was in 2015. On the Azerbaijani side, the last fatal accident was recorded in January.

But following the war, in which Azerbaijan managed to retake a large part of the lands it had lost to Armenians in the first war, a large swath of territory has again been rendered deadly. Much of that is due to the use by both sides of cluster munitions, which contain small bomblets intended to explode on impact but which have a high failure rate, leaving duds that act like anti-personnel landmines for years and even decades, Human Rights Watch said in a December 11 report on their use in the recent conflict.

There also has been some apparent laying of new anti-tank and anti-personnel land mines. The Azerbaijani prosecutors office said that the explosion that killed the family of four was the result of an anti-tank land mine laid by retreating Armenian forces. The Russian Defense Ministry said that the explosion that killed the Azerbaijani colonel (which also wounded a Russian peacekeeper) was caused by a mine. Halo Trust, the UK-based organization that carries out demining in Armenian-controlled Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding territories, said in a post-war report that [n]ew use of anti-vehicle mines has also been reported and that [t]he extent of landmine contamination from the current conflict is unknown.

Neither side has acknowledged using land mines in the recent conflict.

A spokesperson for the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) blamed Armenia for laying the mines that have been found on territory now controlled by Baku. The Armenian army, while being pushed away, were putting mines almost everywhere in order to delay the Azerbaijani army, the spokesperson, Sabina Sakarova, said in response to written questions from Eurasianet.

There are several countries and agencies already involved in the UXO-clearing process. On the Armenian-controlled side of the line of contact, Russian peacekeepers have been clearing up material, while Halo is carrying out assessments of the work that lies ahead.

On the Azerbaijani-controlled side, ANAMAs work is being supplemented by Turkish military mine-clearance experts. Azerbaijans Defense Ministry reported that 136 Turkish soldiers arrived in early December and have begun training their Azerbaijani counterparts. The Turkish soldiers themselves also will be involved in clearing Azerbaijans newly retaken territories.

The amount of ordnance reported to have already been cleared since the war ended is substantial.

Russian military engineers had neutralized more than 6,000 explosive objects as of December 17, a peacekeeping officer in Karabakh said. ANAMA says that the explosives it has found as of December 20 include 1,376 pieces of unexploded ordnance, 4,507 pieces of anti-personnel mines and 1,344 pieces of anti-tank mines.

But deminers on both sides are only beginning to assess the work ahead of them.

To clean up its newly retaken territories, ANAMA is planning a substantial expansion, to increase its staff from under 500 to on the order of 12,000-15,000, Sakarova said. Halo says it is planning to roughly double its staff, from 130 before the war up to 250.

Azerbaijani officials have given varying timelines as to how long clearing their side will take, but ANAMAs head of operations, Idris Ismayilov, has said that "it will take up to 10 years to completely demine the territory but people would be able to return to their ancestral lands in between three and five years.

Halo has not given an estimate of how long it will take to render the Armenian-controlled land safe, and organization officials did not respond to requests by Eurasianet for comment. But in an interview with local news website EVN Report, the organizations director for Europe, Nick Smart, said that to clean up a single site an ammunition dump just outside the regional capital of Stepanakert that was destroyed during the war would take two years and $2.6 million.

The organization was still working on assessments of the cities of Stepanakert, Martakert, and Martuni. It hadnt even started yet on surveying rural areas, but I would imagine there will be a big problem there, Smart said. Planting season will be on us in no time. Farmers are going to want to get on and plow their fields and to do so right now would be very dangerous.

See the article here:
Following war, Armenia and Azerbaijan reckon with unexploded ordnance - Eurasianet

There are those who would take a gamepad over mouse and keyboard combo any day. It may be necessary for their hacking and slashing agenda, and there's certainly merit to using literally anything else over a mouse and keyboard for driving games. But if you want to exhibit any level of accuracy, a responsive gaming mouse is the best piece of kit in your arsenal to land those winning headshots.It's

This year has seen an explosion of 'esports' branded gaming mice coming out, whatever that really means. As such, the latest trend has seen companies fighting for the crown of lightest gaming mouse, while DPI figures have also been steadily climbing to reach unnecessarily astronomical heights. I mean, how many dots per inch do we need, really? Chill out guys.

Anyway, here are the nominees for this years best gaming mouse. While these nominations may not be perfect for everyone's grip style, they each have something special to offerbe it heaps of customization like the Naga Pro, or cheap, sleek, ambidextrous chops like that of Logitech's G203.

Logitech G203One of the most affordable big brand gaming mice around today, the G203 does the bare minimum and does it in style. It's sleek, it's light, and it's certainly one for smaller hands. But into that tiny shell, it manages to pack a more than capable 8,000 DPI, and sports enough buttons for the standard FPS player, though it may be unacceptable to an MMO enthusiast. Still, you can't argue at such impeccable quality for that priceplus, you still even get tri-zone Lightsync RGB.

Razer Naga ProThe Naga Pro comes with three interchangeable panels, each with a different number of programmable buttonsone for every occasion. While it doesn't follow the feather-weight trend, it makes up for its 117g with excellent battery life, extreme speeds, pinpoint accuracy, and boatloads of comfort. Unfortunately you do have to put up with that edgy Razer style, and Razer Synapse software which aren't to everyone's tastes. Plus there's a bit of a hefty price tag, especially if you want a dock charger for it.

Razer DeathAdder Pro V2A little more reserved than the Naga Pro, but just as nippy with a 20k sensor. The DeathAdder Pro V2 manages to marry its no-frills 6 button setup, and simple ergonomics with the flawless tracking Razer prides itself on. It's not the lightest, stepping in to the ring at 2.9oz, but it sure packs a punch. Don't punch it back, though, because the buttons are a little flimsy. Still, it's big enough for larger hands, unlike the G203, but does come with a much mightier price tag.

New Year's Eve is the unveiling for the winner of each category, so check then to find out which of these nominee bagged Best Gaming Mouse of 2020. And while you wait, feel free to browse our list of best gaming mice so far, to get an idea of which of these might take the crown as queen of the gaming rodents.

PC Gamer Hardware Awards 2020: The nominees

Logitech G203 LIGHTSYNC Wired...

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PC Gamer Hardware Awards: What is the best gaming mouse of 2020? - PC Gamer

Our deficiencies have always driven us, even among our distant ancestors, back in the last Ice Age. Having neither the speed and strength to hunt large prey, nor sharp teeth and claws to tear flesh, we improvised spears, flint knives, scrapers. Lacking a thick pelt, we took the fur of other animals. As the ice receded, we devised more means of survival and comfort stone dwellings, plows, wheeled vehicles. All these inventions allowed small oases of civilization to be wrested from a natural wilderness that seemed endless.

The idea of a natural world that dwarfed humanity and its creations long persisted, even into modern times only to run, lately, into concerns that climate was changing, and species were dying through our actions. How could that be, with us so small, and nature so large?

Now a new study in Nature by a team of scientists from the Weizmann Institute in Israel upends that perspective. Our constructions have now indeed, spookily, just this year attained the same mass as that of all living organisms on Earth. The human enterprise is growing fast, too, while nature keeps shrinking. The science-fiction scenario of an engineered planet is already here.

It seems a simple comparison, and yet is fiendishly difficult in practice. But this team has practice in dealing with such impossible challenges. A couple of years ago they worked out the first part of the equation, the mass of all life on Earth including that of all the fish in the sea, microbes in the soil, trees on land, birds in the air, and much more besides. Earths biosphere now weighs a little less than 1.2 trillion tonnes (of dry mass, not counting water), trees on land making up most of it. It was something like double that before humans started clearing forests and it is still diminishing.

Heavyweights. Andreas C. Fischer / shutterstock

Now, the team has delved into the statistics of industrial production and mass flows of all kinds, and reconstructed the growth, from the beginning of the 20th century, of what they call anthropogenic mass. This is all the things we build houses, cars, roads, airplanes, and myriad other things. The pattern they found was strikingly different. The stuff we build totted up to something like 35 billion tonnes in the year 1900, rising to be roughly double that by the middle of the 20th century. Then, that burst of prosperity after the second world war, termed the Great Acceleration, and our stuff increased several-fold to a little over half a trillion tonnes by the end of the century. In the past 20 years, it has doubled again, to be equivalent to, this year, the mass of all living things. In coming years, the living world will be far outweighed threefold by 2040, they say, if current trends hold.

Most of the weight is in concrete. Lijphoto / shutterstock

What is this stuff that we make? It is now of extraordinary, and exploding, diversity. The number of technospecies now far exceeds the estimated 9 million biological species on Earth, and counting them exceeds even the formidable calculating powers of this team. But our stuff can be broken down into ingredients, of which concrete and aggregates take a gargantuan share about four-fifths. Then come bricks, asphalt, and metals. On this scale, plastics are a minor ingredient and yet their mass is still greater, now, than that of all animals on Earth.

Its a revealing, meticulous study, and nicely clear about what the measurements include and exclude. They do not include, for instance, the rock and earth bulldozed and landscaped as foundations for our constructions, nor all of the waste rock generated in mining the ingredients: currently, nearly a third of a trillion tonnes of such material is shifted each year. Add in the Earth material that we use and abuse in other ways, in plowing farmland, and letting sediment pile up behind dams, and humans have cumulatively used and discarded some 30 trillion tonnes of Earths various resources.

Whichever way that you cut the cake, the teamsfinal point in its groundbreaking study hits home, and chimes with that of another recent analysis we both worked on. Since the mid-20th century, the Earth has been set on a new, human-driven trajectory one that is leaving the stable conditions of the Holocene Epoch, and is entering the uncertain, and rapidly changing, new world of the Anthropocene. The weight of evidence, here, seems unarguable.

This article byJan Zalasiewicz, Professor of Palaeobiology, University of Leicester and Mark Williams, Professor of Palaeobiology, University of Leicester is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Tipping point? Humanitys stuff now weighs more than all living things - The Next Web