Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Just a year ago, Jeep had dispatched over its then all-new, gas-powered Gladiator Rubicon to us. Recently, we had the opportunity to test the diesel version of what is the only four-door 44 convertible in the market. Like to climb, trail and crawl, or haul tons of cargo, or go water fording? In an open-air vehicle? Then this should be your ride!

Under the hood of the body-on-frame 2021 Gladiator sits the optional 3.0-liter turbo-diesel V6 engine ($4,000), putting out 260 horsepower at 3,600 rpm and 442 pounds-feet of torque at 2,800 rpm. The go-anywhere capable vehicle, with high and low transfer case gears, is mated to a typical eight-speed auto gearbox.

Our test drive, the Overland, was a standout dual three-piece hardtop and a soft-top with removable doors, exposed hinges, fold-down windshield, front/rear hooks and tubular side steps. That this is a Jeep is even more apparent from the traditional seven-slot, keystone-shaped grille, flanked by rounded halogen headlights, square tail lamps, and a flat, clamshell hood reaching down to trapezoidal fender flares.

The 44 is designed for off-road conditions such as traction, ground clearance, maneuverability, articulation and water fording. Its skid plates will protect the front, transfer case and fuel tank.

The cabin sticks to the original Jeeps handy capability with 103 cubic feet of interior room. Storage cubicles are scattered throughout, including a bin under the rear seat floor, as are several 120-volt outlets. The instrument cluster is simply laid out with a rounded speedometer, tachometer and temperature, fuel, oil and volt gauges.

Also included are the dual AC, manual tilt/telescopic steering column, cloth seats, six-way manual driver and four-way front passenger seats, push-button start, 7-inch Uconnect touchscreen, leather steering wheel, lockable console/door armrest and a 5-foot cargo bed. A roll-up tonneau cover is available for $595.

Standard safety features are the dual front and side airbags, side curtain airbag, four-wheel anti-lock brakes, electronic stability, traction and trailer-sway control, anti-roll system, rearview camera, hill-start assist, tire pressure monitoring system and daytime running lights.

Except for its slightly loud road noise and engine, diehard Jeep aficionados will love the amazing talents of the rugged Gladiator. Simultaneously, the quintessential SUV with over seven decades of tradition is adept on neighborhood streets. Its off-road and on-road prowess makes the diesel version a remarkable and much-needed addition to the Jeep roster.

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GLADIATOR DIESEL IS A WELCOME ADDITION TO JEEP LINEUP - Osprey Observer

Staying connected with older adult friends and relatives can be difficult, but dont assume video chats are out of the question. For those who are hard of hearing, video can help them understand by reading your lips and expression.

Studies have shown that isolation and the absence of positive social relationships increases health risks for all of us, said John J. Wernert, M.D., MHA, psychiatrist and executive medical director of Norton Behavioral Medicine. For the older adults who are at especially high risk of severe complications from COVID-19, its important to remember that social distancing is really physical distancing. Staying connected without contact is vital.

If your friend or family member has a laptop, tablet or smartphone, you may want to arrange a contactless pickup to configure the device before returning it. Zoom, for instance, has become synonymous with video chatting during the pandemic, but it is far from the only option.

Rather than install new software and go through configurations, consider the video chat options that are available through a platform your friend or family member is already using.

Facebook Messenger, for instance, has Messenger Rooms that allow video calls. Create a room and invite people by emailing a link. They dont even need to have a Facebook account. Rooms also can be started from Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp.

Skype has been around long enough that many may feel comfortable with it even if they havent used it in a while. Much like the Messenger Rooms, Skypes Meet Now feature allows users to invite others to a group video call whether they are in Skype already or not.

Remember the year dad went to Europe and you set him up with WhatsApp to stay in touch without running up big cell phone bills? In addition to creating Messenger Rooms from inside WhatsApp, the platform offers its own video group calling for up to eight participants. The WhatsApp mobile phone app is available through the App Store or Google Play.

FaceTime has a group video chat option, but its not as easy as some of the others that allow you to send a link. If your friend or family member isnt comfortable with more complicated instructions, set up the Group FaceTime call yourself and ring them in.

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Video chat options for staying connected are more than Zoom - Norton Healthcare

When hinges creak in doorless chambers and strange and frightening sounds echo through the halls Whenever candlelights flicker where the air is deathly still, that is the time when ghosts are present. If youre a Foolish mortal who loves all 999 Happy haunts from The Haunted Mansion, then youre definitely going to want to attend this sance in The Haunted Mansion: Call of the Spirits Game. Designed by Prospero Hall and released by FunkoGames, players will travel through the mansion trying to collect spirits from different groupings and have more of them than anyone else by the end of the game.

The game might come from Funko, but that doesnt mean it looks like Funko Pop! figures. The character artwork is very faithful to the classic Disney Parks attraction and the back of the package offers a glimpse of the fun in store.

A very nice touch, the underside of the lid becomes the stretching portrait room and the sides of the box are decked with portraits from the mansions gallery.

Even the backside of the gameboard is themed.

The colorful board splits the mansion into six rooms connected by a rotating endless hallway with Madame Leotas sance room in the center. In terms of moving your pawn, players only really move between the sance room and the endless hallway.

The pawns are modeled after the bat stanchions in the queue. Playable by up to 6 players, there are 6 colored pawns to chose from.

During each players turn, they can make three actions, which are listed on a handy reference card that each player receives with their pawn. The gameplay sounds a little complicated, but its not really once you get the swingof things.

It would be a pretty big deck of cards if there were 999, so the gamemakers have simplified it down to just 99. There are 7 types of ghosts in addition to stretching portraits and special ghosts in the deck of ghost cards. Heres what they mean by that, starting with the stretching portraits.

With 4 stretching room portraits in total, a player would need to collect 3 of each to get 15 points from the set at the end of the game. Have 1 of each of the 4 different portraits and you also get 18 points. Generally speaking, having 1 of each and several sets would be an easy way to get a lot of points.

The other sets are a little easier to earn points with. The paintings and artifacts, for example, give you 3 points for just 1 card and 12 for 3 cards. But the mansion is full of tricks. If the game ends and you had just two, you wouldnt get any points for your effort in this set.

As you can see, the artwork on these cards recreates memorable moments from the attraction in a fun way. Musician Ghosts is a set through which a player could try and get all of the singing busts.

The dancing ghosts pair up couples from the ballroom.

The ballroom ghosts feature other characters from that famous scene.

Tea party ghosts are having fun in the graveyard.

Groom ghosts have met their untimely end as a direct consequence of their marriage to the one and only Constance Hatchaway.

Grim grinning ghosts are the last themed collection with a few faces you may have seen jumping out at you from behind a tombstone.

Special ghosts come with extra rules for adding points at the end. In the Madame Leota card, theres an eyeball symbol, which references the Haunt Cards. What a perfect segue!

Haunt cards are bad and take away points from your final total, so you want to have little to no haunt cards by the end of the game. You receive them a variety of ways. Sometimes the instructions on a ghost card you pick up come with a requirement to draw a haunt card, or being in a room that is occupied by the hitchhiking ghosts is another way.

Thats right, this game has hitchhiking ghosts, so beware! The figure travels through the board as dictated by event cards, which are drawn at the start of each round. When youre trying to collect ghost cards from a room with the hitchhiking ghosts, you end up taking on more haunt cards. Also just stopping by their room will earn you at least one. These guys are bad news!

These are event cards. They tell you which way the hitchhiking ghosts move at the start of a round and which direction they go. When you set up the game, you find the Final Round card and shuffle it within the bottom 3 cards of the event deck, so you dont actually know the last turn is about to come. Otherwise youd have time to Make final arrangements and adjust your cards in advance of your last turn and that would just be unfair.

Since each player gets to make 3 actions during their turn, a floating candelabra helps keep track of whos turn is first on the next event. Its not hard to remember when its just 2 players, but if you had a big party, this would definitely come in handy.

You may have noticed one of the actions you can take in a turn is Duel. The way that works is if another player grabs a card you need, you could challenge them to a duel. There are two bidding dials with a rotating number between 0 and 3. Each player secretly moves the dial to the number of haunt cards they are willing to receive to take or keep possession of that card. Whoever picks the highest number wins, but in the event of a tie, the player who already had the card just keeps it.

At the start of each event, ghost cards are distributed around the board starting with the room the hitchhiking ghosts are in. The number of ghost cards varies depending on how many players are in the game. Its always the number of players +3, which is easy to remember. Then players use their turn by either staying where they are and spinning the endless hallway or moving around it until they reach the room they want to be in. Each action eats up one of your 3 allowances per event, so choose them wisely. Drawing a ghost card is considered an action, but hypothetically if you were already in a room with 3 cards, you could pick all 3 cards as your 3 actions.

To recap, youre trying to strategically collect ghost cards to get more points by the end of the game than any other player while also trying to avoid haunt cards and have the least amount of them in the end. It can feel a little overwhelming when youre first reading through the instructions, but by the end of the first event round, everyone will feel comfortable with the game play. Its a lot of fun for fans of Disneys The Haunted Mansionand players will want to Hurry back again and again for more.

Amazon.com: Funko Disney The Haunted Mansion Call of The Spirits Board Game

Alex has been blogging about Disney films since 2009 after a lifetime of fandom. He joined the Laughing Place team in 2014 and covers films across all of Disneys brands, including Star Wars, Marvel, and Fox, in addition to books, music, toys, consumer products, and food. You can hear his voice as a member of the Laughing Place Podcast and his face can be seen on Laughing Places YouTube channel where he unboxes stuff.

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Game Review: "The Haunted Mansion: Call of the Spirits" from Funko Games - LaughingPlace.com

[12/10/20 - 09:48 AM]Peacock Orders More Episodes of Timely and Topical Late-Night Series "The Amber Ruffin Show"The critically-acclaimed series is currently streaming on Peacock with brand new episodes dropping tomorrow, December 11 and next Friday, December 18.[via press release from Peacock]

PEACOCK ORDERS MORE EPISODES OF TIMELY AND TOPICAL LATE-NIGHT SERIES "THE AMBER RUFFIN SHOW"

Peacock has ordered 10 more episodes of the break-out late-night series, THE AMBER RUFFIN SHOW.

Watch/share Amber Ruffin's video announcement:

The critically-acclaimed series is currently streaming on Peacock with brand new episodes dropping tomorrow, December 11 and next Friday, December 18.

The show will return after the holidays with new episodes dropping every Friday beginning January 8, 2021.

"We are thrilled to get the chance to bring you more episodes, because each episode is a new opportunity to have another margarita," said Ruffin.

THE AMBER RUFFIN SHOW showcases Amber's signature smart and silly take on the week's news. No matter what's happening in the world, Amber responds to it with a charming mix of seriousness, nonsense, and evening gowns. THE AMBER RUFFIN SHOW is a topical late-night show with just the good parts - the comedy.

Emmy and WGA Award nominee Amber Ruffin is a writer and performer for NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" and was the first African American female to write for a late-night network talk show in the U.S. She wrote and performed on Comedy Central's "Detroiters" and was a regular narrator on the cabler's "Drunk History." Ruffin was previously a performer at Boom Chicago in Amsterdam, the iO Theater and the Second City in Chicago. In addition, she was a writer/performer for the 2018 and 2019 Golden Globe Awards and has written for the series "A Black Lady Sketch Show."

THE AMBER RUFFIN SHOW writers room includes head writer Jenny Hagel ("Late Night with Seth Meyers"), as well as writers Demi Adejuyigbe ("The Good Place"), Shantira Jackson ("Busy Tonight"), Dewayne Perkins ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine") and Amber Ruffin.

Tarik Davis ("Page One") serves as the announcer for the series.

Amber Ruffin, Jenny Hagel, Seth Meyers and Mike Shoemaker serve as executive producers. The series is produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, and Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions.

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Breaking News - Peacock Orders More Episodes of Timely and Topical Late-Night Series "The Amber Ruffin Show" - The Futon Critic

Boston police raced to a home in the South End on Saturday afternoon when the victim of a home invasion managed to discreetly dial 911 and whisper his call for help. Officers said they arrived in time to arrest the suspect.The victim later told officers that he was entering his home on Chandler Street when he was shoved from behind and fell to the floor of his foyer. The suspect entered and locked the front door behind them, before forcing the victim into the living room. Around 4:53 p.m. the victim was able to discretely make his phone call to 911 and officers were sent to the home, where they encountered the suspect as he was trying to leave.While police did not identify the suspect, officials said he was wanted on 22 warrants in connection with felony and misdemeanor cases across Boston, Cambridge and Somerville.In addition to the preexisting cases, the suspect faces charges of assault and battery on a victim over 65 years of age, unarmed breaking and entering, disturbing the peace and providing a false name to a police officer.

Boston police raced to a home in the South End on Saturday afternoon when the victim of a home invasion managed to discreetly dial 911 and whisper his call for help. Officers said they arrived in time to arrest the suspect.

The victim later told officers that he was entering his home on Chandler Street when he was shoved from behind and fell to the floor of his foyer. The suspect entered and locked the front door behind them, before forcing the victim into the living room.

Around 4:53 p.m. the victim was able to discretely make his phone call to 911 and officers were sent to the home, where they encountered the suspect as he was trying to leave.

While police did not identify the suspect, officials said he was wanted on 22 warrants in connection with felony and misdemeanor cases across Boston, Cambridge and Somerville.

In addition to the preexisting cases, the suspect faces charges of assault and battery on a victim over 65 years of age, unarmed breaking and entering, disturbing the peace and providing a false name to a police officer.

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Home invasion suspect caught after victim whispers call for help to 911 - WCVB Boston

Global lodging owner-operator The Ascott Company has completed a multi-million-dollar renovation of The Domain Hotel, an independent boutique hotel located at the nexus of Silicon Valley's leading tech campuses including Apple and Google. The revamp encompassed a portion of the property's 137 guestrooms, public activity areas and a newly updated fitness center.

The overall aesthetic, imagined by Atlanta-based Design Atelier, dubbed "California Fresh" was inspired by the fresh air and open nature that is hallmark of The Golden State. The design theme incorporates vibrant textures and a curated eclectic style to allow guests to feel they are in a home away from home. A warm and relaxing color palette combines muted blue and grey hues, wood tones and pops of orange inspired by the California poppy, the state's official flower. The 136-unit hotel offers a range of deluxe rooms as well as suites that provide separate living, dining and work areas, with some units featuring private balconies. Guestroom interiors were functionally and thoughtfully redesigned to reflect an updated, contemporary feel combined with practical comfort. Each room features new LVT bedroom floorings, designer wall coverings, new bed frames, statement rugs, Serta Chateau Plush mattresses, modern lounge chairs, and 55" smart TVs. New desk units provide an ideal workspace for remote work and virtual meetings and bathrooms were elevated with new tile, vanities, f ixtures and illuminated mirrors.

In addition to the guestrooms, the corridors were repainted and enhanced with rustic wood-toned door drops and decorative wall sconces. The lobby floor fitness studio was enhanced to serve California's health-conscious locals and guests, and included an expansion featuring new flooring, wall finishes, and upgraded fitness equipment. Finally, the pool area was equipped with new furniture and dcor to provide an improved outdoor wellness experience.

Canada-based Avison Young served as the project manager and Metcon was the general contractor.

The Domain Hotel is situated along Sunnyvale's primary thoroughfare, El Camino Real, which leads to San Francisco City and San Jose. Guests can enjoy convenience as the hotel is near San Jose McEnery and Santa Clara Convention Centers, and attractions such as Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, The Tech Museum of Innovation, and The Computer History Museum. A range of retail, dining and entertainment outlets can also be found at Santana Row, Westfield Valley Fair and Levi's Stadium. Tertiary institutions in the vicinity include Stanford University, Santa Clara University and San Jose State University.

To celebrate the renovation, The Domain Hotel is offering a special introductory rate of $109, complimentary glass of Champagne at check-in and complimentary parking. The offer is bookable at http://www.domainehotelsv.com using code CHEERS.

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Newly Upgraded The Domain Hotel Offers Modern Accommodations For Work Or Play In The Heart Of Silicon Valley - Hospitality Net

KWK Architects has been contracted by global infrastructure consulting firm AECOM to provide architectural programming on a project to renovate the U.S. Air Force Academys Sijan Hall north of Colorado Springs, CO.

The renovation will be the first modernization project at Sijan Hall since it was built in 1968, with the renovation/modernization to include the halls residential, academic, courtyard and recreational spaces. At 700,000-square-feet, Sijan Hall is the second-largest residence hall in the United States with 2,200 beds. It is located within the campus Cadet Area -- a National Historic Landmark District.

As part of AECOMs design team, KWK will orchestrate conceptual floor plans for the halls renovation by determining where shared spaces and amenities for studying, socializing and living make sense in a modern layout. The renovation will incorporate energy-efficient materials and systems, smart building technologies, improved daylighting and updated HVAC systems.

We are so honored to have been selected by AECOM for our university housing design expertise to work on this monumental renovation for the Air Force Academy, said KWK Principal Paul Wuennenberg, AIA, LEED AP. Our main goal on the project will be creating a home away from home where the cadets can comfortably collaborate, learn and thrive. We understand the vital role this prestigious institution plays in a cadets higher education.

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KWK Architects to Provide Architectural Programming on Renovation of U.S. Air Force Academy Sijan Hall in Colorado - Suburban Journals

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LaCanTouch FF&E Gallery, Library and Salon in Shanghai, China by Vermilion Zhou Design Group Yunpu Cai

The announcement of the Pantone Color of the Year seems to cause the media to stir every year. While everyone jumps on the hype showcasing how "excited" they are, how do color trends impact architects?

Don't get me wrong; I love seeing the use of color in projects. The study ofcolor theory is valuable and impacts a project tremendously.Verner Panton and Josef Albers are probably two of the most recognizable color aficionados in design, amongst others, but do these yearly trends make their way into built projects?

While the public may "welcome" the 2021 color of the year (PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray + PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating), its announcement is more of a reminder that color trends don't have much weight unless they're used and applied.

To see color in action we've gathered eleven projects featured on Archinect that celebrate color and its use.

Elementary School Vesovice/Reconstruction of Baroque RectorybyPublic Atelier

Chetian Cultural Center by West-line Studio

Hall WinesbyNICOLEHOLLIS

Qiora Store & Spa by Architecture Research Office

Innovation Lab in Huizhou by AIM Architects

American School of Kosovo - High Schoolbymaden GROUP

Clinton Hill BrownstonebyMKCA // Michael K Chen Architecture

Great Wall Yunmo Winerybya+a anderloni associates

2 LafayettebyBKSK Architects, LLP

Stanford University, GSB Highland HallbySteinbergand Legorreta

Ziggy by Hou de Sousa

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Pantone has selected 2021's "color(s) of the year" should architects care? - Archinect

florian busch architects has completed house in the forest, an elevated timber residence, that as its name suggests, is immersed in the woodland of hokkaido, japan. located in close proximity to the niseko ski resort, the remote dwelling is sited on three acres of barely touched forest. the client, a large family, tasked the architects with designing a retreat that allowed them to spend time with each other and the natural landscape. the house in the forest is not about a fixed form but an ever-changing dialogue with the forest, explain the architects.

all images courtesy of florian busch architects

the site is almost a perfect square with 160-meter-long edges and filled with tall pine trees. thanks to a mound, the plot remains secluded with a small rural road providing the only access to the site. florian busch architects discovered a clearing in the woods, but, instead of positioning the building in the middle of the clearing, the team decided to place the structure between the trees at the edge to the clearing.

the house itself extends horizontally, with the end of each branch open to the surrounding woodland immersing occupants in nature. while the protection of the inside separates us physically from the experience of the forest, the focus and scale of the windows to the forest intensifies it we are sitting in the forest, says florian busch architects. in the houses central spine, this focus of selection is replaced by a multi-faceted instantaneity. as a multitude of views of the forest around us are filling the space, the original experience inside the forest is always present.

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'house in the forest' by florian busch architects in hokkaido - Designboom

steven chilton architects (SCA) has completed a 2,000 seat theater in the huadu district of guangzhou, china ahead of its opening in 2021. guangzhou has been a significant center for the arts and trading since the han dynasty and, inspired by the citys traditional and contemporary artists, the concept for the theater was informed by silk embroidery and the illustrations of artist zhang hongfei. guangzhou has been the home of and inspiration for artists who have helped to define the worlds concept of chinese culture for thousands of years, says steven chilton. through our work on the theater, we have endeavored to channel the history, emotion and creative energy of the city through a building whose purpose is to nurture the next generation of cultural leaders in the performing arts.

all images by chongart photography

silk has been painted and embroidered by fine artists in guangzhou for thousands of years and developed as a creative medium for depicting myths and scenes of nature on tapestries and ornamental robes. SCA explains that the physicality of silk cloth informed the formal expression of the building through a series of ten, gently twisting folds that define the outer envelope. meanwhile, the various entrances into the building are created by tucking the surface in on itself where the valley of each fold would meet the ground plane.

the theaters mission to cultivate talent is expressed through the imagery applied to the surface of the cladding. we were influenced by a beloved local myth, 100 birds paying homage to the phoenix, chilton explains. the phoenix or fenghuang stands for virtue and grace, whilst the allegory signifies notions of recognition, leadership and mentoring. using illustrations created by artist zhang hongfei, SCA digitized and interpreted his hand drawings before mapping each figure onto the surface geometry.

we developed a compositional style inspired by tattoo art aesthetics, the architects continue. each figure was positioned on the body of the theater over a series of studies in response to the topology of the surface geometry. whilst significant figures like the phoenix were positioned where the form afforded prominence, lesser figures such as birds, were organically and less consciously arranged in the spaces between. the cladding is composed of thousands of perforated aluminum panels, each painted with a unique portion of the overall composition. the panels are supported by a complex structure of welded steel tubes that work interdependently with the concrete superstructure supporting the theater floors.

the concept design of the auditorium was led by dragone with theater consultant auerbach pollock friedlander. the space is a performance environment that can be transformed from a 360 degree theater into a variety of different configurations. overhead LED screens provide an immersive experience, while 12 acrobatic hoists and three acrobatic tracks and trolleys are integrated above the stage. meanwhile, above the audience, at the gridiron, there are two storage wagons that allow scenic elements to be lowered on custom built hoists.

while the theater can be used for typical productions, it can also be transformed for productions that require water effects. below the center of the theaters stage floor is a deep pool with an automated stage lift that can be raised a half meter above the stage floor or dropped nine meters into the water. at this lower elevation there are three under water scenery storage garages that are used to store large props and scenic elements before they are moved onto the lift and elevated through the water to stage level. the sunac guangzhou grand theatre is scheduled to open in 2021.

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steven chilton architects completes 'sunac guangzhou grand theatre' - Designboom