Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Mortenson Announces Leadership Promotions in Denver

Aaron Calhoon

Jed Sluyter

Mortenson, a top-20 U.S. builder, developer and energy and engineering services provider, announced the leadership promotions of Aaron Calhoon and Jed Sluyter on its Denver team.

Our people are our greatest competitive differentiator at Mortenson, and its always our goal to create the kind of workplace where team members are motivated to grow and succeed with us, said Gene Hodge, vice president and general manager at Mortenson. Aaron and Jed have consistently demonstrated their leadership dexterity on complex projects, and we look forward to seeing what theyre able to accomplish for our clients in this new capacity.

Calhoon has been promoted to project executive and will work closely with Mortenson vice president of operations, William Gregor, to oversee local operations for the company. He was most recently on a two-year assignment in Las Vegas, Nevada, working on the Allegiant Stadium project with Mortensons Sports and Entertainment Group.

Since joining the company in 2008, Calhoon has been responsible for providing overall leadership on large or complex projects, such as Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center, Saint Joseph Hospital and the University of Colorados Visual Arts Complex.

Sluyter has been promoted to field operations manager. Sluyter will focus on making sure each Mortenson project is set up for success in the Preconstruction and Design Phase by supporting project planning, estimating, and scheduling. This focus will then carry forward into supporting jobsite teams and construction activities to ensure positive project outcomes.

Sluyter started his career with Mortenson in 2001 with the companys Seattle office and spent time in the Portland office before moving to Denver in 2013. Since joining the Denver office, Sluyter has successfully helped lead the Colorado Judicial Center, Westin DIA, and Gaylord Rockies projects before most recently taking on the role of general superintendent for the Denver office a role in which he consistently excelled in demonstrating a team-first approach. As Field Operations Manager, Sluyter will continue to pursue operational excellence on projects through expert planning, organization and evaluation of Mortenson job sites. Sluyter earned his bachelors degree in construction management from Central Washington University.

Atlas Real Estate Hires Vincent Deorio as Vice President of Corporate Development

VincentDeorio

Atlas Real Estate, a full-service real estate company specializing ininvestment brokerage, property management and institutional acquisition, welcomes VincentDeorio as vice president of corporate development.

Deorio joins the Atlas team to fuel the continued growth of the company. He has extensiveexperience in acquisitions and development, market expansion and fundraising, with a proventrack record in leading the growth of firms backed by both private equity and venture capital. Hehas deployed in excess of $1b across multiple markets and asset classes, for both institutional andprivate capital partners.

This is a tremendous opportunity to lead the growth of an exciting organization, said Deorio. Imincredibly honored to join the team at Atlas and to drive the expansion of both our institutionalsingle-family rental acquisition and property management business lines.

Deorio is a resourceful and talented real estate professional. Prior to Atlas, Deorio held the role of vice president of corporate development at Mynd Property Management in Oakland, California. Inthat role, he led all M&A activity, successfully closing 18 acquisitions in 16 markets and acceleratingthe company from 400 units under management to approximately 10,000 units, with over $92.5Min funding and 375 team members. Deorio played an integral role in helping Mynd achieve the 2020San Francisco Business Times fastest growing private company award.

Adding Vincent to the Atlas Executive Team is catalytic for the growth trajectory of the company,said Tony Julianelle, CEO of Atlas Real Estate. Vincent has an incredibly impressive track-record.His unique background adds a depth to our team that will play an integral part in rapidly expandingour business in the years to come.

MVE + Partners Appoints New Principal, Director of Business Development

Richard Flierl

MVE + Partners (MVE), a leading architecture, planning, interior design and urban design firm, recently announced the addition of Richard Flierl, principal and director of business development in Colorado, to its executive leadership team. An industry veteran with a wide range of experience collaborating with architects, landscape architects, urban designers and business development experts and deep roots in the region Flierl will help establish MVEs Denver-based studio with a goal of expanding the firms presence and portfolio in Colorado and neighboring regions.

Drawing on his experience in creating and expanding design studios nationally, Flierl will help shape the direction, strategy and culture of MVEs growing presence in Colorado. In this role, he will manage and nurture the firms existing relationships with local and national developers, contractors, consultant groups and industry leaders to build the firms regional talent base while cultivating new partnerships.

With over three decades of industry experience, an aptitude in strategic market expansion and a deep understanding of our mission and vision, Flierl is well-poised to successfully establish our new Denver-based studio, said Matt McLarand, president, MVE. While weve always had work in the Rocky Mountain region, expansion in this market is key now more than ever as millennials and remote workers relocate to the region and drive population growth.

Flierl will help MVE grow its portfolio across numerous project development types, including urban infill, commercial, residential and mixed-use, master planning and suburban redevelopment. Transit-oriented developments, an area of expertise for both Flierl and MVE, will also be a key focus of the new studio as demand for more vibrant, walkable and connected communities in Colorado is on the rise.

Im honored to join MVEs leadership team and help guide the firm in expanding its footprint in Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region, said Flierl. My diverse industry background and keen understanding of the local development market coupled with MVEs 45-year legacy of imaging award-winning places will allow us to accomplish great things in Colorado and beyond.

KEPHART Announces New Principal

Nicole Williams

KEPHART community :: planning :: architecture, a leader in residentialarchitectural design and land planning, is pleased to announce the promotion of Nicole Williams to principal.This promotion recognizes the outstanding leadership and insight Nicole provides the KEPHART team andthe contributions she has made to the culture of the firm.

As a licensed architect and KEPHARTs Director of Contract Administration and Quality Control, Nicolesfocus is on ensuring that the construction documents KEPHART produces are of the highest quality, inaddition to assuring clients have a thoughtful experience during the construction phase of their projects.During her seven-year tenure with the firm, she has become an exemplary leader, sharing her extensiveknowledge of construction and the building industry.

Nicole possesses the unique ability to see a project through the eyes of an architect, developer andcontractor and merge those visions. Her skill and passion for sharing this expertise and developing our staffhave been instrumental in our continued success, said Bryce Hall Principal and President of KEPHART.

In addition to Bryce Hall, Nicole will join seven existing principals on KEPHARTs leadership team.

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Movers and Shakers Week Ending 12.11.20 - milehighcre.com

STV|DPM, part of STV, an award-winning national firm that provides a broad range of program/project management, design, engineering and planning services, is pleased to announce that Jim Kolb has been promoted to senior vice president, New England regional director of the Program Management/Construction Management Division. Bob Keeley will be taking on a new corporate role as senior vice president, business systems that will help drive broader initiatives within the firm.

Jim will lead the STV|DPM management teams in Newton, MA and Hartford, CT and will oversee all facets of that business. Jim joined STVs Boston office in 2012 and played a key role in forging the relationship that led to the firms acquisition of Diversified Project Management (DPM) in 2015 to form STV|DPM.

As a construction industry veteran, Jim has played a key role in leading the higher education and public buildings practices in the Newton operation where he has served as the lead executive on numerous owners project management (OPM) assignments for projects of varying size and complexity. Jim has been instrumental in our growth. He is a true team player and I have the utmost confidence in his ability to lead STV|DPM into the future. said Bob Keeley.

Bob will work with STVs management team with a focus on implementing new company-wide business systems and strategies. Bob founded Diversified Project Management in 1989 and led DPM to become one of the first and largest project management companies in New England.

STV|DPM provides strategic real estate advisory, design and construction project management and move coordination services in multiple geographic markets within the corporate, higher education, healthcare, technology, life science, public and industrial sectors.

About STV|DPM: Diversified Project Management (DPM), a leading provider of owners project management services throughout the greater Boston/New England region, is now a part of STV and doing business as STV|DPM. STV|DPM is comprised of more than 70 professionals throughout New England. Founded more than 100 years ago, STV is a leader in providing program and construction management, architectural, planning, engineering, and environmental services for buildings, transportation systems, infrastructure, energy and other facilities. The firm is ranked 32nd in Engineering News-Records Top 500 Design Firms survey and 15th in Building Design + Construction magazines Top 40 Construction Management firms.

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Jim Kolb Promoted To SVP Of STV|DPM - Citybizlist

Washington, DC -Memorandum onThe National Space Policy:

MEMORANDUM FOR THE VICE PRESIDENTTHE SECRETARY OF STATETHE SECRETARY OF DEFENSETHE ATTORNEY GENERALTHE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIORTHE SECRETARY OF COMMERCETHE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATIONTHE SECRETARY OF ENERGYTHE SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITYTHE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGETTHE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCETHE ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRSTHE ADMINISTRATOR OF THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATIONTHE DIRECTOR OF THE OFFICE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY POLICYTHE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF

SUBJECT: The National Space Policy

Section 1. References. This directive supersedes Presidential Policy Directive 4 (June 29, 2010) and references, promotes, and reemphasizes the following policy directives and memoranda:

a) Presidential Policy Directive 26 National Space Transportation Policy (November 21, 2013)

b) Executive Order 13803 Reviving the National Space Council (June 30, 2017)

c) Space Policy Directive 1 Reinvigorating Americas Human Space Exploration Program (December 11, 2017)

d) The National Space Strategy (March 23, 2018)

e) Space Policy Directive 2 Streamlining Regulations on Commercial Use of Space (May 24, 2018)

f) Space Policy Directive 3 National Space Traffic Management Policy (June 18, 2018)

g) Space Policy Directive 4 Establishment of the United States Space Force (February 19, 2019)

h) National Security Presidential Memorandum 20 Launch of Spacecraft Containing Space Nuclear Systems (August 20, 2019)

i) Executive Order 13906 Amending Executive Order 13803 Reviving the National Space Council (February 13, 2020)

j) Executive Order 13905 Strengthening National Resilience Through Responsible Use of Positioning, Navigation, and Timing Services (February 12, 2020)

k) Executive Order 13914 Encouraging International Support for the Recovery and Use of Space Resources (April 6, 2020)

l) Space Policy Directive 5 Cybersecurity Principles for Space Systems (September 4, 2020)

Sec. 2. Principles. It is the policy of the United States to ensure that space operations are consistent with the following principles.

1. It is the shared interest of all nations to act responsibly in space to ensure the safety, stability, security, and long-term sustainability of space activities. Responsible space actors operate with openness, transparency, and predictability to maintain the benefits of space for all humanity.

2. A robust, innovative, and competitive commercial space sector is the source of continued progress and sustained United States leadership in space. The United States remains committed to encouraging and facilitating the continued growth of a domestic commercial space sector that is globally competitive, supports national interests, and advances United States leadership in the generation of new markets and innovation-driven entrepreneurship.

3. In this resurgent era of space exploration, the United States will expand its leadership alongside nations that share its democratic values, respect for human rights, and economic freedom. Those values will extend with us to all space destinations as the United States once again steps beyond Earth, starting with the Moon and continuing to Mars.

4. As established in international law, outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies, is not subject to national appropriation by claim of sovereignty, by means of use or occupation, or by any other means. The United States will pursue the extraction and utilization of space resources in compliance with applicable law, recognizing those resources as critical for sustainable exploration, scientific discovery, and commercial operations.

5. All nations have the right to explore and to use space for peaceful purposes and for the benefit of all humanity, in accordance with applicable law. Consistent with that principle, the United States will continue to use space for national security activities, including for the exercise of the inherent right of self-defense. Unfettered access and freedom to operate in space is a vital national interest.

6. The United States considers the space systems of all nations to have the right to pass through and conduct operations in space without interference. Purposeful interference with space systems, including supporting infrastructure, will be considered an infringement of a nations rights. Consistent with the defense of those rights, the United States will seek to deter, counter, and defeat threats in the space domain that are hostile to the national interests of the United States and its allies. Any purposeful interference with or an attack upon the space systems of the United States or its allies that directly affects national rights will be met with a deliberate response at a time, place, manner, and domain of our choosing.

Sec. 3. Goals. The United States shall:

1. Promote and incentivize private industry to facilitate the creation of new global and domestic markets for United States space goods and services, and strengthen and preserve the position of the United States as the global partner of choice for international space commerce.

2. Encourage and uphold the rights of nations to use space responsibly and peacefully by developing and implementing diplomatic, economic, and security capabilities and strategies to identify and respond to behaviors that threaten those rights.

3. Lead, encourage, and expand international cooperation on mutually beneficial space activities that broaden and extend the benefits of space for all humanity; further the exploration and use of space for peaceful purposes; protect the interests of the United States, its allies, and partners; advance United States interests and values; and enhance access to space-derived information and services.

4. Create a safe, stable, secure, and sustainable environment for space activities, in collaboration with industry and international partners, through the development and promotion of responsible behaviors; improved practices for the collection and sharing of information on space objects; protection of critical space systems and supporting infrastructures, with special attention to cybersecurity and supply chains; and measures to mitigate orbital debris.

5. Increase the assurance of national critical functions enabled by commercial, civil, scientific, and national security spacecraft and supporting infrastructure against disruption, degradation, and destruction through the development and fielding of materiel and non-materiel capabilities and rehearsal of continuity of operations practices.

6. Extend human economic activity into deep space by establishing a permanent human presence on the Moon, and, in cooperation with private industry and international partners, develop infrastructure and services that will enable science-driven exploration, space resource utilization, and human missions to Mars.

7. Increase the quality of life for all humanity through the cultivation, maturation, and development of space-enabled scientific and economic capabilities, including space and Earth resource discovery, management, and utilization; space and Earth weather and environmental monitoring and prediction; disaster monitoring, prediction, response, and recovery; and planetary defense.

8. Preserve and expand United States leadership in the development of innovative space technologies, services, and operations. Work with likeminded international and private partners, to prevent the transfer of sensitive space capabilities to those who threaten the interests of the United States, its allies, and its supporting industrial base.

Sec. 4. Cross-sector Space Policy Guidelines. The heads of all executive departments and agencies (agencies), consistent with their respective missions and authorities, shall execute the guidance provided in this section consistent with applicable law.

Heads of agencies with representation on the National Space Council shall designate a senior official with responsibility for overseeing their respective agencys implementation of the National Space Policy. This official shall periodically report to the National Space Council on the progress of implementation of this policy within respective agencies.

1. Foundational Activities and Capabilities. Foundational activities and capabilities enable the United States to fulfill the principles and goals directed in this policy.

(a) Strengthen United States Leadership in Space-related Science and Technology. Heads of agencies shall:

i. Reinforce United States technological leadership by promoting technology development; improved industrial capacity; a robust supplier base; and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education opportunities necessary to support United States leadership in space innovation;

ii. Conduct basic and applied research that increases space capabilities and decreases costs, if such research is best supported by the Government; and

iii. Encourage commercial space innovation and entrepreneurship through targeted investment in promising technologies that improve the Nations leadership in space operations.

(b) Strengthen and Secure the United States Space Industrial Base. To further foster the security and resilience of the domestic space industrial base, heads of agencies, to the maximum extent practicable and consistent with applicable law, shall:

i. Promote the availability of space-related industrial capabilities in support of national critical functions;

ii. Identify suppliers and manufacturers key to the United States space-related science, technology, and industrial bases and incentivizing them to remain in, or return to, the United States;

iii. Support innovative entrepreneurial space companies through appropriate deregulatory actions;

iv. Strengthen the security, integrity, and reliability of the supply chains of United States space-related science, technology, and industrial bases by identifying and eliminating dependence on suppliers owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of foreign adversaries, and engaging with United States and international industrial partners to improve processes and effectively manage and secure supply chains; and

v. Incorporate cybersecurity principles across all phases of space systems design, development, acquisition, and deployment.

(c) Enhance Capabilities for Assured Access to Space. United States access to space depends in the first instance on assured launch capabilities. To the extent consistent with applicable law, United States Government payloads shall be launched on vehicles manufactured in the United States, unless approved for foreign launch in support of:

i. No-exchange-of-funds agreements involving international scientific programs, launches of scientific instruments on international spacecraft, or other cooperative government-to-government agreements;

ii. Launches of secondary-technology demonstrators or scientific payloads for which no United States launch service is available;

iii. Hosted payload arrangements on spacecraft not owned by the United States Government; or

iv. Other circumstances on a case-by-case exemption as coordinated by the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, consistent with established interagency standards and coordination guidelines.

v. To the maximum extent practicable and consistent with their responsibilities and applicable law, the heads of agencies shall:

1. Work collaboratively to acquire space launch services and hosted Government payload arrangements that are secure, reliable, cost-effective, and responsive to United States Government needs;

2. Enhance operational efficiency, increase capacity, and reduce launch costs by investing in the modernization of space launch infrastructure;

3. Permit the launch of United States Government spacecraft manufactured in the United States from territories of allied and likeminded nations when launched on vehicles manufactured in the United States; and

4. When sufficient United States commercial capabilities and services do not exist, support industry-led efforts to rapidly develop new and modernized launch systems and technologies necessary to assure and to sustain future reliable, resilient, and efficient access to space.

(d) Safeguard Space Components of Critical Infrastructure. The space domain is important to the function of critical infrastructure vital to the security, economy, resilience, public health, and safety of the United States. Multiple infrastructure sectors depend on reliable access to space-based systems to perform their functions.

i. The United States will develop strategies, capabilities, and options to respond to any purposeful interference with or attack on the space systems of the United States or its allies that directly affects national rights, especially those necessary for the operation of the Nations critical infrastructure. Such strategies, capabilities, and options will allow for a deliberate response at a time, place, manner, and domain of its choosing.

ii. The Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, in consultation with other heads of agencies, as appropriate, shall develop and maintain focused threat and risk assessments on the effect of deleterious actions in the space domain to the Nations critical infrastructure.

(e) Maintain and Enhance Space-based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) Systems. The United States must maintain its leadership in the service, provision, and responsible use of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). To that end, the United States shall:

i. Provide continuous worldwide access, for peaceful civil uses, to the Global Positioning System (GPS) and its Government-provided augmentations, free of direct user fees;

ii. Engage with international GNSS providers to ensure compatibility, encourage interoperability with likeminded nations, promote transparency in civil service provision, and enable market access for United States industry;

iii. Operate and maintain the GPS constellation to satisfy civil and national security needs, consistent with published performance standards and interface specifications;

iv. Improve the cybersecurity of GPS, its augmentations, and federally owned GPS-enabled devices, and foster commercial space sector adoption of cyber-secure GPS enabled systems consistent with cybersecurity principles for space systems;

v. Allow for the continued use of allied and other trusted international PNT services in conjunction with GPS in a manner that ensures the resilience of PNT services and is consistent with applicable law;

vi. Invest in domestic capabilities and support international activities to detect, analyze, mitigate, and increase resilience to harmful interference to GNSS;

vii. Identify and promote, as appropriate, multiple and diverse complementary PNT systems or approaches for critical infrastructure and mission-essential functions; and

viii. Promote the responsible use of United States space-based PNT services and capabilities in civil and commercial sectors at the Federal, State, and local levels, including the utilization of multiple and diverse complementary PNT systems or approaches for national critical functions.

(f) Develop and Retain Space Professionals. The primary goals of space professional development are to achieve mission success in space operations and acquisition; stimulate innovation to improve commercial, civil, and national security space capabilities; and advance science, exploration, and discovery. Toward these ends, the heads of agencies, in cooperation with industry and academia, as appropriate, shall:

i. Establish standards for accession and career progression;

ii. Seek to create educational and professional development opportunities for the current space workforce, including internships and fellowships, and to implement measures to recruit, develop, maintain, and retain skilled space professionals, including engineering and scientific personnel and experienced space system developers and operators, across Government and commercial sectors;

iii. Promote and expand public-private partnerships within space and technology industries to foster transdisciplinary educational achievement in STEM programs, supported by targeted investments in such initiatives;

iv. Promote the exchange of scientists, engineers, and technologists among Federal laboratories, universities, and the commercial space sector to facilitate the exchange of diverse ideas and to build capacity in space technical knowledge and skills;

v. Develop the means to recruit and to employ qualified and skilled space professionals from likeminded nations to increase United States leadership in space commerce, science, exploration, and security; and

vi. Support training and education in key enabling scientific and engineering disciplines, including: artificial intelligence and machine learning, autonomy, orbital mechanics, collision avoidance methods, robotics, computer science and engineering, digital design and engineering, electromagnetics, materials science, hypersonics, geoscience, quantum-related technologies and applications, and cybersecurity.

(g) Improve Space System Development and Procurement. The heads of agencies shall:

i. Improve timely acquisition and deployment of space systems through enhancements in estimating costs, assessing technological risk and maturity, and leveraging and understanding emerging industrial base capabilities and capacity;

ii. Reduce programmatic risk through improved management of program requirements, reduce the use of cost-plus contracts, where appropriate, and take advantage of cost-effective opportunities to test high-risk components, payloads, and technologies in digital, space, or other relevant environments;

iii. Create opportunities to strengthen and to develop pertinent expertise in the Government workforce through internships and fellowships with the commercial space sector;

iv. Pursue and endorse cooperative research and development agreements;

v. Incorporate rapid prototyping, experimentation, and other efforts to accelerate development cycles to improve performance and to reduce costs;

vi. Embrace innovation to cultivate and to sustain an entrepreneurial United States research and development environment;

vii. Engage with the industrial base to improve processes and effectively manage and secure supply chains; and

viii. Promote, where consistent with applicable rules and regulations concerning Government contracting, procurement of critical materials and sub-tier components, such as solar cells and microelectronics, from domestic and other trusted sources of supply.

(h) Strengthen Interagency and Commercial Partnerships. As facilitated by the Executive Secretary of the National Space Council, the heads of agencies shall, consistent with applicable law:

i. Strengthen existing partnerships and pursue new partnerships among interagency members, the United States commercial space and related sectors, and United States academic institutions through cooperation, collaboration, information sharing, innovative procurements, and alignment of common pursuits to achieve United States goals;

ii. Encourage the sharing of capabilities and the exchange of expertise among agencies and, to the maximum extent practicable, with the United States commercial sectors to strengthen the Nations ability to pursue its strategic goals;

iii. Develop implementation and response strategies and leverage United States capabilities to increase technology innovation and achieve desired outcomes involving space operations relating to science, public safety, national security, and economic growth.

2. International Cooperation.

(a) Strengthen United States Leadership in Space. The heads of agencies, in collaboration with the Secretary of State, shall:

i. Demonstrate United States leadership in space related fora and activities to strengthen deterrence and assure allies and partners of its commitment to preserving the safety, stability, security, and long-term sustainability of space activities;

ii. Identify areas of mutual interest and benefit, such as collective self-defense and the promotion of secure and resilient space-related infrastructure;

iii. Lead the enhancement of safety, stability, security, and long-term sustainability in space by promoting a framework for responsible behavior in outer space, including the pursuit and effective implementation of best practices, standards, and norms of behavior;

iv. Encourage other nations to adopt United States space regulatory approaches and commercial space sector practices;

v. Encourage interoperability among United States, allied, and partner space systems, services, and data;

vi. Facilitate new market opportunities for United States commercial space capabilities and services, including commercial applications that rely on United States Government-provided space systems;

vii. Promote the adoption of policies and practices internationally that facilitate full, open, and timely access to Government space-derived environmental data on a reciprocal basis;

viii. Promote appropriate burden-, cost-, and risk-sharing among international partners; and

ix. Augment United States capabilities by leveraging existing and planned space capabilities of allies and partners.

(b) Identify and Expand Areas for International Cooperation. The heads of agencies shall identify potential areas for international cooperation across the spectrum of commercial, civil, and national security space activities that increase the understanding of Earth and space sciences, expand the detection of hazardous near-Earth objects, ensure the freedom of operation in and through space, increase the quality and safety of life on Earth, extend human presence and economic activity beyond low Earth orbit, and reduce the cost of achieving the Nations goals.

i. The Secretary of State, in coordination with the heads of agencies, shall:

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Memorandum on The National Space Policy - Imperial Valley News

BURNABY, British Columbia, Dec. 9, 2020 D-Wave Systems Inc., a leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services, has launched a first-of-its-kind cross-system software tool providing interoperability between quantum annealing and gate model quantum computers. The open-source plugin allows developers to easily map quadratic optimization inputs in IBMs Qiskit format onto D-Waves quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) format and solve the same input on any quantum system supported in Qiskit. The code is available for free as a stand-alone packagein GitHub and marks a major industry milestone: the ability to use, test, solve and compare real applications with both gate-model and annealing quantum computers. For the first time, developers and forward-thinking businesses can have a real assessment of the benefits of different systems on their applications.

Interoperability is a critical step in the maturation of transformative technologies. Until now, there hasnt been a convenient way to send the same problems to solvers on both gate and D-Wave systems, or to obtain head-to-head comparisons of results from the two different quantum computing systems. Before today,using a different quantum computing vendors hardware and software required significant investment to familiarize developers with code, solvers, and SDKs.

D-Waves industry-first open-source package removes those barriers.Qiskit users can nowsubmit Ising Hamiltoniansto the D-Wave quantum computer, in addition to any gate model system Qiskit supports.Now, cross-paradigm transparency and comparison will give quantum developers the flexibility to try different systems, while providing businesses with key insights into performance so they can identify, build, and scale quantum applications.

The company also called for users to publish their work.

In order for the quantum computing ecosystem to fully mature, the developer and business communities alike need access to diverse quantum systems and the ability to compare cross-architectural performance, said Alan Baratz, CEO, D-Wave. The next few years will bring a proliferation of quantum applications, and companies must be able to make informed decisions about their quantum computing investment and initiatives to stay competitive. Weve moved beyond measures that explore does the system work? Instead, enterprises want to benchmark which systems add the most value to their businesses. Were opening the door to this and we encourage users of the tool to share their work and publish their results.

The news is in line with D-Waves ongoing mission to provide practical quantum computing via access to the most powerful quantum hardware, software, and tools. In 2018, D-Wave brought theLeap quantum cloud service and open-source Ocean SDK to market. In February 2020, Leap expanded to include new hybrid solver services to solve real-world, business-sized problems. At the end of September, D-Wave made available the Advantage quantum system, with more than 5000 qubits, 15-way qubit connectivity, and expanded hybrid solver services that can run problems with up to one million variables. The combination of the computing power of Advantage and the scale to address real-world problems with the hybrid solver services in Leap enables businesses to run performant, real-time, hybrid quantum applications for the first time. And with the new cross-system software tool, now users can benchmark their applications across annealing and gate model systems, to further understand and benefit from performance comparisons.

To download and install the cross-paradigm integration plugin for free, clickhere.

As part of its commitment to enabling businesses to build in-production quantum applications, the company also introducedD-Wave Launch, a jump-start program for businesses who want to get started building hybrid quantum applications today but may need additional support.

About D-Wave Systems Inc.

D-Wave is a leader in the development and delivery of quantum computing systems, software and services and is the worlds first commercial supplier of quantum computers. Our mission is to unlock the power of quantum computing for the world. We do this by delivering customer value with practical quantum applications for problems as diverse as logistics, artificial intelligence, materials sciences, drug discovery, cybersecurity, fault detection, and financial modeling. D-Waves systems are being used by some of the worlds most advanced organizations, including NEC, Volkswagen, DENSO, Lockheed Martin, USC, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. With headquarters near Vancouver, Canada, D-Waves US operations are based in Palo Alto, CA and Bellevue, WA. D-Wave has a blue-chip investor base including PSP Investments, Goldman Sachs, BDC Capital, NEC Corp., and In-Q-Tel. For more information, visit: http://www.dwavesys.com.

Source: D-Wave Systems Inc.

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Show Your Work: D-Wave Opens the Door to Performance Comparisons Between Quantum Computing Architectures - HPCwire

NEW YORK (PRWEB) December 10, 2020

Tower Holdings Group announced today the opening of its newest subsidiary, Alubuild Gulf DMCC in the United Arab Emirates. Located in Dubai, UAE the new subsidiary will focus on expanding the Groups presence regionally to provide its clients the most innovative solutions, as well as providing local support throughout the life of the project and liaising between its regional supply partners and the project teams of its European and US customers.

Alubuild Gulf together with its US and Irish counterparts, Alubuild USA and Alubuild Ireland, provide specialized project management services and installation of structural glass facades and curtain wall on all types of commercial, residential and mixed-use projects in North America and Europe. Having established a strategic partnership with the largest architectural building enveloping and glazing contractors in the Middle East, the Al Abbar Group , Alubuild Gulf will act as a liaison between its clients projects in the United States and Europe and Al Abbar design and fabrication teams in Dubai and the region, to monitor quality control, production, and shipping thus optimizing communications, logistics, design and turnaround times ensuring accurate and on schedule deliveries to its customers projects.

"We are being proactive not only identifying competitive overseas suppliers for our and our clients projects but also implementing hands-on solutions to the usual concerns surrounding procuring materials from overseas, said Kevin O'Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tower Holdings Group. "We are making this extra effort to close the geographic gap between our projects in the US and Europe and our supply partners Al Abbar in Dubai."

Earlier this year, Tower Holdings Group announced its strategic partnership with Al Abbar Group through the opening of its own independent entity, Al Abbar North America to exclusively market, sell and install Al Abbars construction faade systems and products in the North American markets and has continued to expand its footprint both in-office presence and staffing to meet growing demand.

With the addition of Alubuild Gulf, there are eleven independent business units within the group in the fields of general contracting and construction management, development, masonry, electrical contracting, as well as supply and distribution of aluminum components and the most sophisticated building enveloping and glazing products to provide state-of-the-art architectural solutions. For more information, please visit https://towerholdingsgroup.com/

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Tower Holdings Group expands to the United Arab Emirates - PR Web

Baths Pink has soft pink flowers with deeply fringed petals.

Firewitch produces a profusion of magenta flowers.

Frosty Fire has bright red 2.5-cm (1-in.) flowers.

Spotty has cherry red flowers with prominent white spots from late spring to early summer.

Tiny Rubies is smaller in all aspects than the species. It bears bright pink 1-cm (0.4-in.) flowers on 5- to 10-cm (2-4 in.) stems for most of the summer.

Cottage pinks (D. plumarius) form dense mounds of linear, blue-green leaves. Fragrant pink 2.5-cm (1-in.) single or double flowers are produced in clusters of three to five on stems that are 30 to 60 cm (12-24 in.) high.

Sweetness is a seed grown variety that blooms its first year. Flowers vary from white to deep rose with red eyes and are very fragrant. It is very compact to 15 cm (6 in.) tall.

Pink Princess has light pink, semi-double flowers throughout the summer. It was developed in Cheyenne, Wyoming and has been grown in prairie gardens since the 1960s.

Sara Williams is the author of Gardening Naturally with Hugh Skinner, Creating the Prairie Xeriscape, and with Bob Bors, Growing Fruit in Northern Gardens. She gives workshops on a wide range of gardening topics throughout the prairies.

This column is provided courtesy of the Saskatchewan Perennial Society (SPS; saskperennial@hotmail.com). Check our website (saskperennial.ca) or Facebook page (facebook.com/saskperennial). All Saskatchewan Perennial Society events are on hold until further notice.

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Gardening: In the pink: Dianthus - Saskatoon StarPhoenix

A few weeks back, I presented a three-part series in which I performed a detailed analysis of the Big Ten schedule. In Part One, I looked at the Big Ten conference slate and did some math related to the strength of each teams schedule. The results suggested that MSU was given a schedule of average difficultly, while potential conference favorite Wisconsin (according to the Kenpom preseason projections) was given a remarkably easy schedule.

In Parts Two and Three, I made additional calculations based on Monte Carlo simulations to estimate the odds for each Big Ten team to win both the regular season title and the Big Ten Tournament Title. In both cases, Wisconsin also had the best preseason odds.

In the days that followed, the idea that the schedule was biased in favor of the Badgers weighed on my mind. I wondered if it would be possible to construct a schedule that was more fair. It soon became clear to me that I could use the same tools that I used to analyze the strength of each teams Big Ten schedule to address this issue. Once I saw the entrance to the rabbit hole, I had to try to find the bottom.

The first step was to craft an algorithm that would generate a random Big Ten conference schedule based on its current form. The schedules have each team playing a total of 20 games. Seven of the opponents are played twice (once at home and once away). The remaining six opponents are either played only at hone or only on the road. With a bit of work, I was able to write some simple code that allowed me to generate random schedules for the entire conference fairly quickly.

Once I accomplished this, I needed to define a way to quantify the fairness of a given, random set of schedules. In Part One of the series referenced above, I explained my methodology for calculating strength of schedule. The basic principle is to calculate the expected number of wins that an average Power Five teams (as good as, for example, Indiana) would earn with any given schedule. It is trivial to make this calculation for all 14 Big Ten schedules by using Kenpom efficiency data to estimate win probabilities for any set of Big Ten games.

I also performed a corrected version of this calculation by artificially adjusting the strength of one average Big Ten team (Indiana) to instead be equal to that of the team whose schedule is being analyzed. This corrects for a potential bias in the numbers due to the fact that weak teams and strong teams dont play themselves.

In order to quantify the fairness of the entire Big Ten schedule, I calculated both the range and standard deviations of my calculated strengths of schedule (both regular and corrected) for all 14 individual schedules. In other words, I looked at the quantitative difference between the toughest and easiest schedules as well as the overall variance for all 14 schedules.

I then scanned the list of randomly generated schedules, searching for the one with the smallest standard deviation of corrected schedule strengths. I generated over 40,000 potential schedules and found the one with the smallest variance. This is perhaps the one of the most optimized schedule that can be created, based on the projected preseason strength of each team in 2020.

To refresh our memories, Table 1 below summarizes the actual 2020 Big Ten conference schedule. Relative to each row, the green cells represent the single-play home games while the orange cells are single-play road games. For example, MSU plays Wisconsin only once at home this year and only plays Maryland on the road.

Without doing any math at all, it is easy to see why Wisconsin has such a schedule advantage. The Badgers are the only Big Ten team with two scheduled games against the four projected weakest teams in the conference (Maryland, Penn State, Northwestern, and Nebraska). Furthermore, the Badgers draw Kenpoms No. 2 and No. 3 ranked teams (Ohio State and Michigan State) only once.

First, I was curious how the actual schedule compares to a set of randomly generated schedules, based on the fairness metrics described above. Figure 1 below makes this comparison.

As the histograms above shows, not all schedules are created equally. Just based on range alone (the difference between the hardest and easiest schedule) some full conference schedules can differ by over a game and a half in expected wins. However, it is possible to find schedules where the team with the easiest schedule has less than a half of a win advantage over the team with the most difficult schedule.

If the raw, uncorrected strength of schedule values are considered (the blue bars), the real 2020 schedule is quite a bit less fair than the an average, random schedule based on both range and variance. If the corrected values are used (the orange bars), the 2020 schedule is average.

However, it is clearly possible to do better. If I select the individual schedule that showed the lowest observed corrected strength of schedule variance (located all the way to the left in the histogram in the right panel of Figure 1) that schedule looks like this:

While it is always difficult to compare one wall of numbers to another, the schedule shown in Table 2 looks a lot more fair on its face compared to the real schedule. First of all, there is much better balance at the bottom of the table. The top eight Big Ten teams all play the collective bottom four conference teams a total of six times. No team plays all four of these teams twice (as Wisconsin does in the actual schedule) and only two teams (Rutgers and Minnesota) play this collection of teams a total of seven times.

A similar balance is also found at the top of the table. Every team which the exception of Illinois, Michigan, and Purdue, have exactly two single-play matchups among the top four projected Big Ten teams (Wisconsin, MSU, Ohio State, and Iowa). That all said, this schedule still seems challenging for Nebraska, which draws four single-play games amongst the bottom four Big Ten teams not named Nebraska.

A more quantitative comparison of the actual and optimized Big Ten schedules is shown below in Figure 2. In this case, the individual team schedules are ordered from easiest (left) to hardest (right) to make the comparison easier to see. Also, the left panel shows the raw strength and schedule calculation, while the right panel gives the corrected values which are what were used in the optimization.

The data in both panels shows a clear difference in the two full conference schedules. For the raw strength of schedule calculation (left panel) the difference between the easiest schedule and ninth easiest schedule is over half a win in the actual schedule, but less than a quarter of a win in the optimized schedule.

In both cases, there is a drop off in expected win for two most difficult schedules. In both the actual and optimized scenarios, these schedules belong to Northwestern and Nebraska, the two teams that project to be the weakest in the Big Ten this year. This is no coincidence, as once again those two teams suffer from not getting to play themselves.

Fortunately, the corrected strength of schedule appears to handle for this problem. As the right panel shows, the full range of expended wins for an average power five team (i.e. strength of schedule) only differs by slightly over 0.3 wins which seems to be about as fair of a schedule that can be created. In the actual schedule, this range is almost 0.8 wins.

One could make the argument that the it would be better to optimize the schedule based on the raw strength of schedule values as opposed to the corrected values. After all, the left panel still suggests that Northwestern and Nebraska draw the short straw. On some level that is true.

However, a schedule optimized based on the raw strength of schedule values would effectively be creating a schedule that is easier for the weaker teams and harder for the stronger teams. While this seems like a nice gesture, what happens if Nebraska is actually much better than expected? In this scenario, the Huskers would suddenly have an advantage, simply because they were under-valued in the preseason. For this reason, I believe that the corrected values are the best way to find the most fair Big Ten schedule.

That said, there are a few aspects of the schedule that are still perhaps not ideal. For example, Michigan State and Michigan only play each other once. The same is true of Purdue and Indiana. In reality, it would be better if these types of rivalry games would be protected. There may be other constraints on scheduling of which I am not aware.

In any event, it would be simple to modify my algorithm to exclude any random schedule that does not meet these criteria. I am confident that this method can and perhaps should be used to create a better Big Ten schedule. If anyone in the MSU athletic department or the Big Ten office is reading this and would like my assistance, send me a direct message. (I am sort of kidding... but not really).

The strength of schedule calculations discussed above provide a pathway to create a schedule that is mathematically more fair. The next logical question is if the impact of a more level playing field actually matters. I touched on this issue briefly in the original series, but I would like to revisit the topic now that we have a more balanced schedule to compare to the original one.

For this study, I once again ran a series of Monte Carlo simulations on the full Big Ten season using both the actual Big Ten schedule and the optimized schedule shown in Table 2 above. This simulation outputs the odds for each Big Ten team to win the regular season Big Ten title (outright or shared). For here out in order to keep things simple, I will focus only on the results of the simulation for Wisconsin (the Kenpom presumed favorite) and Michigan State.

In addition to the baselines simulation using preseason Kenpom efficiency margin values to assign each team a certain strength, I ran three additional simulations in order to try to separate the effect of the schedule from the effect of each teams strength. In one simulation, I artificially swapped the strength of MSU and Wisconsin. In effect, this simulates the effect of Wisconsin playing MSUs schedule while MSU plays Wisconsins schedule.

In the other two simulations, MSU and Wisconsin are assumed to be equal in strength, either both as good as Wisconsins preseason projection or both as good as MSUs preseason projection. This set of simulations was performed using both the actual schedule as well as the optimized schedule. The results are shown below in Figure 3.

This figure contains a ton of information. The best way to extract information is to make various comparisons between the different scenarios. If we start with the real schedule (left panel) we can see that in the baseline simulation (using the real Kenpom efficiency margin preseason data) Wisconsin has almost exactly a 20-percentage point advantage over Michigan State in the race for the Big Ten title. The is the same data that I presented in Part Two of my series.

If the two teams had schedules with equal difficulty, swapping the schedules should also swap the championship percentages. In the case of the optimized schedule, this is true within one percentage point. But in the actual schedule, there is a significant gap.

In the baseline case Wisconsins championship odds (38.5 percent) are notably higher than MSUs odds if their strengths are swapped (31.9 percent). In effect, this is equivalent to Wisconsin playing MSUs schedule, and it implies that Wisconsins schedule is worth about six and a half percentage points. A similar analysis of MSUs baseline odds (18.4 percent) to the odds for Wisconsin if they were equally as good as MSU (23.9 percent, the second red bar) gives a five and and half percentage point difference.

A similar story is told by the third and forth sets of bars. In these cases, MSU and Wisconsin have equal Kenpom efficiency margins, but in both cases, the Badgers odds are better (by seven percentage points and five and a half percentage points). It should also be noted that in the right panel of Figure 3 (the optimized schedule) if MSU and Wisconsin have the same efficiency margin, they also have almost identical odds.

Looking at the data from another point of view provides insight into how much of an advantage Wisconsin has simply because of the higher preseason efficiency margin. In other words, how much does an advantage in actual (or simulated) team strength impact the title odds?

This value can be estimated by comparing the first two red bars to each other or the first two green bars to each other in either panel. This is simply the difference in odds that each team would have with the same schedule and either their MSU or Wisconsins strength. The difference varies between 13.5 and 14.5 percentage points.

All of this data points to one basic fact: Wisconsins calculated 20-percentage point preseason advantage in the regular season odds is due to a one-third contribution of a schedule advantage (about 6.5 percentage points) and a two-thirds contribution (about 13.5 percentage points) from Wisconsins estimated efficiency margin advantage.

In addition, I feel that Figure 3 makes a fair case that if an ideal Big Ten schedule is constructed, this schedule advantage shrinks to zero. That said, I should also point out that in all four comparisons in the right panel of Figure 3, MSU actually has about a one-percentage point advantage over the Badgers, which appears to arise due to a combination of MSUs very slightly easier schedule in the ideal scenario, combined with the slightly larger home court advantage that Kempon assigns to the Breslin Center relative to the Kohl Center.

While the results of the analysis above are interesting (at least to people like me...and I assume anyone still reading this) there are still a few questions that remain. This entire analysis hinges on the idea that the preseason efficiency margin data is correct. The season is now several games in and already some teams have moved up or down. I showed above that Wisconsins preseason efficiency margin advantage (+1.79 compared to MSU) is worth about 13.5-percentage points. But, what happens when that value changes? How sensitive are the title odds to these numbers?

In order to clarify this, I ran one additional simple set of simulations. In this case, I fixed the efficiencies margins for all Big Ten teams and varied the efficiency margin of Wisconsin from a value of 18.00 (roughly the quality of a bubble team, ranked around No. 30 in Kenpom) all the way to to a value of 30.00 (roughly the quality of the No. 1 ranked team in Kenpom in any given year).

I then calculated both the expected win totals and regular season title odds for Wisconsin using the actual schedule. Those results are shown below in Figure 4. The same data is also shown for MSU (using their fixed, preseason efficiency margin as a reference).

Note that the actual preseason values for each team are shown with the large, solid data point. The data in Figure 4 looks about like one would expect it to look. A bubble team (with an efficiency margin of 18) would be expected to win just over 10 games in conference play and have less than a 10 percent chance to win the Big Ten regular season, while a team ranked No. 1 in Kenpom (with an efficiency margin of 30) would be expected to win close to 16 games and would have over an 80 percent chance to win the Big Ten.

The correlations are not truly linear (especially for the title odds) but I included the linear fit equations in each plot for reference. In both cases, the slopes provide a good rule of thumb for the sensitivity of expected wins and title odds. Specifically, for every 1.00 improvement in efficiency margin, a teams expected win total will increase by about 0.44 wins and the title odds will improve by about 6.7 percent for a team in a conference like the Big Ten in 2020.

Note that the second number is consistent with Wisconsins roughly 13-percentage point schedule-independent advantage mentioned above, considering their almost 2.00 lead in efficiency margin over the second best Big Ten team. Also note that Wisconsins schedule advantage is worth almost exactly 1.00 in efficiency margin.

The artificial change in Wisconsins strength makes a relatively small impact on MSUs expected wins and even odds. MSU only faces Wisconsin once, so it makes sense that MSUs expected win total is almost unaffected. As for the title odds, MSUs odds decrease gradually as the strength of the Badgers increases. Even in the cases where Wisconsin is really good, MSUs odds only drop by eight to ten percentage points. Basically, MSU still mows their own grass, more or less.

Finally, this analysis begs the question of the general correlation between expected wins and regular season title odds. That correlation is shown below and was derived for the original baseline simulation of all 14 Big Ten teams combined with the Wisconsin sensitivity analysis discussed above.

Again, this plot makes a lot of sense. If a teams expected win total is around 10 wins or less, the odds to win the Big Ten are very low (five percent or less). Those odds increase fairly linearly to close to 90 percent as the expected win total approaches 16. Recent history suggests that the regular season Big Ten champs usually win roughly 16 games in a 20-game schedule. Furthermore, the slope of the line suggests that every whole win improvement is worth about 17 percentage points in championship odds.

At this point, I think that it is safe to say that I have beaten the preseason Kenpom data to a bloody pulp. Fortunately, the Big Ten season is right around the corner, and the analytical tools at my disposal will allow for a real time tracking of expected wins, regular season championship odds, and Big Ten tournament seeding and odds.

The first Big Ten game tips off on Sunday, Dec. 13, and I plan to give a brief update on the numbers which reflect the changes that have occurred since the preseason data was released. I will then provide updates following most MSU games. That is all for now. Until next time, enjoy, and Go Green

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Big Ten Basketball Mathematical Analysis, Addendum: The Ideal Schedule - The Only Colors

The Queer Eye star shared easy tips with NowThis on how you can make working from home bearable and modify traditions this year to safely enjoy the holiday season. By Ashleigh Carter

Published on 12/10/2020 at 10:38 AM

"Queer Eye" star Bobby Berk shares his ideas for keeping a sense of normalcy this year with simple and affordable working from home tips. | PayPal

"Queer Eye" star Bobby Berk shares his ideas for keeping a sense of normalcy this year with simple and affordable working from home tips. | PayPal

Superstar interior designer Bobby Berk knows that working from home has been tough for a lot of people. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many to adapt to remote working or learning, which has led to feelings of stress and being overworked.

Berk told NowThis that some simple alterations to your home or work area can make a difference in keeping you focused during your work or school day.

When I'm surrounded by chaos, my mind is chaotic too, Berk said in an interview.

Berk is best known for his impressive (and quick) home makeovers on the hit Netflix show Queer Eye. As part of the Fab Five, Berk transforms the homes of the heroes, turning them into spaces that are both functional and customized to the persons needs.

The COVID-19 pandemic completely upended everyones daily lives, and Berk was no exception; the Fab Five had to pause filming earlier this year for the upcoming sixth season set in Austin, TX.

I think two months into [the pandemic] was the longest I've been home for 10 years, with my design firm before and then Queer Eye, Berk said. So it's been kind of nice. I've enjoyed it.

Because we're all working from home, we're all on a budget right now, Berk continued. So I've come up with some really cute and easy ways to make your work from home spaces or your school from home spaces easier and doing it without breaking the bank.

As Berk got used to a new sense of normalcy, so did the rest of the world. He came up with his own Berking From Home strategies to help people focus while staying in one place.

So one of my main, main recommendations, and this was not just for work from home, but back in the day when I traveled constantly, was noise-cancelling headphones. Especially right now, when working from home, if you have roommates, if you have kids, dogs, or just daydream a lot, noise-cancelling headphones will really help you stay focused and tune the rest of the world out.

Another thing that always frustrated me when I was working from home at first is all the things I needed to have charged, Berk said. I would have them in random plugs, and cords would knock my coffee over, Id trip on them. So I made sure I went out and got one of those big power strips. So that way all my cords are in one place. They're not coming from all different directions. You have less chaos around you, less chaos in your mind.

[Make] sure that you've got a good chair. A lot of people are like, 'Oh, I should get an office-y chair If I'm working from home.' No, get something that looks good because you're going to have to look at that chair even when you're not working. So make sure you get a chair that's comfortable and it looks good, but supports your back as well.

I recommend getting like a nice big tray, like a big wood or plastic or metal tray that when that tray is out, sitting on the bed or sitting on the coffee table or the sofa, and your laptops on it, your coffee's on it, your lights on it: it's work time, Berk continued. But when you put that tray away, work is done. Do not look at your phone for work, do not open up that laptop, do not answer emails. So [tray] out, work time, tray not out, not work time, because it's really important to not only visually separate that space, but also to make sure that, you know, some people that have home offices, you can shut the door. But for those of us who don't, you just put that tray away, and no more work.

I do always recommend making your bed, Berk said. You need to start out with a task to make yourself feel accomplished especially if your bed is in the space that you're working in as well. It has such a huge effect on your mental health and wellness to make that bed and make sure that you are mentally fit and ready to start working.

With the holidays approaching, many people are staying at home instead of traveling to see loved ones. As COVID-19 cases continue to surge to record-breaking numbers, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention issued an advisory ahead of Thanksgiving urging people against traveling or hosting large gatherings.

The CDCsuggested taking similar precautions for the upcoming holidays as well and recommends hosting virtual events instead. And while it might be strange for most people to spend the holidays apart from loved ones, Berk suggested people keep up those holiday traditions from when you were a kid on their own.

When we were little, we used to always bake cookies, and when friends and family would come over, we'd send them home with a plate of cookies, Berk said. Well, obviously we can't have all those people over this year, so I went out and I bought a big stand mixer, so that way I can make cookies in big batches and I'm going to ship all the cookies.

Berk continued: The holidays always make us feel warm even though, you know, the holidays are going to look a little different this year. It doesn't mean they still can't be merry.

Berk said keeping a sense of normalcy is especially important this year.

We as species like normalcy, we like pattern, he continued. And so making sure that you're doing some of the same things that you would normally do, even if they're a little different, is going to keep us happy and safe this year.

While everyone continues to grapple with seemingly endless months of living through a pandemic, Berk encouraged people to maintain hope and persevere something hes been known for on Queer Eye.

That's always kind of the attitude I've had to have is things will get better, Berk said. We'll get through this. It'll be fine Make sure that you're taking care of yourselves, get those work from home things, get the things that you need for holidays.

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Bobby Berk Knows Working From Home Is Hard. Hes Got Some Advice - NowThis

MAUREEN MCCORMICK OF "THE BRADY BUNCH" AND INTERIOR DESIGNER DAN VICKERY TO STAR IN NEW HOME RENOVATION SERIES "FROZEN IN TIME"

- Series Streaming on discovery+ Beginning Monday, Jan. 4 -

(New York, N.Y.) - Fans nostalgic for decades past can travel back in time with the new home renovation series Frozen in Time, streaming on discovery+, Discovery Inc.'s new subscription streaming service, beginning Monday, Jan. 4. Starring Maureen McCormick of The Brady Bunch fame, a collector and nostalgia enthusiast, along with interior designer Dan Vickery, the series will follow the duo as they overhaul Southern California homes that are stuck in a design time warp. Dan will bring the structures up-to-date, while Maureen will source beautiful decade-specific pieces that give the tired homes a refreshed look. Each stunning design will preserve the best of the past with a wink to the original era, providing families with the stylish, functional spaces they need.

"It's fun to reminisce about the past," said Maureen. "The 50s were cool, the 60s were hip and the 70s were groovy. But some homes are just stuck there, and, when you step inside, you feel like you're in a time warp."

"We're renovating houses that have been trapped in the past," said Dan. "And we're going to take them from frozen in time to beautifully timeless."

During the series, Dan and Maureen will take on a 1961 property in Laguna Beach that acts as a time capsule with its period furnishings, decades old appliances and original shag carpet. Inspired by the home's hilltop location, the duo will rearrange the main floor's layout to capitalize on the gorgeous ocean views. Modern elements with vintage flair, including retro-look appliances, a funky tile backsplash and iconic period light fixtures, round out the breathtaking design. Throughout the season, Maureen and Dan will tackle pastel tiled bathrooms, wood paneled walls and laminate countertops to help families bring their homes into this century.

Fans are invited to connect with the series across the discovery+ digital platforms at discoveryplus.com and via @discoveryplus and #FrozeninTime on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Fans also can connect with Dan and Maureen on Instagram at @dan_vickery and @momccormick7.

About discovery+

discovery+ is the definitive non-fiction, real life subscription streaming service. The new service will launch with a landmark partnership with Verizon that gives their customers with select plans 12 months of discovery+ on Verizon. At launch in the U.S., discovery+ will have the largest-ever content offering of any new streaming service, featuring a wide range of exclusive, original series across popular, passion verticals in which Discovery brands have a leadership position, including lifestyle and relationships; home and food; true crime; paranormal; adventure and natural history; as well as science, tech and the environment, and a slate of high-quality documentaries. discovery+ will offer more than 55,000 episodes all in one place, with over 2,500 current and classic shows from Discovery's iconic portfolio of networks, including HGTV, Food Network, TLC, ID, OWN, Travel Channel, Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. For more about discovery+, click here.

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Breaking News - Maureen McCormick of "The Brady Bunch" and Interior Designer Dan Vickery to Star in New Home Renovation Series "Frozen...

A unique housing project launched early this year by leading Australian owned property investment company, DPN is taking the concept of Specialist Disability Accommodation (SDA) in Australia to new heights of transformation.

Aptly named DPN Casa Capace (Casa means home and Capace, to be able in Italian), the project represents a social impact business incubated by DPN to build architecturally designed, automated and resident-centric homes for people with disabilities across Australia. Completely integrated with home automation systems, these houses would provide residents control and independence in their daily lives.

When Australias National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) sought to provide SDA housing for 28,000 differently-abled Australians, the government invited the commercial property sector to conceive SDA-standard designs that would raise the quality of the dwellings.

DPN, described by managing director Sam Khalil as being fanatical about design excellence, was up for the challenge.

We wanted to create a designer home that anybody would walk into and say, I would love to have this as my home, and not be able to tell that its been built as a disabled-care home in any way, says Khalil.

The pilot homes that opened early this year drew a tremendous response from prospective residents and NDIS care providers. Institutional investors have joined with the original social impact investors to help DPN realise the next stage of the Casa Capace vision.

Speaking about his partners who took the leap to join the project, Khalil said, We collaborated on our strengths to deliver something thats going to benefit Australians and set the benchmark globally. Within three months, we had $200 million of EOIs, weve already bought more land and theres a pipeline of housing with a plan to build 1500 homes in the next five years, most in NSW but with Queensland and Victoria soon, too.

Aware that DPNs choice of partners would be critical for the success of Casa Capace, Khalil reached out to building technologies distributor and reputed provider of OEM-agnostic solutions, Ivory Egg to meet their requirements for an advanced home automation solution that was secure, robust and intuitive to operate.

According to Simon Harvey, national sales manager for Ivory Egg, DPN Casa Capace wanted automation that would effect change in peoples lives.

We knew we needed a solid partner with a wealth of products that could do what DPN Casa Capace required, and is big enough to do it at a roll-out scale. We have a great relationship with ABB, so we looked no further than them they have the expertise and the product, Harvey said.

ABBs i-bus KNX was chosen for Casa Capaces automation vision.

In the Casa Capace homes, KNX controls the electrical doors, the lighting, blinds, TVs and the HVAC, and even the height of the benches, says Christian Schiemann, market development manager for ABB Building Automation Australia & New Zealand.

It can also implement scenes, such as raising the blinds and switching on the lights in the morning, or turning on the TV and dimming the lights, he added.

The open-protocol ABB i-bus KNX also met the protocol compliance requirements of both Standard Australias Technical Specification for Building Automation (SA/SNZ TS ISO/IEC14543.1.1:2018) and the International Standards for Building Automation (ISO/IEC145).

Commenting on the first two SDA-standard homes that opened in Sydneys Oran Park in February this year, Harvey said, Casa Capace now has a future-proof design and system that can accommodate ongoing development of technologies and products. Its designed to enhance the longevity of the homes. ABB is synonymous with KNX, and this open-protocol standard is part of the allure for DPN theyre not locked into any one technology.

Watch ABBs technology at work in the Casa Capace home.

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Designer smart homes transforming lives of the differently-abled - Architecture and Design