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Thomas Hawk posted a photo:
photograph I acquired from a large archive of negatives from a San Francisco Bay based commercial photographer taken mostly in the 1960s to 1970s.
AMSTERDAM (ANP) - Het aantal opgeleverde nieuwbouwwoningen zal dit en volgend jaar maar licht stijgen, verwacht ING Research. De woningbouw profiteert van het oplopende aantal bouwvergunningen, maar stikstofbeperkingen, personeelstekort, te weinig capaciteit op het volle stroomnet en hoge bouwkosten blijven de productie remmen.
Uit een nieuwe publicatie van de bank over de bouwsector komt naar voren dat in de eerste vier maanden van dit jaar 7 procent minder nieuwbouwwoningen zijn gerealiseerd dan in dezelfde periode vorig jaar. "Deze afname moet in de loop van 2026 eerst nog worden goedgemaakt", stelt de bank. ING Research verwacht daarom dat het aantal nieuwbouwwoningen in 2026 slechts licht stijgt naar ongeveer 71.000 en dat dit in 2027 verder toeneemt tot 74.000.
Tussen de vergunningverlening en het moment dat de nieuwe eigenaar de sleutel krijgt, zit vaak ruim twee jaar, zegt sectoreconoom bouw Maurice van Sante bij ING Research. "Bovendien blijft de capaciteit bij bouwbedrijven beperkt. Zij spreiden opdrachten over de tijd om pieken en dalen in het werk beheersbaar te houden."
In mei werd het hoogste maandelijkse aantal bouwvergunningen voor nieuwe woningen afgegeven sinds 2015. Maar dat leidt niet een-op-een tot meer nieuwbouwhuizen, aldus ING Research. Projecten kunnen vertraging oplopen als woningen nog moeten worden verkocht of als plannen worden aangepast en opnieuw moeten worden vergund.
Voor de gehele Nederlandse bouwproductie verwacht ING Research een stabilisatie in 2026 en een lichte groei in 2027 van 1 procent, dankzij de eerdere toename van het aantal bouwvergunningen. De infrasector blijft volgens de bank de sterkste deelsector. Sinds 2020 laat de productie in de infrasector hoge groeicijfers zien. Wel valt de productiestijging dit en volgend jaar naar verwachting een stuk lager uit.
banzainetsurfer has added a photo to the pool:
The Toyama Glass Art Museum (富山市ガラス美術館, Toyama Glass Bijutsukan) in Toyama City showcases a large collection of glass art from around the world. The beautifully modern Kirari building that houses the museum was designed by world-renowned architect Kuma Kengo and also contains the city's public library.
The museum offers both permanent and temporary exhibitions. The permanent exhibitions are on the fourth and sixth floors whilst the temporary exhibitions are interspersed across multiple galleries on other floors. The permanent exhibition on the fourth floor showcases contemporary glass art by international artists procured by the museum over past decades, while the sixth floor hosts the "Glass Art Garden" exhibition, which boasts a collection of installations by Dale Chihuly.
Source: www.japan-guide.com/e/e7503.html
ajpscs has added a photo to the pool:
51st Edogawa Fireworks Festival
江戸川区花火大会 / 市川市民納涼花火大会
FIREWORKS
© ajpscs
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An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Earlier this summer, nearly 160,000 applicants took the entrance exam for UNAM, Mexico's largest university. For the first time, they did it completely remotely, using a "lockdown" browser and AI-powered webcam proctoring software, over several weeks from late May through early June. It was a disaster. When exam results came in, they bore little resemblance to past results, especially at the top. Between 2021 and 2025, 3.5 percent of test takers scored 100 or more on the 120-question UNAM test. This year, 16.3 percent did so. The story was even worse at the highest of the high end. Between 2021 and 2025, 0.9 percent of test takers scored 110 or more; this year, 5.5 percent did so.
The surge in top scores led to accusations of widespread cheating, and UNAM appointed a commission of experts to investigate the situation. The group was given the unwieldy name "la Comision Tecnica de Personas Expertas para la Revision del Proceso de Seleccion de Ingreso a Licenciatura para el Circlo Escolar 2026-2027/1," and it has just submitted its recommendations. The commission believes that the best path forward, given all the concerns, is to administer a "control exam" -- that is, applicants will have to sit for another test, and they will do so in person.
This control exam will apply not only to those who secured a spot at UNAM based on this year's test but also to everyone who would have been admitted based on minimum successful scores in their program of study since 2021. About 58,000 people could be affected, and places at UNAM will now depend on the results of the new test. (Details on the control exam should appear soon; classes are currently scheduled to begin on August 10, so everything will have to move quickly unless the school decides to delay classes.) According to Gaceta UNAM, the school's official news publication, the university rector has apologized to honest applicants, since they will now have to prepare for and take the test again despite doing nothing wrong. Still, the control exam is "necessary to give certainty and guarantee equity in access," the rector added.
The surge in top scores led to accusations of widespread cheating, and UNAM appointed a commission of experts to investigate the situation. The group was given the unwieldy name "la Comision Tecnica de Personas Expertas para la Revision del Proceso de Seleccion de Ingreso a Licenciatura para el Circlo Escolar 2026-2027/1," and it has just submitted its recommendations. The commission believes that the best path forward, given all the concerns, is to administer a "control exam" -- that is, applicants will have to sit for another test, and they will do so in person.
This control exam will apply not only to those who secured a spot at UNAM based on this year's test but also to everyone who would have been admitted based on minimum successful scores in their program of study since 2021. About 58,000 people could be affected, and places at UNAM will now depend on the results of the new test. (Details on the control exam should appear soon; classes are currently scheduled to begin on August 10, so everything will have to move quickly unless the school decides to delay classes.) According to Gaceta UNAM, the school's official news publication, the university rector has apologized to honest applicants, since they will now have to prepare for and take the test again despite doing nothing wrong. Still, the control exam is "necessary to give certainty and guarantee equity in access," the rector added.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.