Waching daily Jun 17 2018

Upon Early Review, VAR Is Enjoying a Starring Role in the World Cup

In a tournament packed with mononymous stars, the breakout name of the 2018 World Cup is actually an acronym.

VAR, which stands for "Video Assistant Referee," has made its debut in Russia, and the officiating technology has already featured in a few major decisions. So far, it is working.

In the broadest sense, VAR works similarly to the video review processes used in the NBA and NFL.

After a contentious, match-changing incident on the pitch, a referee stationed in a remote studio reviews replay footage and alerts the in-game official to any possible infringements that may have been missed, or errors that were made in the original call (or non-call).

On Saturday, VAR made its first-ever World Cup penalty decision. Our little acronym is growing up so fast.

It came in the 54th minute of France's opening match against Australia. French forward Antoine Griezmann galloped onto a through ball and stumbled as he entered the box.

Referee Andrés Cunha waved play on, but around 20 seconds later he received an alert over his earpiece. The VAR official had observed that Griezmann was, in fact, tripped by a defender.

Cunha blew his whistle and jogged just off the pitch to a video monitor, which looks a lot like an airport ticketing kiosk, and reviewed relevant replay angles.

Cunha then awarded France a penalty, which Griezmann neatly tucked into the back of the net. VAR 1, Australia 0. I clocked the entire sequence, from (uncalled) foul to awarded penalty, at one minute and 31 seconds.

VAR struck again on Saturday during Peru's match against Denmark. The referee originally saw nothing wrong with a Danish player's clumsy tackle in the box on Peru's Christian Cueva.

Play briefly continued before the official received word through his earpiece and visited the monitor. The penalty appeal was retroactively approved, though Cueva's ensuing attempt may have dented the underside of a U-2 spy plane.

From foul to penalty call, VAR's order of operations in that incident took one minute and 35 seconds.

VAR isn't reserved just for penalty decisions. Spain's first goal in their barnburning 3–3 draw with Portugal on Friday was subjected to review to determine whether striker Diego Costa had fouled a defender during the build-up.

No malfeasance was discovered, and the on-pitch referee let the goal stand. This decision didn't call for him to check the replays himself, and so the process barely delayed the match.

The system isn't perfect, largely thanks to that pesky glitch known as the human element. During Argentina's draw against Iceland on Saturday, an Icelandic defender looked to have illegally impeded striker Cristian Pavón in the box.

The ref didn't call a foul, nor did he request the VAR official to take a look.

While the VAR official can examine incidents on his or her own volition, the play was ignored in this instance and Argentina was denied a penalty (which may have been a relief for Lionel Messi.).

Still, based on early returns, VAR has shown itself to be an improvement on the systems used in the NBA and NFL.

The NBA's over-reliance on replay frequently breaks the flow the game, while the NFL's video reviews can take ages and oftentimes don't even result in the correct calls. Perhaps VAR knows what a catch is?.

Take Zach Ertz's fourth-quarter touchdown for the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LII. The entire process from when the ball crossed the plane of the end zone to the video review and eventual upholding of the original decision took three minutes and 30 seconds.

That's two full minutes longer than Saturday's World Cup penalty reviews, and those delays occurred only because real infractions were spotted. If the VAR official hadn't detected any fouls, then play would have continued, uninterrupted.

The World Cup is still very much in its honeymoon period with VAR. As a system designed for controversial incidents, we shouldn't assume that it will make it through the tournament with a spotless reputation.

Nonetheless, VAR has passed its early tests. The calls have been on the mark, even if some of the ensuing penalty kicks haven't been.

For more infomation >> Upon Early Review, VAR Is Enjoying a Starring Role in the World Cup - Duration: 5:44.

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Wat is waternavel en hoe kan je het gebruiken? - Duration: 3:59.

For more infomation >> Wat is waternavel en hoe kan je het gebruiken? - Duration: 3:59.

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How hot is your neighbourhood? Areas of Perth feel the heat as tree canopies dwindle - Duration: 6:55.

How hot is your neighbourhood? Areas of Perth feel the heat as tree canopies dwindle

The average ground temperatures of different areas of Perth can vary by as much as 9 degrees Celsius, and tree canopy levels have a big influence on how hot your suburb feels.

But local councils warn an increasing pressure to comply with strict infill development targets is putting canopy levels at risk, and potentially turning up the heat as a consequence.

If you live in Perths western suburbs or the Hills, chances are the temperature is a few degrees lower than in built-up areas, where the traditional Aussie backyard is disappearing to make way for infill.

CSIRO research scientist Peter Caccetta was part of a team that mapped canopy cover above three metres using stereo aerial photography, which measures height, and then correlated the tree canopy with land surface temperatures recorded by a satellite.

We found that for every increase of 10 per cent tree canopy cover, you get a 0.

62-degree decrease in land surface temperatures, he said.

So if you take the extremes, from no canopy cover to full canopy cover, theres about a 6-degree difference.

But the actual temperature variation across the city is even more extreme.

The hottest and coolest areas.

Mundaring, in Perths east, was the local government area (LGA) that had the most tree canopy coverage, with 32 per cent.

Wanneroo had the least at just 8 per cent of its area.

Local government authorities with low tree canopy cover … Wanneroo, Belmont and Canning … tend to have higher land surface temperatures, Dr Caccetta said.

On average they can be up to 5 degrees hotter in land surface temperature than the suburbs that have greater canopy covers.

But other surface elements such as lakes, irrigated grass, bitumen and sand also impact the temperature.

This is why Cockburn and Joondalup both have canopy cover of just 10 per cent but are among the coolest suburbs, and Mandurah is one of the warmest despite having reasonably high cover.

Dr Caccetta said the age of a suburb was the most important factor in determining the level of tree canopy, and the second-most important factor was the density of buildings.

Put simply, the denser suburbs where buildings take up most of the block are generally hotter.

Canopies under pressure from infill.

Greening a suburb has clear environmental, economic and health benefits, but the WA Local Government Association (WALGA) said Perth councils were grappling to retain trees amid growing pressure to meet infill targets, as well as the need to clear vegetation for greenfield developments.

The City of Stirling has lost more than 1 million square metres of tree cover in the past five years, and three-quarters of that was from private land.

In an effort to counteract the loss, the council has made changes to its local planning scheme to encourage tree retention and require new trees to be planted on development sites.

The balancing act for councils is to provide what people need to live and work, to provide that building and infrastructure, but also to keep that greening happening and to make sure we preserve enough of those spaces to meet the needs for temperature control and for wellbeing and all those other issues, WALGA President Lynne Craigie said.

It can be achieved by councils working with developers, but also we need the State Government to come on board and to work with us to introduce those aspects to planning requirements — that there are needs for developers … to make sure that greening does occur.

The WA Planning Commission (WAPC) is currently working on Design WA, which includes residential design codes for apartments as well as single and group dwellings, and will replace the current r-codes.

It has addressed tree retention and deep soil areas in its draft apartment design policy, released last year.

The WAPC said the objective of the policy was to identify existing trees for retention prior to development and as part of early site planning.

It encourages the retention of significant trees and aims to assist developers and LGAs work through alternatives and seek specialist assistance where required.

WALGA said it would continue to advocate strongly for similar measures to also be included within the Design WA policy for medium density and single houses.

For more infomation >> How hot is your neighbourhood? Areas of Perth feel the heat as tree canopies dwindle - Duration: 6:55.

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YFN Lucci Is The Only Person Reginae Carter Would Walk Through The Jungle With - Duration: 0:46.

YFN Lucci Is The Only Person Reginae Carter Would Walk Through The Jungle With

Reginae Carter is enjoying her little vacay with her boo YFN Lucci in Jamaica. She shared some gorgeous pics that were probably taken by him, just to keep her fans updated on what they're doing there.

The latest photo lets us know that these two have been waling through the jungle which turned out an exhilarating experience for Toya Wright's daughter. The only person that I'll walk thru the jungle with ❤ thanks for the adventure.