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In a matter of months, many Canadians and people around the world have adjusted to life with a new and important tool to help reduce the spread of COVID-19: face masks.
Back in May, Canada’s health officials recommended the use of non-medical face masks as an additional layer of protection during the pandemic. Face masks are now mandatory for workers across a multitude of industries and also for passengers on transit in most provinces.
However, individuals and business owners are often unsure of what to look for in terms of quality. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) has published guidelines for non-medical masks, poorly made versions have already been recalled in Canada.
This is something that Vancouver entrepreneur Stephanie Sang would like to see come to an end. In July 2020, she launched a company that helps businesses access high-quality, branded masks while allowing for a thorough review of the entire face mask production process: Masked For Work.
Sang started Masked For Work to solve a personal challenge. She needed to safely bring her staff back to the office at Granted Consulting, a business she has been running for nearly a decade.
However, Sang struggled to find high-quality masks on the market that could be branded for her workplace and also met the WHO requirements: namely, breathable material; a minimum of three layers in total (depending on the fabric) including an absorbent inner layer; and a water-resistant outer layer to prevent contaminants from sticking on the mask.
Rather than using traditional polyester, which is a plastic made of petroleum, the company uses certified recycled polyester which is transformed from waste like plastic bottles to make masks. This significantly reduces environmental damage by reducing petroleum extraction, energy consumption, and waste. Recycled polyester also lasts longer than other fabrics.
“Not all masks are made the same. I wasn’t able to find quality branded masks for my staff and this led me to design them for workplaces. That’s why we developed a three-layer mask that not only looks good, but also provides a high level of protection,” Sang explains.
Every step of the design process was carefully thought-out and several prototypes were made before reaching the final design.
Sang lived through the SARS outbreak in Taiwan and saw how masks made all the difference in keeping locals safe. As a country with 23.7 million people (that’s approximately the size of Vancouver Island), Taiwan has had only seven reported COVID-19 deaths to date.
Since the SARS crisis, policies, laws, and institutions were developed in Taiwan in preparation for potential future outbreaks. This year, health officials implemented widespread mask use and even app-based distribution of masks to protect citizens.
Masked For Work products are made in a facility that Sang’s family has ownership of. They specialize in developing high-tech and certified recycled material, allowing her team to oversee production and quality control. This also helps Sang ensure ethical working conditions and pay (above the living wage) for those who are making masks at the facility.
Masked For Work is committed to helping organizations and individuals in Canada and the US brand their own face masks and have access to quality protective products. Whether with a logo, company or school name, or a restaurant catchphrase, this custom feature is another way to help build a safe sense of community among groups navigating the pandemic.
The company recently developed masks for children and families and have made products more accessible with BubbleYou five-packs, BubbleFam family packs, and BubbleTeam business packs on their online store.
For a limited time, Masked For Work is offering a special deal for Daily Hive readers. Use the coupon code DAILYHIVE to get 10% off your online purchase for your organization or family (offer expires September 30, 2020).


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We know we are all busy and it’s hard to keep up with the news and trends in the industry. As a benefit of your continued membership in 2014 we will be providing quarterly updates of the major items that are affecting the cable industry to help you keep up to date. We encourage you to discuss these items on our mailing list and let us know if there are any items we missed over the last few months.
It is finally Spring, and the semester is starting to wind down. Don’t forget to check out the information about our upcoming conference in Denver this year. We have some great sessions lined up along with some free training from BT.
Prepare for the Cloud DVR
Comcast along with a few other companies have been toying with the idea of a Cloud DVR service (http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/Comcast-Makes-Cloud-DVR-Expansion-Official-128364, http://www.multichannel.com/news/technology/cablevisions-cloud-dvr-can-now-record-15-shows-once/373699). What this offers the providers is to deploy less expensive STBs, yet still have the functionality of a DVR (think – video on demand for all channels, all the time). The idea caused a lot of lawsuits at first which scared the industry but the industry will only advance with cheaper, dumber boxes out at the edge.
Watch out, Virtual MVPDs are on the horizon
As if you didn’t have enough to worry about, we are starting to see some “Virtual MVPDs” looking to lure students and young professionals (http://www.multichannel.com/news/interactive-tv/webtuner-makes-its-virtual-mvpd-pitch/373639) A virtual MVPD is a company that can provide full cable service (including live TV, sports, etc.) in a pay model over the internet. Since bandwidth is becoming less and less of an issue for end users, these types of companies can essentially allow people to subscribe to “cable” from anywhere, regardless of who their local providers are. Expect to see your students to subscribe to these services in addition to Hulu, Netflix and everything else to either supplement or replace your cable service. (http://www.multichannel.com/news/news-articles/clearleap-istreamplanet-jump-live-streaming-deal/373599). And speaking of Virtual TV, a company called Aereo has been in legal battles for the last year attempting to re-broadcast OTA signals over the internet – you should check out what is happening on that front (http://www.fiercecable.com/story/aca-goes-bat-aereo-supreme-court-filing/2014-04-01)
More ways to consume your OTT
Recently, Amazon threw their hat in the ring to serve up content right to the consumer (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CX5P8FC/ref=amb_link_411099942_2?ie=UTF8&nav_sdd=aps&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=gateway-takeover&pf_rd_r=0E7REVJD0BXNXA1VDTTR&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1773330782&pf_rd_i=507846). Amazon’s set top box enters the space already occupied by Apple, Google, Roku, and many, many others. And all this as Netflix announced that they will begin streaming content in 4K (http://www.multichannel.com/news/tv-apps/netflix-starts-stream-4k/373677), which at the moment is inclusive of their own programming like House of Cards, but expect that to ramp up quickly. Oh, and don’t mind the 18MB/s – 22MB/s streaming requirement ☺. But it does look like Disney and other major content producers aren’t set on 4K just yet — http://www.dslreports.com/shownews/128115

domain: news


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Staffordshire based full-service digital marketing agency, Kanuka Digital, are set to celebrate their one year anniversary in June after a successful 12 months helping businesses of all shapes and sizes evolve and grow their online presence.
Having blossomed from the digital marketing team of parent company and long established eCommerce experts, iWeb, Kanuka Digital have worked continuously to grow their client profile as well as their in-house team of skilled marketers.
Alongside gaining a host of new clients and helping them grow online through the wide range of digital marketing services they offer, Kanuka Digital have attained a number of other achievements.
From becoming Google and DotDigital partners, hosting networking events and growing their team to ten members of staff, Kanuka Digital have certainly achieved a lot in just 12 months.
The first event was held in the summer of 2018 to help get the Kanuka Digital name out there. Hiring an ice cream van and giving out hundreds of free Mr Whippy’s with SEO site audits thrown in paid definitely paid off. The event generated plenty of sign ups to their upcoming marketing conference and a number of business leads in the process.


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Nutritional labels are on just about everything we eat, but are those labels telling us everything we need to know?
"Sugar bad, saturated fat bad, and a little bit of protein very good and an overall balance even better," said Dan Morris, owner of Heath Kick Nutrition.
Morris says it's important to understand that not all fat is bad--in fact unsaturated fats are vital.
"Instead of just looking at fat on the supplements facts and putting the item down look and see if it's unsaturated fat," said Morris.
We spoke with people at a local fitness club and discovered that serving's sizes can get confusing.
"I think that's really commonly missed if you look at the serving size a lot of times there's two in each serving," said Emily Bender.
"That's a bad misleading thing when you find something that's 300 calorie snack but its three portions," said John Price.
"The main thing that people are missing is servings per container and serving size," said Morris.
A gallop poll recently ranked
"Usually there's a nutritional scale at many of the fast food restaurants here in Fort Wayne so I look at that and try and eat better now than I did when I was younger," said Bill Fahlsing.


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The power of creativity in a crisis
How should brands connect with consumers when things are not rosy?
When the COVID-19 pandemic first hit, many advertisers began asking how to respond to a crisis of such global proportions: both in terms of whether to keep advertising – and, if so, how to speak to consumers at a time of such disruption.
Since then, the world has watched Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine, and subsequently brands faced questions around how to respond in terms of their own advertising and business activities.
No two global crises are the same, of course, so brands need to carefully consider the context of the situation – including consumer perceptions – to make the right choice. But after more than two years of life in a pandemic, it’s fair to say that we’ve learned some lessons about the power of creativity in a crisis.


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In addition to the streaming service itself, the company has also been working on a standalone game streaming device, which would enable the same functionalities, albeit through a dedicated Microsoft branded mini-console. The plan to launch such a device was first announced last year, with the company also revealing its working title, called Keystone. A lot of people thought that it would be a small USB-shaped device like the Firestick, which will be plugged into the HDMI port of your monitor for easy accessibility.
Now, a new teaser image posted on Twitter by Microsoft's head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, has given us a first look at the potential device, and it is much larger than we thought. The device showcased in the image looks like the existing Xbox Series S and is the size of a basic set-top-box unit. It features the iconic Microsoft logo and what seems to be a USB port in the front for the wired game controller.
While we assume that this is the final pre-production look of the device, the official Microsoft Xbox account on Twitter soon tweeted a reply which added further fuel to the rumour mills, saying, "Now what did we say about putting old prototypes on your shelf boss." So, chances are that the device may go through another iteration before it is ready for launch.
Whether this is true or just a ruse, one thing is certain. Microsoft is certainly working on a streaming device for its game streaming service, and it will hopefully be launched sometime next year. So, stay tuned for all the latest updates as we keep up informed about the progress of this news.


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Here we are barely into the 21st century and Apple seems to have more competitors than ever; some well armed with cash and willing to spend it, either strategically or desperately (or, both at the same time). How does Apple fare amidst all that competition?
Follow The Money Trail
Taiwanese smartphone manufacturer HTC, which has a number of highly touted, well reviewed smartphones on the market, in the latest quarter, just lost more money than expected. Again.
To find out how Apple’s competitors stack up against our favorite Cupertino juggernaut, lets’ follow the money trail.
HTC makes some of the best smartphone hardware on planet earth, and by many accounts, better hardware than Apple’s iPhone 5s.
Yet HTC lost money again last quarter. Again. Why? Marketshare has dropped from about 10-percent just a few years ago to barely 2-percent today.
HTC is but one of many smartphone competitors, but it’s Korean conglomerate Samsung which makes all the money that Apple doesn’t make from the smartphone and tablet industry.
That’s right. It’s a two-horse race for profit share, and even though Samsung sells twice as many smartphones and tablets as Apple, it’s Apple which records the majority of the industry’s profits.
The Race For Third Place
What about that long list of also rans? BlackBerry was once the darling of the enterprise, but is gasping for breath, losing money even more quickly this year than last.
Motorola, bought by Google to shore up a patent defense, was sold for near scrap to Lenovo in China. Nokia, once the largest handset and smartphone maker in the world, was sold for scrap to Microsoft.
What of Microsoft? The PC software giant makes money hand over fist with Windows and Office on traditional PCs, but as that segment of the tech industry is under siege from mobile device sales growth, Microsoft is forced to write off lackluster hardware sales and push Office onto the iPad platform.
That leaves a money trail spread between two disparate entities. Google, and a plethora of smartphone and tablet knock off makers from China. By some estimates, Google has devoted over $15-billion to the Android and smartphone effort and has little profits to show for it, and certainly no return on the investment.
Breakeven is about the best Google, Amazon, and other makers can hope for. How so? Apple’s Mac line owns about 50-percent of the traditional PCs profits, and while PCs with Windows or Chrome dominate in sales, profits are nearly non-existent. As to the smartphone and tablet segments, recent estimates put Apple’s share of the money trail at over 80-percent, with the rest going to Samsung.
Marketshare does not seem to translate directly into profits. When there is not much money left on the money trail it makes a technology pundit wonder how much longer Apple’s also-ran competitors can stay in business.


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Since the Apple Vision Pro launched on Friday, some who shelled out $3,500 to be among the first with the pricey AR/VR headset have been sharing videos of themselves doing something truly, well, stupid.
These early adopters users have been uploading videos on social media where they are driving while wearing the Apple Vision Pro.
A warning for Apple Vision Pro drivers
The Apple Vision Pro-wearing drivers in most of these viral clips appear to be operating Tesla vehicles, which prompted public concern from at least one government official that users are utilizing Tesla Autopilot — and not paying attention to the road.
“Reminder—ALL advanced driver assistance systems available today require the human driver to be in control and fully engaged in the driving task at all times,” posted U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in a post on X.
Buttigieg’s post included a video of a driver wearing Apple Vision Pro, seemingly interacting with the headset while operating a Tesla Cybertruck. The drivers hands should be on the steering wheel, but instead, they’re interacting with the headset.
Another Apple Vision Pro driver, X user @lentinidante, went viral with for driving a Tesla while wearing an Apple Vision Pro, making the same interactive hand gestures. The video ends with police officers supposedly pulling him over.
However, the driver confirmed to Gizmodo that the whole video was a skit, although he admits to actually driving the vehicle for “30-40 seconds” while wearing the headset for the video.
“Driving while wearing a VR headset is reckless and disregards the safety of everyone on the road,” a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) spokesperson told Fortune in a statement.
However, as Fortune points out in its own report, AR/VR headsets and smart glasses fall into a grey area when it comes to actual legal ramifications. Many states have laws against texting while driving and similar distracted-driving regulation. However, some states specifically limit this ban to cell phones or television. Some even have carve outs allowing for dashboard monitors.
In fact, when lawmakers looked into passing Google Glass-specific laws after the smart glasses launched, Google lobbied against such bills. A 2013 case involving a driver who was ticketed for wearing Google Glass shows why these specific laws were necessary. Charges against the Google Glass-wearing driver were thrown out when it could not be proven that the driver’s Google Glass was on or that the driver was watching a video.
Apple specifically tells users not to to use the Apple Vision Pro while “operating a moving vehicle.”
Since the launch of the Apple Vision Pro, some early adopters have been posting videos on social media of themselves driving while wearing the AR/VR headset. Most of these drivers appear to be operating Tesla vehicles, raising concerns that they are using Tesla Autopilot and not paying attention to the road. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg warned that all advanced driver assistance systems require the human driver to be fully engaged in the driving task. However, the legal ramifications of using AR/VR headsets while driving are unclear, as laws on distracted driving vary by state. Apple explicitly advises against using the Apple Vision Pro while operating a moving vehicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) spokesperson expressed that driving with a VR headset is reckless and endangers everyone on the road.


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January 11, 2005
Hyland names sales manager
Brett Sauer is the new District Sales Manager for Hyland Seeds in Minnesota and North Dakota.
Sauer, a University of North Dakota graduate who grew up on a family farm and was involved in production agriculture, recently held a contract sales position in which he was responsible for the promotion and service of Hyland Seeds products. Sauers new responsibilities include seed sales and market development in the Minnesota and North Dakota markets, particularly in the Red River region.
With this new position, we are looking to support our existing team, broaden our dealer network and build awareness of Hyland Seeds portfolio of products. Brett Sauer is a very enthusiastic young man and will make a great addition to the team, says Ivan Warriner, Hyland Seeds Sales Manager.
Hyland Seeds is a division of Thompsons, which has a plant in East Grand Forks, Minn.
Montana sells beans to Cuba
Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) recently announced that Cuba is going to buy $15 million of agriculture products from Montana over the next 18 months. About $10 million of the deal is for peas, lentils and dry beans.
This is the second major Cuban sale for Montana. In 2003, the state sold Cuba $10.4 million worth of ag products. Pinto beans were included in the mix.
Sen. Baucus is the top Democrat on Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over international trade. According to a press release from his office, Sen. Baucus is a leading advocate of dismantling the decades-old U.S. travel and trade restrictions on Cuba.
Three new varieties
Its been a busy fall for announcement of new varieties. NDSU released the first black bean, Eclipse, from its breeding program, which is funded in part by checkoff funds from Northarvest dry bean producers. (See Northarvest Bean Grower, November 2005, page 4)
Now, USDA has released a small red line and a pinto line. The pinto germplasm is resistant to anthracnose. It is going to breeders who can use it to try to develop resistance in commercial lines.
MSU recently announced the release of Redcoat, a white red kidney bean with white splotches. Known as a soldier bean for its coloring, MSU plant breeders say Redcoat could be the beginning of new market -- a soldier bean that tastes like a modern kidney bean.
Can beans help bring rain?
File this under bean folklore: Native Americans used to partially fill hollowed out gourds with dry beans to use as musical instruments in ceremonial dances, including rain dances. Kids in Center Harbor, N.H., recently revived the practice and made rain sticks by decorating cardboard tubes with colors and feathers and by filling them with dry beans.
Spill the beans. Send your bean-related news to Talking Beans, Northarvest Bean Grower, 6258 90th Ave. N., Glyndon, MN 56547 or email email@example.com.


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Bollore Logistics launches real time monitoring solution
June 5, 2019: Bollore Logistics, one of the leading freight forwarding companies, has launched real time monitoring of shipments at the Transport Logistic exhibition in Munich on June 5.
This new solution is based on the Internet of Things and intelligent data processing. It is also equipped with a proactive alert management system to ensure the integrity of the goods being transported.
The logistics giant has introduced this solution to meet the needs of the market, which is becoming more complex in view of the number of stakeholders involved, while shippers are demanding more and more information on stock levels and the state of their critical or sensitive products.
With the help of on-board sensor, all data such as location, temperature, hygrometry, brightness and possible shocks are collected all along the supply chain, explains the company through a statement.
Real Time Monitoring offers an integrated service and customizable solutions depending on the nature of the products and adapted to all transport modes whatever the industry sector or the country of origin and destination. It also includes real-time transport plans for greater efficiency and better monitoring of operations.
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Qatar Airways Cargo and SkyCell have signed an agreement to lease SkyCell containers. The addition of these temperature-controlled hybrid containers will allow the cargo carrier to transport their pharmaceuticals across its extensive global network.
Qatar Airways Cargo has roped in Kirsten de Bruijn for the role of senior vice president, Cargo Sales and Network Planning.
From October 2020, DACHSER will be the new forwarding partner for Danone. As a new strategic logistics partner, DACHSER will take over all transports within Germany.
DSV will open its first self-storage building as part of the company’s new strategic focus on the B2C self-storage market on October 1.
The new agreement will see Sanad Aerotech providing IAE with expanded MRO services for its V2500 engines, which powers the Airbus A320 family of aircraft.
Working together, the transportation was planned well in advance as SkyCell 1500C containers needed to be shipped from Europe to Asia in pre-conditioned mode. Once they arrived in Hong Kong, they were loaded with vaccines to be flown back under temperature range +2 to +8 degrees Celsius.
Inspite of the challenges, there has been an improvement which is seen from the increase in the overall revenue and other operating income to QAR 51.1 billion, up 6.4 per cent compared to last year.
Over 12,000 donations have poured in from over 140 countries enabling airline to uplift more humanitarian cargo into Lebanon
The results focused on data accuracy between the real-time data delivered and the data recorded and stored in the containers.
Virgin Hyperloop and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), inked a MOU to conduct a feasibility study for a proposed Hyperloop corridor from BLR Airport.
Thielemann-Hald succeeds Martin Wehner, who has successfully managed the automotive business at Hellmann in recent years and has now assumed the role of chief commercial officer Europe.
They delivered vital aid supplies to the crisis-struck refugee camp, which is said to be the largest in Europe.
Worldwide yield/rate has been stable for three weeks in a row (USD 2.83 per kg in week 38)


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Amazon's Prime Video just launched a massive global expansion, putting it into more than 200 countries and territories, and making it a true global competitor to Netflix.
Prime Video's new countries include India, France, Canada, and basically every major market except for China (where Netflix also still doesn't operate).
Amazon's expansion mirrors Netflix's global launch in January.
This launch comes at a time of rapid growth for Prime Video. Amazon had previously said it was doubling its spending on video content in the second half of 2016, compared with last year.
One expensive item was "The Grand Tour," a new show by Jeremy Clarkson and the "Top Gear" crew, which cost Amazon a reported $250 million. The show appears to have been a success so far, getting Amazon's biggest premiere audience to date, and becoming the most illegally downloaded show in history (perhaps partially due to Amazon not being available globally). In a recent survey, an impressive 25% of survey respondents said "The Grand Tour" impacted their decision to sign up or renew their subscription to Prime.
But it's not just "The Grand Tour" that has generated buzz.
On Monday, Amazon secured a whopping 11 Golden Globe nominations, including two nominations for best comedy series ("Transparent" and "Mozart in the Jungle," which won the category last year). Amazon also has it's first movie-critic darling in "Manchester by the Sea," which earned five Golden Globe nominations.
There's a simple reason why Amazon continues to bulk up its Prime offerings: Prime members spend a lot more on Amazon. In fact, they spend about 4.6-times more money on Amazon than non-Prime members, Morgan Stanley said.
Prime costs $99/year or $10.99/month, and besides access to Amazon's videos, members also get access to free two-day shipping, a bunch of streaming video and music content, online storage space, game discounts, and much more.
Previous reporting by Eugene Kim.
Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.


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Rocketing to a record for the franchise and exceeding all pre-release estimates, Lionsgate's “John Wick: Chapter 4” dominated the next-to-last March weekend with $73.5 million in U.S./Canada box office results, according to Comscore.
"Wick" bucked typical franchise results by continuing to exceed previous weekend starts. Starting in 2014, "John Wick" earned a modest $14 million, with 2017’s "John Wick: Chapter 2" coming in at $30.4 million and 2019's “John Wick: Chapter 3- Parabellum” soaring to $56.8 million.
The film achieved dominance at the box office despite from a very modest $10.3 million in national TV advertising spend -- with some $3.0 million in the last 14 days, according to iSpot.tv estimates.
That yielded a modest 684.9 million impressions. Analysts say strong word-of-mouth marketing -- as well as positive reviews -- helped push the movie over the top.
The $64 million in international results earned the movie the number-one spot in each of its 71 markets where the film opened this weekend.
Far back in second place was Warner Bros.' "Shazam! Fury of the Gods" -- in its second weekend at $9.7 million, this after an underperforming 36.6 million in its start the weekend before.
Top TV marketing spending for upcoming releases that are currently in full swing, according to estimates from iSpot.tv, include: Amazon Studios’ "Air" at $21 million (debuting April 5); Universal Pictures' "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" with $16.0 million (April 5); Paramount Pictures' "Dungeons & Dragons": Honor Among Thieves," $10.8 million (March 31) and Universal's "Renfield" at $4.3 million (April 14).


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The costs of gas and milk have risen about the same over 20 years, but filling up is like no other consumer experience.
Outside a 7-Eleven in West Seattle the other day, gasoline cost $2.60 to $2.85 a gallon, depending on grade. Inside the store, milk cost $2.50 to $2.99 a gallon, also depending on grade.
Consumers probably grump over the price while pumping gas but don’t think twice as they buy milk. That’s because few people realize that over 20 years, prices of these two commonly purchased liquids have climbed by nearly identical amounts. And grocery prices overall have risen even more than gas prices, according to the federal keepers of price data.
So why don’t you hear legislators fulminating about extortionate milk prices? Why do newspapers such as this one run regular updates on the price of gas but not of bread, which has more than doubled over the past 20 years?
Why, in short, are we as consumers far more sensitive to the price of gasoline than practically anything else we buy?
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The reasons have a lot to do with our perceptions as consumers, say experts on buying behavior. Because gasoline is sold separately from other goods and goes through big, unpredictable price swings, each increase stands out and reinforces our sense that current prices are unfair and unprecedented.
“Gasoline is a unique product,” said David Stewart, who teaches marketing at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. “You have to go to a specific place, a service station, to fill up, so it becomes an event that really stands out relative to other kinds of shopping.”
Buying gas is different
Gas prices have soared in recent years, provoking howls of protest from consumers and worried frowns from many economists. Gasoline in Seattle costs an average of 54 percent more than two years ago, according to the Energy Department. Over the same period, milk prices nationally are up only about 15 percent.
But look out over the long term and a different picture emerges. Since the early 1980s, milk prices have gone up about as much as gas prices — more than 80 percent in both cases, according to the latest available federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) figures, which run through June. What’s more, grocery prices overall have risen more than gas prices over the past two decades.
One reason for our touchiness, of course, is that we buy a lot of gas. In 2003, the U.S. economy consumed 137 billion gallons of gas — 471 gallons for every man, woman and child in the country. That same year, per-capita milk consumption was just 21.64 gallons.
But as much as we pay for gas, we pay a lot more for groceries — typically the other big weekly purchase. According to the Food Marketing Institute, households spend an average of $92.50 a week on groceries, and more if they have kids. By contrast, the average household spent $25.63 on gas and motor oil in 2003, the latest year for which federal Consumer Expenditure Survey data are available.
In fact, according to the BLS, keepers of the Consumer Price Index, long-term grocery inflation exceeds gas inflation — 89.4 percent versus 84.6 percent over the past two decades.
Bombarded with data
Experts in consumer behavior and behavioral economics say buying gasoline is different both physically and psychologically from the way we buy milk, bread and other staples. At a special place — the service station — we buy gas 10 to 20 gallons at a time, rather than picking up one gallon of milk along with the rest of the groceries. And when we swipe our card or haul out our wallet, all we’re paying for is gas (and the occasional Slushie).
At the grocery store, by contrast, higher prices for milk, meat or bread are subsumed within the overall bill, Stewart said: “If we had to go to the milk store or the bread store, that might become a more salient price point.”
In addition, the big, brightly colored signs at gas stations bombard us with price information every day, noted Suzanne Shu, a professor at Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business.
Shu, who uses the insights of behavioral science to study how consumers make choices, said that steady flow of data leads us to judge price changes in the short run — week to week or even day to day — rather than over the long term.
“If I see the price go up 2 cents it bothers me, even if it’s gone back down by the next time I fill up,” she said. “There are all sorts of examples in life where checking more frequently causes us more pain. It’s like weighing yourself every morning versus once a week — every little pound gets exaggerated in importance.”
Robin Segal, author of “The Car Buyer’s Bible,” agreed that short-term price jumps are more likely to cause people to consider ditching their SUVs for small hybrid cars.
“Right now it’s not really cost-effective to buy a hybrid, but what the repeated price spikes do is make people scared that the price will continue to spike up,” she said. “If the price of gasoline had gone up slowly, like milk, I don’t think it would concern people as much, because they can plan for a steady, constant rise.”
20 years of cheaper gas
Just looking short-term, though, can give a distorted picture.
Based on the Consumer Price Index data, after the second big oil shock in 1979-80 and the subsequent collapse in energy prices, gasoline prices generally stayed flat or even fell for most of the next two decades. As recently as February 2002, people paid about as much for gas as they did in February 1982.
That long period of near-stability likely created a “reference price” for gas in people’s minds. An important concept in behavioral economics, the reference price is the idea we carry around in our heads of what something ought to cost. A Baby Boomer might think a Milky Way bar should cost no more than a nickel, while a Gen-Y’er won’t blink at paying 50 cents or more.
When prices suddenly rise above our reference price, SMU’s Shu said, we tend to assume they’re unfair. That plays into another pattern identified by behavioral economists: People feel losses, such as gas-price increases, much more keenly than they do gains.
“When we see gas prices go down we think ‘Oh, good — they’re back where they should be,’ ” Shu said. “But when they go up, if there’s not a cause we can immediately pinpoint in our mind, we think it’s unfair.”
And it’s not just your imagination: Gas prices really do move around more than the prices of other products. A study last year found that, of 350 product categories tracked by the BLS, the three with the most frequent price changes were — ready? — premium-grade gas, midgrade gas and regular gas.
Experiments have shown that most people are willing to accept as fair a price increase caused by supply shortages — for example, from a drought or a transportation mixup — or if a vendor is losing money. But when stores raise prices on a sudden surge in demand — say, for snow shovels the day after a blizzard — people condemn that as unfair price gouging.
Various studies of gas-price spikes over the years have pinned the blame on a combination of factors: OPEC limits on crude-oil production; increased competition for crude from other countries, particularly China and India; U.S. refinery capacity that hasn’t kept pace with demand; local events such as pipeline ruptures and refinery shutdowns; and on the West Coast, the region’s near-isolation from the rest of the nation’s pipeline network.
But none of those reasons, valid though they may be, readily explains why a gallon of regular unleaded at the local Kwik-E-Mart was $2.55 one night and $2.60 the next morning — just the kind of sharp, short-term rise that sticks in consumers’ craws, as well as their minds. “We all have this feeling that there’s this group of guys in a back room somewhere setting the price to maximize their profit,” Shu said.
Spikes vs. steady rises
By contrast, prices for milk and other grocery items have been rising slowly but steadily for decades, with only a few noticeable spikes. As a result, consumers have grown accustomed to prices going up a bit each month.
And, since we generally buy milk a gallon at a time, even if the price spikes it adds only a few cents to our total grocery bill — which is what we really pay attention to. If that number strikes us as too high, we can switch to store-brand orange juice or tell the kids no Snickers snack this week.
But there are few such alternatives to gas, and prices have to rise a lot before we start cutting back on driving.
As a recent Federal Trade Commission report on gas-price changes put it, “[G]asoline consumers typically do not reduce their purchases substantially in response to price increases [which] makes them vulnerable to substantial price increases.”
Drew DeSilver: 206-464-3145


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Construction at Tesla Berlin Gigafactory has reportedly stalled due to a need to revise the foundation because of the soil.
As we reported last month, Tesla withdrew its US employees working on Gigafactory Berlin over coronavirus concerns.
German media reported at the time that it might affect the timeline of the construction of Gigafactory Berlin — Tesla’s first full-scale factory in Europe.
The automaker was planning to start construction of the first building this month and be ready to start production by July 21.
A few weeks later, a drone video showed that construction work was still moving along at the site of the project, which sits on a 300-hectare plot of land next to the GVZ Berlin-Ost Freienbrink industrial park.
Now German media are reporting that Tesla ran into another issue that might result in a delay — though the local government and Tesla believe that they can stick to their timeline.
PNN reports that Tesla found that the soil where they planned on building the foundation of the factory is sandy, and now they have to come up with a new type of foundation:
They reportedly have to update their application with the local government with the new foundation (translated from German):
Brandenburg’s Department of the Environment had previously confirmed at the request of this newspaper that, at the request of the US company, the application for early approval for the laying of the foundations would be put on hold and ‘put on hold.’ This is because of necessary corrections to the approval application for the factory. The pile foundations now intended by Tesla for the foundation ‘are not included in the application dated December 20, 2019 for approval to build a Tesla factory,’ said the Ministry of the Environment. Tesla has announced that it will ‘submit changed documents.’
According to the report, the changes are apparently not simple.
The Ministry of the Environment told PNN that they are going to have to go through the regulatory process again:
‘Clearly, there will be a public hearing.’
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that Tesla will build “batteries, powertrains, and vehicles, starting with Model Y” at Gigafactory Berlin in Germany.
The first phase is expected to focus on Model Y production.
Today, Musk linked the release of the Tesla Model Y release in Europe to the start of production at Gigafactory Berlin.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.


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Tag Archives: robots
Now 3D Systems is taking a page from LEGO and other popular toy manufacturers by making collectable toy robots whose parts are interchangeable.
From the 3D Systems press release:
3D Systems Corporation announced today the immediate availability of its new Cubify® toy robots designed specifically for printing on Cube®, the world’s first home 3D printer. The entire collection can be downloaded and printed at home on your Cube 3D printer.
Starting at just $4.99, Cube printed robots are also available for home delivery through Cubify and come individually packaged or in sets of three with exciting options to choose from like ray-guns and rocket-packs.
Cubify® robots are moveable, poseable and printable in colorful, lego-like plastic. Printed parts can be snapped together, swapped and colors mixed to create an amazing new robot, or an entire crew. With thousands of possible combinations, Cubify robots provide hours of educational and creative fun for kids and adults alike.
“We are thrilled with these cute, playful new Cubify robots. Kids of all ages can collect the entire series as they create unique configurations to amaze their friends,” said Cathy Lewis, Vice President of Global Marketing for 3D Systems. “Our excitement continues to build with each new toy and app we make available to our growing Cubify community.”
MakerBot wants to wish you a Happy Father’s Day with this cute video.
The MakerBot team has taken some time away from their day jobs to build a Robot Petting Zoo in time for Maker Faire. Of course, the robots are 3D printed on the Replicator.
Watch the video below to see all of their amazing creations.
3D Systems (NYSE:DDD) is a public company with a $1.14 billion market cap. Today, the company announced the acquisition of startup My Robot Nation, founded in December 2011 with the mantra “Robots are just the beginning.”
Describing the acquisition in a press release, 3D Systems wrote:
The acquisition of MRN underscores 3D Systems’ Cubify commitment to democratize 3D content-to-print access for kids and adults alike, unleashing creativity and allowing individuals to express themselves easily in 3D. My Robot Nation brings to Cubify proven video game principles to provide a simple, fun and amazingly flexible creative experience. Within minutes, anyone can quickly and easily create their own, unique collectible from billions of possible combinations then make it real with 3D printing.
Read more at 3D Systems.
Designer Dirk Vander Kooij has taken industrial recycling to a new level. With his “Endless” process, old refrigerators were melted down and then used as raw materials to 3D print modern furniture.
His website describes the process:
It took 54 prototypes before we achieved the optimum comfort the chair now offers. After an intensive process of research and development into the engineering technique, we are now capable of producing tight lines and rounding off curves. Thanks to this rounding off technique, the chair has a distinct similarity to a thoughtfully wound up ball of string. This can only be done with the “Endless” production technique.
Below is a video of his industrial robot printing new furniture from old materials.
Via Mariella Moon


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Canada-based Ghanaian musician Kwabla Jacob Dunyo known on the music scene as Gh CALI has officially released a compilation of great and timeless songs christened ‘Awakening Of An African Prince’ EP.
The EP released on iTunes and other global digital stores is to serve music lovers and his growing fan base a collection of songs that will make them relate more to the artiste through music.
The eight songs compilation features some of Ghana’s mainstream artistes including music duo Gallaxy,Keche with Streetbeatz and Shottoh Blinqx handling production.
Gh CALI recently made the headline after being the only Ghanaian to perform to a mix race of over four thousand at the 2016 edition of ‘African Music Extravaganza’ held in Toronto,Canada.
Kindly follow the link to streaming.


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Unsecured creditors for the former high street department store BHS have received a £36m payout, following the collapse of the chain almost two years ago.
Liquidators FRP Advisory have now paid out the sum to creditors, according to a report compiled by the firm.
The creditors had lodged claims worth almost £1bn, following the chain’s collapse in April 2016.
The payment, took the form of an interim dividend of 3.62p in the pound and was paid out at the end of November 2017. Initial estimates in July 2016 suggested creditors would expect to receive between 2p and 8p in the pound following liquidation.
This payment was brought forward and largely funded by an agreement last summer which saw the Arcadia Group release a £35m floating charge owed by BHS to the parent company. Sir Philip Green’s company had owned BHS before selling it to Dominic Chappell for £1 in 2015.
The report also noted that investigations surrounding the circumstances of BHS’s collapse are ongoing, with several matters under investigation from other authorities – including the Insolvency Service and the Financial Reporting Council.
The liquidators at FRP Advisory declined to comment on the reports.


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Next up on the menu at Cipriani: hot potato!
Gulnara Karimova, the fashion-designing daughter of Uzbekistan’s ruthless dictator, aims to stage her runway show at upscale restaurant Cipriani after getting booted from Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, The Post has learned.
That’s despite the fact that Karimova is getting heat for her complicity in the brutal reign of her father Islam Karimov, who has been accused of murdering, torturing and even starving thousands of his countrymen for more than 20 years.
“She is gutsy,” according to one source who has been acquainted with the jet-setting autocrat, whom US diplomats once described as “the most hated woman in Uzbekistan,” according to cables uncovered by Wikileaks.
IMG, the producer of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, has offered to refund about $30,000 in rental fees that Karimova had shelled out for her lavish production, whose total cost was estimated to be several times that figure.
While negotiations with IMG are still in the air, Karimova meanwhile has mounted a full-court press to make her ill-begotten fashion show happen, completing a casting call of about 200 models during the past week, sources said.
The dictator’s daughter also has reached out to a number of New York embassies that represent “friendly nations” as a contingency plan in case the Cipriani plans don’t pan out, according to one source.
Karimova, who has long served as Uzbekistan’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, has close ties with Switzerland, as well as Russia, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.
Representatives for those embassies weren’t available for comment this afternoon.
Representatives for Karimova didn’t respond to requests for comment, and a Cipriani spokeswoman declined to comment today.
Additional reporting by Lachlan Cartwright


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Impacts of FDA Activities on Kratom Price in the USA
Originating from Southeast Asia, the medicine kratom has made a big effect on the world in the last couple of decades. It first became fairly widespread throughout lots of parts of Asia as well as ultimately moved to the European Union (EU) by the early 2010s. Shortly afterward, it hit the UNITED STATE market for the very first time, virtually instantly making a big splash amongst the general public.
This medication is mainly utilized by consumers for its sedative effects for discomfort along with its capability to offer individuals with even more energy. But just as kratom began being utilized in the U.S., the federal government determined to action in. Much more specifically, the Fda (FDA) started acting to more very closely control this newest drug.
FDA Pointing Out a Lack of Proof
In order for the FDA to take formal activity versus any type of substance or item, they need to have a factor to do so. When it comes to kratom, their factor has actually regularly been concern over an absence of studies validating the benefits of kratom usage. As a matter of fact, the FDA has come out numerous times as well as formally specified that there are presently no FDA-approved therapeutic uses kratom and that there are considerable safety problems associated with its use.
Efforts to Restrict or Prohibit Kratom
After numerous years of this continuous messaging, it came as not a surprise that they attempted to get this compound identified as a Schedule I medication, which would certainly have effectively made it unlawful to market or take in kratom. While the DEA originally was a lot more for this reclassification, it took a substantial amount of public assistance in order for them to reverse their decision and also deny its classification as a Schedule I medication.
With this FDA-supported drive to outlaw kratom usage through this strategy inevitably falling short, they then continued to try other less direct techniques like routing huge seizures of this drug and issuing various fines to suppliers.
In 2014, the FDA instructed U.S. Marshals to take over 25,000 pounds of raw kratom material from a California supplier. In 2016, there were 2 even more major seizures, with one leading to over $400,000 of product drawn from an Illinois supplier, as well as over $150,000 drawn from a The golden state supplier. They likewise provided official warnings to a California representative and also a North Carolina representative in 2019 and also came out with yet an additional official declaration strengthening their position in their battle versus legislating kratom.
Function of Kratom in Europe
As previously mentioned, kratom became rather prevalent across Europe around the same time that it did in the UNITED STATE Nevertheless, the initial function to this material was a great deal a lot more friendly throughout the European Union (EU) as contrasted to their American counterparts. A basic approval of the drug has actually enabled a kratom manufacturing and also distribution industry to grow in this part of the world.
In a lot of these European nations like Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Cyprus, as well as Greece, kratom remains entirely legal and also consumers are free to acquire it utilizing either online or perhaps physical stores. However there are a number of EU nations that also take harsher stances on this material, similar to that of the FDA. This has actually resulted in a vast array of prices for kratom throughout the EU, depending on which country a person is in.
Exactly How the FDA Affects Kratom Prices
In the UNITED STATE, the regularly limiting position of the FDA has forced kratom costs to continue to be higher than they remain in several other parts of the globe. With hundreds of dollars worth of item being confiscated for seemingly no factor sometimes, this is the only tactic that suppliers need to stay afloat. So here as long as the FDA continues to push back against kratom and also there remains to be a lack of research studies gauging its results, the prices of kratom in the U.S. will likely continue to be a little greater than in other countries.
Learn more about this kratom for sale today.


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May 22/29, 2017: Volume 31, Issue 25
By Ken Ryan
For the third year in a row, the U.S. rug business will outperform carpet. FCNews research puts area rugs sales at $2.5 billion in 2016, up an estimated 3.5% from the year-ago period.
Buoyed by the surge in hard surfaces and the popularity of custom rug programs, the category has provided manufacturers with additional selling opportunities. Most traditional broadloom companies now offer some variation of a custom rug program in which rugs are cut from broadloom and can be specifically tailored to the needs of consumers. Executives said they expect the custom rug trend to continue to evolve as more flooring dealers—and non-flooring outlets—take advantage of this profitable add-on opportunity.
Some flooring retailers who have de-emphasized the rug category or abandoned it altogether are reconsidering their position. Some are doing it via online sales. Then there are those who never wavered and have benefited from the increase in rug sales.
According to Teri Whittaker, rug buyer for R.C. Willey Home Furnishings, with 14 locations across four Western states, rugs grew by nearly 4.7% in the first quarter of 2017. “There have been steady increases each month.”
The numbers were even more robust at Nebraska Furniture Mart, where sales across its three locations increased 6% to 10% in the first quarter. David Snedeker, division merchandise manager-flooring, reported that larger sizes (8 x 10, 9 x 12, 10 x 14) were up, as were knotted sales but not necessarily high-end knotted. “Simple, low-profile or textural knotted rugs are on trend. Machine made, due to better construction, is also on the increase.”
Baker Bros., with multiple locations in the Phoenix metro area, has always been a staunch advocate of rugs. Phil Koufidakis, owner, said rug sales were up “double digits in the Q1,” which he finds encouraging.
Not all dealers were chalking up big increases, however. At Crest Flooring in Allentown, Pa., rug sales were about even with the year-ago period, according to Steve Weisberg, owner. He said his challenge is the sheer number of places where consumers can buy rugs. To get in on the action, Weisberg is contemplating a “Crest Cash” program that would give customers who purchase hard surface from Crest credit to use within 90 days for purchasing areas rugs. “This way they at least come to us,” Weisberg explained. “‘Kohl’s Cash’ is such a big draw for those who shop there that I figured I would copy them a bit.”
Custom is king
As more hard surfaces are being used in open floor plans, there is a growing need for larger and custom-sized rugs that can define areas with a design aesthetic. Retailers are taking advantage of this trend and allowing their customers to design a custom rug in standard sizes.
Some executives suggest that custom rugs, which incorporate customer service and product, is going to differentiate brick and mortar merchants from Internet retailers. Stephen Hoberman, vice president of sales at Momeni, is one of them. “Having a custom program gives retailers access to the customers’ needs that they can’t get online. They need to come to the store. They need to work with the person. The price points are not expensive for custom. You can give customers what they want at a price they can afford.”
Hoberman said he used to wonder what it would be like to make rugs out of broadloom. That idea came to fruition seven years ago, when Momeni launched a custom rug program. “We were the first ones. Now it is an endless business.”
Eric Demaree, president of Carpet One Floor & Home, acknowledged that while competing in the rug business is difficult these days for members—given the competition from big box stores and online retailing giants like Wayfair—he nonetheless encouraged dealers to embrace the new Cutting Edge program, which allows them to choose from the entire broadloom collection to create custom rugs for consumers.
Doug Jackson, vice president of sales and marketing at Tuftex, the high-end carpet brand for Shaw Industries, called the CCA Cutting Edge custom area rug program a “home run.” Tuftex has 700 displays in the Cutting Edge program, and because each display includes binding and tape, dealers have plenty of options to sway customers. Jackson said Tuftex’s business—both broadloom and rugs—is much stronger than the industry average. “No question carpet is losing share, but the carpet that is going out there is better goods and we’re getting that share. The share that is out there—in the upper end of the market—is in our wheelhouse.”
John McGeary, territory manager for the Northeast region at Karastan, said the rug division is coming off a very healthy 2016. “While true wall-to-wall carpeting was down 20%, we were up 8% in rugs. Units were up in the mid to high 30s, percentage-wise, but less expensive rugs brought the overall margins down.”
Hard surface factor
Larry Mahurter, vice president of marketing and advertising, Couristan, said in his 25 years in the business rug sales have always been influenced by hard surface activity. “Rug sales jump up when hard surface is up. Right now rugs is gaining momentum and broadloom is flat.”
Dealers agreed that the growing demand for hard surface flooring in the home is impacting the rug market. To what degree, however, is debatable. R.C. Willey’s Whittaker said the growth of hard surfaces “has definitely increased the sales of rugs.” Koufidakis agreed, noting the growth of hard surfaces “has clearly had a positive impact on rug sales—something that should continue for the foreseeable future.”
Sam Presnell of The Rug Gallery in Cincinnati, who added luxury vinyl tile to his previously all-rug showroom more than a year ago, said hard surfaces “has helped the sale of rugs a little bit,” but he says it could be better.
NFM’s Snedeker said the transactional pairing of rugs with hard surfaces might just now be catching on. “It was not a noticeable relationship in 2016.”
Indeed, there appears to be some reticence on the part of dealers to embrace rugs as an add-on sale. At DeGraaf Interiors, with four locations in Michigan, owner Deb DeGraaf bemoans the fact she has been unable to energize her staff into making rug sales a priority. “It is unfortunate because the margins on rugs are good, and we are selling more hard surface than ever before.”
The online world is one obstacle preventing flooring dealers from going all in. These days consumers can easily purchase rugs from major home goods sites like Wayfair, Overstock and Amazon. Mahurter said Couristan’s business is up 60% from last year, driven by ecommerce through the likes of Wayfair. Mahurter said these e-commerce companies have enhanced their visual search features to present close-ups of rugs from several different angles to show extremely realistic looks that make visiting a physical showroom unnecessary for some customers.
“Rugs have been strong across the board, from $299 to $799 for a 5 x 8, all driven by ecommerce sales through our accounts,” he said. “The marketing and promoting of area rugs online has taken on a whole new meaning.”
Rugs Direct, a Winchester, Va.-based retailer that lays claim to being the country’s leading online retailer of area rugs, throw rugs and rug runners, recently received an investment from a private equity firm that will help fuel growth.
Anecdotal information indicates the bulk of online area rug sales are for products $199 and under. This, executives said, is not likely to affect the luxury companies such as Dixie, Tuftex and Karastan.


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Serious Sam: The Random Encounter, one of three announced indie spin-offs featuring the titular character, will release in mid-October. Developer Vlambeer announced the release target today, along with a price of $4.99.
This spin on Serious Sam takes a retro-RPG vibe, offering a party of commandos, hip pixel visuals, and an Endless Challenge mode to survive waves of enemies. The riff on classic RPGs follows Serious Sam: Double D, a side-scrolling action game released in late August, and the auto-runner Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack, which released last week.
"We're big Serious Sam fans and this was a once in a life opportunity to make something truly unique for the iconic franchise with Serious Sam: The Random Encounter," said Vlambeer co-founder Rami Ismail, in the announcement. "Plus, Devolver Digital promised us matching Ferraris and all the chocolate milk we could drink. We really love chocolate milk."


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- READ MORE: BTS at 10: how the world-conquering boyband evolved from hip-hop rookies to eclectic icons
V’s appointment as the French luxury jeweller’s new ambassador first announced today (July 19) by ELLE Singapore. According to the publication, the singer will also be the face of the brand’s new latest Panthère de Cartier campaign, as part of their new partnership.
“[BTS’ V’s] distinctive characteristic as a dancer, musician and art enthusiast makes choices driven by his own creativity and shows his unique style and elegance,” Cartier said of the ambassadorship in a press statement, per The K-pop Herald.
.@BTS_twt V is now the ambassador of @Cartier and the new face of “Panthere de Cartier” campaign. “His distinctive characteristic as a dancer, musician and art enthusiast makes choices driven by his own creativity and shows his unique style and elegance,” they said. #BTS pic.twitter.com/5Xyj6xPfFg
— KpopHerald (@Kpop_Herald) July 19, 2023
V’s new Cartier ambassadorship is his second for a luxury brand, following his partnership with Celine. The singer bad been confirmed as a brand ambassador for Celine in March 2023, after months of rumours, per Hypebae.
Meanwhile, V is also the second BTS member to strike a brand ambassador role with a luxury jewellery brand. Earlier this year, bandmate Jimin was named Tiffany & Co.’s newest ambassador, and has since starred in a new campaign for the brand.
In other BTS news, member Jungkook recently made his long-awaited solo debut with ‘Seven’, featuring Latto. The song’s accompanying video also starred South Korean actress Han So-hee. Jungkook has also since released two remixes of ‘Seven’.


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Consumers misled by labels
Who makes the best sausages? Tell us now by voting for Britain's Best Banger! and you could win the ultimate sausage lover's day trip! Vote now!Is the conclusion of a report published by The Food Standards Agency.
The agency is concerned that terms such as Traditional, Farmhouse, Natural and Home Made are being used in relation to products made in factories with modern methods and ingredients.
They found that the labelling used on nearly half of products was misleading or ambiguous and did not follow guidelines published in 2002. Misleading labels were found on products from across the food sector - ranging from Sticky Toffee Pudding to Cumberland Sausages and independents to supermarkets.
The message is to treat claims carefully and only pay premium prices for genuine, reputable products.
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SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Four people are in court today facing felony charges after allegedly purchasing and selling more than $1 million worth of dinosaur bones stolen from Utah.
According to a press release by the U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday, a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City charged the four individuals with a 13-count indictment for purchasing, transporting, and exporting dinosaur bones to China for profit between March 2018 and March 2023.
Court documents indicate that Vint Wade, 65, and Donna Wade, 67, of Moab, Utah; Steven Willing, 67, of Los Angeles, California; and Jordan Willing, 40, of Ashland, Oregon, committed the felony offenses involving 150,000 pounds of stolen paleontological resources, including dinosaur bones, valued at over $1 million.
It’s reported that the dinosaur bones were illegally removed from federal and state lands in southeastern Utah, in turn violating the Paleontological Resources and Preservation Act (PRPA).
According to the release, the Wades purchased the paleontological resources by paying in cash and checks to known and unknown unindicted individuals, who allegedly would remove the dinosaur bones from federal land for the Wades’ personal use.
The Wades would then reportedly stockpile and sell the dinosaur bones at gem and mineral shows to national vendors, as well as to Steven and Jordan Willing who own a company called JMW Sales. Using their company, the Willings’ allegedly exported the bones to China by mislabeling and deflating their value to “avoid detection by federal agents.”
The release indicates that in addition to selling over $1 million in paleontological resources, the defendants also allegedly caused over $3 million in damages that include the commercial value of the resource, the scientific value of the resource, as well as the cost of restoration and repair.
“By removing and processing these dinosaur bones to make consumer products for profit, tens of thousands of pounds of dinosaur bones have lost virtually all scientific value, leaving future generations unable to experience the science and wonder of these bones on Federal land,” said U.S. Attorney Trina A. Higgins. “We will hold accountable anyone who seeks to engage in similar criminal conduct.”
All defendants are reportedly charged with several crimes including conspiracy against the United States, violating the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act, theft of property of the United States, and other charges alleged in the indictment.
The defendants will be making their initial court appearance for the indictment in Salt Lake City this afternoon, Oct. 19.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


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What were your career aspirations when you were four? I wanted to be a waitress. For some reason the idea of getting tips was really appealing, probably because my idea of “a lot of money” was anything over 25 cents and I regularly saw my parents drop tips that were WAY more than a shiny quarter. Did you wanna be a pirate? A police officer? A fire fighter? No hate for the classics, but four-year-old Ryker Wixom has a different career math in mind:
…ideally without the explosive gasoline showers, I’m assuming.
A four-year-old who is pictured copying the outfits and poses of celebrities and models on Instagram is now being hailed a style influencer himself.
‘Mini Style Hacker’ Ryker Wixom, from Los Angeles, California, whose account has almost 178,000 followers, is now set to be paid by big name brands for appearances in future posts.
Ryker’s mother, Collette Wixom, told CNBC she is already ‘bombarded’ with emails from brands on a daily basis. Footwear brand Skechers, in particular, sends sneakers for the preschooler to wear.
Mrs Wixom, who runs the Instagram account, says she never anticipated this level of success when she started sharing photos of her son online less than a year ago.
‘I was very surprised when brands started reaching out,’ she said. ‘This is all very new to me… I started this to do something creative and fun other than sword-fighting and mud pie-making. I never imagined it would become what it is today.’
To make the most of the Instagram account’s financial potential, Mrs Wixom has now appointed an agency that helps pair brands with tastemakers and style influencers.
She hopes that with the agency’s help, she may be able to quit her job in publishing within the next year.
Holy shit kid, you know what I was wearing when I was four? Purple Lady and the Tramp tees with purple sweatpants. I was a frickin’ grape. He’s even got a suit:
I’m 21 and I DON’T EVEN OWN A SUIT. You know what my parents’ ideology was towards clothing when I was growing up? “Let’s buy everything from Walmart, she’ll outgrow it in a year anyway.” Not only did I dress like a hobo, but I had a bowl cut that made me look like a boy because “it’s easier to take care of.” Hopefully this all pays off for Ryker, otherwise his parents are going to have a shitload of useless child-sized designer clothes in a few years.


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Monday, May 6, 2013
THF Florissant is working to secure the proper permitting before the deal closes on the site.
Although the proposed Walmart development got another approval from Florissant City Council recently, it will still be a bit of time before the store is fully up and running. THF Florissant has begun the next phase of making the popular retailer a reality in town, but it doesn’t involve tractors and excavators just yet. Jeff Otto, a representative of THF Florissant, said that with the city’s approval, the realty company is working on getting the proper permitting for the site. Otto said that THF is working on permits from Metropolitan Sewer District, the Army Corps of Engineers and the City of Florissant Engineer Tim Barrett. For the site, each organization holds an important role in the development of the site at 3350 and 3400 North …
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
The council unanimously backed the development's new plan but not without giving the petitioners a piece of their mind.
Walmart looks to be back on track to develop a store at 3350 and 3400 N. Highway 67 and 3605 Seville after Florissant City Council approved an amendment to its proposed development plans Monday night. The council unanimously approved Substitute Bill 8911 to allow the department store to continue its plans to build a store in Florissant, but it didn’t come without councilors and the public expressing their views of the bill. The amendment would allow changes to the site's original development plan, including: A Transportation Development District (TDD) will finance the development, petitioner Jeff Otto said in a previous meeting the site. According to the Missouri Business and Community Services Division, a TDD can be created and be …
Monday, April 22, 2013
The Council could take the final vote on the proposed amendment to the development Monday night.
Along with swearing in a new councilman Monday night, the Florissant City Council could take on the final vote of the Walmart proposed amendment. Jeff Caputa who captured the Ward 4 council seat will be sworn in during the council meeting. Caputa fills the vacated seat of Keith English, who won the District 68 state representative seat in November. The Council will also look at the proposed amendment to Walmart, which would alter the site’s rotation as well as change other site aspects. Councilors approved the Walmart development originally last year. (RELATED: Florissant Walmart Shows New Plans, Financing Option) The Walmart development would be placed at 3350 and 3400 N. Highway 67 and 3605 Seville. For the full agenda, check out the …
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Most of the citizens' public hearing section focused around concerns and support for a Walmart development.
Although the Florissant City Council only took the first reading on the proposed Walmart amendment bill, that didn’t stop a number of residents and business owners from coming out to voice their support or opposition. During the hearing from citizens’ section, a number of residents gave their support to the development coming to town, while others suggested for the development to be moved into a vacant space in Jamestown Mall. The City Council is considering an amendment to its previously approved ordinance, Ordinance 7876, for Walmart, which would allow for the development site to be rotated and change a few other parts of the development. One resident, who has lived in Florissant for 44 years and has her home behind the proposed …
Monday, April 8, 2013
The council will have first readings on the two bills tonight.
The Florissant City Council will have its first reading on a proposed amendment for the Walmart development Monday night. During its March 25 meeting, the council held a public hearing with petitioner and THF Realty representative Jeff Otto about the amendment. Otto said they were proposing to change the rotation of the store, which includes the following changes: Otto also said a Transportation Development District (TDD) would finance the site. The Walmart is proposed for 3350 and 3400 N. Highway 67 and 3605 Seville. The council will also have a first reading on a proposed pay plan change for a part-time park police officer. For the full agenda, check out the City of Florissant website. The Florissant City Council will meet at City Hall …
Friday, February 15, 2013
The petitioners requested that the council postpone the hearing until its March 25 meeting.
The ruling on the amendment to Walmart’s proposal will have to wait a little bit longer. The public hearing scheduled for Monday’s City Council was postponed until the March 25 meeting at the petitioner’s request, and the council approved the postponement. This is the third postponement for the public hearing. Previously, Walmart received approval of its development plans last year from the council and has requested an amendment to its plans, which have a cause of concern for City Engineer Tim Barrett. Barrett told the council at its Jan. 28 meeting that he’s worried about the truck traffic for the development as well as “soil in the flood plane fringe,” which violates city ordinance, according to an article from the Independent News. …
Monday, February 11, 2013
Florissant Councilors could hear from Walmart about its amendment needs and other business at City Council.
Walmart will have another opportunity to speak on its proposed amendment to its development with a public hearing scheduled Monday at Florissant City Council. The petitioners for the development were no-shows to the previous meeting, and the hearing was postponed to Feb. 11. Also, on the agenda for Monday night, is a bill to lower the resident's rate for rental of the nature lodge. For the full agenda, check out the City of Florissant website. The City Council meets at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.
Friday, February 8, 2013
The large development requests an amendment to its previous plans but did not attend the previously scheduled public hearings on the matter.
The plans for a Walmart at 3350 and 3400 N. Highway 67 remain up in the air as the representatives for the plan were no-shows to the latest public hearing. According to the Independent News, petitioner Jeff Otto did not attend the public hearing at the previous City Council meeting on Jan. 28. It was postponed from an earlier meeting in January. Previously, Walmart received approval of its development plans last year from the council and has requested an amendment to its plans, which have a cause of concern for City Engineer Tim Barrett. Barrett told the council that he’s worried about the truck traffic for the development as well as “soil in the flood plane fringe,” which violates city ordinance, according to the article. The council …
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Florissant residents and officials will have a chance to hear the presentation and voice their support or opposition to the traffic development district.
After receiving approval from the Florissant City Council earlier this year for a Walmart development, THF Realty will ask for even more public assistance. Tuesday, THF Realty will host a public hearing at the St. Louis County Library, Florissant Valley branch pertaining to its request for a Traffic Development District (TDD) for the Walmart project. This would be the third request for the realty company regarding the project. Previously, the company has asked for tax-increment financing and a community improvement district. A TDD is a bit different from the other requests, though. According to the Missouri Business and Community Services Division, a TDD can be created and be responsible for developing, maintaining or operating …
Thursday, May 3, 2012
We speak to the realty development company in charge of making Walmart a reality in Florissant.
For those Florissant residents looking to see a new Walmart store in the area by the end of this year or early next year, they’ll have to wait a little longer. While the Florissant City Council approved the Walmart development project and its rezoning, the development is still months away from breaking ground. THF Florissant representative Jeff Otto said that there’s a number of steps to be done before the company reaches the construction phase. Otto said in an interview with Patch that the next phase is to deal with site plan approval for engineering with the Army Corps of Engineers, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (MSD) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). He said each agency plays a role in looking at the site, such as …


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McAlister's Deli coming (back) to Fort Myers
McAlister's Deli is set to open Monday at The Forum in Fort Myers, marking the chain's return to Lee County.
After an eight-year hiatus, McAlister's Deli is returning to Fort Myers.
The fast-casual chain, known for its sandwiches, salads, massive baked potatoes and sweet tea, will open Monday at 3409 Forum Blvd.
“We are excited to introduce McAlister’s handcrafted sandwiches, family-friendly atmosphere, and genuine hospitality to Ft. Myers,” McDeli LLC franchisee Matt Stolba said in a press release.
But longtime Fort Myers residents may already be familiar with McAlister's.
The chain opened next to Bealls in Cypress Trace Plaza in south Fort Myers in July 2006, closing in January 2009, "due to the declining economy," the then-restaurant's phone greeting stated.
While that venture didn't last, Stolba and his franchisees are hoping this one will. His McAlister's will feature curbside to-go, a patio and online ordering, among other new features. The 4,400-square-foot store has seating for 175 with 65 employees.
“We look forward to opening our doors and building long-lasting relationships with the community," he said.
Founded in 1989, the Atlanta-based McAlister's brand has 380 restaurants in 24 states. The McAlister's at The Forum will be open 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, and 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. You can reach the restaurant at 208-5295 or via its Facebook page. The chain also has a location at 1514 Immokalee Road, Naples. Find more at mcalistersdeli.com.


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Doosan Digital Innovation (DDI) announced that the company participated in the "2021 Drone Show Korea" for 3 days from April 29th at Bexco in Busan.
At the Doosan Mobility Innovation booth, the company introduced "APX Detector", the object detection solution utilizing drones developed in-house by the DDI Drone Platform Team. It demonstrated emergency rescue equipment delivery to Hallasan Mountain at the Jeju-do booth (drone demo city) and presented the drone delivery app linked with GCS, also developed in-house, at the Hangang River (regulation sandbox area) delivery demo booth. Doosan Mobility Innovation, another Doosan affiliate, presented new product upgrade features like waterproofing and wind resistance, as well as diverse H2 drone-based solutions. The DDI Drone Platform Team joined the development and made significant contributions for the upgrades.


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The number of growth-stage deals on equity crowdfunding platforms in 2016 increased by ten per cent, Beauhurst explained. This success has prompted Seedrs to announce the launch of its secondary market.
Crowdfunding success in 2016 can be highlighted by Seedrs’ record-breaking month in October. Perkbox smashed its £1m target to reach £4.35m. In the same month, WeSwap raised over £2.4m, setting a record by having £3,000?backers. November also saw the first IPO of a Seedrs-funded business FreeAgent?listed on London’s AIM index, raising £10.7m.
“We have reported record deal numbers every quarter since the start of 2016, with a considerable uplift since the referendum last summer,” the platform’s CEO,?Jeff Lyn,‘said. “This is a great endorsement for the equity crowdfunding space and Seedrs looks forward to continuing to lead the way with some exciting companies due to raise.
While we wait to see what businesses Lyn referred to, Seedrs unveiled an interesting new offer. After’seeing strong demand frominvestors?to conduct secondary trades, the platform announced it would soon be launching the beta version of its secondary market.
?Until now, the shares investors purchase have been very difficult to trade, meaning they need to wait for an exit event such as an IPO or a sale of the business,” the company explained.
“Whilst Seedrs has already seen portfolio companies Chapel Down and FreeAgent achieve success on the public markets, allowing those investors to sell their shares and realise a profit, the long-term nature of this asset class means the vast majority remain illiquid for some time.
“The Seedrs secondary market seeks to change that. It will allow investors the opportunity to sell shares in companies they?ve invested in via Seedrs to other investors. Meanwhile, investors in Seedrs-funded companies will have the opportunity to increase their stakes. As in any market, the ability to buy or sell will depend on there being sufficient supply or demand.
The offering may be targeted at investors, but Lyn believes there will be benefits for entrepreneurs as well.
“With the prospect of secondary sales now available,” Lyn said, “we expect more investors are likely to want to back the great businesses we work with.


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A look back at how the General Motors plant in Oshawa has evolved.
1918: McLaughlin Motor Co. and Chevrolet, which both had vehicles constructed in the building that would become the Oshawa Assembly, merge into General Motors of Canada.
1937: More than 4,000 General Motors workers go on strike in Oshawa, calling for an 8-hour day, better wages and working conditions, as well as a recognition of their new union, the United Automobile Workers.
1953: Production of Pontiac, Chevrolet and Buick models begins on Nov. 7 at the official Oshawa Assembly for General Motors Canada.
1955: Almost 10,000 workers strike for 148 days in Oshawa, asking for health care, more secure working conditions and higher wages. The strike extends to other, smaller GM plants, such as a London’s which manufactures diesel engines and only employed 600 workers. At this time, even the mayor of Oshawa worked at the plant.
1970: UAW workers at GM go on strike for 94 days. It’s settled just before Christmas.
1984: For thirteen days, across thirteen plants, including Oshawa’s, 36,500 General Motors workers go on strike in Canada, winning a new agreement that includes necessities such as extra payment for overtime work. The strike is matched by a similar one in the U.S.A.
1985: The Oshawa plant shuts down to revamp and switch from continuous assembly line construction to a new system of flexible manufacturing.
February 1986: Sales for GM Canada rise to a record $19 billion for 1985, making it the company with the largest value of sales in Canada.
March 1986: A crane falls across the main power supply for the two Oshawa plants, sending 4,000 workers home for the day, preventing the assembly of 1,400 cars while the crane is removed.
March 1986: GM Canada invests $2 billion in the Oshawa Assembly plant, the largest single investment by a Canadian manufacturing company at the time, with the aim of boosting production from 500,000 vehicles to 720,000 annually and creating the largest automotive complex in North America.
September 2007: The United Auto Workers union and GM are unable to reach an agreement, resulting in 73,000 workers walking off the job for two days in the first national strike since 1970.
June 2008: Angry Canadian Auto Workers blockade the entrance to GM’s headquarters after the announcement that the Oshawa truck plant will be shut down.
December 2008: Canadian branches of the ailing U.S. automakers are offered $3.29 billion in bailout funds from the Canadian government in order to keep Canadian branches running while the companies are restructured and rebuilt.
June 2009: GM files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The U.S. government takes ownership of 60.8 per cent of GM’s stock, the Canadian government 11.7 per cent, the UAW 17.5 per cent, and bondholders 10 per cent. By the time the restructuring is over, GM hopes to lose 14 factories, 29,000 workers, and 2,400 dealers.
November 2010: General Motors holds its first IPO, raising $20.1 billion US in the biggest initial stock offering in U.S. history. The day’s trading closes with 478 million shares sold at a price of $33.
January 2012: With nine million vehicles sold in 2011, GM is officially the top automobile manufacturer in the world and the largest automaker in China.
May 2014: GM announces a recall of more than 2 million vehicles, bringing the total for the year to more than 13 million, the result of problems with parts including seatbelts and ignition switches.
June 2014: GM releases the results of an internal probe relating to delayed recalls and the deaths of at least 13 people, resulting in the dismissal of 15 employees and the discipline of five. The company’s CEO, Mary Barra, announces GM will create a program to compensate those injured or killed by the defective cars.
February 2015: More than 4,180 claims have been filed against General Motors, alleging the automaker’s vehicles with faulty ignition switches caused deaths and injuries. So far, 128 claims have been ruled eligible, including 51 deaths.
June 2018: In a letter to the U.S. Commerce Department, GM warns that the proposed tariffs by the Trump administration could force the company to cut jobs and raise the price of cars.
Sunday: Unifor receives notification from General Motors that the company will make a major announcement that will impact its global operations.
Monday: GM announces it will stop production in Oshawa at the end of 2019.
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Supporters of using Apache Hadoop for processing big data have two big boosters on their side: Intel Corp., and EMC Greenplum, which this week released their own distribution of the Hadoop software for storing and processing large amounts of data.
Chipmaker Intel said Tuesday that its version of the open source software, which includes a manager for deployment, is optimized for its Xeon processors and includes encryption that supports Intel’s AES New Instructions for security on its CPUs.
Meanwhile on Monday the Greenplum division of EMC announced Pivotal HD, which integrates the Greenplum database with Apache Hadoop.
They join three other commercial Hadoop distributions — Cloudera, Hortonworks and MapR — as likely to appeal to organizations.
Forrester Research analyst Mike Gualtieri found the announcements exciting. It makes sense for Intel to get into the fray because Hadoop is a storage and data processing platform, he said. As a chip maker it can help with getting data more efficiently into Hadoop, he added. He also noted that Intel says it’s not trying to compete with enterprise software companies, who try to lock customers in to their technologies.
Gualtieri was less impressed with Greenplum’s announcement, even though its Pivotal HD software includes a SQL database. One of Hadoop’s shortcomings is accessing data through SQL. However, he noted that there are other solutions. Cloudera is working on a project called Impala to put a fast SQL layer on top of Hadoop, he pointed out.
The ability to process big data – broadly defined as data bigger than most analytics software can handle – could bring big benefits to business, argues Intel. But “only a small fraction of the world is able to extract meaning from all of this information because the technologies, techniques and skills available today are either too rigid for the data types or too expensive to deploy.”
The optimizations made for the networking and IO technologies in the Intel Xeon processor platform also enable new levels of analytic performance, Intel said in a news release.
Analyzing one terabyte of data, which would previously take more than four hours to fully process, can now be done in seven minutes, it claims, thanks a combination of Intel hardware and the company’s Hadoop distribution.
The proprietary management software is aimed at simplifying the deployment, configuration and monitoring of the Hadoop processing cluster. Optimal performance can be had through an automatic tuner, Intel says.
Intel [Nasdaq: INTC] said it is also contributing enhancements to the open source code covering the YARN distributing processing framework, the Hadoop Distributed File System and the Hive SQL Query functions.
Intel Distribution for Apache Hadoop will be sold with technical support by solution and service providers. Support options include 24 hour-seven day coverage, or eight hour a day five days a week.
Partners supporting Intel Hadoop include Cisco Systems Inc., Cray, Dell, Red Hat, SAP, SAS, Teradata and a range of others.
Greenplum says its distribution significantly expands Hadoop by adding tools including a command centre for monitoring the file system, virtualization extensions and Isilon support; installation, configuration and management tools; and support for the Spring framework.
It also includes a relational database Greenplum calls HAWQ that has its own execution engine.
According to a Grenplum blog. HAWQ is “hundreds of times faster” than Hadoop’s HIVE data warehouse.


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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has charged a cyber-scammer who used more than 5500 copycat web addresses to divert surfers from their intended destinations to one of his sites and hold them captive while bombarding them with ads for gambling and pornography.
According to the FTC, John Zuccarini, of Pennsylvania, operated the websites which pelted users' screens with a barrage of ads.
"Schemes that capture consumers and hold them at sites against their will while exposing users, including children, to solicitations for gambling, psychics, lotteries and pornography must be stopped," said FTC chairman Timothy Muris.
He explained that the scheme prevents consumers from controlling their browsers, invades their privacy, wastes their time, exposes kids to ads for pornography and violates trademark rights.
The FTC said that Zuccarini registered many misspellings of popular sites, such as registering 15 variations of children's cartoon site www.Cartoonnetwork.com, and 41 variations on the name of teen pop star Britney Spears.
According to the documents filed, once consumers are taken to one of Zuccarini's sites it is very difficult for them to exit. In a move called 'mousetrapping', special programming code at the sites prevents surfers from closing their browser or using the 'back' button.
One FTC investigator entered one of the defendant's copycat domain names, annakurnikova.com, and 29 browser windows opened automatically.
The FTC estimates that the defendant earns between $800,000 and $1m a year from his scheme, charging advertisers whose banner ads and affiliate programs are included on his websites.
According to documents filed by the FTC, Zuccarini has been sued no fewer than 63 times in the last two years, including seven federal district court cases and 56 arbitration proceedings. He has lost 53 of those suits and been forced to return nearly 200 domain names.
The complaint names Zuccarini, doing business as The Country Walk, JZDesign, RaveClub Berlin and more than 22 names that incorporate the word 'cupcake', such as Cupcake Party, Cupcake Parties and Cupcake Incident.
The reactor topped out at 100 million° C
Cosmic event will not cause any disruption on Earth, say scientists
Heber Curtis was the first to observe a cosmic jet in 1918.
Climate change likely forced inhabitants of Indus Valley civilisation to resettle in the Himalayan foothills
Shift in weather patterns made agriculture almost impossible in the Indus Valley region


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In this article, you will get all information regarding Boustead Plantation Suffers Quarter Loss Due To Shortage Of Harvesters
Boustead Plantation recorded an unaudited loss before taxation and zakat of RM2.1 million. The profit from operations of RM1.4 million dropped substantially as compared to RM133.1 million achieved in the corresponding quarter last year due to lower FFB production and lower palm product prices as well as higher manuring costs it said.
The Group recorded a revenue of RM240.3 million, a reduction of RM53.5 million from RM293.8 million in the corresponding quarter last year due to lower FFB production and palm product prices.
Its FFB production for the quarter of 227,335 MT was 14% lower than the production in the corresponding quarter last year of 263,276 MT, contributing a yield of 3.4 MT per Ha as compared with 3.8 MT per Ha in the corresponding quarter last year. Lower production was mainly attributable to lower crops in Sabah and Sarawak respectively as a result of a shortage of harvesters.
In addition, Boustead said its higher operating cost also contributed to current quarter losses. Manuring costs rose to RM21.2 million as compared to RM6.2 million in the corresponding quarter last year due to an increase in fertiliser prices. Furthermore, it also suffered a loss of RM11.9 million on FFB valuation in the current quarter as compared to the gain of RM10.1 million in the corresponding quarter last year due to the CPO price plummeting in the third quarter of 2022.
For the nine-month period of 2022, the Group achieved an unaudited pre-tax profit of RM619.1 million which surpassed the corresponding period last year of RM207.6 million. This includes a gain on disposal of Kulai Young land of RM364.1 million and gain on government land acquisition at Telok Sengat Estate of RM3.6 million.
Moving forward, the group’s profitability is dependent on the CPO price direction and crop production. Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah regions have shown some improvements in FFB yield this year as a result of continuous improvement through the implementation of Plantation Performance Improvement Programs.
Boustead Plantation Suffers Quarter Loss Due To Shortage Of Harvesters
For more visit computernetworktopology.com
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Samsung is still running it Android 13 update spray. Just yesterday, 7 of the company’s Galaxy phones got Android 13 based on One UI 5. Today, the company is sending the same update to five other smartphones, including the cheaper Galaxy A22 5G.
This update effort is really adding to Samsung’s credit. Interestingly enough, despite the racy push of Android 13 to it mobile phones, not much of bugs or errors are being reported so far. There might be one or two, but we’ve not come across any yet.
Seems like the Quadratic equation talked about in our news update yesterday is the exact thing going on in the background. Samsung may probably have an update equation somehow configured on the backend, and engineers are just affixing variable to give end users a happy Android 13 smiling-face update.
Aside the Galaxy A22 5G, other device on today’s list includes the Galaxy Quantum 2, Galaxy S20, S20 Plus and the S20 Ultra, all of which are South Korean models.
If you own a Samsung Galaxy phone, and yet to taste the latest OS, all I’d do if I were you, is to keep refreshing the software update section of your phone, who knows you might get a heart-warming surprise update. Note however, that some of these updates are region dependent.


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Talk won't stop recession
The Trump administration has sought to reassure the country that the economy will remain strong, but many economists don’t buy it because of accumulating economic data that point to recession.
One of the foremost indicators is a slowdown in manufacturing, which is critical not only to the larger economy but to President Donald Trump’s political fortunes in 2020.
Trump won in 2016 by securing narrow victories in manufacturing-rich Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, which he likely would have to do next year to be re-elected.
Manufacturing shrunk by 1.9% in the first quarter and 1.2% in the second quarter. The third quarter ends Sept. 30 but the federal government’s estimate for July is another contraction of 0.4%.
One way that Trump could give meaning to the White House’s reassurances would be to end his unproductive tariff war.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York recently reported that tariffs adversely had affected 79% of manufacturers in its region and that half of those companies had raised prices in response.
Tariffs aren’t the only issue. Several foreign markets for U.S. goods have slowed for an array of reasons.
To goose manufacturing and diminish the prospects or the impact of a recession, Trump should rescind a host of tariffs that hurt the manufacturing sector or Congress should reclaim tariff authority.