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Crafters and designers are offering DIY instructions and options to “buy one, give one.”
When New York City photographer Juliana Sohn found herself recovering from COVID-19 in the early days of the lockdown, she started to realize the importance of face coverings. “At that point, the messaging was that ordinary citizens should not be buying or wearing masks,” she says. But after her recovery, Sohn recognized the risk of not wearing one: “I realized that I had probably been infectious for several days prior to showing symptoms. I had been out shopping like crazy to stockpile food and supplies for what looked like an impending lockdown. I imagined the number of people I could have unintentionally infected.”
This topic soon became hotly debated, but “it would take the CDC two more weeks [until April 3rd] to change their messaging,” explains Sohn. Despite this delay, she decided to focus her creative energy into researching and sewing masks and face coverings using her fabric —documenting the process with a step-by-step tutorial on her Instagram page to spread the word and encourage others to make their own. This inadvertently turned the now out-of-work Sohn into a “mask activist” (or a “maskavist” as she’s been called by friends). “I want it to become the norm for everyone to wear a mask during this pandemic,” she says. “The more that people see other people wearing masks, the more that they will do it too.”
Now, CDC recommends “wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission” to help slow the spread of the virus. The change in terminology to “face covering” is a positive move because it encourages people to use any kind of fabric to cover up.
Culturally, masks have been common in parts of Asia (which was hard-hit by SARS and MERS) for years—and that may have helped slow the spread of COVID-19 in these regions. Dr. Neil Fishman, the chief medical officer of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, told The New York Times, “What we do know is that individuals can shed virus about 48 hours before they develop symptoms and masking can prevent transmission from those individuals.”
See the full story on Dwell.com: Yes, You Should Wear a Face Mask. Here’s How to Get or Make One
- How Is the Pandemic Changing the Housing Market?
- How to Safely and Efficiently Tackle Laundry During the Coronavirus Pandemic
- Practicing Sustainability Is Easier Than You Think With These Handy Guides


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Jimmy Buffett’s latest Margaritaville restaurant will open in San Antonio on Tuesday, July 19th at 10am.
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville has finally released a date for the opening of its San Antonio location inside Rivercenter Mall (849 E. Commerce St.). Yes, we have plenty of margs in SA already, but the first Margaritaville in Texas will offer a family-friendly restaurant with seating for 315 souls.
Per today’s press release announcement via the International Meal Company, which owns the restaurant, the space will feature “island-inspired flavors, live entertainment and a patio overlooking the river” all inside a 10,000 square-foot venue. Menu items sound as goofy as you’d imagine: Cheeseburger in Paradise, Volcano Nachos, Drunken Shrimp Skillets.
A grand opening and BONUS MARGARITA TOAST! will take place Tuesday , July 19 from 10 to 10:30 a.m. The restaurant will open 11 a.m. daily.
(hat tip Ken)
Jimmy Buffett is seemingly expanding his business empire in all directions, and a new focus will be on the digital side as Margaritaville Enterprises has hired a few key people in recent months:
The digital media group of Margaritaville Enterprises, the hospitality, merchandise and media firm based on the carefree lifestyle invoked by Jimmy Buffett’s music, has made three key hires including Sarah Ramey, formerly in charge of video production and development for Gawker, as head of content.
Margaritaville Media, led by former YouTube exec Laura Lee, also has tapped Sam Keene, who previously worked at NASCAR and Red Bull, as head of digital marketing and platforms; and Talar Sarkissian, formerly with mobile-video app startup SpeakUp, as head of business development and operations. All three report to Lee, president of Margaritaville Media and chief digital officer.
Under the direction of Lee, Margaritaville Media is attempting to expand the reach of the Buffett-inspired brand to younger demographics with video series, editorial and branded content, as well as immersive digital experiences.
“With Sarah’s deep content capabilities across digital, TV and film, Sam’s proven leadership in building digital audiences for lifestyle brands and Talar’s strong operational experience, we are perfectly positioned to take Margaritaville Media to the next level and grow our company’s social presence,” Lee said in announcing the hires. “We look forward to creating fun and escapist content that continues to inspire our younger fans to embrace the Margaritaville lifestyle.”
Read more at Yahoo.
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville is back with a presence in Biloxi, Mississippi.
Jimmy Buffett again has a presence in Biloxi, and a crowd turned out Thursday to open the new Margaritaville Resort Biloxi.
Buffett was about to go on stage at a concert in Indianapolis and couldn’t attend the ribbon-cutting, but sent a message.
“Well, as you might guess, I am very excited about this latest and greatest Biloxi project,” Buffett wrote. “It has been a long and sometimes trying adventure to get the right kind of place in Biloxi and I couldn’t be happier with this great project, its location and your involvement,” he told the developers.
“On the water is what I always wanted,” he said of the location — the former Casino Magic, which hasn’t been open in the 11 years since Hurricane Katrina.
“The added attraction of the landing on Deer island is something that really strikes home,” said Buffett, who was born in Pascagoula and played his first professional gig in Biloxi.
Buffett said he hopes to get to the new resort for a quick visit in July and definitely for Saints games and angling for redfish.
Margaritaville Resort Biloxi offers games for all ages and a volcano climbing wall that “erupts” periodically in the Margaritaville restaurant as climbers enter through the floor. There are several other restaurants as well, and for those who stay in one of the 373 hotel rooms or suites, water views and sunsets, and access to the waterpark and lazy river, which will open Friday.
John Cohlan, CEO of Margaritaville Holdings, recently gave an interview to Bloomberg Business where he gave some insights into Jimmy Buffett’s empire of restaurants, resorts, merchandise, and more.
Cohlan revealed that Margaritaville did over $1.5 billion in sales in 2015 and is growing at about 20% annually.
Watch the video below:
Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville restaurant is coming to the Cleveland Flats later this year:
The bar and restaurant chain will move into the 20,000-square-foot building on the corner of Front Avenue and West 11th Street, in the Flats East Bank. The space was originally supposed to house Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill.
“A nationally known brand like Margaritaville will really help drive tourism to our area,” said Scott Wolstein, developer and partner of The Wolstein Group. “Adding such a recognizable establishment provides yet another exciting and diverse option for everyone that makes Flats East Bank their entertainment destination.”
Margaritaville Cleveland’s parent, International Meal Company U.S., also points to increased tourist traffic – and the chain’s role to that end.
“We look forward to bringing escapism to the city and becoming active members of the Cleveland community,” said David Crabtree, President/CEO of International Meal Company U.S.
The New York Times has a great article on Jimmy Buffett and his business empire. It’s a good read, includes an interview with Jimmy Buffett and his partner, and reveals that Margaritaville is finally coming to California:
The company’s first resort, a planned $700 million casino and hotel in Biloxi, Miss., was delayed by the late-2000s economic collapse. Margaritaville eventually opened a much smaller hotel in Biloxi, but it went belly up, perhaps because the company picked a bad location. This month Mr. Cohlan announced a third attempt, set to open later this year. This time, there will be more of a family focus, and no casino. Eight more Margaritaville hotels, including one in Grand Cayman, are in various stages of development.
Margaritaville’s signature restaurant chain is expanding quickly — it will soon push into California for the first time, opening at Universal Studios Hollywood — but a spinoff series of restaurants in the Midwest called Cheeseburger in Paradise has struggled. Margaritaville sold its Cheeseburger stake in 2005 and, since then, roughly half the locations have closed as the brand was lobbed between owners.
Read the full story here.

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UK: Labour rights organisations & investors condemn Boohoo’s slow progress a year on from revelations of labour abuse in UK supply chain
In July 2020, Labour Behind the Label published a report detailing labour rights abuses, worker exploitation and dangerous working conditions in garment factories across Leicester. According to the report, employers failed to implement social distancing measures within factories and workers were told to come into work despite having tested positive for Covid-19. These revelations followed warnings by labour rights activists about working conditions in Leicester’s garment industry and came just a week after it was reported Boohoo executives intend to pay themselves £150 million bonuses amid soaring sales during lockdown.
Boohoo orders account for at least 75% of work in the city’s garment manufacturing sector and labour rights organisations called on the company to provide greater transparency on its supply chains so the practices of its suppliers can be scrutinised. Boohoo did not respond to BHRRC’s survey on fashion brands' response to the pandemic which informs our COVID-19 apparel tracker.
In September 2020, Boohoo committed to action following an independent review by Alison Levitt QC which found 'failings' including low pay and poor working conditions. The company laid out six steps it was taking to improve governance, including the formation of two committees to oversee risks to the business and its supply chain compliance. The retailer subsequently appointed Sir Brian Leveson to oversee its supply chain overhaul, who published three reports on January 2021 , March 2021 and February 2022. Leveson stated that “doing nothing was not an option”.
The fast fashion e-tailer published a list of its suppliers in March 2021 after cutting ties with hundreds of suppliers over labour rights concerns. In the same month, US Customs and Border Protection launched an investigation into Boohoo and considered an import ban following a complaint filed by campaign group Liberty Shared.
In April 2021, the UK Government announced its plans to establish a new watchdog tasked with protecting the rights of UK workers. The announcement came after revelations of labour abuse and poor working conditions in Boohoo’s UK supply chains.
Almost a year after the allegations were made public, BHRRC, Labour Behind the Label and ShareAction have expressed concern over Boohoo’s slow progress in addressing labour rights abuses and worker exploitation in its supply chains. The statement highlights the company’s insistence on paying suppliers low prices as a key factor in driving illegally low wages.
Thulsi Narayanasamy, Senior Labour Researcher at BHRRC said: “Adopting policies and implementing them are two very different things. It appears the Boohoo Group is going to great lengths to appear committed to change, but this hasn’t necessarily translated into action. Sources in Leicester suggest there is serious cause for concern with workers still being paid well below the minimum wage at £5 – 5.50 an hour. By over-emphasising the role of factories, Boohoo is wrongly exonerated for its central role in creating the necessary conditions of labour abuses.”


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Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Internet Data Security at Risk because of a bug called "Heartbleed"
A major security bug has been recently discovered that put millions of usernames, passwords and credit card numbers at risk from hackers. The bug has been exploited by hackers and NSA who snoop at everyone for more than two years. The bug is called "CVE-2014-0160" or "Heartbleed."
This is a different kind of breach, it is not like a web site getting hacked. It is a major bug, the code that suppose to keep servers secure has a flaw. Servers that keep data for thousands of sites. Experts say that this is the worst bug yet and everyone who uses the internet, do business using the internet should be worried.
It is like forgetting to unlock your car or your home, you may never know if a burglar will help themself stealing your stuff.
A Finnish security firm Codenomicon conducted a test exploiting the "Heartbleed" bug to try and steal data here how it goes:
"We have tested some of our own services from attacker’s perspective. We attacked ourselves from outside, without leaving a trace. Without using any privileged information or credentials we were able steal from ourselves the secret keys used for our X.509 certificates, user names and passwords, instant messages, emails and business critical documents and communication."
"Heartbleed" bug was discovered in a type of software called OpenSSL. OpenSSL is used on servers to encrypt sensitive information to protect people’s privacy. More than 500,000 servers were reportedly vulnerable.
Last March, another open-source encryption library "GnuTLS" discovered a bug that fails to correctly validate certificates. Now it's OpenSSL turn.
Administrators and vendors are scrambling to patch this bug since OpenSSL is used by millions of websites and it has affected almost everyone. The only way you website is not affected by this bug is if your website is not using SSL or you have an outdated versions of OpenSSL which are also equally risky.
As for Amazon, they are working to patch "Heartbleed" memory-leak vulnerablities in their Amazon Web Services hosting infrastructure.
Here are Online Tests that you can use:


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Steam will drop support for Windows 7 and Windows 8 on January 1st, 2024
You'll need Windows 10 or later to keep using the game client.
You might not want to hold on to that vintage gaming PC for much longer. Valve has warned that Steam will no longer support Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 as of January 1st, 2024. The game client's latest features use an embedded version of Google's Chrome browser, which dropped support for those operating systems in February. Incoming versions of Steam for Windows will also require OS updates that are only available in Windows 10 and newer releases, Valve adds.
As PC Gamer points out, this won't affect most Steam users. Just under 1.9 percent of the software's audience is using one of the relevant Windows versions, according to Valve's latest survey. That still affects a significant number of people, though, and may leave them no choice but to either upgrade their OS or buy a PC with a supported platform. The end of support could be particularly troublesome if you need an older version of Windows for work or a retro gaming system.
There has been plenty of pressure elsewhere to move on. Microsoft stopped supporting Windows 7 in January 2020, and Windows 8.1 at the start of 2023. Epic Games no longer supports those platforms if you want to run Fortnite, for that matter. It's becoming harder and harder to use an ancient Windows machine in general — Steam's compatibility change may just be the tipping point that pushes you toward an upgrade.


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BlackBerry's CEO is skeptical about the appeal of foldable smartphones13
Speaking with Barron’srecently, Chen argued that foldable smartphones have a lack of appeal due to their lack of innovation. Personally, he wants “something faster with functional upgrades” but, in his opinion, there are “no breakthroughs on the horizon.”
In recent years elements such as the fingerprint scanner, facial recognition, and iris scanning have all been introduced. Nowadays, though, the focus is primarily on creating “bigger” displays, something that results in “bulky” devices and doesn’t always entice users to upgrade – consumers typically want more than just larger displays and iterative upgrades.
As many of you may know, BlackBerry itself hasn’t produced a single smartphone since 2016. Instead, the company has continued to focus on its security and communications services and software over the past few years. Recent BlackBerry-branded devices have instead been produced by TCL under a licensing agreement.
Unlike BlackBerry’s CEO, TCL is betting quite heavily on foldable smartphones. The manufacturer is yet to release such a device to the market but recently unveiled its DragonHinge design at MWC. This will become the basis of the first foldable offerings from the company which should arrive sometime next year. It also means that BlackBerry-branded foldable offerings are a possibility, despite John Chen’s lack of interest in the form factor.


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As Shake Shack prepares to arrive in the Bay Area, the burger joint has announced the creation of a "Golden State Double" burger that will be available when the Palo Alto location's doors open.
Here's what you can expect, according to a Mercury News report:
Called the Golden State Double, the burger will feature two certified grass-fed patties from the Northern California ranches of Richards Grassfed Beef (in partnership with Cream Co. Meats of Oakland) on a sweet potato bun baked by Tartine Bakery of San Francisco. The Double will be topped with bread-and-butter pickles from McVicker Pickles along with white cheddar and smoked garlic aioli.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY SHAKE SHACK


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Coinbase Retracts SEC Regulatory Approval of Security Tokens Listings, Clarifies Not Required
Coinbase Makes Major Moves in Coin Offerings
Coinbase has been at the forefront of the mainstream crypto asset training industry since its conception. The organization boasts an incredibly simple user interface and a minimal selection of coins which consumers can trade. This interface makes the exchange the best option of many who may not have the proper experience to trade on platforms with confusing interfaces and hundreds of potential coins to trade with one another.
However, the company’s deliberation to add new coins to its slowly-growing market has significant ramifications for the coins which they consider. For an example, one only need recall the story of XRP, or Ripple. When rumors circulated that Coinbase might be adding the Ripple currency to their ranks resulted in a massive spike in the price of XRP. The currency shot up from around 26 cents to over three dollars in worth. Though the price eventually fell back down, evening out at around $.069 per coin, the remarkable price rise illustrates the massive influence exerted by the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange.
The Coinbase Blog recently announced that the company was considering adding five new tokens to their exchange, though a true decision has yet to be made. This announcement could impact several areas of the crypto market. In addition to being likely to temporarily drive up the price of the concerned coins, the inclusion of key new currencies could further open up and expand the trading market, especially when it comes to the more volatile coins that aren’t quite as tied to the price of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin.
Coinbase is considering Adding:
The first coin that Coinbase is considering listing on their esteemed exchange is called Cardano. This decentralized blockchain is an open source smart contract platform. The project has several components, including its own application-running decentralized wallet and its own proof of stake algorithm, which academic professionals have verified to be truly provably secure—a major score within the FinTech community.
Basic Attention Coin
Unlike some other blockchain companies, BAT attempts to contain itself into a specific niche community. In particular, this coin attempts to improve upon the efficiency of the advertising business by awarding effective advertisers based on the mental engagement, or focused attention, of consumers who view their advertisements.
Stellar is an open sourced transaction platform. With a similar business model and futuristic backing goals to Ripple (XRP), many speculated that XRP would be the next currency to gain a coveted listing on the Coinbase exchange. However, most professionals understand that the competition between the two businesses does not mean that Ripple will cease to be successful—just that XLM will gain a momentary boost to their own operations.
Zcash is one of the many privacy-oriented crypto-alternatives which have cropped up in the past year. Created in response to growing concerns regarding the anonymity issues facing popular currencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, the currency boosts zero-knowledge protocols, along with a host of security-boosting features.
0x is yet another protocol which works to facilitate the trade of crypto assets. Built on the growing Ethereum blockchain, the company has gained significant exposure for its desire to allow people to create their own fully decentralized exchanges for cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase has also come forward with a statement regarding their intention to begin legally selling tokens that could be considered securities according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the agency tasked with regulating securities and the trade of stocks within the United States. The spokesperson for the platform outlined that the company might not need to seek approval from the SEC in order to acquire several companies which they might use to offer new securities on their platform.
The SEC was not involved in the acquisition approval process for Keystone. Keystone’s acquisition was key because it means that Coinbase will be able to use the data products and over-the-counter crypto-trading technologies.
When paired with the announcement regarding the four new crypto assets being added by the company, this trend of expansion is especially important to understanding an important transition for Coinbase into what appears to be a security-based market. While for many this means an unfortunate decentralization, others take this recent set of announcements as a cause for optimism; perhaps Coinbase will work hand-in-hand with the SEC to normalize the trade of digital assets which might be securities.


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The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and Lume Cannabis Co. have been awarded a retail licence for a cannabis store on tribal land in Sault Michigan.
According to a news release issued by Sault Tribe Friday, Lume Cannabis Co. plans to establish five additional cannabis retail stores in Sault Tribe territory by 2022.
“We are honored to work with the top cannabis operator in Michigan to bring high-quality cannabis products to medical patients and adult-use consumers who live in or visit Sault Ste. Marie and the Eastern Upper Peninsula area,” said Sault Tribe Economic Development Executive Director Joel Schultz in a news release. “The Sault Tribe is working progressively to diversify economic development to enhance revenues to expand services to Sault Tribe Members. Lume has the expertise, passion, values and philosophy that make them the ideal company to work with to bring recreational cannabis to Sault Ste. Marie.”
According to Sault Tribe, Lume Cannabis Co. carries more than 20 strains of flower, along with pre-rolls, edibles and a new line of CBD products, at its retail stores and in an online capacity.
All cannabis flower distributed by the company is grown in a facility in Evart, Mich.
“Providing Michiganders with safe cannabis products is our top priority - which is why we grow all our products without harmful chemicals and subject them to the most rigorous testing in the industry,” said Lume Cannabis Co. President and COO Doug Hellyar via news release. “Our newest partnership with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians will take our operations to the next level and establish us as the state’s go-to source for all things cannabis, including our commitment to educating our customers and making it as convenient as possible for them to access the best, safest products to meet their individual needs.”
Lume Cannabis Co. currently operates 10 cannabis stores in Michigan, with plans to expand to another eight locations within the state in the future.
In 2018, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. decided against opening cannabis retail stores within the city.


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Haz mat, the nasty stuff that turns turtles into ninja superheroes, serves as an indicator of the health of the economy. We may all start to glow if the amount of hazardous waste rises but it does show increased activity in heavy industry, which is positive for the economy. The latest numbers from the Environmental Protection Agency show that the volume of hazardous waste handled in 2010 dropped by a full 1 per cent to 288,000 tonnes. This indicates slower economic activity. However, the exporters are once again big winners, as we shipped 143,000 tonnes of gunk abroad.
Property prices rose in May for the first time since September 2007. They only rose 0.2 per cent but any port in a storm. If this trend is sustainable and prices stop plummeting, it really is jolly good news. Uncertainty over the value of houses has been one of the key drags on consumer confidence, which has hit domestic spending in a savage way.
The amount of money Irish people will spend on their summer holidays has fallen dramatically, according to a bit of number-crunching by those celebrated economists at lastminute.com. The findings show a monster 25 per cent drop in Irish people's spending which fell from €794 last year to just €600. This represents weak demand and pretty dismal sentiment. As well as bagging all the sun loungers, the Germans are snapping up all the flash deals, as average spending on holidays there is a hefty €838. No recession in Germany, though.
Buying a new Porsche takes a few stones, especially in this climate. But last week's stats from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry (SIMI) show that the number of new Porsches sold in Ireland this year is already up 300 per cent on 2011. Mind you, the numbers are still a bit thin, with just eight new Porsches sold in 2012 compared with a mere two last year. Clearly there's money somewhere. Meanwhile, the volume of used cars being sold on carsireland.ie rose 3.2 per cent last week.
Irish bond yields
Irish nine-year bond yields tumbled to 6.41 per cent last Friday as sketchy news of the Euro banking debt move filtered through. If Ireland can bag a decent deal on refinancing the €60bn-plus in bank bailout money, a return to the stone age mightn't be on the cards any more! And the Germans got knocked out of the Euros! What's not to like?
Sales of sunglasses rose 9.21 per cent on eBay last year, representing a bit of a boost to spending. In the last month there has only been a slight increase of 3.1 per cent in the amount of sunglasses sold.
Ease of doing business
According to the World Bank, out of 183 economies, Ireland is ranked the 10th easiest place to do business across the globe. While this is a fantastic accolade, we have slipped two places in the last year. The better the business environment is, the easier it is for our own entrepreneurs as well as foreign direct investors to set up, operate and create employment.
Sunday Indo Business


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Stay on target
Choosing a good password is hard. Choosing good passwords for each individual social network, email account, and online retailer you use is even harder.
But gambling on regularly used codes is not the solution.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) this week released a “blacklist” containing the 100,000 most commonly recurring passwords accessed by third parties in global cyber breaches.
By no means exhaustive, the results highlight a huge number of regularly used passwords easily breached to access sensitive information—i.e. codes not to consider.
“Password reuse is a major risk that can be avoided,” NCSC Technical Director Ian Levy said in a statement. “Nobody should protect sensitive data with something that can be guessed, like their first name, local football team, or favorite band.”
While you’re at it, avoid using the name of a popular superhero or cartoon character.
“Using hard-to-guess passwords is a strong first step and we recommend combining three random but memorable words,” Levy said. “Be creative and use words memorable to you, so people can’t guess your password.”
The list of compromised passwords—obtained from global breaches already in the public domain—was created in partnership with cybersecurity expert Troy Hunt, creator of Have I Been Pwned?
Still typing “123456” each time you log into Gmail? Stop. The string of cardinal numbers has been found 23 million times. Even more “complex” codes like “oreocookie” have been spotted in 3,000-plus instances.
“Making good password choices is the single biggest control consumers have over their own personal security posture,” according to Hunt, who blames us as individuals, as well as the organizations asking us to register with them.
“Recognizing the passwords that are most likely to result in a successful account takeover is an important first step in helping people create a more secure online presence,” he added.
This announcement comes just before NCSC’s two-day CYBERUK 2019 conference kicks off in Glasgow.
More on Geek.com:


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There is literally a recent law that allows the ICO in particular to do exactly that - chase the former company directors as a personal liability.
They just don't use the damn thing.
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MainStreet Libertyville recently received the Lt. Governor's Award for Excellence for its 2012 membership drive to promote local merchants.
MainStreet Libertyville is a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization to promote and retain economic development in the downtown through historic preservation. It sponsors more than 50 days of community and retail events.
Forty-two communities hold the Illinois Main Street designation. Over the past 20 years, they have created 9,300 jobs, opened more than 1,200 new businesses and represent public and private investment of more than $750 million.


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AGCO €600 million senior notes offering
Davis Polk advised the representatives of the several initial purchasers, in connection with an unregistered offering by AGCO International Holdings B.V., a Netherlands-domiciled subsidiary of AGCO Corporation, of €600 million aggregate principal amount of its 0.800% senior euro-denominated notes due 2028.
The notes are expected to trade on the Euronext Dublin’s Global Exchange Market and to be held in a manner which would allow them to be eligible for the corporate sector purchase programme of the European Central Bank, referred to as the CSPP.
Founded in 1990 and headquartered in Duluth, Georgia, AGCO is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of agricultural machinery and precision ag technology. AGCO delivers customer value through its differentiated brand portfolio including core brands like Challenger, Fendt, GSI, Massey Ferguson and Valtra. Powered by Fuse smart farming solutions, AGCO’s full line of equipment and services helps farmers sustainably feed our world.
The Davis Polk capital markets team included partner Byron B. Rooney and counsel Jennifer Ying Lan. Counsel John Taylor provided European regulatory advice. The tax team included partner Michael Farber and associate Justin Corvino. The environmental team included counsel Loyti Cheng. Members of the Davis Polk team are based in the New York and London offices.


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David Bowie’s massive art collection went to auction in London, shattering first-day sales expectations.
Rolling Stone reports the auction raised more than $30 million on Thursday (Nov. 10, 2016), nearly tripling pre-auction estimates. It features nearly 350 works of art owned by the late singer, including pieces by Jean-Michel Basquiat, Frank Auerbach, and Damien Hirst.
“[David Bowie] used his art to understand his place in the world,” curator Beth Greenacre told the magazine. “He was an amazing historian. He was always looking backward to understand the present – and even prophesied about the future, I think.”
The musician, who died in January after his battle with liver cancer, was a passionate collector of modern art for most of his life. The event, called Bowie/Collector, is both an auction and exhibit, with Day 2 to take place Friday, November 11.


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Flipkart has just wrapped off its Flagship Fest sale on its platform. Today it has kicked off its ‘Electronics Sale’ to offer the best deals on smartphones. As said the sale has already begun and will go on till May 21. Companies such as Samsung, Apple, Asus, Vivo, iQoo among others will be offering their smartphone at reduced pricing. Mobile phones such as iPhone 12 series, Samsung Galaxy F62, Galaxy F41 and iQoo 3 will be available for a cheaper price on the e-commerce platform.
The Flipkart Electronics Sale will be offering up to 12 percent instant discount on HDFC Bank credit card and EMI transactions. In addition to this, it will also provide complete mobile protection, exchange offers as well as no-cost EMI offers.
Starting with most premium Apple iPhone 12 series will be available for as low as Rs 71,900 for the standard model. The iPhone 12 Mini can be grabbed for Rs 61,900 whereas the Pro model will be available at Rs 1,10,900. All these phones from the existing series will be available at EMI starting for as low as Rs 3,357 per month. On the other hand, iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro can be purchased at Rs 49,999 and Rs 79,999 respectively. Moreover, iPhone XR and iPhone SE will be available for purchase at Rs 40,999 and Rs 31,999 respectively.
During the Motorola Flipkart Electronics Sale, Motorola Razr and Motorola Razr 5G can now be bought for Rs 54,999 and Rs 89,999 respectively. The gaming smartphone Asus ROG Phone 5 and the third generation can is now up for Rs 49,999 and Rs 41,999.
Samsung will also be putting up a fair amount of the latest smartphones on Flipkart at discounted pricing. The Samsung Galaxy F62 is listed at Rs 17,999 whereas the Galaxy F41 will be available for Rs 12,999 down from its original cost of Rs 14,999.
The sale will also offer discounts on other devices such as Google Pixel 4a, Poco M2 Pro, Oppo A53, Moto G40 and Moto G60.
Oppo A53 2020, Poco X3, Oppo F19, Moto G30, Vivo Y51A and others will be at hand during the Flipkart sale.
For the latest gadget and tech news, and gadget reviews, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. For newest tech & gadget videos subscribe to our YouTube Channel. You can also stay up to date using the Gadget Bridge Android App.


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During IFA RIM showed off the PlayBook 3G+ but did not give a specific launch date for the device. Today you can go to the BlackBerry UK sight and see the device listed as avialable thru Misco UK and Insight UK.
You can now register with Insight UK to be notified when the BlackBerry PlayBook 4G is available for pre-order. We still do not have a release date but it seems to be really soon. Are you in the UK and planing on pre-ordering the BlackBerry PlayBook? Hit the break to get registered


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SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- General Motors Corp. GM, +0.56% shares rose almost 5% to $39.99 on Thursday, touching levels not reached in almost three years a day after the United Auto Workers announced that its membership ratified a new labor contract. The deal was approved by 66% of the workforce and will allow GM to free itself from $50 billion in health-care obligations. Chrysler reached a tentative agreement with the union on Wednesday and Ford Motor Co. F, -2.79% is next in line for the bargaining table. Ford's stock rose 6.6% in anticipation that the company and the UAW will also come to an accord.
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The market for motorcycles in India is quite vast, be it in terms of sales, production volumes or the customer base. In circumstances like these, it is really tough for a model making debut to carve a niche for itself. The presence of so many competitors and complex consumer parameters make the Indian bike market a challenging arena where succeeding is a little difficult. Mahindra Two Wheelers, relatively new in the bike vertical, has gone on to exceed expectations through its Centuro model. In a short span of time, Mahindra Centuro has become one of the best selling models in the market, sources have claimed. This feat can be considered quite incredible as firms like Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp and Honda are going pretty strong, registering excellent sales figures continuously. According to experts, Mahindra Two Wheelers has taken a giant leap in the market by launching the Centuro.
Sources suggest that the Indian firm has put in a lot of effort while conceptualising, developing and producing Mahindra Centuro. Technology has been the main focus for the team working at Mahindra Two Wheelers' Research and Development Centre, which is located in Pune. Extensive research and planning have gone into designing this product, which is stylish, lightweight and efficient. The result of efforts put in by the firm have resulted in four global technology patents, which the firm received recently. All these technologies are included in Centuro and have attracted a number of buyers. The success of this model was predicted quite sometime before its launch, which took place in July, 2013. Experts had said that the combination of technology, high fuel-economy and affordability have worked for Mahindra Centuro.
Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group, spoke about the firm's plans on the launch of this motorcycle. “The new Mahindra Centuro is a class-defining product that aims to address the inherent needs of the Indian consumer in the two wheeler segment. It has been completely engineered around the consumer and his needs and is, in fact, a physical manifestation of what we perceive as „Customer Inspired Technologyâ€Ÿ. The Centuro is testimony to our determination to emerge as a serious player in the high volume commuter segment and resonates with our presence in the highly competitive Moto GP motorcycle racing championship,” he said.
To say the least, Mahindra Centuro has lived up to the expectations of its manufacturer and has struck a chord with customers throughout the country. This motorcycle runs on an intelligent MCi-5 (Micro Chip Ignited - 5 curve) engine, which has the ability to generate an output of around 8.5 bhp along with peak torque of 8.5 Nm. Incredibly, this bike delivers a fuel economy of 85.4 kmpl (ARAI claimed figure). However, the highlight of the Centuro is its technological sophistication, which includes features anti-theft alarm with engine immobiliser, encrypted remote flip key and distance-to-empty (DTE) indicator.


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Last September, the Trump administration had announced a plan to ban flavoured vaping products across the US. According to sources familiar with the plan, an announcement was to be made early November, and the ban was meant to apply to all flavours with the exception of tobacco and menthol flavours.
However, a couple of weeks later, comments by Trump suggested a change in strategy. He mentioned raising the legal vaping age limit to 21, as a way to prevent teen vaping. “We’re going to be coming out with a very important position on vaping,” he said on Twitter. “We have to take care of our kids, most importantly, so we’re going to have an age limit of 21 or so, so we’ll be coming out with something next week very important on vaping.”
To this effect, public-health experts, vaping executives and lawmakers were convened to the White House, in order to discuss the matter. When the Vapor Technology Association (VTA) raised the topic of increasing the legal age to purchase the products, Trump said that his administration had already decided to do so. “Twenty-one we’re going to be doing,” he said.
Meanwhile, to the surprise of some and skepticism of most, Juul and Altria have emerged as the main supporters of the “Tobacco 21” measure. Following the recent scrutiny faced by the companies, especially as a result of their merger, Juul and Altria have been doing their utmost to gain credibility as having harm reduction at heart.
Naturally, health entities such as the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, who are suspicious even of the independent vaping industry, believe that the companies’ “Tobacco 21” support is nothing other than a calculated move to put off harsher measures. “Altria and Juul clearly support this in order to argue that no other action is necessary,” said Matthew Myers of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. “If you don’t eliminate the flavors that the industry has used to fuel the epidemic, you won’t solve the youth e-cigarette crisis.”
Juul faces more lawsuits
Meanwhile, in what is the latest in a series of lawsuits faced by Juul, a suit filed by the Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul last week, is claiming that the manufacturer undid “years of progress made to reduce youth smoking rates.”
Similarly last month, the state of California sued San Francisco-based Juul, alleging that the e-cig manufacturer has engaged in a “systematic” and “wildly successful” campaign, to hook minors on its products.
The California lawsuit is certainly an example of the consequences faced by Juul for striking a deal with a tobacco company. One of the first complaints of this suit is that since Altria bought a 35% stake in Juul, Juul’s infrastructure has been corrupted and is using the same fraudulent marketing measures that the tobacco company itself has used.
Read Further: MPR News


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CAPE TOWN, South Africa (BRAIN) — Leatt Corp. revenues increased 10% in the second quarter over the same period last year.
Revenues for the protective gear brand topped $5.3 million for the quarter that ended June 30. Revenues for the second quarter of 2018 were $4.7 million. Year-to-date global revenues also increased 10% to $11.4 million.
“We had a solid quarter and made substantial progress, particularly in terms of revenue growth and the market acceptance of our newest product lines in both the U.S. and international markets,” said Leatt CEO Sean Macdonald.
Global revenue was driven in the second quarter by a 69% sales volume increase in Leatt’s new Z Frame knee braces and selection of body armor. Leatt’s other products, including its new Velocity 6.5 goggles, increased 88% in sales volume.
“Our full line of medically proven, revolutionary knee braces continues to gain traction globally,” Macdonald said. “We are also very excited about the enthusiastic market acceptance of our new, bulletproof Velocity 6.5 goggle line. … The demand has exceeded our expectations, and our goggle category has become another important revenue contribution segment. Initial shipments and continued ordering patterns are showing great promise for future growth.”
Dr. Christopher Leatt, chairman of the board …read more


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Search For "amazon prime"
Updated : 1 day, 4 hours ago IST
New Delhi [India], March 5 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Friday said that the new guidelines of the government on regulating Over The Top (OTT) platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime have "no teeth" as there is no provision of prosecution.
Updated : 2 days, 5 hours ago IST
New Delhi [India], March 4 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Centre to submit before it the regulations on Over The Top (OTT) platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime while stressing that there should be some screening of shows and web series being telecast on such platforms.
Updated : 3 days, 6 hours ago IST
New Delhi [India], March 3 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday postponed for Thursday hearing an appeal of the commercial head of Amazon Prime Video Aparna Purohit, against the Allahabad High Court order that denied anticipatory bail to her, in the ongoing investigation against the web ser
Updated : 3 days, 21 hours ago IST
New Delhi [India], March 2 (ANI): The Supreme Court will hear on March 3 an appeal filed by Amazon Prime's Commercial Head, Aparna Purohit against the Allahabad High Court order that denied her anticipatory bail in the ongoing investigation against the web series 'Tandav'.
Updated : 1 week ago IST
Washington [US], February 26 (ANI): 'Coming 2 America', - the sequel film, starring Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall, will be screened to 200 cars at Flushing Meadows Corona Park on March 5, the same day it begins streaming on Amazon Prime, according to multiple outlets.
Updated : 1 week, 1 day ago IST
Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 26 (ANI): The Allahabad High Court on Thursday refused to grant anticipatory bail to Aparna Purohit, the head of India Originals, Amazon Prime Video, in a case filed in Noida against makers of the web series 'Tandav' over the depiction of police, t
Updated : 1 week, 3 days ago IST
Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 24 (ANI): Amazon Prime's India head of original content Aparna Purohit reached Hazratganj police station to record her statement in a case related to web series 'Tandav' for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.
Updated : 2 weeks, 4 days ago IST
New Delhi [India], February 16 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Centre to apprise it on what government proposes to do to regulate Over-the-top (OTT) platforms such as Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Updated : 3 weeks ago IST
Washington [US], February 13 (ANI): Hollywood stars Donald Glover and Phoebe Waller-Bridge will be putting a new spin on 'Mr. and Mrs. Smith' for New Regency and Amazon Prime Video.
Updated : 3 weeks, 2 days ago IST
New Delhi [India], February 10 (ANI/Digpu): Actor Karn Mehta who has had a dream run in 2020 with his movie getting a release in theatres months before the lockdown and then making it to several OTT platforms like Amazon Prime and MX Player and enjoying great audience feedback all over th
Updated : 3 weeks, 3 days ago IST
Melbourne [Australia], February 10 (ANI): Cricket Australia (CA) on Wednesday announced that the members of the Australian Women's Cricket Team on Thursday will return to the scene of their history-making T20 World Cup win to celebrate the launch of 'The Record' on Amazon Prime Video.
Updated : 3 weeks, 5 days ago IST
Melbourne [Australia], February 8 (ANI): Cricket Australia (CA) on Monday launched the trailer for the upcoming Australian Women's Cricket Team documentary, 'The record', which will premiere on Amazon Prime Video this Friday.


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Bainbridge Schools celebrate National Peanut Day with peanut education, PBJ sandwiches
Published 6:15 pm Friday, March 17, 2017
Each school in the Decatur County School System celebrated PB&J Day on Wednesday in order to celebrate agriculture and teach the children how some of their favorite foods start right here in Decatur County.
Festivities got kicked off at West Bainbridge Elementary School, when local farmer and Georgia Peanut Commission board member Andy Bell presented a book donation to the library.
Bell presented the book “PB&J Hooray” to Principal Jamie Ard, along with a handful of excited students dressed as farmers and peanuts.
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“Today’s activities are very important,” said Bell. “All the kids can learn about where their food comes from. Most kids and a lot of adults think all their food comes from the grocery store. We want to donate this book so we can tell our story.”
Food education was the focus of the morning at West Bainbridge. After the book donation, a peanut picker combine was delivered to the school.
A group of children stood around the massive piece of machinery with wide eyes as Bell pointed out the particular parts and what aspects of the combine do what.
Aside from learning about where their food comes from, the day also shows the kids what they could aspire to be one day. The world needs farmers, and P&J Day could have inspired a few students to go into the world of farming when they get older.
“We had a lot of them dressed like farmers today, and farmers are getting older,” said Bell. “I hope some of them are excited about going into agriculture.”
Getting kids excited about their long-term goals is a hard task. However, PB&J Day did serve as an exciting way to break the normal day-to-day routine for the students, and that was enough to get their attention.
Students passed in the hallways dressed in cowboy boots and overalls. Some students had peanuts drawn on their shirt; some glued actual peanuts in the shape of a big peanut on their clothing. Whatever the end goal of PB&J day was, the short-term goal of getting them excited was accomplished.
“It’s very fun for them to learn in events like this,” said Ard. “It’s relative to their real life experiences. When they go out in our community here, when they drive down the highway, they see peanut farms and agriculture around them.”
West Bainbridge was only a fraction of the full days events throughout Decatur County. Each school participated to ensure a widespread understanding and appreciation of what it takes to get the food they love on the shelves of the grocery stores here across the county.
“I think they’re excited to know where their food comes from,” said Bell. “We’re in an agricultural county, some of them do know where it comes from but a lot of them do not. I think they’re very excited.


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Cannabis has been legal in California for more than a year now, and the results have been underwhelming, as legit growers struggle to compete with the entrenched black market.
As the state’s legal cannabis market finds its footing, seismic political shifts are happening across the United States when it comes to hemp, a cannabis sativa that is 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or less by dry weight.
In December, the United States Congress approved the 2018 Farm Bill, which was signed into law by President Trump. The Farm Bill legalizes hemp production and sales, changing the plant’s classification from a controlled substance to an agricultural commodity.
Hemp is a mild-mannered member of the cannabis sativa family, but has countless uses from dietary supplements and cosmetics to clothing and construction materials.
Hemp can also be used to make cannabidiol (CBD) products, which seem to be everywhere and in everything these days. A growing body of research suggests that CBD is an effective treatment for treating pain, anxiety, depression and movement disorders, among other health issues.
The U.S. market for hemp-derived CBD could break $20 billion in 2022, according to industry analysts at the Brightfield Group.
California’s cannabis industry is unmatched, but its hemp production is rather modest, trailing states like Kentucky and North Carolina. The Golden State’s industrial hemp cultivation has been limited to approved growers and research institutions.
In September 2018, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation easing some restrictions on the hemp industry. Coupled with the Farm Bill, this legislation seems designed to make hemp farming more appealing in California.
Legit cannabis growers, those with state permits and licenses, have struggled to compete with the entrenched black market. State tax revenue from cannabis was projected to be about 40 percent lower than expected in 2018. Why? Because illicit grow operations can sell cheaper product.
As the state’s legal cannabis market finds its footing, seismic political shifts are happening across the United States.
Thanks to KCRA 3 for covering my bill, AB 228, which would allow Californians to have better access to hemp-derived products, including those that contain cannabidiol (CBD), that help many treat pain, inflammation, anxiety, and other health issues. https://t.co/fsLMVuwmur
— Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (@AsmAguiarCurry) January 24, 2019
Would a bumper crop of hemp hurt the cannabis industry? Probably not. Industry analysts say demand for hemp-derived CBD will soon eclipse the entire cannabis market. But CBD and THC products don’t serve the same needs for consumers.
It’s also unclear when hemp growers will be allowed to sell cannabidiol (CBD) products in California. A July memo from the state’s public health market makes it clear that while growing hemp is legal, the sale of hemp-derived CBD is not.
Will the state’s position on hemp CBD products change in 2019? Not unless the Food and Drug Administration decides these products can be treated as a food, or California determines they are safe for human and animal consumption.
A bill introduced introduced in the California Senate by Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) would open the door for hemp-derived CBD to be added to food, beverages and cosmetics.
If the bill were to pass, California’s industrial hemp producers could tap into a major market for consumable CBD products. In the Central Valley, hemp could be grown on a massive scale for domestic use or exports.
What may limit the growth of industrial hemp in California are market pressures from the cannabis industry. While the appetite for CBD and other hemp products is rising, the profit margins on hemp are lower. To have a profitable operation, hemp growers need to operate at a much larger scale than cannabis growers.
While an acre of hemp might produce $60,000 in product, the same acre of cannabis flower could sell for four or five times more.
How the cannabis and hemp markets interact remains to be seen. But the decision to legalize industrial hemp is widely seen as a win for farmers in California and across the U.S.


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A focus on the actual business requirements from storage infrastructures, and not on the legacy discussions about speeds and feeds, the names on the bezels, and where the data is actually located, will characterize the storage industry of 2021 and beyond.
"The storage, management, protection, and valuation of data is and will continue to be a critical function of IT well into the foreseeable future - that is not in doubt," notes
Joseph F. Kovar in CRN
"Businesses will continue to collect data at an ever-increasing rate, and need new ways to find information from that data while keeping it available and safe.
However, going forward, many of the technology details of data storage will be of increasingly less importance, while the discussions around business value will boom. Just like no one talks about SAN vs. NAS, business users soon will not look at 'on-prem vs. cloud' or 'NetApp vs. Pure Storage.' Instead, storage decisions are increasingly being made based on what the businesses need to grow their business and generate profits, and not where and how the data is stored..."
Enterprise storage drives continued to push the limits of performance and capacity in 2020, with fast new PCIe Gen 4 SSDs at 30 TB and energy-assisted HDDs at 20 TB
"High-performance PCIe 4.0 SSDs are soaring past 30 TB," notes Carol Sliwa
"and spinning hard drives are hitting 20 TB for a cheaper alternative to cope with the escalating growth of data as 2020 draws to a close.
Chip manufacturers also continued to push the envelope with denser 3D NAND flash that can help users lower the cost per bit and reduce their storage footprints. Micron unveiled its 176-layer 3D NAND in November at the Flash Memory Summit, although it disclosed no timeline for availability. In December, SK Hynix announced that it provided controller companies with samples of its 176-layer, 512 Gigabit triple-level cell (TLC) flash, which it calls '4D NAND' ..."
See all Archived IT News - Storage articles
See all articles from this issue


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In recent months, even the most conservative economic forecasts included a strong chance for a mild recession by the end of 2023. Today, it’s beginning to look like recession may be entirely avoidable.
“No economic recession yet, and I don’t even know that we’re going to get one,” says Bob Costello, Chief Economist at the American Trucking Associations. “It’s very strange, and I think part of it is the very aggressive Federal Reserve.”
For over a year, the Fed has been raising interest rates in an effort to tamp down runaway inflation. These efforts seem to be having their intended effect on the economy at large. Though recession may be less likely in the big picture, the freight industry does not share the same sunny outlook. In fact, this isolated segment of the economy has already been in a recession for months.
Costello points to a shift from a goods-based consumer market during the pandemic to today’s experience/service-based spending model to explain the downturn in trucking. Add in lower housing and industrial production as well as lingering inventories and you have the recipe for a freight recession.
The freight economy is in a recession. Is there any hope for struggling carriers? Watch the latest episode of the Stay In Your Lane Podcast for valuable economic insights.
In many ways, freight leads the economy—at least in terms of physical goods—when it comes to both recession and recovery. “We are a good reflection of the physical goods economy,” Costello says of the freight industry. “This is a prime example of [what happens] when you see a divergence between the goods economy and the services economy. We as an industry are underperforming the macroeconomy.”
While Costello no longer forecasts a recession is in store for the macroeconomy, he sees a clear culprit for the recessionary trend in freight. “It’s not so much because of the demand cycle in the industry. It’s what’s going on with supply,” he explains. “To me, that is the big story in the trucking industry right now.”
Small fleets were struggling at the end of 2022 and into the beginning of this year, with many operations going out of business. Now, these fleets and independent operators are in a precarious financial position thanks to high equipment costs and other mitigating factors. Many more are closing shop or choosing to join larger companies on an employee basis. All of this combines for the reduced freight supply that Costello highlights.
Major cost pressures point to further troubles for small fleets and independent owner operators going forward. Fuel prices continue to rise. Meanwhile, the bottom has fallen out of the spot market, where many small operators do most of their business. These trends further highlight a reduction in freight capacity.
But all is not doom and gloom. Costello believes that conditions are right for a spot market comeback in the near future. “All we really need is for demand to level off and maybe even come up just a hair, and it’s going to feel different for fleets out there,” he explains.
A better spot market would offer relief to many small operations that are struggling. But even larger transport companies are not immune to the effects of a sluggish transport economy, as the sudden and dramatic closure of Yellow Corporation shows. Along with outright closures, some larger carriers are being acquired by their competitors. This is all symptomatic of the shrinking capacity that Costello is tracking across the industry.
“Let’s say the number of loads normally goes up two percent a year. If we even get to one percent growth, the fleets that are still around would notice it and start to feel better,” Costello says. “Again, it is a supply side story.”
Even a small uptick in demand could be a light at the end of the tunnel for carriers who can survive these trying times. For a transport partner who can help you weather the ups and downs of the economy, trust the 3PL professionals at Triple T Transport. Contact us today to learn more about our wide range of services.


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The NACS Show was rated in the top 10 among U.S. trade shows in three of the four key categories used by exhibitors to measure audience quality, according to a national survey of the country’s biggest trade shows conducted by Exhibit Surveys Inc. The 2012 survey results were tabulated from more than 30 of the top annual U.S. trade shows and released in April.
Retailer registration and housing is now open for the 2013 NACS Show, a comprehensive event for convenience and fuel retailing professionals. This year’s NACS Show will be held Oct. 12-15 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.
The 2012 NACS Show ranked fourth in the country in terms of total buying plans—the percentage of attendees who anticipate buying within 12 months of a show. NACS’ score of 63 percent was higher than the all-show average of 49 percent.
The NACS Show ranked sixth in the country for net buying influence, also known as “buying power,” which calculates the percentage of attendees who have the power to make or recommend final purchasing decisions. The NACS Show’s score of 92 percent was higher than the all-show average of 84 percent.
In addition, the NACS Show ranked eighth for the amount of hours each attendee spends visiting exhibitions. NACS Show attendees averaged 10.4 hours per person on the expo floor, a 0.5-hour increase over 2011, and higher than the all-show average of 9.1 hours.
Exhibit Surveys defines net buying influence as “the ability to recommend, specify or purchase products or services; it defines total buying plans as “the percentage of visitors planning to buy one or more products or services seen at a show within the following 12 months,” calling it “a strong indicator of what people purchase.”
“The NACS Show’s top-tier ranking over the past decade confirms what our industry has long known: The NACS Show is where retailers and suppliers get together to do business,” said NACS Vice Chairman of Convention Pat Lewis, a partner at Twin Falls, Idaho-based Oasis Stop ’N Go. “Savvy retailers know that the new ideas and products that they find at the NACS Show help them continually thrive and stay ahead of the competition, and the 2013 NACS Show will be no exception.”
At the 2012 NACS Show, a record number of buyers fueled a 7.2 percent surge in attendance, which hit 24,056—the second-highest total ever. The number of buyers (retailers, wholesalers and distributors) was up 17.1 percent to reach 9,764. There were a record 8,057 NACS buyer registrants at the 2012 NACS Show—nearly 3 percent more than the previous record set in 2004. PEI buyer registration was 1,707, the third-highest total ever. Attendees came from a record 65 countries and international attendance was a record 2,482 delegates.
The excitement from the 2012 NACS Show has carried over to 2013, organizers report. Exhibition space for the NACS Show is nearly sold out, which is unprecedented so far in advance of the event.
The 2013 NACS Show will feature a 392,000-net-s.f. exposition with 1,050 exhibiting companies—of which 150-plus are new to the NACS Show. In addition, the show will feature three days of general sessions and 53 educational sessions. The educational sessions in 2012 drew a cumulative 9,889 attendees, averaging nearly 190 attendees per session, the most ever recorded. Reflecting the growing international scope of the NACS Show, the general sessions will be once again translated into Portuguese, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, and select educational sessions will be translated into Portuguese and Spanish.
NACS has a variety of marketing products and programs for exhibitors that are designed to help exhibitors target the buying power of top retailers, intensify market penetration, launch a new product, strengthen and differentiate their brands and generate traffic to their booths.
Full registration, which includes admission to the general sessions, educational sessions, expo and the welcome reception, is $295 for NACS retailer members and $495 for other retailer attendees. One-day registration also is available ($195 per day for NACS retailer members and $295 per day for other retailers). These “super-saver” rates are available until July 31. Other rates apply for non-exhibiting manufacturers, service providers, brokers and consultants. Exhibitor registration also is now now open. NACS Show attendees can register for the event and secure housing here.
In addition to online registration, the NACS Show website features the latest information about exhibitors, speakers, workshops and networking events.


text: Denmark has shipped hundreds of its UVD (ultraviolet light disinfection) robots to China and Europe during the pandemic. Many companies have plans to implement robots and automation in their long-term strategies, but COVID-19 has forced organizations towards a digital transformation sooner than they had planned and sped up the growth of robots. To speak with an expert about industrial robots, call RobotWorx at â¦ For example, a field hospital staffed by robotsâthe Smart Field Hospitalâopened in Wuhan, China, in early March. Many companies have plans to implement robots and automation in their long-term strategies, but COVID-19 has forced organizations towards a digital transformation sooner than they had planned and sped up the growth of robots. It also started using automated translation services so English-speaking representatives can speak to customers who don’t speak English. Among them, 10 uses of robots in our daily life are described below: 1. â enabling a wide variety of applications. Customers want more human interaction in the future, not necessarily more technology. Learn why our technology is trusted worldwide. Many supermarkets are turning to robots to fill orders. New automobiles without robotics are like a computer with wheels. 3. Her first book was 'More is More: How The Best Companies Work Harder And Go Farther To Create Knock Your Socks Off Customer Experiences." 9. At the end of 2019, UVD projected a 2020 growth rate of 400%, but the company has already hit 5x that. Medical robots, Surgical robots, Robotic nurses, Blood-drawing robots & Exoskeletons: Hereâs our overview to understand Robotics in Healthcare and Medicine. Brain Corp Named a Winner of the San Diego Top Workplaces Award 2020 by, Brain Corp Expands Commercial Relationship with Sam’s Club to Power In-Club Autonomous Robots and Connected Data Services, Brain Corp Announces New UX Design and Reporting Capabilities that Simplify Robotic Usage at Scale, Brain Corp Names Technical Visionary and AI Leader Jon Thomason as Chief Technology Officer, Industry’s First In-Store Autonomous Delivery Robots, Powered by Brain Corp, Deployed into Commercial Retail, Brain Corp Surpasses 2 Million Autonomous Hours Powering Largest Fleet of Commercial Mobile Robots in Public Spaces. by Robert Lamb. Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist. Download this new guide. Regulators in Europe recently increased the amount of money shoppers can pay through mobile devices, which reduces authentication requirements. There is also a wide range of robotic toys for young children that will interact at various levels to engage the child. Blake Morgan is a keynote speaker and the author of the bestselling book The Customer Of The Future. Collecting more data and accounting for more edge cases drives our safety-first approach. Here are some of the coolest military robots. From cleaning floors to hauling inventory and goods, robots are helping today’s retailers solve critical challenges. She is the author of the new book "The Customer Of The Future: 10 Guiding Principles For Winning Tomorrow's Business" (HarperCollins). Brain-powered robots work with the cloud to interpret digital commands and move them to the physical world. In 2018. The human race might soon have a new challenger - but it's probably not one of these sporting robots. iRobot even has a robot that can move around your house and be remotely controlled with a two-way speaker to interact with the people in your home. Unique Features: Nao has the ability to interact with people but more significantly is able to work with Autistic children and run exercise sessions in care homes. 10 Robots That Eat Plants And Maybe Humans. Brain Corp is an AI software leader that powers the world’s largest fleet of autonomous mobile robots operating in commercial indoor public spaces. Brain-powered retail robots provide a strong experience with limited human exposure. Robots help ease supply chain difficulties by getting the right items to the right stores and stocking shelves. The applications in the field of so-called third generation are diverse: from moving a piece from one position to another, or loading and unloading machines, to certain processing operations in which the robot works on the parts using a tool. She is a contributor to Forbes and the Harvard Business Review. Robots can sort recycling much more safely than humans. To highlight some of the great inventions of the past ten years, we've selected 10 of the best robots fom the past 10 years. There, humanoid robotsâdonated by CloudMinds Technology, a Silicon Valley companyâdisinfect, measure temperatures, deliver food and medicine, and entertain medical staff and patients. One of the most effective ways to fight COVID is to limit human exposure. Regulators in Europe recently increased the amount of money shoppers can pay through mobile devices, which reduces authentication requirements. 10 Robots With Dirty Jobs. Blake is the author of two books on customer experience. Only time will tell if employers will rehire humans once COVID passes, or if the robots will take jobs from humans in a post-COVID world. Among them, 10 uses of robots in our daily life are described below: 1. 10. Crazy about smart home robots? Watch now. Two of the most prominent examples of humanoid robots are Hanson Roboticsâ Sophia (in the video above) and Boston Dynamicsâ Atlas. It produces a lot of noise and intense hit. It also started using automated translation services so English-speaking representatives can speak to customers who don’t speak English. Recycling workers who make $10 an hour have to work in close proximity to their co-workers and can’t practice social distancing. The BrainOS platform and its cloud-connected autonomy service are used by global manufacturing partners to successfully build, deploy, and support commercial robots at scale across industries and applications. Automated systems will soon start removing content without human review. Examples of this type of robots include the factory robot, Unimate, the Amazon warehouse robots, and collaborative factory robots which serve as a human co-worker. Here are 10 of the weirdest robots we have made so far. Accelerate the movement of stock and loose-pack material from one point to another. Photo credit: trucktrend.com. In contrast to tripedal robots, four-legged robots are more popular. © 2020 Forbes Media LLC. For example, Paro has a series of therapeutic robots such as a baby seal that are meant for the elderly to interact with. Blake is the author of two books on customer experience. The R2 is the first humanoid robot in space, but will be joined later this year by a Japanese communication robotthat will keep the asâ¦ Sometimes when one of us first smells something the damage has already begun â like the smell of burning rubber or even worse, the smell of a deadly gas. By definition, robots are at least semi-autonomous meaning that they can react to some events and conditions without need of direction. Featured image credit: armadainternational.com. There are many examples where robots are becoming essential. Disaster Response: These robots perform dangerous jobs like searching for survivors in the aftermath of an emergency. There are many potential uses for robots, however many have not yet been built. In the last month, Paypal has switched to using chatbots for 65% of its message-based customer inquiries. Increased demand for essential items and periods of intense shopper foot traffic have made many retailers, especially grocery stores, places of chaos. The term, ârobot,â was invented by Karelâs brother (Josef Capek). Forget maids that vacuum, mop and dust like those in the cartoons and sci-fi movies -- engineers are still struggling to make a two-legged robot navigate a room without causing a mess. now than they were two months ago. In simple terms, a robot is a An important example is robotic welding. EY & Citi On The Importance Of Resilience And Innovation, Impact 50: Investors Seeking Profit — And Pushing For Change, Michigan Economic Development Corporation With Forbes Insights, Retailers are using automated cleaners 13%, At Giant Eagle, robots are taking over inventory. These robots are being used in a number of ways to limit the spread of coronavirus and help fight COVID. Robots are being used throughout traditional brick-and-mortar as stores face significant pressure. With any sort of list like this, things are pretty arbitrary, but we tried to pick robots that have made an impact in our culture or have impacted the hobby or science of robots in a major way. Many companies have plans to implement robots and automation in their long-term strategies, but COVID-19 has forced organizations towards a. sooner than they had planned and sped up the growth of robots. Robots and other artificial intelligence have made lives easier and have made product production faster. Cleaning has never been more important, yet businesses are struggling to do more with the same or fewer resources. But for the time being, robots can be our friend in the fight against COVID. Even before the pandemic, robots were on the rise and the market for service robots was growing. One thing we know for sure - customers are watching how businesses treat their employees. hundreds of its UVD (ultraviolet light disinfection) robots to China and Europe during the pandemic. People realize that today, being a cashier is a dangerous job and puts people in contact with germs and other people. Some grocery stores are adopting robotic contactless options and asking customers to use mobile payment services instead of traditional payment methods. Originally released in 2008 and having been continually developed for over 10 years, Nao is one of the most iconic robots in the world right now. Even before the pandemic, robots were on the rise and the market for service robots was growing. You’re in the right place. Robots can sort recycling much more safely than humans. In 2018, 271,000 service robots were shipped—an increase of 60% over 2017. , which frees human employees to focus on disinfecting and sanitizing surfaces. Oil companies inspect their â¦ , not necessarily more technology. Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist. Built by NASA and General Motors, the Robonaut 2 (R2) finally began doing some work aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2012, having arrived there in early 2011. —an increase of 60% over 2017. She's worked with Accenture, Intel, Verizon Wireless, and many more. In a time of social distancing, robots make it possible for businesses to continue while still protecting their customers and employees. Increased demand for essential items and periods of intense shopper foot traffic have made many retailers, especially grocery stores, places of chaos. NASA hopes that one day, it can be used to help humans in danger zones and disaster-stricken areas. When discussing robots and their uses, it is important to first establish what they actually are. 10 of the greatest robots in sport (and one human) Save 52% when you subscribe to BBC Science Focus Magazine. Autonomous floor care robots do 8,000 hours of daily work that would otherwise have to be done by human employees and put them at risk. By Alexander McNamara. The following are illustrative examples. There are more than a few corroded batteries in the bunch. Verify and optimize cleaning performance with robotic scrubbers and vacuums. BrainOS-powered robots excel in high-traffic commercial locations. Blake's clients include Comcast, Genentech, Accor Hotels, Accenture, Parker Hannifin, Ericcson, Omron, Verizon, Adobe and more. You may opt-out by. Service robots can perform a huge variety of tasks, and it’s never been more important than now. Our pioneering AI software platform powers the world’s largest fleet of autonomous mobile robots operating in public spaces. Examples are the robot dog Aibo, the Roomba vacuum, AI-powered robot assistants, and a growing variety of robotic toys and kits. Exosuits are rapidly becoming commonplace. Robots perform a variety of tasks including preparing orders, performing inventory checks and bagging and delivering groceries and other essential items. Here are 10 examples of robots helping to fight COVID and move people out of high-risk situations: 1. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Many of the robots of pop culture's 20th-century imagination simply haven't come to fruition. Ensure inventory availability, validate pricing, and collect valuable in-store data. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. Automation creates a more efficient shopping experience and frees up resources to keep the store clean. In recent weeks, the company has had fewer people doing content moderation and more machines. Ruptured supply chains have led to uncertainty to the flow of stock. The progress of automated self-driving vehicles development is surprising in the recent 10 or 15 years. and can’t practice social distancing. 10 Examples Of Robots Helping To Fight COVID April 23, 2020. Robot ideas originated from the early imagination of mythologies and fictions in the past civilizations of Ptolemaic Egypt, Ancient Greece, and Ancient China. The Medical Futurist Magazine Robots are the future of most industries, and nowhere is that more apparent than the military. In many cases, robots are being used to limit human exposure and flatten the curve for the benefit of employees and customers. She is the author of the new book "The Customer Of The Future: 10. Therefore, the several advantages of industrial robots are encouraging manufacturers to integrate different types of industrial robots in its production line to increase plant efficiency and profitability. 5. Automation creates a more efficient shopping experience and frees up resources to keep the store clean. Watch videos showing the real-world applications of our autonomous robots. Robots are doing a great job in this section. designboom rounds up the TOP 10 robot and artificial intelligence stories of 2017, including the world's first robot to be granted citizenship. Find out more in this new, graphical eBook. See how robots can help. As new information is learned about the spread of COVID, there comes a demand for robots to take over tasks from humans in high-risk areas. Blake is the host of The Modern Customer Podcast and a weekly customer experience video series on YouTube. Many essential workers are concerned about coming to work during the coronavirus pandemic and putting themselves at risk. It is an ideal example of âscience for robotics and robotics for scienceâ, say the journal editors, and should advance the development of flying robots. Here is a look at 10 examples of where robotics has brought us today: 1. Some of the best examples of quadrupedal robots are WildCat, Cheetah, and Big Dog. At Giant Eagle, robots are taking over inventory, which frees human employees to focus on disinfecting and sanitizing surfaces. . Valkyrie is able to walk by itself, pick up objects and use tools. Copyright © 2020 Brain Corporation. 7. Customers will have no problem vocalizing concerns if businesses simply replace as many humans as possible with a robotic workforce. The term autonomous robot suggests a machine that can accomplish complex objectives without need of external control. YouTube has also shifted towards the use of robots. Most of the more common robots we see are the robot vacuum cleaners that can help clean the floors in your house or the robot toys, but there are quite a few others. Automated systems will soon start removing content without human review. Retailers are using automated cleaners 13% now than they were two months ago. Robots perform a variety of tasks including preparing orders, performing inventory checks and bagging and delivering groceries and other essential items. 6. Used as the standard platform for the robo cup Nao has to be dynamic and agile. Service robots can perform a huge variety of tasks, and it’s never been more important than now.


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Jeff Bezos, founder and chief government officer of Amazon.com Inc., speaks on the Nationwide Press Membership in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019.
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos is becoming a member of a listing of tech leaders calling for his or her corporations to commemorate Juneteenth.
In a memo despatched to workers on Tuesday, Bezos inspired Amazon workers to cancel all conferences on Friday to honor Juneteenth, which celebrates the emancipation of Black folks from slavery within the U.S. On that date in 1865, Union Common Gordon Granger learn the Emancipation Proclamation to African-Individuals.
Fairly than making it an organization vacation, Amazon will supply a “vary of on-line studying alternatives” for workers all through the day, Bezos stated. He added that workers ought to “take a while to replicate, study and assist one another.”
Amazon is the newest tech big to acknowledge Juneteenth, amid rising assist for the Black Lives Matter protests for racial justice within the aftermath of the dying of George Floyd. Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter and Square, stated final week that each corporations will honor Juneteenth as an organization vacation within the U.S., whereas Google has instructed workers to cancel conferences that day. Facebook has additionally inspired its workers to commemorate Juneteenth with a day of studying. Different corporations and organizations like Nike and the Nationwide Soccer league made Juneteenth a vacation.
In latest weeks, Bezos has proven assist for the Black Lives Matter motion in a series of Instagram posts, through which he known as out indignant prospects who criticized the corporate’s present of solidarity with protesters. Earlier this month, Amazon announced it’s going to donate $10 million to social justice organizations. The corporate additionally tweeted that the “inequitable and brutal remedy of Black folks” should cease.
This is the complete memo:
From: “Bezos, Jeff”
Over the previous few weeks, the Steam and I’ve spent loads of time listening to prospects and workers and enthusiastic about how latest occasions in our nation have laid naked the systemic racism and injustices that oppress Black people and communities.
This Friday, June 19, is Juneteenth, the oldest-known celebration commemorating the tip of slavery within the U.S. I am cancelling all of my conferences on Friday, and I encourage all of you to do the identical if you happen to can. We’re offering a variety of on-line studying alternatives for workers all through the day.
Please take a while to replicate, study, and assist one another. Slavery ended a very long time in the past, however racism did not.
— CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa contributed to this report.


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If you need to get some extra battery life out of your iPhone then you can use low power mode or power save mode on your device to extend your battery. This is a handy feature that Apple has built into the iPhone for times when you need to save battery usage on your iPhone. This could be when your battery gets lower than expected and when you want to extend how long it lasts that day.
We have seen a number of new folding smartphones this week and now we have another one, the Xiaomi Mix Fold 2. The Xiaomi Mix Fold 2 comes with a 6.56-inch folding AMOLED display that features a 21:9 aspect ratio on the front with an FHD+ resolution of 2520 x 1080 pixels.
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LinkedIn has announced that it is adding a new rnage of content creation features to its platform, which will include clickable links in images and videos. They are also launching a new range of templates to make it easier to create posts and more, you can see more information below.
Skullcandy has created a new environmentally friendly range of headphones in the form of Transparency with a net zero carbon footprint. The limited edition headphones contains carbon emissions equivalent of 12.14 kg, neutralized via carbon offset credits and are priced at $115 for the Hesh Evo wireless headphones or $50 for the Jib True 2 wireless earbuds offering the equivalent of 5.70 kg, neutralized via carbon offset credits.
PlayStation gamers looking forward to the arrival of the new fast-paced action bloodsport game on skates Rollerdrome will be pleased to know that Jemima Tyssen Smith from Roll7 has taken to the official PlayStation blog to reveal a few tips and tricks that might help you as you take to the rink on August 16, 2022.
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NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A baby’s sleep may not suffer just because her mom likes a daily cup of coffee, a new study suggests.
The findings, experts say, don’t give the OK to heavy caffeine intake during pregnancy or breastfeeding. But they are in line with research suggesting that moderate amounts of caffeine may not pose a danger.
Small studies over the years have come to mixed conclusions on whether caffeine during pregnancy was linked to increased risks of miscarriage or premature birth.
But more recently, larger studies have failed to show any heightened risk. And in 2010, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) said that 200 milligrams of caffeine a day -- about the amount in a 12-ounce cup of coffee -- probably did not carry pregnancy risks.
But not much has been known about whether caffeine, during pregnancy or breastfeeding, might disturb new babies’ sleep.
For their study, Dr. Ina Santos and her colleagues at Federal University of Pelotas, in Brazil, interviewed 885 new moms. The women answered questions about their caffeine intake and their infants’ sleep habits at the age of three months.
All but one of the mothers said they drank caffeinated beverages during pregnancy. About 20 percent were considered heavy consumers during pregnancy -- downing at least 300 mg per day. And just over 14 percent reported a heavy caffeine intake three months after giving birth.
Overall, the researchers found no clear link between moms’ caffeine intake and their likelihood of reporting infant sleep problems.
Almost 14 percent of mothers said their three-month-old woke up more than three times each night -- which was considered “frequent.”
But the odds were not statistically greater for moms who were heavy caffeine consumers, versus lighter consumers, Santos’s team reports in the journal Pediatrics.
“I think this report adds to the growing body of literature suggesting that moderate caffeine consumption during pregnancy is generally safe,” said Dr. William H. Barth Jr., chief of maternal-fetal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
Barth, who was not involved in the study, chaired the ACOG committee that wrote the 2010 report.
While heavy caffeine consumers in this study got 300 mg or more per day, “I don’t think this report is too different from ACOG’s recent committee opinion,” Barth told Reuters Health in an email.
He said the bottom line for women is that moderate caffeine intake -- up to a cup or two of coffee per day -- seems safe during pregnancy.
“However,” Barth said, “we do not know if there are adverse effects of higher levels of caffeine consumption.”
As for breastfeeding, it’s generally thought that 300 mg of caffeine or less each day is OK, according to Dr. Lauren Hanley, an obstetrician at Mass General who specializes in breastfeeding issues.
That’s the case for healthy, full-term babies at least, Hanley told Reuters Health in an email.
But preterm infants and newborns metabolize caffeine more slowly, and may be more sensitive to the small amount of caffeine that passes into breast milk.
And studies suggest that high amounts of caffeine during breastfeeding -- “much higher” than 300 mg per day, Hanley said -- are related to “jitteriness,” fussiness and poor sleep in babies.
Coffee is, of course, not the only source of caffeine. The 200- to 300-mg limit suggested for pregnant or breastfeeding moms would also translate to about four 8-ounce cups of tea or five 12-ounce cans of soda a day.
SOURCE: bit.ly/Hf4y9Y Pediatrics, online April 2, 2012.
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.


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On October 28, Tesla unveiled its new solar roof tiles. Few of us in attendance, if any, realized the solar roofing tiles were actual functional solar panels until Elon Musk said so. Sure, it’s a neat trick, but what’s the big deal?
Why does it matter that Tesla is making a fashion statement when the point is green power and a future where we aren’t so dependent on fossil fuels?
I’ve heard from some people suggesting that this is nothing new, because of other similar previous projects, including Dow Chemical’s canned solar shingle project, for example. Others are wary of Tesla’s ability to sway consumers with a solar solution that sounds like it’ll still be quite expensive in terms of up-front (or, with payment plans, deferred but net) installation costs. Still others aren’t clear on Tesla’s goals with this product, or how it fits into the company’s overall strategy relative to its electric vehicles, like luxurious car service.
It’s easy to dismiss the aesthetic import of how Tesla’s tiles look, but it’s actually important, and a real consideration for homeowners looking to build new homes or revamp their existing ones. The appearance of the tiles, which come in four distinct flavors (Textured Glass, Slate Glass, Tuscan Glass and Smooth Glass) is going to be a core consideration for prospective buyers, especially those at the top end of the addressable market with the disposable income available to do everything they can to ensure their home looks as good as it possibly can.
As with other kinds of technologies that are looking to make the leap from outlier oddity to mainstream mainstay, solar has a hurdle to leap in terms of customer perception. Existing solar designs, and even so-called attempts to make them more consistent with traditional offerings like the above-mentioned Dow Chemical project, leave a lot to be desired in terms of creating something that can be broadly described as good-looking.
It’s like the VR headset — Oculus and Google can make claims about their use of fabric making their headsets more approachable, but both are still just options somewhere along the curve of things with niche appeal. Neither is very likely to strike a truly broad audience of users as acceptable, and neither are solar panels that don’t succeed in completely disguising themselves as such.
Tesla has been referred to as the Apple of the automotive world by more than a few analysts and members of the media, and if there’s one thing Apple does well, it’s capitalize on the so-called “halo effect.” This is the phenomenon whereby customers of one of its lines of business are likely to become customers of some of the others; iPhone buyers tend to often go on to own a Mac, for instance.
For Tesla, this represents an opportunity to jump-start its home solar business (which it’ll take on in earnest provided its planned acquisition of SolarCity goes through) through the knock-on effects of its brisk Tesla EV sales, including the tremendous pre-order interest for the Model 3. It’s strange to think of halo effects with big-ticket items, including vehicles and home energy systems, but Tesla’s fan base shares a lot of characteristics with Apple’s, and because they’re already purchasing at the level of an entire automobile, the frame of reference for what constitutes a valid halo purchase is actually appropriate.
Tesla, like Apple, scores well with customer satisfaction and brand commitment, and that’s something that no one trying to sell a solar home energy system at scale can match. As strange as it sounds, “buying a roof because you like your car” might be the new “buying a computer because you like your phone.”
Benefits beyond basic solar
Tesla’s solar tiles claim to be able to power a standard home, and provide spare power via the new Powerwall 2 battery in case of inclement weather or other outages. Musk says that the overall cost will still be less than installing a regular old roof and paying the electric company for power from conventional sources. But Musk’s claims about the new benefits of the new solutions don’t end there.
Tesla’s tiles will actually be more resilient than traditional roofing materials, including terra-cotta, clay and slate tiles. That’s because of the toughness of the glass used in their construction, according to Musk, who demonstrated the results of heavy impact from above, using a kettlebell as you can see in the video below.
Originally posted on TechCrunch.com