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Thousands of fans flock to San Diego Comic-Con every July, but with Covid-19 canceling this year’s massive pop culture convention, organizers have spent the past three months programming online panels, exhibit halls and activities for Comic-Con @ Home.
FX Networks, which has had an experiential presence at the event for seven years, fully pivoted planned physical activations to innovative digital offerings for fandoms stuck at home.
The Disney-owned network has debuted FX Unlocked, a free online experience for the virtual convention with activations tied to series including American Horror Story, What We Do in the Shadows, Dave and Cake. Fans can access the experience on FXSDCC.com, which is live through July 26.
Kenya Hardaway, svp of integrated promotions and multiplatform marketing for FX Networks, said the network was already planning IRL activations for Comic-Con when the pandemic began. When the brand was forced to pivot, Hardaway said the goal remained to provide fans with exciting ways to celebrate and step into the stories of their favorite shows.
“We initially had to get over the shock of going from live builds and activations that were already being conceived to figuring out how to funnel that into a virtual space,” Hardaway said. “It was an adjustment, and we had to pivot in a way we had never done before.
“But at the end of the day, we’re creatives. It gave us an opportunity to be challenged and think beyond what we’ve ever conceived of for Comic-Con in the past.”
FX teamed with experiential marketing agency Creative Riff, its partner for on-the-ground Comic-Con activations since 2015, to develop this year’s virtual program. The lineup offers a mix of interactive games, live and prerecorded talks, and workshops, including:
- Test of Terror: American Horror Story trivia game featuring comic book-inspired art tied to scenes, characters and settings
- For comedy series Dave, fans can explore a faux computer desktop with activities that include a live Q&A with stars Dave Burd (aka Lil Dicky) and GaTa, a custom Spotify playlist and a freestyle rap written exclusively for Comic-Con.
- Guillermo’s Stakeout: What We Do in the Shadows game exploring the vampire mockumentary series through animation. Each day, the top 50 scoring fans will win a deck of themed playing cards. Creative Riff worked with publisher Gameloft to create the game.
- For FXX’s animated anthology comedy series Cake, Jeron Braxton, creator of short-form comedy Daytime Noir, leads an illustration workshop in partnership with Otis College of Art and Design Extension.
- For long-running animated comedy series Archer, the site will air a panel with the cast and producer focused on the new season.
- FX on Hulu Cosplay Gallery: fan costume photos or drawings submitted via Instagram
Ryan Coan, founder and CEO at Creative Riff, part of Stadiumred Group’s agency collective, said when reframing the activations, the goal was to keep them immersive but also fun and simple.
“We wanted to allow fans to have an escape in this world we created, without overwhelming them. People have short attention spans, and you want them to pick something up and know how to play with it immediately,” Coan said. “There’s a nice mix of gamification, content creation and allowing users to connect with talent and dive into the series.”
Hardaway added that the network wanted to lean into the types of digital content fans are enjoying, sharing and consuming to keep busy in quarantine. “This gave us an opportunity to present our shows and content in a way that made sense for the way people are currently living,” she said.
The benefits of going virtual for Comic-Con, according to Hardaway and Coan, include the ability to reach a wider audience and capture engagement metrics more easily. Coan noted that the learnings from creating FX Unlocked, and how fans respond to it, might inform how brands like FX will tackle experiences even after the pandemic.
“Prior to the pandemic, trying to convince brands to do a digital event like this over a physical event, or layer this on top of a physical event, would’ve been extremely difficult,” Coan said. “Consumers and fans are learning how to engage online in a completely new way, and I think this is here to stay. It’s going to enrich the physical events we do moving forward.”


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The Hair and Beauty Industry Association (HBIA) has partnered with the Australian Retailers Association (ARA), an alliance that hopes to strength and expand resources for HBIA members going into the new decade. In an already big year for HBIA, they have also announced Mark Rippon as their new general manager.
Mark will usher in a new era for the group, with extensive industry experience in education, brand development and more. He will focus on rebranding and relaunching HBIA in 2020 with a renewed special interest in salon wellness and refreshed communication across the hairdressing, beauty and barber sectors. As directed by HBIA brand development manager, Alannah Browne, this redevelopment leads with a new website that is even more dedicated to providing resources and support for the community. The new alliance with ARA is also a vital component of this new phase for HBIA. The ARA are Australia’s largest retail association, representing the country’s $310 billion -dollar sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people.
The partnership will bring together both associations to provide HBIA members with enhanced information on employment and law compliance, as well as providing additional training and support for members with a dedicated HBIA advice team, titled the Employment Relations Management System, as well online resources such as fact sheets and wage rates. HBIA is also working on increasing support for businesses that don’t quiet require employment relations support. The partnership between the ARA and the HBIA will exist to advance the Hair and Beauty industry by advocating and lobbying on behalf of members and encouraging additional provisions where required.
“This is an exciting opportunity for both the ARA and the HBIA to enhance support for all members and add further value to the current services provided to ARA and HBIA members,” said Russell Zimmerman, Executive Director of the ARA.
Other yearly features will include the Australian Hairdressing and Beauty Championships, hosted on May 24 and conducted by HBIA in Melbourne, as well as the company’s Student and Educator Awards, both of which will see fresh new categories to align with the bold new focus for the association.
The HBIA will continue to play a pivotal role in representing members, training providers and product companies to ensure the interests of the industry remain always at the forefront. It looks to be a shining new decade for HBIA!
For more information visit www.hbia.com.au
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domain: news


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The global dynamic launch of the Aventador S took place at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia (Spain) from 20 to 25 of January. International media...
The best cars in 2017 are expected to emphasize safety, fuel efficiency, and powerful technology.
While companies work on efficiency and affordability, some visionaries have designed elegant electric cars—far from the clunky versions of the past.
Just as introduction of the Chevrolet Colorado reset the bar for mid-size trucks, the new Colorado ZR2 is poised to reset expectations for off-road trucks. Chevy’s...
Flying at an altitude of over 4,000 meters the renowned French paraglider Jean-Baptiste Chandelier performs some of the most fantastic paragliding freestyle tricks high in the sky.
Volvo Trucks performed their first live test "the Flying Passenger" in order to demonstrate the Volvo Trucks' performance and I-Shift Dual Clutch.
The latest Audi Q2 is a compact, elegant and, at the same time, sports automobile which is designed and developed by the renowned German automobile manufacturer Audi.
Mobile apps have been using map locating system more these days than in the past, thanks to Uber.
The 2016 Paris Motor Show is a must-attend event for car enthusiasts. It is both an institution for the auto industry and a source of inspiration...
With gasoline prices hiking up, the attention of car owners is turned towards eco driving options like hybrid cars. Nickel is used to creating hybrids cars.


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Total international container volumes slipped 5.2 per cent year over year to 245,294 TEU, as a 0.7 per cent uptick in international imports to 131,067 TEU was more than offset by an 11.2 per cent drop in exports to 114,227 TEU, according to American Shipper.
Throughput of domestic cargo slipped 1.3 per cent to 63,950 TEU compared with the same 2017 period, with volumes to/from Alaska falling 0.6 per cent to 54,591 TEU due to continued soft market conditions and shipments to/from Hawaii sliding 4.9 per cent to 9,359 TEU.
Total cargo volumes have now fallen in each of the last three months on a year-over-year basis and four of the first five months of 2018 following a decreases of 9.6 per cent in March and 1.1 per cent in April.
So far this year, overall container throughput at NWSA terminals is down 5.1 per cent to just over 1.4 million TEU compared with the same five,month period in 2017.
NWSA attributed the May decline primarily to a tough comparison in the corresponding 2017 period, when 'volumes were inflated due to an overlap in old and new vessel services during the launch of the new carrier alliances.'
NWSA noted, however, that the ports added two new weekly services this spring that are expected to increase capacity and direct call options for shippers. SM Line's new standalone PNS service called Terminal 18 in Seattle for the first time last month, while THE Alliance's PS8 service made its inaugural call to Washington United Terminals in Tacoma.
According to ocean carrier schedule database BlueWater Reporting, the PNS loop, which commenced May 10 with the sailing of the SM Qingdao from Yantian, is operated with six vessels with an average capacity of 4,355 TEU. The service has a full port rotation of Yantian, Ningbo, Shanghai, Busan, Vancouver BC, Seattle, Tokyo, Busan, Gwangyang and Yantian.
The PS8 is operated with six vessels, all from alliance member Yang Ming, with an average capacity of 5,795 TEU and a full port rotation of Xingang, Qingdao, Shanghai, Busan, Prince Rupert, Los Angeles, Tacoma, Busan, Gwangyang and Xingang.
In non-containerised cargo, breakbulk volumes surged 34.8 per cent to 97,057 metric tonnes through the first five months of 2018, but year to date auto volumes have now fallen 15 per cent to 50,881 units, 'mirroring the overall decline in the North American auto import market,' NWSA said.


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The staff at the Paisley Daily Express must be cockahoop. Adding sales to a daily paper in this era is a special feat, even if the overall number is slight.
It meant that, in the final six months of last year, the Paisley Express increased its sale to 7,232 – all of them sold at the modest cover price of 20p – which meant it achieved a 1.3% increase over the same period in 2011, when it cost 45p.
Yes, it does prove that price cuts make a difference. But I guess it's also fair to say that it is testimony to the paper's revamp and, to quote the Trinity Mirror executive who runs the Scottish division, Allan Rennie, it "is a tremendous testament to the hard work and talent of editor John Hutcheson and all his team."
All the other eight Scottish dailies registered sales falls. The Edinburgh Evening News was down by 13.7% while the Glasgow Evening Times fell by 13.6% and the Dundee Courier slipped by 10.9%.
Many of the paid-for weeklies dropped by considerable margins. Among the larger double-digit fallers were the Paisley & Renfrewshire Gazette (-24.2%), Clydebank Post (-22.8%), Dumbarton & Vale of Leven Reporter (-21%), Strathearn Herald (-17.2%), Blairgowrie Advertiser (-17%), and the Irvine Herald and Kilwinning Chronicle (-14%). And there were plenty of other double-digit drops too.
Irish News surpasses 'real sales' of Belfast Telegraph
Sales of paid-for papers in Northern Ireland fell roughly in line with those across the UK. All the three dailies, as I reported last Thursday (21 February), dropped copies.
Though the Belfast Telegraph sold a daily average of 49,530 copies in the six months up to December 2012, only 77% (38,395 copies) were sold at the 70p cover price. Even so, its headline sale fell by 7.9% year on year.
By contrast, the Irish News, which sold an average of 40,917 copies (40,873 at full price), kept its decrease down to 2.4%. The Ulster News Letter recorded a 5% fall to 21,475.
As for the Northern Irish weeklies, all but two lost sales. The winners were the North Belfast News, up 4% to sell 4,371 copies, and the Newtownards Chronicle, up 0.2% to 8,497.
Among the rest of the paid-for weeklies, the Impartial Reporter of Enniskillen kept its fall down to a negligible 0.5%, while most slipped by an average of 5%.
Four titles suffered double-digit falls: the Derry Journal series (down 18%), the Coleraine Times (-11.7%), the Ulster Star (-11.7%) and the Newry Reporter (-11.3%).


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Cornell Food and Brand Lab released "Obesity: Is junk food really to blame? Candy, soda, and fast food are not driving the rising obesity trend in the US,” a study by professors David Just and Brian Wansink which looked at data from the US Centers for Disease Control. The research found that for everyone who was not extremely overweight or underweight, candy, snacks, fast food and soda had no correlation to body mass index (BMI).
Taking on obesity is more than junk food
Just told BakeryandSnacks that the genesis of this study came from the recent soda, sugar and junk food-based taxes that are currently in popping up in pockets of the US. He said there have been promises that this will make a “big dent” in obesity, but he and Wansink wondered if this was promising a bit too much.
“We looked through [the CDC study] to see if people who were heavier consumed more of these snacks,” he said. “We expected maybe it was being exaggerated, but maybe there is some kind of relationship. We were pretty shocked to see it was basically flat for most of that distribution.”
While Just recognizes that junk food consumption isn’t completely detached from obesity, he said the study found that it was not the difference between those who are overweight and those who have a healthy weight.
The rest of the story still has to be told as to what the real differential between weights is, he said, but Just believes it comes down to eating too much protein, grains and snacks and not enough fruits, vegetables or physical activity.
“There are always trends that reconcile with those results,” he said. “But junk food doesn’t seem to the boogie man it was made out to be.”
What’s the solution?
Nutritional education has had mixed results, Just said. So does the issue of controlling portion size and what goes into foods fall into the hands of manufacturers? Just believes it should, at least partially, as portion size plays a big role in what people eat.
“I do think it is the food manufacturers who really have to lead that charge in making their products, making the packaging and sizing of things more sensible,” he said. “We’ve seen some moves that way; I think there are some companies clumsily trying to find ways to do that … but we’re sort of early in that phase of this.”
Junk food taxes will likely have little to no success, he said, as Just believes this is more of a holistic diet problem than an issue with a narrow grouping of junk foods.


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Santa might as well make his elves redundant: kids would rather Steve Jobs fill their stockings with expensive Apple gear.
The iPhone 4, iPod touch and iPad were the three most wanted gifts among children aged 5 to 16, according to the Duracell Toy Report, the Telegraph reports. Nearly four in ten children questioned wanted something from the Apple cave of wonders this year.
The report surveyed 2,138 children and parents. Boys and girls both
wanted high-tech presents, showing the love of gadgets was definitely
not a male preserve, especially among the young.
As children get older, Apple stuff becomes more attractive, with 17 per cent of 5- to 8-year-olds, 50 per cent of 9- to 12-year-olds and 66 per cent of 13- to 16-year-olds putting Cupertino's baubles at the top of their Santa wishlists.
In fact, technology-related items were eight of the top 10 toys for Christmas. Kinect for Xbox took fourth place and the Flip Video Camera took sixth, with the PlayStation Move, Lego Harry Potter video game and Barbie Video Girl taking eighth, ninth and tenth place respectively. Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters and the evergreen Buzz Lightyear filled out the list at fifth and seventh.
Apple's popularity, it seems, is nearly universal. The gear is accessible to virtually anybody who has fingers, and its app store offers a never-ending supply of entertainment for both boys and girls -- as long as they have access to Mum or Dad's credit card.
But is anyone really going to give their 5-year-old an iPad for Christmas? Or are tech-savvy kids just asking for the most expensive thing they can think of to push their luck? That certainly seems the case -- the average spent by parents on Christmas presents was £153 for boys and £145 for girls, which won't go far in the Apple Store. The cheapest iPod touch is £189.
Let us know what you're buying your children -- maybe anonymously, in case rooting around for presents has got to the point where they Google for it.


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PING POWER: Moonbeam Development owner Richard Harris says the company’s Chirp app has 250,000 downloads.
Business Spotlight: Sea of Apps
There’s only one Flappy Bird.
It’s the poster child for mindless yet moneymaking mobile apps. But for every Flappy Bird, there are thousands of peeing monkey games and air horn sound-effect apps.
Richard Harris of Moonbeam Development has created his fair share of silly apps.
Milk It has been on the market since 2010. Yep, it tests one’s farm skills by swiping animal teats in timed play to see who can draw the most milk.
“You could just about program anything that was mildly entertaining and see quite a bit of success,” Harris says of his 2009 entry in the mobile applications business.
“Publish and see how it goes,” was the company’s mantra the first three years.
“Through that, several very popular apps were born,” he says. “Many of our apps went to No. 1 or sub-25 in the Android and Apple app stores.”
Milk It has topped 2 million downloads, Harris says, while the Useful Facts app is in the 3.5 million-download range. He also points to the Monogram Maker custom photo and wallpaper app and the Naughty or Nice Scan, a holiday app updated in November that he says reached No. 11 overall in the Apple store.
He’s never seen $50,000 a day in app-generated ad revenue. But the most lucrative app he’s developed netted a seven-figure payday – for a client.
The Springfield company created the Battery Saver for Android app that was white-labeled by Crowd Funnel. It was a $35,000 job.
“And they sold it for $3 million,” Harris says. “They were better marketers.”
He’s now putting his chips on Chirp, a GPS travel app he developed out of necessity as a dad.
“In 2012, my kids were just starting to drive,” he says, and with safety, accountability and valuable commodities in mind, he built something for parents to track traveling children or companies to follow moving merchandise.
Moonbeam Development also creates websites and hosts data. The five employees are tucked into the RDI Building on East Chestnut Expressway, where a server room hums to the tune of data crunches and another secure server at an undisclosed location supports the remaining Web work.
Fresh off an update to version 2.7 in February, the Chirp Phone Tracker app has 250,000 downloads and 63,000 registered users – a strong retention rate in an easy-come, easy-go app world.
“The download numbers aren’t impressive, but it’s by far the most used app we have,” says Harris, a software engineer by trade who worked 15 years as a senior administrator for Assemblies of God as well as a programmer for McKesson Corp. “I would like to see that turn into 630,000 users. We’re capable.”
Chirp features include real-time locators on map satellite or street views, indicating speed, distance and stops, as well as weather and crime notifications. It’s engineered with panic alerts, messaging and turn-by-turn directions to paired phones.
“It is device agnostic,” Harris says. “It’s kind of like a black box on an airplane. It’s pinging all the time.”
Tap the traveling dots on one phone and the driver’s actual speed pops up. There is a “Make Me Invisible” option, but a parent also has the ability to lock Chirp so it can’t be turned off.
“It’s a little incriminating,” Harris says. “Kids tend to not want it, but dad’s paying for gas.”
Users as far as Israel and Japan have signed on for the $5 monthly or $50 annual subscription.
“It’s probably going to turn into a little side company,” he says.
On the business-to-business side, local clients include Pellegrino’s School of Music and Load & Go Landscape Products. More broadly, Moonbeam has handled projects – typically $30,000-$150,000 – for serial entrepreneur Itai Kathein of Mobixi and France-based AccorHotels.
Last year, Renew Biomass researched app developers and chose Moonbeam for a custom agriculture product. The main objective: streamline paperwork and data coming from the field to the office, says Eric Allphin, the director of agriculture.
“You can write things on a piece of paper, and that paper can be misplaced pretty easily,” he says. “You don’t misplace your phone.”
Renew Biomass, a subsidiary of M-Fiber, produces non-GMO and gluten-free fiber ingredients for pet foods. Working with about 170 farmers and about 4,000 acres in southwest and mid-Missouri, field managers use the app to record harvest tonnage, send emails to farmers or record payment information for the home office in Springfield.
Started in October, the nearly $20,000 custom app is now in the final stages of Apple approval.
“We’ve been using the app for about four months now,” Allphin says. “It cuts down on the paperwork our field guys will have to truck around.”
Harris already has one side business.
Moonbeam’s app work has pushed Harris to niche content publishing with App Development Magazine.
He co-founded the publication in 2012 with Stuart Parkerson, the publisher of Astronomy Technology Today.
Online only the last 18 months, Harris says its website collects 1.2 million impressions and roughly 400,000 unique views per month. An e-newsletter is sent to 80,000 developers a day. Sponsors include Facebook for Developers, Localytics and Kony Inc.
The cover story on 96-page April issue asks, “How Do I Build An Agile Organization, Part I,” while other articles address monetizing app games.
With app development costs in the $10,000-$30,000 range, Harris says the payback comes from the number of installs and in-app activity. The cut for developers is usually $3-$4 per install, and with data tracking to each device, developers receive a percentage of profit from in-app activity.
“Every time a video is watched or an ad is clicked, a developer gets paid,” he says.
Ozark-based men’s substance abuse treatment campus Synergy Executive opened for patients; Old Missouri Bank's sixth full-service branch launched; and Maritime set sail as a brick-and-mortar restaurant.


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BYD Company Announces First Factory in Brazil
Invest São Paulo –Sao Paulo Agency for Investment. Promotion and Competitiveness is the gateway for businesses wishing to invest in the state. The agency provides free of charge strategic information to help investors find the best locations for your business, providing environmental, tax and infrastructure advisory, facilitating the relationship of companies with government institutions and utilities. Invest Sao Paulo prospect new business, welcome foreign delegations, promote the image of São Paulo in Brazil and abroad as a leading destination for companies in Latin America and propose to the Government of the State policies that contribute to improving the competitiveness of Sao Paulo. For more information, visit www.investe.sp.gov.br
BYD Company Ltd. is one of China’s largest companies and has successfully expanded globally. Specializing in battery technologies, their green mission to “solve the whole problem” has made them industry pioneers and leaders in several High-tech sectors including High-efficiency Automobiles, Electrified Public Transportation, Environmentally-Friendly Energy Storage, Affordable Solar Power and Information Technology and Original Design Manufacturing (ODM) services.
As the world’s largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries, their mission to create safer and more environmentally friendly battery technologies has led to the development of the BYD Iron Phosphate (or "Fe") Battery. This fire-safe, completely recyclable and incredibly long-cycle technology has become the core of their clean energy platform that has expanded into automobiles, buses, trucks, utility vehicles and energy storage facilities. BYD and all of their shareholders, including the great American Investor Warren Buffett, see these environmentally and economically forward products as the way of the future.
BYD has made a strong entrance to the North, Central and South American markets with their battery electric buses, and lineup of automobiles. Their mission lies not just in sales growth, but also in sociological integration and local job creation as they have poured incredible investments into developing offices, dealerships and manufacturing facilities in the local communities they now call home, truly a first for Chinese companies. For more information, please visit www.byd.com


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Limited Edition Prints of Mary GrandPre Hogwarts Castle Original Released
Jul 30, 2010
A series limited edition prints of the Hogwarts Castle by US Harry Potter illustrator Mary GrandPre have been released by a Washington DC art gallery which represents the official art from the Harry Potter series. ArtInsights will be releasing the print in a small print run of seventy, ten of which are artist’s proofs and another ten of printer’s proofs. The image, which can be seen right here in our Image Galleries, shows the Hogwarts Castle, with its maze of staircases and turrets, and expansive grounds.
A press release notes:
ArtInsights, a gallery that represents the official art of Harry Potter, announces the release of a worldwide exclusive piece of art featuring Hogwarts Castle, in an edition of only 70, with 10 artist’s proofs and 10 printers proofs in honor of the opening of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The Washington DC area gallery has been representing Harry Potter art released through Warner Brothers since 2000, and this is the first official image to be released with such a small edition size. One of the images from the Edition was on hand for the Harry Potter fandom panel at San Diego Comic con, and was received with aupplause and appreciation for Mary GrandPre, an artist with whom Harry Potter fans are well acquainted.
The gallery is also displaying and offering for sale original art used in the making of the style guide for the first film “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” in 2001 by movie production artist Tommy Lee Edwards, creator of the recent smash hit graphic novel “Turf”, with co-writer Jonathan Ross.. Since art created for the Harry Potter books and films are mostly kept by Warner Brothers studios, these images represent a rare opportunity to see original production art up close.


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Drone Series, a leading drone technology company, has announced that it has raised $142 million in a funding round led by venture capital firms. The funding round is one of the largest ever for a drone company, and is expected to provide significant resources to help Drone Series expand its product offerings and grow its customer base.
The funding round was led by top-tier venture capital firms, including Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Andreessen Horowitz. The round also included participation from several other investors, including Intel Capital and Qualcomm Ventures. Visit atozmp3 to get more information.
Drone Series was founded in 2014 by a team of engineers and drone enthusiasts who saw an opportunity to create a new kind of drone technology that would be safer, more reliable, and more affordable than existing solutions. Since then, the company has grown rapidly, and has become one of the leading players in the drone industry. Visit toonily to get more information.
“We are thrilled to have the support of such a strong group of investors, who share our vision for the future of drone technology,” said Adam Bry, CEO of Drone Series. “With this funding, we will be able to continue investing in research and development, and to expand our product offerings to meet the growing demand for our technology.” Visit masstamilanfree to get more information.
The funding round comes at a time when the drone industry is experiencing rapid growth, driven by the increasing use of drones in a wide range of applications, including agriculture, construction, and delivery services. According to industry analysts, the global drone market is expected to grow to $43 billion by 2024, up from just $6 billion in 2018.
“We believe that Drone Series is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this growth, thanks to its innovative technology and its talented team of engineers and designers,” said Sequoia Capital partner Doug Leone. “We are excited to be partnering with the company to help it achieve its ambitious goals.” Visit masstamilan to get more information.
The funding round is expected to provide significant benefits to Drone Series, including access to new capital and resources, as well as expertise in areas such as strategic planning, operational efficiency, and M&A. The company will also benefit from the extensive networks of its investors, which will help it to identify new opportunities and partnerships.
“We are impressed by the innovative technology that Drone Series has developed, and by the team’s ability to execute on its vision,” said Kleiner Perkins partner John Doerr. “We believe that the company has the potential to revolutionize the drone industry, and we are excited to be part of its journey.” Visit justprintcard to get more information.
In conclusion, the $142 million funding round for Drone Series is a major milestone for the company, providing it with the resources and expertise it needs to continue growing and expanding in the rapidly evolving drone industry. With the ongoing support of its investors, Drone Series is well-positioned to continue innovating and delivering cutting-edge solutions to its customers, while also expanding its reach and presence in the market. As the global drone market continues to grow, Drone Series is poised to become a major player in the industry, driving innovation and growth for years to come.


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The NBN Co will have to improve its game if the streaming media industry is to continue to make headway in Australia, with a survey finding that buffering is one of the biggest bugbears for users.
A new study has identified "new revenue streams and cost savings to offset a voice and data decline" of US$50 billion globally.
Fetch promises its subscribers will get "access to enhanced features in the coming months, including a faster way to access Netflix and more ways to discover and search for Netflix content".
NBN are so bad at what they do. Missed appointments are a given in nearly all installations, and just a[…]
Yes indeed, but that pre-supposes the existence of executives who a) actually understand a business model of revenue & profit[…]
I'm sure NBN will blame the customer's wiring,their router,their ISP,the weather,or perhaps cosmic rays because NOTHING IS EVER THEIR FAULT!!It's[…]
Wouldn’t it be better to sack the NBN Co board and senior management and hire people who know what they’re[…]
It was obviously BAI BAI (bye bye) to the old name then...


text: Lots of news this week for you. From Mobile Fun they’ve got a couple of new handset releases, HDMI docks for the S2, HTC EVO 3D and HTC Sensation, a very smart iPhone 4S battery and the arrival of the Angry Birds speakers. Plus over at GamingZap they’ve released a universal gaming charger and a Super Mario figure 3DS stand. So read on to check it all out and find a nice Christmas present maybe?!


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Warner Bros Games have confirmed that the upcoming Batman Arkham Origins will actually be cheaper on the Wii U than on other current gen consoles. The Wii U version will retail for $50, while the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will cost $60.
The cheaper price is likely because the Wii U version doesn’t have online multiplayer. WB Games recently revealed that Arkham Origins on the Wii U will also be getting the season pass, which features a bunch of new content, including a new story campaign DLC.
The game launches on October 25 on the Wii U, PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. It’s one of the few multiplatform titles that’s actually coming to the Wii U this Fall. Be sure to check out the recent trailer of the game as well.
- Mario Kart 8 sales hit 8 million units worldw
- Wii U has sold 560,000 units so far this (fis
- Nintendo Switch trailer doesn’t represe
- Analyst: Nintendo Switch could cost $250 and
TAGS: Batman: Arkham Origins, Nintendo, wii u


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With the holiday shopping season in full swing, small business owners may be more focused on meeting the demands of patrons than their ongoing vigilance against potential fraud.
"The holidays can be busy for business owners, especially if they're involved in retail operations," said Mike McCauley, director of cyber threat management and response at BOK Financial®. "Scammers will take advantage of uncertain and difficult economic times by evolving their attempts to gain financially at your expense."
But as the holiday season heats up and business is booming, it's more important than ever for business owners to be aware of the potential risks of cybercrime. To combat risks such as ransomware and business email compromise (BEC), business leaders must continually update, refine and test their cybersecurity defense strategies.
Be on the lookout for these scams targeting small businesses:
Small business grants as phishbait
In this scam, cybercriminals posing as the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are handing out grant applications to receive funds for COVID-19 relief.
"In this scenario, many small businesses that legitimately applied for relief may be fooled into thinking they're eligible for additional coverage, but that has ended," said McCauley.
Scammers send business owners a link to a Google form that asks the user to submit personal and financial information to see if they qualify, which gives the criminals access to accounts and even a person's Social Security number and driver's license information.
How to spot the fake: Keep an eye out for typos/grammatical errors in the email text, as well as the absence of key elements of a legitimate Google form (including the "Report Abuse" button and a message under the "Submit" button that says, "Never submit passwords through Google Forms)."
Ongoing email scams
Business email compromise—or BEC—continues to plague businesses large and small. This tactic might ramp up during the holiday season.
"We continue to see instances of BECs internally and externally as phishing scams get more sophisticated in nature," said McCauley.
In a BEC scam, criminals send an email that appears to be from a legitimate source making a request, such as a vendor requesting an account number change or a CEO asking for a batch of gift cards to be purchased with serial numbers sent. Criminals are successful when an employee mistakes these emails for legitimate requests, often compromising account information, personal identifiable information, and other data.
How to spot the fake: Carefully examine the email address, URL and spelling used in any correspondence. Scammers use slight differences to trick your eye and gain your trust.
Ways to protect your business
While fraud attempts are happening every day, there are ways to protect yourself and your business from becoming a victim. Here are some tips:
- Create a fraud prevention policy that is regularly reviewed internally and also part of ongoing training for your staff.
- Be wary of any site that asks you to share personal or account information with a third-party.
- Don't click on suspicious links in an email, on a website or on social media.
- Set up two-factor authentication that protects your login information and requires you to sign in using two different methods.
- Check payment or purchase requests using established contact information that can be verified. Ensure this is a standard practice for anyone working at the organization.
- Ensure your business accounts are regularly monitored for any fraudulent transfers or payments to unknown sources.
- Remain vigilant around peak shopping seasons, including the holidays.
Whether you're new to the small business world or have an established presence, it's important to remain vigilant throughout the year and especially throughout the holiday season. Follow the Federal Trade Commission resources for more details about small business scams.
Learn more about BOK Financial's online security or call 844-517-3308 to report suspicious activity on BOK Financial-related accounts. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency also keeps an up-to-date list of current threats.


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The Discovery Channel's Shark Week has grown to epic proportions, and gets more popular with each passing year. In fact, the acclaimed programming event has carved out its place as must-see television for millions of viewers across the United States. In honor of Shark Week's 25th anniversary, the Discovery Channel has partnered with Volkswagen for a one-of-a-kind shark observation cage in the shape of of a VW Beetle. In this video, Automotive Rhythms go behind the scenes at Shark Week to speak with the minds behind this VW Beetle Shark Cage, to find out more about its design and how it stacks up as it cruises the ocean floor.
View 64 more Volkswagen listings.


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Trade deficit looks symptomatic of an unbalanced economy
Amid huge political ructions, Britain’s economy is still expanding. Latest figures show GDP growth of 0.3 per cent in the three months to February. Yet there is some evidence that stockpiling, to mitigate the risk of a no-deal Brexit, had an effect and the growth rate is appreciably slower than in the same period in 2018. Moreover, Britain’s trade balance is deteriorating. And that, on the face of it, is surprising. Whatever happens in Brexit negotiations, this is likely to be a stubborn problem for Britain’s economic prospects.
Or is it? What exactly is wrong with a trade deficit? It’s not as clear as conventional commentary, with its stress on exports as a desirable thing, makes out. It all depends on the reasons for the


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Area shoppers will have to make alternate plans for over a month while the Aldi in O’Fallon temporarily closes it’s doors. The store, located at 1635 West U.S. Highway 50, will be undergoing renovations.
Aldi officials confirmed that the store would be closed for five weeks, beginning on October 8, and that they would reopen to the public on November 13.
The grocery, owned by the Albrecht family, is known for it’s deep discounts and exclusive brands. They have grown considerably since it’s beginning in Germany in 1961, and first United States store in 1976. It’s estimated that by 2018, there will be 2,000 stores across the U.S.


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Global adspend is on course to rise in 2022, but ease significantly next year.
The latest Ad Spend Outlook 2022/23: Impacts of the Economic Slowdown from WARC forecasts ad spend across the world to rise by 8.3% ($67.3bn) to $880.9bn this year. In 2023 however, market growth is set to be just 2.6%, with cooling economic drivers and third-party cookie blocking online cited as the main drivers for the slowdown.
The latest forecasts are a downgrade to WARC’s last global forecast at the end of last year, and taken together, the growth projections for 2022 and 2023 are reduced by almost $90bn. 2022’s predicted growth was said to be lifted by a positive first half of the year for holding companies, with events such as the US midterm elections and the FIFA World Cup in Qatar boosting the second half.
WARC’s study of the ad spend in 100 markets found that ad investment across all channels was up by almost 25% in the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2021, buoyed by much of the world still coping with COVID restrictions in the early parts of last year.
Q3 is expected to be 7% ahead of Q3 2021, while the events at the end of the year are influencing growth projections of 8.8% in Q4 2022 compared to Q4 2021. Social media to see a $40bn shortfall WARC is predicting that Apple’s privacy push alongside Google’s forthcoming – albeit delayed – move to block third-party cookies from Google Chrome will shave $40bn from the bottom line of social media companies over 2022 and 2023.
Social media companies were also said to be more dependent on the fortunes of small and medium-sized businesses, who largely buy ad space directly and who WARC notes are already bearing the strain of worsening economic conditions compared to their holding company counterparts.
“There is less ‘stickiness’ within the online sector; it is far easier for an advertiser to turn off their programmatic spend than it is to back out of an advanced TV commitment,” the report said.
Social media ad spend is set to rise by 11.5% this year but the growth will slow to 5.2% in 2023. This includes predicted flat revenue growth for Meta this year and next, with Instagram set to bear up forecast declines for Facebook.
Growth in spend on Instagram globally is forecast to be 6.7% in 2023, compared to a fall of 8.6% for Facebook, which is already tipped to dip by 8.2% this year.
TikTok to grow ahead of competitors but the pace will slow
TikTok meanwhile will see strong – but slowing growth compared to what’s been previously. Growth in TikTok spend is forecast to hit 143.4% in 2022, and 41.5% next year.
Other ‘growers’ in the social media space – Snap and Twitter – will be hit by far slower growth than previously seen, WARC said, while a number of Chinese platforms are set to record losses. Snap’s projected growth of 5.8% and Twitter’s of 2.7% is a far cry from the 64.3% and 40.5% seen in 2021 respectively.
Video streaming spend set to outstrip total market
Ad spend in the video streaming sector is set to forge ahead of the global market, with WARC forecasting investment growth of 8.4% this year and 7% next year.
Advertising-funded video on demand (AVOD) including the likes of Amazon Prime, Hulu and YouTube is expected to grow to reach a value of nearly $65bn in 2023. YouTube however has been vulnerable to Apple’s privacy changes, which will mean an easing growth in ad revenue – to 5.6% – next year.
The forecasts point to a 39.4% share of the global AVOD market for YouTube, down 0.9 percentage points from 2021, with competition approaching from Disney+ and Netflix as both prepare to introduce advertising this year.
Across other channels, online audio is forecast to grow by 25.6% this year before slowing to 10.1% next year. Within pure-play internet, which collectively is forecast to see adspend rise by 11.5% in 2022 and 5.5% in 2023, search is predicted to be the biggest hitter, growing by 12.5% this year and 6.2% next year, compared with much more muted 2023 growth rates for online display (3.6%) and online classified (0.8%).
Sectors slowing down but not cutting adspend
Very few sectors are set to cut adspend this year and next, with all but automotive expected to increase investment in 2022, according to the latest research.
Retail is set to increase adspend by 6.8% this year and 3.6% in 2023 despite inflationary pressures and prospects of tighter margins. Technology and electronics is forecast to lead growth over the two years – with investment projected to rise by a quarter this year, and 11.5% next year.
The four sectors expected to cut adspend in 2023 are transport and tourism (-0.4%), alcoholic drinks (-1.1%), financial services (-4.5%) and automotive (-12.4%).
“Offering measured performance in a climate where return on investment becomes paramount”
James McDonald, Director of Data, Intelligence & Forecasting, WARC, said: “With the growth rate of global output now set to halve and acute supply-side pressures fanning inflation, the economic slowdown has removed close to $90bn from global ad market growth prospects this year and next.
“Brands are still spending as the COVID recovery continues, and global ad trade remains on course to top $1trn in value by 2025. Platforms with rich sources of first-party data – most notably Amazon, Google and Apple – are well placed to weather future headwinds by offering measured performance in a climate where return on investment becomes paramount.


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China’s mobile payments were 58.8 trillion yuan in 2016.
Xinhua News reported that consumers in China’s third-party mobile payment market spent a total of $3.46 trillion (23 trillion yuan) in mobile transactions during the second quarter of 2017 alone. This represents a 22.5% increase from the first quarter of this year.
In 2017, Alibaba and Tencent have 92.8% of the mobile payment market: 53.7% of China’s mobile payment service customers use Alibaba’s Alipay, and 39.1% use Tencent Finance.
China is leapfrogging over credit card usage. The centralized and vertically integrated Alibaba and Tencent have enabled the rapid expansion of mobile payments in China.
China’s Mobile phone payments
2015 2.2 trillion yuan
2016 58.8 trillion yuan (US$9 trillion)
2017f 98.7 trillion yuan ($15.5 trillion)
2018f 165.9 trillion yuan ($26.3 trillion)
according to iResearch Consulting Group in China.
That is more than 90 times the size of the U.S. mobile payments market, according to Forrester Research.
Credit, debit and prepaid card transactions for six major card networks shot up a combined 13.3% from 2015 to 2016, and purchase volume rose 5.8% to $20.606 trillion, according to new global data from card and payment industry publisher The Nilson Report.
Nilson reported that Visa, Mastercard, Diners Club/Discover, American Express, China’s UnionPay and Japan’s JCB cards had 257.17 billion purchase transactions in 2016, This was about 12% (30.21 billion) more than in 2015.
U.S. noncash payments, including debit card, credit card, ACH, and check payments, are estimated to have totaled over 144 billion with a value of almost $178 trillion in 2015, up almost 21 billion payments or about $17 trillion since 2012.
ACH is dominant in the US for automated payments and payroll deposits
Automated Clearing House (ACH) is an electronic network for financial transactions in the United States. ACH processes large volumes of credit and debit transactions in batches. ACH credit transfers include direct deposit, payroll and vendor payments. ACH direct debit transfers include consumer payments on insurance premiums, mortgage loans, and other kinds of bills. Debit transfers also include new applications such as the point-of-purchase (POP) check conversion pilot program sponsored by the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA). Both the government and the commercial sectors use ACH payments. Businesses increasingly use ACH online to have customers pay, rather than via credit or debit cards.
In the USA, cash usage fell from representing 40 percent of transactions in 2012 to 32 percent in 2015 according to the Federal Reserve.
Japan is protecting its banking industry and will give the Japanese banks time to create success QR code mobile payment solutions.
Thailand, Singapore, India, Hong Kong and the Philippines are allowing the Chinese mobile payment giants into their markets.
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
Known for identifying cutting edge technologies, he is currently a Co-Founder of a startup and fundraiser for high potential early-stage companies. He is the Head of Research for Allocations for deep technology investments and an Angel Investor at Space Angels.
A frequent speaker at corporations, he has been a TEDx speaker, a Singularity University speaker and guest at numerous interviews for radio and podcasts. He is open to public speaking and advising engagements.


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lvl5 Looks to Crowdsourcing for Help Building HD Maps for Self-Driving Cars
【Summary】lvl5 is a new start-up founded by ex-Tesla employees, including former Tesla Autopilot Director Sterling Anderson, with a mission to create HD maps for autonomous driving.
lvl5 is a new start-up founded by ex-Tesla employees, including former Tesla Autopilot Director Sterling Anderson, with a mission to create HD maps for autonomous driving. Lvl5 co-founder Andrew Kouri was a member of Tesla's Autopilot team when the owner of a Model S sedan, Joshua Brown, died in a Florida crash in May 2016. Brown's car had been in Autopilot, the vehicle's semi-autonomous mode, at the time. Kouri didn't take the incident lightly.
After talking it over with Tesla colleague Erik Reed, they realized the crash could've been prevented if the Tesla Model S had been equipped with more accurate, high-definition maps.
This was the idea behind the company lvl5, to focus on building maps for autonomous cars—something Kouri calls the "biggest challenge" that remains to bringing self-driving vehicles to the public.
"There should be one dedicated company that focuses on this," Kouri told Jalopnik an interview last week. "What we found is that there really isn't that isn't set up to do HD mapping only."
Most developers of autonomous vehicles are relying on LiDAR, a laser-based radar that creates 3D images that allows a self-driving car to "see." But Kouri says the cost of LiDAR is prohibitive, and has prevented a more-rapid expansion of autonomous vehicles in the world.
Need for HD Maps
"If you don't have the right maps it's dangerous," Kouri said. "There's just no other way to put it. Especially in a system where people tend to rely on it more than they should, you need to have good maps."
With the Brown incident, Kouri said, the Model S thought the underside of an oncoming truck was a bridge. If it had access to high-definition maps—maps that are constantly updated—the car would've realized there was indeed no bridge and hit the brakes, Kouri believes.
Kouri says that no automakers racing to develop self-driving cars have the necessary maps yet in place to make a fully-autonomous car by 2021 even remotely feasible. "I know nobody makes the maps," Kouri said. "This is the kind of thing that worries me," he continued. "I've seen what happens if you don't have this kind of maps."
So Lvl5 is taking a different approach instead of LiDAR: dash mounted cameras—and the public.
lvl5 Turns to Crowdsourcing with the Payver App
It's a heavy burden to send mapping cars around the U.S. like Google or Tesla. Kouri said they realized lvl5 could cover more of the U.S. sooner if it turned to crowdsourcing. In just three months, lvl5 said it has mapped out 90% of U.S. highways.
The initial step involves getting people to download the lvl5 dashcam app called Payver, which is offered anyone who's willing to mount their smartphone to their windshield, point it forward, and record the road in front of them.
The startup has been working with more than 2500 Uber and Lyft drivers across the U.S., and it says that it pays between $0.02 and $0.05 cents per mile driven and upload the footage throughout the day. (Payver's currently only offered on iPhone at this time.)
While the Uber drivers are transporting passengers or just driving around to wait for their next ride, Lvl5 will pay them $0.05 per mile that their phone is recording data (which include photos and GPS information). Should they take a route already mapped, the company will pay $0.02. For drivers looking to help collect data for lvl5's maps, the app can be downloaded here: lvl5 app from the App Store.
The camera's feed gets uploaded to Lvl5's central hub (via Wi-Fi by default), where the startup's software identifies key features, including traffic lights, lane lines, and stop signs to build the map. Once the footage is received, the company has a computer vision algorithm that translates GPS data and the images into HD maps. The startup says the maps are accurate down to 10 centimeters.
"We fuse all that data together, and once we get a certain amount of passes on that road, we can start making maps on that road," Kouri said.
Some autonomous tech developers believe they're on the verge of a LiDAR breakthrough, however. Google, earlier this year, said it cut LiDAR costs by 90 percent, and a startup called Quanergy says it should have a $250 solid-state LiDAR on the market later this year. One of the leading manufacturers of LiDAR said demand is so high right now that it's causing shortages across the industry, according to the tech publication The Information.
"This is literally the only way that self driving car maps can feasibly be made," he said.
The startup raised $2 million in seed funding to launch, and hopes to hire 100 employees by the end of next year.
Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.
Electric Vehicle Startup Rivian Shares an Update on its Illinois Factory That Was Once Owned by Mitsubishi Motors
Amid the Coronavirus Crisis in the U.S., the Trump Administration Moves Forward on Rolling Back Vehicle Fuel Economy Standards
Exor to Invest $200 million for a 9% Stake in Ride-Hailing Company Via Transportation
Air Taxi Startup Lilium Raises $240 Million in Fundraising Round Led By Tencent
Self-Driving Truck Startup TuSimple Announced Partnership with Auto Supplier ZF for the Production of Autonomous Trucks
Baidu is Building a 5G-Powered, 20 Square Kilometer Test Site for Connected & Autonomous Vehicles in Chongqing, China
Production of the Electric Performance Polestar 2 Begins in China
Chinese Automaker Geely is Delivering Keys by Drone for New Vehicle Purchases
- Volkswagen Unveils a Robotic Mobile EV Charging Concept
- The NHTSA Orders Self-Driving Shuttle Operator EasyMile to Cease Operations in 10 U.S. States Over Safety Concerns
- Self-Driving Truck Startup TuSimple Announced Partnership with Auto Supplier ZF for the Production of Autonomous Trucks
- Lexus is Working on a Driver Assist System to Rival Cadillac’s Super Cruise
- Hyundai's Kona Electric SUV Will Get a Range Boost to 301 Miles Starting This Month
- Deloitte Study Finds Consumers Are More Interested in EVs, Not Self-Driving Cars
- Ride-Hailing Company Lyft Buys U.S. Digital Advertising Startup Halo Cars
- Tesla’s New Mega Battery Pack Could Boost Range to 400 Miles
- Ford to Use Seat Ventilation Fans From F-150 to Make Respirators
- U.S. Signals Strong Support for Self-Driving Cars Ahead of Transportation Secretary Speech at CES


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Netflix, that dominates streaming, says it’ll still hold the crown, even within the face of intense new competition in Nov from the likes of Apple and Walt Disney.
However, the corporate saw a smaller subscriber gain than analysts projected, for the second quarter in a very row, with 6.7 million superimposed, in need of its seven million projection.
The corporate, that currently has 158 million subscribers worldwide, had lost one hundred thirty,thousand subscribers domestically within the previous quarter.
Netflix hack:Why would someone hassle to hack your account on the streaming service?
Netflix says it’ll retain the streaming crown.
Still, Netflix proclaimed some dazzling viewership numbers for its original programming. within the 1st four weeks of the third season of its escape hit unknown Things, Netflix aforementioned regarding sixty four million individuals tuned in.
And for the docu-drama restricted series Unbelievable, regarding 2 cops making an attempt to resolve a rape case, thirty two million tuned sure the primary twenty eight days.
By comparison, the very best rated scripted TV program, NCIS, saw some twelve.5 million standardization in to a recent episode.
Apple’s TV and is ready to debut on Gregorian calendar month. 1, and appears to undercut Netflix with a well lower subscription fee, $4.99 monthly, or one year free with purchase of an Apple product (iPhone, iPad, computer, Apple TV streaming box of iPod bit.)
The Walt Disney and service, that offers library content from the Walt Disney, Marvel, Pixar, National Geographic and Lucasfilm libraries, is $6.99.
Netflix’s preferred rating is $13.99 monthly.
“The probably outcome,” from the launch of latest streaming services “will be to accelerate the shift from linear TV to on demand consumption of diversion,”says Netflix.
For Ex: Netflix notice that within the starting of 10 year of cable network like TBS, USA, ESPN, MTV and Discovery didn’t siphon audience share from one another, however instead, they together took audience share from broadcast viewing.
Netflix perennial its prediction that streaming would replace linear TV over future decade. “Our focus can still get on pleasing our members and growing engagement as a result of that approach has served U.S. well since 1997.”
Also Read Bad News for Pubg Mobile gamers
On a video interview announce on YouTube when the earnings, Netflix corporate executive browse Hastings aforementioned the “Streaming Wars” and therefore the new competition “draws a lot of attention,” to Netflix and alternative streamers, “and helps customers shift a lot of quickly from linear to streaming TV.”
#netflixcrown #streaming #disneyplus #appletvplus #technology #lifehackes #netflix #apple


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Elderly couple grew tall cannabis plant
British police say an elderly couple unwittingly grew a monstrous cannabis plant in their yard after buying what they thought was an innocuous green bush at a flea market.
Police in Bedford, a commuter town 90km from central London, posted a picture of a luxuriant cannabis plant growing as tall as the fence in what appeared to be someone's backyard.
In a message posted to Twitter on Friday the force said the plant had been "seized today".
The message stated: "Elderly couple bought shrub at car boot sale, tended carefully-biggest cannabis plant we had seen!! (sic)."
Further details about the couple - or how either they or police got wise to the plant's true nature - were not immediately available late on Monday.
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GRAND RAPIDS – With a cold bite in the air and pint in hand, beer lovers from all over Michigan and surrounding states will descend on Fifth Third Ballpark on Feb. 25 for the Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival. But this year, craft beer fans can spend an entire week in Grand Rapids.
GR Beer Week makes its debut this year, during the week leading up to the Winter Beer Festival. Events will take place over the course of five days at locations in and around Grand Rapids. Beer dinners, rare beer tastings, tap takeovers and other unique events are being planned.
While the focus is on Michigan beer as a whole, GR Beer Week is a time for Grand Rapids breweries to shine. With six established breweries within the city limits, (Schmohz, Hopcat, B.O.B.’s Brewery, Founders, The Hideout, and Brewery Vivant), and several more on the horizon for 2012 (Harmony Brewing and Elk Brewing to name two), Grand Rapids is quickly becoming a destination for craft beer culture.
Detroit-based Liquid Table Beverage Solutions is producing and marketing GR Beer Week. Liquid Table began Detroit Beer Week in 2009 in cooperation with the Michigan Brewers Guild, piggybacking the Detroit Fall Beer Festival. This concept will be brought to Grand Rapids for the first time this year.
“Liquid Table has proven to be uniquely qualified in the organization and promotion of craft beer events,” said Eric Briggeman, President of the Michigan Brewers Guild. “This partnership will continue to further the Guild’s mission of promoting a healthy beer culture in the State of Michigan.”
GR Beer Week events and information will be constantly updated on Facebook, www.facebook.com/grbeerweek.
“We have several large events planned for each night of the week,” said Barry Johnson, West Michigan Liaison for Liquid Table. “The wholesalers, breweries, retailers and consumers have been extremely helpful and supportive of our cause. Everyone understands the importance of such a vibrant, growing industry, especially in a down economy – everyone loves beer.”
GR Beer Week culminates with the Michigan Brewers Guild Winter Beer Festival, held Feb. 25 at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park. Roughly 6,000 tickets for the event went on sale December 1, 2011, and sold out in a record three weeks. In addition to the other GRBW events, two charity ticket auctions are scheduled on Feb, 23. Head to www.mibeer.com for details.


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InTheBox is a darknet marketplace created solely to serve mobile virus operators, according to cybersecurity specialists.
More than 400 custom web injects, organized by area, are being sold by the actor behind the criminal storefront, who is thought to have been active since at least January 2020. These inject can be acquired by other enemies wishing to launch their own attacks.
“The automation allows other bad actors to create orders to receive the most up to date web injects for further implementation into mobile malware,” Resecurity said.
“InTheBox may be referred to be the largest and most likely the only provider of high-quality web injects for well-known forms of mobile malware in its marketplace category.”
Inadvertent users are prompted to provide sensitive information such as login passwords, credit card information, Social Security numbers (SSN), and card verification values (CVV) on these sites, which are subsequently utilized to hack the bank account and commit fraud.
A number of web inject templates are offered for sale on InTheBox, which can only be accessed via the Tor anonymity network after a customer has been verified by the administrator and had their account approved.
The cost of the web injects is $100 a month, or they can be purchased as part of an “unlim” tier that allows the subscriber to create an infinite number of injects throughout the subscription time. Depending on the supported Trojans, the unlim plan can cost anywhere from $2,475 and $5,888.
Alien, Cerberus, ERMAC (and its sequel MetaDroid), Hydra, and Octo are a few of the Android banking trojans supported by the service, according to the California-based cybersecurity firm.
“The majority of high-demand injects is related to payment services including digital banking and cryptocurrency exchangers,” the researchers said. “During November 2022, the actor arranged a significant update of close to 144 injects improving their visual design.”
The development coincides with Cybele’s recent disclosure of DuckLogs, a new malware-as-a-service (MaaS) offering that costs $69.99 for lifetime access and gives threat actors access to sensitive data, bitcoin transactions, and remote control of the devices.
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Coming on the heels of the much anticipated release of the HP Chromebook 13 G1, news has begun to spread of an unofficial document from HP documenting a new version of their newest generation HP Chromebook 11.
Reported earlier today by our friends at Notebook Italia, the possible refresh of HP’s popular 11.6″ device will boast the Intel® Celeron® N3060 processor.
What’s the big deal?
The Braswell processor may be nothing to get excited about, but the N3060 has proven itself to be a reliable workhorse for most Chromebook users’ needs. What’s really noteworthy about this proposed device is the optional touch screen. With the announcement of Android Apps coming to Chrome OS 53 and the more recent release of Chrome OS 53 on the Developer channel, this is great news for consumers looking for a new Chromebook with the power to chew through Android Apps as well as have touch capability.
Here’s a few key hardware notes from the build sheet.
Processor: Intel® Celeron ® N3060 (Braswell)
Memory: LPDDR3-1600 Single Channel 2 GB OR LPDDR3-1600 Dual Channel 4 GB
- Touch – 11.6″ diagonal HD1 WLED slim eDP UWVA, (1366 x 768) with ) Corning® Gorilla® Glass NBT
- Non-Touch – 11.6″ diagonal HD1 WLED flat eDP SVA Anti-glare (1366 x 768)
Graphics: Intel® HD Graphics 400
Storage: 16GB or 32 GB
For a full list of specs check out the link below.
First of Many
While there has been much speculation of upcoming devices such as the ASUS Flip 2, a possible new Pixel and more, this is the first hard evidence of a new device release that can take full advantage of the Google Play Store coming to Chrome OS. And kudos to HP for leading the way to this next generation of Chromebooks and Chrome OS devices.
See the original story here.


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Crafting the perfect skin care routine is difficult for most consumers, but for people with blemish-prone or oily skin, the hunt for those miracle products can be cumbersome and confusing.
Oily skin is characterised by the overproduction of sebum from the sebaceous glands, which can lead to a shiny appearance, blocked pores or spots. It is a frustration that can impact all ages, genders and ethnicities. But with people wearing face masks as a result of Covid-19, more consumers are experiencing oily skin, dubbed 'maskne'.
Market researcher The NPD Group found that sales of anti-acne serums rose by 51% in the UK in 2020. Also, in the US, there has been an uptick for oily skin skin products as blemish-prone Generation Z, anyone born after 1997, has surpassed Baby Boomers to become the largest population in American history.
But for today's savvy consumers, a good face wash is no longer going to cut it. They expect


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(EDITOR’S NOTE: According to public documents reviewed by The Registry, the property located at 525 N. 16th Street in Sacramento traded for $11,000,000 in a transaction that closed on October 12, 2022.)
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 2, 2022 — Price Simms Family Dealerships, one of the largest privately held Automotive Groups in Northern California, has completed the acquisition of Downtown Ford and Harrold Ford from the Victory Automotive Group, adding two stores to their now 28-store lineup.
Price Simms CEO, Adam Simms commented, “The two dealerships are among the largest Ford stores in Sacramento, and we’re excited for this new opportunity. The talent at both stores has put us in a position to become stronger and I’m pleased to welcome our new teammates.”
Mr. Simms continued, “To grow our business into nearby Sacramento is tremendously exciting for our organization and we look forward to making significant capital improvements and supporting our surrounding neighborhoods. My family used to live here and it’s very exciting for me to return and once again contribute to this amazing community.”
Price Simms owns and operates a vast portfolio of dealerships throughout the San Francisco Bay Area including several award-winning high-volume Toyota and Ford stores, the first two Polestar dealerships in the US, and various luxury stores including Rolls-Royce, Lamborghini, McLaren, Mercedes, and more.
About Price Simms Family Dealerships
Chairman Tom Price purchased his first Bay Area dealership in 1976 and has been serving our local communities ever since. In 2003, he partnered with automotive tech pioneer, Adam Simms, to create Price Simms Family Dealerships. They now own and operate 28 franchised dealerships across 14 Northern California locations.


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The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 raw materials rose 0.7 percent to settle at 688.71 at 4:07 p.m. New York time, led by grains.
The UBS Bloomberg CMCI Index of 26 prices advanced 1.2 percent to 1,603.89.
Corn surged the most in 21 months, wheat posted the biggest gain since October and soybeans rallied after government forecasts signaled tighter U.S. crop supplies, renewing concerns that food inflation will quicken.
Corn inventories on March 1 fell more than analysts forecast to the lowest for this time of year since 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today in a report. Wheat reserves dropped to a three-year low, and planting intentions trailed estimates. Farmers will sow 73.902 million acres with soybeans this year, down 1.4 percent from 2011 and the lowest in five years, the agency said after surveying farmers.
On the Chicago Board of Trade, corn futures for May delivery jumped by the exchange limit of 40 cents, or 6.6 percent, to $6.44 a bushel, the highest since June 30, 2010.
Wheat futures for May delivery soared 7.9 percent to $6.6075 a bushel, the biggest gain since Oct. 11.
Crude oil climbed after reports showed U.S. consumer sentiment and spending rose, and President Barack Obama cleared the way for new sanctions targeting Iran.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, oil futures for May delivery rose 0.2 percent to $103.02 a barrel.
Brent oil for May settlement gained 0.4 percent to $122.88 a barrel on the London- based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
BP Plc sold North Sea Forties at the biggest discount to dated Brent in two months, while Royal Dutch Shell Plc failed to buy a shipment of the blend at the highest premium in nearly two weeks. There’s a 10-day gap between the loading dates of the two cargoes.
Two more cargoes of Forties crude for loading in April were dropped, bringing total cancellations for next month to three shipments, according to four people with knowledge of the export
Gasoline had the biggest quarterly gain in a year on speculation that refinery closures and seasonal repairs will trim supplies of summer-grade fuel in the eastern U.S. at a time when demand typically rises.
On the Nymex, gasoline futures for April delivery fell 0.3 percent to $3.3899 a gallon.
Gold futures rose as the dollar’s decline bolstered demand for the precious metal as an alternative investment.
On the Comex in New York, gold futures for June delivery rose 1 percent to $1,671.90 an ounce.
Silver futures for May delivery increased 1.5 percent to $32.484 an ounce.
On the Nymex, platinum futures for July delivery climbed 1 percent to $1,644.10 an ounce.
Copper futures rose, capping the biggest quarterly gain since 2010, on signs of economic expansion in the U.S., the world’s second-biggest consumer of the metal.
On the Comex, copper futures for May delivery advanced 0.8 percent to $3.825 a pound.
On the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose 1.1 percent to $8,445 a metric ton ($3.83 a pound.)
Coffee rose for the first time in three days on speculation that the biggest quarterly price slump in 12 years will spur demand from processors.
On ICE Futures U.S. in New York, arabica coffee for May delivery jumped 3.4 percent to $1.8245.
Raw-sugar futures for May delivery rose 0.4 percent to 24.71 cents a pound.
Cocoa futures for May delivery dropped 0.2 percent to $2,219 a metric ton.
Cotton futures for May delivery declined less than 0.1 percent to 93.52 cents a pound.
Natural gas dropped, extending a slump to the lowest in 10 years, as slack demand and record production contribute to a ballooning inventory surplus.
On the Nymex, gas futures for May delivery declined 1.1 percent to $2.126 per million British thermal units, the lowest settlement since Feb. 6, 2002. In the first quarter, the price tumbled 29 percent, the most in two years.
U.K. summer gas rose on speculation that heating demand will rise next week and flows from Norway will drop.
The contract climbed 0.95 pence to 61.7 pence a therm at 4:45 p.m. in London, according to broker prices compiled by
Hog futures rose for the first time in three sessions on speculation that demand may rebound after U.S. pork prices dropped to a 14-month low.
On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, hog futures for June settlement advanced 0.4 percent to 90.4 cents a pound.
Cattle futures for June delivery declined 2 percent to $1.1615 a pound.
----With assistance from Ben Farey, Sherry Su and Tony C. Dreibus in London; Jeff Wilson and Elizabeth Campbell in Chicago; Naureen S. Malik, Debarati Roy, Mark Shenk, Aaron Clark and Marvin G. Perez in New York. Editors: Thomas Galatola, Patrick McKiernan


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Beware of who you fall in love with online.
Criminals are milking victims of their life savings through a kind of cyber fraud called CryptoRom, in which scammers dupe their victims into installing dubious apps on their smartphones that leave them open to theft.
The problem was detailed in new research this week from cybersecurity company Sophos that detailed how CryptoRom scammers have become increasingly sophisticated.
A CryptoRom scam typically begins with a social-engineering attack, in which a fraudster befriends a victim through dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, or Facebook Dating. The scammer then moves their conversations over to encrypted chat apps like WhatsApp.
As the online-only relationship develops, the scammer eventually convinces the victim to obtain cryptocurrencies from popular crypto exchanges like Binance, and then prods them to download fake crypto trading apps that look similar to legitimate ones.
A scammer may also offer to lend money to their victim to build more trust.
Problems arise, however, when the victim wants to stop trading and withdraw their money. At this point, the scammers are able to lock the victim out of their accounts. In some cases, victims may be forced to pay a “tax” to withdraw their money, which they learn by chatting with an in-app customer service representative who is part of the scheme.
Sophos previously said that one victim transferred the equivalent of $1.4 million worth of Bitcoin into a fake trading app.
To bypass Apple’s security measures preventing bad actors from making malicious apps available through the Apple App Store, criminals have been able to use workarounds, the report said. The latest involves fraudsters creating “test versions” of their shady apps through Apple’s TestFlight feature that is also used by legitimate developers.
Companies can use TestFlight so that select users can test software. But the scammers exploit the TestFlight feature, which provides a way for users to download bogus apps outside of the App Store.
Sophos researchers said some victims downloaded fraudulent versions of the legitimate BTCBOX Japanese crypto exchange app that were made available through the TestFlight feature.
The fraudsters also target Android users with malicious CryptoRom apps using what look like legitimate apps, but are instead distributed through corrupt websites.
The researchers said that while some victims have realized they were being defrauded before losing their money, some “have lost their entire savings and even taken out loans with the hope that they will get their money back.”
To avoid being scammed, users remember to only download apps from legitimate app stores, and to be wary of people they meet online.
“CryptoRom scams continue to flourish through the combination of social engineering, cryptocurrency, and fake applications,” the report said. “These scams are well-organized, and skilled in identifying and exploiting vulnerable users based on their situation, interests, and level of technical ability.”
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This story is part of our Good News series – bringing you positive headlines every day to spread positivity during difficult times.
Dyson is working on something new right now, and it’s probably not what you’d expect.
The globally famous brand is known for producing dust busting vacuum cleaners and in recent years it’s blessed the world with some super innovative beauty tools like its iconic hair dryer and brand new straighteners.
But now, Dyson is using its expertise in air centred technology to help in the fight against the global coronavirus pandemic.
Over the past ten days, Dyson has been working to design a new ventilator and it has already had an order from the UK government for 10,000 units.
Covid-19 can cause patients suffering from the virus to develop severe respiratory issues. Ventilators provide breathing assistance for patients who are unable to breathe properly themselves.
According to CNN, the company’s founder James Dyson penned a letter to his employees confirming the order made by Boris Johnson last week.
‘A ventilator supports a patient who is no longer able to maintain their own airways, but sadly there is currently a significant shortage, both in the UK and other countries around the world,’ the billionaire businessman said.
‘This new device can be manufactured quickly, efficiently and at volume.’
According to a Dyson spokesperson, the ventilators, called CoVents, are set to be ready in early April.
‘The core challenge was how to design and deliver a new, sophisticated medical product in volume and in an extremely short space of time,’ James explained.
‘The race is now on to get it into production.’
Meanwhile, it has been reported that carmarkers like Ford, Tesla, and General Motors have also pledged to repurpose their plants to begin helping to produce the critical treatment devices needed across the globe to fight the virus.


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In this new role, Mr. Lesnick will oversee all business operations and subsidiaries of Associated Luxury Hotels, which significantly expanded its global footprint, services and collection of member hotels with the recent strategic acquisition of Frankfurt-based Worldhotels. Lesnick will be based out of the company’s New York City office and at its headquarters in Orlando.
Mr. Lesnick comes to Associated Luxury from Wyndham Hotel Group, where he served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer, responsible for all aspects of revenue generation for 18 brands encompassing more than 8,000 hotels in 77 countries. Before that, he served for six years as president and CEO of Audience Rewards, where he led the start-up from its early stage development to a highly successful audience development program for Broadway and the arts.
Previous to that, he was at Starwood Hotels and Resorts as corporate vice president of customer loyalty, marketing and membership programs and as vice president of hotel marketing, CRM and online marketing. His hospitality career also includes five years in corporate leadership roles at Hyatt Hotels Corporation where he developed the first desk lamp with built-in power outlet for the growing number of guests with laptops.
“Josh is the ideal person to lead us as we evolve to meet the growing needs of our distinguished member hotels, Alliance partners, and our valued customers and guests around the world,” said David Gabri, chairman. “He has a proven track record of creating winning cultures, driving meaningful innovation, and a tremendous passion for enhancing customer loyalty as evidenced by the five highly successful customer loyalty programs he has launched and managed.”
He said the hotel has experienced considerable growth over the last several years through market effectiveness and expansion, acquisitions, organic growth, and with the recent addition of Worldhotels to its portfolio. “The sky is now the limit to grow strategically with Josh at the helm, leading our significantly expanded teams in North America and abroad,” he added. He said Mr. Lesnick has the vision, skills, extensive experience, and strong core values to now guide the organization as it builds one of the industry’s best portfolios of ‘soft brand’ solutions and tools for independent luxury-level hotels and independent luxury hotel brands around the world.
“Incredible changes are going on in our industry with respect to soft branding, loyalty services, and distribution that are having a major impact on independent luxury hotels,” Mr. Lesnick said. “To have the opportunity to work with the very talented and passionate teams of ALHI and Worldhotels, creating a new approach to these challenges, will allow us to better serve the needs of such unique and independent hotels, their owners, and guests.”
Associated Luxury Hotels, the parent company of Associated Luxury Hotels International, was established in 1986 and is a leading independent global sales organization with a track record of serving the North American meetings and incentive (M&I) marketplace.
Travel / Hospitality Rebounds
AETHOS Consulting is a human capital advisory firm focused on the hospitality sector, specializing in executive search, compensation consulting, performance management, culture creation and organizational effectiveness. The firm is headquartered in Boulder and maintains offices in New York, London, Melbourne, Philadelphia, and Dallas.
In a related search, AETHOS placed Mark Sergot as chief sales officer for Associated Luxury Hotels International. Mr. Hazelto also led that search assignment. He has over a decade of executive search experience in a variety of industries, including hotel, restaurant, gaming, travel, real estate, finance, and technology.
After taking a massive hit during the Great Recession, employment and hiring within the hotel and hospitality industry has begun to rebound. In the last year, according to one set of survey metrics, the industry added 527,000 jobs (2.6 million since 2004). That number is forecasted to increase in 2017, as global tourism and traveling in general are expected to rise.
As such, the travel and hospitality market is estimated to generate an annual economic impact of $6.5 trillion worldwide this year. In the U.S. alone the $1.5 trillion industry accounts for nearly eight million jobs – more than five percent of total jobs across the country.
“My hope is that Donald Trump will be good for the economy and a voice for the hotel industry on Capitol Hill,” said AETHOS managing director and CEO Keith Kefgen. “Travel is a key indicator of economic health and I believe Mr. Trump’s low tax, small government approach is good for business. Fixing healthcare will also be a plus for the travel industry, as the present system seems to be disliked by everyone,” he added.
Immigration, though, will be an interesting issue for the industry (including food supply chain), said Mr. Kefgen, as the sector employs a great deal of first generation immigrants and undocumented workers. “Trade issues with China and Latin America will also have an impact on our industry from an investment perspective. But travel could be adversely affected if relations get strained. I think our industry will be more of a bellwether for the President’s policy successes or failures than any other.”
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media


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Tata Group's hospitality arm Indian Hotels Company Thursday said it has signed pact with with R&R Hotels and Resorts to open a new Vivanta hotel in Kathmandu in Nepal. This will be the company's second hotel in Nepal after Meghauli Serai in Chitwan National Park in Nepal, Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) said in a statement.
Commenting on the development, IHCL MD and CEO Puneet Chhatwal said: "We are honoured to partner with R&R Hotels and Resorts for this new hotel". Kathmandu is an extremely popular destination and this hotel will help IHCL complete a tourist circuit with Meghauli Serai, its Taj Safari Lodge in Chitwan National Park, he added.
"We are delighted to partner with The Indian Hotels Company Ltd. We have had a long standing association with them for a range of hotels in multiple destinations," R&R Hotels and Resorts Director Rahul Chaudhary said. The hotel will have approximately 111 rooms and suites, the statement said.


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After experienced a net loss at 30.8 million baht in 2018, for the year 2019, Tipco Foods Public Company Limited (TIPCO) has posted a turnaround to the net profit of 207 million baht. What can assume from this number is that in 2019 TIPCO was at such a good performance to be able to gain an enormous revenue, however, if taking a closer look on the consolidated financial statement, it appeared that total sale and service revenue declined by 16% to 3,561,064,263 million baht from 4,248,050,424 million baht in 2018.
The beverage sale dropped by 13% as the purchasing power within the country has yet to recover, while fruit and vegetable product fall 16%, resulting from lower in selling price, sales volume, and foreign exchange.
To generate the financial outlook, it showed that 732 million baht of total profit was from the investment in associate, which increased 452% from the previous year. If excluded the incomes of those associate company, TIPCO would remain loss with no doubt.
TIPCO has recognised its majorate amount of profit share from an investment in Tipco Asphalt Public Company Limited (TASCO), the manufacture and distribution of asphalt and petroleum products, in 2019 TASCO net profit jumped 454% to 3,123 million baht, which affected by the increase of external demand.
In comparison of TIPCO, the associated company, TASCO is likely to has a better liquidity while TIPCO is still challenged by a gradually growth in juice market with an high possibility to sink. TIPCO as well has a double bad luck as the business was threatened by the sugar tax.
On February 20, 2020, the share price of TIPCO closed at 6.65 baht per share plunged 0.15 baht per share or 2.21% the trading value was at 12.702 million baht which decreased 3 consecutive days
Some pointed that the share price dropped after the announcement of yearly consolidated financial statement of 2019 because of an unfavourable condition of the market, however, one fact to be reminded is that even TIPCO has finally met its net profit, but it was not from the main business sector such as the fruit and beverage.


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All conspiracy theories aside Madden NFL 22's cover player, and Madden 21 coins many more, is expected to be revealed shortly. One date seems to be the most evident.
On the 22nd of July EA will host its annual EA Play presentation. Usually, the EA Play event coincides with E3 however EA has decided to do things differently this year, despite the reason. The fans of EA's games can expect updates on the big in-development EA titles, which could include its annual sports games. With the Madden NFL 22 release expected to be in August, it's safe predict that it will be playing at the event.
If the game hasn't been announced at that point the most obvious release date for Madden NFL 22 would be the EA Play event on July 22. EA must market the game effectively for a mere few weeks, which makes this unlikely. EA Sports may reveal Madden NFL 22 sometime between now and the EA Play Event, but will offer the first detailed preview of the game on the 22nd of July.
Fans can only speculate until EA Sports announces its plans for Madden NFL 22. EA Sports should provide more information on the subject in the near future to ensure that speculation is removed from the equation.
While the Madden NFL 22 official unveiling is just a few months from happening but there are some players that the gaming community ought to keep an eye on. There are a few potential quarterbacks that may be flying under the radar regardless of whether we're talking about franchise quarterbacks in mode or dark horses for Madden Ultimate Team. These quarterbacks are viewed as veterans who want to buy Madden nfl 21 coins make a comeback , or rookies who are trying to break into the real NFL.


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O’Fallon Brewery opens new brewery in Maryland Heights
ST. LOUIS (June 22 2015): O’Fallon Brewery, one of St. Louis’ largest and oldest craft breweries, has opened its flagship brewery and tap room in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
“We’re really excited to show people the new brewery,” said Jim Gorczyca, O’Fallon Brewery president and CEO. “O’Fallon’s tremendous success today is a testament to the support we have received from St. Louis, and I couldn’t be more pleased for those who have worked over the last 15 years to build the O’Fallon brand name and see this dream of a new brewery come to life.”
The 40,000-square-foot brewery is located in Maryland Heights, Missouri, at 45 Progress Parkway and includes a new full-service restaurant featuring appetizers, flatbreads, burgers and sandwiches. O’Bar Grill and Tap Room will be a great place for beer enthusiasts to enjoy a wide variety of O’Fallon beers, including O’Fallon’s specialty brews which will only be available in the tap room.
The new brewery will have an annual brewing capacity of 25,000 beer barrels (344,500 cases).
“This expansion will not only allow us to get closer to meeting current demand, it will also serve as a showplace where consumers can meet our brewers and experience O’Fallon beers.” said Gorczyca. “As we continue to increase distribution we have room to double our capacity to approximately 50,000 barrels.”
“The new brewery is a dream come true for our team,” said Brian Owens, head brewer. “This will allow us to brew a wider variety of beer styles and help the St. Louis craft beer community grow while staying true to our brand of developing unique and award-winning beer.”
For 15 years O’Fallon Brewery has created award-winning beers for every taste and season. Beer fans can now enjoy O’Fallon beer seven days a week in the new O’Bar and Tap Room opened Sunday – Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Thursday – Saturday from 11 a.m. to midnight.
The brewery also will offer merchandise and brewery tours. Tours will not be available until this fall. O’Fallon Brewery will employ approximately 60 people at its Maryland Heights brewery in brewing, operations, front office and tap room.
The O’Fallon Brewery is a craft brewery founded in St. Charles County just northwest of St. Louis. The company brews O’Fallon Gold, 5-Day IPA, Hemp Hop Rye, Wheach, Zeke’s Pale Ale and Smoked Porter, which won a Gold Medal at the 2004 Great American Beer Festival. The brewery also brews seasonal beers including Strawberry Best, King Louie Toffee Stout and O’Fallon Pumpkin Beer.


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Two years after the Equifax breach, four in 10 consumers holding credit or debit cards have included their full Social Security numbers on an online form, a new report has found.
In research conducted for the second year in a row to mark the anniversary of the 2017 Equifax breach that exposed the personal information of 148 million people, CompareCards by Lending Tree explored how Americans using credit and debit cards view breaches and how they’ve taken steps to safeguard against ID theft.
Although 95 percent of cardholders expressed hesitation at providing personal information online – and 95 percent have taken action to protect themselves by looking for signs of identity theft (44 percent) and reviewed their online bank and credit card statement more frequently (66 percent) – only 40 percent have checked their credit reports over the past year.
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Updated 3rd June, 2021.
Since announcing the launch of Rare Beauty back in February last year, fans and beauty buffs alike have been eagerly awaiting an update on if or when the brand is coming to Australian shores— and that day has finally arrived. Sephora Australia announced via Instagram weeks ago it will be exclusively carrying the makeup line by Selena Gomez, before announcing a hard date today, sharing the brand will be available to shop from August 5th, 2021.
While there have been a number of celebrity and influencer beauty drops of late that have not quite lived up to expectations, this is not one of them… Rare Beauty is receiving rave reviews across the board.
Selena Gomez posted the launch announcement with the caption “I’ve been working on @rarebeauty for two years now, it’s something I’m really proud of -can’t believe I finally get to share it with you. Coming THIS Thursday, September 3rd, at 12AM ET… only at @sephora, @sephoracanada , @sephoramx and RareBeauty.com. #sephorainjcp”
The range currently includes 48 shades of Light Touch Weightless Foundation and Concealer, which boasts breathable medium to full-coverage, with a formula that melts into the skin. In the face category, Rare Beauty has also launched a Blot & Glow Touch Up Kit, two brushes and a sponge, a liquid blush, a primer, a luminizer and a mist. For lips and eyes – the brand has launched seven shades of Dewy Lip Balm, 12 shades of Matte Lip Cream, a Matte Liquid Liner and a Brow Pencil & Gel Duo.
When it comes to how the beauty community is responding the reviews have been hugely positive…
Where other celebrity beauty brands have been hailed as ‘cash grabs’, Rare Beauty has been described as high-quality and thoughtful. Twitter has been quick to note the brand is vegan, cruelty-free and offers reusable packaging, plus includes considerations such as the rounded lid-shape of the products, intended to help those with arthritis.
The only major criticism of the launch so far have been in relation to the packaging similarities with Fenty Beauty. Twitter, however has made note of the fact that the agency responsible for the design is hugely popular with celebrities, influencers and corporate beauty companies alike — working on packaging and design for brands including Fenty Beauty, Rare Beauty, ONE/SIZE, Marc Jacobs and DKNY.
Overall, the response has been overwhelming positive, including to the shade range and initial campaign images, which include a diverse range of skin tones and models. Between the Rare Beauty products and Selena’s focus on mental health, we’d say we might have another celebrity beauty brand responsible for changing the game.
The range is available in Sephora stores and online now, with nothing over $30 USD. It is also available on rarebeauty.com, however at the time of publication all products are sold out. While there is no confirmation as of yet, when the range will drop in Sephora Australia, we will be updating here, so stay tuned.