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It was a messy scene in Oakland Park when a car crashed into a beauty supply store Wednesday afternoon.
Crews responded to the scene inside a strip mall at the 4800 block of Northwest 31st Avenue. The car could be seen completely inside the My Beauty Exchange store located inside the complex.
The driver said she was trying to park but stepped on the gas by mistake. Her white Volkswagen came to a halt in the middle of aisle 6.
Surveillance cameras captured products flying off the shelves and shards of glass everywhere. Several store clerks and customers were standing just feet away from the front door at the moment of impact, but luckily no one was hurt.
"My son keep telling me 'stop, stop.' But I keep going. I don't know I don't know," the driver said.
"All we seen were shelves falling towards us. And our first instinct was to run towards the back," employee Joanne Ducatel said.
The owner of the store is grateful no one was hurt. He estimates more than $15,000 in damages and hopes the insurance will cover what appears to be an unfortunate accident.


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Grabber Posted April 1, 2012 Report Share Posted April 1, 2012 http://www.roadandtrack.com/future-cars/first/2014-ford-mustang-sedan 2014 Ford Mustang Sedan - First Look New 4-door Mustang sedan may also be available as a Boss 302. By Nick Kurczewski / Illustrations by Theophilus Chin / Chris Doane Automotive April 1, 2012 Slideshow >> 2012 Shelby 1000 >> In a move certain to elicit praise from muscle car fans with kids—and perhaps an equally huge outcry from automotive purists with a fondness for coupes—Ford Motor Company has announced plans to introduce a sedan variant of the Ford Mustang. With sales of rivals, especially the Chevrolet Camaro, eating into Ford’s share of the pony car segment, the Dearborn automaker has decided to take a radical new approach by introducing this 4-door offering in 2014. The horsepower battle that has been raging between Ford and Chevy recently culminated in the 650-bhp Ford Mustang GT500 and 550-bhp Camaro ZL1. During the 2012 New York Auto Show, a 1000-bhp Mustang, the Shelby 1000, will be on display. While this kind of firepower is impressive for drag-strip figures, these ultimate speed machines make up only a tiny sliver of sales output. 2014 Ford Mustang Sedan Strength Through Numbers Ford representatives explained that the addition of two doors makes the Mustang more user-friendly, and its spacious back seat will make the car appeal to an entirely new type of buyer. The benefit, at least from Ford’s point of view, will be a noticeable boost in sales output for the ‘Stang. Even though the Mustang will no longer be such a narrowly focused niche product aimed at enthusiasts, the new Mustang sedan will offer much the same performance as its coupe sibling. While this prototype has the look of a Boss 302, production models will more closely mimic the look of the standard Mustang. The mechanicals are not confirmed, but we can assume the base engine will be the same 305-bhp 3.7-liter V-6 found in the Mustang coupe and convertible. A 412-bhp 5.0-liter V-8 will be optional, and buyers will have a choice of 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmission. 2014 Ford Mustang Sedan The ride and handling balance will undoubtedly lean toward comfort, if only because of the added length and expected weight gain. The 2014 Ford Mustang sedan is approximately 11 in. longer than the coupe, though the extra length is balanced by shorter front doors and a significantly reworked C-pillar. While a Boss 302 sedan like the one pictured is not all that likely, Ford reps have confirmed that even more changes could be in store for the Mustang. A hybrid-powered variant, or possibly even a diesel version, could be introduced to increase the Mustang’s hitherto dismal ratings when it comes to fuel efficiency. The move might sound drastic, but stricter fuel economy regulations could force the muscle car and pony car market into even more unfamiliar territory. And think of all that torque! Look for the 2014 Ford Mustang sedan to make an appearance later this year, possibly during the Los Angeles Auto Show, or in Detroit in early 2013. Sales begin next year, with pricing to be revealed closer to the on-sale date. 2014 Ford Mustang Sedan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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AppleInsiderFeb 6, 2023, 9:02 am163 ptsDell has become the latest major tech company to confirm it will be laying off workers, with an estimated 6,650 jobs expected to be culled as PC sales continue to fall. Dell office sign The list of layoffs at tech companies has grown, after Dell confirmed on Monday that it too will be reducing its headcount.…
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MacHash is your up to the minute Apple news source. It's a content discovery engine that continuously delivers the latest Apple, Mac and iOS headlines from the web's best sources.


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Potatoes were on the list when Tesco announced in May of this year to remove “best before” dates from almost 70 fruit and vegetable products in an effort to reduce the amount of usable food being thrown away. Now the supermarket is set to remove the labels on a further 116 items of produce – including own-brand apples, oranges, cabbages and asparagus.
The move is being made to help prevent perfectly edible food from being thrown away. It follows a recently-announced initiative, run by the charities Wrap and IGD, which aims to have 50% of the UK’s largest 250 food businesses measuring, reporting and acting on food waste by 2019. It is working towards milestones to help halve UK food waste by 2030.


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The idea of corporate gifts to maintain customer relationships is not a new concept. In fact, there’s a cottage industry of ‘donation-as-a-service’ startups that promise to streamline the task, ranging from companies like Reachdesk and &Open to Sendoso and Goody. Sellers say their industry is profitable (worth an estimated $258 billion) because evidence suggests corporate giveaways work. A study found that 66% of people who received a promotional product or gift could remember the brand that sent it, and 79% would be likely to do business with the company again.
But according to Rabi Gupta, the co-founder of Evabot, there’s “a lot of clutter” in the corporate gifting space. He argues that many salespeople do little more than send out company-branded promotional items like T-shirts and thermoses, which don’t exactly drive loyalty. In a recent survey, companies cited the inability to buy from multiple brands, inventory and storage management, and limited product range as their top gifting challenges.
Evabot itself is a supplier. But Gupta says the company’s AI-based approach, which uses a chatbot to ask potential gift recipients about their tastes, preferences and lifestyle in order to personalize gifts, is more effective than the mostly.
Investors agree. Today Evabot announced that it has raised $10.83 million in a funding round led by Comcast Ventures with participation from Alumni Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, Precursor Ventures, Forefront Venture Partners and Silicon Valley Bank. Gupta said the product will be used to scale Evabot’s operations, product development and growth, as well as its investments in AI to create “fully automated” giving experiences.
“Every business really wants to ‘know’ their customers and employees so they can create thoughtful experiences and touchpoints. Every business cares about building relationships, but they have to do it at scale,” Gupta told TechCrunch via email. “Since most of us are now remote, businesses need a better way to connect with their customers and employees.”
Gupta co-launched Evabot, formerly called Vizzi, in 2016 with Satwick Saxena, Ashish Kumar, and Akshay Gupta shortly after immigrating to the United States. Prior to Evabot, Rabi Gupta, Kumar and Akshay Gupta worked together at India-based iCouchApp. , a social app for chatting about TV shows and channels.
Like other corporate gifting platforms, Evabot offers a range of gifting services from holiday and birthday gifts to employee onboarding items. To automatically fill in details such as names and contact details, Evabot connects to customer relationship and HR systems such as Salesforce and Workday. Once recipients have completed a questionnaire sent via the aforementioned chatbot, Evabot automatically selects and sends the gift, along with a handwritten note.
Evabot’s rival, Alyce, also uses AI to connect to various apps and track relationships to personalize gift recommendations. But Rabi Gupta says Evabot leverages AI in different ways, not just for gift suggestions.
Rabi Gupta tells TechCrunch that the business model is a combination of software-as-a-service subscriptions and giveaway revenue. It’s the pricing that has proven attractive – Evabot has shipped over 125,000 unique gifts to date for over 1,000 customers, including health services giant Cigna. Most of the freebies come from direct-to-consumer “craft” brands and local sellers, says Rabi Gupta.
But what about future growth? The corporate gifts market had a rosy outlook as of 2020, when a survey found that 54% of companies planned to increase their investments in gifts over the next two years. Although Rabi Gupta admits he has seen a “slowdown”, the co-founders of Evabot believe the company is able to operate despite the headwinds.
“There is definitely a short-term downturn [in the corporate gifting space] as companies slow down hiring… But overall we’re seeing very strong interest from companies keen to build long-term relationships,” Rabi Gupta said. “Before raising our Series A, we were profitable. Right now we have two years of track, and the idea is to achieve 4x profitability and scale in the next 18 months.
Evabot has raised a total of $13.83 million in capital to date, which includes a previously undisclosed $3 million seed round. The company employs 60 people in offices in San Francisco, Dallas and cities across Canada and India, a headcount that Rabi Gupta aims to increase to 70 by the end of the year.


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Our celebs supported the fashion world this past week by sitting front and center at the designer's shows with their husbands, best friends and other random celebrities.
Next Slideshow: Honor Marie's Growing Up & Going to be a Big Sister!
View All Slides:
Rosario Dawson and Yaya DaCosta are excited at the G-Star Raw Fall 2011 fashion show on February 12.
Josh Duhamel and his wife Fergie spend Valentine's Day at the Marc Jacobs Fall 2011 Collection show.
Best buds Kim Kardashian and La La Vazquez meet up with designer Charlotte Ronson (center) backstage after the Charlotte Ronson Fall 2011 fashion show on February 12.
Kerry Washington, Zoe Saldana and Kate Bosworth are all-business at the Calvin Klein Fall 2011 fashion show on February 17.
Adrienne Bailon cringes during the Bebe Fall 2011 fashion show on February 16. Maybe she wasn't thrilled to be sitting next to Sammi 'Sweetheart' Giancola?
Paz de la Huerta appears to be a little more into the fashion than Chace Crawford during the Diesel Black Gold Fall 2011 fashion show on February 15.
Eva and Kat DeLuna attend the Rebecca Minkoff Fall 2011 fashion show on February 11.


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Medicare technology coverage rule put on hold by HCFA; reg to issue as reproposal.
This article was originally published in The Gray Sheet
MEDICARE TECHNOLOGY COVERAGE RULE PUT ON HOLD BY HCFA in response to criticism from Congress and industry on the initiative. Health Care Financing Administration Chief Bruce Vladeck has put development of the regulation -- which would have finalized a 1989 proposal describing how HCFA determines whether specific health services are covered by Medicare -- on the back burner. HCFA also has decided that when it does publish the rule, it will be in the form of a reproposal rather than a final rule. The agency does not have a target date for publication.
You may also be interested in...
Dr Reddy’s signals a sharp step up in ambitions at home, propelled by building leadership in 10 therapy segments and an “India-first” approach for specialty products. Uptick in the China business and the potential launch of a Russia-partnered COVID-19 vaccine were other aspects of the business discussed at JPM.
“You can’t just live off the brand equity anymore,” warned J&J's Consumer Health's Minoj Raghunandanan during the ‘Advancing Trust in the Self-Care Industry’ webinar co-hosted by the Global Self-Care Federation and HBW Insight. “You’ve got to continue to build that trust between consumers and products day-in day-out.”
After almost a year as CEO of Centrient, Rex Clements reflects on the company’s experiences operating amid a pandemic that has underlined the importance of a diversified supply chain, while also highlighting the firm’s sustainable manufacturing initiatives and calling for non-price criteria to be taken into account by procurement processes, in an exclusive interview with Generics Bulletin.


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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
To gain federal approval of their $26 billion merger, T-Mobile and Sprint have spent years promising a universe of incredible benefits, from lower prices to better rural wireless coverage. So far, agencies like the Federal Communications Commission have been more than happy to believe them.
“The merger will promote robust competition in mobile broadband,” FCC chairman Ajit Pai said in a recent statement. “Consumers will directly benefit from improvements in network quality and coverage, which in turn will foster innovation in a wide variety of sectors and services.”
Go to Source
Author: Karl Bode


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Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp. said it expects newly acquired electronic commerce firm MultiPay Corp. to contribute at least P500 million in revenues this year.
Cirtek chief finance officer and treasurer Anthony Buyawe said in a news briefing the company would spend P1 billion to launch 16 new e-commerce solutions over the next two the three year.
Cirtek acquired a 49-percent stake in MultiPay, a leading provider of e-commerce system integrations, for an initial investment of P100 million in December.
Buyawe said by using Cirtek’s technology and capital MultiPay would be in the position to launch for products to the market.
Cirtek Holdings group vice president and president Roberto Juanchito Dispo said the acquisition would give Cirtek access to superior e-commerce solutions, which would fortify its posture in the market as a fully-integrated solutions provider.
“The consolidation of Cirtek’s core strength in hardware and connectivity with MultiPay’s expertise in software and technology systems makes us confident that we will be able to provide effective and innovative e-commerce solutions to the emerging markets in the region,” Dispo said.
“The consolidation of Cirtek’s core strength in hardware and connectivity with MultiPay’s expertise in software and technology systems makes us confident that we will be able to provide effective and innovative e-commerce solutions to the emerging markets in the region,” he said.
Dispo, citing figures from Statista, a leading web-based statistics company, estimated the e-commerce transaction value in the Philippines, including bills payments and online money transfers, at $4.1 billion in 2016. It was projected to grow to $10.6 billion by 2020.
“The growth in Philippine transaction value is faster at 160 percent over the period, compared to the projected 114 percent for global transaction value,” Dispo said.
MultiPay president and chief executive David Almirol said the entry of Cirtek would provide MultiPay with the financial support to take advantage of the still many low-hanging fruits in the Philippine electronic commerce space and expand its business in other Southeast Asian markets.


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Whatis the hottest thing to hack these days? According to a Wired News article titled IPod [sic]: Music to Hackersi Ears, the iPod gets the nod from the hacking world. It seems that many coders like the iPod and want it to do more than play music and list phone numbers. From the article:
In the last few months, hackers have figured out clever ways to store not only names and addresses on the iPod but calendar items, song lyrics and even phrases in foreign languages.
The iPod, which must be the hottest gadget on the planet, has also been made to work with Windows. Itis supposed to be Mac-only, but EphPod is a free program that allows iPods to connect to Windows machines; Mediafouris Xplay, currently in beta, is a commercial program that does the same thing. Griffin Technology recently developed the PodMate , which allows the iPod to function as a TV remote control by plugging a small infrared unit into the headphone jack. Griffin was planning to sell it, but withdrew it from the market at Appleis request.
An enterprising Japanese hacker has even made a boom box out of an iPod.
Thereis even a 14 year old who wrote a hack so that the iPod can show Internet based news headlines. The full article is a very good read.


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Glowing wallpaper that replaces light bulbs. A flexible video screen for your shirt cuff. Windshields that flash with driving directions.
A small Ewing, N.J., company is betting millions that such innovations--the stuff of "Dick Tracy" comics and futuristic films--are just around the corner.
Universal Display Corp. is drawing expertise from engineers and chemists at nearby Princeton University and the University of Southern California to come up with a new generation of video screens: superthin, flexible and cheap as dirt.
Such screens, etched transparently onto films of plastic, might retract like a window shade into a device the size of a pen, be form-fitted to a dashboard, replace newspaper or be slapped onto a cereal box, as in the Steven Spielberg film "Minority Report," which was set about 50 years in the future.
The material might even be rolled onto walls and ceilings for lighting or to display video murals, said Janice Mahon, vice president of commercialization for the company.
"It's sci-fi stuff. It's very elegant, simple technology that's extremely complicated to manufacture and develop," said Sidney Rosenblatt, executive vice president and chief financial officer of the 8-year-old company.
These are heady times at Universal Display, which has spent more than $52 million on the development of organic light-emitting devices, or OLEDs.
The company is funded by venture capital, a 1996 initial public offering and research contracts with other companies and the U.S. military--which are all interested in using the technology.
It hopes to eventually reap profits from royalties on dozens of patents. It does not expect to make materials or hardware on its own.
But the technology does present some pesky complications for the 37-employee company, which says it is about three years from perfecting a flexible plastic display.
Prototypes, though working, are still so delicate they must be handled with rubber gloves in a climate-controlled, dust-free laboratory at the company's 21,000-square-foot facility.
Another problem involves balancing the colors needed for crisp video reproduction. The company has struggled for years to get blue just right.
It also finds itself in a race with corporate research-and-development efforts at such giants as Eastman Kodak Co., DuPont Co. and Dow Chemical Co., which are also working on OLED technology.
"It's the case of a small company, a start-up with a good idea, that's trying to battle some giants," said Barry Young, industry analyst at the market-research firm DisplaySearch.
OLED technology is widely considered a lighter, brighter, more efficient and ultimately less expensive alternative to liquid crystal displays, or LCDs, now standard on cell phones, personal digital assistants and laptop computers.
The "organic" label refers to carbon-based chemicals used to replace silicon in the screens. Universal Display has developed fine powders that glow like light-bulb filaments when tiny electric currents run through them, thus eliminating the need for backlighting screens, which are required for most liquid crystal displays.
The company is already demonstrating flat-glass OLED displays. Companies that have invested in Universal Display, including Japan's Sony Corp. and South Korea's Samsung SDI Co. Ltd., are expected to begin using the technology in small devices, such as a Samsung cell phone, that will be on the market next year, Rosenblatt said.
Another company that has invested, automotive-glass supplier PPG Industries Inc., has scientists working with Universal Display on the prospects for embedding global positioning satellite navigation screens in windshields, Rosenblatt said.
Meanwhile, the Kodak version of OLED technology has already appeared in a Motorola cell phone as well as car stereos from Philips Electronics.
"Of course, Kodak has a big head start," but Universal Display has "powerful partners in Sony and Samsung," said Kim Allen of iSuppli/Stanford Resources, a market-research and consulting firm for the flat-panel-display industry.
"I think they're going to be an important player," Allen said. The technology being worked up at Universal Display, she said, is proving to be more energy-efficient than its rivals'.
The company said its technology could quadruple a personal digital assistant's current battery life, a critical advantage.
"It has everything necessary to win," Universal Display's Rosenblatt insisted.


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Takata Corp. is responsible for the largest automotive recall in U.S. history, accounting for at least 67 million inflator recalls in tens of millions of vehicles, according to Cars.com.
“Takata’s faulty inflators can degrade after long-term humidity exposure and inflate with too much force during an airbag deployment, sending metal fragments into the vehicle’s cabin. Authorities have linked the crisis to at least 18 U.S. deaths and hundreds of injuries,” according to reports.
Ford to Recall 2.7 Million Vehicles for Takata Airbag Inflators: What Owners Need to Know
Similar to GM, Ford will recall approximately 2.7 million 2006-2012 cars, pickup trucks and SUVs for defective Takata airbag inflators. The move comes after federal authorities denied a 2017 petition for exemption in which Ford cited “inconsequentiality” in the potential defects of the inflators, given their differences in design and performance from earlier Takata inflators, according to Cars.com.
Current recalls are in addition to any existing recalls stemming from potentially faulty inflators. All three contemporaneous Ford brands were affected (Ford stopped producing Mercury vehicles in 2010), but they’re part of two distinct groups, according to the company.
Approximately 1,100 vehicles with collision repairs may have an obsolete Takata inflator. Most recently, both driver-side and passenger-side frontal airbag inflator modules are part of the recall.
- 2004-2011 Ford Ranger
- 2005-2014 Ford Mustang
- 2006 Ford GT
- 2007-2010 Ford Edge
- 2008-2012 Ford Fusion
- 2010-2012 Lincoln MKZ
- 2007-2010 Lincoln MKX
- 2009-2011 Mercury Milan
Forty-five missing single-stage inflators were identified. “It’s possible these obsolete Takata service parts were installed for repairs after collision damage or theft,” said Ford. The affected Rangers had the Takata permanent repair performed before the service parts were purged. At NHTSA’s request, Ford is issuing a safety recall for all 153,107 of these pickup trucks.
- 2004-2006 Ford Ranger
What happens next? Dealers will inspect the driver/passenger airbag inflator or module and replace if necessary. As it relates to the Ranger, vehicle owners can visit their dealer for an inspection and, if necessary, an airbag inflator replacement.
2021 Ford Bronco Sport
“Ford made a splash in the back half of 2020 by unveiling the rugged Bronco and budget-minded Bronco Sport SUVs, but while the former suffers from supply-chain issues pushing back its on-sale date, the latter is already being recalled despite only being at dealers for a few months,” noted Cars.com.
Vehicles Affected: Approximately 1,700 models are impacted.
The Problem: The issue stems from rear suspension modules that may not be fully secured to the subframe. Rear suspension modules with loose or missing bolts may affect the SUV’s stability, increasing the risk of an accident. The situation may also result in reduced rear-impact crash performance, thereby increasing the risk of injury. Ford said it is unaware of any related accidents or injuries, however.
The Fix: To resolve the problem, dealers will confirm the rear suspension bolts are secured properly and replace them for free, if necessary.
2020-2021 F-150 LD Pickups and Super Duty HD pickups
Vehicles Affected: Approximately 79,000 model-year 2020-2021 F-150 light-duty pickups and Super Duty heavy-duty pickups and 10,000 model-year 2020 Super Duty HDs with 6.7-liter engines.
The Problem: Front windshields are not bonded properly to the truck’s body structure, as it applies to the 79,000 in question. In the event of a crash, the windshield may not adequately stay in place, thereby increasing the risk of injury.
According to Cars.com, the 10,000 Super Duty HD pickups with 6.7-liter engines display overstated payload capacities on the labels for tire and loading information. They also overstate accessory reserve capacities on the safety certification labels and weights on the documentation for truck camper loading. Loading to those values may exceed the gross vehicle weight rating or gross axle weight rating, which may result in suspension overload and increased stopping distance, thereby increasing the risk of a crash.
The Fix: Dealers will remove and reinstall the windshield using standard service procedures, or replace the label for tire and loading information, the label for safety certification and, if needed, the documentation for truck camper loading. All repairs will be done for free.
2020-2021 Audi Q7 SUV
Vehicles Affected: Approximately 27,000 Audi Q7 SUV front passenger airbags are impacted.
The Problem: The issue stems from the airbag control module, which may deploy the second stage of the front passenger airbag too quickly when the seat is occupied, thereby increasing the risk of injury.
The Fix: Dealers will update the airbag control module for free.
2012-2018 Model S sedans and 2016-2018 Model X SUVs
Vehicles Affected: Tesla is addressing an issue with the center display for owners of nearly 135,000 model-year 2012-2018 Model S sedans and 2016-2018 Model X SUVs.
This comes after a lengthy investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which concluded with “a rare letter” back in January asking for a formal recall from the automaker, according to Cars.com.
The Problem: Last June, federal investigators noted premature memory wear-out in the memory control unit’s memory flash device, specifically an Nvidia Tegra 3 processor. The premature wear-out of the MCU can cause the loss of the rearview camera display, climate controls, defrosting/defogging and turn signal lighting. Any of these can increase the risk of a crash. The NHTSA investigation documented audible alerts and Autopilot were affected as well, but Tesla made no mention of either in its formal recall.
The Fix: To resolve the issue, Tesla will replace the visual computing module daughterboard with one containing an enhanced embedded multimedia card memory controller. All repairs will be done for free, and the recall is expected to begin March 30.
*All recall information is courtesy of Cars.com


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We might not have flying cars now. But we can certainly control all appliances in our home with a mobile phone, talk to our digital assistants, and receive every service to your doorstep. In other words, we have technology deeply integrated into our lives.
Today, students have more access to technology than ever before. They use it to find academic resources, connect to a paper writer, and collaborate with other students from across the globe. This has led to learners excelling at innovation in all areas, including technology.
In this article, we will take a look at how students have succeeded in using their creativity and technical skills to develop these brilliant gadgets.
Robotic Guide Dogs
Taking inspiration from gaming consoles, a student at Loughborough University has come up with a digital version of a guide dog. The industrial design and technology student Anthony Camu decided to find the alternative, as not everyone would be able to use guide dogs due to cost, housing constraints, and other issues such as allergies.
His device essentially replicates the function of a guide dog into a handheld robotic device. The device called Theia is portable and light enough to be carried around. It can be used by the visually impaired to guide them in outdoor environments as well as large indoor spaces.
Theia is still in its prototype stage and has a few more fine-tuning to get done. But the concept is promising, and one that has a lot of potential in the industry.
Sweat-Powered Smart Wearables
We have had devices running on all kinds of energy. But if someone told you you could power devices on your sweat, that, of course, raises eyebrows.
The engineers at the University of Glasgow in Scotland have developed a technology that converts sweat as the energy source for wearable devices and smart textiles.
The flexible supercapacitor uses sweat as the electrolyte in the batteries. It takes only 20 microliters of the fluid and can be powerful enough to last for 4000 cycles of flexes and bends that it might endure during usage.
The technology is said to be highly innovative in fitness wear and tracking devices. As such devices are gaining more popularity, this invention offers an eco-friendly means of producing sustainable power.
Students are way too familiar with the struggles of cooking as a campus resident. Humber Evans and Mike Robbins from MIT went through the same and soon realized the potential in their idea.
Pantelligent was born, a device that can make cooking easier for you. The students combined what they learned during the classes and sought the help of two MIT alumni, Kyle Moss and Yuan Wei. Together, they’ve created the first-ever smart cooking pan.
Now, here is the twist. The pan uses Bluetooth and a secret heat sensor to cook meals. It measures the temperature with these sensors and transmits the data to your phone via Bluetooth. You can use a programmed recipe or a freestyle mode that will only read the weather.
LuminAR Robotic Lamp
In 2010, MIT student Natan Linder developed a prototype for a robotic lamp that could beam the information on a surface, where you could interact with the projection. At the time, the lamp turned the traditional idea of bulbs and lights into a new concept of digital information divide.
The LuminAR Bulb has a projector, camera, and wireless computer in a compact form combined into one. It has a self-contained system that uses a gestural interface and could be screwed into light fixtures. After a decade, we are certain that the concept has contributed in many ways to innovations that followed.
The Baby Saver 2000
If you thought only university students could reach for the skies, here are a couple of teenagers from Arkansas in the US to prove you wrong. In 2017, their robotics teacher challenged them to enter a competition. Tyler Duke and Mason Convington came up with a car seat design, the Baby Saver 2000.
Due to very high temperatures in the US, many children die in hot cars due to organ failure across the country. With this in mind, the students decided to use the sensors and other in-built technology in cars to make the seats affordable and easily manufacturable.
If the sensor picks up a higher temperature, it will set off a panic button alerting the driver. The team went on to receive the Arkansas Children’s Foundation and were finalists in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition.
Though it might seem like these devices had little consequences in the real world, the students continue to be an inspiration for everyone who wants to chase their dreams. From a smart cooking endeavor to a safety device for babies, determined learners always find ways to bring ideas to life.
Disclosure: We might earn commission from qualifying purchases. The commission help keep the rest of my content free, so thank you!


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DETROIT —on Thursday revealed its redesigned GMC Canyon as a further premium offering than the current midsize pickup, along with a model new off-road AT4X model that may develop the automobile’s pricing fluctuate.
The model new AT4X model choices off-road effectivity parts along with distinctive inside and exterior styling. It will launch alongside an extraordinary AT4 off-road pickup, premium Denali model and an entry-level Elevation trim that may start at about $40,000. The company could even provide a restricted “AT4X Model 1” automobile for the first 12 months of producing, starting at $63,350. Starting pricing for the current model tops out spherical $50,000.
Amid pent-up demand and report extreme prices, automakers have been together with further off-road and effectivity variants to their lineups to beef up income margins sooner than they transition further to electrical cars, which could provide extreme effectivity nonetheless have lower margins than gas-powered cars.
GM started offering AT4 cars with its full-size Sierra pickup in late 2018. It has sinceAT4 in the intervening time accounts for a few third of Canyon product sales, in accordance with officers.
The Canyon is a sibling automobile to the recently unveiled Chevrolet Colorado midsize pickup, nonetheless the agency has considerably differentiated the designs of the model new cars. Nonetheless, every pickups share the an identical platform and “bones” and are utterly powered by a 2.7-liter four-cylinder engine that produces as a lot as 310 horsepower and 430 foot-pounds of torque.
GM expects to begin producing the 2023 Canyon early subsequent 12 months, with AT4X fashions beginning in spring 2023. GM opened reservations for the 2023 GMC Canyon AT4X Model 1 on Thursday.
Each 2023 Canyon is bigger and wider than the current period. It’s also longer nonetheless presents in regards to the an identical inside space as the current automobile. The model new design is further aggressive than the outgoing model, along with an enormous rectangular grille and a model new iteration of the mannequin’s signature C-shaped entrance lights.
Midsize pickup vans are important to the automaker, nonetheless their product sales are far lower than GM’s larger full-size pickup vans. For example, GMC purchased solely about 13,700 Canyons via the first half of this 12 months in distinction with better than 70,000 Sierra light-duty pickups all through that time.
GM’s U.S. product sales had been downbecause the worldwide automotive commerce continues to deal with via present chain points, along with a shortage of semiconductor chips.


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Health platform Medikoe raises $100k in angel funding to fuel expansion
'We want to have first mover advantage in cities like Kanpur, Lucknow and other Tier 2 and 3 cities,' says Menon, Founder and CEO.
Medikoe, the Bengaluru-based online platform has recently raised $100,000 in angel funding from Anil Menon, CEO of CMS Computers Limited, to fuel expansion in Mumbai and NCR region by 31 December and in more than 20 cities by the first quarter of 2016. The funding will help the company to create global products for an international audience, enhance current offerings to its audience in the country and to enable it to expand its geographical reach within the country.
Launched in October 2015 with an Android app and web service by IT professionals Sreevalsan Menon (39) and Raman Shukla (32), the aim of the platform is to connect consumers and the supply side of healthcare to four major healthcare pillars -- hospitals, diagnostic centre, pharmacy and wellness along with integrated deals on healthcare from five percent to 30 percent on a single platform. The idea is to make healthcare available to consumers on the platform in just two clicks.
Medikoe as a concept came about when Menon could not get a medicine at night that he wanted when he was staying at a five star hotel in Mumbai and worse, did not know where to procure it from in the vicinity. Medikoe stands for medical and koe for happiness. "Medikoe is about accessing healthcare with happiness. However, we are not aggregators for doctors," clarifies Menon, Founder and CEO.
The company did a survey before launching the online platform and found that there existed a major gap between the supply side and consumers which is what it aims to bridge. The services as of now are available only in Bengaluru but with the angel funding it has received, Medikoe plans to offer its services and offers pan India including Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. "We want to have first mover advantage in cities like Kanpur, Lucknow and other Tier 2 and 3 cities," says Menon, founder and CEO.
"When we launched in October 2015, we expected to have around around 100 users. However, we were surprised to realize that we were catering to 1800+ users with more than 20000+ search's on the platform within one month of the launch. So far, Medikoe has registered more than 1500+ Healthcare and wellness service partners with more than 100+ deals on our platform."
The one-of-its-kind platform emphasizes on helping the service providers receive more visibility and reach. Some of the key partners includes Manipal Hospitals, Jiyo Natural(healthy food), NM Medical Diagnostic, Nightingales Home care, Positive Homeopathy etc to name a few and clocks.
The company expects 100 percent Year on Year growth in the first full year of operations.
Find latest and upcoming tech gadgets online on Tech2 Gadgets. Get technology news, gadgets reviews & ratings. Popular gadgets including laptop, tablet and mobile specifications, features, prices, comparison.
The Chennai-based SpiceJet was the first one to slash air fares, after they sky-rocketed during the winter holidays.
Exxon has once again surpassed Apple as the world's most valuable company after the iPhone and iPad maker saw its stock price falter.


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With the calendar flipping over to July, we are now officially in the second half of 2022. That also means motorcycle manufacturers are starting to make their model announcements for 2023. Around this time of year, we typically hear about updated models returning with the always-popular “Bold New Graphics,” such as last week’s news of 2023 BMW paint options.
After a brief teaser campaign, Kawasaki has revealed the new Z650RS, its third “retro sport” model following the Z900RS and Z900RS Cafe. The 2022 Z650RS is based on the Z650 model but is styled to resemble the 1977 Z650-B1, a.k.a. the “Son of Z1”. At the moment, the Z650RS has not been confirmed for the U.S. market, but we expect it will be part of a larger launch event planned by Kawasaki Motor Corp. U.S.A. for Oct. 5.
We last performed this public service in 2017, when your Yamaha FZ-07 prevailed over the Kawasaki Z650, Suzuki SV650, the new Harley-Davidson Street Rod, and the new and indeterminate Benelli TnT 600, in that order. The FZ-07 has since morphed into the MT-07 amidst a host of well thought-out upgrades in 2018, and then again for 2021. The Z650 got a modern instrument pod in 2020 with a few other tasteful refinements, and the SV650 hasn’t changed a bit (God bless it). The Benelli is still around but didn’t get the call this time, and the H-D Street Rod has been withdrawn from the market under a hail of ridicule. Sad.
With the Aprilia Tuono 660 and Triumph Trident 660, we’ve got two brand new middleweight nakeds on the market this year, entering what was already a pretty good field with the Honda CB650R, Kawasaki Z650, Suzuki SV650, and the Yamaha MT-07. Obviously, this calls for us to put all six motorcycles together in a shootout.
“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely; but they are the same old pieces of colored glass that have been in use through all the ages.” – Mark Twain
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in June 2017. Since then, a number of other good beginner motorcycles have hit the market, so we’ve decided to update this post with some of the newer options available for new riders. The list of is available below.
Here’s a number to consider: 382. Kawasaki says that’s the percentage the naked motorcycle market has increased since 2011. For comparison, the sportbike market has stayed relatively stagnant during the same time period. With that kind of popularity in a particular segment, it’s no wonder motorcycle manufacturers like Kawasaki are trying to grab a piece of that pie.
EICMA and Intermot have come and gone and the question on most American consumers’ minds is which of the wonderful new models will be making their way to the U.S.? Today, Kawasaki answered their part of the question, confirming the ZX-10RR, Ninja 1000, Ninja 650, Z900, Z650 and the Versys-X 300 for the U.S. market.
Kawasaki tipped its cap at Intermot last month about its upcoming Z650 and Z900 nakeds. It was an odd strategy, releasing a couple of images and what looks to be an early draft of its EICMA press release. Well, now the Milan show is finally here and Kawasaki has officially confirmed the two models.


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Late last month, the Canadian government approved two trademark applications filed by Apple: Apple Card and Apple Cash. The approval may hint at the potential for Apple Card expansion outside the United States for the first time.
Yesterday, we reported that Apple Card users may soon be able to share their account with family members, and, today, this may include Canadian customers in the future.
As reported by the Canadian tech blog iPhone in Canada, Apple has won two trademarks the company had filed in the country back on July 15th, 2019. These trademarks were filed by Baker & McKenzie LLP and awarded on January 25th, 2021.
Apple Card has been a U.S. exclusive since it launched in 2017, thanks to a partnership with Goldman Sachs. Apple Card is a simple, privacy-focused credit card designed by Apple, that is offered in both a digital and physical titanium card.
Customers can earn 3% on purchases through Apple, 2% on purchases made with Apple Pay, and 1% on purchases made with the physical card.
It’s unclear when Apple Card will ever launch in Canada. But, the approvals of these two trademarks may mean it’s in the works.


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Apple mulls multi-billion dollar investment in Toshiba chip unit – NHK
APPLE Inc. is considering investing at least several billion dollars in the chip business put up for sale by Toshiba Corp., public broadcaster NHK reported, citing an unidentified source.
Apple wants to take a stake of more than 20 percent in Toshiba’s chip business, while convincing Toshiba to maintain a partial stake to keep the business under American and Japanese control to allay the Japanese government’s concerns, the report said.
Apple is considering a plan in which Taiwan’s Foxconn would also own a stake of around 30 percent in its bid, it added.
Toshiba is now in the process of selling its memory chip unit to raise cash to cover writedowns at US nuclear unit Westinghouse that have plunged it into crisis. – Reuters


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Microsoft Chief Accounting Officer Frank Brod said the company is trying to do all it can to make up for any “revenue issues” it may see for the rest of its fiscal year.
He said the company is not planning any layoffs — a relief to the Puget Sound economy, of which Microsoft’s workforce is a stalwart — but there will be a slower rate of employment growth.
“We’re looking to take about $400 million or $500 million out of operating expense this year,” Brod said in an interview just after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings. “Part of that will be through reducing our head-count growth.”
Brod said the company will also lower marketing expenses; capital expenditures, “especially in our data centers”; and make general savings in areas such as travel and vendors.
But the investment spigot won’t be shut completely.
“We’re trying to balance margin preservation with the need to invest in future opportunities,” Brod said. “Our results today will be influenced by the current economic conditions, but our future results are going to be influenced by our current investments, so we’re very cognizant of the fact that we need to continue to invest to grow.”
Q1 performance. Microsoft escaped the first quarter, ended Sept. 30, largely unscathed.
Revenue was $15.06 billion, up 9 percent from a year ago and ahead of both Microsoft’s most optimistic July forecast and the consensus estimate of Wall Street analysts.
Operating income of $6 billion and earnings per share of 48 cents were both at the high-end of management’s guidance. The EPS figure also beat the Wall Street consensus by a penny.
“Considering all that’s going on in the marketplace, I think we’re quite proud of the performance that we had, because we did exceed our own guidance in a number of instances,” Brod said. “Three of our divisions exceeded their guidance. Our operating income and earnings per share met the high end of our guidance and was actually higher than what the Street was expecting.”
Outlook. Brod said Microsoft cut “a few percentage points” from its full-year forecasts, but indicated that it’s a tough estimate to make.
“As we looked across the marketplace, obviously there’s a lot of turmoil going on and a lot of uncertainty, so this was probably one of the more difficult times we had in projecting what the future would be,” he said.
The company had predicted PC shipment growth, one of the most important drivers of Microsoft’s sales, of 12 to 14 percent for its fiscal year. Despite better-than-expected shipments in the last quarter, as reported by analyst firms Gartner and IDC, Brod said Microsoft did see “some falloff in the last few weeks of September.”
The company is lowering its PC forecast for the year to the 8 to 12 percent range, Brod said.
“We also hear reports that IT spending at corporates may be cut back a couple of percentage points. We’re seeing some of the server unit projections going down a few percentage points. As we look across all those factors, we brought our guidance down to $2 to $2.10 per share,” Brod said.
Some analysts expected Microsoft to hold the line on profits by trimming expenses and buying back stock, both of which Brod said are in the works. But on a percentage basis, Microsoft is actually lowering its profit forecast by 3.7 to 5.7 percent, while its sales forecasts are only down 2.5 to 3.6 percent.
“Our investment income was near zero and with all the things going on in the marketplace — you know all the market declines — obviously have an impact on our ability to generate income from our financial assets,” Brod said. “We’re not projecting anything much in that all year.”
The company had a cash and short-term investment stockpile of $20.7 billion on Sept. 30.
Buybacks. Brod said Microsoft bought back more than $6 billion of its shares in the quarter. Its stock has tumbled along with broader market. The company’s board authorized a $40 billion buyback in September.
“You can see we’re fairly aggressive,” Brod said. “We look at this share price as an opportunity in that respect.”
The company also issued the first debt in its history, $1.975 billion in commercial paper.
After a volatile day in which shares traded as low as $20.89, Microsoft finished the regular session up 80 cents, 3.7 percent, to $22.33, before the earnings figures were released. Early in the extended trading session the company had gained an additional 43 cents to $22.76.


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The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
NEW YORK, United States — Four days shy of Cyber Monday and the sales are already mounting. "We just couldn't wait," Barneys New York said in an ad promoting its 40 percent off sale, which began last week. Moda Operandi, too, is offering a 50 percent off discount on Autumn/Winter 2018 collections, while other online luxury retailers including Farfetch and the Dreslyn touted "early access" sales.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are slated to break yet another record this year, but factors from growing competition to luxury shoppers being conditioned to wait for sales to make purchases have pushed retailers to extend sales and promotions well beyond the traditional start to the holiday shopping season, which begins with Thanksgiving Week in the United States. Net-a-Porter, for one, offered a 40 percent-off VIP sale at the beginning of November. Even top luxury brands like Loewe and Comme des Garçons are being offered at reduced prices.
This year has seen a more even spread of discounting than in the past, according to Edited analyst Emily Bezzant. In the month of November, discounts averaged 20 percent to 4o percent off the original price in the US — higher than last year's average of 20 percent to 30 percent. Whereas 2017 reported considerably less discounting in the first quarter of the year, which then picked up as the months progressed, promotions have been much more constant throughout 2018 in both the UK and US markets, she added.
The rise in promotions by retailers can have a range of consequences. The luxury labels they carry can suffer brand erosion over time. Meanwhile, smaller labels with direct-to-consumer operations often see diminished margins because they must adjust their own pricing to avoid cannibalisation by wholesale partners.
Discounting is a double-edged sword for retailers as well: the more promotions there are, the more reluctant consumers are to pay full price. That’s not to mention the margin squeeze retailers face themselves.
“It’s a vicious cycle that we have to get out of. At the high end, luxury is supposed to be exclusive. When these products are commoditized, you’ve ruined the legitimacy of the full price,” says Bob Mitchell, the co-chief executive of the Connecticut-based luxury department store Mitchells. “It’s just not a sustainable business model.”
But many retailers have little choice but to participate in order to remain competitive. According to Kelsey Groome, managing director at retail consultancy Traub, the “mentality and psychology of the consumer” makes it difficult for the industry to break free from the sales cycle, especially over Thanksgiving.
“It used to be that if you waited for a sale, it would be either hit or miss. Colours and sizes would be missing, and some people wouldn’t risk it,” says Eree Kim, founder of the direct-to-consumer shoe brand Hopp. “But now sales are getting earlier and earlier, and everything ends up on sale. It’s hurtful because I feel like customers now wait to buy my products until they’re on sale.”
It's a vicious cycle that we have to get out of.
Ariane Goldman, the founder of maternity fashion brand Hatch, agrees that customers are now happier than ever to wait for sales. “When we go on sale, it seems like there’s a tremendous amount of people who have been waiting for it,” she says. “But I can’t play that game because I don’t want to train the customer to always wait.”
Jennifer Zuccarini, founder of the lingerie-inspired direct-to-consumer brand Fleur du Mal, says her team has had to be extra vigilant when it comes to tracking the discounts runs by her wholesale partners. "We'd see sales as soon as our products launch, so we're selling fewer and fewer full-price pieces," she explains. "We have to constantly keep up with [our retailers]."
One strategy that Hatch has employed is negotiating with retailers to be excluded from its sales. “They’re not going to tell you when their sales are, so we protect ourselves by fighting to be excluded,” Goldman says. “It depends on the individual relationship with the retailer,” and sometimes the retailer will say no.
“And the flip side of it is that they won’t market us in their campaigns and we’ll lose out on those sales,” she adds, “but at least we’re not competing with ourselves.” Only about 11 percent of Hatch’s sales are wholesale, down from nearly a quarter last year. This, Goldman says, is by design.
Both Hatch and Hopp also keep most of their SKUs direct-to-consumer, which means that if a customer who discovers the brand through a retail partner is looking for another colour or style, their second destination will have to be the brand itself.
If they control their distribution channels, these “digitally native brands don’t have to discount quite as much as the big box players do,” explains Groome. “It’s a small piece of pie right now, but it is reengineering the psyche of the shopper.” Vendors could try harder to reject retailer promotions as a whole, according to Michell. “Brands themselves have to [prohibit] retailers from going on sale so early,” he says.
For retailers, which also suffer from sales as their own margins get slashed, there are alternatives to discounting, such as limited-edition products and collaborations, according to Michael Sharp, the chief executive of creative agency Standard Black. Sharp points to the successful opening of Dover Street Market LA, which created hype by securing exclusive lines from the likes of Simone Rocha and Nike.
“Everyone has been ‘dealed’ to death so it’s become part of the expectation,” he says. “But with [brick-and-mortar] retail, the key is to create something more than just a room with racks that have items for sale.”
For Hatch, whose only retail partners are Net-a-Porter and Shopbop, Goldman admits that two years ago, the brand got “sloppy” with frequent sales. But now promotions are seldom and margins are therefore more disciplined, even if topline sales suffer. And in lieu of discounting, the brand is using its two stores to host events: mommy meetups, lactation consultations, doula speakers and so on.
“Instead of fighting over price with 19 other people, we’re offering more than a product. We’re offering education, community and solutions… And that’s our competitive advantage,” Goldman says.
For Bergdorf Goodman, being more than just a room with racks meant a room with paintings. In January, the upscale department store partnered with artist Ashley Longshore on a temporary installation. The exhibit drove considerable foot traffic to the store: mostly young women familiar on Instagram with Longshore’s saturated pieces, often overlaid with millennial-friendly aphorisms such as “Jesus wants you to have a Birkin bag.” The Longshore pop-up was so successful that the store invited her to collaborate on a cafe space on its beauty level in June.
The Palette cafe at Bergdorf Goodman's beauty level, curated by Ashley Longshore | Source: @bergdorfs
With nearly 150 million American consumers expected to shop over Thanksgiving weekend, promotions aren’t going anywhere soon. But Traub’s Groome believes that retailers’ and brands’ approach to the strategy is becoming more sophisticated.
"Despite the race for Black Friday dollars, both traditional retailers and digitally native brands are trying to mitigate the promotion-oriented business with limited drops, capsule collections and low inventory, which creates demand," she says. Meanwhile, targeted VIP and "members-only" sales can be effective.
“When you run a promotion in general, it affects margins. But a targeted, promotional strategy resonates more effectively,” Groome adds. “It’s the retailer saying, ‘We know who you are and we know what you like, we’re not bombarding you with a triage of emails that don’t fit with your purchasing behaviour.’”
Ultimately, promotions are unlikely to go away. But with the right combination of exclusive merchandise, in-store activations and a little bit of self-imposed discipline, retailers and brands can wean themselves off their damaging dependence on sales.
“There’s just so much noise right now,” says Hatch’s Goldman. But discounts are rarely the best way to stand apart from the crowd. “From a brand standpoint, we’re turning to content and community to make sure that we stand out.”


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Today we are happy to announce that we have expanded our SMS marketing services to our neighbors up north! Starting today, Canadian businesses can use the Canadian short code 33733 to communicate with their customers.
By expanding Tatango’s SMS marketing service to Canada, over 25 million mobile subscribers will be able to interact with their favorite businesses. We’ve built the best text message marketing software on the market, and over the next year, our team is focused on getting our software into the hands of as many business owners around the world as possible. While Canada is a great first step, it’s only the beginning of our expansion plans for Tatango.


text: Chinese drone maker DJI has denied a news report that it is planning sweeping job cuts amid headwinds from Covid-19 and mounting tech tensions between China and the US. A Reuters news report on Monday said the Shenzhen-based drones giant was planning “sweeping cuts” to its global sales and marketing teams and was looking to “trim the fat” from its roughly 14,000-strong workforce, amid hits from the coronavirus pandemic and US political pressure in key markets, citing multiple former and current staff. Xie Tiandi, DJI’s head of public relations, cautioned media against reading too much into the news report in a WeChat Moments post on Monday and suggested they wait a little before quickly coming to conclusions. “In truth, DJI has made some important structural changes and our business is thriving, as both personal and professional customers around the world are embracing drones in an era of social distancing,” DJI said in a statement on Wednesday, which also said the Reuters report had created “some inaccurate impressions”. Chinese tech companies, having helped in the fight against Covid-19, are now facing political headwinds in both the US and India, with Washington and New Delhi pushing back against China’s tech champions for an array of political and national security concerns. DJI drones to cover a square mile in disinfectant to stop coronavirus Indian media reported that Alibaba Group Holding’s subsidiary UC Web has suspended operations in India and has laid off almost 90 per cent of its 350 workers there, after the government blocked more than 59 apps following a deadly border clash between China and India. Meanwhile, TikTok parent ByteDance is reported to have halted hiring in India following a ban although TikTok’s CEO Kevin Mayer has made assurances that there will not be any lay-offs. The US Department of the Interior in January grounded DJI’s entire fleet and other Chinese-made drones on national security grounds, citing fears that data privacy could be breached. The Trump administration is also considering banning federal departments and agencies from buying or using foreign-made drones. The New York Times published a report last month that an app used by DJI drones “collects large amounts of personal information that could be exploited by the Beijing government”. DJI’s spokesman declined to comment on the report, except to say the company does not want to get involved in cultural, political, or economic frictions. Alibaba is the parent company of the Post .


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Skoda launched their latest seven-seater SUV in India just sometime back and now, it seems the Czech brand is preparing its coupe version, which will be called Kodiaq GT. Skoda had initially planned the Kodiaq GT for the Chinese market and is expected to launch it in 2018. The launch may be delayed in markets outside China due manufacturing constraints, however, Skoda will consider introducing it in other regions based on a positive response. Keeping in mind an increasing popularity of coupe-styled SUV, Skoda will launch it in multiple markets including Europe. A sketch was leaked online recently, which confirms the Kodiaq coupe will carry the GT nameplate. “Customers have expressed plenty of interest,” Skoda CEO Bernhard Maier told Autocar UK, adding, “Worldwide production is part of the equation, though – we expect the group to find some capacity this year, but it is still under discussion.”
In the European markets, the Kodiaq GT will compete with upcoming Seat coupe SUV, due for launch in 2020. The Kodiaq coupe will be among other large coupe-styled SUVs with BMW introducing the X6 and existing Mercedes-Benz models like GLC Coupe and GLE Coupe.
Skoda India launched the Kodiaq in India last month at a price tag of Rs 34.49 lakh (ex-showroom). The SUV comes with the same 2.0 litre turbocharged, diesel engine that does duty on Volkswagen Tiguan. The engine produces 148 hp of power and 340 Nm of torque. The diesel engine is mated to 7-speed DSG automatic gearbox with an all-wheel drive as standard.
The SUV gets a list of features such as an electric tailgate, dual-zone automatic climate control, engine start/stop button and cruise control. On the exterior, the SUV gets features such as projector headlamps with LED DRLs, panoramic sunroof and side body cladding. The SUV comes with features such as 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system compatible with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and Mirror Link.


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Airliners Turn to Cargo to Ease Virus Woes
Airliners are staying afloat during the present coronavirus pandemic by shifting their primary operations from passenger travel to the movement of air cargo, according to industry reports.
Major airlines such as Air Canada, Lufthansa, Delta Air Lines and Icelandair have all reconfigured planes to carry cargo in the main cabin.
Given the new players in the air cargo market, rates for air cargo have soared, with goods moving on certain routes from China to the US now ranging from US$12 to $19 per kilo when they were between $3 and $6 in 2019.
While some countries are starting to consider an easing of restrictions domestically, it will be a long-time – potentially the whole of 2020 – before the commercial passenger flights can resume their previous level of operations.
Further still, quite whether people will have the finances and will to travel if and when the pandemic is over is another matter.
Whatever happens, major airlines are having to reshape their business offerings for the long-term, with a cargo offering now an essential part of the business model.
Airlines transport around 35% of global trade by value each year, however they also transport less than 1% of world trade by volume.
This is equivalent to US$6.8 trillion worth of goods annually, or $18.6 billion worth of goods every day.
Therefore, air cargo plays a very crucial role in enabling global trade, and that role may yet get far more important.


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The last time I heard a charismatic company CEO brag about his company’s future value was in 1999. The company was called Hikari Tsushin (9435) and its CEO Shigeta even had gold coin chocolates embossed with Y100 trillion ($1 trillion) market cap target. The share price below shows how well such hubris ended up in the gutter,
I wrote a piece on Tesla (TSLA) on the 15 risks the company faces in the real world. While Musk is an amazing salesman he is still a total novice in car production. To think the incumbent auto makers are asleep at the wheel on EVs is totally obtuse. These companies have been developing for decades but their biggest advantage is production efficiency and capability. Tesla is still trying to work out how to do it and finally Musk even admitted that. For him to arrive at that conclusion now is deeply concerning.
The bigger laugh I had was this $700bn market cap market cap story was rehashed by an investor in Bloomberg yesterday. This investor is parroting something Musk said back in Feb 2015. I would be very worried as an investor for them to fall into this myopic trap of believing in these so called visionaries who have just discovered what car makers have known for more than 50 years. The table above shows that Tesla is currently trading at a price/sales ratio (because it makes zero profit) of 18x that of Mercedes Benz which is in the sweetest product cycle for decades. It’s already 3x more expensive than Apple. Let’s not forget that Tesla’s revenues equals its subsidies.
In my view CEOs should shut up about their share price and focus on running the business and let the share price take care of itself although I’m guessing that further capital raisings are a given. Did anyone question why Toyota bought and then sold its Tesla stake? Of course Toyota saw the entrails and sold it because it holds nothing that Toyota doesn’t already have. Toyota with a flick of the switch can emulate Tesla’s EV success and actually make money doing it.


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Chinese internet giant Baidu has unveiled its second-generation AI-powered SoC, its first Robocar, and a renamed self-driving taxi app.
Baidu stressed that these new areas of technology are key to the company's future growth, which has focused its efforts on diversifying its business for several years. Robin Li, CEO of Baidu, tried to convince investors that the company's future lies in artificial intelligence and related fields such as self-driving.
The Kunlun 2 single-chip system is designed to help devices process massive amounts of data and increase processing power. Baidu says the SoC can be used in areas such as autonomous driving and that the platform is already in mass production. The first generation SoC Kunlun was released in 2018.
Baidu also announced the "robotic car" Robocar, an autonomous vehicle with doors that open like the Tesla Model X and a large screen inside for entertainment. This is a prototype, while the company did not say whether it will be mass-produced. Self-driving cars could be a multi-billion dollar business for the Chinese tech giant, analysts predict.
Baidu is also launching a robotic taxi service in select cities, including Guangzhou and Beijing, where users can call an autonomous taxi through the Apollo Go app in a limited area. On Wednesday, Baidu renamed the app Luobo Kuaipao as it is targeted at the mass deployment of robotic taxis.
The vice president of the Baidu smart driving group told CNBC that the company aims to bring mass commercial availability to select cities within two years.


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By and large, 2020 hasn’t been a banner year for small business. But at least one good thing has come of this pandemic: Communities have become keenly aware of how much local business owners, and their employees, rely on customer loyalty to survive.
Research and marketing firms are finding that perhaps increasingly, customers are willing to pay a little more to keep locally owned businesses going. After a disturbing trend favoring cheaper giants (both bricks and online) who tend to swallow up the smaller competition, that could be welcome news for local entrepreneurs and economies.
Small businesses are the backbone of local communities. According to the 2012 Andersonville Study of Retail Economics and research in 2008 by Civic Economics, for every $100 spent at a local business, nearly 70 percent is fed back into the local economy supporting local jobs. By comparison the same amount spent at a national chain leaves less than half in the community.
Three surveys reported in 2020 suggest most of us are willing to pay more to shore up locally owned business. To some extent that was true even before the pandemic.
A survey released in January by Salesforce (Sforce.co/2G4os1Z) found 86 percent of more than 200 consumers polled said they were willing to "pay a little more to work with a small business." Along with consistently good customer service, consumers said they value the "personalized experience, unique products or services, and a sense of familiarity" which small businesses provide. Trust is a necessary element, as 95 percent of respondents said they’re more likely to be loyal to a small business they can rely on.
Whatever the habit pre-pandemic, most consumers seem more focused now on local loyalty. A May Groupon survey of 2,000 people (Gr.pn/3gxtEYH) found 75 percent consumers plan to support small, local merchants more often. We may do that a little differently, now that we’re used to it. Seventy-seven percent said they’ve participated in a virtual experience by a local business, and 60 percent said they’re ordering more deliveries or curbside from local restaurants.
Finally, the August “Local Businesses Consumer Sentiment” nationwide study by Red Egg Marketing (Bit.ly/2Qu44Jt) found 83 percent of 1,653 adults surveyed will pay more to support a small business. Slightly more said they now prefer to support a local business than a large corporation based elsewhere. Seven in 10 said they go out of their way to shop local, and 54 percent said they do so in part because they believe quality is higher.
Small businesses make up about half of the American economy and more than 90 percent of American employers, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration. They also support one another, trading in materials, supply, labor, marketing and services, shoring up the local economy we all rely on.
So when you spend, consider staying local as much as possible. It’s an investment in your own future as much as any other.
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Sholeh Patrick, JD, is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Email: email@example.com


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Omaha food manufacturing giant ConAgra Foods has been sued by a California snack company that says it has been frozen out of its share of the market for peanut butter-stuffed pretzel treats.
Maxim Marketing Corp. filed the suit this week in Los Angeles County Superior Court, seeking $60 million in damages for breach of contract, plus additional amounts not specified.
The suit says ConAgra and California-based grocer Trader Joe's conspired to cut Maxim out of the picture when it came to peanut butter-stuffed pretzel sales, to divvy up the extra profits for themselves.
The suit alleges breach of contract and other commercial behavior Maxim alleges to be improper after ConAgra bypassed Maxim's distribution, selling directly to Trader Joe's. The suit says that violated earlier agreements.
ConAgra, employer of about 3,300 in the metro area, said it plans to fight the suit, which it said is without merit.
“Our long-standing commitment to operating our business in a responsible way means that our customers and consumers can feel good about the high-quality food we make,” spokeswoman Becky Niiya said in an emailed response to an inquiry.
Trader Joe’s said it would not comment on pending litigation.
The tussle is over bite-size pretzel snacks that enrobe a dollop of peanut butter. Maxim's suit says the company developed the peanut butter-filled pretzel snack in 1988. That's when the company said it began paying a food manufacturer to make the snack, reserving the right of sale to retailers for itself.
Things began to change in 2011. That's when ConAgra, the suit says, bought the company that Maxim hired to make the snacks. Last year, the suit says, ConAgra said it would stop making the pretzels for Maxim, and Trader Joe's said it would stop buying them.
Shortly thereafter, according to the suit, identical pretzels in identical packages began showing up on Trader Joe's shelves — made by ConAgra.
“Pursuant to the parties' implied-in-fact contract, Maxim and ConAgra agreed and understood that ConAgra, as the contract manufacturer, would not attempt to undercut Maxim's business relationship with its customers by selling peanut butter-filled pocket pretzels or other related pretzel products directly to Maxim's customers, such as Trader Joe's,” the suit says.
Maxim said in the suit it sold about $10 million of the snacks to the chain in the last year the two did business together. If eliminating Maxim reduced costs by cutting out a middleman, the suit says, consumers have not been the ones seeing the benefits.
“Both Trader Joe's and ConAgra increased their profits on peanut butter-filled pocket pretzels, but without reducing the price of peanut butter-filled pocket pretzels to the consumers at Trader Joe's,” the suit says. “The consumer still pays $3.79 for peanut butter-filled pocket pretzels. Now that Maxim has been eliminated, defendants have increased their profits from the sale of peanut butter-filled pocket pretzels.”


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Chalk up another title added to POSE star Billy Porter’s list of accomplishments: the Tony Award-winner has been named one of PEOPLE’s Best Dressed of 2019.
And for so many reasons. The red carpet ninja killed it throughout the recent awards season.
From his stunning Christian Sirano designed black velvet tuxedo ball gown worn to the Oscars; to his embroidered suit complete with pink-lined cape at the Golden Globes; to his ‘Sun God’ inspired fashion for this year’s Met Gala; and his glorious hot pink/red Celestine Couture ball gown for the Tony Awards, Mr. Porter is just beginning to own his fashion statements.
“As a man, I really want to make a different kind of statement and show up in a way that could also be transformative, that could also be political,” Porter told PEOPLE. “My goal was to be a walking piece of political art. When I show up that’s what my goal is. Put a man in a dress and it’s controversial, doesn’t make any sense, but okay. Let’s keep having this conversation until we can change something.”
It wasn’t until he began working on his groundbreaking FX series POSE that he “realized how gender fluid” his fashion instincts had been.
“It kind of cracked my brain open and helped me get to a different space and understanding about myself,” said the 49-year-old actor. “The dilemmas I was putting on myself, even just about what I can wear, what was acceptable, what was masculine enough, what was acceptable.”
Porter also noted that he’s not the only public figure exploring gender-fluid fashion like Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness and Grammy Award-winner Sam Smith.
“There’s a few of us trying to do it. But I think it’s really transforming something,” opined Porter. “It’s really making a difference. I’m seeing more and more men playing in that way.”
With his historic Emmy Award nomination for his work on POSE as ‘Best Actor in a Drama,’ Porter advises we all stay tuned for his upcoming look.
“It’ll be a fashion moment,” he assures. “I don’t know what it is yet, but it’s going to be a moment. It has to be a moment now! I’ve created something where I have to show up, it has to be a moment. I don’t know if it’s going to be a dress or anything like that but we’ll see.”
Congratulations to Billy for blazing his own trail and showing folks we don’t have to fit into someone else’s mold.
Here are a few more fashion statements by the Grammy Award winner.


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Lee Comer, 42, Nostalgia Merchant
On a recent Friday morning, Lee Comer sat in her speakeasy Hush, sifting through emails, updating menus for Four Flocks and Larder and directing her staff.
Technically, it was her day off. But entrepreneurs don’t take days off. Especially not those running a nine-business empire with about 200 employees.
“There’s never a day off. It’s 24/7,” Lee says.
She started her Fresh Local Good Food Group eight years ago with Iron Hen Cafe, the Fisher Park eatery with a menu full of comfort food and a deep bench of loyal regulars.
In 2016, she opened her latest venture: the Morehead Foundry, a former commercial and industrial space on Spring Garden Street that Lee transformed into a hot spot of trendy eateries with a members-only speakeasy, Hush, and a cool event space, the Public. It’s also home to her corporate headquarters and catering operations.
The restaurants – Four Flocks and Larder, The Baker and Bean, and Revolution Burger – all have the charm of Iron Hen, with everything from the furniture to the dinnerware as carefully chosen as the locally-sourced dairy, produce, and meats. Everywhere you look, Lee choose fine materials. She tapped into her childhood memories for ideas.
“All of my concepts are nostalgic,” she says.
Lee is also a co-founder and board member of Love Greensboro, a group that promotes city pride and celebrates a sense of belonging.
“I like being in a smaller market,” she says. “You can talk to the people who make the decisions. Greensboro is community-driven. You can see yourself in this city if you want to.”


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Angie King builds farms in Spain and PH
The multi-awarded car racer has turned into an organic farmer.
Angie King is now setting her sights into becoming a farmer of pure organic aeroponic vegetables in Ibiza, Spain and Laguna, Philippines.
“I am proud to introduce Ibiza Farm @ibiza.farm our partner Tower Farm in Europe ( located in Ibiza, Spain) the first two photos are their towers in Ibiza managed by Mathias and Iris and the rest are our photos here in my farm in Laguna! We just started last March but look at the development already. We’re testing over 45 vegetables and 15 flower varieties in the next few months we will be a complete farm to table integration. 🍃 🍃 🍃
#TowerGarden #TowerFarm#Aeroponics #GreenhouseFarm#AeroponicFarm #VerticalAgriculture#PrecisionFarming #VerticalFarm#AeroponicTowers#TowerGardenFarm #IndoorFarming#OutdoorFarming #RooftopFarming#Kingtowerfarm” @angiemeadking said.
Congratulations, Angie! You’re the Queen of the Crop! #


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MICKEY AND SPIDEY -- TOGETHER AT LAST
In a deal that could unite Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man (at least in theme parks, if not in movies), the Walt Disney Co. has agreed to buy Marvel Entertainment for about $4 billion in cash and stock, the two companies said today (Monday). The deal would add more than 5,000 Marvel characters to the Disney populace, reports indicated. It would also give Disney a direct link to the audience that it has always had difficulty reaching -- boys. Currently Marvel has distribution deals with a number of studios, but once those are over, Disney is expected to take over distribution of the various Spider-Man, Ironman, X-Men,etc. franchises. In reporting the deal, MarketWatch.com observed that the deal "represents a pricey bet on the strength of the U.S. economy." The financial website added that the deal also represents a gamble for Disney chief Robert Iger. "So far in his tenure, he has been a darling of the investment community," it said. "With this decision, he expects that Wall Street will applaud his sense of adventure and willingness to take a risk."
TREAT AND TRICK
Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who were presumably popping champagne bottles last week when their Inglourious Basterds opened well above industry forecasts, were given a fright this weekend as their Halloween IIopened at the low end of expectations and landed in third place at the box office. The fright flick, which many industry observers had predicted would run neck-and-neck with The Final Destination, took in $17.4 million and was even beaten by Basterds,which took in $20.4 million in its second week, falling a moderate 47 percent. Destinationwas the clear winner with $28.3 million, its take boosted by premium pricing in 3D venues. (Although only 54 percent of the theaters showing it offered 3D, they accounted for more than 70 percent of the gross.) Harvey Weinstein told the Los Angeles Timesthat he thought the outcome was "inevitable and regrettable." The biggest disappointment of the weekend was Ang Lee's Taking Woodstock. Although analysts had forecast a modest opening of $5-10 million, it failed even to generate that amount of sales, coming in ninth with $3.7 million. One pleasant surprise was the strong showing of Julie & Julia, which fell just 15 percent in its fourth week. It placed sixth with $7.4 million, to bring its total to date to $71 million. Meanwhile, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Princeedged closer to the $300-million mark as it added another $1.7 million to its haul to bring its current domestic gross to $294.4 million.
1.The Final Destination, $28.3 million; 2.Inglourious Basterds, $20 million; 3. Halloween II, $17.4 million; 4.District 9, $10.7 million; 5. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, $8 million; 6. Julie & Julia, $7.4 million; 7. The Time Traveler's Wife, $6.7 million; 8. Shorts, $4.9 million; 9. Taking Woodstock, $3.7 million; G-Force, $2.8 million.
NEW MOVIES AT HOME FOR $40?
Sony is about ready to test a new video-on-demand service that will allow owners of its Internet-connected Bravia TV sets to watch new movies after they appear in theaters but before they are released on DVD or pay-TV, Businessweekreported today, citing no sources. It plans to charge $40 (which will include delivering a DVD of the movie to viewers when it becomes available. The magazine said that Sony, which also owns its own studio, is attempting to line up other studios to participate in the service but has so far found no takers.
AVATAR HIT BY VIRAL VIDEO
James Cameron's risky move to show preview footage of Avatar to fans months before the movie's release in December might well backfire -- thanks to a spoof video posted last week on YouTube, titled "Hitler learns that the Avatar trailer sucks." The video, which has been viewed more than 168,000 times since it went online (its one of numerous such movie parodies), employs a clip from the 2004 film Downfall showing Hitler in an explosive rant in front of his generals. In the altered subtitles, Hitler condemns Cameron for producing a lame trailer. "The trailer has disappointed the fans to the point of indifference," he remarks sadly at first. His voice rising, he later screams, "He should have left the remake of Ferngully: The Last Rainforest to Lucas! (He also refers to it asThe Land Before Time 3. "I wait ten years for f***ing Captain Planet with cats! ... Who the hell wants Clone Wars: Thundercats?") He rails that "Cameron has spent too much time underwater and has taken the Hollywood opiate of putting technology before story." Finally, Hitler remarks forlornly, "Maybe the video game is good."


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AS AMARI PHUKET BEGINS its 30th year of operations in 2015, it will also be getting ready to unveil a completely new wing with270-degree views of Patong Bay.
The additional rooms at the new Ocean Wing will occupy one of Phuket’s prime locations tucked in a tropical forest perched atop a hillside above the ocean.
The Ocean wing will add another 148 rooms, divided into one and two-bedroom suites with extra space for living including a kitchen and dining areas, bringing the total number of rooms to 345.
At the heart of the new Ocean Wing is a Clubhouse featuring a free-form swimming pool with a sun deck and pool bar. Additional facilities include a fitness centre and an exclusive dining and lounge area. Ocean Wing guests will also have access to the Amari Phuket resort facilities.
Commenting on the latest addition, Pierre-André Pelletier, vice-president, area manager South Thailand and general manager of Amari Phuket said:
“Phuket continues to be one of the most sought-after destinations among tourists coming to Southeast Asia. The launch of our expansion will set a new market benchmark in Patong and we are excited to see it come to life next year. With the introduction of the Ocean Wing, we will be able to cater to new market segments, including families requiring more space and guests, who are seeking a home away from home.
“Our members-only Clubhouse will also give us an exclusive facility for guests looking for peace and tranquillity on their vacation. We pride ourselves on nearly 30 years of operations and are we are pleased to be able to challenge ourselves to create new experiences for our guests.”
Less than a year ago, the main resort at Amari Phuket completed an 18-month enhancement period, which saw a fresh new look for all guest rooms, public areas, Breeze spa and restaurants.
A new guest lounge, Voyager was also introduced offering snacks and light refreshments, a wash and change area, library and selection of games to keep minds active. Amari Phuket’s Ocean Wing is set to open in June 2015.


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SAN FRANCISCO -- Adobe Systems said Tuesday it will cut about 680 full-time positions world-wide, or about 9% of its total work force, as the company moves to align costs with 2010 projections.
The move marks the second wave of job cuts at Adobe since last December, when the San Jose, Calif., company said it would eliminate 600 positions, or 8% of its work force at the time.
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Hotels.com September Deals - Save 20% or more


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THE Philippine nickel industry expects expanded production next year to fill the gap left by Indonesia’s nickel ore export ban to between 40 and 50 million wet metric tons (WMT) of ore, possibly accompanied by higher prices due to supply concerns.
“It’s more than 40 million tons, but let’s say, whether it exceeds 50 million tons, I doubt,” Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) President Dante R. Bravo told reporters on the sidelines of the group’s year-end report news conference in Quezon City.
“That would depend basically on the prices, particularly for the lower grades because that is where the added volume would be coming from. I think, for medium and higher grades we have limited volume on these,” he added.
According to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), production of nickel ore in the first half was 11.306 million dry metric tons (DMT) or about 17.395 million wet metric tons (WMT), valued at P12.24 billion.
For 2019, Mr. Bravo said that production could hit about 39 million WMT, equivalent to 25 million to 26 million DMT.
Indonesia has banned the export of nickel starting 2020, in a bid to develop a domestic processing industry that would capture more value-added from the nickel trade. The ban was announced on Sept. 2, bringing forward an earlier announced ban that was scheduled for 2022.
“Because of the Indonesian export ban, we expect that there will be ramp-up of production for ore exports,” Mr. Bravo said.
“Likely, there is going to be an increase in the price of ore because there is a shortage of ore,” Mr. Bravo said.
“When the price is a bit high… if you can make money, you can go a longer way to mine and that could increase the volume,” he said.
Mr. Bravo noted that the US-China trade war may still pose a great challenge for the industry.
“It makes everybody uncertain in terms of foreign exchange, in terms of economic growth, in terms of foreign direct investment,” he said. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang


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Asus’ new Chromebook CX9 is a powerhouse of a Chromebook built for professionals. Pricing is still to be announced, but it’s coming to North America in Q2 2021.
Per Asus, the Chromebook CX9 is powered by up to an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 processor. That’s an unusual processor to see in a Chromebook — students and more casual Chromebook customers don’t usually need more than a Core i3 — but it’s the best option for power users.
It also packs that power into quite a portable chassis, which is just 0.63 inches thick (16 mm) and 2.2 pounds. And Asus says it meets the MIL-STD-810H US military standards for durability, so you should have no problem battering it around.
In addition, the new Chromebook supports Wi-Fi 6 and includes Harman Kardon-certified dual speakers. Asus says it’s “loaded with I/O” ports, including the new Thunderbolt 4 standard as well as HDMI outputs. And it offers Titan C security, Google’s security chip designed specifically for Chromebooks.
Asus also introduced the Chromebook Flip CX5 and C536, two consumer-oriented Chromebooks that will also feature 11th Gen Intel processors. Those models are coming in Q1.


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SORTING your household rubbish each week could cut your annual taxe d’habitation and save your council money.
As binmen in Paris clear the tonnes of rubbish left uncollected during their strike last week, much of the rubbish they collect could have been recycled.
Just 21% of France’s rubbish is recycled and some communes find that the 15,000 tonnes of rubbish they send to be incinerated each year contains about 50% recyclable waste such as plastic, paper, glass, steel or aluminium.
Not recycling this material costs the commune money as it must pay for it to be incinerated (although incineration does give benefits if used to supply energy elsewhere), it loses money from the 14 industry recycling organisations that pay them to recover recyclable rubbish and it does not have the recycled material to sell on.
Some departments and groups of communes have amalgamated their waste collection services into a Smitom (Syndicat Mixte Intercommunal de Traitement des Ordures Ménagères) and these have wide-ranging powers to reduce the amount of recyclable rubbish being thrown out.
Some mairies have given them power to fine repeat offenders who ignore the rules of “triage” and put ordinary rubbish in the recycling bin and others have started efforts to publicise how to recycle properly.
Communes incinerating 15,000 tonnes of rubbish a year could save up to €2.5m if they persuade more people to recycle and reduce the amount of recyclable waste in their rubbish – allowing a cut of about €15 in impôts locaux.
Plastic is a major problem and industry recycling organisation Eco-Emballages says more than a million tonnes of plastic packaging is used in France each year but just 230,000 tonnes is recycled. While 46% of plastic bottles are recycled only 22.5% of other plastic packaging is sent for reuse.
It has been running an experiment covering 3.7million people across France by collecting all plastics for recycling: yoghurt pots, wrappers, packaging etc to see if it can create an economical and efficient way to recycle more tonnage.
Some people, however, do not have this problem such as Frenchwoman Béa Johnson who has made headlines round the world by cutting her family’s annual rubbish down to just a litre a year. She says that the problem starts before recycling - with shoppers wasteful packaging from manufacturers.
We have an interview with her in the October issue of Connexion; out now in newsagents across France - use www.findthepressinFrance.com to find your nearest stockist – or click here to download a pdf version now for €3.80.


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In the latest issue of Forbes magazine, writer Patrick Michaels trashes the Chevy Volt and General Motors, saying the Volt is the socialist evil Ayn Rand warned of. What Michaels doesn't mention? How the oil industry pays his bills.
Michaels argues in "Chevy Volt: The Car From Atlas Shrugged Motors" that the Volt sucks, no one wants one and it's just socialism by the government and corporate cronies such as General Electric that's shoving it down Americans' throats. His opinion currently draws from Consumer Reports and a few minutes sitting in a pre-production Volt during an auto show several years ago.
We believe in Libertarianism as much as the next car guy, but we like informed dissent even more. I lack the energy or enthusiasm to run down every error in this piece, so let's just hit the big ones. The federal subsidies the Volt gets are set by its battery size, not whether it's all-electric or a plug-in hybrid. GM decided to build the Volt because it needed a fuel technology calling card, and did so well before its bailout or the subsidies — lobbied for by the entire auto industry, not just GM — came into law.
And Michaels is certainly right to wonder how much demand there is if GM has only sold a few hundred Volts a month since December. But he doesn't connect the dots that Consumer Reports — which buys scores of new vehicles at retail every year, and sells its car-barganing tips — had to pay a $5,000 dealer markup for its Volt, suggesting that supplies are far below demand. A quick check of Cars.com's national inventory of new Volts for sale finds a total of 322 in stock as of today, up from less than 200 at the start of the month, and not much more than the 281 GM sold in February.
There's also a few things missing from the takedown; any mention of rising oil and gas prices, for example, and how that might make people think kindly about a car that runs — even partially — on electricity. Michaels does identify himself as a fellow at the Cato Institute, where he often opines that global warming science is deeply flawed and politically driven. But he leaves out his own history as a consultant to GM, a relationship that ended in controversy.
In 2006, Michaels was hired as an expert witness by GM, DaimlerChrysler and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers to testify for them in a lawsuit against the state of Vermont over greenhouse gas regulations for cars and trucks. But Michaels withdrew from the case after Greenpeace asked the court to force open the clients of Michaels' consulting firm, New Hope Strategies.
Michaels pulled out in April 2007, telling the court:
Large companies are understandably adverse to negative publicity. Thus, the global warming controversy has created an environment in which companies who wish to support New Hope's research and advocacy about global warming science are increasingly willing to do so only if their support remains confidential.
And who paid the freight at Michaels' business? Utilities opposed to global warming regulations and oil companies, the latter of which Michaels told CNN in August of last year totaled about 40% of his income.
So the guy who's paid by the oil industry doesn't like cars designed to avoid oil consumption. Good times, Forbes magazine. That beep-beep sound you hear is us backing up the intellectual garbage truck.


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Look out for it early next year.
Here’s how they stack up.
There, you'll be able to order anything on the menu except for a hamburger.
Does it make sense to pair a proudly chubby chain with a champions sports teams? It does to the involved parties.
Fatburger and Buffalo's Cafe Express are celebrating their new-found union tomorrow.
It really makes sense for Southern California's less famous burger to serve the In-N-Out deprived parts of the city.
The company's chairman says he's had enough fast food for a while.
The 1,700-square-foot space is due in about two weeks.
The 28-year-old Southern chain is sharing space with Fatburger at its first L.A. store.
More Subways, 7-Elevens, and a record number of Dunkin' Donuts shops. Awesome!
Babyfat at 1:00 A.M. will finally be a reality in New York City
Because we need more hamburgers.
If we'd lived in In-N-Out's shadow for 60 years, we'd take to drinking too.
In a week of Hollywood dates, we even saw our favorite celebrity couple, Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo.
Fatburger coming to town!
The rapper has pulled out of his deal with the Fatburger chain.
The chain could expand to 20 L.A. stores in the near future, timely considering Fatburger is declaring bankruptcy.
Over 1.7 million Angelenos faced hunger issues in 2009, more than any other county in the country.


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Based on the initial success of BauBax’s first crowd funding campaign, they wanted to launch product version 2.0.
Clearbanc provided them with capital to spread the word on Facebook and drive traffic to the new landing page. The results speak for themselves.
BauBax used Clearbanc funding to fuel their FB ad budget and drive traffic to their crowd funding campaign.
The ROI that BauBax got from fueling their customer acquisition campaigns with Clearbanc’s growth capital.
Amount of top-ups BauBax has received from Clearbanc so they can continue to scale their business.


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Wise Words, October 2018
Food insecurity. Two words that have started working their way into our lives. What do they mean? Simply put – a person without reliable access to sufficient quantities of affordable and nutritious food is food insecure.
In Iowa we are fortunate to live in an area that is among the most fertile soils in the world. Iowa and surrounding states produce an amazing amount of food every year. Yet, people in Iowa, the region, and the United States go hungry every moment of the day.
Dosomething.org shares these facts about hunger in the US:
- 1 in 6 people in America face hunger.
- The USDA defines “food insecurity” as the lack of access, at times, to enough food for all household members. In 2011, households with children reported a significantly higher food insecurity rate than households without children: 20.6% versus 12.2%.
- Food insecurity exists in every county in America. In 2013, 17.5 million households were food insecure. More and more people are relying on food banks and pantries.
- 49 million Americans struggle to put food on the table.
- In the US, hunger isn’t caused by a lack of food, but rather the continued prevalence of poverty.
- More than 1 in 5 children is at risk of hunger. Among African-Americans and Latinos, it’s 1 in 3.
- Over 20 million children receive free or reduced-price lunch each school day. Less than half of them get breakfast, and only 10% have access to summer meal sites.
- For every 100 school lunch programs, there are only 87 breakfast sites and just 36 summer food programs.
- 1 in 7 people are enrolled in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Nearly half of them are children.
- 40% of food is thrown out in the US every year, or about $165 billion worth. All of this uneaten food could feed 25 million Americans.
Those are pretty startling facts!
What can we do? In conversations with Reverend Rebecca the concept of food insecurity came about. There are folks in our congregation who are food insecure. People who need help. This week a new cabinet is scheduled to be delivered to the church. We are going to use it as a small food pantry.
During the month of October we are holding a food drive. We are going to invite the children in Faith Formation to bring items to fill the pantry and help the local food banks. This helps them learn the importance of giving and caring for others!
Members of the congregation are also invited to bring non-perishable food items! We will start receiving items on October 7. There will be areas designated for the food items to be placed.
In an effort to help highlight the issues of food insecurity and food needs we will be plotting out a labyrinth in the Ely room the first week of November. Marion Patterson reached out to some of her friends who design labyrinth’s and they agreed to help us! The lines of the walk will be filled with the food items brought to the church. The labyrinth will be used by Faith Formation kids on November 4. It will also be open to the congregation and possibly the public. More details will follow.
Come help us help those in need.