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Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Expansion doubles the size of the company's US headquarters.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Panjiva said that this marks the worst start to a new year since it began tracking this data in 2007.
Posted on 02/24 at 10:38 AM
Monday, February 23, 2015
Founded in 1993, Almeida Martins provides material handling and robotic solutions to more than 800 companies in Brazil.
RPA creates opportunity for supply chain professionals to benchmark, discuss, and solve challenges with reusables.
Storopack now has its own subsidiary in the Italian market.
Crane accident study suggests wider need for With rigging fundamentals courses.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Unarco to take over the manufacturing and assembly of all carton flow and pallet flow system designs.
Thursday, February 19, 2015
With a combined 90 years of experience in the Southwest, packaging and container leaders unite to enhance geographic reach.
Posted on 02/19 at 03:34 PM
Company launches next generation inflatable and foam-in-place solutions.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Get the lay of the land around McCormick Place for the biggest ProMat ever: ProMat 2015 to be held March 23- March 26, 2015.
Posted on 02/17 at 02:31 PM
ProMat 2015 •


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Tag Archives: google
The HTC Vive is finally alive and in out the wild for all the world to use. But what exactly can you try right now?Well, Valve has a pretty extensive library of games for the Vive, and while not all of them are entirely complete – some are episodic while others are demo length – you’ll still have to[……]
While Nintendo’s second ever mobile effort, the absurdly popular Pokémon Go, has already won a legion of fans and sent the company’s shares through the roof, a lot of people out there will be scratching their heads and thinking “What on Earth is this Pokémon Go thing all about?” Dive in as a long-ti[……]
Welcome once again VR lovers to your weekly roundup of the latest launches, announcements and rumours flying around in the world of VR that we’ve saved to tell you all about them right here.
On the site this week, our features editor Sophie tells us why you shouldn’t be put off virtual reality b[……]
We may still be in the early days of this New Reality Renaissance, but you’d never guess it walking around VRTO (Virtual and Augmented Reality Toronto World Conference & Expo). There was a palpable buzz among attendees and speakers—excitement for the chance to gather with a bunch of like-minded[……]
Recapping the top stories covered on the VRScout Report, a weekly live video show and podcast discussing the best in VR, hosted by Malia Probst. You can enjoy the full audio recording below:Pokemon Go could be the perfect storm of nostalgia, brand recognition, and technology. Continuing in Snapchat’[……]
Since we last had a hands-on look at the HTC Vive at CES, we’ve had confirmation of a price and pre-order date for its long-awaited consumer launch, and we took another opportunity to get up close with the hardware at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.Unfortunately, apart from a few tweaks to a cou[……]
On the outer reaches of today’s VR sits room-scale VR (currently exclusive to the HTC Vive), which lets you walk around room-sized spaces while inside virtual reality. Someday down the road, though, you may take your kids to an arcade where you’ll stroll around a warehouse-sized VR space with other[……]
While the big names like HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR are making the most noise about their VR experiences, Google Cardboard and its apps offer the easiest and cheapest way to experience virtual reality today.So what exactly is Cardboard? Well, it consists of a low-cost, DIY virtual real[……]
“Next time I come home, I’ll bring up a VR headset so you can all try it,” I bragged to some school friends over drinks recently. “We got my Dad a cheap one for his birthday, he looked mad chasing dinosaurs, it made me feel sick though,” came the reply. Read this: The best Samsung Gear VR apps, game[……]
The amount of truly awesome apps, games and shorts on the Samsung Gear VR has shot up in the past six months. And with the affordable $99 Gear VR on sale, everything is starting to click into place for Samsung’s mobile VR plans.
Here’s our round-up of the best apps, games, demos, short films and int[……]

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Jack Ma has officially stepped down from Alibaba, leaving the business by writing a poem dedicated to its home of Hangzhou.
The Chinese internet entrepreneur and one of Alibaba’s founders announced that he’d be stepping down last year, timed with the internet giant’s 20th anniversary. He will still remain linked to the business but in a less hands-on capacity.
While Ma has grown Alibaba into a global business, one that’s changed the face of e-commerce globally, driving billions in sales each year, his parting thoughts was an ‘Ode to Hangzhou’.
The words, translated from Chinese, tell an emotional story of hard-fought dreams and the inspiring story of a city that is now a hub for entrepreneurs.
“We gathered brilliant minds at the West Lake
We hosted fashion shows along the White Causeway. Imagination still runs wild,
Bizarre ideas continue to ensue.
Those seemingly absurd views
Those flickering lights of youth.
You ushered the dream chasers to the center stage,
And inspired the entrepreneurs to follow the light in their hearts.”
A poem would seem like an unusual choice for a departing entrepreneur but he was also known as a personality, once starring in his own martial arts film.
Ma has also been praised for his connection to people and culture as a leader, Humphry Ho, managing director of the LA office of Chinese digital agency Hylink, said: “The first thing you notice is that people have been at Alibaba a long time. There’s usually a lot of turnover in the tech industry, but that’s not the case with Alibaba compared to other big tech conglomerates in China.”
Ma wasn’t the only founder of Alibaba, it was started with 18 original founders, some still within the business and others that departed a long time ago. Ma, however, was the one founder that managed to become the face of the business and what it stood for as it grew beyond China and became a global household name.
Alibaba has left the business in the hands of Alibaba’s chief executive officer Daniel Zhang who will now be chairman of the board of Alibaba Group.
After the announcement last year, the stock price took a very short dip but it bounced back, as it was widely considered that Ma had built a business greater than the sum of its founders.
Ma will continue to be part of the business as a lifelong member of its ‘partnership committee’, which has 36 members who are also members of senior management of Alibaba Group or its affiliates.
MARKETING Magazine is not responsible for the content of external sites.


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Wall Street is eagerly anticipating a drop in interest rates, but US Federal Reserve officials have been consistent in their messaging. Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated on Friday that there is no need to rush into lowering rates. This sentiment comes after the central bank’s preferred measure of underlying inflation showed a decrease of 0.3% in February, signaling that prices are cooling down but still high enough to warrant caution.
Powell emphasized that the strong growth of the US economy and the robust labor market allow for a more confident approach to inflation before making the decision to cut rates. Recent economic data has reassured analysts that the American economy remains strong following a period of rate hikes over the past two years. Inflation-adjusted consumer spending has surpassed expectations, fueled by a significant increase in wages.
Despite warnings of a potential tech bubble fueled by artificial intelligence, traders are pushing stocks higher. The equities market hit a record high this week, capping off a quarter of significant gains. Chris Zaccarelli of Independent Advisor Alliance noted that investors are more focused on the strength of the economy and consumer resilience than the timing of potential rate cuts by the Fed. The S&P 500 continues to perform well despite concerns from skeptics.


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Light heavyweight wonder boy Jon “Bones” Jones has seen his star rise steadily over the past year. Having earned impressive wins over the likes of Stephan Bonnar, Jake O’Brien, Brandon Vera and Vladimir Matyushenko (just to name a few) during his UFC tenure, many are hailing Jones as the next-big-thing at 205lbs. and in MMA in general. According to Fighters Only magazine, legendary fight equipment and apparel company Everlast agrees with those assessments and has decided to sponsor Jones as a result.
“Bones,” who will be training exclusively with Everlast gear and will be featured prominently in the company’s promotional material, said that he is honored and excited to have been chosen by Everlast.
“I couldn’t be more excited to join the Everlast family” said Jones “Everlast has a rich history associated with the greatest fighters of all time and I am proud to be a part of that tradition, alongside icons like Randy Couture, Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson.”
Matt Cowan, Vice President of Marketing and Products for Everlast, also commented on Jones’ sponsorship and said that choosing Jones was easy as the Greg Jackson-trained fighter clearly represents what Everlast stands for.
“Jon Jones is one of the most exciting athletes in MMA today,” said Cowan. “His drive and dedication embodies the value upon which our brand was built and his eagerness to join the Everlast legacy further solidifies our position as the dominant brand in the sport.”
According to Fighters Only, Jones will be appearing as a representative at the Everlast booth at the upcoming UFC Fan Expo which will be taking place August 28th at the John B. Hynes Convention Center in Boston and will run in conjunction with the upcoming UFC 118: Edgar vs. Penn II fight.


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NordVPN, one of the most popular and well-known VPN brands is facing intense criticism after collaborating with a white nationalist Youtuber based in the United Kingdom.
NordVPN Sponsored Alt-right Youtuber
NordVPN recently sponsored Laura Towler, a far-right campaigner in England who’s efforts focus on stopping immigration while maintaining the purity of the “white British” population. Towler said in a recent video that her goal is to build a nationalist community in Britain. Towler’s content is not monetized on Youtube since it does not comply with guidelines.
While the collaboration took place one month ago on June 14th, it’s only now that NordVPN has received backlash.
During the intense political situation of the world with ongoing protests in America with huge movements like Black Lives Matter, as well as COVID-19 ransacking economies and populations alike, perhaps it should be no surprise that people are upset.
NordVPN Users Upset with Company’s Sponsership Choices
Mike Stuchberry, a journalist on Twitter, recently posted a tweet about NordVPN’s relationship with the white nationalist–explaining that people might not be happy that the company is working with and paying Neo-Nazis.
The post attracted a huge number of likes with many people claiming that they were already canceling their NordVPN subscriptions.
It was only a short time later that NordVPN responded to the criticisms claiming that it “was a one-off sponsorship, and our vetting process has since been improved. We do not endorse racism in any form, and the creator’s views do not reflect ours. We do not support hate speech or radical political views of any leaning,” it wrote.
To further explain the huge mess up, a NordVPN spokesperson told Newsweek: “A single video was sponsored through an agency a while back, having slipped through our background check.”
2 weeks Later, NordVPN Hasn’t Removed Affiliation?
However despite the explanation, skeptics are unsure of NordVPN’s “enhanced” vetting process since the video was sponsored only just two weeks ago, and there has been no clarification on why Laura was sponsored in the first place or which “agency” they are referring to that solidified the partnership.
Not only that, but NordVPN has only officially commented on the situation after being called out publicly on Twitter. As of now, Laura still is promoting NordVPN in the video and still seems to be an active affiliate. NordVPN has not explained if her affiliation has been stripped or not.
As of now, some two weeks after the video, NordVPN also has not formally apologized or made any public statement on their website or blog about the incident.
NordVPN company frequently advertises itself on Youtube and has become one of the most recognizable brands Youtubers promote. The brand has high commissions offering 100% of the purchase price for the one month plan, which has made it an attractive product to advertise for. YouTubers can make up to $12 every time someone buys NordVPN, or even more for longer-term subscriptions that the website promotes.
NordVPN has advertised and managed to buy out the most popular YouTubers including the likes of Pewdiepie and even others like PayMoneyWubby.
Just last year, NordVPN was subject to a huge hacking controversy after not disclosing a vulnerability to its customers for over a year.


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TrackMaven’s “2017 Facebook Advertising Index: Budgets and Benchmarks” has found that boosted post ads have 73.21 percent more shares and more interactions on average than dark post ads.
Due to higher engagement levels, boosted posts also have a greater percentage of organic reach and impressions than dark posts.
On average, boosted posts had 50,265 organic impressions per post whereas dark posts only had 6,383. According to researchers, “This finding could reflect the tendency for brands to use more engaging creative for boosted posts, which appear publicly on a brand’s Facebook page. Businesses tend to use traditional advertising copy and calls-to-action in dark posts, which can make them less likely to be shared.”
Dark post Facebook ads are typically used as a part of long-term advertising strategies by brands with larger budgets. On average, brands spend $776.75 per dark advertisement post and only $389.00 per boosted post.
Dark posts are also active for nearly double the time of boosted posts (42 days versus 27 days).
Due to the increased spend, dark posts do have higher reach and impressions on average compared to boosted posts. Dark posts may see upwards of 1M impressions, whereas boosted posts only see 250K on average.
Dark posts are ads that don’t appear publicly on a business’s Facebook page and instead appear on targeted users’ news feeds. Boosted posts are public on a business’s Facebook page and are sponsored to extend their reach.
The TrackMaven report analyzed 90,000 Facebook ads, including both dark and boosted posts, to provide marketers with a baseline for understanding advertising costs, building budgets, and measuring performance.
Social Media More Important Than Other Digital Marketing Tactics
Another recent study showed social media is increasing in value to marketers and their organizations. The “Social Media Marketing Survey 2016” from Clutch showed 78 percent of enterprises consider social media to be more critical for business success compared to other digital marketing strategies.
Facebook (95 percent), Twitter (74 percent) and LinkedIn (66 percent) are the most commonly used social media platforms for B2B enterprises. In addition, Facebook was widely considered as the most effective channel, with 62 percent of respondents saying it yields the best results.


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Apparel retailers expanding in Chinese lower-tier cities
January 12, 2013 - China
Several domestic and foreign apparel retail firms are further strengthening their expansion in Chinese lower-tier cities, in the midst of intensified competition in the first-tier cities, according to a latest report.
The lower-tier cities in China are turning into major battlefields for many apparel firms, says a report on “China’s apparel market, 2012”, released by Li & Fung Research Centre.
The fact that people in the lower-tier cities are getting wealthier and are having stronger spending power is also driving domestic and foreign apparel companies to expand in lower-ties cities, according to the report.
Foreign luxury brands like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, which used to expand in tier 1 cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen etc., are now veering toward lower-tier cities like Wuhan, Wuxi, Changsha, Fuzhou and Xiamen.
Recently, international sportswear giants such as Nike and Adidas have also announced their penetration into lower-tier cities.
Meanwhile, in face of fierce competition led by foreign companies, some domestic Chinese enterprises such as Youngor, Fuguiniao, Joeone and Septwolves are also striving to expedite their penetration in lower-tier cities, while consolidating their foothold in tier 1 cities.
In recent years, fast fashion retailers such as Zara, H&M, C&A, Uniqlo, etc., have successfully won Chinese consumers’ hearts with their fast, trendy and affordable apparel products.
According to the China National Garment Association (CNGA), by the end of 2011, Zara, H&M, C&A, Gap and Uniqlo already operated 92, 77, 36, 13 and 113 retail stores in China, respectively.
In 2011, Zara, H&M, C&A, Gap and Uniqlo respectively opened 29, 31, 11, 5, and 43 new stores in China. Of these, more than 80 percent of the new stores set up by Zara and H&M were situated in tier 2 and 3 cities.


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The Maritime Industry's original and most viewed E-News Service
Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of India for the ongoing fiscal under which targets agreed
The maritime software development company SDSD are launching a new web based VSnP - Vessel Sale and Purchase module, enabling Sale and Purchase brokers to buy and
As the calendar now indicates we have passed the half year mark on 2016, VesselValue.com offers insight on the number and value of all the 2016 built vessels that
Freight rates for shipping containers from ports in Asia to Northern Europe jumped 58 percent to $1,125 per 20-foot container (TEU) in the week ending Friday, a
Greece-based Diana Containerships Inc. has reported a second-quarter loss of $8 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier.
The Panama Canal’s impact on shipping routes and vessel sizes since it opened in 1914 is undisputed. This will continue with the opening of a third channel for larger vessels in 2016.


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Baffled as to why he stole £70 of items from Morrisons in Stamford, David Evans could offer no explanation for his actions.
Evans, of Ellyslande, Great Ponton, admitted pocketing four DVDs, a CD, an ink cartridge and bag of coffee worth £70.49 from the supermarket on November 28.
He was seen by a member of staff to conceal the items in pockets and was stopped before leaving the store.
Julian Sheen, defending, told the court that 59-year-old Evans could not explain why he had taken the items as he had the money to pay for them.
He added: “He has had some weeks, months, to consider the situation, which he very much regrets.
“He can only put it down to a loss of judgement at the time, due to medication he was on.
“They were strong painkillers.
“He is not saying that meant he didn’t know what he was doing but all he can say is that it may have impaired his judgement.”
Mr Sheen told magistrates that Evans has taken some steps of his own accord to prevent a repeat incident. As a person with mobility problems and who suffers from agoraphobia, he has employed someone to do his shopping for him.
Mr Sheen added: “It is something that has troubled him for the weeks since he has been arrested.”
Magistrates gave Evans a conditional discharge of 12 months and ordered him to contribute £45 towards prosecution costs and a £15 victim surcharge.


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Agriculture is Brazil’s one and only bright spot
Post available in: English
A record soybean crop leads a strong farm performances to make the sector the only one growing in a country mired in recession and political uncertainty.
A deep recession, political chaos and a Zika virus epidemic have taken Brazil to its knees but the country is still a world beater in one respect: Agriculture. Brazil’s crop agency, Conab, said it expects a record soybean crop this year with a corn crop close to a record also. The country’s farmers look to set record crops of coffee and sugar cane, as well, while cattle ranchers, chicken and hog farmers foresee new heights of export tonnages too.
Given the outlook that Brazil’s economy will contract by 3.7% this year, after shrinking at its fastest pace in 35 yrs in 2015, the country’s bountiful harvest, plentiful chickens and fattening cows are in a rare bright spot.
Agriculture was the only sector of Brazil’s economy to expand last year, by 1.8% while overall gross domestic product shrank 3.8%.
The whole world has to eat and Brazil makes its living from Agriculture, said Edimilson Calegari, general manager of the Cooabriel Coffee cooperative in southeast state of Espirito Santo. “Our farms and ranches are what have kept our economy going during these bad years.”
The Brazilian currency’s steep drop last year – a 30% slide against the USD, boosted exports and more than made up for the declines in commodities prices. That has helped generate foreign currency reserves and reduce Brazil’s current account deficit.
Forecasts of Brazilian bumper crops this year might normally be expected to depress global commodity prices, leading to smaller incomes for farmers in South America’s largest nation.
But so far prices of soybean, sugar and Arabica coffee have all headed higher this year, due to a variety of factors including weather concerns in other commodity producing nations.
Brazil’s currency which has made gains against the dollar recently, is up about 10% since January 22, but with an eye to helping exporters, the nation’s central bank has been intervening in the currency market with the goal, traders say, of keeping the Real from strengthening much beyond 3.60 to the dollar. This is good news for Brazilian farmers, whose products continue to undercut their counterparts in the US and Europe.
“Brazil became a lot more competitive last year because of the weaker Real, and that really pushed exports up and boosted farmers’ incomes”. said Natalia Orlovicin, an analyst at INTL FCStone.
Agriculture offers a rare example of a Brazilian sector that is global and competitive. The country’s largely inefficient manufactures are still heavily protected by tariffs and import taxes, but the government took the opposite approach with agriculture.
Starting in the 1990’s, it reduced subsidies and eliminated export taxes whilst increasing investment in agricultural research. Farmers responded with a rapid expansion of the area under cultivation and a burst of investment that made them among the most productive and efficient producers in the world.
Agriculture’s clout in Brazil’s economy was highlighted this year when the government of President Dilma Rousseff floated a proposal to reimpose a tax on agricultural exports to help close a massive budget gap.
The country’s influential agricultural lobby, the CNA, quickly condemned the proposal. The group’s former president, rancher and current Agriculture Minister Katia Abreu, also joined in to criticize the move, which appears to have died a quiet death.
Just a few years ago, when commodities prices were high and China was vacuuming up Brazil’s iron ore by the boatload, that commodity was Brazil’s export king. The value of the country’s iron ore sales abroad reached a record $41.8 billion in 2011 but plummeted to $14.1 billion last year.
Meanwhile, the value of soybean and soybean-product exports went from $23.9 billion in 2011 to $31.3 billion in 2014. Even as sales retreated to $27.9 billion last year, soybeans still dethroned iron ore as the country’s most valuable export.
“Soy products are the locomotive of Brazil’s agricultural sector”, said Endrigo Dalcin, president of soy growers association Aprosoja Mato Grosso. “It’s what saved our trade balance last year, and this year I think we’re going to set a new record for exports.”
While agriculture remains a bright spot in Brazil’s economy, plenty of challenges remain. Among the biggest are inadequate roads, a lack of rail lines and strapped ports, hampering the flow of farm products to market.
The cost of moving from the grain belt in Brazil’s interior state of Mato Grosso to the port of Santos in Sao Paulo state, is close to four times what it costs a farmer in Illinois to get his soy crop to New Orleans, according to Aprosoja Mato Grosso.
Mario Lanznaster, 75, a hog farmer in the state of Santa Catarina who raises hogs and sells about 36,000 each year from his farms around Chapeco, said he would like the government to build a rail line to help bring corn grown deep in the country’s interior to hog and chicken farmers in his state on the coast south of Sao Paulo. That would cut the cost of feed and help make pork even cheaper in Brazil and abroad. He said, “There’s no doubt that the weak Real helps us, makes us more competitive, but Brazilians have to eat too. We need to get the economy going again, create more jobs so people here can eat better.”
The Wall Street Journal
Post available in: English


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Hi, what do you think TSLA stocks will do after
1. success/failure of Space X's Falcon 9 on 7th May
2. Q1 Earnings release on 9th May
For #1, it will probably just follow the market.
For #2, it will go down because of "buy on rumour, sell on news".
For ?, it will go up once cars start being delivered.
On May 4, Elon twitted: "Elon Musk @elonmusk
Almost done reviewing Dragon code with @NASA. Looks good so far. Target launch date is May 19, right after Soyuz docks."
Looking like a spam bump.
Yup. Flagged it earlier today.


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Nutrition facts labels on packaged foods are getting a long-overdue update. The biggest changes include calories listed in larger, bold font and a new line beneath total sugars that shows the amount of added sugars. Serving sizes will also be updated to make them more realistic with American consumer behaviors, because there’s no way that small bag of chips has three servings.
The nutrition facts changes were first proposed by the Food and Drug Administration two years ago, and this is the first significant change to the labels since they were introduced in 1994. The labeling changes were announced Friday morning by First Lady Michelle Obama as part of her "Let's Move!" campaign to combat childhood obesity.
“I am thrilled that the FDA has finalized a new and improved Nutrition Facts label that will be on food products nationwide,” Obama said. “This is going to make a real difference in providing families across the country the information they need to make healthy choices.”
Most food manufacturers will be required to use the new label by July 26, 2018. Manufacturers with less than $10 million in annual food sales will have an extra year to get in compliance.
Key updates to Nutrition Facts
An updated design to highlight “calories” and “servings,” two important elements in making informed food choices.
Requirements for serving sizes that more closely reflect the amounts of food that people currently eat. What and how much people eat and drink has changed since the last serving size requirements were published in 1993. By law, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, requires that serving sizes be based on what people actually eat.
Declaration of grams and a percent daily value (%DV) for “added sugars” to help consumers know how much sugar has been added to the product. It is difficult to meet nutrient needs while staying within calorie limits if you consume more than 10 percent of your total daily calories from added sugars, and this is consistent with the scientific evidence supporting the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
“Dual column” labels to indicate both “per serving” and “per package” calorie and nutrition information for certain multi-serving food products that could be consumed in one sitting or multiple sittings. Examples include a pint of ice cream and a 3-ounce bag of chips. With dual-column labels available, people will be able to easily understand how many calories and nutrients they are getting if they eat or drink the entire package/unit at one time.
For packages that are between one and two servings, such as a 20 ounce soda, the calories and other nutrients will be required to be labeled as one serving because people typically consume it in one sitting.
Updated daily values for nutrients like sodium, dietary fiber and vitamin D, consistent with Institute of Medicine recommendations and the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Daily values are reference amounts of nutrients to consume or not to exceed and are used to calculate the %DV that manufacturers include on the label.
Declaration of Vitamin D and potassium that will include the actual gram amount, in addition to the %DV. These are nutrients that some people are not getting enough of, which puts them at higher risk for chronic disease. The %DV for calcium and iron will continue to be required, along with the actual gram amount. Vitamins A and C will no longer be required because deficiencies of these vitamins are rare, but these nutrients can be included on a voluntary basis.
“Calories from Fat” will be removed because research shows the type of fat is more important than the amount. “Total Fat,” “Saturated Fat,” and “Trans Fat” will continue to be required.
An abbreviated footnote to better explain the %DV.


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CBD News April 25th 2018 Prescription CBD oil Sessions Respond to Gupta on Weed vs. Opioids CBD oil for epilepsy treatment
Prescription CBD oil could soon be available in Idaho (kivitv.com) Topics: public policy, decision making, Idaho, drug policy, BOISE, case study, cannabidiol, legislative panel “When we look at making public policy, we felt like we have to make sure it’s science and not politics that creates medical approval,” Fitzgerald said. The FDA has until … Continue reading "CBD News April 25th 2018 – Prescription CBD oil, Sessions Respond to Gupta on Weed vs. Opioids, CBD oil for epilepsy treatment"
The post CBD News April 25th 2018 – Prescription CBD oil, Sessions Respond to Gupta on Weed vs. Opioids, CBD oil for epilepsy treatment appeared first on CBD Oil Reviews And Information | What Is CBD?.
Setting The Benchmark For The MAXIMUM Quality Consumable Products. Within the fast-growing cannabis, an oil sector is a new group of things seeing its equally speedy increase in popularity: cannabidiol hemp oil, or CBD berry oil. These highly required hemp derived products are available for sale online and delivered directly to your door, or even in sellers in all 50 states and more than 40 countries around the world.


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Editor's note: Story has been updated from an earlier version.
If you're a local entrepreneur looking for a place to work and connect with others, the Hilltop Business District has good news for you.
The Resource Center, a new co-working and development center for startups and small businesses, is now offering new member tours from 8:30am to 4:30pm and will remain open for walk-ins for the duration of its opening week.
A ribbon cutting/grand opening celebration is set for 3-5 pm., Saturday (May 12). You can register for the event at this link.
The center is at 1004 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, near People's Park and Johnson Candy Co.
It aims to be a hub for women, minority and disabled veteran-owned businesses "to utilize a collaborative space with access to the resources, tools, and development assistance they need," according to a Resource Center news release.
The site will rent shared workspace, desk space and facility use along with business services.
"The membership model enables businesses at any stage to enter," the release states. "From $30 a month and up, there are various ways in which a business can use TRC on their path to success."
"The center also works with state and local agencies, nonprofits, corporations, and other freelancers and entrepreneurs to provide networks and prospects to its clients."
According to Drea Baines, director for the center: "Examples would be startups and small businesses (contractors and subcontractors, freelance writers, designers and artists) who need a place to get started, receive business development assistance, and receive business mail with a professional address.
"They can even rent the space after hours to host their own networking events."
For more information, go to the site's Facebook page (TRCTacoma) or email Baines at email@example.com


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Good news for IG creators is here! The photo-sharing app is rolling out a new feature that will give you some extra time to showcase your talent in the form of reels. Instagram has officially confirmed that it’s rolling out features like 90-second Reels and more. The online photo-sharing app has expanded the length of the Reels from 60 seconds to 90 seconds. Let’s have a look at the latest update.
“Coming at you with exciting news for Reels creators! Starting today you can create Reels up to 90 seconds in length. Now, you’ll have more time to entertain your audience,” reads the Instagram post.
The limit expansion will allow users to make a little lengthy video and this will help to express themselves via Reels to their audience in a must better way. Furthermore, IG has also revealed that the users can directly import their audio to the Reels. This will allow them to add additional “commentary or background noise from any video that is at least five seconds long on your camera roll."
"You will have more time to share more about yourself, film extra behind-the-scenes clips, dig deeper into the nuances of your content, or whatever else you want to do with that extra time," reads the official blog post.
As per the blog post, the company has also added a new feature that allows creators to use polls in order to know what exactly their audience is willing to watch next in the video. The company has recently launched templates for reels that allow creators to save some time on post-production.


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Lithium-ion (Li-ion) and molten-salt battery costs will around $500/kWh by 2022, reducing the high capital cost of emerging grid storage technologies. However, expectations of half that level will remain unrealistic for at least a decade, says Lux Research.
Technology developers make bold claims about performance enhancements and economies of scale that will lead to dramatic cost reductions, says Lux Research, but prices of Li-ion and molten-salt batteries will still be double the target of $250/kWh in 2022.
Lux Research’s baseline scenarios for grid-tied systems indicate that by 2022, Li-ion batteries will reach $506/kWh; sodium nickel chloride (ZEBRA) batteries $473/kWh; and vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) $783/kWh.
“Molten-salt batteries hold the most potential to be the cheapest large-scale systems, with manufacturing improvements playing the largest role, accounting for 95 per cent of the cost reduction,” said Brian Warshay, Lux Research associate and the lead author of the Grid Storage Battery Cost Breakdown: Exploring Paths to Accelerate Adoption report.
The report’s key conclusions include:
- Cost of Li-Ion batteries will dip 45 per cent by 2022. Li-ion batteries may lose market share to cheaper molten-salt batteries for large projects but will remain the system of choice for space-constrained projects because of their high energy density.
- ZEBRA battery manufacturing accounts for 50 -60 per cent of the total system costs, primarily because of the cost of processing its key raw materials. Improved manufacturing productivity and better capacity utilization will account for the 95 per cent of the expected reduction in costs by 2022.
- Vertical integration and exclusive supply agreements will be essnetial to managing the cost of vanadium pentoxide, a metal with a widely variable historical market price and uncertain future. Future cost estimates for vanadium pentoxide range from $15/kg to $30/kg, from the current $13.20/kg. At the upper end of the range, VRFB cost will actually increase to $1205/kWh.
To find out more information on this topic, please register for Lux Research’s free webinar, The Future of the Vanadium Redox Flow Battery: Cost Reduction, Market Adoption, and Demand Growth, which takes place on Tuesday, 7 August, 11:00 EDT.
For more Energy Storage news.


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By Dr. Jay Lehr & Tom Harris
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden’s election promise to vastly increase electric cars in America makes no sense. It would leave people with unreliable vehicles, huge transportation costs and do nothing to protect the environment.
Besides aiming to ensure “100% of new sales for light- and medium-duty vehicles will be electrified,” The Biden Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice makes the following commitments:
- Biden will work with our nation’s governors and mayors to support the deployment of more than 500,000 new public charging outlets by the end of 2030.
- Biden will restore the full electric vehicle tax credit to incentivize the purchase of these vehicles.
- Biden will work to develop a new fuel economy standard that goes beyond what the Obama-Biden Administration put in place.
A Canadian engineer recently ran the numbers involved in the switchover to electric vehicles (EVs) and concluded that, in order to match the 2,000 cars that a typical filling station can service in a busy 12 hours, the filling station would require six hundred, 50-watt chargers at an estimated cost of $24 million. The station would require a supply of 30 megawatts of power from the grid which would be enough to power 20,000 homes. Unlike home recharging stations, these would be operating at peak usage hours where the rates are the highest.
Where would all that power come from? As quoted on The Heartland Institute’s Web site, Dr. David Wojick, director of the Climate Change Debate Education Project said,
“There is almost no excess generating, distribution, or transmission capacity in the United States, or globally for that matter, so a lot of new, expensive power plants and power lines will be needed if EVs are ever to become popular. The EV grid simply does not exist.”
This means that, without the construction of vast new multi-billion-dollar electrical grids, Biden’s plan is simply a recipe for nationwide brownouts and blackouts and a lot of stranded motorists. No wonder one of the main worries car owners have with respect to EVs is ‘range anxiety.’ You need to plan any EV trip very carefully or you will be calling your friends who still own gasoline-powered cars to pick you up in the middle of nowhere.
Biden also seems to be ignoring the fact that it can take between 30 minutes and 8 hours to recharge a vehicle, depending on it being empty or just topping off. Charging stations will need lounge areas, holding areas for vehicles completed but waiting for owners to return from shopping or dining and so on. The scope of the plan is staggering.
As time goes by more owners will also come to understand the problems in charging and recharging EVs in very cold weather. All batteries use electrolytes which are liquids such as acids, bases and salts that conduct electricity by the movement of ions. Hence, battery performance worsens as it gets colder. A typical electrolyte conducts a fourth as much at minus 5 degrees C as it does at 55 C. Little by little EVs, in normal to cold climates, will experience this problem.
California plans to have over 25 million such vehicles in the not too distant future. In fact, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plans to ban sales of new, gas-powered passenger cars and trucks in California by 2035.
The utility companies have thus far had little to say about the alarming cost projections or the certain increased rates that will be required to charge their customers. It is not just the total amount of electricity required but the transmission lines and fast charging capacity that must be built at existing filling stations. Neither wind nor solar can support any of it, of course. Biden’s idea that they can is just another of his politically-correct illusions.
Also ignored is the direct cost to the consumer of buying EVs. A new study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Energy Initiative concluded that it will probably be more than a decade before EVs will be price-competitive with fossil fuel-powered cars.
The main reason for this is the lithium-ion batteries used in EVs, which account for about one-third of the cost of the vehicle, according to the MIT study. Just do the math: lithium-ion battery packs used in EVs cost anywhere from $175 to $300 per kilowatt-hour (KWh). A midrange EV typically has a 60 KWh battery pack. So, taking, say, a battery at the average cost per KWh ($237.5 per KWh), that would cost $14,250 just for the car’s batteries.
The hope is to get the battery price down to $100 per KWh by 2025. But the MIT study explains that even meeting that price target by 2030 would require material costs to remain constant for the next 10 years while global demand for these batteries is expected to skyrocket. How likely is that, Joe?
And talk about heavy! Although the modern lithium-ion battery is four times better than the old lead-acid battery, gasoline holds 80 times the energy density. The lithium-ion battery in your cell phones weighs less than an ounce while the Tesla battery weighs 1,000 pounds.
Biden is apparently also unconcerned that China controls most of the lithium and cobalt needed to produce batteries and they are often produced with child labor and near-slave labor, and with practically no health, safety or environmental safeguards. But then, the Biden family has been heavily invested in China, so perhaps they have a financial stake in this too.
Joe tells us that he will work to develop a new fuel economy standard that goes beyond what the Obama/Biden administration put in place. But the fuel economy standards brought on by the Obama led to lighter weight and less safe vehicles. As we explained in our April 7th America Out Loud article, “Trump Administration Overturns Unsafe Obama Automobile Standards:”
“The Obama administration was effectively in partnership with overzealous environmental groups who never cared about public safety or economics. The long-term goal was simply to eliminate the use of fossil fuels at all costs.”
And Biden says he will go beyond the dangerous Obama-Biden standard.
And finally, Joe is either naïve or ignorant when it comes to electric vehicle tax credits. As we explained in our America Out Loud January 1, 2020 article, “A Rough Road Ahead For Electric Cars,”
“Up until now, the EV tax credit was granted on an honor system with no required affidavits to prove the credit was actually earned. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) recently reported that of 239,422 EV tax credits claimed between 2014 and 2018, it identified 16,510 as potentially erroneous. Some are outright frauds; others are to second owners who do not qualify or those leasing vehicles who also do not qualify. Worse yet a Congressional Research Service study showed that 80% of all EV tax credits go to households with incomes exceeding $100,000. Truly a wealth redistribution in the wrong direction that liberals should not like.”
Note: Dr. Lehr, the senior author of this article, discussed how Joe Biden’s energy and climate plan is “sheer insanity” on the Lars Larsen Show on October 23, 2020. You can listen to the 7-minute interview here.


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COMO Metropolitan Singapore marks a debut homecoming for our Singapore-founded company. It's the first time COMO Group’s signature brands – COMO Hotels and Resorts, a multi-label fashion retail space curated by Club 21, a new urban wellness space by COMO Shambhala, contemporary international dining by COMO Cuisine, as well as Michelin-starred gourmet concept by COTE Korean Steakhouse and internationally-renown patisserie Cédric Grolet — will be housed under one prestigious address: COMO Orchard.
30 Bideford Road, Singapore 229922
COMO Orchard is home to COTE Singapore, a Korean Steakhouse from Simon Kim, who has garnered Michelin stars for his restaurants in New York and Miami. Guests can also enjoy the full gamut of popular classics from COMO Cuisine, and our healthy COMO Shambhala Cuisine. We celebrate another first with Cédric Grolet who brings his signature pastries to his first patisserie in Asia.


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Global coffee prices are climbing and threatening to drive up costs at the breakfast table as the world’s biggest coffee producer, Brazil, faces one of its worst droughts in almost a century.
Prices for arabica coffee beans—the main variety produced in Brazil—hit their highest level since 2016 last month. New York-traded arabica futures have risen over 18% in the past three months to $1.51 a pound. London-traded robusta—a stronger-tasting variety favored in instant coffee—has risen over 30% in the past three months, to $1,749 a metric ton, a two-year high.
Brazil’s farmers are girding for one of their biggest slumps in output in almost 20 years after months of drought left plants to wither. Brazil’s arabica crop cycles between one stronger year followed by a weaker year. Following a record harvest in 2020, 2021 was set to be a weaker year, but the drop is more severe than expected.
“I’ve been growing coffee more than 50 years, and I’ve never seen as bad a drought as the one last year and this year,” said Christina Valle, a third-generation coffee grower in Minas Gerais, Brazil’s biggest coffee-growing state. “I normally take three months to harvest my coffee; this year it took me a month,” she said.
Brazil’s total coffee harvest this year is expected to drop by the biggest year-over-year amount since 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Its arabica crop is forecast to be almost 15 million 132-pound bags smaller than in 2020.


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S. Korea to foster halal industry to draw Muslim tourists
Posted Date: Sunday, July 10, 2016
Note from Kulanka: People who are behind the halal food maybe are not muslin at all. The money from this business can be used against muslins and innocent people..
Please do your search and learn the owners of the Halal food you see in the shopping center before giving your money.
----------------------End of the note ------------------------------
South Korea will step up efforts to increase certified halal foods and restaurants to enhance convenience for a growing number of Muslim tourists from the Middle East and Southeast Asian nations, the government said Thursday.
Halal food refers to food products that are prepared in a specific way according to Islamic Sharia law, which covers not only meat but also fruits and vegetables.
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism unveiled a set of measures to foster the halal food industry and enhance infrastructure for Muslim travelers in a trade and investment promotion meeting chaired by President Park Geun-hye.
South Korea has welcomed a growing influx of Muslim travelers thanks to the rising popularity of Korean pop culture and medical tourists from the Middle East.
"The number of tourists from the Middle East has steadily increased with the help of the Korean Wave over the past years," the ministry said in a release. "We have to enhance the tourism infrastructure to attract more tourists from the Middle East and Southeast Asian nations in the wake of the lifting of sanctions on Iran."
The number of Muslim tourists has risen from 540,000 in 2012 to 750,000 in 2014. The tourism industry projects the number could go up to 800,000 this year.
As availability of halal food is considered one of the most important things for Muslim travelers, the government said it will work with halal business communities to expand the number of certified foods and restaurants available in the nation.
Currently, only 12 restaurants are officially certified by the Korea Muslim Federation, with eight located in Seoul.
The state-run Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) has introduced a guidebook on "Muslim-friendly restaurants," but many of them are located in the Seoul metropolitan area.
As part of efforts to expand halal menus in major tourism attractions and hospitals, the government said it will publish a recipe book to show how to make Korean foods in accordance with the Islamic law.
It also plans to help Korean chicken soup and barbecue get halal certifications to export them in the Middle Eastern market.
To further draw tourists, the government will push for easing visa regulations for tourists from countries that don't have terrorist ties.
The tourism ministry said it will encourage major airports, hotels and tourism attractions to set up prayer rooms for the convenience of Muslim tourists for their daily rituals. There are 32 prayer rooms in hotels nationwide. (Yonhap)


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FORT WORTH, Texas, May 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The North American UAV market size is estimated to grow to $6,776.9 million by 2019 at an expected CAGR of 7.7% during the
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- Stoppage; cessation (of labor).
- A standing still or idling (of mills, factories, etc.).


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Uber has reported it lost US$5.2 billion ($8.02b) in the second quarter, pointing to the tough reality of navigating the high-cost gig economy as a public company.
• Uber NZ culls staff
The loss was more than the US$878 million it lost in the same quarter a year ago, even as it reported that revenue rose 14 per cent to US$3.2b.
Revenues are rising in part due to a cooling price war with rival Lyft, as both companies prioritize profitability over growth and spend less on incentives to attract riders to their apps. But while Uber is offering fewer discounts, its staggering loss showed it is still having trouble finding a path to profitability for its array of businesses - including ride-hailing, food delivery, scooters and freight.
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.
Uber has set its sights on becoming a global one-stop-shop for transportation and logistics, competing not just with ride-hailing rivals but tech giants such as Amazon. The company wants to leverage its algorithms and routing knowledge to remove what it sees as inefficiencies in passenger transportation, something that can also apply to areas including food delivery and freight.
Despite its plans to build a logistics empire, its steep losses and rocky entry to being a publicly traded company point to larger concerns about Silicon Valley "unicorn" startups, which have amassed millions of customers and raked in investor cash, but have yet to prove they can turn a profit.
Uber stock prices fell 11 per cent to US$38.07 in after-hours trading, well below the company's initial stock price of $45.
Uber has consistently said 2019 was expected to be an investment year. But the company also said it laid off 400 members of its global marketing team this summer, or about a third of its communications staff.
Lyft, on the other hand, reported better-than-anticipated revenue growth and other positive metrics on Wednesday, despite a US$644 million loss for the quarter. That sent both Lyft and Uber stocks up in regular trading Thursday.


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Updated Oct. 22
On Wednesday evening, Oct. 17, Island business members gathered at the Winnetu Oceanside Resort for the presentation of the 2018 Martha’s Business Awards given by the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce.
“It’s our tenth year,” said Nancy Gardella, executive director of the Chamber, “and it’s a very special year. What’s great about the award is that Chamber members vote for other Chamber members … I’m always excited by the number of people who vote and how interesting the selections are.
“This year we’ve made it easier for people to vote … we used to have eight awards, this year we have five and there’ve been more votes than ever before. It’s a fun way to recognize the 15 businesses that are being honored here tonight.” There are three awards in each category.
The winner of the “Marketing Guru” category was Shored Up Digital, a business that started less than a year ago. “I want to thank the Martha’s Vineyard small business community for entrusting us with being the voice of their business,” said Shored Up co-owner, Angela Prout.
J.B. Blau, owner of Copper Wok, Martha’s Vineyard Chowder Co., the Loft, and Sharky’s Cantinas won the “A Business that Gives Back to the Community” award. “Our number one give-back to people,” Blau said, “is to be open year-round in all five locations. We give back to staff and to the community … it’s a challenge but it’s been our desire since day one so we’re not going to change it.”
Kristen Gosselin, owner and creative director of KG Events & Design, a boutique planning and design firm specializing in private, corporate and destination events, won the “Turns the Ordinary into the Extraordinary” award. “This award means a lot,” said Gosselin, “because it’s voted on by Island businesses.”
Kelly Feirtag, general manager of The Ritz, won the award for “Favorite Go-To Place” on the Island. “It’s everybody’s favorite,” said Feirtag, “because everybody knows your name there. I’m really excited about the award because we’re a dive bar so it’s pretty cool to win something for being a dive bar.”
Below is a complete list of all the winning businesses:
A Business that Gives Back to the Community
Winner: Sharky’s Cantina
Honorable Mention: Vineyard Vines
Honorable Mention: Cape Cod Five Cents Savings Bank
A Business You Can Count On
Winner: Leslie’s Pharmacy
Honorable Mention: ResortMan
Honorable Mention: Rockland Trust
Favorite Go-To Place
Winner: The Ritz
Honorable Mention: The Barn Bowl & Bistro
Honorable Mention: Edgartown Meat & Fish
Turns the Ordinary into the Extraordinary
Winner: KG Events & Design
Honorable Mention: Winnetu Oceanside Resort
Honorable Mention: Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank
Winner: Shored Up Digital
Honorable Mention: Nobnocket Boutique Inn
Updated to correct the winner of Favorite Go-To Place.


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Shana Call often receives calls from her old neighbors about her husband’s new card game.
With cards revolving around neighbors who play loud music or leave their trash out for weeks, they’re concerned they were the inspiration, Call said.
“We just answer, ‘No comment,’” Call said, laughing.
Cul-De-Sac Conquest is the card game in question, and Call’s husband, Chuck, a 46-year-old UF business administration senior, is one of the game’s designers working to fund it.
The developers started a Kickstarter to fund the creation of the game, and it surpassed the initial goal of $10,000 in three days after its Oct. 15 launch. They said they now hope to raise an additional $10,000 by Nov. 14.
Andrew Birkett, a UF marketing junior, is the Cul-De-Sac Conquest creator and CEO of Atheris Games, a card-game company he started in his first year of college.
The purpose of the card game is to annoy the other players in the most creative way, said Barry Congressi, the chief technology officer at Atheris Games and one of the game’s designers.
Each player chooses a neighbor with a rage meter and then deals cards — playing loud music, having a loud dog — to make their opponents’ meters fill up and “annoy” them out of the neighborhood.
“My favorite card (in the game) is the one where someone builds a squirrel playground in their front yard,” Congressi said.
He said this card is based on a true story.
The idea for the game came after Birkett, Cul-De-Sac Conquest creator, participated in the “What’s Your Big Idea?” competition hosted by the UF Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the College of Business.
He asked his old roommate, Congressi, and his friend Chuck Call to help him create a game for the competition.
The team worked on a different game during the competition and left with additional knowledge of the gaming industry and feedback from high-level judges and entrepreneurs. This led to the creation of Cul-De-Sac, said Nola Miyasaki, the executive director for outreach and incubation at the entrepreneurship and innovation center.
“I think they’ve hit all their milestones so far, and they will be very successful,” Miyasaki said.
People can pre-order the games through Kickstarter for exclusive package expansions, such as the Not Safe For Work cards.
“One of our biggest challenges was going up to people we never met before and asking them to try our game,” Chuck Call said. “It seems kind of silly (now) that we were so nervous at first.”


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The Consumer Product Safety Commission has published a recall for certain Skip Hop brand high chairs.
The recall is for Tuo Convertible High Chairs purchased between December 2016 and September 2017.
Acrording to the CPSC, Skip Hop has received 13 reports of the legs on the high chairs detaching, resulting in two reports of bruises to children.
The chairs were sold at Babies “R” Us, Target, Kohl’s, Dillards, Amazon.com, Skiphop.com and other children specialty stores nationwide.
The affected style numbers are 304200 and 204200CN with date codes (found on the back of the chair) of HH102016, HH11/2016, HH3/2017 and HH4/2017.
Owners are being urged to stop using the products immediate, and contact Skip Hop for a free replacement.


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ZTE Nubia Z11 smartphone could be coming this June 28
So far, ZTE has released only two models in its Nubia Z11 family including the compact Z11 Mini and the larger Z11 Max phablet. The middle-ground model has been conspicuously missing until now as a teaser image for the Nubia Z11 is claiming a June 28 reveal date complete with a launch event in Beijing, China.
Earlier leaks have suggested that the Nubia Z11 will be almost borderless like its bigger and smaller siblings while carrying high-end specifications including a Snapdragon 820 SoC, 4 GB RAM, 64 GB eMMC, and a 5.5-inch FHD display with accurate "NeoVision" colors. It remains to be seen if the Chinese manufacturer will include SKU options for 6 GB RAM. Battery capacity is expected to be 2900 mAh and with an overall thickness of just 7.75 mm.
Interestingly, TENAA documents are showing another 5.5-inch FHD Nubia device. This particular model is listed with a much larger 4900 mAh battery, an octa-core MediaTek Helio P10 SoC, 3 GB RAM, and 32 GB eMMC. It's not likely to be the Nubia Z11 based on its NX541J model number, but we can expect to see it pop up again in the near future sometime after an official Nubia Z11 announcement.


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Millions of Kids’ Water Bottles Recalled [PIC]
There is a huge recall of millions of kids' water bottles due to a choking hazard. Here are the details. According to WGRZ, there is a recall of five point seven million Contigo kids' water bottles. The water bottles' silicone spout can become detached and create a choking hazard for kids.
The Contigo kids water bottles were sold all over the country in Costco, Walmart, Target and other stores along with online through various websites. They were sold from April 2018 through February 7, 2020.
There have been four hundred twenty-seven reports of the spout from the water bottles detaching. There have also been twenty-seven reports of spouts that were found in kids' mouths.
There are three sizes of water bottles. Thirteen, fourteen, and twenty-ounce ones. There were four colors involved in the recall. There are solid colors, graphics, stainless steel, and stainless steel solid colors.
Contigo said that if you have one of these water bottles, you should stop using it and take them away from children. You can contact Contigo for a new one. Call 888-262-0622.


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Frozen strawberries recalled due to hepatitis A risk
- March 19, 2023
- No Comment
Certain frozen strawberries available at Trader Joe’s, Costco and other stores shouldn’t be eaten because of the hepatitis A risk, the US Food and Drug Administration warned consumers this week.
The FDA warning includes this image of some brands and packaging.
Some lots of Kirkland Signature Organic Strawberries, Trader Joe’s Organic Tropical Fruit Blend and other brands were voluntarily recalled by two suppliers this week as the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigate an outbreak linked to the fruit.
An outbreak of hepatitis A in Washington state has hospitalized two people and infected up to five people, the FDA said in a warning on its website. The agency said patients reported eating frozen organic strawberries before becoming ill. The infections are linked to strawberries imported from certain farms in Baja California, Mexico, the FDA said.
“Consumers, restaurants and retailers should not sell, serve or eat recalled frozen strawberries. These recalled products should be returned or discarded,” the warning said. “If consumers purchased the recalled organic frozen strawberries and have eaten those berries within the past two weeks and have not been vaccinated against hepatitis A, they should contact their healthcare provider immediately.”
Other stores that stocked the frozen strawberries include Aldi and PCC Community Markets, and other brands include Made With and Simply Nature organic strawberries.
Specific details on stores, brands, lots, best buy dates, etc. are available in the FDA’s alert.
Two suppliers, California Splendor and Scenic Fruit, also released information about the recall, as did Aldi, Costco, PCC Community Markets and Trader Joe’s. They all say that hepatitis A has not been detected in their respective products, but that the recalls were “out of caution”. Made With did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
The FDA said the hepatitis A strain found in Washington state is identical to the strain that caused an outbreak in 2022.
Hepatitis A is an infection of the liver, an organ responsible for filtering blood and other important functions. Although most people make a full recovery (and many people in the US are vaccinated against the virus), symptoms can last for weeks to months and can progress to more serious illness in some people.
Symptoms include abdominal pain, dark urine, fatigue, jaundice, nausea, pale stools and vomiting, the FDA said. In some cases, symptoms may not be apparent, especially in children under the age of 6.
CNET’s Jessica Rendall contributed to this report.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions about a medical condition or health goals.


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New contract could halt EBT benefits at farmer's markets
A change in one government contract could leave many in the Metro, and around the country, without access to fresh farmer’s market produce.
"Personally speaking, having been on EBT (electronic benefits transfer) before, we used a lot of our SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits at farmers markets during the summer to be able to get that good fresh produce,” Brandon Sperry said.
Soon that might not be the case. The leading supplier of EBT card readers for farmer’s markets plans to shut down July 31. Novo Dia supplies mobile EBT card reading equipment to more than 1,700 farmer’s markets around the country, including the Gifford Park Neighborhood Market.
“We have a variety of incomes that come through our market so a lot of our vendors rely on the EBT system and the people who use the system too,” Martin Janousek, market manager, said.
The USDA awarded Financial Transaction Management the new contract to supply the card readers after Novo Dia’s expired.
So far, FTM has not provided new equipment to the markets. The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, in charge of the SNAP program, said that means EBT at farmer's markets could shut down while they wait for new card readers.
“If the farmer's market in Nebraska utilizes equipment from Novo Dia Group as the point of sale device to process the EBT transaction, they will need to obtain a new point of sale device. Novo Dia is leaving this market soon. If the farmer's market is not utilizing Nova Dia equipment, they are able to operate normally.” David Hudson, a DHHS spokesman, said.
"The vendor will only have a service lapse if the Novo Dia ends service and the Financial Transaction Management equipment is not received.”
The new service will start to take applications for equipment Saturday. That's two weeks before Novo Dia shuts down its service.
DHHS said it’s not sure how many farmer’s markets in the state could be effected, or how many people it might impact.
Those in the local markets said if they lose EBT it will hurt.
“We hear so much about food deserts and it's tough enough for people to have fresh produce,” Janousek said.
“It just lowers the number of people that can access what we have to offer and it's really disappointing,” Sperry said.
“It’s just not the same, getting it in the store. Being able to know the people who are producing your food is amazing, so that's really sad."


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Feels late in the game for this idea, no? The vaccines are here! We’re in the fourth quarter of the pandemic!
What if it’s actually halftime, though? What if it’s not even halftime because some new vaccine-resistant variant is about to crop up and run wild? Even in the best-case scenario in which the vaccines work and we bring cases way, way down, realistically we won’t approach something like normalcy until this fall. Even at a “moderate” death rate of 1,000 per day (less than a third of what we’re currently averaging), we have another … quarter million deaths to go.
There are a lot of infections still to come. A meaningful fraction of them will result in death. Some of those infections could be prevented with masks. QED: Sending masks to every American makes sense.
Watch Ron Klain, then read on.
White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain speaks with @LesterHoltNBC about the plan to send masks to every American.
“We’re gonna do whatever we can to make masks more available to people.”
— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) February 4, 2021
Remember that Trump’s administration nearly pulled the trigger on this idea a year ago. The plan, spearheaded by HHS, went far enough that the U.S. Postal Service drafted a press release to announce it. Some 650 million masks would have been mailed to American households last spring with an early rollout focused on besieged areas New York and Seattle. But it was scrapped because “[t]here was concern from some in the White House Domestic Policy Council and the office of the vice president that households receiving masks might create concern or panic,” one source told WaPo, a surreal claim considering that New York City was already in the thick of its ferocious outbreak. The real reason the White House nixed the idea, I assume, is that it might have strengthened arguments at the time that it was too soon to reopen for business, which was Trump’s top political priority.
Although it didn’t have to. It would have been child’s play for Trump to argue that masks were being mailed *because* we can’t all hunker down at home indefinitely. “Wear the mask and go about your business,” he might have said. If he had embraced masking early on and connected it to the reopening effort, God only knows how different the country’s pandemic trajectory — and results on election night — might have been.
One reason for Biden to follow through on mailing masks is that it’s a logical part of an “all hands on deck” approach to containment. If we’re going to throw everything we have at bringing down cases…
NEW: Pentagon approves the deployment of about 1,000 active duty troops to help the vaccination effort across the US, a US military officer tells @NBCNews.
— NBC Politics (@NBCPolitics) February 5, 2021
…then let’s be consistent about it. Another reason to mail masks is that the masks many of us are currently using are, well, crap. Scott Gottlieb warned about it in an op-ed in November:
A cotton mask offers far less protection than a surgical mask. If a cloth mask is all you can find, buy a thick one. Snug-fitting masks made of cotton-polyester blends will generally offer more protection. But even a very good cloth mask may only be about 30% protective; scarf or bandanna, 10% or less.
A surgical mask could offer you better protection, on the order of 60%. But here again, quality matters. Many of the masks sold on Amazon, which say they are for dust and allergens, aren’t surgical masks, even though they look like the blue masks worn by nurses and doctors. A real medical-procedure mask will be cleared by the Food and Drug Administration and designated as offering one of three levels of protection. Generally, a level 2 or level 3 medical mask is best.
I spent a little time recently googling for quality masks and couldn’t find anything I felt comfortable buying. There are Chinese versions of the N95 on Amazon but they’re littered with reviews like “SUCKS” or “KNOCKOFF.” There are surgical-looking masks too, but their provenance also seems dubious. One would hope/assume that any masks mailed by the U.S. government actually would have some quality control to them, which means many millions of people could be upgraded from the 30 percent protection they’re currently getting from their cloth masks to the 60 percent they’d get from a decent surgical mask.
Imagine that, though — a world where government cheese is the best cheese you can realistically hope to have. Hoo boy.
The last reason to send masks is because, with the super-contagious strains circulating, some people will want to double-mask for added protection. Send them a pack of 20 or whatever and they can layer a surgical mask with a cloth mask for extra filtering. How many marginal infections would that prevent? No way to know, but every infection that doesn’t happen is an entire chain of transmission that’s severed. Which will be important as the variants get a foothold and start propagating.
Exit quotation from CDC chief Rochelle Walensky, a skeptic of the mask-mailing plan: “It’s not entirely clear to me that the reason people aren’t wearing masks is because they don’t have access to them.” Yeah, unquestionably, many of these masks would go unused. There’ll be entire YouTube genres devoted to MAGA fans burning their “Biden masks” for freedom or whatever.


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Russian online retailer Ozon
is looking to raise nearly $1.0 billion in a US initial public offering
(IPO), according to regulatory paperwork filed Tuesday.
The online giant, which reported growth of 142 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2020, is aiming to capitalise on the boom in e-commerce during coronavirus lockdowns.
According to a prospectus submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), the Russian retailer will be issuing 34.5 million American depositary shares (ADS) on the Nasdaq stock exchange at between $22.50 and $27.50.
Ozon's main shareholders -- the Baring Vostok investment fund and Sistema, a conglomerate controlled by businessman Vladimir Yevtushenkov -- will be purchasing additional shares worth $135 million.
The e-commerce giant -- frequently dubbed Russia's Amazon -- said it could raise as much as $948.8 million, according to the prospectus.
A report by the independent Russian news website The Bell suggested that the company could be valued at up to $5.5 billion, a figure at the higher end of initial predictions by the Wall Street Journal.
Although the date of the IPO has not been set, Forbes Russia reported that it could take place next week.
Ozon is also considering a listing on the Moscow
On Tuesday, Ozon confirmed that it had settled an undisclosed corporate dispute with Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, for $1.0 billion roubles ($13.2 million).
The fast-growing online retailer will be one of the few Russian companies to get a listing on international stock markets
in recent decades.
Russia's e-commerce market has experience booming sales in recent years and a number of large groups, including Sberbank and China
's Alibaba, have tried to move into the market by teaming up with local internet giants Yandex and Mail.ru.


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SAN ANTONIO – More than 100 countries around the world routinely eat insects as part of their diet. The U.S. is not one of those countries.
On Thursday night, the Texas A&M Agrilife Extension in San Antonio hosted a special dinner, Insecta Fiesta, at Blue Star, where insects were the focus of the menu.
“The point of it is to incorporate insects into food and to show people that insects can be a form of food, and they are a form of sustainable agriculture,” said entomologist Molly Keck, who organized the event. “They require less water, less grain and less space to make (and have) more protein than beef, chicken or pork.”
An hors d’oeuvres course consisted of fire ant queso, waxworm guacamole and toasted mealworm salsa.
“I did really good with the queso, but took a little bit of coaxing to do the waxworm guacamole,” Julia Jonas said. “It was, surprisingly enough, not bad. A little crunchy.”
“I wish the fire ant queso had more ant in it. That's about it,” Emily Weiner said. “The waxworms were great. The mealworms were also really good too.”
Keck said the focus of the dinner wasn’t to get people to drop regular sources of protein, but to see the potential of incorporating unique protein sources into their diets. The main course had tortillas with cricket flour added, and the dessert dish had cinnamon and sugar-coated crickets that were raised in Austin.
“While we think it's gross to eat insects, we eat their very close cousins,” Keck said. “We eat shrimp and crab and lobsters and we're totally fine with that, so it's really just a natural next step.”
“I don't think I'm going to run out to the grocery store and start buying them, but like I said, you really don't taste anything as far as bugs,” Mike Jonas said.
Students from Bexar County’s 4-H food challenge teams helped with the dinner preparation and service.


text: Neither Google nor the big car manufacturers will likely be the first to put the keys to self-driving car technology in consumers’ hands. That honor will go to an eight-person startup called Cruise. Preorders start on Monday for installation in early 2015. “A third of the American workforce spends more than an hour a day commuting. It’s boring and dangerous. Now that we have the technology, it’s almost our responsibility to do something with it,” Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt told Re/code. Cruise makes an aftermarket kit for newer Audi cars that allows them to drive on autopilot on highways in the San Francisco Bay Area, where it has already mapped the roads. It’s like cruise control on steroids — with the ability to follow the road as it curves, stay in a lane, accelerate and brake according to traffic. The Cruise kit costs $10,000, and 50 will be sold in the first run.


text:
The extruder is a 3D printer’s most crucial component, but it’s also a part that wears out with use and needs to be replaced often. That’s why MakerBot just released the brand new Smart Extruder+, with a promise of “better print performance over a longer period of time” that should satisfy even the most active makers.
Smart Extruder+ is a swappable extruder head that is compatible with fifth-generation MakerBot 3D printers. With frequent use or extended ownership, extruders tend to be the first part of a 3D printer to make it to the parts graveyard. The Smart Extruder+ brings enhanced thermal management to the game, as well as an extended PTFE tube (the part that feeds PLA filament into the printer’s nozzle), the company claims. With the new extruder, print start up and the build plate leveling process that allows for printer calibration are both faster.
Smart Extruder+ also features an enhanced sensor system that can keep makers up to date on print progress by communicating with MakerBot Desktop and MakerBot Mobile apps.
MakerBot and parent company Stratasys conducted 160,000 cumulative testing hours on the Smart Extruder+, they claim. That works out to about 18 years, all made up of 5,800 total prints on various fifth-gen MakerBot machines. Throughout the extensive testing phase, the Smart Extruder+ performed reliably for over 700 hours on a MakerBot Replicator Desktop 3D printer. Over 90 percent of Smart Extruder+ units printed successfully beyond 1,200 of print time, according to MakerBot.
With so many promises boasting the higher performance and enhanced reliability of the new extruder, it’s promising that MakerBot has extended its warranty to back these claims. Past MakerBot warranties have lasted for three-month periods; the warranty on the Smart Extruder+ is six months. The new Smart Extruder+ will cost $199, but current owners of MakerBot’s fifth-gen 3D printers can get the new extruder for $99 for a limited time. New customers purchasing Fifth Generation 3D printers can also get the $99 deal on the Smart Extruder+.


text:
Dollar-pegged stablecoin Tether (USDT) reached a new landmark, hitting a cumulative $20 billion market cap across various blockchains over the weekend.
USDT is the most widely used stablecoin in the crypto industry and continues to be the on-off-ramp of choice for fiat-to-bitcoin conversions.
For comparison, Tether’s market capitalisation is technically higher than Iceland’s entire gross domestic product.
Across the spectrum of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins have been doing well, with over $26 billion locked in various dollar-pegged assets, per data from CoinGecko.
At current valuations, Tether dominates the USD stablecoin market, commanding nearly 80% of the entire market. The stablecoin is issued across multiple blockchains such as Tron and OMG but is predominantly based on Ethereum. Just today, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino also hinted that USDT might also be issued on the bitcoin lightning network in the weeks ahead.
Traders find USDT particularly useful for moving money around freely without having to go through the lengthy and cumbersome processes that come with traditional finance. Since its official launch in 2015, the circulating supply of USDT grew to $2 billion in 2017—representing a massive 1,000% since then.
Read more: https://chrisoncrypto.com/press-releases/f/usd-tether-hits-20-billion-market-cap-as-cbdcs-loom


text:
Microsoft unveils 'Surface' tablet computer
Published 06/18/2012, Associated Press
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Microsoft has unveiled Surface, a tablet computer to compete with Apple's iPad.Word count: 415
The full article is available to newspaper subscribers. If you are a subscriber please log in to continue reading.


text:
Vietnamese exporters are finding it difficult to ship their products to China, where tightened Covid-19 measures are doubling transportation time and quadrupling costs.
Since the beginning of this year mango exporter Thanh Tung of the southern province of Dong Thap has been unable to export to China and only been able to sell his fruits domestically.
He blamed it on the stringent restrictions, with some cities locked own.
“Many farmers have stopped harvesting mangoes as prices have fallen to very low levels and there are no buyers”.
Another exporter in the southern province of Long An, who asked not be identified, said the transportation time to China has doubled due to delayed customs procedures.
He has stopped exporting to China and is looking for other options.
The recent lockdowns in Shanghai and other Chinese cities have brought fresh challenges to Vietnamese exporters who were already facing difficulties in sending their goods across the border since the end of last year.
Forty six cities are currently under full or partial lockdown, affecting 343 million people, Reuters reported Friday.
Bloomberg said containers in Shangha port have to wait 12.1 days before trucks come to pick them up, three times the time it used to take at the end of March.
Vo Quan Huy, director of banana export company Huy Long An, said a shortage of containers causes his export orders to be delayed by days.
His employees have to work even at night as container arrival schedules are unpredictable, he said.
The cost of shipping the fruit to China has nearly quadrupled from a year ago to VND7,500 per kilogram, he said.
“We made profits in the first four months, but margins have largely been eaten up by the rising costs”.
Yet he is not trying to find other markets, and is instead looking for ways to cut costs.
“We cannot switch to a new market whenever difficulties arise. We need to learn to adapt”.
China was Vietnam’s second biggest export market behind the U.S. in the first quarter at $13.7 billion.
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text:
MINNEAPOLIS, April 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Delphax Technologies Inc. (Pink Sheets:DLPX), a global provider of high-speed digital monochrome printing equipment, today announced plans to enter the color printing arena through a partnership with Memjet, a San Diego-based developer of high-speed color printing technologies.
"Our collaboration will introduce Memjet's disruptive technology in color production to the commercial printing industry in a robust digital print system engineered and manufactured by Delphax Technologies," said Dieter Schilling, Delphax president and chief executive officer. "Memjet has created a print head that represents an entirely new category of digital print technology—a major step forward in speed and economy of high-quality color production. We're excited about joining Memjet on the leading edge of this development."
Delphax plans a product introduction for Drupa 2012, the largest international exhibition of new printing equipment held every four years, in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Memjet achieves an unprecedented combination of high-speed and high-resolution color production by putting more than 70,000 ink nozzles on a single print head. The print head spans the entire width of a page, allowing Memjet-powered printers to deliver more than 700 million drops of ink per second.
The partnership between Delphax and Memjet brings together two companies that hold "world's fastest" titles – Delphax for its toner-based digital monochrome printers and Memjet for its ink-based digital color print heads.
"Delphax Technologies has the industry experience, international reach and engineering expertise that make it an ideal OEM partner for us," said Sean Marske, president of Memjet Labels. "It is a highly innovative company in its own right, establishing a strong competitive position within the commercial printing industry by providing its customers with the cost and performance advantages of high-speed digital equipment."
"The addition of high-speed color capability is an exciting and essential strategic advance for Delphax," Schilling said. "Digital color is a segment of the printing market that has grown despite the recession, and it is projected to gain steadily in share of revenues from equipment, supplies and services.
"Our 30 years of serving the printing industry gives us a profitable base of operations and a solid foundation for the kind of innovation that we are pursuing in our collaboration with Memjet. Delphax was launched through a cooperative application of new technology, and we believe that Memjet's unprecedented combination of high speed and high quality provides a similar opportunity on a larger scale."
About Delphax Technologies Inc.
Delphax Technologies Inc. is a global leader in the design, manufacture and delivery of advanced digital print production systems based on its patented electron-beam imaging (EBI) technology. Delphax digital presses deliver industry-leading throughput for both roll-fed and cut-sheet printing environments. These products are extremely versatile and handle a wide range of substrates from ultra lightweight paper to heavy stock. Delphax provides digital printing solutions to publishers, direct mailers and other printers that require systems capable of supporting a wide range of commercial printing applications. The company also licenses and manufactures EBI technology for OEM partners that create differentiated product solutions for additional markets. There are currently installations using Delphax EBI technology in more than 50 countries worldwide. The company is headquartered in Minneapolis, with subsidiary offices in Canada, the United Kingdom and France. The company's common stock is currently quoted over the counter under the symbol DLPX.PK. Additional information is available on the company's website at www.delphax.com.
Memjet is the global leader in color printing technologies that provide remarkable speeds and affordability. The company supplies technologies and components to OEM partners across the printing industry. Memjet maintains its corporate office in San Diego, and has offices in Dublin, Sydney, Taipei, Singapore and Boise, Idaho. The company is privately held. For more information, please visit www.memjet.com.
SOURCE Delphax Technologies Inc.


text:
Mi 10 launch in India on May 8th it’s a 5G mobile featured with 6.67-inch super AMOLED curved display, Snapdragon 865 processor, 108MP Quad rear & 20MP selfie cameraRead More
Category: Mi 10
The Mi 10 launch date in India is now confirmed to be launch within this month on 31st March, 2020...Read More
Xiaomi Mi 10 series will reportedly launching soon in India. The Xiaomi Mi 10 India launch in two...Read More
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text:
If you’re a social video platform, and you’re looking for a launch date for a major ecommerce expansion in the United States, November and December are good months to choose. According to The Financial Times, TikTok is looking to roll out live shopping in the United States during the holiday season.
The FT report claims that TikTok will enlist a partner to provide a “turnkey solution” for its ecommerce push. The app has reportedly enlisted TalkShopLive, a live shopping startup that snagged $6 million in VC funding last year. Should the deal go through, TalkShopLive would provide TikTok with technology that would let U.S.-based users sell products on live streams. To encourage adoption, TikTok could cover the 10% commission TalkShopLive takes from all sales made on its platform.
“When it comes to market expansion for TikTok Shop we are always guided by demand and are constantly exploring new and different options for how we can best serve our community, creators and merchants in markets around the world,” reads a TikTok statement shared by FT. “These efforts include exploring partnerships which further support a seamless ecommerce experience for merchants, which is an important part of our ecosystem.”
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There’s another reason why TikTok is looking to outsource its ecommerce development: The company’s in-house efforts to build out its TikTok Shop brand have produced mixed results. The app often drives viewers to purchases, and it has spawned a massive creator economy in Asia, but its live shopping expansion flopped in the West earlier this year.
In July, the Financial Times reported on the discord that doomed TikTok Shop in the U.K. Among other issues, the ecommerce platform delivered low traffic and insufficient sales. Local influencers stopped bothering with the Shop, and TikTok’s British workforce reportedly clashed with Chinese leadership. The consensus, according to one employee, was that the market “just isn’t there yet.”
The stateside market revs up around Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that’s when TikTok is most likely to test the ecommerce waters in the U.S. The platform is reportedly looking to bring “large brands” on board in hopes of drawing in American consumers and succeeding where some of its rivals have failed. Facebook, for example, recently shut down its live shopping platform.
FT noted that no contracts have been signed, so the agreement between TikTok and TalkShopLive is not yet set in stone. If all goes according to plan, TikTok Shop could launch in the U.S. as soon as November.


text:
Lenovo Group switches on to smart TV
Lenovo Group, the world's second-largest supplier of personal computers, plans to start its foray into the so-called 'smart TV' market on the mainland.
'It is our plan to roll out some products [in the market] within a year,' Lenovo chief financial officer Wong Wai-ming said yesterday. 'We're looking at this very seriously in terms of what other [strategic] relationships we can establish.'
He said the initiative would be part of the consumer strategy and expansion efforts under the company's Mobile Internet and Digital Home (MIDH) business unit, which was formed in January this year to oversee the creation of mobile phones, media tablets and smart televisions.
According to market research firm IHS iSuppli, smart televisions support internet access and interactive features. In contrast, the traditional TV model offers one-way broadcast transmissions that are viewed by a passive audience.
Wong described the smart TV as another device format that 'leverages PC technology', just as had been achieved in smartphones and media tablets. 'We're very bullish,' he said. 'This is a very large consumer market [segment]. That's why we set up MIDH to study what are the business opportunities here.'
In March, Hong Kong-listed Lenovo sparked increased speculation about its ambitions in the smart TV field after signing a strategic deal with Shanghai Oriental Media Group (SMG) and its Shanghai Radio & Television Station unit to co-operate in mobile internet video services.
'This agreement will marry the most innovative products from Lenovo with the best in mainstream Chinese cultural content from SMG. The mobile internet and digital home sector are keys to our future, and this partnership marks an important step toward our success in these fields,' Lenovo chief executive Yang Yuanqing said at that time.
As part of the deal, group subsidiary Lenovo (Beijing) and SMG's BesTV established a joint venture called Shiyun Network Tech. This venture will create what the partners claim as the mainland's first so-called cloud-computing platform for video services accessible across internet-linked televisions, personal computers, media tablets and smartphones.
Yang had pointed out that consumers were 'no longer satisfied with traditional television'. He also forecast a population of more than 10 million consumers on the mainland will use internet-linked televisions in the next two to three years.
Wong said Lenovo had the capability 'to dominate the [domestic] smart TV market because we are designing products for mainland consumers'. Its strategy of developing devices for the mainland before other markets was previously used for its first mobile phone and media tablet.
Shares of Lenovo, whose third-quarter net profit rose 88 per cent to US$143.92 million, were up 0.55 per cent at HK$5.53 yesterday.


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01:19 duration 1 minute 19 seconds
Virginia Tech pledges to uphold Community…
Virginia Tech pledges to uphold Community Wellness Commitment
Hokies throughout Blacksburg, Roanoke, and Northern Virginia take the Community Wellness Commitment to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
01:00 duration 1 minute 0 seconds
Best Practices For Grocery Shopping During…
Best Practices For Grocery Shopping During Covid-19 Pandemic
Robert Williams, professor of Food Science and Technology, goes over the best practices for staying safe at the grocery store during the Covid-19 pandemic.


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Alibaba Group’s logistics arm, Cainiao Smart Logistics Network, unveils new logistics technology enabling same-day delivery from China to 11 Asian countries.
Cainiao has now fully implemented its ‘Apollo’ proprietary logistics technology across 11 Asian countries, enhancing the parcel processing capacity nearly 10-fold during peak periods when hundreds of millions of parcels are processed. Customers in these countries will be able to receive parcels from China as soon as the same day when an order is placed.
The system has now been adopted by e-commerce and logistics partners across 11 Asian countries including: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with the estimated coverage of one billion users.
The full implementation leads to 50 per cent increase in delivery accuracy as well as 10 per cent reduction in the average cost through its smart order splitting, route optimisation and pricing technologies.
Developed and implemented by Cainiao, the Apollo system was launched to establish a highly-efficient logistics network and operations standardisation across different businesses of the Alibaba Group and its partners.
The core algorithm can be constantly re-iterated and optimised based on changing business needs and environment, the logistics company says.
Cainiao notes the development process spanned six months, and involved a team comprising 600 developers and engineers. The Apollo team’s digitalisation initiative leveraged big data and intelligent algorithms to optimise various objectives based on parcel location, destination, cost considerations and partner logistics efficiency.
As one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets in the world, Southeast Asia is projected to achieve a 23 per cent compound annual growth to reach USD 53 billion in 2023 according to Forrester Analytics.
But, inadequate local logistics infrastructure often results in a long delivery time and high cost. A survey by iPrice Group shows some 34 per cent of consumers in Southeast Asia are unsatisfied with their current delivery services. Cainiao notes that because customer satisfaction is a key factor for customer retention, optimising the delivery experience is crucial to improving customer lifetime value.
Weicai Chen, project manager of Apollo says: ”Southeast Asia is a dynamic market which is home to a large number of e-commerce and logistics firms, but its overall logistics user experience needs improvements in order to remain competitive and efficient.
“We are committed to digitalising the whole industry by upgrading its logistics technology and infrastructure with our local partners. With Apollo, we will be able to drive the integration of logistics capabilities with e-commerce strategy to cope with the e-commerce boom in the region.”


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The new PlayStation 5 hasn’t come out yet — it doesn’t even have a specific release date — but a few YouTubers have gotten their hands on it, including Dave Lee from the Dave2D channel. Lee posted his teardown of the console yesterday, and if you’ve been curious about how that detachable disc drive works, this is the best look you’ll get at it without buying the $499.99 PS5 yourself later this month.
After Lee pries off the PS5’s plastic side cover, you can see the drive sitting there with three screws staring back at you. I thought they were pentalobe screws at first, but a later zoomed-in shot shows they’re just standard crosshead screws. Philips head, if you like. Okay, no surprises there. Good.


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À propos of the observations I made the other day, I found this editorial on Toyota’s plan to re-locate its US headquarters from California to Texas interesting, saddening, and discouraging:
Toyota wanted out of California for many reasons: high taxes, steep operations costs and unpredictable state politics. The automaker reportedly had kicked the tires on several locations in Texas as well as in Denver, Atlanta and Charlotte, N.C. And Toyota’s not the only one racing for the exits. In recent years, more than 250 companies have bolted from California, and relocation experts in that state say Texas was their No. 1 destination.
“When you look at the whole package, it’s difficult to be a business here,” said Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto, whose city is the big job loser in Toyota’s move to North Texas.
Toyota has deep pockets and could expand anywhere on its own coin, but Texas made a strong case sealed with a handsome dowry. The benefit to North Texas comes from high-paying corporate jobs and the multiplier effect of new home purchases and countless other spending gains.
You can hardly blame Toyota for its decision but this kind of bidding war is at best a zero-sum game for the country. It’s good for Texans, bad for Californians, meanwhile producing disruption and upheaval.
Oh, de boll weevil am a little black bug,
Come from Mexico, dey say,
Come all de way to Texas,
Jus’ a-lookin’ foh a place to stay,
Jus’ a-lookin’ foh a home,
Jus’ a-lookin’ foh a home.