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In light of coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic impacts on their supply chains, organizations around the world are wrestling with what the new normal looks like for them. Yossi Sheffi, Ph.D., Elisha Gray II professor of engineering systems at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has an even better description of that environment, which he has aptly titled his new e-book, The New (Ab)Normal: Reshaping Business and Supply Chain Strategy Beyond Covid-19.
More than just a primer on how supply chains have been impacted — from workplace changes to supply and demand challenges to financial concerns to governmental policies — the book delves into the opportunities presented by the pandemic and what the future supply chain environment might look like. It offers examples of how organizations have been revamping their supply chains through risk mitigation, as well as insights on how companies have adapted and created agility in their quest for economic sustainability.
Among the book’s top messages:
1) Supply chain management has been elevated within organizations and in society. There has been a realization that it is a complex function that “makes life possible,” says Sheffi. “Nobody used to know what supply chain management was, but due to the pandemic, now everybody knows what it is.”
2) The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technology, and many of these technologies are aiding in innovation, manufacturing flexibility and supply chain visibility. Support from top management has helped reduce implementation hurdles, Sheffi says.
Consider, for example, the speed at which retailers have improved their e-commerce presence and adopted omnichannel capabilities, he says. “Retailers suddenly realized that they had to move to e-commerce or go out of business,” he says. They also recognized that to remain economically viable they needed to (1) ensure all their merchandise was available online and continually updated and (2) offer a variety of delivery and payment options, he says.
E-commerce platforms like Etsy, in which artisans sell directly to consumers, have enabled smaller retailers to compete against larger online retailers, Sheffi says. They “offer a dynamic and flexible retailing channel for selling in more volatile and less predictable environments,” he notes in the book. Such sites also enable companies to quickly respond to trends and needs. “Etsy, for example, within weeks had 60,000 people on the platform selling masks,” Sheffi says.
3) Collaboration with suppliers is a critical component of the new (ab)normal supply chain environment. It can determine whether a company has adequate supply, as well as aid with innovation and other value-add opportunities.
Companies often debate the value of supplier relationships and collaboration, Sheffi says, and in good times, getting the best cost often drives supplier selection. “However, organizations in general are starting to look at other objectives, namely, assurance of supply,” he says. “Whether they need more inventory, to move operations or sourcing out of China, or to develop better supplier relationships — all of this contributes to how organizations should not worry about getting the lowest piece price possible but about being able to sustain their operations economically.”
Good supplier relationships can elevate organizations, especially during a crisis, he says: “Demand could be too high, or there’s not enough supply, so the question is who gets the supply. The one who gets it is the organization with the trusted, long-term relationship.”
In the book, Sheffi notes: “COVID-19 proved we are all dependent on each other. … those familiar with supply chains knew the potential power of all the interconnecting pieces to do almost anything if one connected the right pieces and synchronized their activities.”
Sheffi adds that there is a human-interaction element that’s paramount to developing good supplier relationships and collaboration. Existing relationships can be carried out through virtual meetings, at least for a while, he says.
“However, creating new relationships with say, a new supplier in China, requires flying there and meeting with them,” Sheffi says. “You have to negotiate hard — and then have dinner with them. It’s part of creating trust — because at the end of the day, people don’t trust companies, they trust people.
“You have to look people in the eye, look at the product and decide if you want a relationship. I just don’t see it not happening. There is no other way to do it. It is too easy to get on the wrong side of the relationship if you just do it in a virtual meeting. (In-person interaction) will come back — and relatively quickly — the minute there is some semblance of a vaccine or therapeutic measures. People have to feel safe.”


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While he thinks Dell buying EMC makes sense financially, Sun Microsystems co-founder, Vinod Khosla, has little faith in the merged company's ability to innovate.
Samsung remains the top smartphone vendor worldwide, followed by Apple.
Microsoft combines the attack protection, detection and response features built into Windows 10, Office 365, Azure and the Microsoft Enterprise Mobility Suite to help enterprises improve their operational security posture.
Adobe Systems' Flash plugin gets no love from anyone in the security field these days. A new study released Monday shows just how much Flash is favored by cybercriminals to sneak their malware onto computers.
Microsoft really wants people to get on the Windows 10 bandwagon, so much so that the company plans to start automatically downloading its new operating system to some users' computers next year.
IBM may be the fastest-growing vendor in the worldwide security software market, but it's also the owner of the world's largest source of spam.
Atlassian's JIRA project-tracking tool has long been a popular choice among developers creating new software, but on Tuesday the company revealed a broader strategy by releasing three new editions tailored for different audiences.
At the BoxWorks conference, the Apple CEO explained why the former foes could gain more by collaborating than by competing.
Blackberry placed rivalries aside and purchased Good Technology as the phone maker moves further into the mobile security market.
Despite their years-long rivalry, Microsoft and VMware have teamed in a new partnership that's part of Microsoft's collaborative strategy shift.
Windows 10 Enterprise has been installed in about 1.5 million business devices in less than a month. Now Microsoft is considering how to best offer patch information to users of its new OS.
The Mozilla Foundation wants to make sure that the Web remains a platform where anyone can create content, rather than just a place to consume information and services created by others.
IBM is looking to boost its mainframe business with a Linux push that includes new hardware, software and the founding of the Open Mainframe Project. The company is also contributing mainframe code to the open source community.
It's for Android devices and available currently in four languages: Bengali, Brazilian Portuguese, English and Indonesian
A computer glitch that disrupted airline traffic in some parts of the U.S. over the weekend was possibly the result of a software upgrade, the Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday.
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Pinterest (NYSE: PINS) shares gained more than 2 percent to $29.51each on Wednesday after receiving a neutral rating from analysts at Rosenblatt Securities and Susquehanna Financial.
However, over the past seven trading days, the stock price of Pinterest dropped from $34.26 on April 29. Investors are still happy with its stock’s performance since its initial public offering (IPO). Its current trading price is $10 plus higher than its $19 offering price.
Pinterest is facing a very competitive digital marketplace
PINS shares have the potential to climb higher, around 11 percent to $32 a piece, according to Rosenblatt analyst Mark Zgutowicz.
In a note to investors, Zgutowicz wrote, “We initiate PINS with a Neutral rating and $32 DCF-based price target, reflecting ~11% upside from last night’s closing price. While we find Pinterest’s visual discovery platform truly unique and its mid-to-low funnel return prospects for advertisers promising, we also acknowledge an incredibly competitive digital ad marketplace and daily time spent on social platforms nearly maxed out.”
Additionally, Zgutowicz explained that their price target for Pinterest’s sock “reflects a reasonably aggressive assumption” for its monthly active users (MAU and average revenue per users (ARPU) growth particularly in the United States where competition is strong.”
Pinterest’s “path to monetization is relatively straightforward”
On the other hand, Susquehanna Financial analyst Shyam Patil, who initiated a neutral rating on PINS shares, commented it’s difficult to compare Pinterest with its peers because of the lack of transparency around its business particularly its engagement metrics.
In a note to clients, Patil wrote, “Time spent is obviously the much more important metric, but Pinterest doesn’t provide that either.” However, he noted that the company “has shown good monetization ability and has a realistic shot of achieving Twitter-like monetization levels over the coming years.”
“The question is whether Pinterest’s superior data, intent signals and targeting outweigh the likely engagement disparity with Twitter. Our checks largely suggest that the path to monetization is relatively straightforward and generally a matter of execution.”


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- World markets soften
World wheat markets have sunk lower during the week, which has prompted Egypt to tender for additional supplies seeking lower levels. Markets continue to wait for trade flow data following the protracted US government shutdown. EU wheat has mirrored the wider markets and fell to two month lows on Thursday but is now one of the cheapest origins for world buyers.
- Slow demand
Domestic markets remain quiet. Consumers are generally absent on both feed and milling markets, with the spot month heavily supplied and some end users seeking to roll contracts forward. New crop continues to weaken whilst field conditions remain good with no severe weather conditions impacting UK or EU crops so far this campaign.
- Old crop feed barley prices shrink
The continued lack of export interest finally brought out concerns in the long holders, who have sold more aggressively this week into limited demand. Values have slumped and driven the discount to wheat back to nearly £18 under wheat. Internationally, prices are lower too. For much of 2018, feed barley has been at a premium to milling wheat, which over the long term is not sustainable. It is now back to a discount to most world feed wheat prices, which is its normal position. Some stability should now be expected and those international buyers who were holding off buying more old crop could show some more interest now.
- Malting barley market awaits sowings
Old crop trade in the UK is very limited. Trade shorts and farm longs are not always compatible and it is taking time to put business together. New crop-wise, sowings are complete in Spain, around 25% in France and 5% in England. Until more is sown, expect little action by buyers or sellers. English brewing maltsters have purchased some spring barley supplies since Christmas that represented a £20 to 28/t premium over feed barley depending on location. The variety Planet looks to capture nearly 50% of the English brewing area, much of it gained from the higher N variety Propino.
- Little movement in price
Oilseeds markets have moved sideways across the week with no real direction either way. The benchmark Paris MATIF futures have traded in a very narrow range giving buyers and sellers little opportunity. Sterling continues to fluctuate as the ongoing uncertainty around Brexit prevails. Imports of rapeseed from Australia have been traded and are arriving in large volumes into the Northern European crushers. This is unlikely to spark a move to higher prices in the short term as crushers are covered.
- China active in soy beans
The Chinese have been actively buying US soybeans over the past couple of weeks with talk in the market that up to 5 million tonnes have traded. The renewed purchasing of US soybeans coming from China is badly needed as the supply side remains very heavy in the USA but the view is that the Chinese have moved because production numbers in South America are being trimmed due to weather issues in Argentina and Brazil.
- Demand continues for old crop beans
The old crop bean market remains very tight as farm supplies around the country dry up. There is still demand for both feed and human consumption beans, with premiums for the best beans now valued well over £70/tn. Any growers with bean balances unsold would be well advised to get them re-tested as there is still plenty of demand for variable quality beans.
- High premiums for new crop beans
Looking forward to new crop, it is likely that Egypt will be a keen buyer of early supplies and we expect early premiums to be higher than in previous years. The new Frontier bean contract enables growers to lock into a high feed base as well as achieving further premiums for protein or human consumption. Please contact your local Frontier Farm Trader for further details or click here.
- Nitrogen pricing a hot topic
As we say goodbye to January 2019 and February is well underway, Nitrogen pricing continues to be a hot topic. CF Nitram is currently trading at a premium to imported Ammonium Nitrate, primarily due to recent currency changes. This has resulted in importers relooking at Lithan/Pulan prices, which are now just a few pounds cheaper than Nitram. The question is whether CF will review February Nitram prices or wait to see whether currency flips around as we get closer to 29th March. Either way, if the weather improves and farmers start spreading nitrogen next week, spot demand for trucks will outweigh any pricing issues.
Urea enquiries continue with prices continuing to weaken on the world market. Stockholders of Urea in the UK are trying to reduce positions with one eye on 29th March. If the UK market continues to slide, some reports suggest UK granular urea stocks will be priced competitively enough to load back on a ship and export back to Europe.
The firmer pound has reduced the price of TSP/DAP/MOP a little but again, demand for spot use means it's essential to place orders as soon as possible to give logistics a chance to make a timely delivery. Interest in Polysulphate/PotashPlus/PK Plus continues to grow as farmers look to decouple Nitrogen and sulphur products/systems.
- Focus on Nitrogen Use Efficiency
Frontier's 3D thinking seminars continue; this week's events were in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. Next week we travel to Scotland, Dorset and Hampshire, where our nutrition teams will be talking about Nitrogen Use Efficiency and how growers can move from 60% to 80%, significantly improving the bottom line. For more information or to attend a 3D seminar, speak to your local Frontier contact, or click here.
View markets, set price alerts, manage contracts and take advantage of extended trading hours with MyCropMarketing, Frontier's online grain marketing platform.


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09:05 EST, 27 March 2014
12:45 EST, 27 March 2014
She’s the creative director for popular clothing brand J.Crew and on Wednesday Jenna Lyons encapsulated everything the brand stands for when she paraded her own unique style.
The 44-year-old president of the American retailer took centrestage in her signature thick-rimmed glasses and mix-and-match preppy attire that has helped skyrocket the brand to international fashion success.
She held her own beside towering Victoria Secrets beauty Karlie Kloss at a New York bash celebrating the brand’s new travel suit on Wednesday.
Great look: J.Crew’s Jenna Lyons took centre stage in her signature thick-rimmed glasses and mix-and-match preppy attire beside model Karlie Kloss as the retailer launched a creaseless travel suit in New York on Wednesday
Jenna rocked a simple white T-Shirt and loose ankle swingers which she teamed with a pair of scarlet suede heels and paraded a customary parted hairstyle.
Meanwhile, six-foot tall Kylie, 21, stunned in a stripy dress and cream coat which she teamed with shiny strappy heels.
The glittering party saw filmmaker Casey Neistat’s short commercial showcasing the new travel suit for J.Crew’s Ludlow collection.
Rocking it: Jenna is known for her flair for fashion that helped rocket J.Crew to international success
The award-winning filmmaker created a first person piece called ‘Travel With Style,’ an original video that highlights how the Ludlow Traveler breaks the mould of the typical buttoned-up look.
Inspired by his adventures, Casey is seen boarding nine flights to eight cities and portrays what travelling in style means to him whilst showcasing the crease-resistant suit.
From Ixtapa to Big Bear, snowboarding to surfing, Casey wears the specially woven, three-ply Italian wool suit throughout his journeys covering 11,000 miles.
Style icons: J.Crew’s head of menswear Frank Muytjens is flanked by creative director and model Jenna
Copy cats! Jenna’s style is mimicked by fans who queued up for selfies with J.Crew’s creative director at the party in New York
The commercial’s manly chunky knit and plaid outfits leave viewers with a warm and fuzzy holiday feeling.
J Crew, which is worn often by Michelle Obama and her daughters, has about 450 stores throughout the U.S. and is run by industry executive Mickey Drexler.
Jenna has been creative director since 2008 and is often credited with revamping the retailer, which reported about $2.4billion in annual sales last year.
Working the camera: From left fashion writer Derek Blasberg, Jenna and Karlie beam broadly for the camera at the J.Crew celebrates Casey Neistat and Travel with Style party
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Chinese customs is set to host two online auctions this week including more than 100,000 bottles of confiscated wines.
Shantou Customs of Guangdong province is auctioning off 82,215 bottles of wines later this week on JD.com, one of China’s biggest online shopping platforms. The wines are expected to fetch a minimum of three million RMB (370,000 GBP).
Photos show that the wines include Bordeaux wines with badly damaged labels. There was no suggestion that the wines themselves were faulty.
On the same platform, Xiamen Customs of Fujian province is auctioning 19,349 bottles of Australian wines. It expects to get a minimum of 1.8m RMB (220,000 GBP).
It is a common practice for Chinese Customs to auction most of its confiscated goods and hand in the profits to the national treasury.
Many of the local customs in cities include Dalian (Liaoning), Huangpu (Guangdong province), Nanning (Guangxi), Ningbo (Zhejiang) and Chengdu (Sichuan) set up online auction channels with either JD.com or Alibaba’s Taobao.com since the end of last year, selling various confiscated products including cars and industrial materials.
The move marks the latest attempt of Chinese customs to make its auctioning process on confiscated products transparent while reducing the costs.
The wines being auctioned by the Shantou Customs were ‘confiscated legally’ by the local authorities, said the official statement.
The photos from the local Customs showed that many of these wines have seriously damaged labels, though no details were disclosed by the local authority about the source of these wines.
Any individual ‘with full capacity for civil conduct’, legal person or organisation willing to pay a 1m deposit can take part in this online auction.
Those interested were given two days beforehand to examine the products, according to the local customs’ online statement.
*The auction page can be found here: http://paimai.jd.com/101551003
Xiamen Customs told local media Xiamen Daily that it has confiscated over 19,000 bottles from a Chinese importer who has fraudulently reported only 1/3 of the actual sales price on these wines in order to avoid paying the full amount of tax.
The managing director of the importer fled to Australia but was recently arrested, said the official.
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COMEBACK KID: Eric Bergere, who shuttered his ready-to-wear business last year, is hopping back into the fashion saddle. Aigle, an outdoorsy French brand popular with hunters, sailors and weekend warriors with milder pursuits, tapped Bergere to design a capsule collection of more urban styles for fall to help celebrate its 150th birthday. And Bergere’s signature brand will also be reborn in September in Japan. The designer just signed an agreement to design women’s and men’s shirts exclusively for the hip chain United Arrows.
SHORT RHYTHM: Bobby Short was spotted lunching with Casey Ribicoff and others on Friday at La Grenouille, but was somewhat singing the blues. Short walked in on a chic cane because he’s suffering from neuropathy in his foot. One drawback has been that Short hasn’t been able to walk his new dog, a black poodle. “It’s a real bore,” he moaned of the affliction. “Especially for someone with my natural rhythm.”
MEET AND GREET: Lisa Kulson’s new spring collection for Kulson has been flying off the shelves so quickly at Bergdorf Goodman that the former designer for Theory flew in from Florence over the weekend to make her first retail appearance at the department store’s “Saturdays on 5ive” series. She joins the ranks of designers Diane Von Furstenberg and Rebecca Taylor, who both made appearances on the fifth floor recently.
KARL’S METAL MADNESS: When Chrome Hearts’ Richard Stark got word that Karl Lagerfeld had picked clean Colette’s stock of the ornately, goth-flavored silver line — including a hair ring and tie ring — the news made him pause, kind of. “I think it’s great when anybody buys a piece of our stuff no matter who they are,” he said Friday from his Hollywood studio, where even the door screw heads are Chrome Hearts’ signature cross and silver motif. “But it’s extra special when somebody like him buys. I mean, he’s a great artist himself.” But don’t expect Stark, who’s picked up more than a few Lagerfeld designs for his fashion-loving wife, to start broadcasting it. “It’s cool, but I’m not going to tell the world.”


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LSU sold out of Cotton Bowl tickets
BATON ROUGE - LSU has sold out of its entire allotment of Cotton Bowl tickets before the public even had a chance at them.
According to the LSU Ticket Office, the school had 12,500 tickets available and received more than 15,000 requests from season ticket holders and students.
"We sold every ticket we had to this game and they went quick," said assistant athletic director for ticket operations Brian Broussard on the school's website. "There is obviously a lot of excitement about going to play in the Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M."
The tickets sold for $125 each. This is LSU's first Cotton Bowl since 2002.


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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
MANILA, Philippines – The Lopez family-led ABS-CBN Corporation posted higher earnings in the first quarter of the year on the back of higher ad revenues and consumer sales, the company reported Thursday, May 7.
The company’s net income grew 5.8% to P569 million ($12.74 million) in the first quarter of the year from P538 million ($12.04 million) in the same period in 2014, said ABS-CBN chief financial officer Aldrin Cerrado.
The TV and studio business earnings grew 25.3% to P902 million ($20.19 million) in the first 3 months of the year from P720 million ($16.12 million) in the same period last year.
The net profit of its pay TV business plunged though to 58.5% from P41 million ($917,059.75) to P17 million ($380,655.06).
Also, the net loss of new business including ABS-CBN mobile grew by 57% from P223 million ($4.99 million) to P350 million ($7.83 million).
Cerrado said he is very pleased with the company’s performance in the first quarter.
“Advertising revenue growth has been robust and should accelerate over the coming months,” Cerrado said.
Revenues also inched up by 2.4% to P8.39 billion ($187.91 million) from P8.19 billion ($183.49 million).
Consumer sales also increased by 1.4% to P4.13 billion ($92.37 million) from P4.08 billion ($91.26 million), while ad revenues grew 3.5% to P4.25 billion ($95.05 million) from P4.11 billion ($91.92 million).
Cerrado said the company’s results also reflected its continued focus on increasing efficiencies in its operations, as cost and expenses rose by 2.8% to P7.62 billion ($170.43 million) in the first quarter of 2015 from P7.41 billion ($165.83 million) in the same period last year. This is due to reduced production costs by 3.4% to P2.65 billion ($59.32 million) from P2.74 billion ($61.34 million).
ABS-CBN’s total assets rose to P 68.3 billion ($1.53 billion) from P 67.2 billion ($1.50 billion) at the end 2014. Total equity stood at P 26.5 billion ($593.44 million) by end of the previous quarter.
ABS-CBN Group Chief Financial Officer Ron Valdueza said the company would continue to invest heavily as part of its shift to the digital TV.
The company already earmarked P8.5 billion ($190.35 million) for its capital expenditures this year.
About P3.15 billion ($70.54 million) would go to pay TV and digital initiative. Around P4.1 billion ($91.81 million) would be spent for maintenance and other expenses. A total of P1.2 billion ($26.87 million) was allotted for program rights.
“We have finally begun to move the country into the digital TV era. ABS-CBN TV Plus, which we launched in mid-February, is now being enjoyed by more than 300,000 households in Mega Manila, North Luzon and Cebu,” Valdueza said.
ABS-CBN TV Plus gives viewers digital signal on Channel 2 and ABS-CBN Sports + Action, plus 4 exclusive channels namely DZMM Teleradyo; Knowledge Channel; Yey; and Cinemo – a 24-hour movie channel.
Valdueza said that many households were able to watch the recent Pacquiao-Mayweather bout live through the pay-per-view option on their TV Plus boxes.
“We should reach a million households by yearend and expand our coverage to the Visayas-Mindanao area,” he added. – Rappler.com
$1 = P44.66


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News Briefs for March 19, 2015March 19, 2015
•Maison Alex Gambal, the small Burgundy négociant, has acquired 19 acres of vineyards in the Côte d’Or for an undisclosed price. The Beaune-based winery, founded by American Alex Gambal, now controls 30 acres of vineyards, which account for 80% of its 6,000-case production. Wine Spectator has the full story.
•Beam Suntory’s Hornitos Tequila brand has extended its lineup with the launch of Hornitos Spiced Honey. A blend of natural honey, vanilla and spice flavors and 100% agave Tequila, Hornitos Spiced Honey is currently available in 750-ml. and 1-liter formats, priced at around $19.99 a 750-ml. The 70-proof expression joins Hornitos’ existing Plata, Reposado, Añejo, Black Barrel and Lime Shot entries.
•Anheuser-Busch InBev will increase its advertising support behind Michelob Ultra beginning next month while rolling out a new packaging design, AdAge reports. Media spending for the brand will reportedly reach its highest levels in Michelob Ultra’s 13-year history. It’s part of a push to accelerate growth by positioning Ultra to reach a broader range of consumers. The athletic-themed marketing efforts will feature a more easy-going message and social tone. The brand recently transitioned from Havas’ Palm & Havas agency to Interpublic’s FCB in Chicago. The new packaging aims for a more sophisticated look. According to Impact Databank, Michelob Ultra grew 7.6% in the U.S. last year to 53.7 million (2.25-gallon) cases.
•Heineken has unveiled a new patented on-premise draught system called BrewLock that includes a recyclable 20-liter PET keg containing a bladder in which the beer resides. In contrast to traditional kegs that rely on a blend of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, BrewLock uses “a small, customized air compressor that exerts pressure in the area between the shell and the bladder, pushing the beer through the draught lines untouched, which guarantees a perfectly carbonated beer every time,” Heineken says. The brewer adds that the BrewLock kegs are slightly lighter than traditional steel kegs, are horizontally stackable and have driven trial its brands in test accounts. The system is rolling out to select markets with both Heineken lager and Newcastle Brown Ale available in the format.
•Brown-Forman has named company veteran Marshall Farrer as managing director, global travel retail. Farrer joined Brown-Forman in 1988, and has served in a wide variety of roles, including most recently vice president, global brand director for Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey. Farrer replaces Jim Perry, who will now lead B-F’s business across a swath of emerging markets as senior vice president. Perry’s territory will now include India, the Middle East, Africa, Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The changes are effective May 1.
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Tagged : Anheuser-Busch InBev, Beam Suntory, BrewLock, Brown-Forman, FCB, Havas, Heineken, Hornitos, Interpublic, Jack Daniel's, Maison Alex Gambal, Michelob Ultra, Newcastle Brown Ale, Palm & Havas
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Whenever a friend or family member asks me what games they should get for their new iPad, I have a list of tried and true that are, what I consider to be the definitive games that have either revolutionized gaming in general, or epitomizes what playing games on the iPad is all about. Not every game is for every player, but every game is significant for its contribution to the iPad in some way.
Category: iPad News
We used our PadGadget Apps Tracker to find these great deals and we’ll continue to look for the best app deals as they pop-up. Some of these apps are up to 90% off, a couple are even free, so be sure to check them out because they are on sale for a limited time.
I’ve always been fascinated with Flemish Renaissance paintings. In Sacramento, the Crocker Art Museum contains a fairly decent sized collection of landscape paintings from the height of the Flemish era. Maybe that is why I appreciate the art so much. Pieter Bruegel the Elder is a particular favorite of mine because his paintings are so detailed and full of a variety of subjects. You could spend hours looking at one of his paintings and not notice every person, animal, or scene taking place on the canvas.
Today, PlayArts launched a searching game that will help you pay closer attention to the little scenes that play out in Bruegel’s masterpieces.
The rumored Apple branded television set has been a part of tech news for so long now, it practically seems like it already does exist, except that no one has actually seen it. Analysts, suppliers, and gossips have told us that the living room device is coming our way, any day now. There have even a number of concept images made showing what the TV set could actually look like.
If 2013 was the year of patent disputes, then maybe 2014 will be the year of resolutions. That is, maybe this will be the year that Apple and Samsung finally resolve their differences and put these patent infringement accusations to bed. Based on an article from the Korea Times, the two most famous “frenemies” in the tech world may be on track to do just that.
In March of 2013, analysts were predicting that Apple tablets would drop to only 46 percent of total sales, while Android tablets would rise above the iPad with 48.8 percent of total sales. According to recent research from NPD Group, Apple has held strong in 2013 with approximately 60 percent of the market share, while Android tablets have only reached about half of that.
Today marks the last week of the year for the App Store Editor’s Choice award. By the time Apple spotlights another app for the recognition, it will be 2014 and a new year will begin. Each week, Apple gives a special nod to a couple of apps and games that stand out for their special characteristics, excellent design, or innovative use of the iPad’s features. Last week, Apple gave the spotlight to a fantastic independent room escape game called Republique.
We used our PadGadget Apps Tracker to find these great deals and we’ll continue to look for the best app deals as they pop-up. Some of these apps are up to 90% off, several are even free, so be sure to check them out because they are on sale for a limited time.
For today’s Daily Deal we’re featuring 11 great apps to add to your iPad collection. We have 6 productivity / entertainment apps and 5 game apps in today’s bundle.There are still other great apps on sale over the holidays so be sure to check out some of our previous Daily Deals.
We used our PadGadget Apps Tracker to find these great deals and we’ll continue to look for the best app deals as they pop-up. Some of these apps are up to 83% off, a couple are even free, so be sure to check them out because they are on sale for a limited time.
Every year, Flurry Analytics measures the number of new activations of mobile devices across the US. For the past three years, Amazon has taken the lead exponentially, showing that the Kindle line of tablets is the most popular Christmas gift of all tablets researched. However, Flurry’s report also shows that the gap is shrinking.


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Spencer Manor Winery began with a little bit of romance.
Several years ago, when they got engaged, Chris Spencer made his future wife, Kelly, a wedding present: 25 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon.
“We’ve been making wine since about  when we lived in Soulard. We started buying grapes and experimenting with it,” Chris says of their first foray into winemaking. Each bottle is labeled, from the first anniversary to the 25th.
The couple moved to St. James a few years later, where they started making wine in earnest. 2017 was the first commercial vintage of Spencer Manor Winery. The Spencers bought a building in downtown St. James and planned to open a temporary tasting room there last spring. Then COVID hit.
“We decided to shift everything online [for now] because the virus was going on and the vintage was ready,” he says. “What we’re really excited about doing is what I’d call higher-end dry Cabs; this is what we’re really wanting to focus on.”
Spencer Manor contracted with a single vineyard in the famed Russian River Valley in Mendocino County, California. They’re able to work with the grape-grower and control how the fruit is managed. The Spencers plan to grow their own grapes, but they wanted to start with their favorite wine, Cabernet Sauvignon.
COVID pending, Spencer Manor’s tasting room and winery will open in St. James in fall 2021. The Spencers are putting in wine caves for aging, and say they have one of the best views in town.
Ultimately, they plan to debut wines made from their own grapes.
“We wanted to get off the ground sooner rather than later,” Chris explains. “This spring we're planting our first vineyard on our property [in St. James]: a grape called Crimson Cabernet, which is a cross of Cabernet Sauvignon and Norton. We’re also going to plant Cabernet Franc – and there's not many vineyards in Missouri that are growing vinifera Cabernet Franc specifically. We really want the Missouri grape program [at Spencer Manor] to be focused around Cabernet Franc.”
It will take a few years, of course, to produce the fruit and bottle those wines; in the meantime, though, you can order three different reds from Spencer Manor’s website.
The SMW Red is a “very approachable” blend of Cabernet and Zinfandel grapes at once jammy and fruity from the Cabernet with backbone from the Zinfandel. The aforementioned single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon has a big body with lots of tannins, while Spencer Manor Reserve, the third offering, is a Bordeaux blend, very tannic with notes of oak and leather. At the moment, Chris favors the Reserve while Kelly goes for the SMW.
“It depends on what we’re eating,” she says with a laugh.
Look out for a tasting around the holidays at Chateau Maplewood in St. Louis County (if it’s safe to do so); Chris also says there will be pickup and deliveries in the St. Louis area until Spencer Manor Winery opens its doors to the public in St. James.
“We really hope to be a destination where people from the St. Louis area want to come out and see us,” Kelly says. “We're going to have a nice tasting room and a lot of patio space – someplace to come and relax and get away for a bit.”
Spencer Manor Winery, St. James, Missouri, spencermanor.com


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By Euro Weekly News Media • 23 October 2013 • 7:00
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Apple Inc on Tuesday offered free upgrades for life on its operating system and business software, and unveiled thinner iPads and faster Mac computers ahead of a competitive holiday shopping season.
The debut of the one-pound iPad Air and MacBook Pro with sharper ‘retina’ display repeats a pattern of recent launches with improvements in existing lines rather than totally new products, and Apple shares fell 0.3 percent for the day.
Apple said upgrades to its Mac operating system and iWork software suite, which compete with Microsoft Corp’s Excel, Word and other applications, will now be offered for all MacBooks and Mac computers.
That brings Apple’s model of free system software upgrades on phones and tablets to the computer market, where Apple is still the underdog to Microsoft’s Windows.
Apple may be trying to safeguard its grip on mobile software as Microsoft revs up its Windows-powered Surface Pro, which runs applications, such as Word or Excel, that are the standard for business customers, analysts said.
“We are turning the industry on its ear, but this is not why we’re doing it,” Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook told media and technology executives at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center.
“We want our customers to have our latest software.”
The market is awash in inexpensive tablets running Google Inc’s Android software, but the company may be focused on fending off a threat from the high end.
“In the tablet PC market, they do think Microsoft is a bigger threat than Android,” said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi. “The iPad Air will compete with Surface Pro, not some rinky-dink Android tablet.”
Gartner estimates that Apple’s share of the global tablet market will slip to 47.2 percent in 2014, with Android-based tablets just overtaking Apple’s this year. The IT research outfit expects Microsoft tablets to grab 3.4 percent of the market this year, double the 1.7 percent forecast for 2013.
Microsoft gets 65 percent of its Windows revenue, which totalled $19.2 billion (11.8 billion pounds) last fiscal year, from PC manufacturers which put the system on its machines, and 35 percent from other sources, chiefly people and businesses buying its software separately to install themselves.
The latest version of Windows, when bought separately to install on an old computer, starts at $120 for a home version and goes up to $200 for the full ‘Pro’ version. The latest Windows 8.1 upgrade was free for customers running Windows 8.
Apple’s product launches on Tuesday were evolutionary, with the new iPads equipped with faster processors and better screens. Cook, at an industry conference in May, had hinted at “several more game changers” from Apple which could include wearable computers, but had not given a time frame.
“As always with Apple, expectations on systematic breakthrough hardware innovations are irrational,” said Forrester analyst Thomas Husson said. “Apple is good at inventing new products and at maximizing profitability of its product range over time through software innovations and clever marketing.”
Apple’s new iPad Air – its full-size tablet – is about 20 percent thinner than the previous generation of tablets, weighs one pound and starts at $499. It will go on sale on November 1.
The iPad mini now has a “retina” high-resolution screen and starts at $399, compared with $329 for the previous mini model. The two new tablets would face stiff competition, with Microsoft, Nokia and Amazon.com Inc all plugging rival devices in coming months.
Apple also showed off a new Mac Pro, a premium and high-powered cylindrical desktop computer that will be assembled in United States. It had shown the computer at a previously event.
For the first, Apple will launch the new iPads simultaneously in the United States and China, its biggest market, which is also a key growth region.
Apple, which jumpstarted the tablet computing market in 2010 with the first iPad, has already come under increasing pressure from cheaper devices ranging from Amazon’s Kindle Fire to Samsung Electronics Co Ltd’s Note.
But while Apple is ceding market share to rivals, its superior library of apps and content should safeguard its lead for years to come, analysts say.
Longer term however, investors hope to see real device innovation from a company that has not unveiled a new breakthrough product in years.
Cook on Tuesday dismissed the competition as directionless.
“Our competition is different: they’re confused,” he said. “Now they’re trying to make PCs into tablets and tablets into PCs. Who knows what they’ll do next?”
“We have a very clear direction and a very ambitious goal. We still believe deeply in this category and we’re not slowing down on our innovation.”
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The Food Safety Modernization Act is getting closer to a vote. It represents the typical sort of big-brother benevolence that in the end will do little to accomplish what it ostensibly purports to do but could, as a matter of design, turn my Mom, my cousin, my brother in law, and millions upon millions of Americans into criminals.
This tyrannical law puts all food production (yes, even food produced in your own garden) under the authority of the Department of Homeland Security. Yep -- the very same people running the TSA and its naked body scanner / passenger groping programs.What we need in this country is more regulation.
This law would also give the U.S. government the power to arrest any backyard food producer as a felon (a "smuggler") for merely growing lettuce and selling it at a local farmer's market.
It also sells out U.S. sovereignty over our own food supply by ceding to the authority of both the World Trade Organization (WTO) and Codex Alimentarius.
It would criminalize seed saving, turning backyard gardeners who save heirloom seeds into common criminals. This is obviously designed to give corporations like Monsanto a monopoly over seeds.
It would create an unreasonable paperwork burden that would put small food producers out of business, resulting in more power over the food supply shifting to large multinational corporations.
Because, as everyone knows, there are no existing laws against raising filthy food teeming with e coli and selling it to an unsuspecting public as kosher.


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Area video stores close as rentals go to the Web
Published: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 6:06 p.m. Last Modified: Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 6:06 p.m. Even though Rasa Woodham and Ryan Beard, both 20, were shopping Wednesday at Hollywood Video at the Marketplace plaza in Gainesville, they are part of the reason the store is going out of business.
Join the discussion below, or Read more at Gainesville.com.
#1 May 30, 2010
Why is it the media is blaming the web for the closing of video stores. Independent video stores for the most part are doing just fine. BB and MG all got into trouble because of the debt they carried trying to beat each other out. They over expanded, they carry far to many copies, they change policies as much as a toddler changes a diaper. They never offer deals, while the indie store focuses on the customers, knows the customers likes and dislikes, carries foreign films and a very deep catalog, offers deals. MG was known for poor customer service and screwing customers on the various fees, BB on the other hand is just too expensive and again the policies change daily.
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Elon Musk, the renowned entrepreneur and Twitter owner, has recently introduced temporary limits on tweet reading. In response to concerns surrounding data scraping and system manipulation, Elon Musk has implemented these restrictions to mitigate the impact on users. Under these temporary limits, verified accounts are allowed to read up to 6,000 posts per day, while unverified accounts have a limit of 600 posts per day. Elon Musk's proactive approach to addressing these challenges showcases his commitment to ensuring a secure and user-friendly environment on Twitter. These measures, introduced by Elon Musk, are aimed at maintaining the platform's integrity and protecting user experience amidst evolving digital landscapes.
Elon Musk has announced temporary limits on the number of tweets users can read on Twitter. This announcement comes as users have been experiencing difficulty accessing the site. Musk, who purchased Twitter for $44 billion in October and made it a private company, stated that these limits are being implemented to address excessive data scraping and system manipulation.
According to Musk's tweet, verified accounts are restricted to reading 6,000 posts per day, while unverified accounts are limited to 600 posts per day. New and unverified accounts will have an even lower limit of 300 posts. However, Musk later tweeted that the limits would be increased to 8,000 for verified accounts, 800 for unverified accounts, and 400 for new unverified users. Subsequently, Musk increased the limits again to 10,000 for verified accounts, 1,000 for unverified accounts, and 500 for new unverified users.
The criteria used to determine what constitutes a read tweet remains unclear. Additionally, the duration of the temporary limits, which were still in effect as of Saturday evening, is unknown. Twitter has not provided clarification on these matters.
The newly imposed limits by Musk resulted in Twitter users encountering difficulties accessing the platform, leading to the hashtag #TwitterDown trending. Error messages such as "rate limit exceeded" and "Cannot retrieve tweets" appeared while users were scrolling through the site. It is uncertain whether these issues were due to the temporary limits or other app glitches.
These viewing restrictions were introduced shortly after Musk implemented a "temporary emergency" measure to prevent non-logged-in users from viewing tweets, also as a means to combat data scraping. Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives expressed concerns about this strategy, stating that it changes the rules without warning and reflects poorly on the Twitter platform.
Since Musk took over Twitter, the company's advertising business has faced challenges. Musk implemented changes to content moderation, introduced a Twitter Blue subscription service, and made significant staff reductions. In May, he appointed Linda Yaccarino as CEO, with a focus on Twitter's business, while Musk concentrates on product design and new technology.
Some Twitter users shared their opinions on the new limits. Author and historian Kevin Kruse compared the situation to closing time at a bar, while New York University professor Jay Rosen speculated that the limits were a response to underperformance of the Twitter Blue subscription service.
The reason provided by Musk for implementing the limits was met with skepticism by Slava Melandovich, CEO of JOBITT.com. He suggested that investing in robust security measures to differentiate human behavior from bot activities would be more effective, and called for more transparency regarding the thresholds triggering these limitations.
Following the announcement of the limits, the hashtag #RIPTwitter began trending.


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Sony has been a major player in the Android league since the Xperia Z series came along, with news supporting Sony’s plan to departure from Smartphone business in 2015 the Xperia owners are left in the dark not only for future hardware support but also the awaiting android updates that was promised to them. While Samsung, LG, HTC and Motorola have already updated their 2014 flagships to Lollipop 5.0 Sony has been “Evidently Slow” with the process, however new sources and leads indicate that the Xperia Z3, Z2 and Z1 owners in United States, Canada, Australia and United Kingdom will get their hands on Lollipop soon enough
Leads from XperiaBlog have suggested that the update in already in testing for the carriers like Vodafone in Australia, supporting that are numerous breakouts that have already shown Beta Versions of Lollipop running on Unlocked Xperia Z3 units and seeing that things are going in the right direction the major mobile carriers in North America and UK are bound to deliver this update anytime soon. The past leaks suggesting the update to be released in the month of February haven’t been true entirely but Sony’s incompetence to deliver timely software solutions isn’t something we or anyone can vouch for. We have also seen Xperia Z3 Compact running Android 5.0 Lollipop at MWC 2015 which you can check out in Video below.
As you can see Sony has embedded the Material Design that Google has been showcasing in the Lollipop Release into it’s own Timescape UI very well. The changes are visual, as well as performance based and serves the Xperia’s near stock experience very well.
Also it has been now confirmed once again that the Non-Xperia Z series devices will not be getting Android 5.0 Lollipop update in the latest report from folks over at XperiaBlog. So sadly the Non-Z owners will have to do with KitKat as the Final version.


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US: Stride Rite steps into Australia and New Zealand
As part of its ongoing strategy to expand the company's global footprint, Collective Brands' Performance + Lifestyle Group has signed a licensing and retail deal to launch its Stride Rite brand in Australia and New Zealand.
The agreement inked with Lew Footwear Holdings Pty Ltd (LFH) will see the opening of the first stand-alone Stride Rite store later this year which, as well as the namesake line will also sell brands like Robeez for Stride Rite, Saucony Kids, Keds Kids and Sperry Top-Sider Kids.
LFH will also market and sell Stride Rite and Robeez for Stride Rite through Stride Rite shop-in-shops and ecommerce throughout the two countries.
"We believe shoppers in Australia and New Zealand will embrace the fun, innovative and technology-based footwear products our children's brands have to offer," said Gregg Ribatt, president and CEO of Collective Brands Performance + Lifestyle Group.
As well as operating many of its own brands, the Lew Group holds the license to operate retail stores in Australia and New Zealand for French Connection UK, Nine West and Steve Madden. It also has a joint venture to operate Zara stores in Australia and New Zealand.
TradeCard Inc, the supply chain collaboration platform used by retailers, brands and manufacturers, is expanding in Asia with the addition of former Kurt Salmon consultant Cliff Entrekin to its busine...
Footwear retailer Stride Rite Children's Group is taking its first step into infant apparel with the launch of Robeez by Stride Rite Layette....
Footwear firm Collective Brands has inked new distribution agreements to expand its Sperry Top-Sider, Keds and Saucony brands internationally....
- Cheap polyester contributes to cotton import shift
- TPP trade pact in milestone signing by 12 nations
- Under Armour defends questions over strategy
- Combating the new normal – 10 trends for 2016
- US apparel retailers' January 2016 sales roundup
- Bangladesh factory fire renews worker safety fears
- China factory activity continues to deteriorate
- Southeast Asia – a strategic sourcing review
- H&M and Primark price rivalry reaches equilibrium
- PVH to take control of Tommy Hilfiger China unit
- Southeast Asia strategic sourcing review – a focus on Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar
- Wearable technology: The future market potential for smart garments and e-textiles
- Global market review of denim and jeanswear – forecasts to 2021
- Wearable Technology Market by Product, Application, Type, & Geography - Global Forecast to 2020
- E-Textiles: Electronic Textiles 2014-2024


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While the space will be open during the week for couples to meet up (or friends to just stop in and check it out), there will also be a series of events focused on relationships, female entrepreneurship and more.
- omline dating senior citizens
- men with kids dating
- Milf webcam chat room
- Free xxx phone dating
- bipolar disorder dating site
- open office trouble updating
- ad trader dating
The space will also have a coffee (and real) bar, as well as Bumble merchandise for sale (where all proceeds go to charity).
Bumble said the current plans are to keep it open for a month, but isn’t ruling out the opportunity for an extension, or potential expansions into other cities.
Exclusive dating app The League is going monochrome.
Starting today, everyone’s first profile picture will be displayed in black and white.
In December 2014, Wolfe (with investment from Badoo founder Andrey Andreev) recruited Tinder cofounder Chris Gulczynski and Tinder’s former VP of Design Sarah Mick to launch a new app called Bumble.


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January 8, 2012
On the heels of her highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime performance, Madonna has announced a new world tour that begins on May 29 in Israel and stops at Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena on November 15th.
Madonna’s new album ‘MDNA’ is scheduled to be released on March 26th and those ordering tickets online to a U.S. performance will receive their choice of a digital or physical copy of ‘MDNA’ with every ticket purchased.
Please Like CH’s New Facebook Page! New Giveaways Coming Soon! www.facebook.com/charlottehappeningcom
Follow CH on Twitter! www.twitter.com/charlottehappen


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FMCG major HUL expects technology adoption in distribution channel, including neighbourhood stores besides e-commerce, to speed up as a result of consumers' experience during the coronavirus pandemic. According to Hindustan Unilever (HUL) CMD Sanjiv Mehta, the company will be ready to serve its consumers through any channel that they would prefer to shop, be it big format stores, kirana stores or online.
"Different channels have different shopping missions. People go to a big format store on certain occasion, they go to a neighbourhood store on certain occasion but yes this crisis will habituate and I believe that it would give a fillip to e-commerce, there is no question about that," he said in a conference call on the company's quarterly earnings on Thursday.
Mehta further said, "It would also give a fillip, whether it is a big store or a neighbourhood store, to adopt technology and serve consumer better. I believe that from a perspective of a distribution channel, this is certainly a moment where adoption of technology would speed up." Commenting on consumer habits during the COVID-19-induced lockdown, he said there are two big emerging trends.
"One is the relevance of humble grocers, who are always important for India. I believe that people have realised their benefits .. and the second is e-commerce. Certainly, as people would like to place their order from home, which would definitely give a fillip to e-commerce and we would be ready for that," Mehta added. The company has taken several initiatives over the past couple of years by introducing its e-commerce initiative humarashop.com.
"As things normalise, we have humarashop, which clearly from reverence and importance perspective, that becomes very strategic ... We would be looking as how to reach consumers in the best possible way and going to serve consumers," he said. Mehta also said there is an expectation of a surge in the sale of hygiene and nutrition products post lockdown and the company is ready for that.
"There would be a hike in need, very clearly, for hygiene and nutrition products. There would be no question about that. We would be willing to provide this to shoppers and consumers, in whichever channel, they would like to," he said. Commenting on current situation on production, Mehta said the focus is on goods that are in demand by people.
"Our entire focus was on health hygiene and those kinds of products so that we could maximise our products," he said adding that for several weeks, products such as colour cosmetic were not manufactured.Coronavirus crisis: RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das to meet bank chiefs today: What's on the agenda?
Copyright©2022 Living Media India Limited. For reprint rights: Syndications Today


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“The Paralympic runner costume is sure to cause some controversy”Advert
A host of controversial costumes have flooded the market in time for Halloween, including one of Anne Frank.
But this could be the most controversial of the lot.
Punters can dress up as gunman Oscar Pistorius, with “Blade Gunner” blazoned across a fake South African kit.
The costume, which was on sale for £26.10, was even advertised by sellers for people wanting to “cause some controversy”.
The description stated: “The Paralympic runner costume is sure to cause some controversy at your next event.
“Includes top, shorts, boot covers and knee pads.”
Shortly after being advertised on the site, the costume attracted a host of negative comments from outraged customers.
One Twitter user said: "Why are you not checking what is sold on your site?
"How can extreme violence against women ever be a joke or a marketing opportunity?"
Another tweeted: "This is completely tasteless - What does it even have to do with Halloween?"
An Amazon spokeswoman told Sun Online: "All Marketplace sellers must follow our selling guidelines and those who don’t will be subject to action including potential removal of their account.
“The product in question is no longer available.”


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Can Blockchain End Identity Theft?
Vice President and ID Theft Practice Leader
I just read an interesting article titled How Blockchain Could Put an End to Identity Theft (please see here).
I was very interested in how the article believes that identity theft has reached its current place in society because "consumers have historically favored convenience over privacy."
The article also mentions that most consumers do not read the terms and conditions relating to social media and apps and that consumers have poor password management - of which I believe to be very true and have written about for several years.
Lastly, the article states that consumers have "transferred ownership" of their personal information by putting "every company and government institution in the identity management business."
My initial response to the above is - REALLY?
Are consumers the primary reason why businesses in the United States often require our most sensitive information, including our Social Security number, to open accounts? And with this required sensitive information, are consumers the reason these businesses have experienced over 8,000 (known) data breaches since 2005? In addition, are consumers the reason there were 16.7 million victims of identity theft and fraud last year?
I do not think so!
So let's look at the facts. The cybersecurity industry including security software, cloud security, cyber insurance and cyber law have grown significantly in the last few years – however, data breaches in the United States and worldwide continue at a breathtaking pace.
Nearly every day there is a headline news story about a new data breach (please see here) ranging from thousands to millions of records that are "lost or stolen" including social security numbers, driver's license numbers, bank account numbers, dates of birth, passwords, and now even our personal health/medical information.
The result of these data breaches have included regulatory fines and penalties, lawsuits and litigation, reputational damage, and lost customers, revenue, and profits.
Most of these companies that experience a data breach spend millions of dollars on information security and governance - and then spend even more on data breach response and recovery. There is a clear disconnect between how much money is being spent on preventing data breaches and how much is being spent after a data breach.
So let's return to the title of this article - can blockchain end identity theft? With the emergence of blockchain technology can consumers truly consider blockchain technology to be secure and safe?
If so, why are numerous industry groups such as financial institutions, healthcare, insurance, and credit bureaus (recall last year's 145 million person Equifax data breach) so slow in implementing blockchain technology and processes?
If not, what are blockchain's weaknesses and vulnerabilities?
I do not doubt that blockchain technology, when perfectly executed and protected, can be safe, secure and hacker proof.
However, can we depend on blockchain technology and its surrounding environment to be perfect - along with being perfect all the time?
My 28 years professional experience in the identity theft, insurance and data breach risk management business sectors makes me believe the answer is no.
In my opinion, any security technology system and its surrounding environment has some vulnerability, and I believe the blockchain technology environment is no exception.
To illustrate this point, you may be aware that most data breaches are related directly to human error.
For example, these two reports titled Dissecting Data Breaches and Debunking the Myths and Beazley's 2018 Breach Briefing reveals the rapidly-changing cyber risk landscape highlight how vulnerabilities in systems, processes or human fallibility affect every organization regardless of sector and size.
Based on the above, I recommend that companies and individual consumers focus on response and recovery - because it's not a question of if, but when a company experiences a data breach event, even if your organization has implemented Blockchain technology to prevent access to your organizations sensitive customer and employee data.
To learn more about these threats and how to protect yourself and your family from Identity Theft, you can read my past newsletters at the Merchants Identity Theft Educational Website at www.idtheftedu.com.
BBB Tip: Tech Support Scams
By Better Business Bureau July 1, 2018.
A tech support rep calls you at home and offers to fix a computer bug that you haven't even noticed, or a popup warning appears on your screen instructing you to dial a number for help. In this con, scammers pose as tech support employees of well-known computer companies and hassle victims into paying for their "support."
How the Scam Works:
You get a telephone call or a popup on your computer screen from someone claiming to be with tech support from a well-known software company. Microsoft, Comcast, Norton and Dell are all popular choices. Often the scammer will create a sense of urgency-the computer is sending error messages, they've detected a virus, or your computer is about to crash and you'll lose all your data!
You are told only a tech support employee can fix the problem, and you're asked to allow access to your machine. Once access is granted, the caller will often run a "scan" and claim your computer is infected with viruses. The scammer then offers to fix the problem... for a fee.
That may not be the end of the scam. If you allow remote access, malware may be installed on your machine. Malware often scans files in search of personal information, which scammers can use to commit identity theft.
Tips to spot this scam:
- Never give control of your computer to a third party unless you know it is the representative of a computer support team you contacted.
- Legitimate tech support companies don't call out of the blue. A popular way for thieves to get in touch with victims is through cold calls. The callers often claim to be from a tech company. But remember that scammers can spoof official looking phone numbers, so don't trust your Caller ID.
- Look out for warning screens: Nearly half of tech support scams begin with an alert on the victim's computer screen. This pop up will have a phone number to call for help. Instead of calling, shutdown your computer and restart it.
- Be wary of sponsored links. When you search online for tech support, look out for sponsored ads at the top of the results list. Many of these links lead to businesses that scam consumers.
- Don't click on links in unfamiliar emails. Scammers also use email to reach victims. These messages point consumers to scam websites that launch pop-ups with the fake warnings and phone numbers.
If you are a victim of a tech support scam:
- Contact your bank immediately.
- Take your computer to a trusted local business and have it checked out.
- Remove any software that authorized remote access to your computer.
- Change the passwords you use to access your bank and other sensitive sites.
- File a report with BBB Scam Tracker and with law enforcement authorities, such as the FTC
To learn how to protect yourself, go to "10 Steps to Avoid Scams".
To read BBB's complete study with more details on who is behind tech support scams, how they are requesting money, and whom they are victimizing, as well as BBB's recommendations for dealing with the problem, click here.
If you have been the victim of identity theft, go to identitytheft.gov for a personalized recovery plan from the Federal Trade Commission.
Courtesy of the Better Business Bureau - for more information visit: http://www.bbb.org/phoenix/news-events/.
If you believe your identity has been stolen, call 866.SMART68 today!


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Barneys’ flagship Madison Avenue spot will stay open — but with a smaller footprint
Authentic Brands Group and a partner got the OK to buy Barneys on Thursday
Barneys New York’s iconic location on Madison Avenue will stay open for at least the next 12 months — though on a shrunken scale.
Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation, which co-owns 660 Madison Avenue, struck a deal with Barneys’ new owner to keep the flagship property operating, the landlord’s president Daniel Levy said in a statement Thursday.
But Barneys, which occupies 275,000 square feet, will now stay open in a “smaller footprint.” Freds, the restaurant housed within the property, will also stay open.
Rick Chesley, the attorney for new owner Authentic Brands Group, confirmed the agreement. He said details regarding the size of the reduced space have yet to be worked out, and he declined to provide the rent.
Barneys and its attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The news came a day after a judge gave the OK for ABG and B. Riley Financial to close on the acquisition of the ailing luxury retailer for about $270 million. The move is widely expected to lead to the closure of most, if not all, of Barneys’ outposts across the country. Another location in Boston may stay open.
Levy said in a statement that the company was “disappointed” and had worked with Barneys’ prospective buyers to preserve operations at Ashkenazy Acquisition’s properties. The Barneys locations in New York and Los Angeles, “produce approximately $20 million and $30 million, respectively, in profitability for Barneys per year — even after the recent rent resets at both locations.”
Barneys filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August, in part because of large rent increases. Ashkenazy roughly doubled the retailer’s annual rent at the Madison Avenue location this year to $30 million.
Barneys had already said in its filings that it planned to close most of its 22 locations, and before the bankruptcy it had been reported that it was looking to reduce its footprint at the Madison Avenue store — a report the retailer later refuted. But the company had hoped that other bidders would swoop in last minute to prevent ABG’s stalking horse bid from going through and shuttering all its stores.
As part of the acquisition, ABG will license Barneys’ name for use in Saks Fifth Avenue stores. ABG said it would turn the Madison Avenue Barneys location into a “pop-up retail experience” and that Freds would become a luxury eatery around the world, according to Business of Fashion.
The deal officially closed Friday morning, after no other bids surfaced, and after Barneys CEO Daniella Vitale stepped down, according to a memo obtained by BoF.
At least three groups had been working to craft deals to buy Barneys instead. For instance, Kith investor Sam Ben-Avraham had widely been expected to put forth a revised offer that would have attempted to save the stores from shuttering.
In an Instagram post Friday, Ben-Avraham wrote that he had chosen to drop out of negotiations.
“Unfortunately, we failed to convince enough people in the business community that it made economic sense to keep Barneys alive,” he wrote.
Write to Mary Diduch at email@example.com.
Update: This story was updated to include further details about ABG’s plans for Barneys.


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Among the new options buyers will be able to choose are the Rear Seat Package with rear seatbelt airbags and active buckles that extend, a Warmth and Comfort Package with heated seats front and back, heated armrests and side panels, and power rear seats with active ventilation and memory function. There's a chauffeur seating option that comes with 10-way adjustable rear seats, an extendable footrest and folding tables in the front seatbacks.
Blatant technology will be on display via two 12.3-inch screens, one for the dash cluster and one for the COMAND infotainment screen on the instrument panel. The third generation of Nightview Assist Plus will be able to detect animals as well as humans, and the next generation of Surround View will provide high-res views all around the car. A touchpad and a color head-up display will arrive in 2015. It will be the first Mercedes-Benz to utilize LED lighting everywhere, inside and outside the car.
Other premium touches will be available Hot Stone Massage seats with seven massaging programs, a Burmester Reference sound system and an Air Balance Package that filters, and ionizes cabin air and can emit a fragrance through the HVAC system. The S550 will come first, in September, followed by the S550 4Matic and S63 AMG over the next two months. Have a look at the slides in the gallery, it looks like the coming S is going to be a lot of car.


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Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson is suing a Texas auto warranty company for deceptive tactics, saying it's violating its promise of a full refund within 30 days.
The lawsuit is part of a broader investigation into extended auto warranty practices, Swanson said.
The state is seeking unspecified civil penalties and restitution for affected customers of Enterprise Financial Group Inc. of Irving, Texas. The company has sold more than 3,700 extended auto warranties to Minnesota customers since 2009, according to the state's lawsuit filed Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court. The warranties, also called service contracts, typically cost between $1,600 and $2,600.
Auto warranty companies have been a perennial source of trouble for consumers, from annoying robocalls and deceptive warranties to companies collapsing and leaving policyholders on the hook. In an interview, Swanson said she thinks the improving economy is creating an opening for bad sales practices. "These companies really seem to be on the uptick here," she said.
A bulletin her office issued Wednesday cautions Minnesotans about high pressure sales tactics and urges them to vet companies and contracts before signing up. Scout for prevalent loopholes, it says.
The warranty pitches are familiar to many Minnesotans. They come by official-looking postcards or phone calls: the warranty on your vehicle is running out, buy a new extended warranty from us. People may think they are getting bumper-to-bumper coverage when they are not.
Enterprise Financial Group did not return several messages seeking comment. Its website says it provides consumer and vehicle protection programs for dealers, financial institutions, insurance companies and manufacturers.
According to the lawsuit, Enterprise uses other marketing companies for sales such as Precise Auto Protection Inc. and Auto Processing Center.
The warranties go by a range of names such as TechChoice New Ultimate Coverage and Dent Zone Auto Body Guard PDR Contract and Vurge Full Throttle Coverage. They are different from the warranties that come with a new car, which are backed by manufacturers such as Toyota or Ford and typically cover a much broader range of problems.
Enterprise tells people they can cancel the contracts within 30 days of purchase for a full refund if no claims have been paid. However, the company makes it difficult for people to cancel with confusing instructions and runaround, the lawsuit said. Refunds are late or never come, and sometimes don't include the extra penalty payment the state requires if a refund takes more than 45 days. In one case, an elderly Minnesota woman trying to get her refund was transferred to about a dozen people on the telephone, some of whom hung up on her.
Another customer, Veronica Harper, a retired educational assistant in Eagan, said her refund took nearly a year.
"I think I kind of fell for it because my car was just hitting 100,000 miles," she said.
Harper said she paid $195 up front to get the policy. But when it came and her husband and son read it, they thought it was "bad," she said. So she canceled and tried to get her refund.
That took regular weekly calls, she said. She rarely got through to a live person. When she did there was resistance.
"One of the things they said is that, 'This isn't our department.' "
Swanson said the coverage provided by some of Enterprise Financial Group's contracts is woefully limited. Customers have to do car maintenance and oil changes according to a prescribed schedule and keep receipts, she said, or there may be no coverage for problems. One policy, she noted, stated that it does not cover "a gradual loss of performance which has resulted from normal operation and use."
Consumer advocates have for years urged caution over extended warranty plans in general. Consumer Reports has this to say on the subject: "You might be tempted to buy a service plan — also known as extended warranty — on your next laptop, dishwasher, or a new or used car. But chances are that what you spend will be money down the drain."


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Gov. John Kitzhaber is proposing a program that would help Nike Inc. expand its headquarters and lead to some 12,000 jobs by 2020.
On Monday, Kitzhaber held a press conference to announce a one-day special session on Dec. 14 of the Oregon Legislature to address the issue.
The expansion, which Kitzhaber didn’t detail, could yield a $2 billion yearly economic impact. Kitzhaber said the program would, among other traits, help keep Nike (NYSE: NKE) in Oregon. Other states have recruited Nike, Kitzhaber said.
Nike told Kitzhaber it has “active negotiations going on with other states and will continue those negotiations ... however, this gives us certainty that they will stay here in Oregon.”
Kitzhaber said the special session will approve what he’s calling a new economic development tool that would allow the state to negotiate new programs with companies that promise to add 500 jobs and spend at least $150 million on expansions. Kitzhaber didn’t initially detail the program but hinted that Oregon would continue allotting Nike privileges under the single sales factor rules that only base taxes on sales made in Oregon. Nike had lobbied for the system along with several larger companies in 2001.
The Oregon Center for Public Policy has written extensively about the subject.
This story will be updated.
The text of a press release Kitzhaber issued Monday:
Oregon Legislature will meet in Special Session on Friday, December 14, to consider authorizing Governor Kitzhaber to enter into agreements with companies committing to significant job growth and investment in Oregon. The Governor called the session at a news conference today where he emphasized an extraordinary opportunity exists to boost Oregon’s economy with high wage jobs.
“With legislative action this week, Oregon can secure high wage jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars of new private investment in the next five years,” said Governor Kitzhaber. “In fact, Nike is ready to commit to a significant expansion of its Oregon operations if the state can provide certainty we won’t change tax rules after they make a new investment. It’s an easy call and a perfect fit with our strategy to attract and retain companies that create jobs and boost per capita income.”
The Economic Impact Investment Act would allow the Governor to enter into qualifying investment contracts with any company committing to a minimum of 500 jobs and $150 million in capital investment over five years. The Act creates a new economic development tool and has no fiscal impact on the state.
Nike would expand to accommodate current and future job growth. Nike’s employment in Oregon has grown 60 percent since 2007 with an average annual compensation of over $100,000, about double state and regional averages. A recent analysis by AECOM, a global professional services firm, estimates the economic impact of a potential expansion to be more than $2 billion a year and more than 12,000 jobs by 2020 (direct, indirect and induced). Construction alone accounts for about $440 million and more than 2,900 jobs.
“Private sector job growth is driving Oregon’s economic recovery, but state government has an important role to play in helping create a business climate to accelerate that growth,” said Oregon Business Association President Ryan Deckert. “We've been focused on finding ways to boost wages, and the Economic Impact Investment Act will be a powerful tool to drive per capita income up in Oregon.”
Governor Kitzhaber is convening the special session under his authority pursuant to section 12, Article V of the Oregon Constitution.


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Yesterday, an unreleased Samsung smartphone with a model SM-G991U appeared in the GeekBench database. The machine sports a ‘lahaina’ chipset, which is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip released this week. This phone (the alleged Samsung Galaxy S21) also has 8GB of running memory and runs OneUI based on Android 11.
As for the benchmark points, it currently has only one test result, 1075 points for single-core and 2916 points for multi-core.
Earlier this year, the Galaxy S21+ equipped with Exynos processors benchmark test results were leaked. Last month, the Galaxy S21+ (model SM-G996U) also appeared in GeekBench. From the screenshot, we can see that this model also uses the Snapdragon 888 chipset, supplemented by 8GB of memory.
Gizchina News of the week
Samsung Galaxy S21 (Confirmed) Specs
It may feature a 6.7-inch OLED LTPS panel with FHD+ resolution with 120Hz refresh rate. There will be two variants of the phone one with Snapdragon SoC that will be sold in China and the US. The second variant of with Exynos SoC which will be sold in all markets except the US and China. The smartphone may pack a triple-camera setup at the back with a 12MP primary camera, a 12MP ultra-wide camera lens, and a 64MP telephoto camera. The Samsung Galaxy S21 will come with a 3,880mAh battery. We believe that the typical capacity will be around 4,000mAh because it’s the rated capacity. Moreover, the device is set to come with 25W fast-charging, which is a little bit underwhelming.
Samsung Galaxy S21+ Specs
As for the S21 Plus, it will have a bigger 6.7-inch panel with FHD+ resolution. We have the same 120Hz refresh rate. Also, there is a triple-camera array comprising a 12MP + 12MP + 64MP shooters. While the camera setup does not bring significant changes, we have some software upgrades. It includes 4K @ 60 fps recording for all cameras, Super Steady Stabilization mode with 60fps support, and more. Other features include 8K@30 video recording, dual recording using front and back cameras, and a revamped moon mode. The phone has a 4,800mAh battery, which is a significant increase over its predecessor. The phone also has Android 11 with One UI 3.1 in tow.


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Five V is proud to announce that Plenti (ASX:PLT) is the first fintech consumer lender to originate over $1 billion in loans! Congratulations to Daniel Foggo and the team at Plenti
Technology-led lending and investment business Plenti Group Limited has bolted past the competition to nab an historic achievement for Australian fintech: the first fintech consumer lender to originate over $1 billion in loans.
Congratulations to Alice Barbery and her team at Universal Store on their successful ASX listing this week. It has been a privilege to mark this milestone with Universal Store and our co-investors. We look forward to the next part of Universal’s journey as a listed company.
Universal Store raised $147.8 million at $3.80 a share, $38.4 million in primary issuance and a $109.4 million sell-down by existing shareholders, in the third largest IPO this year after Adore Beauty and Home Co daily Needs REIT.


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Thomas L. Williams, chairman of the board and CEO, Parker-Hannifin Corporation, has been elected to the board of directors of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.
“We are pleased to welcome Tom to the Goodyear board of directors,” says Richard J. Kramer, Goodyear chairman, CEO and president.
“He is a proven chief executive with more than 30 years of international operations experience and particular expertise on complex and cyclical businesses,” Kramer says. “Tom’s extensive knowledge of manufacturing, distribution, logistics and innovation, along with a track record of focusing on safety and sustainability, will be a tremendous asset to our board.”
Williams has served as CEO of Parker-Hannifin Corporation since February 2015 and as chairman of the board of Parker since January 2016. From August 2008 to February 2015, he was executive vice president and operating officer of Parker. Williams joined Parker in 2003 as vice president of operations, Hydraulics Group.


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Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla advised Mizzen, a wholly owned subsidiary of Seddiqi Holding, on its joint venture with Gentle Monster, the South Korean curated eyewear brand, and the launch of its flagship store in the Middle East.
Founded in 2017, Mizzen was established as part of Seddiqi Holding’s growth strategy to diversify beyond its core luxury watch and jewellery business through partnerships with innovative and disruptive brands. The joint venture with Gentle Monster will transform the retail industry and overall consumer experience in the Middle East, with its creative and unconventional eyewear products and retail spaces. Gentle Monster’s Middle East flagship store is located in the Dubai Mall.
The Baker McKenzie Habib Al Mulla team was led by UAE Head of Corporate and M&A Omar Momany (Picture) along with associates Haya Massoud and Hazem Hebaishi.
Law Firms: Baker McKenzie;


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Instep showcases at Big 5
Interior and exterior decoration with the use of wood as a main material is the specialist field of Instep – a husband a wife run company which showed off its products at this year’s Big 5 event in Dubai.
TS Santosh and his wife Vanitha said they were using the event to showcase how wood can be used as a practical material as well as one which can enhance surroundings.
As the partners moved into the GCC they also said they had started to realise how business differs in the Middle East from the way affairs of commerce are conducted on the Indian sub-continent.
“We make products for a combination of interior designers and contractors,” said TS Santosh.
“They are used in retail areas, in public places and hotels. We want to expand our activities into this part of the world, where I feel the way of doing business is slightly different to our home country.
“We have noticed that 95 per cent of the time the contractor does not stick to the specified brief. The initial plan is not adhered to. This may be because the buildings is sold while construction is still underway, or any other number of reasons.
“But it means that for us – we do not add our final touches until completion has taken place, as we know they may need to be changed. This is different from our experiences in India, where the plans are faithfully adhered to all through a development.”
Vanitha Santosh added: “The whole market is still seeing the after-effects of the recession which hit us all. But things are looking better and that is why we are broadening our profile.”


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PepsiCo and Coca-Cola are modifying their caramel coloring to avoid a cancer warning label now required by a new California law when potential carcinogens exceed certain levels.
Both the soda giants and the American Beverage Association (ABA) have stressed that they believe that the amounts of the chemical at issue, 4-methylimidazole (4-MI) in traditional caramel-coloring formulations pose no public health risks.
However, having asked suppliers to change their coloring formulations to reduce 4-MI levels in sodas distributed in California, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are now implementing the changes across their manufacturing processes, reported Associated Press.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) recently released results of lab tests finding that some samples of Coke, Diet Coke, Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Dr Pepper and Diet Dr Pepper contained levels of 4-MI signficantly exceeding California's 29-micrograms-per-12-ounce-serving benchmark, and that some exceeded the FDA's benchmark of a lifetime risk of one cancer in one million people. For the second time, CSPI petitioned the FDA to ban caramel colorings that contain 4-MI, which it describes as a "known animal carginogen."
The FDA will review the petition,
but told Reuters that a human being would have to drink more than 1,000 cans of soda per day to reach the doses administered in the studies that have shown links to cancer in rodents.
The ABA said that California added caramel coloring to its list of carginogens based on a single study in lab mice and rats, with no studies demonstrating that it causes cancer in humans, reported Associated Press.


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By MB Online
Filipino fashion designer Renee de Guzman won the Lectra Special Award at the 25th edition of the International Lab of Mittelmoda on July 21.
De Guzman said she was happy about winning the award because to her even just qualifying for the competition is already an honor. As to actually wining award, she told ABS-CBN News that she “has no words” for it.
Mittelmoda The Fashion Award is an international fashion competition for fashion designers and fashion design students all over the world.
De Guzman was one of the 23 candidates who was able to qualify for the final phase of the competition.
The fashion award competition lets designers create clothing that is within a theme and this year’s theme was a touch of red.
For her entry, De Guzman made a set of coat, pleated skirt, and turtlenecks all in red.


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A glass of wine and a Lunchable? Or how about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a fancy cocktail? Add these to the creative menu of things bars across Galveston County and the Clear Lake area are offering to make a living under pandemic orders to stay closed.
Bars across the county remain shuttered while other businesses and restaurants resumed operations because Gov. Greg Abbott has declined to let them reopen — that is, until a rule change that allows some bars to reopen if they beef up their food offerings.
Traditionally, the process of receiving a food and beverage license from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission could be complicated, involving a hefty financial commitment to purchase commercial cooking equipment and other supplies, business owners said.
But the recent rule change has led at least some county bars to reopen after a few relatively modest creative food changes to meet the state agency’s requirements.
For instance, Proletariat Gallery & Public House in Galveston’s downtown has stayed open through the coronavirus pandemic by serving drinks outside and to go. Now, however, employees are preparing a new menu featuring a prepackaged meal, an adult version of Kraft Foods’ Lunchable, in effort to get patrons back inside without getting outside the law, co-owner Heather Major said.
“We’re trying to change with the times,” she said.
ADAPT OR DIE
The Galveston business is far from alone in trying to adapt and survive.
Rosewater Clear Lake patrons can now order PB&J or bologna sandwiches, among other menu items.
The Proletariat Gallery & Public House, 2221 Market St., and Rosewater Clear Lake, 1606 Clear Lake City Blvd. in Houston, are among many area bars that have taken advantage of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission amendment that makes it easier for bars to acquire restaurant licenses.
Essentially, officials with the commission in late August adopted an emergency rule, allowing bars to apply for restaurant certifications without meeting some of the traditional requirements to attain one, such as requiring commercial-grade cooking equipment.
“The amendments remove some of the more difficult and costly requirements for qualification for the food and beverage certificate so that these businesses can qualify without making major changes to their business models or investing in expensive equipment,” officials said at the time. “Making the food and beverage certificate available to more businesses encourages them to operate in a manner more akin to a restaurant, serving food as well as beverages.”
Bars were some of the last businesses to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic in late May, but they closed again a month later when Abbott ordered many businesses shut down to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.
Abbott has since allowed most businesses to reopen again, including allowing restaurants to open at 75 percent capacity, but has yet to allow bars to open.
“To be very honest, TABC is kind of a boogeyman, but I was blown away by how easy they made the process,” Pasha Morshedi, an owner of Rosewater Clear Lake, said of the process for applying under the new guidelines.
For some bar operators, the possibility of reopening, even given the extra steps, was important to stave off financial ruin.
“We have had about 170 days of no business,” said Cheryl Manchak, an owner and general manager of Ronnie’s Hog Heaven, 4355 FM 517 in Dickinson.
The bar briefly opened in May and tried again a little later, before receiving a 30-day suspension for not understanding some of the commission’s rules, Manchak said.
But after that, business officials did the paperwork and planned how to install a kitchen and cater items to reopen under the new guidelines, Manchak said.
The bar will now offer a rotating menu that might feature chili one day and gumbo or soup at other points, she said.
HERE TO STAY
Employees with Proletariat applied for the permit initially as a workaround to reopen the inside for students and others who use the space to study, Major said. But some of the changes to the business might be around to stay.
“We want people to have options, and everyone has different dietary needs,” she said. “Pizza is not on everyone’s diet. So, this is something we’ve wanted to do for a while.”
The bar has long given customers the option to purchase pizza from nearby Mamma Teresa’s Flying Pizza, 416 21st St., but will now prepare bento boxes both to go and for on-site consumption, Major said.
The bar will offer Mediterranean, vegetable, brunch and meat and cheese items, in part because of its limited kitchen space, Major said.
Owners of the business applied for the new permit a few months ago because it was a relatively low-cost option and received word back recently they had been approved, Major said.
SAVED By PB&J
Rosewater followed a similar process, Morshedi said. During the initial shutdown, bartenders began producing nonalcoholic cocktail mixers to go, which allowed the owners to provide sales information when it came time to apply for the new license.
Since those initial to-go sales, the business also started producing peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and bologna sandwiches, as well, Morshedi said.
Although the cost of the permit itself isn’t that high, some bars made a heftier investment than others in order to reopen.
Daiquiri Time Out, 2701 Market St. in Galveston, reopened Thursday, owner Brad Stringer said.
The popular Galveston bar is serving some food from nearby Maceo Spice & Import Company, 2706 Market St., as part of the effort to reopen, but employees also are waiting on the delivery of a food trailer to add to the menu offerings, Stringer said.
“It is a substantial investment, especially when you’ve been closed most of the year,” Stringer said. “But it’s one of those things where you either tack on extra debt or you close your doors.”
No matter what happens, the bar likely will take a loss this year, Stringer said. But Stringer hopes it can ride out the rest of the pandemic with the new improvements.
Bar owners had long envisioned one day offering food, but the pandemic gave them a reason to innovate, Morshedi said.
“For us, the pandemic accidentally provided some opportunities,” he said. “It forced us to be creative and experimental.”
Rosewater likely will continue selling food even once Abbott reopens bars, which Morshedi said he hopes will be sooner rather than later.


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To drive awareness and importance of tackling indoor air pollution, Asian Paints’ new TVC showcases the actress wearing a mask
Conceptualised and executed by Lowe Lintas Bangalore, the campaign brings out the inconvenience customers go through before making purchases
As a part of the association, Viacom18 has created a behavior change awareness videos for kinds involving its popular animated characters of its flagship kids’ channel Nickelodeon and Sonic
He will report to Bijoy Mohan, CEO of Lixil Water Technology and Lixil Housing Technology Asia and will be based out of the company’s Gurgaon office
The ad campaign has been conceptualized by SoCheers
Vivo, Nissan, Oppo, Motorola, WWE are the brands that make it to the top five list
Which sport ads do you think make the cut?
Relative newcomer JSW Sports has a presence in kabaddi, hockey and football. Why so many and what next?
Can brands step in when boards, industry bodies and the larger audience let underdog sports and teams languish?
Lessons for marketers from the film’s enduring popularity, 10 years since its release
What should brands keep in mind if they’re planning to sign on one of the new-age sport celebrities?
Long dismissed as a ‘dehati’ sport, kabaddi is drawing in eyeballs and big bucks. Here’s why
Brand Equity chats with ace-cricketer Mithali Raj - the newest sports celeb on the brand endorsement block
The campaign showcases LG’s commitment towards fighting hunger and preventing food wastage in India
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