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President Barack Obama hails Hillary Clinton for blasting 'through glass ceilings'
The convention formally anointed Clinton on Tuesday as the Democratic nominee, who will now go up against her Republican counterpart Donald Trump in November's election.
Why it is difficult for women to break glass ceiling in family-run businesses
In the past two years, as many as 145 women joined the boards o...
Breaking the glass ceiling: Meet the female brigade that is leading the charge at SBI
Arundhati Bhattacharya has been the face of not only th...
Boeing using Google Glass to build airplanes: Report
A report said that members of Boeing's research and technology division used the original Google Glass to construct aircraft wire harnesses.
Soon watch 3D movies in theatres without glasses
The prototype uses a special array of lenses and mirrors to enable viewers to watch a 3D movie from any seat in a theatre.
Top five cues from the F&O market; 8,700 will act as ceiling
There was hardly any Put writing on Friday. Fresh Put writing was seen only at strike price 8,400,where 2.43 lakh contracts were added.
'Womenomics' makes small chips in Japan's glass ceiling
The central government exceeded its 30 percent target for hiring of women for career-track positions, raising the rate to 34 per cent this year from 24 per cent last year.
AERA moots tentative ceiling for airports capital costs
The regulator has set a tentative ceiling cost of "Rs 65,000 per square metre (sqm) of the terminal building and Rs 4,700 per sqm for the runway/taxiway/apron.
Hindusthan National Glass eyes retail foray
Traditionally, company supplies glass containers to food and beverages companies and this would be their first attempt to touch retail consumers directly
Researchers use Google Glass for autistic kids
Stanford researchers are using Google Glass to help autistic children analyze faces in real time to interpret facial expressions. Google stopped producing the headset last year but the device has found new life among medical researchers.
Keep dropping your smartphone? Gorilla Glass 5 can handle the roughest falls
The new glass is formulated to improve drop performance from gadgets that are dropped on to rough surfaces from certain heights.
Anti-dumping duty likely on Chinese 'textured tempered glass'
This glass is used as a component in solar photovoltaic panels and solar thermal applications. Other firms that make similar products include Asahi India Glass.
Want to drink less? Avoid larger wine glass!
Excessive alcohol consumption is a leading factor for type 2 diabetes, cancer and other liver related diseases.
Hindusthan National Glass sells arm in Europe for Rs 175 cr
In 2015-16, HNG Global GmbH had posted a turnover of Rs 276 crore and contributed 12 per cent of the total consolidated revenue of the company.
Google Glass hopes to help autistic children read faces
The facial recognition software was developed at Stanford University and runs on Google Glass.
Prices of 56 medicines to come down; NPPA fixes ceiling rates
Govt fixes the prices of essential drugs based on the simple average of all medicines in a particular therapeutic segment, having sales of more than 1 per cent.
Mindshare bags Grand Prix in Glass Lions Category for The 6-Pack Band
Josy Paul, chairman of BBDO India (also one of the Glass Lions jurors), says the response has been overwhelming.
IBM patents Google Glass-like night vision eyewear
The patent claims the effect is similar to that of dark rooms used in photography or the red-tinted glasses worn by some airline pilots.
RBI fixes MSS ceiling at Rs 30,000 crore for current fiscal
This ceiling will be reviewed when the outstanding balance reaches the threshold limit of Rs 15,000 crore.
Government fixes ceiling price of 54 drug formulations
The government fixes the prices of essential drugs based on the simple average of all medicines in a particular therapeutic segment, having sales of more than 1 per cent.
Maharashtra to lose out as government puts ceiling on pulses
Traders said that the proposed price ceiling can prove counterproductive as the state can lose its trade to other states.
Industry that manufactures tinted glass for cars seeks partial relief from Supreme Court ban
Sources said, in the meetings held recently, some manufacturers of tinted films presented new technology to produce sun blinders with greater visibility.
Euro 2016: Beer, broken glass and beatings tarnish the mega-spectacle
Broken glass, beer bottles & football fans on Vieux Port came as a reminder to Euro organisers that old habits die hard.
Cannes Lions 2016: The making of Glass Grand Prix winning ad '6 Pack Band'
The provenance of 6 Pack Band is Mind Share's Content+ product 'Content Day', a kind of match-making program for creators and clients like HUL.
Oil breaches the $40 ceiling
Producers in and outside the Opec plan to meet in Moscow on March 20 to discuss an output freeze, an Iraqi oil official told state newspaper Al-Sabah.
With HoloLens, Microsoft aims to avoid Google Glass mistakes
When Microsoft showed off an early edition of its HoloLens augmented-reality goggles, it targeted the software developers it needs to make the device useful.
Coca-Cola may stop glass bottles
Coca-Cola may stop selling soft drinks in glass bottles as they have become more expensive to produce compared to plastic bottles and cumbersome for most consumers to carry .
Ban ceiling fans to curb suicides: Rakhi Sawant to PM Modi
Bollywood drama queen Rakhi Sawant has made yet another nonsensical statement by urging Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ban ceiling fans.
Now, Google Glass to 'rehumanise' doctor-patient relationship
Using Google Glass, Augmedix has developed a platform for doctors to collect, update and recall patient in real time.
Snapchat giving tough competition to Google with 'smart' glasses
Snapchat has introduced some bold and stunning content features since the inception of its service.
Women and Glass Ceiling
In my view, the main reason for the uneven management sex ratio is our inability to discern between confidence and competence.
126 drugs cheaper by over 40% as govt fixes ceiling
Government has fixed the ceiling price of 530 essential medicines that has resulted in price reduction of over 40 per cent in case of 126 drugs.
Now, text and type on virtual keyboard with 'smart' glass
The latest version called 'K-Glass 3' is equipped with a stereo camera, dual microphones, and a Wi-Fi module.
Father's day special: Female CEOs like Denise Morriso, Mary Barra say dad’s advice helped them shatter glass ceiling
All children are shaped by their parents, but a father can have a particularly weighty influence on a daughter’s career path, explains New York.
Wells Fargo plans quiet assault on Wall Street from glass tower
Wells Fargo has picked out space for a trading operation to use as a base for a stealth attack on the investment banking world.
Hillary Clinton tries again to crack 'highest glass ceiling' with White House bid
On Saturday at the Americas summit in Panama City, Obama said at a news conference that Clinton would make an "excellent president."
Google Glass to help remotely monitor 'organs-on-chips'
Google Glass, one of the newest forms of wearable technology, offers researchers a hands-free and flexible monitoring system.
India Inc's Rising Women Leaders 2015: For Vodafone’s Kavita Nair, the glass ceiling does not exist!
Kavita NAIR, Sr VP, retail & digital, Vodafone India was born in a small town in Madhya Pradesh and completed her education in Baroda.
MCX shares energy price risk management tips with glass makers
He said MCX offers two size variants of crude oil futures contracts – 100 barrels and 10 barrels – to suit the requirements of the participants.
Women CAs moving beyond the glass ceiling
While women CAs are leaving their mark of excellence professionally, the immense potential that lies embedded is still vastly untapped.
Google Glass helps monitor tiny models of human organs
With the Glass, the team was able to control livers and hearts on a chip remotely, dosing out pharmaceutical compounds by using valves.
Google glass disappears from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Google glass disappears from Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Google Glass deactivates social media accounts
Four years after it was unveiled, Google Glass has ended its push to popularise the pricey eyeglasses with consumers.
India Inc's Rising Women Leaders 2015: Mondelez’s Manjari Upadhye is not too bothered about shattering the glass ceiling
In her early years at Pepsico, Upadhye’s mentor was Geetu Verma, who is currently executive director at Unilver.
KESCO to distribute of energy-efficient ceiling fans
A consumer will be eligible to buy two fans and there is also a proposal under the scheme that will allow consumers to exchange their old fans.
New glass technology to turn 'smart' windows into TV screens!
The next phase of this research will be to incorporate the invention onto windows with an aim to selectively filter light and heat waves.
Indian Army has opened gates of its golf clubs for jawans, break glass ceiling
An inter-formation golf championship - the first of its kind -- for junior commissioned officers and jawans of the Western Command was organized.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah asks for hike in professional tax ceiling and better devolution of funds to states
Siddaramaiah has sought a five-time increase in the ceiling of professional tax and suggested better management of centrally-devolved funds to the states.


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DIVE Networks enables companies and marketing partners to engage their employees in real time with events as they happen. On March 7 McDonald's Canada's huge #AllDayBreakfast campaign was broadcast to employees for the first time in sync with their agency OMD Canada, at Twitter's headquarters, and live in Toronto's Dundas Square. Employees at McDonald's HQ, OMD Canada and Twitter Inc. were all able to follow along by watching DIVE screens in their offices.
Tweet by Rory Capern, Managing Director, Twitter Canada
Spotted! McDonald’s broadcasts its breakfast message
The QSR took over a Yonge-Dundas Square digital billboard in Toronto to show real-time Tweets and drum up excitement for its all-day breakfast offering.
Originally published by Media in Canada on March 8, 2017 By Bree Rody-Mantha
For anyone who has ever craved an Egg McMuffin at 3 p.m., McDonald’s Canada wants you to know it’s possible.
The fast food chain officially rolled out all-day breakfast nationwide on Feb. 21 after a short testing period — and on March 7, it promoted the new option through a massive digital billboard at Toronto’s Yonge-Dundas Square (where there are no less than 13 McDonald’s locations within a 1 km radius). Rather than feature traditional static images or videos, the billboard instead displayed a dashboard of real-time Tweets using the #AllDayBreakfast hashtag.
The billboard went live at 11:01 a.m. yeaterday, one minute after breakfast would normally stop being served at McDonald’s. It was a joint effort between McDonald’s Canada, Twitter Canada, media buying agency OMD, outdoor advertising company Clear Channel Canada and data analytics/digital signage company Dive Networks.
“We needed a way to show that all-day breakfast was very huge,” Robert Nolan, digital supervisor with OMD, told MiC. After the idea of doing a promoted hashtag on Twitter was brought up numerous times, OMD connected McDonald’s with Twitter Canada to see what else could be done to make it bigger.
Twitter had already worked with Clear Channel and Dive Networks to bring tweets onto a digital display at BMO Field at this year’s Grey Cup, and Laura Pearce, head of B2B marketing at Twitter told MiC this campaign was a good opportunity to bring the technology into a more public space. On top of the billboard Twitter also created a custom McDonald’s breakfast emoji which would generate whenever any user penned the #AllDayBreakfast hashtag.
The activation, said Nolan, helped to expand the campaign beyond just a digital screen. “It will show how many people were excited about it,” he said.
But the event also worked twofold, said Pearce, promoting more active use of Twitter.
“In many ways, it was a product demo for us [Twitter],” said Pearce. “We’re obviously looking to drive volume of Tweets, we’re looking to drive intent to use Twitter and exposure to it.”
The one-day event also included a national Snapchat geofilter, while the broader all-day breakfast campaign will include out-of-home, digital advertising and promoted social media and last until the end of April.

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Bloomberg reports that companies in the cryptocurrency industry still have trouble opening bank accounts. Companies in the cryptocurrency industry still have trouble opening bank accounts, major financial publication Bloomberg reported on March 3. The report cites the complaint of Sam Bankman-Fried, CEO of quantitative crypto trading company Alameda Research, that “the standard answer of ‘just go to your local Chase branch’ doesn’t work in crypto.” Bankman-Fried also added that it is not illegal for banks to serve crypto businesses, but “it’s a massive compliance headache that they don’t want to put the resources in to solve.’’ Bloomberg also points out that, while the larger banks avoid serving companies involved in crypto, smaller ones are trying to get hold of this underserved subset of the market. Such an example given in the report is Silvergate Bank in San Diego, which reportedly said in a November 2018 filing for an initial public offering that crypto businesses have as much as..
Ohio state treasurer Robert Sprague revealed that the authority has collected two tax receipts via cryptocurrency to date. Two businesses in the United States state of Ohio have paid taxes with cryptocurrencies, state Treasurer Robert Sprague said in a forum on Feb. 19. Ohio became the first state to allow businesses to pay taxes with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) in November 2018. During a forum covering policy issues facing the state, Sprague said that the treasury has only collected two receipts for tax payments using cryptocurrencies. He did not specify the specific amount of tax payments received through cryptocurrency. With that, Sprague emphasized that the Ohio state treasury does not manage cryptocurrency themselves, clarifying that they do not accept any other currency than the U.S. dollar. The treasurer elaborated that crypto tax payments are conducted through a cryptocurrency platform which simply facilitates the exchange from crypto to fiat: “We will never accept won..
Bahrain’s central bank is launching a regulatory sandbox to allow blockchain and crypto companies to work in the country, according to a gov’t official. Bahrain’s central bank is launching a regulatory sandbox to allow blockchain and crypto companies to work in the country, pending formalized regulations. The news was reported by Bloomberg оn Feb. 20. As previously reported, in December 2018, the central bank issued draft proposals to potentially regulate and license crypto asset services. With the prospective framework currently open for consultation, the new sandbox will reportedly allow companies in the sector to work on a trial basis for nine months. Dalal Buhejji, business manager at Bahrain’s Economic Development Board, told Bloomberg the initiative will enable firms "to test their solution on a limited number of users, with a limited number of transactions.” Buhejji said the initiative is intended to expedite new companies’ entrance into the market. Among the 28 companies appro..
The Forbes “Fintech 50” list for 2019 of top fintech firms features little over half as many blockchain companies as before. The Forbes 2019 “Fintech 50” list of the world’s top financial technology firms published on Feb. 4 features six blockchain companies, little more than half the amount listed in the 2018 edition. Released in February of last year, Forbes 2018 “Fintech 50” list contained 11 blockchain- and crypto-related companies. In the introduction to this fourth edition of the list, Forbes writers note that while “crypto prices and ICOs collapsed, overall investment in fintech surged in 2018,” stating that “big fintechs are getting bigger.” The introduction also points out that 20 of the startups are making their appearance on the list for their first time. The list of companies featured “Crypto & Blockchain” as one of its categories. However, the first company on the list which involved such technologies, Axoni, was placed in the “Wall Street” category. This company, accordi..
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking sources for blockchain data and its analysis. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seeking sources for blockchain data and its analysis, a statement issued by the agency revealed on Jan. 31. According to the statement, the SEC is trying to find businesses able to provide blockchain data to support its risk monitoring and compliance enforcement activity, as well as inform the commission about digital assets. Last month, the agency announced that cryptocurrencies are one of the its top examination priorities for the current year. According to the Jan. 31 statement, the agency expressed interest in potential sources for data concerning the most popular blockchain ledgers. Other than providing the data, the companies are also required to parse the data for ease in reviewing. Furthermore, the SEC also requests information concerning an overview of the data extraction, conversion and verification proces..
China has introduced new guidelines seeking to eliminate anonymity in blockchain networks. The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) has introduced new regulations for blockchain firms that are operating in the country. The announcement was published on the regulator’s website on Thursday, Jan. 10. According to the CAC, the guidelines, which will come into force on Feb. 15, were developed to contribute to the healthy development of the industry. The document describes the firms that are subject to regulations as websites or mobile apps that provide information and technical support to the public using blockchain technologies. As soon as the regulations come into power, they will be obliged to register their names, domains and server addresses at the CAC within 20 days. The guidelines require blockchain startups to allow authorities access to stored data, and to introduce registry procedures that would require ID card or mobile numbers from its users. Moreover, they will be obliged ..
At least 340 cryptocurrency or blockchain companies were dissolved or liquidated this year in the U.K., nearly two and a half times more than in 2017. At least 340 cryptocurrency or blockchain companies were dissolved or liquidated this year in the United Kingdom (UK), British news outlet Sky News reported on Dec. 22. UK crypto companies in 2018. Source: SkyNews The aforementioned article also reports that last year, the number of companies in this industry that had been liquidated amounted to 139, nearly two and a half times less than this year. Moreover, 60 percent of the companies dissolved this year ceased activity between June and November. According to the reported data, more than 200 of the now-dissolved companies “were incorporated with Companies House during 2017.” This year, according to the article, newly-registered crypto companies were growing slower than the number of dissolved businesses for the first time. The data upon which Sky News reportedly based its article has ..
26 French companies along with five banks have successfully completed a blockchain-enabled KYC trial with R3 consortium. 26 French companies and five major banks have completed a Know Your Customer (KYC) test based on blockchain, according to a press release by the entrant firm RCI Bank and Services released Dec. 3. RCI Bank and Services, a French automotive financing and insurance firm unveiled details of a customer knowledge-focused blockchain solution trialed in partnership with blockchain consortium R3. According to the press release, the Proof-of-Concept (PoC) test has been conducted in cooperation with the Association Française des Trésoriers d'Entreprise (AFTE), a local network of treasury and finance professionals. As revealed by a participant of the test, RCI Bank and Services, which is also a member of the R3 consortium, trial participants were able to implement KYC requests within a shared network, with banks having to request access to data and enterprise clients able..
Italian securities watchdog CONSOB has ordered cease and desist orders on several crypto-related firms for offering unauthorized financial services. The Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (CONSOB) has ordered three crypto-related companies providing unauthorized investment services to cease and desist, an official release states Monday, Nov. 19. The first company, a trading platform called Richmond Investing, has purportedly violated the Consolidated Law on Finance (TUF) — a fundamental law governing Italian financial markets — by failing to register as a financial intermediary in the country. The Italian securities market regulator has also suspend the activities of two other companies, Crypton Ltd. and Eagle Bit Trade, along with individual Alessandro Brizzi representing Cryptoforce Ltd., for 90 days. According to the release, CryptoForce, a company specializing in Proof-of-Stake (PoS) mining, promoted a cryptocurrency dubbed “Crypton.” Brizzi was advertising CryptoForc..
sponsored Inability to extract intelligence from the data will harm competitiveness, the company says. Anyone involved in marketing knows the adage as old as advertising itself: “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don't know which half.” The reality may be worse though - not just a half, but an absolute majority of marketing budgets is wasted on customers that don’t generate enough profitability, says Peter Fader of the Wharton school of economics at the University of Pennsylvania. The rise of big data and analytics technology promises to change that situation. Today, decision-makers are increasingly able to tell a wasted marketing budget from an effective one. Nevertheless, few companies have what it takes to tap into big data riches, and the consequences may be dramatic. Singapore-based data science firm DATAVLT says that 99 percent of corporate data is wasted and never used to draw knowledge from it. Only one percent of the data companies collec..
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Spring Denim Collections Bring '90s Fits
From Levi's to EB Denim, catch up on the denim collections arriving in stores.
NYDJ Turns 20, Focused on Consumers and Fit
The brand is releasing three new denim styles to celebrate the milestone.
What’s Next for the Kids Denim Market
In a post-pandemic world, the children’s denim market faces its own challenges and opportunities.
Grunge Fashion Readies a 2023 Comeback
The musical genre that made flannel shirts and dirty, destroyed denim the uniform of ’90s teenage angst is back in the zeitgeist.
Year In Review
A look back at the year in denim.
Rivet’s 10 Most-Read Articles of 2022
Rivet readers are eager to find out what’s next in denim fashion.


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Motor Biscuit came up with an educated guess a couple of years ago that the off-road focused Scout SUV would return. They even brought up the potential for electrification and how it would play into VWs current plans to enter the EV market.
Will the International Scout Return? VW Just Bought Navistar
Though there are still papers to be signed Volkswagen just bought Navistar International. The big rig truck manufacturers. But International didn’t always


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We all like our Amazon deals, but what about the human cost on those who work at Amazon? The New York Times has just exposed a toxic work culture. According to the article, the company’s best workers are known as Amabots, because they are almost like cyborgs. “If you’re a good Amazonian, you become an Amabot,” said one employee.”
“At Amazon, workers are encouraged to tear apart one another’s ideas in meetings, toil long and late (emails arrive past midnight, followed by text messages asking why they were not answered), and held to standards that the company boasts are “unreasonably high.” The internal phone directory instructs colleagues on how to send secret feedback to one another’s bosses. Employees say it is frequently used to sabotage others.”
“Losers leave or are fired in annual cullings of the staff — “purposeful Darwinism,” one former Amazon human resources director said. Some workers who suffered from cancer, miscarriages and other personal crises said they had been evaluated unfairly or edged out rather than given time to recover.”
“A woman who had breast cancer was told that she was put on a “performance improvement plan” — Amazon code for “you’re in danger of being fired” — because “difficulties” in her “personal life” had interfered with fulfilling her work goals.”
“In Amazon warehouses, employees are monitored by sophisticated electronic systems to ensure they are packing enough boxes every hour. (Amazon came under fire in 2011 when workers in an eastern Pennsylvania warehouse toiled in more than 100-degree heat with ambulances waiting outside, taking away laborers as they fell. After an investigation the company installed air-conditioning.)”
Last month, Amaxon eclipsed Walmart as the most valuable retailer in the country, with a market valuation of $250 billion.
In response to the report one NYT reader commented: “Midway through this article, after reading stories of how employees going through devastating personal losses were treated, I cancelled my Audible membership, deleted my Kindle app, and will no longer be shopping from Amazon. I cannot support a company that so purposefully creates a negative environment for its employees. It’s disgusting, it’s immoral, and I hope others feel the same after reading this article.”
Update: Now similar allegations have surfaced in the UK. Staff at Amazon’s UK operation have developed physical and mental illnesses because of the “regimes” they work under, the GMB trade union has warned. Employees at the online retailer’s distribution centers across the UK were under pressure to be an “above-average Amazon robot”, the GMB’s lead officer for Amazon, Elly Baker, told the Times.


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Retail sales fell 0.5% in February, the largest drop in more than a year, indicating that the consumer sector was slowing even before the coronavirus struck with force in the United States. Economists said they were looking for even weaker numbers in coming months.
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that the February drop in sales was the biggest since a 2% decline in December 2018. Sales had been up 0.6% in January.
The February decline came from weakness in a number of areas including a 0.9% fall in auto sales and a 2.8% drop at gasoline stations, a decline that reflected falling gas prices.
Excluding motor vehicles and parts, retail sales were still down a sizable 0.4%.
In a likely sign of things to come, online sales showed a solid gain of 0.7% in February. Economists are forecasting even bigger demand in this area as Americans heed warnings to limit activities outside the home to try to halt the spread of the virus.
“With virus fears escalating drastically, containment measures being stepped up and high-frequency data showing that consumers are already avoiding public places like restaurants and cinemas nationwide, it looks likely that retail sales will fall sharply in March,” said Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics.
The retail sales report doesn’t cover the past week when the U.S. economy shuddered to a near-halt, the Dow Jones plummeted to new lows and scores of iconic chains like Nordstrom and Abercrombie & Fitch announced that they are temporarily shuttering to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
While discounters and grocers like Walmart, Target and Costco have seen long lines of customers wanting to stockpile groceries, many mall-based clothing stores have seen a drop-off in customer traffic.
Economists believe that the hit to consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of economic activity, will be enough to push the country into a recession.
“Disruptions from the coronavirus will bring the economy’s main engine (consumer spending) to a halt,” economists at Oxford Economics said in a research note. “Against this backdrop, a U.S. recession is now unavoidable.”
Nordstrom became the first department store chain to announce that it would temporarily close all 380 stores, including 116 department stores. It said it was calling off its annual financial guidance, noting a slowdown in consumer demand, particularly in areas impacted by the coronavirus.
Deborah Weinswig, CEO of Coresight Research, a global research firm, said that she now expects 15,000 stores to close in 2020, nearly double her forecast of 8,000 stores that she made earlier this year. She says she expects that retailers could be closed for three months, not just two weeks.
“We are in a sustained spending halt,” she said.
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Here's something nobody asked for: Pringles-flavored instant ramen noodles**.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Pringles and the 30th anniversary of Super Cup, the two are combining their brands Voltron-style to release two new flavors of Super Cup ramen noodles (Sour Cream and Onion and Jalapeno and Onion) and two new flavors of Pringles chips (Chicken Bone Soy Sauce and Squid Fried Noodles).
A 10-pack of this special ramen costs $24, just a bit more than ordinary instant noodle cups (shipping is $28 though). Available for preorder now through Japan Trend Shop.
**Now, this is not to be confused with ramen-flavored Pringles. That's a whole different junk food beast.
An iconic 1990s junk food, Betty Crocker’s Dunkaroos are packages of cookies and sugar paste, I mean frosting, for dipping. They were discontinued in the US in 2012 but will return this summer because the 1990s are cool again. Above, a 1997 TV commercial for the Dunkaroos tie-in with The Lost World: Jurassic Park movie. […]
If it’s shaped like a golden sponge snack cake, and tastes like a golden sponge snack cake, it must be a golden sponge snack cake, right? Well, not this time. Post Consumer Brands and Hostess have just announced they are introducing a frickin’ Twinkies cereal to grocery stores in December. From the press release: Twinkies […]
Last week, students at Atlantic Community High School in Delray Beach, Florida were delighted by a new snack offering in the vending machine. Unfortunately, it wasn’t immediately clear how to select this limited time item for purchase. (WPTV)
Even among the many global varieties of alcoholic beverages, tequila comes with an exceedingly complicated history. I mean, it’s not like bourbon spawn articles like 19 People Share The Reason They’ll Never Drink Tequila Again or 11 Reasons Why We Have A Love / Hate Relationship With Tequila. Look, we get it. Tequila and its […]
Meditation seems simple. Just sit on the floor, clear your mind, and zen out. But have you tried sitting cross-legged on the floor without moving for even 10 minutes? It starts getting mighty uncomfortable after a while. And if you’ve got a few years on you, the knees and thighs are going to be barking […]
Unless you’re doing a lot better than most of us these days, having a personal masseuse on call isn’t really financially doable. And of course, how many masseurs are still doing house calls or accepting visitors during all this time of medical uncertainty? With skilled human hands mostly out of play right now, it falls […]


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The big trend in 2012 was pet owners turning to pop culture, celebrities, fictional characters, and athletes for name inspiration.
November marked the end of an era with the release of "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2," but the effects of the Twilight phenomenon aren't forgotten, as "Bella" topped the charts as the most popular name for dogs and second most popular name for cats in 2012.
In 2012, it appeared pet owners also turned to celebrity magazines for inspiration, as Banfield Pet Hospital treated pets named after celebrity moms and babies, including "Snooki" and baby boy "Lorenzo," and "Beyonce" and her darling, "Blue Ivy."
Another winning pet name this year was "Eli" and "Ellie Manning," making a pass to Super Bowl Champion and Giants quarterback, Eli Manning. Even TLC's reality TV hit had Banfield veterinarians saying, "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo," as the tiny pageant star's name was turned over to pets.
The pop music genre struck a chord with pet owners, and pets rocked such names as "Ke$ha," "Nicki Minaj" and "Lady Gaga." And fans of NBC's "The Voice" thought CeeLo picked just the right name for his white Persian cat...in fact, it was "Purrfect"!
"It's fun for us to see how creative our clients can be when it comes to their pets' names," said Elizabeth Lund, DVM, MPH, PhD, Banfield senior director of research and head of the BARK team. "Pet owners have strong, emotional connections with their pet, so it's fitting they would give their four-legged family member a name that holds personal significance and reflects their interests."
As uniquely inspired as pop culture names may be, only "Bella" graced the top 10 list, replacing "Max" in the No. 1 spot from 2011. In fact, Banfield Pet Hospital's top 10 pet names of 2012 are considerably tamer than those influenced by pop culture.
The following is a list of the top 10 pet names of 2012 based on 2.5 million Banfield Pet Hospital clients:
For more information about Banfield Pet Hospital, visit www.Banfield.com.


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Apple executives have been openly pondering what was once unthinkable: running a Macintosh operating system on an Intel processor. But executives are expected to steer clear of that issue next week as the company struggles to make a decision on that front.
The list of new licensees won't be disclosed until next week but industry speculation points to companies such as Motorola, Power Computing, and new licensees such as Everex and Acer--though Acer may end up playing more of a manufacturing role, where it produces core components and then sells them to other vendors who want to market Macs under their own brand names.
The list of which clone vendors will adopt the Rhapsody operating system is important because clone vendors are increasingly a driving force in the Macintosh market. Motorola announced just today that it has sold more than 56,000 Mac systems since it began shipping its StarMax line in mid-November.
According to recent quarterly statistics from market research firm Dataquest, the Mac OS clone market grew 348 percent in 1996, rising from 2.4 percent in 1995 to 13.9 percent in 1996. Power Computing alone has sold tens of thousands of systems in the last six months.
The clone vendors have been so successful that the number of Mac systems delivered actually increased in 1996, even though the Mac continued to lose market share compared to Windows PCs, according to preliminary figures from International Data Corporation.
If it is to continue the momentum gained from the clone makers, Apple will have to get most or all of them to declare allegiance to its future operating system, Rhapsody.
Rhapsody will combine the foundation of the NextStep operating system with Apple's standalone technologies, such as the QuickTime Media Layer and OpenDoc. NextStep will give the Mac OS memory protection, which keeps the entire system from crashing when one application goes down, and preemptive multitasking, a feature that speeds performance by dividing processor time between applications more evenly.
But while Apple is right now focusing on recruiting more Mac clone vendors, the ability to run on other platforms is still an attractive idea to many Apple executives. If Rhapsody were to run on Intel-based boxes, Apple could then pitch its operating system to the likes of Compaq Computer and Dell.
As Apple moves forward with development of Rhapsody, Apple chairman and CEO Gilbert Amelio has said he would be a "damn fool" not to consider that possibility. He added the company has been looking at such a move for the past five years, but that Rhapsody would provide the opportunity because NextStep already runs on Intel.
But for the meantime, Amelio is referring to this possibility as a contingency plan in case Motorola and IBM stop making PowerPC chips.


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FAKRO presented for the first time its products at the biggest trade show for the construction industry in Mexico – EXPO CIHAC 2016 Mexico City held between 11-15 October.
As in previous years, the trade show attracted a number of exhibitors and crowds of visitors. Over 550 companies from the construction industry, including FAKRO took part in the event. Company's exhibition occupying the area of nearly 50m2 presented the latest solutions and key products.
Visitors of the stand could learn about benefits of roof windows (FPP, FYP, PPP, PTP), L-Shaped combination windows (BVP, BDR) and light tunnels (FV, FVE). A great interest was also attracted by flat roof windows DRF, DEC, FXC, DXW which feature excellent thermal insulation performance and modern design. A wide range of FAKRO products displayed during the show also included LWK loft ladders, light tunnels (SLT and SRH-L) as well as accessories such AMZ and AMZ Solar awning blinds and ARF internal blackout blinds. The VMZ Solar roller shutter caused a real sensation, and even a Mexican wave!
“FAKRO products are a novelty on the Mexican market. They attracted the attention of distributors of construction materials, real estate companies, architects and students. It happened that the DXW flat roof window inspired visitors to show us ready projects of their homes. This resulted in conversations full of the inspiration, and at the same was an opportunity to get to know our product. The entire event was attended by approx. 6,000 people. Our stand was also visited by Ms. Beata Wojna, Polish Ambassador to Mexico”, commented Rafał Rynduch, Export Manager of FAKRO.
FAKRO which is the second largest manufacturer of roof windows and loft ladders worldwide is present in North America for many years. There is a whole range of company's products both in USA and Canada, including those specially designed to meet local standards. So far, FAKRO products which can be found in more than 50 countries all over the world have not been offered on the Mexican market. The interest aroused by FAKRO products at EXPO CIHAC makes us believe that roof windows and other FAKRO products will be installed in many Mexican houses.
Copyright © 2014 FAKRO. All rights reserved.


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First reported 15 hours ago -
Updated 15 hours ago -
REDMOND, Wash.--(EON: Enhanced Online News)--When Mario Golf: World Tour launches for the Nintendo
3DS system on May 2, it will feature robust regional and worldwide online tournaments hosted by Nintendo
, as well as custom tournaments that can be created ...
[Published EON Consumer - 15 hours ago]


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After several high-profile data breach events last year affecting nearly half the Australian population, three-quarters (74 per cent) of respondents to a recent survey have expressed an increase in concern over the safety and security of their online and financial data versus 12 months ago.
PayPal Australia’s 2023 Security Research paper revealed Australians’ increasing concern over their online safety, particularly in the wake of multiple high-profile data loss events in 2022, including the Medibank and Optus breaches.
According to Australia’s Office of the Information Commissioner (OAIC), within the space of four months in 2022, cyber breaches affected the equivalent number of nearly half (47 per cent) of the Australian population.
The increasing proliferation and news coverage around scams appears to have seeped into the collective consciousness, with most respondents (65 per cent) to the survey expressing concern over the increasing sophistication of scams.
Fears were also expressed over the loss of personal details to criminals on the dark web (55 per cent), the safety and security of personal data being shared with businesses (52 per cent), and companies’ control over personal data and how it is used (51 per cent).
On a generational split, Baby Boomers (those between 57-75 years of age) reported the greatest increase in concern over the past 12 months, with more than three in four in this generation (77 per cent) reporting heightened cybersecurity fears.
However, PayPal noted that “increased anxiety is seen across all generations”.
“Fortunately, Australian consumers have also become more vigilant, demonstrating a commitment to bolstering their online security practices.”
More than nine out of 10 consumers (93 per cent) revealed they have taken at least one proactive measure to protect themselves online.
Among these measures include treating calls, emails, and texts with more suspicion (81 per cent), enabling two-factor authentication (74 per cent), using PayPal for e-commerce transactions (63 per cent), improving passwords (60 per cent), and educating themselves about identifying scams (54 per cent).
When shopping online, more than one in three (37 per cent) Australians noted that they had abandoned purchases due to security concerns or because their preferred payment option was not available.
“The breaches that impacted Australians a year ago were a reminder to all of us that we can’t be complacent when it comes to cyber security, especially as more aspects of our day-to-day lives shift online,” said Daniela Fernandez, head of information security at PayPal Australia.
“Every online action and transaction carries a measure of risk, but each of us has the ability to reduce the danger with simple steps to help protect ourselves and our loved ones.”
Survey findings were based drawn from an online study conducted by Fifth Quadrant. More than 1,000 consumers, between the ages of 18 and 75, and 400 business decision-makers took part in the survey.


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Sonic Frontiers news today.
Today IGN revealed a new trailer from Sonic Frontiers showcasing the combat ingame. You can watch it in action below:
Note, since there isn’t HUD, progression or all unlocked gameplay yet and still there are months ahead before the final release, there are lot of footage to be unvailed next months, like story, boss fights, missions and unlockeables.
What do you think about the Sonic Frontiers gameplay revealed until now? Let us know at the comments or participate at Sonic Metropolis discord server.


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NetEase Youdao search for Baidu imitation more and more similar. Follow the Baidu post bar, the way NetEase yesterday launched a new search forum service products, Youdao fast paste beta.
as China’s largest online community Baidu post bar is Baidu’s core business, the NetEase launched a similar product is clearly looking forward to learn from the success of Baidu post bar model. Because it is the best way to gather popularity, increase the stickiness of the site, so NetEase launched a similar product is not surprising." Internet analyst Yang Yunqian told reporters.
from the current mode of development of NetEase’s point of view, it is taking a search for the Chinese boss Baidu’s imitation show". For example, following the end of last year, Baidu launched a ah shopping platform, NetEase Youdao shopping search followed closely in January this year, formally launched. And this time put forward a quick way to paste this Baidu post bar type of product, but also to show NetEase chairman Ding Lei for the full involvement of all areas of the search to determine.
analysts believe that the essence of NetEase search imitation show is the development of the field of search for low-cost development path. In fact, copy the mature model for NetEase risk minimization, and in successful models at the same time, a NetEase also has its own characteristics, for example, Youdao dictionary has become the industry leader NetEase ran into C2C shopping area is not completely copy the Baidu mode, and the mode of cooperation. In fact, NetEase is chasing the search market leader with the lowest price.


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Jonathan Saunders jets into New York in style
3 September 2009
British designer Jonathan Saunders travels to New York this week to make his debut at New York Fashion Week on Sunday, courtesy of British exclusively business class airline Silverjet. Silverjet is Jonathan’s airline of choice and he approached the airline having experienced their service to New York during 2007.
Saunders’ inaugural New York show takes place at the Tunnel on Sunday 3rd February at 6pm. Lawrence Hunt, CEO Silverjet comments “We’re proud to be helping such an innovative and dynamic young British designer launch themselves in New York.”
Saunders says: “I find I’m spending more and more time travelling between London and New York for work and heading from the plane directly to meet clients can really take its toll. Flying with Silverjet means I actually feel rested and refreshed when I arrive; the exceptional facilities mean you can relax, eat and sleep undisturbed.”


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Arxan Experiences Explosive First Half of 2016 as IoT Adoption Grows
Leading Provider of Application Attack Prevention and Self-Protection Solutions Announces Corporate Growth, Product Innovation, and Industry Recognition
San Francisco, CA – August 2, 2016 – Arxan Technologies, the trusted provider of application attack prevention and self-protection solutions, announced it has closed the first half of 2016 with record-breaking corporate growth, strong industry recognition and product innovation. Fueled by rapid Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile application adoption, and a need for proactive security against new attacks, today Arxan is protecting applications on over 500 million devices around the world.
According to Gartner, “Applications, not the infrastructure, represent the main attack vector for data exfiltration. As organizations lose more control over their infrastructure with trends like mobility and cloud, applications become one of the last control points for imposing the organization’s security policy.” Arxan’s patented guarding technology defends, detects and deters attacks by stopping, alerting or repairing detected attacks at rest, transit, and run-time. Arxan software protects applications on mobile devices, desktops, servers, and embedded platforms, including those connected as part of the IoT, in various key sectors such as mobile banking, mobile payments, connected cars, connected medical devices, gaming, and digital media.
“2016 is off to an extraordinary start, but this is just the beginning,” said Joe Sander, CEO of Arxan Technologies. “Our rapid growth and industry recognition underscores the market need for comprehensive application security at the binary level to ensure resilience and prevent hacker attacks in real-time. We’re looking forward to building on this momentum as we continue to drive innovation.”
First Half of 2016 Corporate Milestones
- Grew sales 400 percent in mobile banking industry and 300 percent in mobile payments over first half of 2015.
- Added twice as many new customers in the first half of 2016 as the comparable period in 2015.
- Large deals secured with customers in the connected medical device space, and robust pipeline development for connected automobiles.
Gartner “Hype Cycle for Application Security, 2016-“. 26 Jul. 2016
- Maintained dominance in digital media and gaming industries, including the acquisition of new, large customers.
- Rounded out executive team with seasoned security and IoT executives, including Mandeep Khera, Chief Marketing Officer, and James Love, Senior VP of Worldwide Sales.
Product Innovation and Research
- Released 5th Annual State of Application Security Report, which examined the security perspectives of consumers and app security professionals.
- Added several new product features, including new support for QNX, Swift, SHA-3, and enhanced coverage of Android N, iOS 10, Emulator Detection Guard, Shamir Secret Sharing Scheme, and JNI Authentication Guard.
- 2016 CDM INFOSEC Winner for Best Product – IoT Application Protection
- 2016 Info Security Products Guide Winner for Security Products and Solutions for Healthcare
- 2016 Info Security Products Guide Winner for API (Application Programming Interface) Management and Security
- 2016 Cybersecurity Excellence Award Winner for Internet of Things (IoT) Security
In addition, Arxan has been listed as a Sample Vendor in Gartner’s July 2016 “Hype Cycle for Application Security, 2016” and “Hype Cycle for Mobile Security Reports, 2016”.
Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
About Arxan Technologies
Arxan is the trusted global leader of Application Attack Prevention and Self-Protection products for Internet of Things (IoT), Mobile, Desktop, and other applications. We help protect our customers against financial loss, brand damage, fraud, IP theft, stolen credentials, fraudulent transactions, unauthorized access, non-compliance with regulatory and industry standards, and more. Our unique patented guarding technology 1) Defends applications against attacks, 2) Detects at run-time when an attack is being attempted, and 3) Deters attacks to stop hackers, send alerts, or repair making customers’ applications truly resilient. We are currently protecting applications running on more than 500 million devices across a range of industries, including: financial services, automotive (connected automobiles), healthcare (connected medical devices), digital media, gaming, high tech/independent software vendors (ISVs), and others. The company’s headquarters and engineering operations are based in the United States with global offices in EMEA and APAC. Learn more at www.arxan.com.
Kulesa Faul for Arxan Technologies


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THURSDAY 2/13/2020 11:15 a.m.
ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (WFRV) – In just a few short months, the doors will open at Ashwaubenon’s Dave & Buster’s, according to a sign in the Bay Park Square Mall.
Officials with the mall say Dave & Buster’s is scheduled to open in May of this year, but there is no confirmed opening date.
A hiring event is planned for the end of April or early May, according to Bay Park Square.
Construction on the proposed Panda Express is expected to begin after Dave & Buster’s opens.
Redevelopment plans for Bay Park Square include Dave & Buster’s, more
TUESDAY 6/18/19 3:55 p.m.
ASHWAUBENON, Wis. (WFRV) — The Bay Park Square Mall area has some redevelopment in its future, including not only Dave & Buster’s, but a few restaurants.
According to plans released by the Village of Ashwaubenon, plans have been submitted for Dave & Buster’s, Blaze Pizza, Panda Express, and Mission BBQ.
Late last week, a general manager job opening was posted to the Dave & Buster’s website for a location in the mall. Now, purposed plans have been submitted for Dave & Buster’s to take over the abandoned Younker’s furniture location off of Anderson Drive and Oneida Street.
Proposed plans show Blaze Pizza and Mission BBQ will share a lot north of Longhorn Steakhouse, just south of Anderson Drive.
Panda Express is proposed to introduce a new location south of IHOP in a lot which is currently a parking lot.
These plans have not been approved yet.
Local 5 will update this story as more information becomes available.
Dave & Buster’s may be coming to Green Bay
SATURDAY 6/15/19 10:30 a.m.
Green Bay, get ready! Dave and Buster’s may be coming to the Bay Park Square Mall.
While there is no official word on whether the location is opening, the hiring page of Dave and Buster’s, the popular restaurant and entertainment business, does have a listing for a General Manager for a location in the mall.
According to their website, Dave & Buster’s opened its first location in Dallas in 1982. Two young men found an empty 40,000 square-foot warehouse. Dave’s name appears first in the restaurant’s name because he won a coin toss.
Over 35 years later, the brand now maintains over 110 locations offering state-of-the-art games, a full menu, innovative drinks, and TVs to watch sporting events.


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Non-anonymized data for the AlphaBay online anonymous marketplace (2014-2017. AlphaBay is an auction-style marketplace for all black market items. Here, anyone can obtain a seller accountand put listings for the community. Transactions. By A Afilipoaie 2018 Cited by 13 These operations, dubbed 'Operation Bayonet' (AlphaBay) and 'Operation GraveSac' (Hansa) saw a shift in the strategy and tactics that law enforcement agencies. Egendary AlphaBay Market (est. 2014) has re-opened. Almost same administration as in 2014-2017 period which means you will find again AlphaBay runs with. Alphabay Market New listing activity Ranalo Bharat Karishma Seusiran Best Deals Subrina Every Day Deals Carter King Pro Rakesh Narine shared a post. And 100,000 posts for hacking tools, forged documents and even firearms. Compare it to Silk Road another Dark Web market shuttered in 2013. It.
A man suspected of running AlphaBay was found dead in a Thai prison last alphabay market police say they have infiltrated another market called. CORNISH: AlphaBay wasn't just any online marketplace. NPR's law enforcement correspondent Martin Kaste is here to talk more. Hey there, Martin. Alpha Bay specializes in software and services that deliver cloud-based mobile point-of-service (POS), inventory management, customer alphabay market loyalty and business. The alphabay market. Department of Justice has announced the seizure of AlphaBay, the largest criminal marketplace on the Internet, which was used to sell stolen. AlphaBay Market News: Latest and Breaking News on AlphaBay Market. Explore AlphaBay Market profile at Times of India for photos. Alphabay Market New listing activity Ranalo Bharat Karishma Seusiran Best Deals Subrina Every Day Deals Carter King Pro Rakesh Narine shared a post. The Justice Department on Thursday said that it shut down AlphaBay, what it described as the largest criminal marketplace on the internet,.
By JIII Smith 2020 Distribution of Vendor Level by Trust Level in AlphaBay Market......... 37. Figure 20. NEO4J Illustration of How Products and Services Were Categorized. The bigger black markets such as AlphaBay, it has an aesthetic and easy-to-use interface that was darknet market canada appealing to buyers Apple Market still dealt with the. AlphaBay was about 10 times the size of Silk Road, the infamous dark web marketplace that US authorities shut down in 2013 after arresting its. Authorities shuttered AlphaBay, the largest online marketplace for illegal goods, on July 4, and took down Hansa, the third largest. Dark web users fear that AlphaBay Market may have disappeared for good after an unexplained period of downtime. The site described as a. Cryptocurrency Loan Marketplace Alpha Release, Alphabay, alphabay market, Alphabay Return, alphabet, Alphabet (Google), alphabet stock.
Markets such as AlphaBay Market would go on to host a significant share of the darknet market black commercial fraud market, featuring carding, counterfeiting. The US Justice Department on Thursday said law enforcement would shut down the dark web marketplace AlphaBay, saying it allowed thousands of. Alphabay market. authorities shut AlphaBay and Dutch police close Hansa Market, Dark Web marketplace AlphaBay after it was shut down by authorities. In InfoArmor's report, Healthcare Is Under Attack, our underground research team identified multiple instances where cyber criminals had. At the moment Empire Market is probably the biggest market on the dark web, but again, that will probably change in the near future. alphabay market views. View upvotes. Check out Alpha Bay by alphabay market Castro on Amazon Music. Stream ad-free or purchase CD's and MP3s now on alphabay market.
AlphaBay was a Tor hidden service and its vendors and customers sold and bought goods using Bitcoin, Monero, Ethereum and other cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency Loan Marketplace Alpha Release, Alphabay, alphabay market, Alphabay Return, alphabet, Alphabet (Google), alphabet stock. By N darknet market bible Christin Cited by 13 The AlphaBay marketplace, which was in operation between December 2014 and and operator, says that AlphaBay was the largest dark web market and its. On July 20, the alphabay market. Department of Justice announced the takedown of the two largest dark web markets, AlphaBay and Hansa Market. Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe said Alpha Bay was 10 times the a similar move against Hansa Market, another dark web marketplace.
According to his analysis of alphabay market Russian Ministry of Justice statistics, more than half of those convicted of drug trafficking in 2018 were 18-25 years old and students. A day after a cabinet minister reportedly expressed unhappiness alphabay market over the excise and prohibition department exposing educational institutes from where students got addicted to drugs, senior police officers are understood to have been upset over ‘political interference’ in the case. Dark Web Websites You Won’t Find on Google Disclosure: WHSR is reader-supported. This ensures neither the vendor, nor the buyer can scam one another. You should know that very few forums currently exist that aren't connected to markets themselves. If you want to get these deep web sites links info then visit this post. Mac computer, then download Linux version associated Tor bundle there, it began to rise through cracks... If you need a random number from a specific state or a specific city, you can use the US phone number generator. It is so frustrating that we have audio and video of the brid. As part of the investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration agents made undercover purchases of crystal meth, LSD and hydrocodone from a range of vendors on Dream Market and trawled the site to identify the usernames associated with the organising team.
The payment gateways of cryptocurrency like Bitcoins and Litecoin were used by the operators to conceal the transactions from regulatory agencies," the NCB DDG said. MDMA at this point in time, because from what I hear there is a large amount of fentanyl and other concentrated opiates floating around in the street drug supply. The Dread accusations were followed by a general drop in business on BitBazaar and reports from some clients that they were not being allowed to withdraw their money from the marketplace. An astounding variety darknet market avengers of creatures to percolate into the hadalpelagic is the main reasons why you to.


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On Friday, May 8, Buncombe County will move with the rest of North Carolina into Phase 1 of a statewide plan to relax stay-at-home restrictions. At a May 7 press conference, Board of Commissioners Chair Brownie Newman signed a revised local COVID-19 emergency order that aligns the county with the strategy announced earlier in the week by Gov. Roy Cooper — with the notable exception of tourism.
Cooper’s plan allows hotels and short-term rentals to operate under the same social distancing and hygiene requirements as other businesses. Buncombe, which had previously prohibited all leisure travel, will now limit reservations to “staycations” for Western North Carolina residents with an 828 area code. Occupancy is restricted to 50%, and visitors who are not part of the same family or household cannot occupy adjacent rooms.
Those restrictions will remain in effect for the duration of the statewide Phase 1, which is currently set to expire at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 22. Fletcher Tove, the county’s public health preparedness director, said non-WNC residents could make reservations for dates beyond that point, with the understanding that Phase 1 restrictions may be extended if COVID-19 trends worsen.
But in line with state guidance, Tove said, retail businesses will be allowed to open at 50% capacity, with precautions in place to ensure customers and employees keep a 6-foot distance and minimize direct contact. Employees will also be screened for COVID-19 symptoms and asked to self-isolate if symptoms develop.
State, county and city parks will open, and child care facilities will be allowed to serve all working families, not just those of essential employees. Hair and nail salons, barber shops and other personal care services will remain closed, as will health clubs, gyms and fitness centers. Restaurants are still prohibited from offering dine-in service but are permitted to continue with carry-out and delivery.
County to resume community-based testing next week
Buncombe County and Western North Carolina Community Health Services will partner to offer community-based COVID-19 testing beginning next week for individuals who are experiencing symptoms, said Dr. Jennifer Mullendore, the county’s interim health director, during a May 7 press conference. The county’s Rapid Response and Recovery Equity Action team is working to determine the testing sites.
Testing at these locations will be available for anyone experiencing symptoms, regardless of age, race, gender, income, immigration status or ability to pay, Mullendore said. Residents with health insurance are asked to bring their insurance information with them, but tests will be provided free of cost regardless of coverage.
The county had previously offered community testing for three days in mid-March but suspended the effort to conserve testing supplies and personal protective equipment. Mullendore said that strategy had changed because supplies have become more available.
In other news
- The N.C. State Board of Elections plans to conduct the Republican second primary for the U.S. House District 11 as previously scheduled on Tuesday, June 23, but will add “significant safeguards to protect against the spread of COVID-19.” Changes will include social distancing for all poll workers and voters, protective barriers at check-in tables and single-use pens for ballot marking.
- Electronic Benefit Transfer recipients in North Carolina are now able to purchase groceries online through Amazon and Walmart. Shoppers are not currently permitted to buy online from local retailers that accept EBT; those merchants must apply for approval through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- The Haywood County Board of Commissioners eased county-specific restrictions on travel related to COVID-19. Visitors from outside Haywood will no longer be required to quarantine for 14 days, and the same mandate will be lifted for residents who have traveled out of the county for three days or more.
- Both the N.C. Arboretum and Biltmore Estate plan to partially reopen beginning Saturday, May 9. Visitors will be able to use park spaces, but all indoor facilities will remain closed.
- Asheville Outlets announced that over a dozen stores and eateries would resume business at 11 a.m. on Saturday, May 9. Retailers to reopen their doors include Fragrance Outlet, Le Creuset and Rack Room Shoes; curbside pickup will also be available from the Brooks Brothers Factory Store, Kirkland’s and Vera Bradley.


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OMAK – Businesses that suffered losses from wildfires in Okanogan County this year can contact the Economic Alliance about grants and other small business support.
“We have had quite a few grant programs this spring and summer that were open to all businesses within the county, including ranchers, farmers and orchardists,” said Executive Director Roni Holder-Diefenbach.
“This week and next we will be awarding approximately $500,000.00 in grants to local businesses within the county,” she said.
The Economic Alliance will continue to offer free, confidential small business support to any businesses who have been impacted by COVID-19 and/or the recent wildfires, as well as those who are interested in opening a new business or expanding their existing one during this time through our small business development center,” said Holder-Diefenbach.
The agency is waiting to hear whether a presidential disaster declaration will be made. Such a declaration is needed open up the Small Business Administration’s disaster loans and programs specifically for businesses affected by fire, she said.


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European scientists have begun a new experiment to help robots interact better with the complex situations in the human world. They’ve created an online intelligent database called Rapyuta as part of the RoboEarth project, with the goal of creating a central repository of all knowledge and wisdom that a roaming robot could need.
One of the big problems in setting a robot like PR2 loose on a mission to, say, go and buy a sandwich is that the robot needs its own knowledge database to understand what doors are like, where stores are and how to navigate sidewalks without bumping into people. The idea of Rapyuta is that it holds all this knowledge in one place, in a standardized language, so that many different robots can access it–and presumably robo-crowd-source improvements in it over time. Rapyuta can also take on some of the processing burden that a mobile ‘bot may otherwise have to carry out inside its own circuits.
The goal of the entire project is to boost the performance of robots like drones, self-driving cars and so on, as well as reducing the cost of each unit–because it could rely on Rapyuta to carry out some processing instead of having big, expensive computers inside its body. The whole thing is possible thanks to the explosion of fast wireless tech, so there’s little delay while a robot looks up some info.
Are you ready for the arrival of self-driving cars or butler bots? Or do you think the robot revolution is still far off?
[Image: Flickr user jepoirrier]


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After a somewhat mealy-mouthed first effort appeared to fall on deaf ears, United Airlines chief executive Oscar Munoz has issued a second apology following the forced removal of a passenger from a flight. Passenger David Dao was dragged screaming from a flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday, with the airline initially describing the flight as overbooked.
United Airlines corporate and agency customers entered the “jet stream” earlier, as the airline unveiled its new online portal – United Jetstream. The move represents an effort to simplify the travel management process and give customers an intuitive suite of self-service tools.
United Airlines will increase the frequency of its flights from London/Heathrow to its New York hub, Newark Liberty International Airport, this summer to six-times daily.
United Airlines has reported full-year net income of $2.3 billion, diluted earnings per share of $6.85, pre-tax earnings of $3.8 billion and pre-tax margin of 10.4 per cent. Excluding special items, UAL reported full-year net income of $2.9 billion, diluted earnings per share of $8.65, pre-tax earnings of $4.5 billion and pre-tax margin of 12.2 percent.
United Airlines and Saks Fifth Avenue have unveiled a United Polaris-themed takeover of the windows in the luxury retailer’s flagship store in New York City. Entitled Now Arriving, the 14 storefront windows display a replica of a United Airlines plane.
Carrie Fisher, who played Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, is in intensive care after suffering a heart attack during a United Airlines flight from London to LA, according to reports.
United Airlines has taken delivery of the company’s first 777-300ER from Boeing in Everett, Washington. The airline’s newest aircraft type features the all-new United Polaris business class seat and will start regularly scheduled service in February 2017.
United Airlines has begun the roll-out of its all-new United Polaris business class, the airline’s most significant product transformation in more than a decade. The new product features a reimagined, sleep-enhancing experience for intercontinental travellers. The first phase of United Polaris features an elevated in-flight food and beverage experience, tranquil custom bedding from Saks Fifth Avenue, exclusive amenity kits with products from Soho House & Co’s Cowshed Spa, and the opening of the first of nine United Polaris lounges around the world, at Chicago O’Hare International Airport.
United Airlines has reported third-quarter net income of $965 million, diluted earnings per share of $3.01, pre-tax earnings of $1.5 billion and pre-tax margin of 15.2 per cent. “We delivered another very good quarter, demonstrating the progress United continues to make at improving our customer experience, which included our best third quarter on-time performance in company history,” said Oscar Munoz, chief executive officer of United.
United Airlines continued its stretch of record-breaking operational performance by achieving its best on-time results for a summer travel season in company history. Beginning June 1st through August 31st, more than 76 per cent of mainline and regional flights arrived on time, representing a five percent increase over summer 2015 and a nearly ten per cent increase over summer 2014.
Fourteen people were injured following severe turbulence which forced a transatlantic United flight to make an emergency landing at Shannon Airport in Ireland.


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Monday, 13 December 2010
Inventor Peter Lewis has developed a machine called Byfusion, which can turn anything from drink bottles to meat packaging into blocks. Waste plastic is transformed into bricks that can potentially be used for building garden retaining walls, landscaping walls and shelters for hurricane and tsunami struck areas in the Pacific Islands.
His 8-year-old prototype at the Green Island landfill requires 10kg of plastic to form a one brick. The production version of the Byfusion machine will be capable of producing 250 blocks daily and has already generated interest from prospective national and international buyers.
Via: Otago Daily Time


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As the coronavirus reaches more than 100 countries and the WHO declares nCoV as a global pandemic, we list the top seven most affected countries by the Covid-19 corona virus outbreak in China, by the number of cases.
China is the worst affected country by the novel corona virus (nCoV) outbreak, officially named Covid-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO).It witnessed more than 3,000 deaths and approximately 74% of the global coronavirus cases as of 09 March. It quickly came down to approximately 67% by 11 March as the number of cases in rest of the world surged. The number of cases in China, however, has been on the decline starting March due to the rapid control measures and response by the Chinese government.
Coronavirus is getting severe in Italy, making it the most-affected in Europe as well as outside Asia. Travel to Italy and Italians travelling to other countries during the outbreak has been traced to have caused Covid-19 spread. Northern Italy, where the majority of the Italian Covid-19 cases are recorded, is kept on a high alert with affected cities locked-down. The Italian government’s early measures such as closing educational institutions temporarily might have limited the spread, although the aged population remains a concern.
Iran, another country from where coronavirus spread to rest of the world, currently has more than 9,000 confirmed cases and has recorded 354 deaths. The country has been suspected to have delayed acknowledging the spread of corona virus in their country and under-reporting the cases. A number of countries have traced their coronavirus-infected having contracted the disease during travel to Iran. Many government officials and politicians including MPs have contracted coronavirus, some of who died.
4. South Korea
South Korea is hit the most by coronavirus infection outside China due to its proximity to the latter. Coronavirus cases in South Korea started surging in February and are currently close to reaching 7,900. Deaths due to coronavirus in South Korea reached 66. The country is being assisted by China, whose experience in containing the outbreak has resulted in controlling the local spread of the epidemic.
Since the first coronavirus case confirmed on 01 February, the Spanish Covid-19 nCoV-infected cases got closer to 1,000 in early hours of 09 March and rose sharply to 2,277 by 11 March. Spain is the second most-affected European country with coronavirus. Spanish coronavirus death toll has increased to 55 making the government and citizens nervous. Tourism, a crucial sector for Spain, is expected to face an adverse impact due to the global coronavirus fears.
Germany, which borders France and Switzerland, also has hundreds of coronavirus-positive cases, which stand at 1,966 currently. Similar to its neighbour France, Germany too banned public events involving huge crowds in order to prevent spread. Trade fair, The Hannover Messe, has been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak situation. Germany has reported three coronavirus deaths as of 11 March.
Switzerland, a popular tourist destination, is the fifth most affected European country by the novel coronavirus outbreak. The positive Covid-19 coronavirus cases in Switzerland, whose borders are close to Milan, Italy, crossed 650 on 11 March. Some of the major cities in Switzerland, such as Geneva and Zurich, have reported confirmed coronavirus cases.
Related info- How Coronavirus Is Affecting Travel Plans?
Greece Is Welcoming Tourists From June 15th!
Greece is all set to get its tourism industry back on track by opening to tourists June 15 onwards! It is a tourism-reliant country and in order to boost it, the country actually preponed its reopening date. Greece had initially planned to open up on July 1st! But don’t worry, they’re only going to allow international flights into the country gradually from 1st July.
As per CNN, the Prime Minister of Greece—Kyriakos Mitsotakis addressed the nation regarding the updated date. He also mentioned that they would only be allowing tourists from countries that have low rates of COVID infection. Also, the tourists coming in will not be required to go through any quarantine or testing. But they will be carrying out spot tests in the tourist areas as per requirement.
Not just this, but the Greek government is also focusing on strengthening its healthcare service in tourist destinations. As per Harry Theocharis, the Tourism Minister, as many as 600 beds will be separately available to aid Coronavirus care.
Greece On Reviving Its Tourism Industry
The tourism industry in Greece makes up almost 20% of its GDP. It is believed that every fourth job in Greece belongs to the tourism industry. The country highly depends on its tourism and it is coming up with new measures to revive it in the best way possible.
The Greek government plans to subsidise the salaries of the tourism industry, catering industry as well as the industrial sectors. They also plan to reduce taxes for those in the hospitality and travel sectors. Also, along with Greece, Iceland to plans to open its gates for tourists June 15 onwards!
For more travel related articles check out https://littleletterslinked.com/category/travel/
The Countries That Are All Set To Re-Open Again
Coronavirus has definitely shaken the entire world. While you might not expect full normalcy, find out about countries that are picking up their pace in getting back to normal. Countries that reopen while COVID-19 is still circulating will likely face strong waves of virus again. However, the relaxation of some public health measures may also be normal as countries learn how to track and control the virus.
Canada remains in lockdown till now. The country closed the border with the USA. Canada is allowing some in house travel, but the summer tourism season in places like Ontario remains in serious jeopardy. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced during a news conference on May 19 the border between the U.S. and Canada will remain closed until at least the third week of June. The border remains closed since March 21. Additional 30-day extensions are not out of the question.
Costa Rica began easing some coronavirus measures on May 1, allowing theatres, cinemas, hair salons, gyms and athletic centres to reopen under reduced hours and strict sanitary guidelines. This move came after the country’s active infections declined for 11 consecutive days. The ban on foreign tourists is currently expiring on June 15. But there’s no surprise if it gets extended.
El Salvador has fewer than 400 reported cases. The country took early steps to curb the pandemic and in fact, El Salvador was one of the first Central American countries to go into lock down before any cases of coronavirus were reported. The travel here is not specifically forbidden, no international flights are currently pass in or out of the country. The visitors would be subject to the same strict isolation and movement guidelines as locals.
Australia and New Zealand
Types Of Tea In India
It is believed that Chai (Tea) was first founded some 5000 years ago in an ancient royal court of India. The reigning king experimented and created this recipe as an Ayurvedic tonic. Years passed, the concept of tea became a national treasure for everyone. It was drank as a daily beverage by everyone; tea/ types of tea did not believe in any form of discrimination.
Later people felt the need of experimentation with their ‘personal’ beverage. They added different types of spices and thus, different types of tea were born.
In 1935 British East India Company established tea plantations in Assam to establish Great Britain’s monopoly over the National Drink of India in order to free India from the chains of tea commands of China.
This led to the evolution of different types of tea in India, and it is safe to say that almost every state has a tea to its name now.
NOON CHAI / PINK CHAI
Noon chai, also known as shir chai, gulabi chai, Kashmiri tea or pink tea, is a traditional tea beverage originating in the Kashmir Valley. It is perfect for winter evenings and you can drink it alongside biscuits.
Kahwa tea is a flavourful Kashmiri green tea. It is an exotic mix of Kashmiri green tea leaves, whole spices, nuts and saffron which an exotic combination of taste, aroma and health benefits.
Butter tea, also known Gur Gur Chai in the Ladakhi language, is a drink of the people in the Himalayan regions of Nepal, Bhutan, India and Tibet and other Western regions of modern-day People’s Republic of China. It is associated with warmth on a cold day and good times spent with Tibetan friends, or the adventure of travel in Tibet or Tibetan communities in India or Nepal.
DOODH PATTI CHAI
Doodh pati Chai is different from saada chai: it only uses milk and tea. This tea does not include water. The roots of this tea are from Punjab/ West Pakistan.
Kangra tea is a tea originating from the Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. Both black tea and green tea have been produced in the Kangra Valley since the mid-19th century. Kangra tea was given the Geographical Indication status in 2005.
Darjeeling tea is a well-known tea variety that is exported around the world which grows in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal, India. Darjeeling tea is unique because of its leaves. They can be processed in different ways, resulting in black, green, white, or oolong tea.
Indigenous to the state of Assam, it is mainly produced in the Brahmaputra valley. Loose Assam tea gives a malty strong flavor. Black Assam Teas are ideal for breakfast and drinking in the morning. Loose Assam teas are popular for their rich maltiness.
This recipe is inspired from the famous tea shop in Pune ‘Chai La Pune’. Tandoori chai is unique variety of Indian tea local to the people of Pune. In this recipe, tea is prepared in the usual Indian way. After that, a clay pot is heated (usually in a Tandoor) and prepared tea is poured in the clay pot so that it absorbs flavors of the hot clay pot.
Which tea are most looking forward to try? Meanwhile you can read about snacks to munch with your tea here: 8 yummy tea time snacks for lazy evening
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Chemist Warehouse has teamed up with the NRL as the official naming rights partner for Sunday Football in 2019
In 2018, the discount giant had partnered with the NRL across a series of marquee matches, including the Finals Series and Grand Final, State of Origin and the Pacific Test Match.
Last year Sunday Football saw an average TV audience nearing 1m viewers per day and over 30,000 attendees at matches across the day.
Now, NRL Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Abdo has welcomed the partnership being extended into the 2019 season.
“Chemist Warehouse Sunday football will no doubt deliver some intriguing and entertaining matches in 2019,” he said.
Meanwhile Chemist Warehouse Retail director Mario Tascone said that the chain takes pride in its support of the NRL.
The group is “thrilled to continue the partnership in 2019, offering NRL fans event day experiences and activations at key marquee matches”.
Chemist Warehouse will activate its partnership at Brisbane Magic Round in Round Nine.
An in-stadium activation will run across the four days of competition, which Chemist Warehouse and the NRL say will provide a “unique footy experience”.
Last year, the pharmacy chain placed 83,500 branded seat cushions filled with products at ANZ Stadium ahead of the NRL Telstra Grand Final in September. It also placed 100,000 of the cushions at the MCG ahead of the 2018 Toyota AFL Grand Final.
In 2017, it also placed cushions at the MCG for the AFL and 10,000 at Rod Laver Arena for the AFL Grand Final Footy Show.
However at the time, it attracted criticism from public health advocate Associate Professor Ken Harvey, who lodged a complaint with the TGA, AHPRA and ACCC regarding the promotion.
He said it was an “irresponsible” promotion due to the distribution of magnesium supplements in the cushions, which were accessible by children of all ages.


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Samsung just can't catch a break. While still trying to pick up the pieces after the exploding Galaxy Note 7 debacle, it seems that the company might have another issue in their hands.
According to PhoneArena, it has received an email from one of its readers who works for one of the big wireless carrier companies in the United States.
The email states that a customer entered the store where the PhoneArena reader works with an exploded Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, which is the company's previous flagship smartphone prior to the Galaxy Note 7.
Unfortunately for the customer, the Galaxy S7 edge was the replacement smartphone that was acquired in exchange for the Galaxy Note 7 as part of the recall program on the controversial device.
The source, who wished to remain anonymous, shared that the owner of the Galaxy S7 edge was charging the smartphone overnight using the charger that it originally came with, putting to rest any speculation that a third-party charger caused the explosion.
This is the third reported incident of a Galaxy S7 edge catching fire. The first case was from earlier in the year in May, but it was not revealed until mid-September as the victim, Daniel Ramirez, filed a lawsuit against Samsung. The lawsuit was due to Ramirez suffering second- and third- degree burns as the smartphone exploded while it was in his pocket.
The second case of a Galaxy S7 edge that caught fire was reported in late September, when Weng Briones from the Philippines claimed that the smartphone started burning and spewing smoke while her daughter was using it. She was able to get a full refund for the smartphone, as she declined to receive a replacement for the destroyed device.
Three reported cases might not necessitate hitting the panic button just yet, especially as investigations on the incidents are still underway. However, it does beg the question on how many such explosions are needed before Samsung needs to abandon its Galaxy Note 7 clean-up efforts to take a much closer look on the Galaxy S7 edge.
The Galaxy S7 edge was released back in March, which means that it has been in the market for more than half a year now. Three explosion cases over that span of time is certainly not as bad as the number of incidents concerning the Galaxy Note 7 over its first couple of months, but with all eyes on Samsung right now, every case of a smartphone catching fire will be under extreme scrutiny.


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Have you ever wished there was a more private way to take an at home pregnancy test without it being discovered in your bag or the bin? Introducing Lia – the first ever biodegradable pregnancy test that’s effective, environmentally friendly and disappears without a trace.
An innovative upgrade
It’s been 30 years since the first at home pregnancy test kit hit the market but there has been very little advancement in the technology since. It was this realisation that prompted two female university students to create the new Lia pregnancy test in 2015 and it looks nothing like the original tests. Can you even spot it in the photo below?
How it works
The Lia test works just like an old-fashioned plastic pee stick test except it’s easier to use and made with natural biodegradable plant fibres; making it more lightweight, less obvious to the naked eye, and better for the environment – unlike the plastic tests that go straight to landfill.
It can also be safely discarded on the spot with a simple flush of the toilet. Aside from being convenient, it’s a much more private way to find out if you’re expecting or not, which makes it perfect for all those less sentimental types not looking for a positive test memento to keep or those wanting to surprise their partner in a more elaborate way.
Cleared for sale
Since developing the test in 2015, Lia’s founders, Bethany Edwards and Anna Courturier Simpson, have been working hard to get it onto the market. The good news is that it has just received clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States for over-the-counter sales. Hopefully this means its approval in Australia will be hot on the heels of this announcement.
Bethany and Anna have also just been awarded the Disrupt Cup at TechCrunch’s Disrupt Berlin 2017, with US$50,000 in prize money for their innovative advancement of the archaic pregnancy test.
But does it really work?
No one wants to get an incorrect result from a pregnancy test and there have been a number of recalled products on the market this year where faulty pregnancy tests have given mums-to-be false negatives. But Lia’s co-founder, Anna Courturier Simpson, says that their rigorous testing has proven that the Lia is incredibly accurate.
“To date in our testing we’ve had 100 percent sensitivity and 100 percent specificity,” she said during their TechCrunch Q&A. “So there’s no false positives, no false negatives, in the lab and in our user studies.”
Sounds amazing to us! Here’s hoping it makes its way to Australian pharmacies sooner than later.


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Albuquerque ice cream shop receives a sweet surprise
[anvplayer video=”5123737″ station=”998122″]
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — People from all over the world visit ‘I Scream Ice Cream’ in northeast Albuquerque.
“I had a group in from Malaysia, I had people in from Russia a couple of days ago, and a lot of people from out of state, out of the country,” said Bill Warren, the owner of I Scream Ice Cream. “We’re the number one hit on Yelp.”
Warren is used to dishing up scoops and laughs, but he’s not used to customers serving him some sweetness.
“It was a few days ago, and we’re real, real busy, and a gentleman came in and bought a bunch of ice cream,” Warren said. “He gave me two $20 bills.”
Warren gave the man his change, and he left.
“Then, a couple of days later, I get a call and said, ‘You know, you made a mistake when you gave me some change. I was in your shop a few days ago.’ And I said, ‘Oh, no, I’m in big trouble now.’ He said, ‘No, it’s not like that.’ He said, ‘You gave me a 20 instead of a five, you gave me too much money.'”
Then, on Thursday, Warren found an envelope attached to the front of his shop door, with three $5 bills inside.
“Good day for all!” Warren said. “I got 15 bucks – better than winning the lottery. It restored my faith in humanity. People in New Mexico are outstanding – I want to thank the gentleman that did that. It just made me feel good all day.”
Warren wants the kind stranger to know just how much that gesture meant to him, especially after a couple of difficult years of break-ins, supply chain shortages and pandemic restrictions.


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Thanks to Smoothie King’s robust expansion in 2016, more people around the world – including consumers and entrepreneurs – have the opportunity to be inspired to live a healthy and active lifestyle. Both the number of franchise agreements signed and the number of stores that opened in 2016 surpassed those of 2015.
Smoothie King Growth by the Numbers
In 2016, the brand signed 111 agreements for 171 committed stores, compared to 78 agreements for 152 stores signed in 2015. That’s an increase in the signed agreements figure of 29.7 percent, keeping the company on course to reach the 1,000-store mark by the end of 2017.
In 2016, a total of 100 new stores opened in the United States, an increase of more than 12 percent over the previous year. In all, Smoothie King currently has more than 800 total open units, including two stores abroad in new territories.
“The numbers speak to the success of Smoothie King’s mission of inspiring people all over the world to live healthy and active lifestyles in their communities,” said Wan Kim, CEO of Smoothie King. “The demand for convenient, nutritious and delicious meal replacements continues to grow, providing franchise opportunities to entrepreneurs who want to operate a brand that lines up with their own purpose.”
Warm Growth in Cool Climates
The new domestic stores, which opened in 19 states, are significant as they prove smoothies are in demand year round and in all kinds of climates. Several of the new Smoothie King stores opened in states that experience genuine winter weather with cold temperatures, snow and ice. Among those states are six in the Midwest – Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri and Ohio. Several of the states where Smoothie Kings opened, from Missouri eastward, experienced winter temperatures colder than average in 2014 and 2015.
Smoothie King’s International Appeal
Smoothie King also opened locations in new territories in the Middle East and the Caribbean, affirming the global demand for smoothies is steady and strong. In September, the first of 44 committed stores opened in Dubai, the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates.
The country’s first Smoothie King opened in the BurJuman Shopping District by Al Ghurair Retail, a group that owns commercial enterprises in 20 countries and is a major developer in Dubai. Smoothie King plans to open other locations in the Middle East, including stores in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and United Arab Emirates.
In the Caribbean, the first of four committed stores opened in Trinidad, the larger and more populous island of the two-island nation Trinidad and Tobago, in December. This location joins another regional store in the Cayman Islands to establish a foothold in the Caribbean. The Trinidad store is owned by a husband-wife team who also own other food franchises in Trinidad and Tobago.
Smoothie King: Growth with a Purpose
The expansion and the location of the growth speaks to the demand for smoothies crossing climate and cultural lines. Consumers, wherever they live, are putting greater emphasis on their overall well-being and demanding better-for-you food options without forsaking convenience. Entrepreneurs all over the world are embracing the opportunity to meet the demand and are expanding the Smoothie Kingdom with great strides.
To learn more about the franchise opportunity and become part of an expanding brand, download our Franchise Kit here.


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Aussie fintech Shift lands $18m in Series C funding
Australian B2B fintech company Shift has raised $18 million (AUD 27 million) in a Series C funding round led by Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia.
Shift says a “majority” of its existing shareholders also participated in the new funding round.
Founded in 2014 and based in Sydney, Shift provides a credit and payments platform for Australian businesses, enabling them to make and accept payments and access funds. The firm recently secured a $96 million (AUD 140 million) debt facility to support its lending operations.
With the new funds, Shift plans to build out its suite of products as it looks to add “more value” to its network of partners, merchants and direct customers.
Jamie Osborn, CEO of Shift, says the business credit and payments market is “highly underserved” and has “lagged behind the wave of innovation in consumer finance”.
“With this funding, we are well-positioned to scale our business and unlock growth for our partners and business customers,” Osborn adds.
“While large corporates can access financing based on their income or cash flows and consumers can access financing via credit card or personal loans, many businesses in Australia have to rely on mortgaging their homes or vehicles,” says Rohit Agarwal, principal, Sequoia Capital Southeast Asia.
“More than three trillion dollars is outstanding in credit to businesses and more than 90% of it is backed by real estate or automobile.”
Agarwal says Shift is aiming to solve this issue by “using data and technology” to provide “smart finance solutions” to businesses.


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After quietly letting go of 100 people last October, Zynga will lay off another 520 people — nearly 20 percent of its entire staff — according to a company blog post from CEO Mark Pincus on Monday afternoon. "Today is a hard day for Zynga and an emotional one for every employee of our company. We are saying painful goodbyes to about 18% of our Zynga brothers and sisters," Pincus wrote in a note that takes an otherwise optimistic tone, considering the circumstances. With this new round of major layoffs, the once and former darling of the tech world's gaming startup moment is hoping to reduce costs and "drastically restructure" a business that has fallen so far its Pincus almost cried to save it, sources tell AllThingsD's Kara Swisher. In addition to letting go of over 500 full-time employees, the destitute maker of Farmville will close both its New York and Los Angeles offices, which will result in $80 million in cost savings.
Despite having just fired so much of his staff, Pincus manages to remain optimistic about the future of not just his company but the people he's sending toward unemployment. "We're offering generous severance packages that reflect our appreciation for all of their work and we hope this will provide a foundation as they pursue their next professional steps," Pincus writes, before getting to the part where the move will help continue the company's "mission of connecting the world through games." He continues: "Although these are hard decisions, I'm confident that our strategy of building leading franchises and supporting them with the largest network is the right one for the long term. I'm encouraged by our recent progress."
While the very sad $3.41-per-share stock is trading slightly up — about one cent — on the news, Swisher's sources say Zynga had to lay so many people off because its web business has done worse than anticipated, while mobile games haven't exactly come to save the day. So far the "mobile first" strategy hasn't provided a lift, with the Farmville-style social games that made Zynga such a major player in that space failing to translate to phone-only. Hoping to get more people hooked, however, Zynga will invest in so-called "midcore" games, which take more concentration from players than tilling a virtual farm. In a recent earnings call, Pincus claimed midcore titles had "monetization that's running at roughly 15 times what we've seen across our With Friends titles on a per-player basis."
That's got to be (slightly) encouraging for Pincus and his shareholders, but probably not so much to the 520 people who just lost their jobs. But, hey, at least they get a "generous severance" as they head out looking for jobs in that lucrative mobile game-making field, right?


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The MIA Marketplace, consisting of 10 culturally diverse dining and retail concepts, is now completed and open in Miami International (MIA).
Located between Gates D26 and 29, the marketplace is meant give a taste of the cultural diversity of the Miami area. Many of the tenants are local small-business owners who hadn’t operated in an airport before.
“We created this concept, and this does two things: It gives the small business, local business an opportunity to gain airport experience and it also gives them an opportunity to say to say in the future if we have a procurement, … ‘Hey, I have airport experience,’” said Greg Owens, assistant director of business retention and development.
Many of the locations are already capitalizing on the opportunity. “It’s a game changer,” says Pilar Guzman Zavala. She and her husband, Juan Zavala, operate Half Moon Empanadas, one of the first of the MIA Marketplace concepts to open. They say the location has helped them triple their revenue across their business, which includes eight locations.
Other concepts in the marketplace include 305 Pizza; Cuban Crafters, a cigar shop; Estefan Kitchen Express, which is owned by Emilio and Gloria Estefan; Chefs of the Caribbean, which serves of a variety of dishes and treats specific to that region like Jamaican patties and rum cake; Fig and Fennel, a farm-to-table concept; the Miami Marlins merchandise store; Maru and Friends, which features artist Dianna Effner’s collectible, ethnically diverse porcelain dolls; My Ceviche, a seafood deli with five locations in the Miami area; and The Penguin Store, a clothing store by Miami-based Perry Ellis.