Tuesday, May 21, 2024

BIG Wrap

Seven minutes of terror!

It's easy to take for granted accomplishments by space agencies when we see regular footage of rockets, satellites, and capsules docking at the ISS. But the image released by NASA of Perseverance, its latest rover to land on Mars, brings the phrase "seven minutes of terror" into perspective. The seven minutes refers to the amount of time that NASA's mission control at its Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California remained out of radio contact...

Bitcoin tsunami surges to $1 trillion 

  At least one financial expert feels that FOMO -- fear of missing out - is at the heart of Bitcoin's mind-boggling climb to $1 trillion in market value this week. Bitcoin has increased in value by $415 billion in 2021 alone, says Bloomberg. Market analysts note that major investments by companies such as Tesla and MicroStrategy could soon produce bubble market conditions.     https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/bitcoin-hits-us-1-trillion-value-as-crypto-jump-tops-other-assets-1.1565700

Wanted: tech companies with land and money to form local governments in Nevada

Nevada governor Steve Sisolak  is pitching a concept to attract technology companies to his state. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the proposed legislation, under the name "Innovation Zones" would authorize companies that bring "groundbreaking technologies" to Nevada to set up independent, alternative forms of local government. Those companies would be required to own at least 50,000 acres of undeveloped land, have $250 million in their bank account, and promise to invest $1 billion...

U.S. emergency organizations appeal for funding to modernize 9-1-1 system

Now that hordes of cellphone users have cut the cord to land lines, ambulance, police and fire departments have found themselves struggling to locate emergency victims. That s because, unlike land-line phones, cellphones do not provide exact locations. To help upgrade the 9-1-1 system, the Public Safety Next Generation 9-1-1 Coalition has asked the federal government for $15 billion to be funded through the government's $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill. That bill did not make it...

Are you ready to grow your own furniture?

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) are experimenting with growing plant tissue endowed with wood characteristics in the lab. The idea is that, if the concept could ever be scaled up, only the usable components of wood would have to be grown, in controllable conditions. In an article describing the process, Wired Magazine says researchers extract live cells from a specific type of tree, then grow a culture reinforced with polymer lignin...

Are fashion and big data compatible dance partners?

Just about any industrial sector that exists is questioning if the use of big data and its cousin artificial intelligence will be a worthwhile return on investment. What about the fashion industry? The global retail fashion market is worth $1.78 trillion according to Common Objective, a fashion business network. Panelist members from Vogue Magazine and apparel companies Stitchfix and Orchard Mile debate if crunching big numbers has a place in the fashion industry.     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bToY7L6B3eA&t=1256s

Amazon’s manufacturing arm enters Indian market

The lure of the colossal Indian consumer market has convinced Amazon.com Inc. to launch its first manufacturing facility in that country. The company is teaming up with a Foxconn subsidiary based in India to manufacture Fire TV streaming devices for the Indian market. The partnership allows Amazon to align with India's Aatmanirbhar Bharat, or "self-reliant India" policy.    https://www.theverge.com/2021/2/16/22286059/amazon-fire-tv-india-manufacturing-line-partner-foxconn

85-year-old goes into a vegan bar …

After 85 years and having become one of the most popular chocolate bars in the world, KitKat will be available in a vegan version. Bar owner Nestlé, the biggest food company in the world, says it will substitute milk with a rice mixture. Nestlé is not breaking ground with the arrival of KitKat V; Lindt & Spruengli AG, which makes gold-foil-wrapped Easter bunnies, offers oat-milk-based chocolate "Hello" bars while Mars Inc.'s Galaxy bars are...

Spectre of ghost kitchens raises spirits in restaurant industry

Amongst the many business transformations that took shape last year is the rapid proliferation of ghost or virtual kitchens. They have been around for several years as demand for meal delivery increased. The pandemic has dramatically driven up that demand and, with it, the number of ghost kitchens. Is this the future of the restaurant sector?   https://marker.medium.com/how-a-shadow-army-of-ghost-kitchens-took-over-americas-restaurants-b7ac1a099c8c

Doctored-baseball speculation soaring

Major League Baseball has reportedly notified its teams in an internal memo that it has "slightly" changed construction of the official league ball for the upcoming season in an attempt to bring consistency to a ball that in recent years has been flying into the bleachers at remarkable rates. Some players and fans, though, are questioning whether MLB has been making changes in secret all along. According to Sports Illustrated, an in-depth investigation by an...