Gender-based jobless rates change household dynamics.
The European Union’s unemployment rate fell in June for the first time in more than two years — that is, until you consider that 10.9 percent of the union’s workforce is still jobless, and that number for countries that use the euro is 12.1 percent.
Continue reading… “When unemployment rises among men, domestic violence falls”
Business are replacing traditional cash registers with such products as Square’s Business in a Box.
The cash register has reigned as an icon of American commerce ever since the Civil War era. It’s an American ritual to pay for your purchases at the cash register. But, the average point-of-sale (POS) system is expensive, inconvenient to set up and manage and not connected to the internet. Despite all of this, these types of transactions occur a million times every day. The last significant shift happened in the 1950’s when credit card terminals enter the scene.
Continue reading… “Startups usher in retail revolution by clearing out cash registers”
Like YouTube, Facebook, or blogging platforms, it’s almost hard to believe there was an Internet without Kickstarter, which may be the greatest testament to its success. In 2009, the site generated about $23 million for its projects–an impressive figure by all accounts–but in 2012, Kickstarter pulled in roughly 10 times that, leapfrogging the grant budget of the National Endowment for the Arts. You can find all those facts and many more in the following masterful infographic (broken apart here) created for Fast Company by Catalogtree and reported by Skylar Bergl, Jeffrey Cattel, and Lindsey Kratochwill…
Continue reading… “Kickstarter’s massive leap into forefront of indie innovation”
Kim Jung-un, ruler of North Korea
On Wednesday, the People’s Daily online deleted a story and 55-photo slide show that named Kim Jong-un, the young, chubby ruler of North Korea, as the “Sexiest Man Alive of 2012.”
Continue reading… “North Korea leader is no longer the ‘Sexiest Man Alive of 2012’”
Taliban accidentally CC-d all email addresses on their mailing list to subscribers.
This may be good to know if you’re a terrorist organization, BCC is your friend. A Taliban spokesperson’s misstep resulted in all addresses on the Afghanistani militant movement’s email list being disclosed to the public. ABC News’ Muhammad Lila reports that Qari Yousuf Ahmedi, an official representative for the movement, accidentally used CC: instead of BCC: on a mass Taliban communication. Ahmedi forwarded a press release he received from another Taliban spokesperson in a mass email; instead of moving the CCs from the previous email to BCC, they stayed intact.
Continue reading… “Taliban public relations rep accidentally leaks email list”
Extreme Closeup of a Graphene Nanotube Chip
I.B.M. scientists are reporting progress in a chip making technology that is likely to ensure the shrinking of the size of the basic digital switch at the heart of modern microchips for more than another decade.
Continue reading… “IBM’s Amazing Nanotube Chip Breakthrough”
Election ballot
Voters in Colorado who are just now looking over their choices for president may find one surprise: the sheer number of candidates. Check out the field of presidential contenders after the break. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Who are all of the candidates in the race for the White House?”
Winner of the 2012 “Inventor of the Year Award” – Power Practical
There was no shortage of creativity on display at this year’s DaVinci Inventor Showcase. Inventors came from all across the U.S. to be part of one of the nation’s most prestigious inventor events.
Winning top prize at this years event was Power Practical for their ingenious Power Pot. Using the magic of thermoelectric power generation, the PowerPot is a cooking pot generator that uses the heat from cooking to run a 5W generator that can power up to 2-3 USB devices at a time. With 5 watts of output and a USB interface, the product is designed to supply the power necessary to charge devices anywhere.
The complete list of inventors receiving awards and honorable mentions included:
Continue reading… “Announcing the Winners – DaVinci Inventor Showcase 2012”
The new energy policy calls for a wider use of renewable energy sources.
The Japanese government’s just-released energy policy calls for the complete phase-out of nuclear power. However, the timeline is somewhat longer than many expected, with the policy saying that nuclear generation will be eliminated by the end of the 2030s, instead of at the beginning of that decade. The 20-page policy paper also lacks specific details about how the government will achieve its target.
Continue reading… “Japan will eliminate nuclear power by the 2030’s”
New rulings mean big changes in the online poker world.
Two weeks ago, online poker site PokerStars.com reached a settlement agreement with the United States Department of Justice in the amount of $731 Million dollars in relations to charges brought against them in April of 2011. In addition, the settlement included terms that saw PokerStars purchase rival online poker site Full Tilt Poker.
For those unfamiliar with the story, the US Department of Justice unsealed an indictment on April 15th, 2011 against PokerStars, Full Tilt, and Absolute Poker that charged them with numerous crimes that included money laundering, bank fraud, and violations of the UIGEA. In addition, their .com domains were seized by the US Government.Since that time, Full Tilt and Absolute Poker have both been forced out of business and PokerStars pulled out of the United States…
Continue reading… “Recent PokerStars-DOJ Deal Will Change the Future of Online Poker Forever”
Congratulations to the winners of the 2011 Nebula Awards, especially to Jo Walton, who won for her magnificent novel, Among Others. Here they are…
Continue reading… “Nebula Award winners announced”
Living ‘off the grid’ can entail going without some common luxuries.
Eric Valli spent 3 years taking photos of people in the United States who have “decided to live light on the earth.” The photographs are terrific. It looks like Valli spent time with two clans: a frontier/settler type group, and another group that look almost like cave people. I wish he had included more information about them!
Continue reading… “Photos of people living off-the-grid in the United States”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.