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August 10, 2010 • 8:00 AM 1

Plastic Island, an interesting solution to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch


First, a little background.

Did you know that the North Pacific Gyre (gyre = a large system of rotating ocean currents), located in the northern Pacific Ocean, is amassing so much debris, that it’s called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?  Due to the rotating currents, the debris will never reach land.

Scientists believe that the amount of garbage spanning the area of this gyre equals anywhere from the size of Texas to the size of all 50 States.  In numbers, some estimate the area to hold 225 million pounds of plastic waste.

Right, so where am I going with this?

(Cue music)

Recycled Island.  The idea (from The Netherlands), is to recycle all of the existing debris, and construct a sustainable habitat/island.

It’s really a cool idea.  I hope it’s feasible.

Filed under: Business, Green, World, , , , , , ,

August 7, 2010 • 2:16 PM 1

If you’re a big brand, and haven’t registered your .co extension…you may be outta luck


To keep up with the influx of individuals and/or companies registering new URLs,  or the lack of options for smaller businesses….  allow me to introduce you the newest web domain: .co

If the extension seems a bit familiar, it was once used as the country domain of Colombia.  Now, it has officially become an alternative to dot-com.

The issue here has to do with cybersquatting.  I myself, was unsure of the term, so here’s a definition:

Cybersquatting (also known as domain squatting), according to the United States federal law known as the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act, is registering, trafficking in, or using a domain name with bad faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. The cybersquatter then offers to sell the domain to the person or company who owns a trademark contained within the name at an inflated price.

Although

Many companies—especially those with recognizable brands—were quick to reserve their own .co sites during a “sunrise” period before they became available to the general public on July 20.

A lot of really large companies, ignored the debut, and are now sort of in between a rock and a hard place.  They can either ignore the fact that someone has purchased a domain name with their trademarked brand, or they can contact the individual and try to get it back.

Gannett.co and GeneralDynamics.co are now in the hands of David Stone of Warrenton, Virginia.-based Assurance Agency Inc. Redskins.co and WashingtonCapitals.co also belong to registrants who have nothing to do with the sports teams.

I guess time will tell…

Filed under: Business, Marketing, Random, Tech, World, , , , , , ,

August 7, 2010 • 1:10 PM 0

Say goodbye to pencil sharpeners


To be honest, I’m not sure I remember the last time I used a pencil sharpener, or a pencil..for that matter.

This September, just in time for company’s yearly budget meetings… Sharpie (yes, the maker of those awesome little permanent markers), is going to debut their newest product – Liquid Pencil.

The pressurized liquid graphite was especially designed to write on paper and is erasable for up to three days, after which it becomes more permanent.

I’m usually not a sucker for new random products, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going to go buy a Liquid Pencil next month.

Filed under: Business, Random, , , , ,

August 4, 2010 • 9:44 PM 0

Either the marketing is really working, or Americans are becoming more health conscious.


For the first time EVER…wheat bread sales have surpassed white bread.

The best-performing breads are promoting credentials like “whole grain” and “natural,” sometimes asking consumers to pay more for those loaves. And it seems to be working. Breads with “natural” in the name, or grains visible through the packaging, are among the best performing at grocery stores.
Interesting that even in this economy, people are willing to shell out more for healthier bread.

Filed under: Business, Marketing, , , , , ,

August 4, 2010 • 9:13 PM 1

If you can get movies in a vending machine, what’s so far-fetched about wine?


Two supermarkets in PA are going to test the ‘wine vending machine’ idea…if successful, 98 additional machines will be placed across the state.

How can this be legal?  What’s the catch?

After selecting your wine of choice, you insert your driver’s license into the machine (so that it can verify your age). Now, you may be thinking, like I was, that a computer within the vending machine would scan your license to verify age, like when you rent a movie at a Redbox, you scan your credit card, and it’s automatically charged. Well, if that’s what you were thinking, then you’re wrong.

Their identify is verified via video link by a member of the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (PLCB) who can see the customer in front of a camera installed in the kiosk.

This may be an interesting way to add jobs to the marketplace…

AND then

…customers must blow into a breathalyzer to make sure their breath-alcohol level is not more than 0.02, or just one-quarter the legal limit for driving. If it is, the sale will be denied.

I had no idea that the PA state government strictly controls the retail and whole alcoholic drink trade (apparently since 1933 – end of Prohibition), which makes it all the more strange that it is the first state to test this new concept.

Filed under: Business, Random, Tech, , , , , ,

July 30, 2010 • 8:30 AM 0

If passed, this law could change the online ad industry…


Consumer privacy shmivacy…

Similar to the Do Not Call Registry, the FTC is considering to implement a do not track list (as related to online advertising).

The idea of a universal opt-out is nothing new, and the industry has its own version in place through a trade group the Network Advertising Initiative, and companies such as Yahoo, Microsoft, Google and data exchange Blue Kai all allow consumers to opt-out of ad targeting.

But the idea of a federally-mandated system is reviving a long-held concern.

This may come as a surprise to some of you, but every single click you make, while surfing the Internet, is tracked by someone.  AND there are many companies out there, who are buying that information (your information).

Personally, I don’t think the government needs to regulate the Internet.

Further, it is my opinion that people need to become better educated about the ins/outs of the Internet.  For whatever reason, it seems like people feel ‘safe’ online, when, in fact they need to realize that while the Internet is a virtual world, it isn’t all that different from the real world…

I recently came across this website – www.pleaserobme.com – and recommend you check it out.

Filed under: Business, Social Media, Tech, , , , , , , , ,

July 30, 2010 • 8:00 AM 0

If someone complains about iPhone 4 on Twitter, but no one is online, does anyone hear it?


Apparently yes, but only if you live in the UK.

Last week Samsung opened a Twitter account – @SamsungUKMobile, and decided to take the time to respond to angry iPhone 4 owners.  Samsung’s response?

Try a Galaxy S, on us, to see how Android compares.

Pretty sweet.

Let me stop you now, kind citizens of the UK, before you go out on Twitter to complain about your iPhone 4.  Samsung has already announced that they’ve run out of phones to hand out.

Filed under: Business, , , , ,

July 29, 2010 • 10:08 PM 2

NYC Restaurant Week…did they make the grade?


I’m sure you’ve already heard the news…

The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has recently debuted their new cleanliness rating system.  Each of the 24,000 restaurants in NYC and surrounding boroughs have been inspected and given a grade – either an A, B, or C.  It’s not like the grade is staying a secret between the restaurant and the Department of Health, no…we are ALL going to know the score.

As we speak, placards are being printed at the department’s print shop, and it is the restaurant’s responsibility to display their rating card prominently…otherwise they will be fined $1K (and additional penalties – I guess because it’s a new thing, they are trying to think of good ways to punish them).

The blue A card will correspond to 0 to 13 points under the old system, which imposed numerical penalties for each violation. A green B will designate a less sanitary 13 to 27 points, and an orange C will represent 28 points or more. A black-and-white “grade pending” sign will be posted in restaurants that are appealing their scores.

Coincidentally, NYC Restaurant Week which was supposed to last July 12-25, has been extended thru Labor Day. Yay!

So I decided to do a little test.  This is, by no means a reflection of all of the restaurants participating in NYC Restaurant Week.  Consider this a random (small) sample.

I filtered the list of steak restaurants participating in restaurant week.  Of the 18 steak restaurants:

9 restaurants are not listed on the NYC Dept of Health site

3 restaurants rated A (one restaurant received ZERO violation points!)

4 restaurants rated a B (between 15-26 violation points)

1 restaurant rated a C (35 violation points!)

But on the bright side,

Nicholas J. Monello, director of printing operations, said he had fulfilled orders for 9,375 A’s — more than the number of B’s and C’s combined.

Filed under: Business, , , , , , , , , , ,

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