Maya Reports

Our way of keeping you in the loop. You can thank us later.

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, 225 million pounds of plastic waste, Great Pacific Garbage Patch, North Pacific Gyre, Plastic Island, plastic waste, recycled island, WHIM

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, .co, .co domain registration, .co extension, cybersquatters, dot-com, dot-com alternative, redskins.co

July 24, 2010 • 12:28 PM 1

Reinvent yourself for better job prospects, literally.

Leave it to China (the next big superpower..if not already) to take it to that next level.

High school seniors and college students in China, aware of the bleak job market that awaits them, are trying to differentiate themselves from prospective competition not by education or experience…but sadly, by superficial means.

A new study has found that up to 80 percent of Beijing’s plastic surgery market consists of senior high school and college students hoping to improve their looks and land better jobs.

And I thought that don’t judge a book by its cover was universal.

Filed under: Business, World, China jobs, China Medical Treatment Orthopedics and Beauty Association, Chinese students going under knife, plastic surgery in China

July 12, 2010 • 10:24 PM 0

Italy’s new laws reminiscent of Seinfeld’s “Good Samaritan” law

As soon as I read this article, I immediately thought of the Seinfeld finale.

Remember when the whole cast happened to be in some middle-of-nowhere town, and witnessed an overweight man getting mugged? And they got arrested for it?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiP3cfoiL_s

Well apparently, the good council members of local towns in Italy have decided to take it upon themselves to crack down on anti-social behavior. What kinds of behavior? My favorites include:

The coastal town of Eraclea, near Venice, prohibits the building of sandcastles on the beaches because they can “obstruct the passage” of people strolling along the strand.

and

On the island of Capri, wearing noisy wooden clogs is banned.

There are over 150 such laws in Italy. You may want to familiarize yourself with the list before visiting.

Filed under: Business, Random, World, 150 laws, Berlusconi, Italy, Italy anti-social behavior laws, Italy ban on building sandcastles, Italy ban on wearing wooden clogs, Italy public security laws

June 24, 2010 • 8:53 PM 0

Horse-boy in Aberdeen…because we all need some random news in our lives

Google Street View is making the news waves again…in Aberdeen, UK.

Mystery surrounds a man wearing a horse’s head…

I guess someone was looking up an address or directions, and randomly came across an image of a man with a horse head mask.

I love how now there’s a ‘mystery’ surrounding this random guy. Hilarious.

Filed under: Random, World, Aberdeen UK, google street view, google street view Aberdeen, horse-boy, mystery horse-boy

June 21, 2010 • 5:57 PM 6

China takes ‘counterfeit’ to the next level

This is completely unbelievable, but true.

Companies in China are “hiring” fake American (Caucasian) employees so that their companies are perceived as worldly. For $1K/week, all you have to do is wear a suit, attend ribbon-cutting events, and pretend like you’re an important business-person.

Where can I sign up?

Filed under: Business, Random, World, China, counterfeit, fake employees

June 19, 2010 • 8:04 PM 3

Pepsi to go au naturale if Argentina wins the World Cup

When Maradona (Argentina’s soccer coach) was asked how he’d celebrate if Argentina won the World Cup, he said he’d run around the Obelisk in the nude.

In a super stroke of genius, marketers at BBDO Argentina have decided to mimic this stunt by promising to sell Pepsi bottles sans its label for a week, if Argentina wins.

Obviously I’m rooting for Team USA, but would be very interested to see how that would play out if Argentina did win.

Filed under: Marketing, Random, World, Argentina soccer coach, BBDO Argentina, FIFA, Maradona, Maradona to celebrate by running around naked in Buenos Aires, Obelisk, Pepsi without its label, World Cup 2010

June 15, 2010 • 8:00 AM 0

BP Showdown on Tuesday

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you are aware that oil has been gushing in the Gulf of Mexico since the rig explosion on April 20th.

Some important events happening today:

Various oil execs (Shell, ConocoPhillips, Exxon) are expected to turn against BP at a hearing on Capitol Hill. What better way to differentiate yourself… than point fingers.

BP’s day of fun will not end there.

The POTUS (President of the US) is planning to visit the Gulf today (which will be his second visit since the day of the explosion) and upon returning to the WH, will hold his first Oval Office speech. The location of choice from which the POTUS will be speaking (Oval Office), illustrates the importance the speech.

The Brits aren’t too thrilled with the way that the US is treating BP. To be honest, I had no idea how large a company BP was, and how vital it is to the British economy.

“[BP] It employs over 10,000 people here, its overseas revenues support our balance of payments and it generates nearly £6billion a year in taxes. Its shares are owned – directly or through pension funds – by 18million Britons, and its dividends amount to £1 in every £7 paid by British firms.”

I’m not sure what the hearing or the POTUS speech will actually do to help solve the problem, on the grand scheme of things. As we speak, BP is trying to stop the leak…obviously they don’t want to hurt the environment, or continue to lose millions of dollars a day. They need a creative idea (technology solution). If you have one, you can submit it here, and the US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) will review it and forward it on.

Now that would be a nice addition to your resume…