French bakeries are fighting to survive as energy bills soar | CNN

April 7, 2023April 6, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In Millery, a small town in southeastern France, Élodie Chavret runs a bakery to make a living for herself and her two daughters. The 39-year-old is also a part-time firefighter but, she says, this is not the work that scares her.

Her fear? Not being able to pay the bakery’s electricity bill at the end of the month.

The bill skyrocketed from €900 ($978) in December to €7,500 ($8,146) in January as Chavret renewed her contract. With a government subsidy, her bill would drop to €4,500 ($4,888) per month. That’s still an “unmanageable” increase, she said.

The new rate is “unbearable,” Chavret told CNN, and will all but obliterate her profits, already squeezed by rising raw material and gasoline costs, and higher wages for her six employees.

Most methods for squashing conspiracy theories don’t work, study finds. Here’s what does. | Live Science

April 7, 2023April 6, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Debunking conspiracy theories with counterarguments is often a fruitless effort — but according to a new scientific review, there may be alternative strategies that can successfully fend off conspiratorial beliefs.

Having already grown over the past 10 years, interest in conspiracy theories skyrocketed during the pandemic, when failure to comply with public health recommendations was sometimes associated with conspiracy beliefs(opens in new tab). For example, proponents of the anti-vax movement(opens in new tab) may avoid vaccinations for themselves or their children on the basis that some hazardous outcome of vaccination is being covered up. Although increasingly prominent in public discourse, conspiracy theories have proved a difficult mindset to shift.

“I wouldn’t have a Ph.D. in this project if conspiracy theories were easy to counteract,” said Cian O’Mahony(opens in new tab), a doctoral candidate in psychology at University College Cork in Ireland who led the systematic review reported in the journal PLOS One(opens in new tab). The review doesn’t reveal “a silver bullet” for countering conspiracy theories, he said, but “we have found some interesting avenues for future research that we should follow up.”

Benefits Coverage Basics for Self-Employed Workers | Business News Daily

April 6, 2023April 5, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Ready to leave the corporate world behind? Here’s what you need to know about getting benefits coverage when you’re self-employed.

Essential benefits coverage to obtain if you decide to become self-employed include liability insurance, health insurance, disability insurance and a retirement plan.
Your options for obtaining self-employed health insurance range from government markets to professional employer organizations (PEOs).
Additional expenses to consider include self-employment taxes, payroll taxes and overhead.
This article is for aspiring entrepreneurs and freelancers looking to get their benefits set up – and their expenses covered – as they go solo.

Why You Feel Unproductive And What To Dot | LifeHack

April 6, 2023April 5, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Feeling unproductive is an all-too-common experience that can leave you feeling frustrated and guilty. It’s as if you’re stuck in quicksand—the more you try to get out, the deeper you sink. As the day comes to an end, you’re left with a nagging sense of regret, wondering where all the time went and why you weren’t able to accomplish more.

But it’s not just about feeling unproductive. The true danger of unproductivity is the cycle of time poverty it creates. When you’re unproductive, it’s difficult to manage your time effectively, resulting in a state of constant overwhelm. With seemingly too many things to do in too little time, you’re left with a sense of urgency that never quite goes away.

The 260-foot-long Eco Edison will house U.S. wind turbine technicians | Fast Company

April 5, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

In Louisiana bayou country, where oil rig supply ships are as much a part of the waterside scenery as shrimp boats, a new kind of seagoing behemoth is taking shape that marks offshore wind power’s growing presence in the energy seascape.

Louisiana shipbuilding giant Edison Chouest Offshore is assembling the 260-foot-long Eco Edison in coastal Terrebonne Parish, along the Houma Navigation Canal. It’s being built for Ørsted, a Danish firm that builds and operates wind farms worldwide, and Eversource, a New England energy provider. When delivered next year, the ship will serve as floating housing for U.S. offshore wind technicians and a warehouse for their tools as they run and maintain wind farms in the Northeast.

ChopValue is turning chopsticks into furniture | Fast Company

April 5, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

For an item that’s generally used for less than an hour during mealtimes, North America imports a whole lot of chopsticks: about 40 to 50 billion pairs a year. Most of these are bamboo chopsticks, typically made in China, and shipped thousands of miles across the globe.

Yet after lunch, they simply end up in the trash. But a Canadian company has just diverted its hundred-millionth discarded chopstick that would have otherwise been landfill-bound. ChopValue is instead turning these one-time utensils into furniture, from desks to cabinets to shelves. And now, it’s starting to turn them into restaurant interiors—including for McDonald’s.

Traditional Business Plan vs. Lean Startup Plan | AllBusiness.com

April 4, 2023April 3, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Did you know that business plans come in not one, but two categories? More often than not, when we think of a business plan we think of a traditional format. This means a hefty document, about 30 to 40 pages in length, written three to five years out that outlines every detail that can contribute to the success of the business.

A lean startup plan, on the other hand, requires less time and detail to put together, but must be able to communicate the future of the business in an articulate manner.

Which type of business plan should you draft for your startup? If you’re not sure whether one format is preferable over the other, read on.

CFPB Finalizes Rule Aimed to Promote Transparency in Small Business Lending | Small Biz Trends

April 4, 2023April 3, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has finalized a rule required by Congress that will improve transparency in small business lending, as well as helping to promote economic development while combating unlawful discrimination.

CFPB Finalizes Rule Aimed to Promote Transparency in Small Business Lending

The finalized rule means lenders will need to collect and report information about the small business credit applications they process. This information includes geographic and demographic data, as well as the price of credit and the reasoning behind their lending decisions.

Opening a New Location for Your Business | business.com

April 3, 2023April 2, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

There are a few things to consider before opening a new location.

There are few things as exciting as running a successful business. Often, finding success leads some to consider opening up a second location in a new market in an effort to increase profits. However, before you jump into starting a new location, be sure it’s the right next step for your business.

Even if an exciting opportunity comes your way, be sure you can handle it without sacrificing your primary business. You should be bringing in a steady profit, and your staff should be able to handle the business while you set up the second location. Next, be sure you can duplicate your business. Are you willing to share the family secret recipe? Is the key to your success clients who insist on working with you alone? If you’re satisfied that your business can thrive at a second branch, then start planning.

Why your powerful PC still can’t handle the latest games | Digital Trends

April 3, 2023April 2, 2023 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

We’re off to a rocky start with PC releases in 2023. Hogwarts Legacy, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Forspoken, and most recently and notably The Last of Us Part One have all launched in dire states, with crashes, hitches, and lower performance despite a minor increase in visual quality. And a big reason why is that the graphics cards of the last few years aren’t equipped to handle the demands of games today.

The GPUs themselves are powerful enough; games haven’t suddenly gotten more demanding for no reason. The problem is video memory or VRAM. Many of the most powerful GPUs from the previous generation weren’t set up to handle the VRAM demands of modern games, which may explain why your relatively powerful PC can’t handle the latest and most exciting new games.