Radioactive isotopes from Japans Fukushima nuclear disaster turned up in bluefin tuna caught off California in August, a new study reports. The 15 fish that were tested contained 10 times the background levels of radioactive cesium, including a short-lived isotope that the fish must have absorbed while swimming in contaminated waters near Japan before migrating east across the Pacific.
You can always depend on Quirky for clever home appliances and a recent collaboration between the cool gadget site and General Electric brings us a handy jug that keeps its owner updated about the quality and quantity of the milk inside.
It was surreal pulling up to the Emirates Airline training facility in Dubai to find that part of the building was designed to look like an airliner — engines and all. In retrospect, it shouldn’t be too surprising, since this is the land of bigger and better and Emirates Airline seems to fit right in.
Emirates currently has a fleet of over 175 aircraft, flying to 120 destinations and they have no plans to slow down their growth. The airline hopes to hire around 4,000 additional cabin crew by the end of 2012.
Emirates is not an airline that cares only about the number of employees, but also the quality. They hire people from around the world to train to be some of the best flight crew in the world and Emirates Aviation College in Dubai is where every new hire will start.
Zac Campbell was a partner in a Seattle-based interior design firm in 2001 when he took a vacation in Puerto Vallarta. The towns laid-back lifestyle, ocean views and adventurous spirit made it hard to leave. After some soul-searching, Campbell realized he wanted to return to two early passions: cooking and event planning. Growing up in Asia, hed often spend hours in the kitchen and loved helping friends and family plan parties, even starting an event-planning business in Tokyo at age 16.
Gru Grococo is the world’s first chocolate created specifically for environmentalist. Actually, Gru Grococo was meant to be enjoyed by everybody, but it’s made in a way that will appeal to those who strive to live a green lifestyle.
In 1980, BBC director John Downer set out to film the world from a birds perspective for his documentary In-Flight Movie. His plan was to have a green-winged teal imprint on a willing cameraman as soon as it hatched. But as Downer was driving to deliver the egg to the cameraman, the duck hatched prematurely in his lap. By the time he reached the cameraman’s house, the duckling had firmly imprinted on Downer, and for the next six months, the director was the bird’s surrogate mother. “Wherever I went and whatever I did, the duck kept me company,” he writes in his new book, Earthflight. “In the car, she would sit beside me in the passenger seat. In the office, she would sit on my head while I tried to make telephone calls. In the evening, as I relaxed in front of the television, she would snuggle up to my feet. We would even go out to dinner parties together.”
At a time when banks remain reluctant to approve business loans, many are issuing more and more unsecured personal loans. SmartMoney reports that SunTrust Bank handed out 23 percent more personal loans through September 2011 than it did in the same period a year ago, while TD Bank issued 5 percent more personal loans. Wells Fargo and Capital One also say their personal loans are up.
Anyone with a product to sell has fantasized about what it would be like to suddenly see it featured in a popular TV show or movie. Alexander Mendeluk has lived the dream.
The co-founder of SpiritHoods, a collection of animal-inspired funky fur head pieces, Mendeluk (and co-founders Chase Hamilton, Ashley Haber and Marley Morotta) have seen their product worn by celebs ranging from rapper Snoop Dogg to rocker Pete Wentz.
They’ve also been featured on “Late Night With Conan O’Brien,” “Khloe & Lamar,” “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” and will soon be featured in a Disney movie starring Heather Graham.
The company’s product placement efforts haven’t cost them much more than their time and product
You own your own business but you hate selling? You’re not alone. Even though being a good salesperson is essential to the success of almost every business, a lot of people feel uncomfortable about the act of selling.
“Fear comes from the unknown and it is a psychological response to a perceived threat. You can chip away at this fear by creating a sales process and following some simple steps that give you confidence in your own skills,” said Dave Mattson, CEO of Sandler Training, a leading global sales and management training company.
Mattson proposes five steps that business owners can take to minimize their sales fear:
Retailers know they must provide quality products and good service to thrive, but too often, they overlook the importance of store design to their success.
Shopkeepers sometimes try to cut corners or simply don’t plan their commercial space well. They may skimp on lighting fixtures, for example, or fail to allot enough space for the inventory they will need to carry. “There is a tremendous amount of failure in retail,” says Jerry Birnbach, a Somers, N.Y.-based store-planning consultant. “Had [store owners] done a little due diligence upfront, they would not have failed.”
Here are six common mistakes to avoid when designing your store:
Dispatches From The Front 