Count Bobulescu
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Posts posted by Count Bobulescu
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Beyond the use of screens and electricity for power, I don't believe there's much overlap. The original TV's were radio for pictures, more like current wifi in deployment, tower to antenna The interwebs initially needed direct hardline connections. I'm sure there are some similarities I don't know about.
Coincidentally, this Sunday's NYT Mag.......
A cover to break the internet 
Photo illustration by Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari for The New York TimesThe N.Y. Times Magazine's annual Tech & Design issue explores the wild web, with an opening essay by deputy editor Bill Wasik, "The Future of the Internet":
Perhaps the most profound force at work upon the internet right now is the simple passage of time. Everyone raised in a pre-internet era continues to age and disappear, while new generations grow up not merely as ‘"digital natives’’ but as life- long witnesses to the internet’s best and worst effects. ...For teenagers today, the internet is both a stage onto which to step boldly and a minefield through which to step gingerly — a double bind that has given rise to whole new habits of living online, in which self-expression and self-protection are inextricably linked.The issue includes looks at the heavily-regulated Chinese internet, by Yiren Lu ... the odd phenomenon of internet fandom, by Jamie Lauren Keiles ... and internet inequality, by Kevin Roose.
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Wegmans has pulled out of Annapolis.
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Didn't feel this was worth a thread yet, so thought I'd park it here for now. I'm less interested in these companies for their culinary attractions, more for their business plans.
QuoteKieran: The spotlight today is on D.C.'s foodies, as two startups take major steps toward national recognition.
Snack makers Ayoba-Yo and Snacklins both are participating in competitions this week that may propel their brands to new heights.
Rockville, Md.-based Snacklins, which makes vegan pork rind snacks – yes, you read that correctly – is appearing on ABC’s ‘Shark Tank’ on Sunday in search of an investment deal.
The company’s co-founder, Samy Kobrosly, will pitch the company’s low-calorie mushroom- and yuca-based chip during the fourth episode of the shows 11th season.
Snacklins was rated among the top food trends of 2019 by Whole Foods, and it’s currently available on Amazon, at Whole Foods in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, some Walmart stores and several 7-Eleven stores in Los Angeles, among other shops.
But what about a meatier snack?
Ayoba-Yo, a South African-style meat snacks company based in Fairfax, was announced as a finalist for Amazon’s first-ever Small Business Spotlight Awards.
Co-founded by brothers Wian and Emile van Blommestein, who grew up in South Africa, Ayoba-Yo makes an alternative to traditional beef jerky with air-dried meat snacks known as biltong and droewors.
If it wins, the 4-year-old meat snack startup will receive account management services, advertising credits and a trip to Amazon’s Seattle headquarters. The recognition follows Ayoba-Yo going through the inaugural incubator class for Kraft Heinz Springboard last year.
Read more: 'Shark Tank,' Amazon Competitions Spotlight 2 DC Food Startups -
On 9/21/2019 at 9:52 AM, Ericandblueboy said:
I had an overnight in Dublin because I flew Aer Lingus to Spain. My impression of Dublin is that it's very expensive. Prices are generally about the same as DC except charged in Euros, so about 10% higher than DC.
I ate at L'Gueuleton, and had 3 apps. L'Gueuleton is a Michelin Plate joint and has been around for a long time. It's not at all stuffy, but a bistro atmosphere. I ordered simply and was rewarded with tasty food. It's a short walk from my hotel near Merrion Square (stayed at the Davenport, a converted bank building I think).
Foie Gras Parfait with Grape Chutney, Mixed Leaves & Toasted Sourdough €13,5o
Pork Cheek Ravioli with Salsify, Sage Butter Emulsion and Crispy Kale €14,5o
Crispy Duck Egg in Ketafi with Duck Bacon and Truffle Mayo €11,5o (this is like a scotch egg).
Without wishing to contradict your claim of expensiveness, I would point out that the restaurants in Dublin, and EU generally, likely see a lot less of the proceeds of your check, than is the case in the US. EU sales taxes (VAT) mostly = 15-33% are always included in the price, and service charges (tips) are sometimes/often/always included, depending on country.
Also, the excise tax on a bottle of wine in Dublin is 700% higher than the combined federal & DC excise tax. $0.50 vs. $3.60. On a 20 Euro wine in the grocery store, just under 7 Euro or 40% of the cost via excise and sales tax finds it way to gummint. Consequently, 10 Euro wines have faded into history.
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43 minutes ago, DaveO said:
It has been 4 weeks. I'm still seeing the same DAMN ads. Frankly it gets old fast. Clicking on the ads would incur a cost to the advertiser. Haven't done that....yet.
So what occurs on my end if I click? Will the same damn ads run for another unending dreadful month...or will they stop.
I get a daily solicitation email from a marketing vendor, that I told was not getting my biz. I save them unopened. When I've collected 100, I'll contact them and tell them I'm thinking of opening and marking them all as spam.
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The Queen, AKA Brenda, has acceded to BoJo's request to Prorogue (shut down) Parliament. The effect will be to limit time for debate on any proposals, or lack thereof.In a little over 24 hours 850K+ signed a petition in oppo.
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12 hours ago, DonRocks said:
"How Germany Became the Country of Cars" by Sarah Staples on bbc.com
It makes me wonder: Did Japan steal our automotive engineering, or did we steal Germany's?
Think you're on the money there. In EU, Germans are considered the inventors of the auto. They are the world's pre-eminent engineers generally.If you need to buy an obscure part for an obscure industrial machine, and find that there are only three manufacturers globally, it's likely that one, two, or all three of them will be German. Such companies form the backbone of the Mittlestand, selling to a global market, but you've got to wonder if they'll lose market share to 3D printers.Rudolf Diesel was also....... -
Dublin's my home town, but I haven't eaten out there much in thirty years, so I won't offer any reccies, other than to note that Patrick Gilbaud has been at the top of the pile for nearly 50 years. Not sure if that's good or bad news. Happy to answer any other touristy questions.Be aware that the islands generally can be a considerable time sink on a 10 day trip. While you can drive cross country from Dublin to Galway in a little over two hours on the expressway, both the air and ferry departures to the Aran Islands are close to an hour's drive west of Galway, on a slow road, then another hour sailing.In Dingle, be wary of a boat trip to Skellig Michael. I've heard horror stories on radio of boats with no life jackets, and the boat captain actually attempting to justify it.
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10 hours ago, Poivrot Farci said:
The studies don't mention the environmental devastation caused by growing feed-corn for the 90+ million head of cattle in the US. Buy local and eat less meat. Raise the price of oil/gasoline so it is at least the cost of a gallon of mediocre quality milk (or water) and tax vehicle horsepower.
If only food was valued as much as "average rated" fancy gadgets and household whatnot on Amazon Prime...
I agree on the corn/ethanol issue, but that article you cited is 12 years old, and has long been overtaken by new developments. Elon Musk etc. No-one today would dare seriously suggest that growing corn is the panacea to reduced gasoline consumption.Food is at the top of the hierarchy of human needs. Unlike Amazon gadgets, people die without access to it. There's good public policy in having lower food prices. The earlier piece I posted about the BBC reporting on intensive farming beginning in the UK in 1947, reminded me about food rationing, which ended in the US in 1946, but not til 1954 in the UK. Intensive farming was right for the time, and times change. -
Leaked UK Cabinet Office document says food, fuel, and med shortages after a no-deal crash out, are not worst case scenario, rather, are likely.
Quote"This is not Project Fear — this is the most realistic assessment of what the public face with no deal," a senior government source told the Sunday Times. "These are likely, basic, reasonable scenarios — not the worst case." -
I was surprised to learn that foreign beef that has passed thru a US certified plant, in a foreign country can be labeled "Product of US".From NPRThe question of whether grass-fed beef is better is complicated: Grass feeding takes more time and more land, but it helps with soil erosion and is closer to how cows evolved to live. But much of it is shipped halfway around the world to the U.S., and any difference in greenhouse gas emissions is up for debate.
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Here's hoping the biggest loser in this is Bibi. It's a measure of his electoral concern. Now he looks craven, stupid, and even more vulnerable.The group funding the trip, has funded similar for D's in the past, without incident. There's also talk on the hill about reprimands for both ambassadors,
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18 hours ago, TrelayneNYC said:
Privacy depends on people keeping things off limits - if you never say X about Y, how is Z going to know?
As of today, 99% of my content on Facebook is gone. Disappeared, eliminated, obliterated, etc. They really make it hard for you to leave but I managed and it's been extremely liberating.
I feel fortunate never to have posted much of anything on FB. I reluctantly joined to appease family members, and was quickly surprised by the extent of digging into my background.
Now, they're on my list, but low down, as potential advertising platform. Makes me feel dirty, but I'm trying (unsuccessfully) to look at it as my revenge.
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On 6/4/2019 at 8:54 PM, curiouskitkatt said:
I calling it in a bit early, but CBD infused anything.
25+ state AG's have called on the FDA for more regulation to control spurious claims.
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16 hours ago, curiouskitkatt said:
Seedlip acquired by Diageo! Forbes.com
That's a good article. Can't say I'm surprised, for all the reasons outlined in the piece. The non-alcoholic category is as hot as CBD. Will be interesting to watch the transition from niche to mass market. Volume up, price?My experience is that Europeans are more susceptible than Americans to the claimed benefits of exclusivity, and the US price will end up lower.Won't be many wholesaler distribution issues in future.Who will move into the space formerly occupied by Seedlip? -
There'll be no ~!@#$%^&* here.
Below is more appropriate for the Brexit thread but still relevant here.
QuoteWake up, sheeple: A “small flock of sheep” is to be herded down Whitehall and past key government buildings today as the new “Farmers for a People’s Vote” campaign is launched. The baaaaa-rking mad stunt will be followed by a press conference and the release of a new report on the impact of a no-deal Brexit on farming. Former NFU Chief Economist Sean Rickard is warning of the “decimation” of U.K. agriculture if no deal goes ahead. The Indy has more.
Speaking of which: The Today program has bagged an interview with the excellently named Zippy Duvall, head of the American Farm Bureau, who says a deal on chlorinated chicken will be an essential part of any transatlantic trade deal. “Here in America we treat our water with chlorine,” Duvall says. “So there is no scientific basis that says washing poultry with a chlorine wash just to be safe of whatever pathogens might be on that chicken as it was prepared for the market, should be taken away. If there was something wrong with it, our federal inspection systems would not be allowing us to use that.”
Reminder: The point, of course, is not that the chlorine itself is harmful, but that its use hides other poor hygiene and welfare standards within the U.S. food industry. This BBC explainer from March sets out the arguments on both sides.
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11 hours ago, Poivrot Farci said:
Massive (or what is loosely categorized as "large") CAFO’s don’t exist in Europe and the UK does not represent the entirety of the EU (won’t represent any by year’s end) and UK farms are larger than those on the European continent. 2/3's of the 10.3 million farms in the EU (accounting for 422 million farmed acres) are less than 12 acres but the average UK farm is around 207 acres (France: 135 acres; Germany: 137 acres according to Eurostat). The average farm size in the US (of 910 million farmed acres) is 444 acres.
The EPA estimates about 15,500 CAFO’s in the US and almost 10,000 are defined as "large". That's one for every 21,000; 4 times more than the UK (800 CAFO's for a 66 million population.) US feedlots with a 32,000 head or more market around 40 percent of fed cattle in the US. That is far larger than anything in Europe even when adjusted for population/land. The largest dairy farm in the US (Fair Oaks, Illinois) has 30,000 cows whereas the largest proposed dairy farm in France was to contain 1,700 (France produces 25% of EU beef followed by Germany 17% and UK 13%). And there are significant ecological differences (waste management primarily) between fifty 100 head cattle farms and a 5000 head cattle farm.
There's no dispute that the US is the worst CAFO offender. I simply challenged your blanket claim that CAFO's were non-existent in EU. I have zero intention of debating the distinctions between Large, Massive, and "Mega" (as used by The Guardian).You don't reform unless you have a problem......
QuoteThe European Union currently leads the world in CAFO reforms.
Wiki....
QuoteAccording to the BBC, the era factory farming per se in Britain began in 1947 when a new Agriculture Act granted subsidies to farmers to encourage greater output by introducing new technology, in order to reduce Britain's reliance on imported meat. The United Nations writes that "intensification of animal production was seen as a way of providing food security."[14] In 1966, the United States, United Kingdom and other industrialized nations, commenced factory farming of beef and dairy cattle and domestic pigs.[15] From its American and West European heartland, factory farming became globalised in the later years of the 20th century and is still expanding and replacing traditional practices of stock rearing in an increasing number of countries.[15] In 1990 factory farming accounted for 30% of world meat production and by 2005 this had risen to 40%.[15]
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On 8/12/2019 at 10:31 AM, Poivrot Farci said:
Why should a producer that has fewer environmental consequences be taxed at the same rate as those who are responsible for the bulk of the harm?
There should be incentives to move away from the massive CAFO’s that don’t exist is Europe. Just like there are incentives for renewable energy and associated products.
The general US population simply does not revere food or have anywhere near the same accessibility to it as in the EU. That’s not elitism, that’s just the way it is. Europeans are already well familiar with taxation and the services it allows government to provide whereas Americans reject taxes and are suspicious of government. If soda and plastic bag taxes are legislative battle, taxing the venerable hamburger is a Mars-shot.
Changing methods (and subsidies) would be more beneficial than taxing what a population is resigned to. Changing those methods would already raise the price of curiously cheap food. It is baffling that a chicken leg in the supermarket is $0.69/lb whereas apples are $3.50/lb.
That's a debatable premise to begin with.
Because (unless you can show otherwise), the inefficiencies associated with small scale high end production typically result in higher per unit resource consumption.CAFO's exist in Europe. UK alone has almost 800. One for every 65,000 people. Facts, not emotion, pleaseJul 18, 2017 - "Rise of Mega Farms: How the US Model of Intensive Farming Is Invading the World" on the guardian.com -
On 8/11/2019 at 10:01 PM, Poivrot Farci said:
Never. Americans lust for cheap food as much as they do low taxes. The majority don't have the critical thinking/global perspicacity to know of, understand or even appreciate the virtues of tax revenue and reverence for quality food (either nutritional/environmental merits or designation of standards, e.g., AOC, DOP) that exists beyond the bourbon label.
However, if a tax were to be imposed on those raising ruminants, it should be applied to the CAFO's and factory farms which acerbate the situation by feeding their animals terrible feed grown with terrible pesticides from far away, shipped back and forth across the country, excessively packaged and burning all sorts of resources in the process. Taxing smaller operations would likely run them out of business and concentrate even more production to the massive shit-shows we like to call "farms". Tax the things that are bad for you (cigarettes, alcohol) as well as those which are frighteningly cheap (soda, commodity meat).
After plenty of calculus, smaller farms which raise their animals in manners less detrimental to the environment should be given a tax incentive or reprieve given the high costs of small scale farming -one that doesn't enjoy the efficiencies of scale. The premium of such products reflect the true cost of growing food and taxing absurdly cheap $4/lb ground beef (national average) to make it as expensive as better-than-average apples would begin to help reset the reality of what food costs.*
*while at the far, far end of the spectrum, at our 28 acre farm we sell our 100% grass fed lamb for $16-$35/lb ; chickens from $8/lb whole to $18/lb breasts and pork from $14 for ground, $16/lb sausages to $23/lb pork chops. Our customers happily satisfy their consciences and palates with their expenditures.
I'm not so sure about never,.....US is a follower in this domain.Your view of the general US population smacks of EU style elitism.Your plea for a tax exemption for small or boutique producers seems to me to be 100% self serving, and counter intuitive. The consumers who can afford to pay the tax, would be given a break.....gimme a break..... -
14 hours ago, DonRocks said:
Doesn't matter - the human race is fucked.
That's depressing, more than glass half empty. I guess it's OK, if you're only here for a short time, and a good time, party on......
14 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said:Fucked because we rely on technological innovation to save our asses instead of will power and personal initiative. I can cut back on red meat, recycle everything, and walk everywhere but it won’t do a damn bit of good if most people can’t be bothered to lift a finger. I’m in New Orleans this week - super hot but stores have their doors wide open with AC on full blast.
Now that really is depressing......
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A proposal in Germany this week to raise the sales tax on red meat, to combat global warming has attracted support from across the political spectrum.Currently in Germany, meat like most foodstuffs, attracts a reduced rate of 7%. The proposal would raise it to the standard rate of 19%. The change would add approximately $1 to a pound of Rib-Eye, with the revenue dedicated to various remedial actions. There have been similar proposals in Scandinavia, that so far have not materialized into anything concrete.Lots of ancillary issues, like the effects on low income consumers in food deserts, whose cheapest quickest easiest access to sufficient protein may be a fast food outlet, and reduced income for beef farmers.Globally, the US has the highest per capita red meat consumption, about 50% more than the EU.How long before this becomes a realistic proposal in the US, and would you support such a tax?/
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On 7/12/2019 at 9:33 AM, DonRocks said:
OpenTable is going to need to adapt to survive.
Oct 5, 2018 - "Do You Use OpenTable? Chef Geoff Tracy Doesn't" by Jeff Clabaugh on wtop.com
In this interview with wtop.com, Geoff Tracey said:
“OpenTable had gotten very, very expensive. The eight restaurants that I oversee were paying close to $150,000 a year in total. By switching over, we were able to bring it down to about $33,000 a year ....”
The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things, of cabbages and kings.QuoteOpenTable, the world's biggest online restaurant reservation service, is partnering with three companies — Caviar, GrubHub and Uber Eats — to offer delivery through its app, AP's Dee-Ann Durbin writes.
- Why it matters: Between May 2018 and May 2019, U.S. restaurant visits were flat at 23.8 billion; deliveries rose 3% to 2 billion, according to NPD Group.
- OpenTable had to get into delivery because it's the only part of the restaurant business that's growing, NPD food analyst David Portalatin said.
When OpenTable's updated site launches this week, it will give diners a delivery option for 8,000 restaurants in 90 U.S. cities.
- OpenTable charges restaurants $249 per month for its service, plus $1 per seated diner who booked through OpenTable or 25 cents per diner who booked on the restaurant's website using OpenTable software.
- Restaurants won't pay any additional fee for the delivery option.
- Instead, OpenTable will charge a "modest fee" to delivery companies.
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The process in Md seems better. Make an online appt. in 30 minute slots at any DMV. Show up with your docs. Out in 30 minutes at noon midweek.
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A 7-2 consumer friendly ruling from SCOTUS this morning. Here's how Sean O'Leary (Irish Liquor Lawyer) described it..........
Writing for the majority Justice Sam Alito made a statement that is going to resonate in the liquor industry for years to come. He held that reading Granholm as only extending to producers has no sound basis and Granholm stands for the proposition that the Commerce Clause prohibits state discrimination against all out-of-state economic interest.
As the debate over how Granholm applies is at issue in many wine shipping cases, Justice Alito may have ended the debate and provided a clear principle for these cases that were previously muddled by the lack of clarity after Granholm. Only time will tell how lower courts apply this principle, but the probability is high they will follow it!
Justice Alito made a very clear statement today. Here is the excerpt from the opinion.
“The Association resists this reading. Although it concedes (as it must under Granholm) that §2 does not give the States the power to discriminate against out-of-state alcohol products and producers, the Association presses the argument, echoed by the dissent, that a different rule applies to state laws that regulate in-state alcohol distribution. There is no sound basis for this distinction.
The state laws at issue in Granholm discriminated against out-of-state producers. See 883 F. 3d, at 621. And Granholm never said that its reading of history or its Commerce Clause analysis was limited to discrimination against products or producers. On the contrary, the Court stated that the Clause prohibits state discrimination against all “‘out-of-state economic interests,’” Granholm, 544 U. S., at 472 (emphasis added), and noted that the direct-shipment laws in question “contradict[ed]” dormant Commerce Clause principles because they “deprive[d] citizens of their right to have access to the markets of other States on equal terms.” Id., at 473 (emphasis added). Granholm also described its analysis as consistent with the rule set forth in Bacchus, Brown-Forman Distillers Corp. v. New York State Liquor Authority, 476 U. S. 573 (1986), and Healy that “‘[w]hen a state statute directly regulates or discriminates against interstate commerce, or when its effect is to favor in-state economic interests over out-of-state interests, we have generally struck down the statute without further inquiry.’” Granholm, supra, at 487 (quoting Brown-Forman, supra, at 579; emphasis added).
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