#my city's public bikes are subscription-based :)

[anaalnathrakhs]

hell on earth

[rubydobson12]

Riding into the future: exploring the booming e-bike subscription platform market

In recent years, there has been a significant shift towards sustainable modes of transportation, with electric bikes (e-bikes) gaining popularity as a convenient and eco-friendly option for urban commuting. E-bike subscription platforms have emerged as an innovative and flexible solution to meet the growing demand for e-bikes, providing users with a convenient and cost-effective way to access and use e-bikes on a subscription basis.

The e-bike subscription platform market has seen rapid growth, driven by factors such as increasing urbanization, rising awareness about environmental sustainability, and changing consumer preferences towards shared and on-demand services. Let’s explore the key aspects of the e-bike subscription platform market and its potential impact on urban mobility.

Recent Developments in the Electric Bike Subscription Platform Market

As of my knowledge close date of 2021, the e-bike subscription platform market has been growing rapidly with several recent developments. However, be aware that the market may have evolved since then. Here are some notable recent developments in the e-bike subscription platform market:

Growing Adoption by Urban Commuters: Electric bike subscription platforms have become popular among urban commuters as a sustainable and cost-effective means of transportation. Many cities around the world are investing in cycling infrastructure, including dedicated bike lanes, making e-bikes a viable option for commuting. This trend has led to the growth of e-bike subscription platforms that offer flexible plans for city dwellers to access e-bikes for their daily commute.

Expansion of E-Bike Subscription Providers: Several e-Bike subscription providers have expanded their operations in terms of geography and fleet size. Many e-bike subscription platforms are expanding into new cities and regions to serve a wider customer base. Some vendors have increased their fleet size by offering more e-bikes to meet different customer preferences and requirements.

Technology Integration: Technology has played a major role in the development of e-bike subscription platforms. Many vendors are integrating smartphone apps so that customers can easily find and unlock e-bikes using their smartphones. Additionally, some e-bike subscription platforms have introduced features such as GPS tracking, remote diagnostics, and auto-lock to improve user experience and improve providers’ operational efficiency.

Partnership with Urban Mobility Ecosystem: The e-bike subscription platform has formed partnerships with other players in the urban mobility ecosystem, such as ridesharing companies, public transit agencies, and bikeshare programs. These partnerships aim to provide integrated mobility solutions, enabling users to seamlessly transition between different modes of transportation, including e-bikes, for daily commutes or other transportation needs.

[manleycollins]

Journal Entry #67 - Celebrating Another Year Around the Sun

JOURNAL ENTRY #67 Name: Manley M Collins Social Security Number: 5 7 9 – * * – 6 5 4 1 Date of Birth: 06/21 Place of Birth: Washington, District of Columbia Country of Birth: United States of America Date: May 1, 2021

TOPIC: Celebrating Another Year Around the Sun

I am working with Amtrak and Megabus scheduling trips to New York City on the regular so it was going to be a big celebration as usual. Boston Housing Authority had my hopes up as I had my interview and sent in the paperwork for a two bedroom apartment, but since I did not meet the requirements of the two bedroom (actually having two people), I was returned to the studio and one-bedroom waiting list. Boston Housing Authority had me get three Certificate of Homelessness.

I found Walmart….thank goodness.

I stayed at HI New York City for my 2021 birthday week in New York City. I went to Dave and Buster's Times Square. I went to the Juneteenth After Party with DJ Q at TimeOut Market New York, 5th Floor, 55 Water Street in DUMBO, Brooklyn.

I kept my Harvard University Extension School profile updated every time I filed my FAFSA.

I was involved with University of Phoenix Alumni Advocacy Network or Marketing, but I had to cease working with them until I found how life was going to help me use my doctoral degree.

I shared my graduation photos to help DeVry University celebrate its 90th anniversary.

I started encountering all types of service issues with Lyft's BlueBikes from smartphone app not working to bikes not docking to overcharging.

Strava and Nike were getting the craziest GPS maps of trips on everywhere I was going across Greater Boston on foot and bikes. I did use MBTA (T) public transportation when I am too far out or the day is very late in the evening/night.

I tried Apple TV+ trial subscription, but I actually found no content that I like.

UberEats and DoorDash started sending me on grocery runs or orders.

Therapy and Psychiatrist with Arbour Counseling Services topics were (Previous Journal topics - I just was repeating them to new people verbally)

Suspension from Federal Express work New routine Monday felt gravity and maybe bloatedness Lawsuits life crazy thoughts and pushed through while doing my workout Federal Express corporate doctor for Psychiatric/Psychological Evaluation #1 Want to beat up somebody at work (Federal Express) for not listening and not caring Talked to a long time friend Housing interview Walmart errand

On New York trip, Thursday evening, I had a panic attack at the Jane Hotel, which was a closed space in total darkness and 50 square feet. Nothing in my system except medicine. Question: Maybe close to family???? Slept with light on all other nights.

Traveling all over….other people are traveling….why life thought I was crazy?

Got a message while exploring the library to rebuild my music collection…just because I got the technology parts to do it.

Answers to complaint - Justice Dept heads to District Court - spoke to federal attorney

Release of information to Partners healthcare

US Dept Transportation tries to do mail security on trying not to send them anything through the mail or website.

Preparing to Commencement in Atlanta, Georgia

Photo shoot and social media - felt good buying and putting on MAC Cosmetics and beard dye.

Saw movie Moonlight and Waves on Showtime TV.

Feeling heavy like gravity trying to pull me to the floor.

Reminiscencing over stuff and events during my 30s through YouTube

New individual met in person

Good week overall

Not watching a lot of television and movies

Civil suit results

Birthday weekend in New York City

Blog and Picture release

Southampton Lawsuit BPHC

Fitness Gym

Upcoming Doctor's appointment

Saw a Federal Express colleague yesterday while on a DoorDash or UberEats run and it was kind of awkward

Rough sleep last night assuming based on lawsuit, NYC, and picture release.

Finished Mango Languages (learning French) provided through District of Columbia Public Library. Purchased Busuu language app subscription through the Apple store to continue French language learning.

Met with Psychiatrist

Lost emails and email cleansing on all major accounts.

Picture releasing and storytelling

Hospital emergency room visit for strained muscle or lymph node or hernia.

First time seeing Boston's Fourth of July fireworks from Boston Common

Came to Boston to not be bothered, but folks are doing, "don't listen, don't care."

Colon cancer screening Responses to civil suit Laundry Walmart Unexpected income Apple unexpected transaction Federal Express Calm week Emotional in the beginning Email cleansing Doctor's Appointment

Other topics from Summer of 2021:

I had United Healthcare with Federal Express for medical care and it was accepted by Massachusetts General Hospital. However, I never understood behind the scenes what was happening with MassHealth (BMC Community Health Plan now WellSense) and United Healthcare. I got a new MGH Primary Care Physician and Psychiatrist.

I sent a physical card to my ex-girlfriend for the passing of her mother. She is happily married and her children are doing well.

I was trying to schedule professional photography session because my University of Phoenix commencement was coming up in Atlanta, Georgia. Initially, it was Joe Henson, but he closed the New York City studio so I ended up with Beaupix in Burlington, Massachusetts. During the process, I discovered hennaking . com had a plant-based beard dye and beard or moustache care. I did repurchase and got update on getting my MAC Cosmetics foundation and concealer.

For UberEats and DoorDash, I saw that I needed to purchase a powerbank for my Apple iPhone because I always had to end my day when my phone dies.

I researched Boston nightclubs by TimeOut and Google.

After Federal Express suspension, they sent me in the direction of Paid Medical Leave while on Leave of Absence. Federal Express tried to do Suspension with Pay, but that was short lived….James "Jim" McSweeney took or hold badge. Gary, another new manager, took cellphone locker key. I had to sign a document to see corporate doctor for Center of Cognitive Wellness. I was assigned to a Health Human Capital Management Federal Express person - Cynthia "Cindy" Roten. I ended up applying for Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) with Massachusetts Department of Family and Medical Leave. I got denied, then I appealed, and I got approved for a specified time period. I am still on United Healthcare.

I booked my flight with Delta Airlines, rented a car with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and lodged at Marriott Towne Suites. See photoblogs and tweets for media.

I had the opportunity to apply for Lifeline or the America Rescue Plan for my telephone and data or network plan. I got denied initially due to my address so I had to work the information through AT&T. AT&T knows I will pay whatever price for dependable, reliable, and quality service…yes, 90% of my telecommunications experience, I always purchase the highest cost plan. I believe this is due to having a professional background in telecommunications and educated through my degrees regarding telecommunications.

I sent information to TLC TV Dr. Pimple Popper / Dr. Lee for the small mole on my back for Season Two (2). I never got to audition or feedback on the information sent.

I started researching new places to eat (when I was eating every meal). I saw the Haley House. I went to Haley House, but the food was super heavy food - rice, beans, eggs, etc. for breakfast.

I attended Shakespeare in the Common supporting Commonwealth Shakespeare Company 25th Anniversary play named the The Tempest. It was good. Weather cooperated well. I even talked to a young lady from Arizona.

I was scheduling appointments to use the computer at the Boston Public Library.

I met a friend and went to J.P. Licks, then walked the park from Boston to Cambridge to Beacon Hill in circle.

I was attended virtual service with First Baptist Church of the City of Washington, DC.

I donated street money to Pine Street Inn, St. Francis House, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Boston Police Foundation.

[perfectirishgifts]

Best And Worst Brands Of 2020: From TikTok, The NBA, The Home Depot And Chick-fil-A...To Quibi, Facebook And The CDC

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/best-and-worst-brands-of-2020-from-tiktok-the-nba-the-home-depot-and-chick-fil-a-to-quibi-facebook-and-the-cdc/

Best And Worst Brands Of 2020: From TikTok, The NBA, The Home Depot And Chick-fil-A...To Quibi, Facebook And The CDC

This year was unprecedented for so many reasons. For most of us, our heads haven’t stopped spinning since March. For brands, this was a year when many discovered if they really had a purpose that anchored their place in the world and if their actions and experiences backed up their words and promises.

Deciding on brand winners and losers is always a challenge, but this year, I had some of the fiercest debates yet with my 450 Prophet colleagues, as brand performance took on so many more dimensions in 2020.

A number of brands were debated. We discussed the impact that Kobe and LeBron had on the world, while also talking about the Tiger King as the first COVID-19 bingeable show. The team gave a lot of love to the early COVID-19 responders, including Unilever, 3M, P&G, KFC, Chipotle and Ford, while giving equal props to those that took an authentic, purpose-based stand on social justice, such as Nike, The North Face, REI, Ben & Jerry’s, Glossier and J&J. The brands that helped us get through lockdown and changed the way we think of delivered meals and goods, including DoorDash, GrubHub, UberEats, Instacart and, “newcomers” Target and Walmart all received a lot of votes. Similarly, the streamers got a lot of mentions, from Netflix to Hulu to Peacock and Apple TV, as did the connectors in Zoom, WebEx, Teams and the slowly dying Skype. 

Our team engaged in some serious conversations about the differences in responses that Uncle Ben’s (now Ben’s Original) versus Aunt Jemima (we are still waiting) took or about how we will collectively sustain the incredible Black Lives Matter momentum. Finally, others wondered what shape Brand USA will take in 2021 and how we will be talking about Pfizer and Moderna a year from now.

So, while dozens stood out, these seven received our highest marks:

Chick-fil-A

Florida, Brooksville, Chick-fil-A, fast food chicken restaurant, drive thru line due to Pandemic.

While COVID-19 crushed the restaurant industry, Chick-fil-A’s immediate response and quick innovations explain why it’s become the world’s third largest and most beloved quick-service restaurant. It endeared itself to its growing number of fans by doubling down on drive-thru speed, including expanded lanes, “face-to-face ordering” and “order ahead pick up.” It is crushing it with their Chick-fil-A One app and enhanced delivery options, accelerating new innovations such as meal kits and their famous sauces in grocery stores…all while still bringing “my pleasure” southern hospitality to life every day to millions.

Clorox

Hand sanitizer and Clorox sanitizing wipes sit on a table at a polling station in Miami, Florida, … [] U.S., on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. Photographer: Jayme Gershen/Bloomberg

While this brand has long soared in our Prophet Brand Relevance Index® it took on an entirely new meaning in the virus-dominated universe of 2020. As consumers clamored for reliable ways to protect their families, the brand gracefully acknowledged supply-chain problems and shortages while becoming indispensable in our lives. With smart partnerships, like United Airlines and the Cleveland Clinic, it’s using its trustworthiness to increase sales and market share.

The Home Depot

TORONTO, April 3, 2020 — People line up with a social distance to enter a Home Depot store in … [] Toronto, Canada, April 3, 2020. (Photo by Zou Zheng/Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua/Zou Zheng via Getty Images)

This year’s WFH trends helped propel the Home Depot’s business as “Doers Got More Done.” What helped drive and accelerate this is its investment, commitment and leadership. The Home Depot continues to lead the industry in inter-connected digital experiences and e-commerce, customer service, products and pricing. Its commitment to customer and employee safety (and giving back to the community) has been second to none in the retail industry, as has its commitment to professional customers.

TikTok 

Photo Illustration by Mateusz Slodkowski/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

While TikTok was in the news for various reasons in 2020, its incredible timing met a moment when many needed ten seconds of relief from the real world. With over 100 million users in the U.S., TikTok has rapidly become part of our cultural lexicon. TikTok’s short-form viral videos, including its dance challenges and Ocean Spray “Dreams” video, took our minds off all things serious. From a niche player to mainstream media, this renegade has become so relevant that other platforms, like Instagram with its “Reels,” are racing to catch up.

The National Basketball Association

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA – AUGUST 27: The Black Lives Matter logo is seen on an empty court as all … [] NBA playoff games. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

In a year of so many sports disappointments, the league, individual teams and countless players have demonstrated the best reactions to both COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter. With its bubble, the NBA showed a thoughtful, empathic balance between athletic safety and happy fans. With its unapologetic embrace of racial-justice efforts, as expressed on each player’s jersey, it’s using its stage to change the hearts and minds of its strong fanbase.

Zoom

President Barack Obama “crashes” Zoom board meeting for the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

Love it. Hate it. It doesn’t matter. Triple-digit gains prove Zoom found new relevance in wildly diverse audiences, from COVID-19 stranded senior citizens to energetic preschoolers. If you didn’t know what a virtual background was or used the words “you’re on mute, Scott,” you certainly do now. With a ridiculous stock price and valuation, continuous new features and updates through Zapps (a suite of apps integrated into Zoom), as well as fun innovations like video filters, Zoom will continue to be an integral part of our lives for years to come.

Peloton

This workout-from-home brand started the year by offending an entire gender with its tone-deaf holiday ad. (Note to husbands: It’s inadvisable to tell your wife to work out more.) But as gyms around the world shut down, it understood that it had a unique opportunity to make family-room workouts an integral part of people’s health and wellness. With bikes, treadmills and increasingly appealing subscription offers (90 days free for all), Peloton hit on all cylinders in 2020.

And the brands that disappointed us the most:

Uncle Ben’s, Aunt Jemima and Land O’Lakes

LONDON: A customer’s hand taking a packet of Uncle Ben’s rice. The brand is to change the image of a … [] black farmer and could also be forced to change its name, as a reaction to a backlash over racial injustice.

While all of these storied brands announced they were making changes, it took a full-on social uprising for Mars Foods, PepsiCo and Land O’Lakes to address their decades-old history of racist brand imagery. All have done the right things in starting to address the issue. Uncle Ben has given way to Ben’s Original Rice, for example, and Land O’ Lakes has removed the Native American woman from its logo. But none have explained why it took them so long.

Boeing

The Boeing 737 MAX will take another key step in its comeback to commercial travel on December 2, … [] 2020 by attempting to reassure the public with a test flight by American Airlines conducted for the news media.

Even as the nearly two-year grounding of Boeing 737 Max comes to an end and the company moves to again sells its planes, we saw plenty to disappoint us. Not only did the safety oversights and mismanagement result in tragedies in 2018 and 2019, but it also cost as much as $25 billion. And now, it has to sell the canceled planes to airlines at steep discounts, a blow to shareholders and what was once one of the most admired names in U.S. manufacturing. COVID-19 is continuing Boeing’s misery, with global air travel falling 66 percent.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control

CDC Logo

In what should have been the least controversial voice in American public health, CDC leadership allowed politics to drag it away from its central aim. It bumbled COVID-19 testing. Early on, it offered vague and contradictory guidance on masks. And while it certainly isn’t entirely to blame for the epidemic of misinformation sweeping the U.S., it didn’t do enough to stop it.

Facebook

(Photo illustration by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Even in an industry rife with possible villains, Facebook still manages to wind up on the wrong side of history in just about everything. As a repeat offender from our 2018 list, Facebook’s role in misinformation regarding the pandemic, vaccinations and elections continued to make it harder and harder to trust the brand. Adding insult to injury, after dealing with a much deserved summer boycott, Facebook now faces a major lawsuit with the Federal Trade Commission (and 40 states) arguing it’s time to break this company up.

Quibi

People wearing masks walk past an advertisement for Quibi in a subway Station on October 22, 2020 in … [] New York City. On October 21st, Quibi’s founders announced it was shutting down its service after only six months of operation.

It could have sparked a content revolution. But Quibi, specializing in short-form content “chapters” of less than 10 minutes, failed spectacularly. In a world with fewer commuters, the idea just wasn’t compelling. Of the $1.75 billion it raised, it is returning just $350 million to investors. But we do think chief executive Meg Whitman deserves praise for pulling the plug at six months, instead of torturing both investors and the few viewers leveraging its platform.

What do you think of our list? Who would you add? Add your thoughts to the comments below.

Keep your eye out for Prophet‘s Brand Relevance Index – launching early 2021.

From CMO Network in Perfectirishgifts

[weekleegeography]

What To Prepare to China?

China, the most populous country in the world at 1.436 billion people (approximately 44 times of Malaysia’s population of 32.15 million people) and also the third or fourth largest country in the world (approximately 29 times the size of Malaysia). We have definitely heard a thing or two about China, with most notable “Made in China” in majority of your items. Production cost is one of the lowest in the world, hence why it is known as the world’s factory.

You might be planning to go to China, and so happened to stumble upon this blog as you are finding for some information on what to prepare before heading there. Otherwise, you could be my friend who read this because you saw me posting, or you just happened to see this for whatever reason. Not to worry. For my first ever travel blog, I will be sharing based on my experience on what you should prepare before heading to China and some things to keep in mind. I will be writing this from a Malaysian’s perspective (I’m a proud Malaysian), but I will try my utmost best to be as international-friendly as possible. Ya know… need to reach out to more readers! Anyways, hope you enjoy!

1) Let’s talk Visa.

No, I’m not talking about the credit card Visa. I’m talking about your permission to travel into the country visa. As of 26 December 2019, all Malaysians are required to apply for a visa before entering into the People’s Republic of China. You may use Passport Index to check if your passport requires a visa before entering to China. The link is right here!  

https://www.passportindex.org/

However, the process of applying a visa is incredibly simple. All you need to do is to go to this website. shown below!

https://www.visaforchina.org/web/guidance/StepByStep_questions.action?visacenterCode=KUL&request_locale=en_US&site_alias=KUL_EN

Just follow the process. It’s a very quick process and shouldn’t take more than a week. However, it’s always good to apply at least one month before your trip.

2) Cashless Society Is Real

You might or might not heard about it, but China is currently in a transition to a cashless society. By “transition” I meant like it’s probably 95% complete. You can literally pay anything and everything with the two e-wallets in China, which is WeChat Pay and Alipay. Even small shops, roadside vendors, and markets have their own QR codes which you can scan and pay. There is a higher chance that you are not able to pay with cash than e-wallet.

WeChat Pay

As of 23 December 2019, a foreigner is still unable to use WeChat Pay in China as WeChat Pay in Mainland China requires you to have a local phone number and a Chinese bank account to be able to use. Well, no cashless society for foreigners then.

BUT WAIT.

Alipay

Alipay has just very recently launched a Tour Pass which enables foreigners to join in the cool Chinese gang and pay with your mobile phone. Just download the Alipay app, register yourself as an international user, follow the steps to register and you will be able to use Alipay e-wallet in China for 90 days. How it works is that you will receive a virtual prepaid card issued by the Bank of Shanghai. Don’t worry at all, any remaining balance in the wallet will be refunded back to your registered card once the 90 days has ended. Alexander Wong from Soya Cincau wrote a simple article on this. Tap this link below to read more about it.

https://www.soyacincau.com/2019/11/06/alipay-ewallet-tour-pass-for-tourists/

In a nutshell, as foreigners, just set up Alipay and you will be able to pay with your phone everywhere.

Malaysians, if you have not gotten BigPay, you are missing out big times. BigPay is basically a credit/debit card based on a Mastercard prepaid introduced by AirAsia. You can use it to make payments at over 30 million Mastercard merchants worldwide as it functions like a normal credit/debit card that is managed by the BigPay app. Just install the app, sign up, top up some cash into it and you are ready to use the card. While there are countless of benefits on using BigPay, I will highlight two big reasons to get this card.

i) BigPay offers the best exchange rate when you purchase an item with BigPay card when you travel overseas. In other words, by using BigPay and purchase items using the BigPay card in another country, BigPay offers the best rate and pays to the merchant at the current exchange rate. To elaborate further, the money that you change at your local money changer will have a higher rate due to many hidden fees, but BigPay does not have any hidden fees. 

ii) If you are a frequent AirAsia flyer, use BigPay and enjoy zero processing fee while buying any flight tickets from AirAsia. Not only that, spend with BigPay and you can collect BIG points which can be used to redeem flight tickets.

**I am not promoting BigPay but it’ll be good if they can pay me for writing about them. It’s a real life saver for travels.

***But if you are going to get BigPay, why not use my referral code to sign up? You get RM10, I get RM10. It’s a win-win. My referral code is ZW1PKS7ATN.

So what is the bottom line from this long segment? I’ve topped up the Alipay app using the BigPay card, which I get the best rates while able to use Alipay to make purchase in China conveniently.

3) The Great Firewall of China

Took a nice photo and wanted to post it on Instagram? How about posting a status about how you are having a good time so far on Facebook? Want to make a video call with your friend using WhatsApp? Sorry, you can’t do it in China.

Yes, if you still do not know about this, China bans many, many websites that we access on a daily basis. Some top notable sites are:

Social Media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit

Messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Line

Anything from Google, including your Gmail, YouTube, and even Google Play Store

For a more complete list, I have attached a website here which you can take a look.

https://www.vpnmentor.com/blog/the-complete-list-of-blocked-websites-in-china-how-to-access-them/

Unless you are fine with WeChat, which is the only messaging app I can think of that is able to use in China, you will need a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to bypass the firewall.

My own experience to get by this problem is by getting a portable WiFi from Klook to bring over to China. Be sure to read the reviews stating that it can access the firewall. I got it from this website below!

https://www.klook.com/en-MY/activity/18737-3g-4g-wifi-mainland-china/?krt=s20&krid=3c37b711-5b56-4331-6e62-5a33130b4b6a

I also downloaded at least 3 to 4 of free VPNs from Google Play Store before heading to China with hopes that some of them work. China has been actively cracking down these VPNs, so not all VPN works. If you are able to afford a proper VPN, you can subscribe to a legitimate VPN service which will be much better. I have not subscribed to a VPN service before this trip, but now I have.

I personally subscribed to Nord VPN about a week ago and it is working charms so far. I managed to get a great deal of only paying RM230 for a 3-year subscription! PM me to know how or wait a while as I will post a new blog on how I got such a good deal! 

Be sure to download and prepare the VPNs before heading to China as you won’t be able to access to the Google Play Store once you are using China’s internet.

So with so many apps unable to be used, what do you use? That brings me to my next point.

4) Baidu Maps, WeChat, and Didi as your replacement

If you are able to read Chinese, then Baidu Maps is your alternative to Google Maps. It is basically China version Google Maps. Baidu is basically China’s Google.

Baidu Maps helped me to determine if it was worth walking, taking the public transport or driving to a destination. For public transport, it showed me the exact route to take, the exact bus number or train line to take, and even the total fare of the trip. As there is no access to Google in China, it is quite unreliable to use Google Maps in China even with VPN access as it does not tell you as much as Baidu Maps does. However, do take note again that it is only in Chinese, so for my fellow friends who can’t read Chinese, you can still download and try to work your way around the app.

WeChat is your replacement for WhatsApp, and why I would suggest to get a WeChat account is so that you can communicate should you need to communicate urgently. There was once that I was separated from my group, and thankfully I was able to find a café with WiFi and used WeChat to communicate. Sometimes, VPN can fail you, so it’s always better to get an app that allows direct communication.

Didi is your replacement for Uber. Sometimes, you need a taxi ride but perhaps you are too used to the e-hailing lifestyle. Didi is the app for you. Works just like Uber, except it is China version.

5) Bicycle apps

Now this was one of the things that I regretted not doing on my previous trip to China. The city of Chengdu has an excellent bicycle rental service and it’s literally so easy to cycle around the city. Sometimes, cycling is the fastest way to get to one point to another, and the rental is cheap.

The most notable bike sharing application that I’ve observed in Chengdu are OFO and Mobike. I did not do this process, but my guess it that the steps are:

1) Set up your Alipay account and top in money as told in the previous point. Make sure you sign up under the tour pass.

2) Download OFO or Mobike or both and complete the set up. Use the Alipay account to link it together.

3) Fly to China and enjoy using the service.

Again, make sure to do any downloading and signing up BEFORE heading to China.

6) Bin your toilet papers

Malaysia is blessed with an awesome sewage system, at least awesome enough that we can flush our soiled toilet papers into the toilet bowl and flush everything away. However, not everywhere is like this, and China is one of the countries that bins their soiled toilet papers instead of flushing it down. As habits are hard to break so soon, we might sometimes throw into the toilet bowl by accident or intentionally because it might be too unacceptable to bin it as it might smell or it is just pure disgusting thinking about it.

I’ve learned this the hard way in my trip, as one of my travel mate forgotten to bin his used toilet paper, and the result was that the whole toilet was clogged. By the time we managed to clear the clog, half of our day was gone and we had to throw some of our plans away due to a lack of time.

It’s real guys, you just got to bin it. It’s much more disgusting to see a clogged toilet bowl than a soiled toilet paper.  Speaking about toilets.

7) Yeah, it’s paper.

China has no bidets. So for #TeamWater, you can either shower in your accommodation, or bring wet tissue out in case the production happens outside.

8) Plug outlet

It’s different. Malaysia uses the Type G as we were once under British influence.

[Type G plug used in Malaysia]

​China uses the Type A plug, so be sure to bring a universal adapter to the trip. My little hack is that I also bring an extension wire along to plug into the universal adapter so that I can have more plugs to charge more devices.

[Type A plug used in China]

Be sure to always check for the plug outlet before visiting any countries. It’s a good investment to get a universal adapter.

9) Mala (麻辣) everywhere

At least for Chongqing and Chengdu, they take their mala very seriously. It’s hard to run away from their distinct mala taste in most of the food there. They even placed the Sichuan pepper into their stir-fried vegetables.

So if you are not a fan of mala or the numbing sensation from the mala, try to

bring some local food

from your country to compensate. Hard for me to suggest, as I’m usually very curious about the cuisines of each countries and will just try no matter how weird it is.

In a nutshell: 

I hope that some of these tips can help you to prepare before heading to China. I hope that you enjoyed my blog, and do share it with those who might need it. It is a big country with too many things to offer, but some fundamental preparation will be great. I am sure after visiting ones, you will know better on some hacks. Do share it with me too! I would love to hear them!

Pack your bags, and let’s get travelling! 

Just kidding, not now. Stay at home now as we are in a middle of Covid-19 pandemic. 

[is6621]

The Sharing Economy - We Don’t Need Ownership, just access. - Kelsey Sullivan

We share everything these days. From weekend memories, to text messages, to cars, to houses. You name it - there’s a way to share it. After a shared, group  text with friends on Monday, catching up on a friends first trip to Denver - the biggest take away from their time? “ So much fun! Caught up with old friends and scooted around everywhere!”

Funny. You go to Denver and the best part was the fact that scooters were at your fingertips to take you around where and when you wanted. Enter today’s society and our need for instant gratification. We want what we want. We don’t need to have it, hold it, own it forever - we just want to USE it. Not to mention, we want to use it when it is good for us or until we find that next shiny object. 

While we are all seasoned vets when it comes to Uber and Lyft and their ride sharing capabilities, it is important to look at how these companies continue to put the consumer at the core; finding ways to continue to meet and ultimately exceed our needs and expectations. Turning a ride into a scoot, Lyft is the latest company to jump in on the shared scooter bandwagon, and whaddaya know, their first market? DENVER! (thanks friends for inspiring my school work!).

Like ride-sharing, the scooter-sharing market is already saturated with (2) billion dollar start ups - Bird and Lime - but Lyft hopes to use its established platform to gain marketshare.

Call it the Amazon approach, as they did with Whole Foods, Lyft is using Denver as a test market. Rolling out scooters in phases - both in quantity and time in what they consider to be “opportunity zones” - areas with limited access to public transportation or low-income. 

What’s inspiring the scooter trend? Cities are getting wiser. Supporters praise them as effective and eco-friendly. Millenials want that - they want sustainability, they want to invest in things that have a purpose. Lyft, as a company has a goal to take a million cars off the road by the end of 2019, and what better way to attack that head on than launching an app-based scooter service. With ride sharing as it is today, Uber and Lyft are creating traffic, not reducing it and thus asking themselves, how do we fix? Just about half of Uber and Lyft riders are in urban areas. It is smart for these companies to start to shift their focus towards bikes and scooters, focusing less on its core car-based services. Lyft hopes scooter sharing will compliment public transportation services, making commuting easier, quicker and most importantly, riders happier. Which brings us full circle - we don’t have the need to own things anymore, whether it be a car, a scooter, a vacation home, etc. We just need access. Lyft is making that their goal. Disruptive? Sure. Convenient? 100%! Point is, these companies are listening to their customers and their consumers.

Now let’s talk logistics. With scooters, we don’t have to fight peak pricing models, wait times or shared rides with strangers. We know what we are getting and what we are paying for - none of that save a dollar, walk a block non-sense or seeing an email after we ride with a totally different charge than quoted (BOGUS, Uber, please fix that! don’t give me some excuse either!). Scooters cost a dollar to unlock and 15 cents a minute to ride. Just as if you were using Uber or Lyft trying to hail a ride, when you’re in a service area, the app shows available scooters on a map. Think Hubway - type in a code, but in this case, scan the scooter and you’re on your merry way! Need a break? You can “lock” your scooter until you’re ready to hit the road again. Done? Hit “end ride.” Now I know you’re asking, well its all well and good that Denver has this, and other cities like Santa Monica, but what about me? What about Boston? Well, right now, Boston scooter status is in neutral, or limbo for lack of a better word and not getting the pun. Last summer, Boston was surprised by a release of Bird scooters in Cambridge and Somerville, which apparently fell right in line with Bird’s reputation of showing up unannounced. Seems as though city officials were unaware and had no contract or agreement. Not the best start...and not just in Boston. Bird has clashed with several cities for their their in the night mentality. Regardless of a botched first attempt at roll out, city officials and scooter sharing companies are now trying to find a way that everyone involved can benefit and the system is safe, reliable and geographically equitable. 

Source: https://www.ridesharingdriver.com/bird-vs-lime-vs-uber-vs-lyft-scooter/

Recap and things to think about: 

- Regardless of company - pricing seems to be similar across the sharing spectrum. $1 to unlock, $0.15 per minute. Prices could vary among different markets, but OVERALL = similar. Will companies roll out VIP Perks? Subscription models? Rewards? 

- Availability - Bird and Lime were the first to enter the market and have more of a presence within the US - Bird - 21 states, Lime - 27 states. Do Uber and Lyft pose a threat given their brand recognition and current user base?

- RULES & REGS - These too are similar across the spectrum. 18 years to party and scoot. Driver’s license. City approval. How can the app know you are who you say you are? What if little Johnny, age 10 borrows Big Brother Billy’s phone for a ride? How do companies regulate and monitor? 

- Ultimately, who will do the best job of giving us access v. ownership, when we want, where we want, at the lowest price possible. 

Let your wheels spin....

New tech. New framework. New business model. Can you ride it? 

[orbemnews]

Peloton is releasing a cheaper treadmill. It's still $2,495 The public company, which reported revenue of more than $1 billion for the quarter ending in December, already has one treadmill on the market, called Tread+, which has earned celebrity endorsements from the likes of Miley Cyrus and Lizzo who regularly post about their Treads on social media. Peloton (PTON) is best known for its stationary bikes that cost between $1,895 and $2,495, but it’s hoping to build out its brand, said Betina Evancha, Peloton’s vice president of product management. “We want Peloton to be a fitness brand, a wellness brand, and so the Tread is a big part of that story.” The Tread+ retails for $4,295, but the new Tread, to be released on May 27 in the United States, is meant to make the experience of the Tread+ “more accessible to more folks,” according to Evancha. It will cost $2,495 and will be a few inches slimmer. Peloton also sells fitness subscriptions, which can be used to take Pilates, weight lifting, yoga and other classes. The company said it has 4.4 million members, which includes people who have subscriptions as well as multiple people sharing a single subscription. (You can use your Tread without subscribing, but you can take only a few free classes or simply run on your own.) The smaller treadmill is already available in the United Kingdom and Canada. While it started selling on December 26 in the United Kingdom, Peloton said those sales “did not materially impact our reported revenue for the quarter.” Priced lower than the Tread+, the Tread has a lower maximum incline, smaller dimensions and a more compact screen that doesn’t swivel. It also does away with a free mode, which allows you to turn off speed and incline and drag your body weight across the treadmill for an additional challenge. Still a ‘big’ commitment It’s twice the size of Peloton’s bike. I’ve been testing the new Tread in my New York City apartment, and it took up considerable space in my living room. I had to climb across it to get to my couch. “When we think about making new products, we’re thinking about who can this bring into the Peloton member base who maybe didn’t feel comfortable with our current product offerings,” said Evancha. “Now folks who maybe don’t have the $4,000 treadmill in their budget can afford the Tread experience.” The Tread comes with a host of running classes and boot camps, which combine activities like pushups and running that promise to kick your butt. (Don’t forget to warm up, cool down and stretch, instructors regularly remind you.) As the company grapples with its increased popularity during the pandemic, it’s also come under fire from customers frustrated with major shipping delays. Peloton’s website recently said delivery times for some products are eight to 10 weeks “due to increased demand” and could see further delays. When I ordered a bike on November 20, the earliest available delivery date was January 2. I canceled my order in December once I heard I’d be testing the Tread — which didn’t arrive until February. “We are as frustrated as our customers that they don’t have their Peloton products yet,” the company said. It said it is investing more than $100 million in air freight and expedited ocean freight over the next six months and has hired more than 1,000 personnel to help with logistics. The company plans to begin manufacturing in the US later this year, expanding beyond its main factories in Taiwan, although it declined to say exactly where. Everything to know about the Tread A major difference between the Tread and the treadmills commonly found in gyms is that its handlebars are tall enough to allow you to do side squats or stretches that involve balancing against a support. It also has a 23.8-inch digital screen that blasts music and instructor praise at high volume until you turn it down. You can take classes on the Tread, enter fitness challenges, run on your own, watch scenic views from different countries and video call friends. Video calling takes some finesse. It works only if you’re taking the same class as a friend you’re following, and requires you to switch off your camera’s privacy mode and find the friend on a list of class attendees. And even once you do all that, you must mute yourself to avoid talking over the instructor or mute the class if you want to chat with your friend. The Tread doesn’t support Apple Watch, although it offers Bluetooth support with some TVs and heart rate trackers. Although it has an Apple Music and Spotify integration, you can’t stream music through the treadmill. The feature only allows you to ‘like’ songs during classes and add them to your playlists. Evancha said that while developing the lower-priced Tread, the company discussed whether the quality met its standards. The higher-end Tread+ contains carbon steel and aluminum and has a heavier running surface. But to get the Tread to be smaller and more affordable, Peloton designed it with carbon steel and no aluminum. “There’s a real tension between” wanting the Tread experience to be more affordable and to have it be the same high quality you get for $4,295, Evancha said. “I think we nailed it.” Kerry Flynn contributed to this report. Source link Orbem News #495 #andit'senormous-CNN #cheaper #itslesspriceytreadmill #Peloton #Peloton'sTread #Releasing #stillcosts$2 #Tech #treadmill

[dipulb3]

Peloton is releasing a cheaper treadmill. It's still $2,495

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/peloton-is-releasing-a-cheaper-treadmill-its-still-2495/

Peloton is releasing a cheaper treadmill. It's still $2,495

The public company, which reported revenue of more than $1 billion for the quarter ending in December, already has one treadmill on the market, called Tread+, which has earned celebrity endorsements from the likes of Miley Cyrus and Lizzo who regularly post about their Treads on social media.

Peloton (PTON) is best known for its stationary bikes that cost between $1,895 and $2,495, but it’s hoping to build out its brand, said Betina Evancha, Peloton’s vice president of product management. “We want Peloton to be a fitness brand, a wellness brand, and so the Tread is a big part of that story.”

The Tread+ retails for $4,295, but the new Tread, to be released on May 27 in the United States, is meant to make the experience of the Tread+ “more accessible to more folks,” according to Evancha. It will cost $2,495 and will be a few inches slimmer.

Peloton also sells fitness subscriptions, which can be used to take Pilates, weight lifting, yoga and other classes. The company said it has 4.4 million members, which includes people who have subscriptions as well as multiple people sharing a single subscription. (You can use your Tread without subscribing, but you can take only a few free classes or simply run on your own.)

The smaller treadmill is already available in the United Kingdom and Canada. While it started selling on December 26 in the United Kingdom, Peloton said those sales “did not materially impact our reported revenue for the quarter.”

Priced lower than the Tread+, the Tread has a lower maximum incline, smaller dimensions and a more compact screen that doesn’t swivel. It also does away with a free mode, which allows you to turn off speed and incline and drag your body weight across the treadmill for an additional challenge.

Still a ‘big’ commitment

It’s twice the size of Peloton’s bike.

I’ve been testing the new Tread in my New York City apartment, and it took up considerable space in my living room. I had to climb across it to get to my couch.

“When we think about making new products, we’re thinking about who can this bring into the Peloton member base who maybe didn’t feel comfortable with our current product offerings,” said Evancha. “Now folks who maybe don’t have the $4,000 treadmill in their budget can afford the Tread experience.”

The Tread comes with a host of running classes and boot camps, which combine activities like pushups and running that promise to kick your butt. (Don’t forget to warm up, cool down and stretch, instructors regularly remind you.)

As the company grapples with its increased popularity during the pandemic, it’s also come under fire from customers frustrated with major shipping delays. Peloton’s website recently said delivery times for some products are eight to 10 weeks “due to increased demand” and could see further delays.

When I ordered a bike on November 20, the earliest available delivery date was January 2. I canceled my order in December once I heard I’d be testing the Tread — which didn’t arrive until February.

“We are as frustrated as our customers that they don’t have their Peloton products yet,” the company said. It said it is investing more than $100 million in air freight and expedited ocean freight over the next six months and has hired more than 1,000 personnel to help with logistics. The company plans to begin manufacturing in the US later this year, expanding beyond its main factories in Taiwan, although it declined to say exactly where.

Everything to know about the Tread

A major difference between the Tread and the treadmills commonly found in gyms is that its handlebars are tall enough to allow you to do side squats or stretches that involve balancing against a support. It also has a 23.8-inch digital screen that blasts music and instructor praise at high volume until you turn it down.

You can take classes on the Tread, enter fitness challenges, run on your own, watch scenic views from different countries and video call friends.

Video calling takes some finesse. It works only if you’re taking the same class as a friend you’re following, and requires you to switch off your camera’s privacy mode and find the friend on a list of class attendees. And even once you do all that, you must mute yourself to avoid talking over the instructor or mute the class if you want to chat with your friend.

The Tread doesn’t support Apple Watch, although it offers Bluetooth support with some TVs and heart rate trackers. Although it has an Apple Music and Spotify integration, you can’t stream music through the treadmill. The feature only allows you to ‘like’ songs during classes and add them to your playlists.

Evancha said that while developing the lower-priced Tread, the company discussed whether the quality met its standards. The higher-end Tread+ contains carbon steel and aluminum and has a heavier running surface. But to get the Tread to be smaller and more affordable, Peloton designed it with carbon steel and no aluminum.

“There’s a real tension between” wanting the Tread experience to be more affordable and to have it be the same high quality you get for $4,295, Evancha said. “I think we nailed it.”

Kerry Flynn contributed to this report.

[calorieworkouts]

How Going to Fancy Fitness Classes Actually Made Me Lazier

I have actually concerned enjoy functioning out in the morning.

Even though I have to physically drag myself from bed and also set three alarm systems so I don't snooze via my wake-up phone call, working out initial point in the morning establishes me up for a better, a lot more productive day.

My exercise always varies: In some cases I run solo outside, various other days, I fulfill my exercise group for a cost-free boot camp in the park. In the summertime, I regularly swim laps at an entertainment outdoor swimming pool. And less often, I'll take a drop-in elegant fitness course at a regional studio, hesitantly paying the (horrendous) rate and packaging a bag the evening before, so I could bath as well as going straight to work afterward.

I follow this exercise "strategy" 4 seasons a year, as well as with the exception of torrential rainstorms and blizzard-level snowfalls, I attempt not to allow the elements outside dictate my timetable. An 8-mile run is merely as far in bad weather condition as it is on a bright day. And also as an individual that is frequently educating for the following marathon or triathlon, I'm all too aware of the reality that a training strategy awaits no person.

This strategy was functioning out merely fine-- until I enrolled in a two-week introductory duration of ClassPass a few months ago.

My New Fitness Infatuation

If you haven't become aware of ClassPass, it's a popular company that allows clients in various cities to participate in a selection of health and fitness classes at boutique studios and also mega-chain gyms for a fixed charge monthly. This all-encompassing service is a dream become a reality for physical fitness fans like myself-- that is, obviously, if you could manage it.

Costs vary each city, but in New york city, where boutique fitness workshops generally charge around $30 per class, the $125 monthly membership charge ratings you a significant bargain, as long as you drop right into enough health clubs every month. The rate is still high. So you can most likely picture my exhilaration when I found an offer for two weeks of the membership company for merely $20. I hopped at the chance to join as well as started registering for courses instantly.

The fabulous I took was The Ride, a Spinning class at Grind health club. Afterwards, I sprinted my way with rate job periods in the front row of the treadmill workshop Mile High Run Club. I hustled hard on a row machine in Brick's B|X workout and also climbed mountains on a stationary bicycle (well, at the very least they felt like hills) at Revolve interior biking studio.

The alternatives were unlimited, I remained in cardio heaven. A good friend had actually additionally signed up for the deal, so we would excitedly question over which studio to attempt following. Possibly a HIIT workout at The Fhitting Space? A competitive ride at SWERVE? Or probably we should inspect out Mile High Run Club's marathon class, 'The Distance?'

The First Sign of Trouble

As impressive as this newfound health and fitness splendor was, I need to admit: I was getting seriously spoiled. Towels, water, and glossy new workout devices was offered to me at an unprecedented rate. Flywheel studios even provide cost-free apples and bananas. (Yes, truly. Free healthy snacks!). Running the home of shower in between my workout and also my day was no more a concern, as all the studios I picked had showers finish with expensive shampoos and rich body lotions I wouldn't usually alleviate myself to. All of a sudden, I scoffed at working out in the rainfall, sleet, as well as snow. I had the safe house of a dry, warm studio readily available with simply a few touches in the app on my phone. Forgot a hair connection? Psh. Of course the workshop had an excess for me to select from, not to discuss antiperspirant, hairpin, as well as breath mints!

Before I knew it, the second week of my trial began, and it became significantly hard to publication classes. I discovered myself staying late at the workplace, scrolling with the site to see if any type of open courses captured my eye. When nothing did-- or everything I had an interest in was scheduled-- I hesitated to go back to my normal program of running outside or going to the park for a quick exercise utilizing a Do It Yourself routine for motivation.

To be clear, by hesitant, I suggest I hesitated as well as unmotivated. Plus I had banked on exercising inside, so I really did not bring the extra layers necessary to survive in the cold.

In a word, I came to be soft-- at the very least, when it concerned my physical fitness routine. My original mind-over-matter, no-excuses perspective had actually been crushed by the promise of pricey equipment, instructors that held me answerable, and also, pathetic as it appears, extravagant shampoos. The concept of going with an impromptu run prior to work or going outside when the weather report showed an opportunity of rainfall became less and also much less appealing to me in a devastatingly brief time period.

My motivation went from 100 percent personal willpower to being reduced to the worry of paying a charge if I didn't appear to class.

That's right-- the $20 offer had not been a final-price kind of deal. There's a cancellation fee if you terminate a class within 12 one hours (typical with a lot of workshops). One early morning, I was so tired from my speed dating experience with physical fitness studios that I rested via a hr of health club time I 'd enrolled in, as well as $15 was taken straight out of my represent being a no-show. Oops.

How I Got Over It

Picture: The Rise NYC

Now, allow's be clear: ClassPass, or any kind of membership-based physical fitness company, like FitReserve, is still a fantastic idea for individuals that like attempting out new workouts and also have the moment to book their favorites the moment new classes open up. However in my encounter, the membership-- also one as short as 2 weeks-- caused my inspiration to dwindle and my commitment to waver.

Signing for a class and also showing up is easy, but making your very own workout (whether it's a running course or bootcamp-style circuit), dressing appropriately, as well as getting it done without a trainer barking orders at you is hard-- and also One Hundred Percent around you.

Waiting on a course that I desired to attempt to open made me fail to remember that exercising anywhere, also if it was for just 15 minutes on my living area floor, was way far better than avoiding a sweat session completely because the time, temperature, or shower situation was undesirable.

That's not to claim I would certainly never ever go back. Instead of stopping my ClassPass subscription cold weather turkey, I chose to downgrade to just five classes a month for a portion of the cost. In this way, I could still alleviate myself to an elegant workout( as well as delight in some of the luxe additionals )as soon as a week without the option to wuss out on my other workouts.

While going back to outside and also on-my-own exercises in the weeks that complied with was a little tough( there were several snooze button hits, irritable moans, and also requests for responsibility messages from my exercise buddies ), I was ultimately able to obtain back to my initial program.

If anything, my brief fling with elegant fitness courses instructed me that motivation shouldn't originate from needing to pay aggravating charges or reaching work out using modern devices. It needs to originate from within me, for me-- to accomplish my objectives, to run a faster race time, to obtain stronger, to really feel even more positive-- and most significantly, to do something that I like, for no one else but myself.

[judefan824-blog]

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To put baking powder's effectiveness to the test measure 1 tsp. Baking powder with a half cup of water. The Cheap Jerseys china mixture should bubble immediately and if it does it will still act as a leavening agent. SubscriptionsGo to the Subscriptions Centre to manage your:My ProfileWildwood passed a law on Wednesday banning overly saggy pants on the boardwalk, prompted by numerous complaints from longtime visitors about having to see people's rear ends hanging out in public.'There's a line that gets crossed between being a fashion statement and being obnoxious. Families can feel threatened.' City Commissioner Pete ByronSubsequent violations of the law, which takes effect July 2, could result in fines as high as $200 and 40 hours of community service.Civil libertarians say the law is unconstitutional and predict it will be overturned if challenged in www.cheapjerseyssalesupply.com court.But Mayor Ernest Troiano Jr. Said the issue is simple."This is just adding a little bit cheap nfl jerseys of decency to our town," he said.

[trademarkclick]

National Music Publishers’ Association Claimed $300 Million Damages from Peloton

National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) filed its original suit against Peloton, is an American exercise equipment and media company that was founded in 2012. The company is based in New York City, New York, alleging that Peloton’s exercise bikes had illegally used more than 1,000 songs in workout videos.

In the recent case, NMPA claimed $300 million as damages. The main issue led in the fitness tech company Peloton’s licenses with publishers. While it has licensing deals with some record labels and music publishers but there are many other publishers who complained that they didn’t sign any agreement with Peloton.

A case where the copyright owner sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds that infringement was committed willfully, the court in its discretion may increase the award of statutory damages to a sum of not more than $150,000. In a case where the infringer sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that such infringer

In any case, in which the court finds that a defendant proprietor of an establishment who claims as a defence that its activities were under the laws of exemption of U.S laws fails to prove so, the plaintiff shall be entitled to, in addition to any award of damages under the law. The additional award of two times the amount of the license fee that the proprietor of the establishment concerned should have paid the plaintiff for such use during the preceding period of up to 3 years.

NMPA is a trade association for the American music publishing industry. The NMPA aims to protect its member’s property rights on the legislative, litigation, and regulatory fronts. In March 2019, members of NMPA namely Downtown Music Publishing, Pulse Music Publishing, ole, peer music, Ultra Music, Big Deal Music, Reservoir, Round Hill, TRO Essex Music Group and The Royalty Network filed a lawsuit against exercise startup Peloton for infringing their songs.

Peloton is an American exercise equipment and media company that was founded in 2012. Peloton launched its at-home streaming capabilities in 2014, offering a subscription service with more than 13,000 workouts -- most of which use music to engage users.

It is alleged that music used by Peloton without permission include songs by artists Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, Shawn Mendes, Ed Sheeran, Wiz Khalifa, Thomas Rhett, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Florida Georgia Line, Drake, Gwen Stefani and others. More songs could be added to the suit as well, dating back before 2017, when the playlists weren't publicized.

Those "newly-discovered works" include hits like “The Beatles” "I Saw Her Standing There," Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind" and “The Who's "I Can See for Miles." NMPA requested before the Court through an amendment of the complaint to double damages from $150 million to $300 million in a lawsuit against Peloton, for the alleged use of more than 2,000 songs in its workout videos without proper licenses. U.S. District Judge approved the NMPA's prayer.

To read more articles log on to -  https://www.trademarkclick.com/education-blog/?page=1

[toomanysinks]

Transportation Weekly: Amazon’s secret acquisition and all the AV feels

Welcome to Transportation Weekly; I’m your host Kirsten Korosec, senior transportation reporter at TechCrunch. I cover all the ways people and goods move from Point A to Point B — today and in the future — whether it’s by bike, bus, scooter, car, train, truck, robotaxi or rocket. Sure, let’s include hyperloop and eVTOLs, or air taxis, too.

Yup, another transportation newsletter. But I promise this one will be different. Here’s how.

Newsletters can be great mediums for curated news — a place that rounds up all the important articles a reader might have missed in any given week. We want to do a bit more.

We’re doubling down on the analysis and adding a heaping scoop of original reporting and well, scoops. You can expect Q&As with the most interesting people in transportation, insider tips, and data from that white paper you didn’t have time to read. This isn’t a lone effort either. TechCrunch senior reporter Megan Rose Dickey, who has been writing about micro mobility since before the scooter boom times of 2017, will be weighing in each week in our “Tiny But Mighty Mobility” section below. Follow her @meganrosedickey.

Consider this a soft launch. There might be content you like or something you hate. Feel free to reach out to me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com to share those thoughts, opinions, or tips.

Eventually, we’ll have a way for readers to sign up and have Transportation Weekly delivered each week via email. For now, follow me on Twitter @kirstenkorosec to ensure you see it each week.

Now, let’s get to the good stuff.

ONM …

There are OEMs in the automotive world. And here, (wait for it) there are ONMs — original news manufacturers.

This is where investigative reporting, enterprise pieces and analysis on transportation will live.

We promised scoops in Transportation Weekly and here is one. If you don’t know journalist Mark Harris, you should. He’s an intrepid gumshoeing reporter who TechCrunch has been lucky enough to hire as a freelancer. Follow him @meharris.

Amazon quietly acquired robotics company Dispatch to build Scout

Remember way back in January when Amazon introduced Scout, their autonomous delivery bot? There was speculation at the time that Amazon had bought the Estonian-based company Starship Technologies. Harris did some investigating and discovered some of the intellectual property and technology behind Scout likely came from a small San Francisco startup called Dispatch that Amazon stealthily acquired in 2017.

It’s time to stop thinking about Amazon as just an e-commerce company. It’s a gigantic logistics company, probably the biggest on the planet, with a keen interest — and the cash to pursue those interests — in automation. Think beyond Scout. In fact, wander on down this post to the deal of the week.

Dig In

Each week, transportation weekly will spend a little extra time on an approach, policy, tech or the people behind it in our ‘Dig In” section. We’ll run the occasional column here, too.

This week features a conversation with Dmitri Dolgov, the CTO and VP of engineering at Waymo, the former Google self-driving project that spun out to become a business under Alphabet.

Ten years ago, right around now, about a dozen engineers started working on Project Chauffeur, which would turn into the Google self-driving project and eventually become an official company called Waymo. Along the way, the project would give rise to a number of high-profile engineers who would go on to create their own companies. It’s a list that includes Aurora co-founder Chris Urmson, Argo AI co-founder Bryan Salesky and Anthony Levandowski, who helped launch Otto and more recently Pronto.ai.

What might be less known is that many of those in the original dozen are still at Waymo, including Dolgov, Andrew Chatham, Dirk Haehnel, Nathaniel Fairfield and Mike Montemerlo.

Dolgov and I talked about the early days, challenges and what’s next. A couple of things that stood out during our chat.

There is a huge difference between having a prototype that can do something once or twice or four times versus building a product that people can start using in their daily lives. And it is, especially in this field, very easy to make progress on these kinds of one-off challenges.

Dolgov’s take on how engineers viewed the potential of the project 10 years ago …

I also use our cars every day to get around, this is how I got to work today. This is how I run errands around here in Mountain View and Palo Alto.

A little bird …

We hear a lot. But we’re not selfish. Let’s share. An early investor, or investors, in Bird appear to be selling some of their shares in the scooter company, per a tip backed up by data over at secondary trading platform EquityZen. That’s not crazy considering the company is valued at $2 billion-ish. Seed investors should take some money off the table once a company reaches that valuation.

We’ve heard that David Sacks at Craft Ventures hasn’t sold a single Bird share. We hear Tusk Ventures hasn’t sold, either. That leaves a few others, including Goldcrest Capital, which was the lone seed investor, and then Series A participants Lead Edge Capital, M13, and Valor Equity Partners.

Got a tip or overheard something in the world of transportation? Email me or send a direct message to @kirstenkorosec.

While you’re over at Twitter, check out this cheeky account @SDElevator. We can’t guarantee how much of the content is actually “overheard” and how much is manufactured for the laughs, but it’s a fun account to peruse from time to time.

“Is this really the state of VC today?” https://t.co/GmPhv3FN6q

— SelfDrivingElevator (@SDElevator) February 7, 2019

Another new entrant to the mobility parody genre is @HeardinMobilty.

Deal of the week

There’s so much to choose from this week, but Aurora’s more than $530 million Series B funding round announced Thursday morning is the winner.

The upshot? It’s not just that Aurora is now valued at more than $2.5 billion. The primary investors in the round — Sequoia as lead and “significant” investments from Amazon and T. Rowe Price — suggests Aurora’s full self-driving stack is headed for other uses beyond shuttling people around in autonomous vehicles. Perhaps delivery is next.

And believe it or not, the type of investor in this round tells me that we can expect another capital raise. Yes, Aurora has lots of runway now as well as three publicly named customers. But investors like Sequoia, which led the round and whose partner Carl Eschenbach is joining Aurora’s board, T. Rowe Price and Amazon along with repeaters like Index Ventures (general partner Mike Volpi is also on the board) have patience, access to cash and long-term strategic thinking. Expect more from them.

Other deals that got our attention this week:

Lime raises $310 million

Self-driving truck startup Ike raises $52 million

Tesla’s acquisition of Maxwell Technologies for $218 million

Online car retail platform BrumBrum raises $23 million led by Accel

Car subscription service Cluno raises $28 million led by Valar Ventures, the firm founded by Peter Thiel

Snapshot

Speaking of deals and Tesla … the automaker’s $218 million acquisition this month of Maxwell Technologies got me thinking about companies it has targeted in the past.

So, we went ahead and built a handy chart to provide a snapshot view of some of Tesla’s noteworthy acquisitions. 

One note: Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in 2018 that the company had acquired trucking carrier companies to help improve its delivery logistics. We’ve dug in and have yet to land on the company, or companies, Tesla acquired.

The deals that got away are just as interesting. That list includes a reported $325 million offer to buy Simbol Materials, the startup that was extracting small amounts of lithium near the Salton Sea east of San Diego.

Tiny but mighty mobility

Between Lime’s $310 million Series D round and the seemingly never-ending battle to operate electric scooters in San Francisco, it’s clear that micro mobility is not so micro.

Lime, a shared electric scooter and bikeshare startup, has now raised north of $800 million in total funding, surpassing key competitor Bird’s total funding of $415 million. Thanks to this week’s round of funding, Lime’s micromobility business is now worth $2.4 billion.

Lime currently operates its bikes and scooters in more than 100 cities worldwide. Over in San Francisco, however, Lime has yet to deploy any of its modes of transportation. Since last March, there’s been an ongoing battle among scooter operators to deploy their services in the city. The city ultimately selected Skip and Scoot for the pilot programs, leaving the likes of Lime, Uber’s JUMP and Spin to appeal the decision.

A neutral hearing officer has since determined SF’s process for determining scooter operators was fair, but the silver lining for the likes of JUMP, Spin and most likely, Lime, is that the city may open up its pilot program to allow additional operators beginning in April.

Notable reads

Two recent studies got my attention.

The first is from Bike Pittsburgh, an advocacy group and partner of Uber, that published the findings from its latest AV survey based on responses from local residents. The last time they conducted a similar survey was in 2017.

The takeaway: people there, who are among the most exposed to autonomous vehicles due to all the AV testing on public roads, are getting used to it. A bit more than 48 percent of respondents said they approve of public AV testing in Pittsburgh, down slightly from 49 percent approval rating in 2017. 

21.21% somewhat approve

11.62% neutral

10.73% somewhat disapprove

8.73% disapprove

One standout result was surrounding responses about the fatal accident in Tempe, Arizona involving a self-driving Uber that struck and killed pedestrian Elaine Herzberg in March 2018. Survey participants were asked “As a pedestrian or a bicyclist how did this change event and it’s outcome change your opinion about sharing the road with AVs?”

Some 60 percent of respondents claimed no change in their opinion, with another 37 percent claiming that it negatively changed their opinion. Nearly 3 percent claimed their opinion changed positively toward the technology.

Bike Pittsburgh noted that the survey elicited passionate open-ended responses. 

“The incident did not turn too many people off of AV technology in general,” according to Bike Pittsburgh. “Rather it did lead to a growing distrust of the companies themselves, specifically with Uber and how they handled the fatality.”

The other study, Securing the Modern Vehicle: A Study of Automotive Industry Cybersecurity Practices, was released by Synopsys, Inc.and SAE International.

The results, based on a survey of global automotive manufacturers and suppliers conducted by Ponemon Institute, doesn’t assuage my concerns. If anything, it puts me on alert.

84% of automotive professionals have concerns that their organizations’ cybersecurity practices are not keeping pace with evolving technologies

30% of organizations don’t have an established cybersecurity program or team

63% test less than half of the automotive technology they develop for security vulnerabilities.

Testing and deployments

Pilots, pilots everywhere. A couple of interesting mobility pilots and deployments stand out.

Optimus Ride, the Boston-based MIT spinoff, has made a deal with Brookfield Properties to provide rides in its small self-driving vehicles at Halley Rise – a new $1.4 billion mixed-use development in Virginia. 

This is an example of where we see self-driving vehicles headed — for now. Small deployments that are narrowly focused in geography with a predictable customer base are the emerging trend of 2019. Expect more of them.

And there’s a reason why, these are the kinds of pilots that will deliver the data needed to improve their technology, as well as test out business models —gotta figure out how to money with AVs eventually — hone in fleet operational efficiency, placate existing investors while attracting new ones, and recruit talent.

Another deployment in the more conventional ride-hailing side of mobility is with Beat, the startup that has focused its efforts on Latin America.

Beat was founded by Nikos Drandakis in 2011 initially as Taxibeat. The startup acquired by Daimler’s mytaxi in February 2017 and Drandakis still runs the show. The company was focused on Europe but shifted to Latin America, and it’s made all the difference. (Beat is still available in Athens, Greece.) Beat has launched in Lima, Peru, Santiago, Chile and Bogota, Colombia and now boasts 200,000 registered drivers. 

Now it’s moving into Mexico, where more competitors exist. The company just started registering and screening drivers in Mexico City as it prepares to offer rides for passengers this month. 

TechCrunch spoke at length with Drandakis. Look out for a deeper dive soon.

Until next week, nos vemos.

source https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/08/transportation-weekly-amazons-secret-acquisition-and-all-the-av-feels/

[fmservers]

Transportation Weekly: Amazon’s secret acquisition and all the AV feels

Welcome to Transportation Weekly; I’m your host Kirsten Korosec, senior transportation reporter at TechCrunch. I cover all the ways people and goods move from Point A to Point B — today and in the future — whether it’s by bike, bus, scooter, car, train, truck, robotaxi or rocket. Sure, let’s include hyperloop and eVTOLs, or air taxis, too.

Yup, another transportation newsletter. But I promise this one will be different. Here’s how.

Newsletters can be great mediums for curated news — a place that rounds up all the important articles a reader might have missed in any given week. We want to do a bit more.

We’re doubling down on the analysis and adding a heaping scoop of original reporting and well, scoops. You can expect Q&As with the most interesting people in transportation, insider tips, and data from that white paper you didn’t have time to read. This isn’t a lone effort either. TechCrunch senior reporter Megan Rose Dickey, who has been writing about micro mobility since before the scooter boom times of 2017, will be weighing in each week in our “Tiny But Mighty Mobility” section below. Follow her @meganrosedickey.

Consider this a soft launch. There might be content you like or something you hate. Feel free to reach out to me at kirsten.korosec@techcrunch.com to share those thoughts, opinions, or tips.

Eventually, we’ll have a way for readers to sign up and have Transportation Weekly delivered each week via email. For now, follow me on Twitter @kirstenkorosec to ensure you see it each week.

Now, let’s get to the good stuff.

ONM …

There are OEMs in the automotive world. And here, (wait for it) there are ONMs — original news manufacturers.

This is where investigative reporting, enterprise pieces and analysis on transportation will live.

We promised scoops in Transportation Weekly and here is one. If you don’t know journalist Mark Harris, you should. He’s an intrepid gumshoeing reporter who TechCrunch has been lucky enough to hire as a freelancer. Follow him @meharris.

Amazon quietly acquired robotics company Dispatch to build Scout

Remember way back in January when Amazon introduced Scout, their autonomous delivery bot? There was speculation at the time that Amazon had bought the Estonian-based company Starship Technologies. Harris did some investigating and discovered some of the intellectual property and technology behind Scout likely came from a small San Francisco startup called Dispatch that Amazon stealthily acquired in 2017.

It’s time to stop thinking about Amazon as just an e-commerce company. It’s a gigantic logistics company, probably the biggest on the planet, with a keen interest — and the cash to pursue those interests — in automation. Think beyond Scout. In fact, wander on down this post to the deal of the week.

Dig In

Each week, transportation weekly will spend a little extra time on an approach, policy, tech or the people behind it in our ‘Dig In” section. We’ll run the occasional column here, too.

This week features a conversation with Dmitri Dolgov, the CTO and VP of engineering at Waymo, the former Google self-driving project that spun out to become a business under Alphabet.

Ten years ago, right around now, about a dozen engineers started working on Project Chauffeur, which would turn into the Google self-driving project and eventually become an official company called Waymo. Along the way, the project would give rise to a number of high-profile engineers who would go on to create their own companies. It’s a list that includes Aurora co-founder Chris Urmson, Argo AI co-founder Bryan Salesky and Anthony Levandowski, who helped launch Otto and more recently Pronto.ai.

What might be less known is that many of those in the original dozen are still at Waymo, including Dolgov, Andrew Chatham, Dirk Haehnel, Nathaniel Fairfield and Mike Montemerlo.

Dolgov and I talked about the early days, challenges and what’s next. A couple of things that stood out during our chat.

There is a huge difference between having a prototype that can do something once or twice or four times versus building a product that people can start using in their daily lives. And it is, especially in this field, very easy to make progress on these kinds of one-off challenges.

Dolgov’s take on how engineers viewed the potential of the project 10 years ago …

I also use our cars every day to get around, this is how I got to work today. This is how I run errands around here in Mountain View and Palo Alto.

A little bird …

We hear a lot. But we’re not selfish. Let’s share. An early investor, or investors, in Bird appear to be selling some of their shares in the scooter company, per a tip backed up by data over at secondary trading platform EquityZen. That’s not crazy considering the company is valued at $2 billion-ish. Seed investors should take some money off the table once a company reaches that valuation.

We’ve heard that David Sacks at Craft Ventures hasn’t sold a single Bird share. We hear Tusk Ventures hasn’t sold, either. That leaves a few others, including Goldcrest Capital, which was the lone seed investor, and then Series A participants Lead Edge Capital, M13, and Valor Equity Partners.

Got a tip or overheard something in the world of transportation? Email me or send a direct message to @kirstenkorosec.

While you’re over at Twitter, check out this cheeky account @SDElevator. We can’t guarantee how much of the content is actually “overheard” and how much is manufactured for the laughs, but it’s a fun account to peruse from time to time.

“Is this really the state of VC today?” https://t.co/GmPhv3FN6q

— SelfDrivingElevator (@SDElevator) February 7, 2019

Another new entrant to the mobility parody genre is @HeardinMobilty.

Deal of the week

There’s so much to choose from this week, but Aurora’s more than $530 million Series B funding round announced Thursday morning is the winner.

The upshot? It’s not just that Aurora is now valued at more than $2.5 billion. The primary investors in the round — Sequoia as lead and “significant” investments from Amazon and T. Rowe Price — suggests Aurora’s full self-driving stack is headed for other uses beyond shuttling people around in autonomous vehicles. Perhaps delivery is next.

And believe it or not, the type of investor in this round tells me that we can expect another capital raise. Yes, Aurora has lots of runway now as well as three publicly named customers. But investors like Sequoia, which led the round and whose partner Carl Eschenbach is joining Aurora’s board, T. Rowe Price and Amazon along with repeaters like Index Ventures (general partner Mike Volpi is also on the board) have patience, access to cash and long-term strategic thinking. Expect more from them.

Other deals that got our attention this week:

Lime raises $310 million

Self-driving truck startup Ike raises $52 million

Tesla’s acquisition of Maxwell Technologies for $218 million

Online car retail platform BrumBrum raises $23 million led by Accel

Car subscription service Cluno raises $28 million led by Valar Ventures, the firm founded by Peter Thiel

Snapshot

Speaking of deals and Tesla … the automaker’s $218 million acquisition this month of Maxwell Technologies got me thinking about companies it has targeted in the past.

So, we went ahead and built a handy chart to provide a snapshot view of some of Tesla’s noteworthy acquisitions. 

One note: Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in 2018 that the company had acquired trucking carrier companies to help improve its delivery logistics. We’ve dug in and have yet to land on the company, or companies, Tesla acquired.

The deals that got away are just as interesting. That list includes a reported $325 million offer to buy Simbol Materials, the startup that was extracting small amounts of lithium near the Salton Sea east of San Diego.

Tiny but mighty mobility

Between Lime’s $310 million Series D round and the seemingly never-ending battle to operate electric scooters in San Francisco, it’s clear that micro mobility is not so micro.

Lime, a shared electric scooter and bikeshare startup, has now raised north of $800 million in total funding, surpassing key competitor Bird’s total funding of $415 million. Thanks to this week’s round of funding, Lime’s micromobility business is now worth $2.4 billion.

Lime currently operates its bikes and scooters in more than 100 cities worldwide. Over in San Francisco, however, Lime has yet to deploy any of its modes of transportation. Since last March, there’s been an ongoing battle among scooter operators to deploy their services in the city. The city ultimately selected Skip and Scoot for the pilot programs, leaving the likes of Lime, Uber’s JUMP and Spin to appeal the decision.

A neutral hearing officer has since determined SF’s process for determining scooter operators was fair, but the silver lining for the likes of JUMP, Spin and most likely, Lime, is that the city may open up its pilot program to allow additional operators beginning in April.

Notable reads

Two recent studies got my attention.

The first is from Bike Pittsburgh, an advocacy group and partner of Uber, that published the findings from its latest AV survey based on responses from local residents. The last time they conducted a similar survey was in 2017.

The takeaway: people there, who are among the most exposed to autonomous vehicles due to all the AV testing on public roads, are getting used to it. A bit more than 48 percent of respondents said they approve of public AV testing in Pittsburgh, down slightly from 49 percent approval rating in 2017. 

21.21% somewhat approve

11.62% neutral

10.73% somewhat disapprove

8.73% disapprove

One standout result was surrounding responses about the fatal accident in Tempe, Arizona involving a self-driving Uber that struck and killed pedestrian Elaine Herzberg in March 2018. Survey participants were asked “As a pedestrian or a bicyclist how did this change event and it’s outcome change your opinion about sharing the road with AVs?”

Some 60 percent of respondents claimed no change in their opinion, with another 37 percent claiming that it negatively changed their opinion. Nearly 3 percent claimed their opinion changed positively toward the technology.

Bike Pittsburgh noted that the survey elicited passionate open-ended responses. 

“The incident did not turn too many people off of AV technology in general,” according to Bike Pittsburgh. “Rather it did lead to a growing distrust of the companies themselves, specifically with Uber and how they handled the fatality.”

The other study, Securing the Modern Vehicle: A Study of Automotive Industry Cybersecurity Practices, was released by Synopsys, Inc.and SAE International.

The results, based on a survey of global automotive manufacturers and suppliers conducted by Ponemon Institute, doesn’t assuage my concerns. If anything, it puts me on alert.

84% of automotive professionals have concerns that their organizations’ cybersecurity practices are not keeping pace with evolving technologies

30% of organizations don’t have an established cybersecurity program or team

63% test less than half of the automotive technology they develop for security vulnerabilities.

Testing and deployments

Pilots, pilots everywhere. A couple of interesting mobility pilots and deployments stand out.

Optimus Ride, the Boston-based MIT spinoff, has made a deal with Brookfield Properties to provide rides in its small self-driving vehicles at Halley Rise – a new $1.4 billion mixed-use development in Virginia. 

This is an example of where we see self-driving vehicles headed — for now. Small deployments that are narrowly focused in geography with a predictable customer base are the emerging trend of 2019. Expect more of them.

And there’s a reason why, these are the kinds of pilots that will deliver the data needed to improve their technology, as well as test out business models —gotta figure out how to money with AVs eventually — hone in fleet operational efficiency, placate existing investors while attracting new ones, and recruit talent.

Another deployment in the more conventional ride-hailing side of mobility is with Beat, the startup that has focused its efforts on Latin America.

Beat was founded by Nikos Drandakis in 2011 initially as Taxibeat. The startup acquired by Daimler’s mytaxi in February 2017 and Drandakis still runs the show. The company was focused on Europe but shifted to Latin America, and it’s made all the difference. (Beat is still available in Athens, Greece.) Beat has launched in Lima, Peru, Santiago, Chile and Bogota, Colombia and now boasts 200,000 registered drivers. 

Now it’s moving into Mexico, where more competitors exist. The company just started registering and screening drivers in Mexico City as it prepares to offer rides for passengers this month. 

TechCrunch spoke at length with Drandakis. Look out for a deeper dive soon.

Until next week, nos vemos.

Via Kirsten Korosec https://techcrunch.com

[sherwoodmark85-blog]

City Life 2008 On Heavy steam.

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For a four-day lifting routine, you'll lift on days 1 as well as 2, hinge on day 3, lift on days 4 and also 5, then rest on days 6 and 7. Perform your interval sprint training on days 3 and 6, and also ensure you rest totally on day 7 to prepare for the following week's training. Their brand-new golden buddy Antonio reveals the Power Rangers he also can be a samurai with his lightning-fast Barracuda Blade, the ink-spraying OctoZord, and also the ClawZord's megamodes! But as Andreas Bernard exposes in Raised: A Cultural Background of the Lift (2014), this tale of invention is itself an invention, advertised and cemented in place by the Otis firm throughout the 20th century. My health club happens to have fractional plates, yet if your fitness center does not, then you could acquire a good set of fractional plates and throw them in your health club bag considering that they do not evaluate very much. It absolutely eliminates me when I see a person at the fitness center utilizing a tool while chatting or texting on their mobile device," claims McCall. The deputy secretary of the Department of Head of state and also Cupboard, Elizabeth Kelly, informed quotes on Monday the travel luggage lift had actually been mounted to secure staff. I recommend a healthy and balanced dose of common sense and the application of the power of factor for Byrne and also her viewers. Although this amount of power might stir up a volcano, Sentry stayed standing, blocking the magnificent beam of light of fire with his broadsword. For the original Power Rangers (frequently Mighty Morphin Power Rangers) collection is strangely marvellous exactly many thanks to its reduced budget and also ersatz, exploitation-tinged qualities. The smooth balance and set movement can also make you think you could lift even more weight compared to you need to be. Continuously utilize the Smith maker as well as you will certainly obtain really solid in specifically one airplane of motion, which would be excellent if there was just one plane of movement. The Belgian strongwoman had actually determined that the among the ways that she might impress audiences was to raise a guy on her shoulders. Every single time I have actually felt this way, I've provided all of my interior power to the following external elements: a male, to work or to the concept of 'success'. This lift has the ability to hold both conventional as well as powered wheel chairs and also are very simple to make use of. Individuals didn't should be persuaded, they merely should be asked at a minute when they had the power to act. There is also conversation of the threats of power, some interpersonal guidance around 'acting effective' and also a caution concerning whether it's worth seeking just power versus living a slightly more laid-back life. However, Lewis avoided Program ladies like the plague-which was type of my fault, because our very first encounter had been, shall we claim, remarkable. A team of males lifted a woman to their shoulders as well as brought her down the island, out the front door right into the bright sunshine outside. Discussion of guide by my publication group led to interesting conversations about freedom and also possibility (Chomsky), authority and power, our sensation that there isn't a finite power pie to divvy up and also a suggestion that if power is constantly regarding connections we can always withstand it. The federal government's Big Society idea was mused on in connection with power. Gyms are often peaceful noontime, so if you could swing a very early mid-day exercise, you're likely to be able to snatch your preferred elliptical exerciser, certified personal trainer Jason Anderson wrote for Spark People. The intro's brooding appearance most likely shouldn't be too much of a shock offered Israelite, previously best-known for middling time travel-themed found-footage movie Task Almanac, has informed IGN the movie will certainly be enjoyable" as well as cheerful" but additionally one that feels completely based in a real life, with genuine personalities undergoing actual things". It is ideal that you investigate some of the fitness centers in the area and also obtain your subscription in a fitness center that balances cost and also high quality to your benefit. This silent film informs the story of 2 dam structure construction employees complete for the interests of local girls. Baby fitness center is also hung on Saturday mornings at 9am or 11am at the Maison des Sports on the RN7. I ended up preference this a great deal more than I expected to. For what is fundamentally a pretty played out concept (the Justice League with the serial numbers submitted off but dark as well as gritty and quote unquote sensible), Straczynski really nails the emotional and ethical complexities. The Yellow and also Red Rangers are still recuperating from my last attack, as well as I'm less compared to a backyard far from her. The ordinary health club membership lasts 18 months, says the Fitness Sector Organization, yet there will be many individuals that diminish the exercise bike long before that. A 132-pound female ought to cleanse 90 extra pounds at an intermediate degree as well as 150 at elite.

[infotainmentplus-blog]

Team AA: The best Android apps you’ve (probably) never heard of Ask any smartphone user about their favorite apps and you’ll likely hear a few names pop up time and time again. We’re all intimately familiar with the Facebooks, Instagrams, and WhatsApps of the app world, but what about all of those lesser-known Android apps with unique features that get drowned out by the big dogs? Editor's Pick Daily drivers: 30 AA team members reveal the phones they use Mobile tech is what we do here at Android Authority. We have a huge team of people from all over the world. With that comes a broad range of needs and wants when it comes … There are over 3 million apps on the Google Play Store. Finding a hidden gem can be like looking for a needle in 100 haystacks scattered around a field the size of a football stadium. Thankfully, the team here at Android Authority and our sister site DGiT have spent an unhealthy amount of time staring at mobile screens over our cumulative lifetimes. In that time, we’ve stumbled upon more than a few extra-special apps you may have never heard of. Here are some of our favorites! Day-to-day heroes The best apps out there tend to be those you use on a daily basis and couldn’t live without. These day-to-day heroes make our smartphone life tick and there are plenty to choose from on the Play Store. ProtonVPN Price: Free DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY Where else could we start but with the recommendation of Android Authority’s own app guru, Joe Hindy, who wants everyone to know that ProtonVPN rules the VPN roost on Android devices — at least when it comes to free options. “ProtonVPN is one of the few free VPNs available that also has a strict no-logging policy, no ads, and no bandwidth limits. What else needs to be said?” Quite right, Joe. Oh, wait, there’s one thing: “The Google Play listing doesn’t mention that you don’t get the fastest possible speeds unless you pony up for the paid version.” It’s not the fastest VPN ever, but according to Joe, “it’s more than good enough to check email or similar tasks while connected to public Wi-Fi.” Pushbullet Price: Free DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY On the messaging front, newshound and iPhone X clone-hater Scott Adam Gordon endorsed Pushbullet: a clever little app that lets you share links and files between any of your devices, as well as other Pushbullet users. As great as the app is, Scott stopped short of singing its praises completely, bemoaning the lack of a desktop plugin to let users send links to any contact using any number of different social apps. Photo & Picture Resizer Price: Free DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY For Team AA’s resident pun-derkind Hadlee Simons, the simple things in life make all the difference. That’s why he’s chosen Photo & Picture Resizer, which does exactly what you’d expect. “I often have to resize photos in my line of work, and this dedicated app does the job without the need for a dedicated photo editor or computer,” Hadlee explains. “Launch the app, choose the photos, select desired dimensions (there are a few presets too) and that’s it.” Hadlee also noted the app is ad-supported, but you can pay a minor fee to remove them. Tiny Scanner Price: Free DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY Hopping over from DGiT, film buff Frederick Blichert recommends Tiny Scanner, which effectively transforms your phone’s camera into a portable PDF scanner. Frederick originally started using Tiny Scanner to scan documents to send as faxes (remember those?), but has since started using the app for everything from signing contracts, saving receipts, or just making copies of important files to store on a hard drive. You can give the app a spin without paying a cent with the free version. Just don’t expect ridiculously high-quality scans as the app intentionally mimics the look of an old Xerox machine. Transit Price: Free DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY For our final utility-style app, we come to copy editor Sam Moore. Judging by his recommendation, when Sam isn’t beavering away behind the scenes adding that extra polish to our features, he’s probably on some kind of public transport somewhere with a little help from an app called Transit. When asked why he picked Transit, Sam simply says “It gets me from A to B,” which somewhat undersells Transit’s live transport tracking for buses, subways, car and bike shares, trains, ferries, and more. Sam warns that “depending on the city, GPS bus tracking can be spotty,” but for a self-proclaimed “big fan of buses and trains,” a few stumbles here and there aren’t enough to scupper the app’s impressive feature set. Related Articles 10 best transit apps for Android Public transit is on the rise almost everywhere in the world. In the US alone, public transit is up 34% from 1995. Companies like Uber have revolutionized the space with more flexible (and dare we … 10 best Android tools and utility apps Smartphones are, at their core, tools. Because of this, many developers have created tons of tools for them that work really well. The genre is actually quite diverse. There are tons of Android tools and … Apps for a healthy body (and bank account) Breaking the myth that all tech nerds are layabouts, contributor Adam Doud and managing editor Jimmy Westenberg shouted out to two very different fitness apps. Achievement Price: Free DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY First on the treadmill is Achievement, an activity app that rewards you for walking, cycling, and pretty much any other exercise you can think of with cold hard cash (well, an Amazon gift card) because, as Adam quite rightly reasons, “if you’re exercising anyway, why not get paid?” The app links up with other platforms like Runkeeper and Samsung Health as an added bonus. Just don’t expect to become a millionaire anytime soon. “It’s basically three points per mile biked, and you need 10,000 points for a $10 gift card. Gonna be here a while…” laments Adam. Maps Measure Price: Free DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY Meanwhile, regular runner Jimmy recommends Maps Measure, a “super simple app that lets you plot points on a map and get the total distance, area, and elevation of a route.” Rather than a bespoke route planner app, Maps Measure adds an extra layer of functionality to Google Maps, which Jimmy says is “pretty much perfect for mapping out routes in public parks and whatnot.” But is there anything you don’t like about it, Jimmy? “Nah fam.” Well, there you go. YNAB Price: Free / $6.99 p/m DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY Of course, while it’s important to stay physically fit, it’s also a good idea to keep track of your bank account’s health, too! News writer and rumor roundup maestro Mitja Rutnik says you can rely on YNAB (You Need A Budget). My money management skills are beyond terrible, so I’ll let Mitja take this one: “YNAB helps me stay on top of my finances. Unlike other money management apps, YNAB is based on four budgeting rules you have to follow. It’s a system that helps users get prepared financially for day-to-day expenses as well as bigger expenses that occur once in a while (like holiday and car insurance). I’ve been using it for years now and simply love it.” Those glowing words aside, Mitja notes that YNAB is a premium service ($6.99 per month), and the app doesn’t offer all of the features of the web version — such as detailed reports and transaction searches — which is included with the subscription fee. Related Articles 10 best Android budget apps for money management Budgeting your money is very important. We live in an era where subscription services are common. You have the usual array of rent and utilities to pay. Plus, money these days is a little tighter … 10 best money making apps for Android! mrmohock / Shutterstock.com Everybody needs a few extra bucks now and then. However, we're not so foolish as to try to make you believe that you'll earn a living sitting at home doing nothing. … Food and shopping Fitness is great and all, but one of the best facets of modern technology is how it’s brought us new and exciting ways to stuff our faces with food. We’re not just fast food hogs here at Android Authority, however, and there are loads of clever apps out there for those with more discerning appetites. Out of Milk Price: Free DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY Up first is Out of Milk, a shopping list app that scolding hot take machine C. Scott Brown uses every day to keep track of his grocery needs. As well as being a robust grocery list app (despite needing to manually sync everything), Out of Milk also doubles up as a pantry inventory tracker and has a handy to-do list feature. It’s also smarter than your average paper grocery list! “The fact that it integrates with Google Assistant is a life-saver, as I can ask Google to add things to the list while I’m working in the kitchen,” says C. Scott. Tea Cup Price: Free DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY After a hard day spent running all of Android Authority’s social channels like a pro, community manager Luka Mlinar loves nothing more than a good cup of tea. There’s just one problem. “Often I start making my tea and forget about it, only to throw it out 30 minutes later,” explains Luka, “also I can’t be half-arsed to navigate to the timer through the clock app.” Enter Tea Cup, a simple alarm with up to 30 different presets to tell you when your tea is ready. It’s a simple solution to a simple problem, so much so that there’s nothing Luka dislikes about his digital tea time companion. Too Good To Go Price: Free DOWNLOAD ON GOOGLE PLAY Last but not least we come to jack-of-all-tech-trades and master-of-them-all-too Tristan Rayner, who hopes everyone will check out a fantastic, free app with an equally noble cause behind it called Too Good To Go. Too Good To Go has two main objectives: feed the user and fight food waste. It does this by helping stores (like bakeries and cafes) sell their surplus food at the end of the day through the app. “It’s great but not every deal is a deal, so check the places that have more hearts (likes),” warns Tristan. If you find a trustworthy local store it can help you save money and cut down on the tons of food that goes to waste every day. Related Articles 10 best health apps for Android Getting healthy is something that is on everyone's mind at some point. Better health can lead to lower hospital bills, feeling better, and doing more things. Thankfully, there are a ton of applications on smartphones … 10 best to do list apps for Android Staying organized is one of the toughest things to do. Everything in your life requires at least some kind of organization and it's also something you have to do and keep track of every day. … Honorable mentions We’ve listed only a fraction of the huge number of apps our team uses on a daily basis here. I’d be remiss not to share a few more that you might be missing out on. Here are some Play Store apps that narrowly missed the cut: c:geo – One of the best geocaching apps for Android Feeld – “Tinder for threesomes” if you’re into that sort of thing FotMob – World-class soccer app Moovit – Transit alternative with international coverage Mysplash – Reliable wallpaper app Now Playing History – Got a Pixel 2? This app will log any tracks registered by the always listening feature PhotoScan – Google’s underappreciated photo scanner Pulse SMS – Cross-platform SMS messaging with an optional single fee instead of a monthly recurring subscription Remember The Milk – For ultra-smart to-do lists TapeCall Pro – Requires a premium subscription, but perfect for recording interviews Tapet – Wallpaper generator app with a steep learning curve but excellent results Are there any forgotten apps out there you want to shout from the rooftops about? Drop a comment below! While you’re there, let us know what you think of our picks. , via Android Authority http://bit.ly/2ztXYTR

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The best way to spend less? Cut back on the big stuff!

Get Rich Slowly, 19 Mar 2018

You don’t need a high income to achieve Financial Independence.

Making more money helps, sure, but if you’re diligent about cutting costs, it’s possible to reach financial freedom on even an average salary.

I want you to meet my friend, John. John is an 81-year-old retired shop teacher. He’s a millionaire--but you’d never know it.

John started life as a carpenter. In his thirties, he went back to school to become a teacher. He spent the next twenty years teaching shop at a junior high school in a poor part of town. He retired to financial freedom at age 58. He never had a huge income and he didn’t inherit a fortune.

So, how’d he get rich? He pinched his pennies and doted on his dollars. John achieved Financial Independence by ruthlessly cutting costs.

John doesn’t live in a mansion. He lives in the same small ranch house he bought for $10,500 in 1962. He paid off his mortgage early, and has now lived in the place for 53 years!

John doesn’t drive a brand-new Mercedes or BMW. He drives a 1998 Chevy minivan he bought for cheap five years ago. It’s ugly, but he doesn’t care. It meets his needs and he has no plans to upgrade.

John doesn’t take lavish vacations. He spends his summers in southeast Alaska on an old 38-foot fishing boat that he bought with cash in 1995. He spends his winters doing volunteer work on farms and ranches in New Zealand.

John doesn’t like to dine in fancy restaurants. He’d rather make his own meals at home. “For me, restaurants are a waste of money,” he says. “I don’t appreciate them.”

We’re constantly bombarded by messages that wealthy people enjoy lavish lifestyles filled with luxury. From my experience meeting with dozens of millionaires over the past decade, this kind of lifestyle is the exception, not the rule.

Most wealthy people I know are like John. They’re quiet millionaires. They practice stealth wealth.

But don’t just take my word for it. Let’s look at what the experts say.

In The Millionaire Next Door, authors Thomas Stanley and William Danko share what they learned through years of academic research into the habits of America’s wealthy. Here’s one key takeaway:

What are three words that profile the affluent? FRUGAL FRUGAL FRUGAL…Being frugal is the cornerstone of wealth-building.

They write that millionaires tend to “play great offense” with money--their incomes are much higher than average--but they also “play great defense”. They’re not big spenders. They’re thrifty. They opt out of consumer culture, making purchases based on their personal needs and wants rather than status and fashion.

“Few people can sustain profligate spending habits and simultaneously build wealth,” write the authors. “[Millionaires] became millionaires by budgeting and controlling expenses, and they maintain their affluent status the same way.”

Study after study shows the same thing. To get and stay rich, you have to manage your lifestyle. You can’t outearn dumb spending.

Great. You get it. To achieve your goals, you’ve got to cut costs. But how?

There are two schools of thought:

Most money writers emphasize saving on small stuff. They teach how to clip coupons, conserve electricity, and spend less on entertainment. These small wins are usually quick and easy to achieve.

A few folks urge readers to pursue “big wins”. They argue that the quickest way to wealth is to spend less on big-ticket items like your home and your car. The downside to this approach? Big wins take a lot of work, and opportunities to pursue them are rare.

I believe that a smart money manager does both. She practices thrift on a daily basis and she seizes every opportunity to slash spending on the big stuff.

You could save maybe 50 cents a day by drinking a glass of water instead of a can of soda. That doesn’t mean much if you only do it once, but over the course of an entire year that single change would increase your personal profit by nearly $200. When taken together, many such small economies make a noticeable difference.

Small amounts do matter.

Rather than provide some made-up examples of how much you could save, here are actual numbers from my own life. When I dug out of $35,000 in debt a few years ago, I decided to:

Switch my cable TV package from $65.82 per month to $12.01 per month, saving $645.72 every year.

Get rid of my home phone line (roughly $46.50 per month) and my subscription to Audible ($21.95 per month), saving $821.40 per year.

Cancel my magazine and newspaper subscriptions, saving $137 per year.

Make use of the public library instead of shopping at bookstores, saving $391.95 in the first year.

Plant a vegetable garden to grow my own produce, saving more than $300 per year. (Yes, I’m such a nerd that I kept a spreadsheet to track how much I saved!)

With these changes alone, I increased my cash flow by $2,281.61 per year. That’s an additional profit of almost $200 every month.

You won’t get rich--slowly or otherwise--by cutting your cable bill or growing your own tomatoes. But when small changes are a part of an ongoing campaign of saving and investing, they can bring big changes indeed!

True story: I recently had a friend ask me how to get out of debt. “You can start by getting rid of your $200 cable package,” I told him. “No way!” he said. “That’s the first thing everyone says, and it’ll be the last to go. TV is important to me.” Right. More important than being debt-free, apparently.

While it’s important to save money on everyday stuff, it’s even more important to watch how much you spend on major purchases. By making smart choices on big-ticket items, you can save thousands of dollars in one blow. If you spend fifty grand less when you buy a house, that’s fifty grand (or more!) you never have to earn.

Housing: Housing is the biggest expense for most Americans--and by a wide margin. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ 2015 Consumer Expenditure Survey, the typical American household spends 32.8% of its income on housing, which includes mortgage (or rent), maintenance, insurance, interest, and utilities.

In an ideal world, you’d slash your housing expense by buying an affordable home in a city with a low cost of living.

While relocating to a cheaper home in a cheaper city would probably provide a huge financial reward, it’s not exactly easy. A more practical alternative might be to move within your current city. Sell your home (or move out of your rental) and choose something more affordable.

Think about it: If you’re an average American who spends $1534 per month on a place to live, dropping that expense by 10% would save you $150 per housing payment. Drop it by 30% and you’ll save more than $5000 per year!

Transportation: Transportation is our second-largest expense in the U.S. We spend an average of $792 per month (17 percent of the typical budget) to get around, including vehicle payments, gasoline, insurance, and repairs. I know Americans love their automobiles. They’re loath to let them go, even in the face of logic. But imagine how much you could save if you could cut your car costs in half! How do you do that?

Sell your current car. Replace it with a used vehicle, one that’s fuel efficient. (Side benefit: An older, used vehicle will cost less to insure!)

Drive your car only when necessary. When possible, bike or walk to reach your destination. (Side benefit: Increased fitness, which also saves you money!)

Make use of public transportation. (Side benefit: Time to read!)

When I recommend people change the way they get around, I’m usually met with a wall of objections. But let me suggest that instead of looking for reasons you can’t do this, instead look for ways you can. You’ll save buckets of money.

Other expenses: Together, housing and transportation consume half of the average American budget. There are enormous opportunities to save if you choose to economize on these two categories. But you can achieve big wins in other areas too.

The Consumer Expenditure Survey shows that the typical household spent $1846 on clothing in 2015, $4342 on health care, $2842 on entertainment, and $7023 on food.

Because each of us is different and we spend in different ways, opportunities for big wins vary from person to person. After tracking my spending for the last half of 2013, for instance, I realized that I was spending way too much on travel. In 2014, I cut my travel costs in half. This allowed me to save money for other goals, such as buying a motorhome.

The Best Way to Spend Less: A few years ago, I asked my friend John if he had advice for young people who want to retire early.

“Here’s the secret to financial freedom,” he told me. “I don’t care how much you make--you spend less than you earn. You don’t have to like it. You just have to do it. Because that is the secret.”

The best way to spend less is to optimize the big stuff.

I’m not saying you shouldn’t make your own laundry detergent or plant a vegetable garden. By all means, do these things! But understand that if all you do is the small stuff, your only hope is to get rich slowly. You can do better.