Category: business

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The Largest Starbucks in the World Is Opening on Chicago’s Magnificent Mile This Fall

Move to the side Tokyo, there will soon be a new claim to the largest Starbucks in the world. On November 15, the coffee chain will open its largest location on Earth on the Magnificent Mile (that’s Michigan Avenue by the way) in downtown Chicago, Illinois.

If you’ve ever spent any time on Michigan Avenue, you know it is a bustling street lined with stores, restaurants, and bars. And during the holiday shopping season, it’s ALWAYS PACKED.

The world’s largest @starbucks will open Friday, November 15 in the heart of downtown Chicago. It is one of six Roastery…

Posted by ChicagoChica on Friday, September 13, 2019

The new Chicago location will be Starbucks’ sixth reserve roastery after Seattle, Shanghai, New York City, Milan, and Tokyo and will occupy 43,000 square feet in a former Crate & Barrel. Starbucks announced that Chicago would be home to the sixth reserve roastery back in 2017, but a lot of the specific details about the location are still unknown.

What we do know is that the reserve beans will be roasted inside the store, tubes will run over customers’ heads transporting beans to be packaged (cool), and the store will employ 200 people. The food and drink menus are much more elaborate than typical Starbucks locations, and a Princi bakery inside will serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

There will also be a bar that serves craft cocktails “inspired by the culture and traditions of Chicago.” The city holds a special place in Starbucks’ heart: the first location the company opened outside of Seattle was in Chicago, back in October 1987.

Just another reason to visit the Windy City! Hot dogs, pizza, great sports, music, the lake, and now the largest Starbucks in the world!

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A Starbucks Worker Passed Away Because He Couldn’t Afford Kidney Dialysis

To the people out there who continue to argue with their heart and soul that the United States has the best health care on Earth, maybe you should read this story.

Oh, and, you’re wrong.

Most of us know the American health care system is pretty bad for a large segment of the population, but it’s stories like this that really drive the point home.

James Farmer was an employee at Starbucks who tragically passed away on August 11 due to kidney failure. Farmer was only 22 years old, and his story has gone viral because it highlights the failure of the American health care system to protect its citizens in many cases. James Farmer was unable to take off work to have his dialysis treatments because he couldn’t afford to miss out on any paychecks because, like many Americans, he lived paycheck-to-paycheck.

Posted by James Farmer on Thursday, August 23, 2018

A writer named Allison Robicelli was friends with Farmer, and she shared his sad story on Twitter to shed light on a situation that untold numberas of hourly and low-wage workers across the country have to deal with. Robicelli included the #ChickenSandwich hashtag in her tweet to reference the hoopla surrounding the Popeye’s chicken sandwich and how people should refocus their thoughts and priorities on things that literally amount to life and death.

Robicelli wrote, “The people who serve you coffee and sandwiches, the people who barely get by because a living wage ‘isn’t in the best interest of shareholders,’ the people who so many believe don’t deserve to be paid fairly: they are people.”

For the record, Starbucks says that it offers its baristas healthcare coverage if they work an average of at least 20 hours per week. All Starbucks employees also get one hour of paid time off for sick days for every 30 hours worked.

A sad story and one that will hopefully inspire those in high places in business and government to make a change.

A GoFundMe page to pay for Farmer’s funeral expenses already exceeded its goal, but you can still donate to honor James Farmer’s memory.

The post A Starbucks Worker Passed Away Because He Couldn’t Afford Kidney Dialysis appeared first on UberFacts.

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Sony Has a New Walkman to Commemorate Its 40th Anniversary

It must’ve been about 1984 when my older brother Rich got a Walkman for Christmas. I was mesmerized by it. Of course, I wasn’t allowed to touch it, but I did admire it from afar until I got my own a few years later and started amassing a killer tape collection featuring hand-me-downs from Rich like AC/DC, The Ramones, and other bands that warped my young mind.

But I digress. We should all be excited that Sony announced it is releasing a Walkman to celebrate the original Walkman’s 40th anniversary. The original Sony TPS-L2 debuted in 1979 and quickly changed the electronics game. It was the first truly portable personal tape player, and it quickly became a staple of music lovers everywhere.

At the IFA electronics trade show in Berlin last week, Sony announced it is releasing a new version of the groundbreaking Walkman. The new Sony NW-A100TPS Walkman looks pretty amazing and is powered by Android.

Sony releases a Walkman for its 40th anniversary.The Sony Walkman is back.The electronics maker will release a new…

Posted by HOT 102 on Tuesday, September 10, 2019

It features a cassette tape interface, and the case has a 40th-anniversary logo on the back. It also has an S-Master HX digital amplifier to give listeners high-res audio, a processor to give compressed audio tracks a higher quality, and a vinyl processor that gives digital tracks a vinyl-like quality.

It also has 26 hours of battery life.

Here’s a video of the new Sony Walkman in action.

I don’t know about you, but my nostalgia just kicked into high gear, and I’m gonna need to get my hands on one of these!

Exciting!

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These Are the Android Apps Infected with New ‘Joker’ Malware That You Should Probably Delete

If you’ve used or are currently using any of the following Android apps, you’ll probably want to get busy erasing them AND you’ll want to check your credit card statement.

Here’s why.

A new malware called “Joker” has made its way into Android apps that ended up in the Google Play store. The malware silently signs users up for subscriptions that might go undetected by people unless they closely look at their monthly credit card statements.

Aleksejs Kuprins, writing at the cybersecurity company CSIS, described how the scam works:

“For example, in Denmark, Joker can silently sign the victim up for a 50 DKK/week service (roughly ~6,71 EUR). This strategy works by automating the necessary interaction with the premium offer’s webpage, entering the operator’s offer code, then waiting for a SMS message with a confirmation code and extracting it using regular expressions. Finally, the Joker submits the extracted code to the offer’s webpage, in order to authorize the premium subscription.”

Google has already removed the bad apps from the Google Play Store, but you should still do a double-check to see if you’ve downloaded or used any of them because they racked up more than 472,000 downloads before they were taken down.

Here’s a list of the infected Android apps (with links).

After you’ve done the deletions (if you needed to), be sure to check your credit card statements back to June of this year to make sure that you don’t have any suspicious charges for subscriptions you didn’t buy.

If you are one of the unlucky ones, the next step is to alert the people in your contact list: the “Joker” malware steals your entire contact list and uploads it to a command and control server, so it’s better to be safe than sorry.

The post These Are the Android Apps Infected with New ‘Joker’ Malware That You Should Probably Delete appeared first on UberFacts.

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Zoos Are No Longer Able to Acquire African Elephants from the Wild

You might have already assumed that trade in wild African elephants – and endangered species in general – was illegal, even if it was a zoo that was looking to take one in.

We would have been wrong.

Though hopefully that won’t be the case for much longer.

At the 18th meeting of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, members from over 180 countries reassessed regulations on international elephant trade. A vast majority of the the representatives voted to end the capture and sale of wild African elephants for display in zoos worldwide.

The issue will go for a vote in front of the full conference, but with 46 of the 83 countries in favor, it looks to have a good chance of passing.

Iris Ho, a senior policy advisor at Humane Society International (HSI), told Bloomberg that everyone in the business of supporting endangered species sees this as a win.

“It’s a huge step forward. It’s really historic that the majority of the parties present recognized that African elephants should not be captured in the wild, sent to zoos and be kept in captivity for the rest of their lives.”

The ban would largely affect countries in southern Africa, where elephant populations are healthier and herds are regularly thinned for the purpose of selling them to zoos. Zimbabwe alone sold over 100 wild-caught baby elephants to China in the past 7 years, and the issue of separating calves from their mothers and the rest of the herd certainly has animal welfare experts concerned.

“Calves suffer psychological and physical harm when taken from their mothers,” explains elephant biologist Audrey Delsink of HSI Africa. “Zoos and other captive facilities force these calves to live in an unnatural, unhealthy environment that doesn’t meet their complex needs.”

View this post on Instagram

Did you know that African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth? They are slightly larger than their Asian cousins and can be identified by their large ears that look like the continent of Africa. Their ears radiate heat to help keep them cool, but sometimes the African heat can be too much so they use their trunk to give themselves a shower. Elephants eat roots, grasses, fruits, and bark and they eat a lot of it. In fact, an adult elephant can consume up to 300 pounds of food a day. Female elephants have a longer pregnancy than any other mammal (22 months) and usually give birth to one calf. In 2018, Tarangire’s famed Eloise was the oldest elephant to give birth to twin calves. Source of information: National Geographic https://www.wanderlusttours.org #wanderlust #tours #africa #tanzani #tarangirenationalpark #tarangire #elephants #africanelephants #thisisafrica #travel #concioustravel #mindfultravel

A post shared by Wanderlust Tours (@wanderlusttoursafrica) on

Elephant trade has long been a hot topic, with African nations often territorial about managing their own wildlife without outside interference. Black market demands for ivory has drastically increased elephant poaching in the last few decades, though, so organizations like CITES feel as if they have a duty to protect the endangered species as if it belongs to the world, and not only to its endemic areas in Africa.

Over a million species are listed as at risk thanks to all manner of human activity, so committees like CITES are set to have busy years as they work to revamp how different species are protected around the globe.

“Nature’s dangerous decline is unprecedented,” says CITES Secretary General Ivonne Higuero. “Business as usual is no longer an option.”

I feel like that statement applies to environmental challenges all over the globe, and I hope there are people in every nook and cranny waiting to step up to do their part to save us all.

The post Zoos Are No Longer Able to Acquire African Elephants from the Wild appeared first on UberFacts.

Posted on

Zoos Are No Longer Able to Acquire African Elephants from the Wild

You might have already assumed that trade in wild African elephants – and endangered species in general – was illegal, even if it was a zoo that was looking to take one in.

We would have been wrong.

Though hopefully that won’t be the case for much longer.

At the 18th meeting of CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, members from over 180 countries reassessed regulations on international elephant trade. A vast majority of the the representatives voted to end the capture and sale of wild African elephants for display in zoos worldwide.

The issue will go for a vote in front of the full conference, but with 46 of the 83 countries in favor, it looks to have a good chance of passing.

Iris Ho, a senior policy advisor at Humane Society International (HSI), told Bloomberg that everyone in the business of supporting endangered species sees this as a win.

“It’s a huge step forward. It’s really historic that the majority of the parties present recognized that African elephants should not be captured in the wild, sent to zoos and be kept in captivity for the rest of their lives.”

The ban would largely affect countries in southern Africa, where elephant populations are healthier and herds are regularly thinned for the purpose of selling them to zoos. Zimbabwe alone sold over 100 wild-caught baby elephants to China in the past 7 years, and the issue of separating calves from their mothers and the rest of the herd certainly has animal welfare experts concerned.

“Calves suffer psychological and physical harm when taken from their mothers,” explains elephant biologist Audrey Delsink of HSI Africa. “Zoos and other captive facilities force these calves to live in an unnatural, unhealthy environment that doesn’t meet their complex needs.”

View this post on Instagram

Did you know that African elephants are the largest land animals on Earth? They are slightly larger than their Asian cousins and can be identified by their large ears that look like the continent of Africa. Their ears radiate heat to help keep them cool, but sometimes the African heat can be too much so they use their trunk to give themselves a shower. Elephants eat roots, grasses, fruits, and bark and they eat a lot of it. In fact, an adult elephant can consume up to 300 pounds of food a day. Female elephants have a longer pregnancy than any other mammal (22 months) and usually give birth to one calf. In 2018, Tarangire’s famed Eloise was the oldest elephant to give birth to twin calves. Source of information: National Geographic https://www.wanderlusttours.org #wanderlust #tours #africa #tanzani #tarangirenationalpark #tarangire #elephants #africanelephants #thisisafrica #travel #concioustravel #mindfultravel

A post shared by Wanderlust Tours (@wanderlusttoursafrica) on

Elephant trade has long been a hot topic, with African nations often territorial about managing their own wildlife without outside interference. Black market demands for ivory has drastically increased elephant poaching in the last few decades, though, so organizations like CITES feel as if they have a duty to protect the endangered species as if it belongs to the world, and not only to its endemic areas in Africa.

Over a million species are listed as at risk thanks to all manner of human activity, so committees like CITES are set to have busy years as they work to revamp how different species are protected around the globe.

“Nature’s dangerous decline is unprecedented,” says CITES Secretary General Ivonne Higuero. “Business as usual is no longer an option.”

I feel like that statement applies to environmental challenges all over the globe, and I hope there are people in every nook and cranny waiting to step up to do their part to save us all.

The post Zoos Are No Longer Able to Acquire African Elephants from the Wild appeared first on UberFacts.

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You Can Buy a Tiny House on Amazon for $37,000 That Expands by Remote Control

If you and your family have put in any time house hunting, you know it’s very difficult to find what you’re looking for and not pay a fortune for it. In backlash, the tiny house has arisen.

The tiny house craze doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon, and now there’s a new addition to the market that you can actually buy on Amazon. And why not? You can buy almost every single you’ll ever need in life on Amazon, so might as well throw a house into the mix as well.

This tiny house is designed by a Chinese company called WHZ Group and costs just $36,800, plus $1,000 for shipping. Just FYI, the average home price in the United States right now is $227,700.

Photo Credit: Amazon/WZH Group

The house can also be expanded with a hydraulic system by using a remote control. How’s that for 21st-century technology?

The house has wind and solar-power systems, a small living space, kitchenette, and a bathroom with a sink, shower, and toilet. If owners are so inclined, they can also have the house wired for electricity. WHZ Group also sells a slightly different version of the house, also on Amazon.

Here are a few photos of the interior.

Photo Credit: Amazon/WZH Group

Photo Credit: Amazon/WZH Group

Photo Credit: Amazon/WZH Group

The house also features a folding deck and a canopy. Take a look at the floor plan:

Photo Credit: Amazon/WZH Group

And this is what the floor plan looks like when the house is compactly folded using the remote control.

Photo Credit: Amazon/WZH Group

Are tiny houses the future? Or just a passing fad that is overhyped at the moment?

What do you think of this idea? I say the smaller, the better. Sign me up!

The post You Can Buy a Tiny House on Amazon for $37,000 That Expands by Remote Control appeared first on UberFacts.

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This Is How 5 Famous Fast-Food Restaurants Got Their Names

We all know fast food isn’t great for us, but that doesn’t mean you (and I) still don’t love it! Just in moderation, right? Or something like that…

Anyway, we all have our favorite fast food joints, but do you know where their names come from?

Let’s take a look and find out!

1. Whataburger

#TBT to the 9th Whataburger location in Corpus Christi, TX which must have been spectacular at night with its neon sign.

Posted by Whataburger on Thursday, March 7, 2019

What a taste, what a place! The regional burger chain started at a time when there were no patties bigger than 4 inches. What to do? Founder Harmon Dobson wanted a 5-inch burger that would make people exclaim “What a burger!” And the name stuck…

2. Wendy’s

Posted by Wendy's on Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy’s restaurant in Columbus, Ohio, in 1969, and he named his burger joint after his daughter Melinda, who was nicknamed Wendy.

3. Subway

Posted by Subway on Thursday, October 4, 2018

In 1965, Pete’s Super Submarines was opened in Bridgeport, Connecticut, by Frank DeLuca and Peter Buck. They renamed it “Pete’s Subway” a few years later. In 1974, DeLuca and Buck wanted to franchise their shop, so they simply renamed it Subway.

4. Starbucks

Where it all started. #coffeepassion

Posted by Starbucks on Saturday, January 12, 2013

Starbucks co-founder Gordon Bowker heard from a friend who worked at an ad agency that words that started with “st” were considered powerful. While brainstorming, they came across a map with a town on it called “Starbo.” Bowker was reminded of the character Starbuck from Moby Dick and a coffee giant was born. They also considered calling the place “Pequod,” after the ship in Moby Dick.

Side note: Pequod’s is the name of my favorite deep-dish pizza place in Chicago. Booyah!

5. Domino’s

Eenie, meenie, miny, moe…LOL, JK. We'll take a slice of each!

Posted by Domino's Pizza on Tuesday, March 27, 2018

The pizza favorite owes its name to a deadline. Brothers Jim and Tom Monaghan bought a pizza place called DomiNick’s in Ypsilanti, Michigan, in 1960. When the original owner decided he wanted to retain his rights to the name, the brothers had to make a decision so they could put their name in the phone book before a deadline.

Domino’s was reportedly dreamed up by a delivery driver named Jim Kennedy. Good choice.

The post This Is How 5 Famous Fast-Food Restaurants Got Their Names appeared first on UberFacts.

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Lego Launches a Feature to Help Make Their Products Accessible to Blind Children

Unless you know someone who is blind, you probably don’t give a whole lot of thought to how blindness affects people – how difficult certain chores and tasks might be. And that includes hobbies and fun as well, especially for kids.

A young blind man named Matthew Shifrin remembers how difficult it was to just be able to play with LEGOs when he was growing up. Because the instructions for LEGOs are represented with images, a family friend of Shifrin’s had to spend hours writing out the instructions and then Shifrin had to upload them into a program that converted the instructions into braille.

A pretty complicated process for a kid who just wants to build things with LEGOs.

Get some #inspiration. Matthew Shifrin has been working tirelessly for several years to spread audio and Braille Lego building instructions to children around the world. https://buff.ly/2PApHdv

Posted by Mike Parsons on Tuesday, September 3, 2019

That’s why Matthew Shifrin teamed up with LEGO to create braille and audio instructions for the company’s toy sets.

LEGO is intent on making its products more accessible to people with disabilities, and earlier this year, the company launched its Braille Bricks that teach people the braille writing system.

Lego launches new feature to make building sets accessible to blind childrenRead more Technology News Here –>…

Posted by Technology News on Wednesday, August 28, 2019

The new sets that come with braille and audio instructions will be sold until December 31, and they include sets of buildings, vehicles, and a spaceship from The LEGO Movie 2. The sets are available for sale and then people can access free instructions on this website. Users can also share feedback on the site, which LEGO will use to make improvements to their instructions. The company also plans to add more sets with braille and audio instructions next year.

Matthew Shifrin says of the partnership with LEGO, “I just want to foster as many blind Lego addicts as I can and help them get into the hobby because it’s helped me so much … I really want to give back to these kids.”

Here’s a video of Shifrin giving a Ted Talk.

Great work!

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This Under-The-Desk Hammock Is Designed for Napping at Work

Now you can be just like George Costanza and sleep under your desk instead of working! But with this gadget, you’ll be a little more comfortable than he was in that classic episode of Seinfeld.

As someone who used to occasionally sleep in their car during lunch breaks, I wholly approve of this product.

The hammock is manufactured by Uplift Desk, and it comes free with every full desk purchase. It hangs below the company’s standing desk model, and, by the looks of it, you’ll be snoozing in no time if you decide to get comfy in one of these.

Take a break from the hectic workday in the Under Desk Hammock by UPLIFT Desk. Free with every full desk purchase, choose yours in gray or blue. Or buy it by itself!https://buff.ly/2NjXmW9

Posted by UPLIFT Desk on Friday, August 23, 2019

You can also buy the hammock from Uplift by itself for $55.

It comes in blue or gray.

Take a break from the hectic workday in the Under Desk Hammock by UPLIFT Desk. Free with every full desk purchase, choose yours in gray or blue. Or buy it by itself!https://buff.ly/2NjXmW9

Posted by UPLIFT Desk on Friday, August 23, 2019

All you’ll need to do is install the two anchor plates on the frame, then clip the carabiners that come with the hammock into the anchors, and you’ll be ready to go to Zzzzzzzz-Ville.

The bag that the hammock stuffs into hangs off the side of the hammock when opened, so you can put your phone (with the alarm set!), your keys, and anything else you want to keep next to you in there while you doze off and forget about all that paperwork you have to catch up on.

Ugh, we all know that feeling.

Here’s a video of the hammock in action. Will you be able to resist this product?

I love this idea – the more nap opportunities, the better.

I’m gonna order mine today.

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