Category: Business

U.S. Supports Cessation of Destructive Fishing Practices

Conservation International – U.S. Supports Cessation of Destructive Fishing Practices
Oct. 4, 2006: Significant progress has been made in efforts to halt destructive fishing practices on the high seas, as the Bush administration announced October 3 the United States’ official support for their cessation. A moratorium is currently under consideration by the United Nations that will prohibit deep sea bottom trawling – the primary form of destructive fishing activity that is ravaging Earth’s rich and diverse marine ecosystems in the high seas.

The welcome shift in U.S. policy comes as the U.N. begins talks to negotiate protection for disappearing deep sea ecosystems. The talks will culminate in a general assembly vote between Nov. 17 and 22 on whether to implement an interim moratorium that will prohibit deep sea bottom trawling until effective high seas management and protection are in place.

Added pressure on the administration to strengthen its policy also came from Congress late last week when Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, introduced a Senate resolution supported by 21 of his peers stating that destructive fishing on the high seas should not be allowed.

Jalapeño-eating contest one hot time

Star-Telegram.com | 10/08/2006 | Jalapeño-eating contest one hot time
In the most impressive gastrointestinal display this side of Fear Factor, professional eater Rich “The Locust” LeFevre swallowed 247 peppers up to their stems in eight minutes to take the title. The 60-year-old retired Nevada accountant, who drives across the country entering eating contests, won $2,000. His wife accompanies him on his trips.

The pros knew a few tricks the amateurs didn’t. Erik “the Red” Denmark said he took Pepto Bismol beforehand to coat his stomach. All four pros took their own drinks — milk and juice — knowing that the water that was provided didn’t stand a chance against the acids and oils in the peppers.

Huang, meanwhile, went into the contest with a strategy he called “all heart, no talent.” He downed 53 jalapeños, although he was unable to talk about it for several minutes. He could manage only guttural groans.

When he regained the ability to form words, the first thing Huang said was, “I can’t feel my face.”

Get a Human on the Phone!

gethuman list of Company phone numbers & how to get a human
If your Compnay isn’t in this database then, once you have a phone number, here are some tips to try to get through the computer to get to a live human:

  1. Interrupt. Press 0 (or 0# or #0 or 0* or *0) repeatedly, sometimes quickly. Unfortunately the same keystroke does not always work for each company. Many IVRs will connect to a human after a few “invalid entries”, although some IVRs will hangup. 🙁
  2. Talk. Say “get human” (or “agent” or “representative”) or raise your voice, or just mumble. 🙂 The IVR might connect you to a human after one of these key or unknown phrases.
  3. Just hold, pretending you have only an old rotary phone.
  4. Connect to account collections or sales or account cancellation; they always seem to answer quickly. First ask them for their name and rep number (so they know you are writing it down, and thus so they are more likely to help you.) Then ask them to transfer you to the department you need. Sometimes they will put you ahead of the queue, although sometimes they will send you to the end (and thus in those cases this tip is useless).
  5. Toll call. For credit cards, if the expected wait time is too long, hangup and try to call back on their non-toll-free number, as they often have shorter queues.
  6. Selecting the option for Spanish will sometimes get you a bilingual human more quickly than if you just waited for an English-only operator.

When you do finally find a human, ask them how to connect directly the next time (in case your call gets disconnnected etc),

Making Water From Thin Air

Wired News: Making Water From Thin Air
A company that developed technology capable of creating water out of thin air nearly anywhere in the world is now under contract to nourish U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq.

The cost to transport water by C-17 cargo planes, then truck it to the troops, runs $30 a gallon. The cost, including the machines from Aqua Sciences, will be reduced to 30 cents a gallon, Roy said.

Several systems on the market can create water through condensation, but the process requires a high level of humidity.

Aqua Sciences’ machines only require 14 percent humidity, Roy said. “That’s why this technology is superior and why they are getting the contracts.”

Shark slaughter shock

Shark slaughter shock – life – 30 September 2006 – New Scientist
At least four times as many sharks are killed for their fins as are reported in official figures.

From inventories of shark-fin sales at auctions in Hong Kong, researchers from the University of Hawaii and elsewhere estimate that the numbers of sharks caught around the world are far higher than the figures published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Matsuzaka beef

Bloomberg.com: Spend
Kazahana specializes in Matsuzaka beef from Mie prefecture which has the highest grade in Japan. The cattle are raised on beer and massage and the taste is spectacular. You barely have to chew the meat as it melts in your mouth. My dining companion and I looked at each other in amazement.

This doesn’t come cheap. A course costs 20,000 yen ($172) per person and there is only space for six people at the two teppanyaki counters.

Our chef brought us a card listing the cow our sirloin and fillet came from, where it was raised and the farmer that raised it. Ever since “mad cow” disease appeared in Japan in 2001, it is obligatory for restaurants to offer customers proof of where their steak originates, he told us.

The standards maintained for Matsuzaka beef are very high. The cow is raised in a quiet, serene area surrounding Matsuzaka, with the Kumozu River to the north and Miya Gawa River to the south. It must be from a good breed, and must not be bred. It will live quietly for two to three years and treated with the utmost care. It is said that if the cow has calves, then the sashi, the fatty parts, do not retain the characteristic patterns. For the best feeding methods, each farm has a different approach, such as including beer in the diet. The key lies in the feed.

Geniuses, Geocoding, and the Forbes 400 List

Paul Kedrosky’s Infectious Greed: Geniuses, Geocoding, and the Forbes 400 List
I’m in a mapping frame of mind recently, having just Google mapped MacArthur awardees. This time around it’s the Forbes 400 list of the wealthy that got my attention, and so here is a map of the billionaires among us. Click on it for a live version:

Interestingly, at least to me, the geographic distribution of Forbes 400 sorts is considerably more even than MacArthur “genius” award-winners. That said, it is useful to see where Forbes 400 members aren’t, which is North and South Dakota, New Mexico, Louisiana, Alabama, etc. You might think that would be correlated with state GDP per capita, it is actually somewhat more closely related to state populations.

Nuke the Tar Sands 2

Peak Oil Debunked: 126. NUKE THE TAR SANDS 2

The only other option is to generate heat by burning the oil itself, and that would be a carbon emission nightmare. One thing is clear, however: the oil sands will be produced. It’s just a question of whether we’re going to do it the dirty way (and waste vast amounts of the oil in the process); or do it the clean way with nuclear. Environmentalists need to get their head around that. The option where we don’t produce the oil sands is a utopian dream. It’s not on the table.

From the recent article about the natural gas shortage that Calrton Palmer informed us about:

Oil sands producers are clearly concerned about natural gas prices and are experimenting with a range of alternatives that would reduce or eliminate the need for gas.

At its Whitesands in situ project, Petrobank and its partners are working on a plan to burn residual bitumen underground in order to loosen and recover the commercially available crude. That process would leave the carbon dioxide created from the burn trapped underground.

Several companies are also planning to burn asphalt-like bitumen to produce electricity and steam above ground.

Non-Retiring ‘Retirees’ Fastest-Growing Job Market Sector

Non-Retiring ‘Retirees’ Fastest-Growing Job Market Sector –
Seventy percent of Baby Boomers plan to stay in the workplace beyond the traditional retirement age of 65, according to research, as employers embrace older workers and job seekers more than ever.

In August, the number of workers over 55 reached its highest level ever recorded, 24.6 million. Approximately 25 percent of this group (5.2 million) was 65 and older, 45 percent more than 10 years prior.