Backseat Driver
Backseat Driver's JournalCross-posted from one posted 1st by OP
BumRushdaShow in Latest Breaking forum.
Number of Americans applying for jobless aid rises, but not enough to cause concern
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143112679
Source: ABC News/AP
The number of Americans applying for jobless benefits jumped last week, but not enough to raise concern about the consistently strong U.S. labor market.
U.S. applications for unemployment benefits rose by 21,000 to 248,000 for the week ending August 5, from 227,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s the most in five weeks.
The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile reading, ticked up by 2,750 to 228,250.
Jobless claim applications are viewed as broadly representative of the number of layoffs in a given week. Applications for jobless aid reached a higher level above 260,000 for a few weeks this spring, causing some concern, but then retreated.
Mexico's president offers to buy US company's coastal property for $375 million to end dispute
https://www.yahoo.com/news/mexicos-president-offers-buy-u-192353636.htmlUpdated Thu, July 27, 2023 at 8:44 PM EDT
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s president said Thursday that he has offered to buy an American company’s Caribbean coast property for about $385 million to end a bitter, years-long dispute.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said a formal offer would be presented to Alabama-based Vulcan Materials. The company operated gravel extraction pits at the Yucatan peninsula site before López Obrador's administration closed them.
The company said it had not yet received the president's proposal or responded to the idea. In papers filed for a case before an international arbitration panel, Vulcan Materials valued the almost 6,000-acre (2,400 hectare) property, located just south of the resort town of Playa del Carmen, at $1.9 billion.
López Obrador said his much lower offer was fair and based on a government assessment. He said the most attractive part of the property was the freight shipping dock, which he plans to turn into a dock for cruise ships. snip - Read lots more at the link.
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Hmmmm...seems a real low-ball offer...but don't know the history of this dispute. President Obrador's got some interesting future ideas for infrastructure and tourism, but doesn't President Obrador have more important issues to consider? People seem to want to leave Mexico.
Adding yet another headache for Joe's US State Dept?
Anyone got more insight on this?
Can tires turn green?
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/cen-10117-coverAlex Scott
C&EN, 2023, 101 (17), pp 28–34May 29, 2023
Rubber crumbs rain down onto more than 150 electric heating plates, raising their temperature to over 600 °C within seconds. In an atmosphere depleted of oxygen, the crumbs rapidly transform into a gas, which is cooled into a synthetic oil and a solid that is mostly carbon black. This process is at the heart of a continuous thermal pyrolysis technology being commercialized by the German start-up Pyrum Innovations to chemically recycle tires. It saves 72% of the carbon dioxide emissions that would have resulted from the existing systems for tire disposal and material recovery, the firm tells C&EN.
Demand for products from Pyrum and other chemical recyclers of tires is increasing and may one day divert millions of used tires from their most common destinations of landfill or incineration. Some 4 billion tires sit in landfills and stockpiles around the world, according to the Tire Industry Project, and they have the potential to catch fire and leach hazardous chemicals into the environment. The incineration of tires generates substantial greenhouse gas emissions.
In a second sustainability shift taking place in the life cycle of tires, manufacturers have started adopting lower-carbon production processes and are using increasing amounts of renewable materials—including those from the chemical recycling of tires.
But just as these activities start to promise substantial environmental benefits, a growing number of scientific studies indicate that tire and road wear particles (TRWPs)—generated when tires rub against the road—could be substantially harming the environment. Scientists at Imperial College London estimate that tires annually release 6 million metric tons (t) of TRWPs—typically linear particles 100 µm long—making it the second-largest source of microplastic pollution, after single-use plastics. (Read more)
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Happening soon in America?
I'm on-board with this technology!
Influence of a Transparent and Edible Coating of Encapsulated
Cannabidiol Nanoparticles on the Quality and Shelf Life of
Strawberries
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsami.3c04036
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsami.3c04036
ABSTRACT: Cannabidiol (CBD) has been shown to have antioxidant
and antibacterial effects. The investigation into CBD’s potential as an
antioxidant and antibacterial agent, meanwhile, is still in its initial stages.
The study goals were to prepare encapsulated cannabidiol isolate
(eCBDi), evaluate the effect of eCBDi edible active coatings on the
physicochemical properties of strawberries, and determine whether CBD
and sodium alginate coatings could be used as a postharvest treatment to
promote antioxidation and antimicrobial activity and prolong the
strawberry shelf life. A well-designed edible coating on the strawberry
surface was achieved using eCBDi nanoparticles in combination with a
sodium alginate polysaccharide-based solution. Strawberries were
examined for their visual appearance and quality parameters. In the
results, a significantly delayed deterioration was observed in terms of
weight loss, total acidity, pH, microbial activity, and antioxidant activity
for coated strawberries compared to the control. This study demonstrates the capability of eCBDi nanoparticles as an efficient active
food coating agent. (snip)
4. CONCLUSIONS
In this work, these studies establish for the first time that
encapsulated CBD isolate nanoparticles and sodium alginate
yield an edible suspension with an optically transparent coated
layer that could be used to enhance the shelf life of
strawberries by lowering the microbial counts and maintaining
the physical quality of fruits. The eCBDi nanoparticles
incorporated with a sodium alginate polysaccharide-based
solution yielded a desirable and optically clear coated layer on
the strawberry surface. The nanoscale fabrication of an eCBDi
nanoparticle was successfully achieved. The prepared eCBDi
with a CBDi
LGA ratio of 20:100 (20-Mps) showed the best
morphological properties among other concentrations. Remarkably, the strawberry coated with 0.5% w/v eCBDi solution (eCBDi-0.5) exhibited high stability in antioxidation
activity and high antimicrobial activity, leading to the most
prolonged quality and shelf life of strawberries. Consequently,
the development of an eCBDi edible coating based on sodium
alginate could be extremely beneficial to those involved in fruit
active coating in order to achieve a transparent optical
appearance for strawberry-coated layers for active packaging
applications.
I'm on-board with this technology!
Influence of a Transparent and Edible Coating of Encapsulated
Cannabidiol Nanoparticles on the Quality and Shelf Life of
Strawberries
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsami.3c04036
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/acsami.3c04036
ABSTRACT: Cannabidiol (CBD) has been shown to have antioxidant
and antibacterial effects. The investigation into CBD’s potential as an
antioxidant and antibacterial agent, meanwhile, is still in its initial stages.
The study goals were to prepare encapsulated cannabidiol isolate
(eCBDi), evaluate the effect of eCBDi edible active coatings on the
physicochemical properties of strawberries, and determine whether CBD
and sodium alginate coatings could be used as a postharvest treatment to
promote antioxidation and antimicrobial activity and prolong the
strawberry shelf life. A well-designed edible coating on the strawberry
surface was achieved using eCBDi nanoparticles in combination with a
sodium alginate polysaccharide-based solution. Strawberries were
examined for their visual appearance and quality parameters. In the
results, a significantly delayed deterioration was observed in terms of
weight loss, total acidity, pH, microbial activity, and antioxidant activity
for coated strawberries compared to the control. This study demonstrates the capability of eCBDi nanoparticles as an efficient active
food coating agent. (snip)
4. CONCLUSIONS
In this work, these studies establish for the first time that
encapsulated CBD isolate nanoparticles and sodium alginate
yield an edible suspension with an optically transparent coated
layer that could be used to enhance the shelf life of
strawberries by lowering the microbial counts and maintaining
the physical quality of fruits. The eCBDi nanoparticles
incorporated with a sodium alginate polysaccharide-based
solution yielded a desirable and optically clear coated layer on
the strawberry surface. The nanoscale fabrication of an eCBDi
nanoparticle was successfully achieved. The prepared eCBDi
with a CBDi LGA ratio of 20:100 (20-Mps) showed the best
morphological properties among other concentrations. Remarkably, the strawberry coated with 0.5% w/v eCBDi solution (eCBDi-0.5) exhibited high stability in antioxidation
activity and high antimicrobial activity, leading to the most
prolonged quality and shelf life of strawberries. Consequently,
the development of an eCBDi edible coating based on sodium
alginate could be extremely beneficial to those involved in fruit
active coating in order to achieve a transparent optical
appearance for strawberry-coated layers for active packaging
applications.
URGENT: Does anyone have any experience in a "health benefits plan" as opposed to "insurance."
My daughter's employer, a private family-run company, with divisions in other states having about 2700 employees made an announcement last week @ corporate headquarters site that company employees would be moving into a "health benefit plan." Her friend who moved to another division in a far western state had not yet been informed but July 1 the change takes effect. Employee contribution payroll deductions would remain the same; employees may NOT opt out of the plan; they must provide a consent for providing the plan their SS# and complete medical history; they have a single week to do so (note this info has already been provided digitally so that all employees' benefits can begin July 1 of this year so this consent is retro-active to the deed). This is apparently for instant enrollment prior to any open enrollment period.
Her employer is wealthy and we assume an investor in the venture capital money fund that has provided funds for what is apparently this "start-up" "health benefit plan" that no one has ever heard of before. There is a website without a provider list (called open access and neither PPO nor HMO and is the plan is not affiliated with any hospital networks) or plan costs but it does write about how much employers can save. This outfit claims "no copays or co-insurance" and no denials of claims nor any deductibles unless one's present "insurance" plan (option of previously offerred and provided insurance plan in which employer also pays partially) includes an HSA which the new health benefit plan does not offer. Apparently, their chosen doctors will be sent provider sign-ups after employees' visits and are without credentialing or accreditation information. I'm guessing this would make this newly offerred entity a type of "self-insurance." No privacy statement for employees either.
Actor Julian Sands confirmed dead after going missing months ago in California mountains
Source: Dennis Romero...reporter NBC News Digital
[snip]"Sands was reported missing from the Baldy Bowl area of Mt. Baldy, about 45 miles from downtown Los Angeles, on Jan. 13, the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department said.
Sheriff's officials said he was hiking in the Angeles National Forest, which was left wet and icy after a series of Pacific storms produced several inches of snow, damaged mountain roads with muddy, overflowing streams, and inspired the closure of off-road driving trails.
On Saturday, people hiking in the Mt. Baldy wilderness discovered human remains and reported them to the Fontana Sheriff's Station, San Bernardino officials said.
The remains were taken to the coroner's office for identification." [snip]
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/actor-julian-sands-dead-california-mountains-rcna66811
For the family's closure, I'm glad he's been found and identified.
Something FYI, network folks, and an Advice guidance re Lockbit ransomware.
This is likely well beyond my home user pay-grade, but someone might be interested in the content.
https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2023/06/14/cisa-and-partners-release-joint-advisory-understanding-ransomware-threat-actors-lockbit
ALERT
CISA and Partners Release Joint Advisory on Understanding Ransomware Threat Actors: LockBit
Release Date June 14, 2023
Today, CISA, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center (MS-ISAC), and international partners released Understanding Ransomware Threat Actors: LockBit, a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) to help organizations understand and defend against threat actors using LockBit, the most globally used and prolific Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) in 2022 and 2023. This guide is a comprehensive resource detailing the observed common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) exploited, as well as the tools, and tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) used by LockBit affiliates. Additionally, it includes recommended mitigations to help reduce the likelihood and impact of future ransomware incidents. [snip]
And read more at link!
Little birds collude to feed geese families!
Those little birds empty the feeder and throw what they don't want beneath in 30 minutes when those mean federally protected Canadian Goose families bring all their little "velociraptors" to feed under the branch where the feeder hangs! 
Gonna go broke on bird seed if it keeps up!
Mom/Dad and likely 2 more (aunt and uncle?) with 12 babies gobbling it up!
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