January 2018

Protect the Whales, Save the Planet

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Whale Breach

LOS ANGELES — Over the past couple of years, I have reported on skyrocketing whale deaths – it is horrific and worrisome.

Let me tell you why:

Whales are farmers of the sea. Their flocculent fecal plumes are rich in iron and nitrogen, which fertilize phytoplankton and prochlorococcus (cyanobacteria). Together, the phytoplankton and bacteria provide almost two-thirds of all the oxygen  we breathe. Oxygen makes up almost 65 percent of human body weight.

Whale on Beach
In June 2015, 337 sei whales were victims of man-made global warming along a remote stretch of Chile in the largest mass stranding of baleen whales ever recorded. Image Credit: ToxicWeb/Flickr

Fossil fuel heat has infused 300 zettajoules of energy into the oceans, half of that has accumulated since 1997. It’s the equivalent energy of detonating one Hiroshima-style bomb every second for 75 straight years. Think about that for just a minute. Hiroshima. Every. Second.

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Why Canada’s Real Estate Market Is Becoming Too Big to Fail

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Canada Real Estate Market Too Big to Fail

TORONTO — It was all about to come crashing down.

That’s the conclusion one would draw from reading the Canadian business press in the spring of 2017, which, after giddily cheering the housing boom, now heralded an inevitable bust.

A favourite theme: Canadians appeared to have lost their minds over houses the same way their American cousins had ahead of the financial crisis of 2008. Nondescript detached homes in hard-luck Hamilton, Ontario, were selling for $1 million. In Vancouver, prices had climbed 50 per cent in only three years heading into 2016 — great if you happened to own property, not so great if you didn’t. Institutions such as the Bank of Canada had started talking in more detail about the perils of debt. To keep up with those surging house prices, Canadians had mortgaged their futures like never before, prompting the central bank to worry about financial stability.

There was another particularly bad omen. Home Capital, a smallish mortgage lender, had cast a dark shadow over the real estate market. A couple of years earlier, the firm realized that a few dozen brokers it worked with had been filing false mortgage applications. Home Capital insisted the issue was minor, but its executives couldn’t make the problem go away. If you saw The Big Short, you know that rampant fraud was at the heart of the U.S. housing collapse in 2006 and 2007, and alarm bells were sounding.

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7 Technology Trends That Will Dominate 2018

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Technology 2018

Regardless of whether you’re a diehard tech fanatic after the latest devices, or a laid-back “average” consumer, you can’t help but look forward to the technology developments and trends that lie ahead. After a year with surprisingly high sales for smart speakers and virtual reality, and the debut of several new phones and tablets, we look ahead at what lies in store for the industry in 2018.

These general tech trends have the capacity to change how we live and interact with each other.

So what will the biggest tech trends of 2018 be, and how will our lives change, accordingly?

  • AI permeation
  • Digital centralization
  • 5G preparation
  • Data overload
  • White collar automation
  • Seamless conversation
  • UI overhauls

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Congressman Mike Grimm Eyes Political Comeback – Video

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Congressman Mike Grimm

WASHINGTON — In Slanted’s first ever video interview, Congressman Mike Grimm sits down with Manila Chan to discuss his  political comeback, human trafficking and prostitution, Steve Bannon, the current political climate in Washington DC, Asian voters, and issues important to Brooklyn & Staten Island constituents.

Take a peek into the world of one of Capitol Hill’s most controversial figures in this candid one-on-one talk, as Grimm looks to take back his seat in 2018.

Oh, BTW, some of the audio gets choppy now and again. We’re aware. It’s Skype. It happens. But stick it out, it’s worth it. We’re a startup. Bear with us. We’re working on video quality to better serve you soon.

Thanks for watching.

Government Shutdown – Minimal Impact for most Americans

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Government Closed

* Op-Ed

 

Everyone calm down.

WASHINGTON — From an economic perspective, the shutdown of 2013 led to a GDP decrease of 0.25%.  It’s true that hundreds of thousands of federal employees received no pay, or late pay as a result of the previous shutdown, that inconvenience merely impacted their discretionary spending.  While contracted employees may not be impacted, the ability of the government to enter into new contracts, the execution of existing contracts may be impacted, and could lead to increased costs for follow-on research and development type efforts.

Tourism related industries are affected by the shutdown, as national parks closed, museums gift shops sat empty, and there were additional costs labeled as “lost productivity.”

But for the most part, a short shutdown would have minimal impact for most Americans, at least in the immediate term.

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Clean Mind, Fit Body

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Fit Girl Working Out

LOS ANGELES — We’ve all heard that “New Year, New me” saying right?  Don’t make it a new you just because January 1st rolls around.  Change your way of thinking and you will change your fitness.  

For starters, throw that saying right out of the window.  Along with all of those self-proclaimed online fitness gurus on Instagram.  In fact, anytime you see the word “fitness” in the title of an IG handle, turn and run.  It’s like a used car salesman who goes by “Honest Joe.”  It’s a safe bet they’re not honest.  In this case, a safe bet they know nothing or very little about fitness.

A lot of people think they need to mirror exactly what they see “Instagram models” doing, what workouts they do, what they eat, what they wear, etc.  And they think that they have to do all these different kinds of workouts they see on Instagram or in magazines.  But you don’t need to do all of those weird goofy exercises!  All you need is to stick to the basics!

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Strawless in America, Ban Them All

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olive ridley sea turtle

LOS ANGELES — The only way 7.5 billion procreating humans can survive on this planet – our only home – is to mimic Nature. There is no waste in Nature. There is no unemployment in Nature. All life forms are interdependent.

Americans consume 500,000,000 petroleum-based plastic straws daily, or, 1.6 straws per person. That amounts to an unfathomable number of more than 182 billion plastic straws per year.

Plastic straws injure and kill untold numbers of sea birds and many other forms of sea life each year. A couple of years ago, marine biologists in Costa Rica found a distressed olive ridley sea turtle with what they thought was a parasitic worm burrowing into its nose. Using a Swiss army knife (the only tool on the boat) they performed a snap surgery. The biologists were horrified upon extracting the impediment to discover that it was a plastic straw.

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Toxic Relationship: The one who never loves you back

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TV Addiction

WASHINGTON — Do you ever feel sad when your favorite TV show comes to an end? Whether it’s because you just binge watched on Netflix or Hulu, or the dozens of websites you can stream from, or whether it’s a season finale and you have to wait until next season to watch. If your response is yes to any of the former, then you have experienced what is called a parasocial relationship. In other words this relationship is a one-sided experience between viewers and their favorite characters.

Social Psychologists have found that parasocial relationships are a real thing. At its most basic level, they have shown that viewers are inherently prone to develop relationships with the characters they see on television, not only in fictional accounts, but other forms of news media. Yes, this can include our dear supreme leader, President Trump.

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Land of Shit House Opportunity

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American Flag Behind Barbed Wire

MIAMI — Don’t get lost in the media buzz. Several friends have identified places in the US where they grew up as shitholes. The issue raised is not shithole or shithouse in describing countries or locations. Several come to mind. One issue is the concept of restricting opportunity as described in our Constitution. The other issue is the dishonesty that grew from the DACA meeting. Let’s summarize what’s been done or said.

Last Thursday morning, the president summoned Senators Lindsey Graham and Dick Durbin, thinking the immigration bill proposed by Graham, Durbin, Flake, Menendez, Bennet and Gardner would be signed. Reports say advisors told the president that his base could be upset so he extended the invitation to Sens. Cotton, Perdue, Goodlatte and McCarthy.

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Confront to Overcome

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Confront to Overcome

WASHINGTON — When I find myself faced with life’s obstacles, I remind myself; if you can confront it, you can overcome it. Internally, I welcome these two concurrent actions. If life has taught me anything so far, it’s that there will always be new obstacles awaiting us. No matter what stage in our lives we are in, what we’ve accomplished, or how much we’re revered by others, there will always be new obstacles.

With every new level you reach, new devils await. They are zealously anticipating your arrival because they’ve seen many before you who have entered this realm, clinging to their altruistic thoughts and ideas of how things should be. Keep Reading

Auto – What’s Hot in 2018

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Mercedes AMG GT 4-door

DUBAI  — Things move quickly in 2018, and the auto industry is no different. From bold design concepts to innovative features that enhance aesthetics, performance, and the overall driving experience, automakers continue to unveil their best with each passing year.

This gallery showcases such brands as Alpine, Aston Martin, Bentley, and more. Go ahead and feast your eyes on the best of 2018.

Here’s a look at what’s hot in auto for 2018 – courtesy of our friends at wheel.thecontenthub.com

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