About Me
- Ramrouma
- Revolutionary Queen Of Spades cleverly disguised as a serious adult that never skips coffee or dessert. I find myself torn between a twisted leftist and a cautious rightist. An Entrepreneur-in-progress. "If I could have any job in the world I'd be a professional Cinderella.."
Monday, April 2, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Mafia: Italy's Biggest Bank
Complete excerpt from: Business Insider
The report argues that the ability to exploit the financial crisis has lead to criminal groups earning a turnover of 140 billion euros ($179 billion), more than 100 billion euros ($127 billion) in profit, and more than 65 million euros ($83 million) in liquidity.
Increasingly their tactics are including lending to desperate businesses at extortionate rates.
The report writes (translation via Reuters):
"The classic neighbourhood or street loan shark is on the way out, giving way to organised loan-sharking that is well connected with professional circles and operates with the connivance of high-level professionals."
Reuters reports that the output of the three largest organizations, the Cosa Nostra, the Camorra, and the 'Ndrangheta, is thought to add up to around 7 percent of the Italian economy.
SOS Impresa is a group created by the small business organization Confesercenti, who represent over 270,000 businesses. It's estimated that crimes affect their members 50 times every hour
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
20 Strange Laws From Around The World
01- In Pennsylvania, it’s against the law to put a dollar on a string on the ground and yank it when someone tries to pick it up.
02- In Los Angeles, it’s illegal for a waiter to tell a customer “I’m really an actor.”
03- In Indiana, it’s against the law to dress “Barbie” in “Ken’s” clothes.
04- In Sedona, Ariz., it’s illegal to lie about your astrological sign.
05- In Texas, it’s illegal to threaten somebody with an UNLOADED gun.
06- In Samoa, it’s a crime to forget your wife’s birthday.
07- In Australia, it’s illegal to name any animal you plan to eat.
08- In Cannes, France, it’s illegal to wear a Jerry Lewis mask.
09- In New Jersey, answering a traffic cop who asks “Do you know why I pulled you over?” by saying,
“If you don’t know, I’m not going to tell you” is an automatic $300 fine.
10- In Kentucky, it’s illegal to paint your lawn red.
11- In Portugal, it’s against the law to pee in the ocean.
12- In Connecticut, night watchmen are forbidden from drinking decaf coffee while working.
13- In Vermont, it’s illegal to pick your nose and stick the pickings under a table.
14- In Tennessee, it’s illegal to tell someone to quit smoking.
15- In Oregon, donut holes must be at least an 1/8th inch in diameter.
16- In Italy, anyone considered “obese” is forbidden from wearing polyester.
17- It’s illegal to tear a phone book in half in Montana.
18- Anyone caught selling a “smoothie” that has lumps is breaking the law in California.
19- In Arkansas, it’s illegal for a woman getting married for the second time to wear a white wedding gown.
20- In New York City, it’s illegal for a restaurant to call it a “corned beef sandwich” if it’s made with white bread and mayonnaise
YouGov BrandIndex's Top Brands of 2011
YouGov BrandIndex has released its survey of the top brands of 2011:
Subway is the only dining brand to crack the BrandIndex Buzz Ranking Top 10. The sandwich giant ranks number one in our overall Buzz list for the second consecutive year.
Amazon profited from the increase in online retailing this season. The launch of the Kindle Fire and an increase in marketing spend solidified Amazon’s number two position.
History Channel—now known as just History–makes its third consecutive appearance in the top five ranked brands of the year. History drops a spot since 2010, but retains high rankings. History’s mix of reality shows and documentaries has spawned many cult favorites including Pawn Stars, and Larry the Cable Guy.
Google edged up one spot versus last year (after having the top spot in 2009). The search giant entered the social networking world this year with Google+ (amassing 60 million members). Google’s busy 2011 continued with proliferation of Android phones, the acquisition of Motorala Mobility and Zagat, and the unveiling of Google Wallet.
Cheerios moved up two spots to fifth overall after two straight years of coming it at number seven. Cheerios joins Subway as the only ‘food-focused’ brand in the Top 10. US consumers were introduced to ‘Cinnamon Burst Cheerios’ in 2011.
Lowe’s improved from sixth to fourth from 2009 to 2010 despite scores declining slightly. Lowe’s buzz scores continued to decline in 2011, and the brand dropped back to sixth in the rankings. Lowe’s Buzz declines were largely driven by a late 2011 controversy when the brand pulled ads from a Muslim-American show on TLC.
Ford has been in the top 10 for the last two years, coming in third in 2010 and dropping to seventh in 2011. Ford remains the top auto brand in the BrandIndex universe, and strong 2011 sales are a positive sign for 2012.
Discovery Channel has been in the Top 10 each of the last three years, although the brand has fallen from fourth place in 2009 to eighth in 2011. The brand now finds itself 5 spots behind key rival History.
Target is another brand that has been in the Top 10 for the past three years, remaining relatively consistent at eight in 2010 and ninth in 2011. Target faced brand issues with a number of glitches around the launch of their Missoni line in September, but the brand fully recovered Buzz scores and maintained their Top 10 ranking.
Apple cracked the top 10 for the first time in the last three years, coming in at number ten. Apple has been very successful this year with the launch of the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S, and the brand’s Buzz scores were also lifted substantially after the passing of founder Steve Jobs in October which caused an outpouring of remembrances and testimonials amongst Apple fans around the world.
Subway is the only dining brand to crack the BrandIndex Buzz Ranking Top 10. The sandwich giant ranks number one in our overall Buzz list for the second consecutive year.
Amazon profited from the increase in online retailing this season. The launch of the Kindle Fire and an increase in marketing spend solidified Amazon’s number two position.
History Channel—now known as just History–makes its third consecutive appearance in the top five ranked brands of the year. History drops a spot since 2010, but retains high rankings. History’s mix of reality shows and documentaries has spawned many cult favorites including Pawn Stars, and Larry the Cable Guy.
Google edged up one spot versus last year (after having the top spot in 2009). The search giant entered the social networking world this year with Google+ (amassing 60 million members). Google’s busy 2011 continued with proliferation of Android phones, the acquisition of Motorala Mobility and Zagat, and the unveiling of Google Wallet.
Cheerios moved up two spots to fifth overall after two straight years of coming it at number seven. Cheerios joins Subway as the only ‘food-focused’ brand in the Top 10. US consumers were introduced to ‘Cinnamon Burst Cheerios’ in 2011.
Lowe’s improved from sixth to fourth from 2009 to 2010 despite scores declining slightly. Lowe’s buzz scores continued to decline in 2011, and the brand dropped back to sixth in the rankings. Lowe’s Buzz declines were largely driven by a late 2011 controversy when the brand pulled ads from a Muslim-American show on TLC.
Ford has been in the top 10 for the last two years, coming in third in 2010 and dropping to seventh in 2011. Ford remains the top auto brand in the BrandIndex universe, and strong 2011 sales are a positive sign for 2012.
Discovery Channel has been in the Top 10 each of the last three years, although the brand has fallen from fourth place in 2009 to eighth in 2011. The brand now finds itself 5 spots behind key rival History.
Target is another brand that has been in the Top 10 for the past three years, remaining relatively consistent at eight in 2010 and ninth in 2011. Target faced brand issues with a number of glitches around the launch of their Missoni line in September, but the brand fully recovered Buzz scores and maintained their Top 10 ranking.
Apple cracked the top 10 for the first time in the last three years, coming in at number ten. Apple has been very successful this year with the launch of the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S, and the brand’s Buzz scores were also lifted substantially after the passing of founder Steve Jobs in October which caused an outpouring of remembrances and testimonials amongst Apple fans around the world.
Top US Buzz Scores for 2011
Methodology:
These brands were rated using YouGov BrandIndex’s Buzz score which asks respondents, "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?"
The Buzz Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Buzz scores between January and December 2011.
All Buzz scores listed have been rounded to a single decimal place, however, we have used additional precision to assign ranks.
These brands were rated using YouGov BrandIndex’s Buzz score which asks respondents, "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?"
The Buzz Rankings chart shows the brands with the highest average Buzz scores between January and December 2011.
All Buzz scores listed have been rounded to a single decimal place, however, we have used additional precision to assign ranks.
Monday, January 9, 2012
USA Military Bases v/s Iran
Here's a map listing all US military bases.
Is this evidence that the USA is stronger and better planned/prepared to attack Iran since it has it surrounded with bases? OR..
Is Iran more powerful of a threat both militarily and economically that it provokes such a massive US blockade?
Whatever it is, opinions all respected, I still wish for world peace ;P
Toshiba's Thinnest Most Stunning 10-Inch Tablet
Complete Excerpt from: Business Insider
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Toshiba just announced the Excite X10 tablet, the thinnest 10-inch tablet ever built.
The Excite X10, which boasts a 10.1 inch IPS display, is a mere 7.7 mm thick. The iPad 2 is 8.8 mm thick, in comparison. It sits on the "premium" shelf just above Toshiba's budget Thrive tablets.
The Excite X10, which boasts a 10.1 inch IPS display, is a mere 7.7 mm thick. The iPad 2 is 8.8 mm thick, in comparison. It sits on the "premium" shelf just above Toshiba's budget Thrive tablets.
Perhaps the most killer feature of the X10 (besides its inconceivable waistline) is the fact that it includes a Micro USB port, a Micro HDMI port, and even an SD card slot. There's somehow also room for a dock connector like you might find on the iPad.
As far as other specs, the X10 features a 2 MP front facing camera, 5MP rear facing camera, 1.2 Ghz dual-core processor, and 1 GB of RAM.
We got our hands on the Excite X10 a few weeks ago, and while it's incredibly well built, it's not as sturdy as the iPad 2. It's made out of magnesium alloy instead of titanium, so it's lighter, but not as resilient.
One issue we had with the X10 once we put our hands on it was that because it's so thin, it actually dimples a little bit if you squeeze it. This wouldn't be much of an issue if we didn't fear potential screen damage. When you press your thumb against the X10's screen (with not even much force), the screen gets darker in that spot like you might expect from a resistive touchscreen.
We got our hands on the Excite X10 a few weeks ago, and while it's incredibly well built, it's not as sturdy as the iPad 2. It's made out of magnesium alloy instead of titanium, so it's lighter, but not as resilient.
One issue we had with the X10 once we put our hands on it was that because it's so thin, it actually dimples a little bit if you squeeze it. This wouldn't be much of an issue if we didn't fear potential screen damage. When you press your thumb against the X10's screen (with not even much force), the screen gets darker in that spot like you might expect from a resistive touchscreen.
While the top of the device is iffy, the X10 packs some nice industrial design touches like a metal bezel and a silver ring around the camera. On the whole, the X10 feels super solid to hold. Toshiba did great work here—especially in comparison to its fairly miserable Thrive tablets.
The Excite X10 will go on sale during the "first quarter of 2012" for $529.99 (16 GB) and $599.99 (32 GB). Toshiba hopes to ship the devices with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but it might come soon after launch as a software update.
The Excite X10 will go on sale during the "first quarter of 2012" for $529.99 (16 GB) and $599.99 (32 GB). Toshiba hopes to ship the devices with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, but it might come soon after launch as a software update.
McDonald's Released Crazy Burgers In Japan
Complete excerpt from: Business Insider
It's the third straight year that McDonald's has brought Big America to Japan. It all started in 2010 with a bacon-laden set of burgers after the quarter pounder became a hit in the nation.
The burgers themselves have changed quite a bit since then as the fast food chains move to more high-end 'gourmet' products in Japan.
It's likely not a coincidence that the reintroduction of Big America comes right after Wendy's re-entered the market after a two-year absence with a bizarre foie gras burger.
Check out the four Big America burgers below. Would you eat them?:
The burgers themselves have changed quite a bit since then as the fast food chains move to more high-end 'gourmet' products in Japan.
It's likely not a coincidence that the reintroduction of Big America comes right after Wendy's re-entered the market after a two-year absence with a bizarre foie gras burger.
Check out the four Big America burgers below. Would you eat them?:
Grand Canyon Burger --
Beef patty with "steak filling," cooked egg, cheddar and mozzarella cheese, crispy onions, steak sauce (with soy and "smoked" flavors) and an extra middle bun
Las Vegas Burger -- Beefy patty, spicy sauteed sliced beef and onions with lettuce and cream cheese sauce
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Broadway Burger -- Beef patty, pastrami bacon, a bunch of fresh vegetables, mustard sauce and cream cheese sauce
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Beverly Hills Burger -- Beef patty, cooked egg, lettuce, onions, avocado sauce and caesar salad sauce
 |
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Top Tech Paying Positions in New York
Complete excerpt from: Business InsiderBust out the programming textbooks or head to Codecademy and learn Java right now, because that's how you're going to get paid big time in New York.
That's what CyberCoders, a research firm in California, found in a new study it released today of the top tech jobs in New York.
CyberCoders gathered data from job postings and clients and found the average salary for tech positions in New York and, no surprise, the software engineers are getting paid better than just about everyone else, StaffingIndustry reports.
Here are the the top paid tech positions in the city, according to CyberCoders:- Ruby developer: $106,667/year
- Sales engineer: $106,500/year
- Java developer: $104,500/year
- Network engineer: $103,750/year
- Python developer: $103,333/year
- Product manager: $97,500/year
- PHP developer: $96,071/year
- Sales manager: $86,250/year
- Mobile and web engineer: $85,000/year
- Project manager: $78,333/year
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