Buy Coffee From Your iPhone

Did you know that you can buy coffee with your iPhone now? No, I don't mean there's an ap that will allow coffee to materialize in front of you. I mean you can pay for coffee with your phone. Starbucks announced that it had begun accepting payments from your iPhone or Blackberry with Starbucks mobile card. Which works like a gift card, you can only spend as much money as you put in.

This to me sounds amazing. You don't have to worry about those dang interest rates. But I know that this will be horrible for the economy because it will probably expand into more than just for coffee but for almost everything else that you buy, eliminating credit cards and causing banks to fail. So it's good for the individual, but bad for the group... but I guess that's just how America works.

Source:
http://redtape.msnbc.com/2011/01/buying-coffee-with-a-cell-phone-is-fun-and-a-game-changer.html

Unemployed? Work here!

The Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list was released Thursday. The software firm SAS and Boston Consulting Group.

Here are the Top 10 in order:

1. SAS
2. Boston Consulting Group
3. Wegmans Food Markets
4. Google
5. NetApp
6. Zappos.com
7. Camden Property Trust
8. Nugget Market
9. Recreational Equipment (REI)
10. DreamWorks Animation SKG

Some of the benefits you get from SAS is low-cost, high-quality day care, a lavish gym and on-site health care. While Boston Consulting Group tries to avoid lay offs during economic downturns.

If you are unemployed and are looking for a job, now you know that jobs involving computers are the way to go! I feel like this list will only lean more towards computers in the following years until its all about technology. So people start getting you degree in computer programing and such. Those can only help you.

Source:
http://lifeinc.todayshow.com/_news/2011/01/20/5884234-sas-google-among-100-best-companies-to-work-for-

Unemployment Getting Worse

The unemployment jumped from 35,000 to 440,000 on January 8th. Applications had fallen to their lowest level in 2 years. This reflect the number of layouts and also the number of companies not willing to hire. But there are still millions more who are receiving benefits under emergency federal programs.

This is sad and also very confusing. Everyone is trying to tell us that the recession is gonna be over soon but then a second later they're going back on that to tell us that it's worse. I'm just glad that I live in Alexandria, I've never once encountered a homeless man in this town, this town has it good when it comes to crisis like this.

Source:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41054475/ns/business-eye_on_the_economy/

Devil Crabs!

Over 40,000 devil crabs died in the UK and were washed up on shore because of the rising temperature. This year was the coldest December Britain has had in 120 years. Because of this the crabs suffered hypothermia and died. There are thousands of crabs and several other sea creatures littering the shores all over Thanet.

This is really sad. I think this mostly has to do with the pollution that’s messing with our climate which means we need to treat our world better. Instead of going to Starbucks and getting a coffee in a disposable container, go to Wal-Mart and buy a reusable container and just have them put your coffee there. Or buy an eco friendly water bottle so you don’t need to buy water in a plastic bottle when you’re thirsty, this is also good for saving money. Most grocery stores sell bags that you can reuse instead of the plastic ones, some even give you discounts if you do this. And carpooling or riding your bike instead of driving everywhere is probably the best one you can do, it’s also really good for your pocket.

Source:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1344242/40-000-devil-crabs-washed-British-beach-freezing-conditions-hypothermia.html

Rising Minimum Wage

Minimum wage needs to keep up with the rising cost of basic necessities and so it has risen a little in these 7 states; Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington. It will be going up between 9-12 cents. Washington having the highest minimum wage at $8.67 an hour. Poverty advocates don't think this should be seen as rising but more as keeping up with rising goods. People are hoping that this will go right back to the economy.

I think that this is going to make inflation rise really fast, because I don't think that the money will go back to the economy like others think, I think that people will put it in there savings for later which will up the prices on goods AGAIN and make minimum wage go up again... it's a vicious cycle. But I'm obviously no expert because I'm in high school.

Source:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40853128/ns/business-us_business/

Whatever Happened to Amelia Earhart?

What happened to Amelia Earhart is such a mystery, but now there might be an answer to this question. There have been some bone fragments found in an island in the South Pacific. It's an island on the course she was traveling over. Along with the three bone fragments they also found old makeup, glass bottles, and shells that had been cut open.

Scientists are going to do a DNA testing to see if this really is her. I'm so hoping that it is. This would be such intense news if it was.

This is super exciting. I play Sims Castaway all the time and in the game it sucks trying to survive on your own, but she actually had to try and do it! If this was her, it's sad to think she wasn't able to get rescued. But it also would add to her awesomeness.

Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101218/ap_on_re_us/us_search_for_amelia

Perfect Town's First Imperfection

In 1989 Disney's then CEO, Michael Eisner, built the perfect town in Florida, he named it Celebration. People started moved in during 1996. Critics viewed the reminiscent of a quaint New England village as something out of The Truman Show or The Stepford Wife. In the 14 years that Celebration has been a town it has been perfect, it's "the kind of town where people give Christmas gifts to their favorite Starbucks barista, where welcoming wooden rocking chairs sit lakeside on a sidewalk without being stolen, where neighbors tend to get suspicious if they notice you're not around."
Recently though, this town faced it's first homicide. 58 year old Matteo Giovanditto's body was found dead in his apartment in Celebration. Neighbors filed a missing person report when they realized that no one had seen him since the day before Thanksgiving. Police haven't given any further details.

This town sounds super awesome, except for the murder part. I would love to live in a place so neighborly and friendly, but at the same time it would all seem really fake because nothing is perfect. I think that this crime kind of brought the townspeople back to the real world, and unfortunately that's what they needed because they're dreamers.

Source:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_death_in_disney_town