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Yearly Archives: 2011
TJ’s Worker: A Week in the Life
Food Informants: A Week In The Life Of A Trader Joe’s Employee
First Posted: 8/11/11 08:55 AM ET Updated: 8/11/11 02:12 PM ET
Food Informants is a week-in-the-life series profiling fascinating people in the food world. We hope it will give you a first-hand look at the many different corners of the food industry. Know someone who would make a great Food Informant? Tell us why.
“Jane,” 24, has been working for Trader Joe’s since 2007, though in 2009 she left for over a year to go work for Whole Foods. She did not like it there and returned to TJ’s. At Trader Joe’s, every employee does a range of tasks, but Jane’s speciality is dairy. Below is her explanation of the pros and cons of the job:
I like working for Trader Joe’s because they pay me well and offer great benefits. They also respect me as an employee and make me feel like I’m useful and needed and not just another part-time employee that can be replaced (which has been the case at other retail jobs I’ve had). Trader Joe’s is really good at hiring great people and I’m lucky to have so many wonderful co-workers. I don’t like working at Trader Joe’s because the work can be strenuous on my back and wrists. Being on a register for several hours at a time is tiring and somewhat soul crushing due to ignorant people who feel the need to be condescending to me because I work at a grocery store. I also feel that the company is becoming more and more corporate as it grows and it is beginning to have an impact on the enjoyability of being a part-time “crew member.” I also work in a very busy store which causes the managers to stress out a lot and I don’t enjoy being surrounded by it.
Read on to learn about Jane’s week (she doesn’t work Tues/Wed/Thurs) and all the tasks she does at Trader Joe’s.
to read more, go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/11/food-informants-trader-joes_n_917654.html#s325677&title=Nate_Appleman_Chip
Trump Golf Course Trumped by Wind Farm?
Donald Trump Angry Over Offshore Wind Farms Near Scotland Golf Course
The Huffington Post Tara Kelly
First Posted: 8/12/11 10:32 AM ET Updated: 8/12/11 01:00 PM ET
When Donald Trump first dreamt about building his $1.6 billion golf complex off the beautiful coast of Scotland, offshore wind farms weren’t part of his plan.
But now it looks like that could be a reality after a $243 million joint venture was announced to construct the European Offshore Wind Deployment Center.
Trump issued a statement against the plans, saying he’d never have invested his own $60 million in the project had he known this would be the outcome,reports the Guardian.
According to Bloomberg, he also wrote in a recent email, “I am very disappointed that Scotland may allow the development of a wind power plant directly off Aberdeen’s beautiful coastline.”
Trump isn’t the first person upset over wind farms.Anti-wind power groups have argued that turbines may cause health problems, and Germany is looking into soundproofing underwater construction sites to protect whales from the noise.
David Rodger, spokesman for the Scotland wind farm project told the Guardian: “We have been in regular contact with the Trump organisation and acknowledge the concern raised.”
to read more, go to: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/12/donald-trump-golf-course_n_924756.html
Surveillance Cameras on San Francisco Buses?
DHS Funds Real-time Spy Cams on SF Buses
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
August 9, 2011
The Department of Homeland Security will fund an effort by San Francisco to install real-time video cameras on 358 city buses, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The existing system, installed a decade ago, stores footage on tape located on each vehicle.
DHS’s Imaging System for Immersive Surveillance introduced this year.The new surveillance system will use a wireless network “that will enable SFMTA personnel to view, download and store the captured video images wirelessly and view them in real-time or through the Internet.”
According to city documents, “the new system will provide real-time viewing of images, inside and outside the bus, by law enforcement officers, emergency responders and other authorized personnel on a real-time basis from a distance of about 500 yards in case the bus is hijacked and used for terrorism activities.”
In March, it was reported the DHS planned to introduce new mobile surveillance technology at train stations, stadiums and streets.
The new technology allows the government to “track your eye movements, capture and record your facial dimensions for face-recognition processing, bathe you in X-rays to look under your clothes, and even image your naked body using whole-body infrared images that were banned from consumer video cameras because they allowed the camera owners to take ‘nude’ videos of people at the beach,” Mike Adams writes for Natural News.
Documents discussing the technology were obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
thttp://www.infowars.com/dhs-funds-real-time-spy-cams-on-sf-buses/o read more, go to:
Gold or Farms?
Gold hits $1,800; but what about farmland?
August 10, 2011, 12:40 PM
Nothing can seem to get in front of this gold freight train. The December contract gc1u, the most active, just hit an intraday record of $1,801 an ounce and recently traded up $44.40, or 2.6%, to $1,787.60 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. But Jon Nadler, an often bearish gold analyst for Kitco Metals Inc. North America, points out in his morning commentary that some of the so-called “smart money” has moved out of gold.. and into farmland? Read Nadler’s past commentary.
“Amid the chaos and the noise, someone (George Soros) is quietly buying ‘stuff’ you can actually use and which has value way beyond currencies or metals; yep, farmland.” He points to a Bloomberg News story out Wednesday about investors, including a former bond fund manager, jumping into farm ownership, where returns have averaged 16% annually from Jan. 2008. A fund operated by Soros, whose funds shed gold holdings earlier this year, has also gone into farms. Read more on Soros’s move out of gold.
to read more, go to: http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2011/08/10/gold-hits-1800-but-what-about-farmland/
Tornadic Activity in Nebraska
This Week’s Active Volcano Report
Active volcanoes in the world from 03/08/2011 to 09/08/2011 + 2 videos
Last update: August 12, 2011 at 10:58 am by By Armand Vervaeck
The Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is a cooperative project between the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program and the US Geological Survey’s Volcano Hazards Program.
Updated every Week (mostly Wednesday), notices of volcanic activity posted on these pages are preliminary and subject to change as events are studied in more detail. This is not a comprehensive list of all of Earth’s volcanoes erupting during the week, but rather a summary of activity of volcanoes that meet criteria discussed in detail in the “Criteria and Disclaimers” section.
to read the reports and see the videos, go to: http://earthquake-report.com/2011/08/12/active-volcanoes-in-the-world-from-03082011-to-09082011-2-videos/
Perseid Meteor Shower Peaking
fr/spaceweather.com
PERSEID METEOR SHOWER: Earth is entering a stream of debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle, source of the annual Perseid meteor shower. International observers are now reporting more than 20 Perseids per hour, a number that will increase as the shower reaches its peak on August 12-13.
“Last night I witnessed a large and colorful Perseid over my home in Silkeborg, Denmark,” reports photographer Jesper Grønne. A close-up of the meteor shows its vivid color.
John Chumack of Dayton, Ohio, adds this report: “Last night between 10 pm and 6 am I recorded more than 100 meteors using various sky cameras mounted on top of my home and backyard observatory. Moonlight is not preventing us from seeing the bright ones!” He compiled a timelapse slideshowof highlights. “Note how my dome rotates during the observing session,” he points out.
The best time to look is Saturday morning, Aug. 13, just before dawn when the Moon is low and meteor rates are peaking. Some observers will also see the International Space Station, which coincidentally flies over many US towns and cities during the shower’s peak: ISS tracker. Also, be sure to tune intoSpace Weather Radio to hear the ghostly pings of Perseids disintegrating over the US Air Force’s Space Surveillance Radar. It makes a great soundtrack for any meteor watch.
Keith Barry on Mind Tricks
check out this video fr/TED showing some pretty cool mind bending stuff:
A Bit on This Mercury Retrograde
with Barbara Hand Clow and Gerry Clow in http://www.aquasoul.com/index2.html
This Mercury retrograde pattern really catches my eye, and I think there’s a message in it: As soon as Night Five opens August 18, and possibly during the Full Moon at the end of Day Five, the financial wizards will run out of rabbits to pull out of their banking hats, while the people get jangled by shocks. The New Moon is on the 1776 USA North Node, so the focus of the world collapse will be the US, not Europe. Aspects to Mercury from Pluto, Neptune/Chiron, and Uranus will help us turn to spiritual matters and seek love in our families, the only real solution for money problems. These aspects indicate we will be highly susceptible to mystical breakthroughs, as well as very good at trusting our spiritual guidance during August. There are to be seven exact squares between Uranus and Pluto during 2012 through 2015, the period when the world will create new ways of life for a viable future. This square is very close during July/August 2011 amidst the high rate of change during the Universal Underworld. Time acceleration will build through October 28, 2011 (when our world will experience the imposition of a new fractal and holographic field), and then the structural adjustments will be continual through 2015. We are transmuting our minds in a hot alchemical furnace as Neptune and Chiron soften Pluto and spiritualize this difficult process. Mars in 28 Gemini is right on the point opposite the Galactic Center (GC), where Venus was located during the previous New Moon. (In the July 1 reading I made an error and said it was on the GC, not opposite). So, Venus opposite the GC opened our consciousness to cosmic realms during the previous lunation, and now Mars activates this point. Mars (which also sextiles the New Moon) guards the visual pathway out of our Galaxy.
Saturn in Libra is in a wide opposition to Uranus in Aries, and the influence is moving off. However, Saturn in 12 Libra quincunxes Jupiter in 9 Taurus while Jupiter trines Pluto, which is a stabilizing factor during this New Moon. Jupiter in Taurus is grounded and creates good future, which helps us during this unstable phase. And, the trine from Pluto (exact July 7) aids the transformation of structures. For example, this trine is causing the financial wizards to be more aware of the destruction they may cause, so they are cautious and respectful for a change. The quincunx from Saturn in Libra approaching its third and last hit of the USA’s eighth Saturn Return (exact August 28) causes Americans to get real about wanting to be the last empire. The exact Jupiter/Saturn quincunx does not occur until May 2012, because Jupiter retrogrades back to early Taurus starting in late August. This Jupiter retrograde period (August 30 to December 25, 2011) will occur during the most intense financial jitters, so the structural changes are going to be deep. The best thing the Roman Empire used to do was declare a Jubilee every fifty years, when all debt was forgiven. Maybe this is what the whole world needs now? Thank the goddess Jupiter is in Taurus until June 2012! Regarding personal finance, Jupiter in Taurus says take care of your essential needs first, since choice will be very limited for most during the great restructuring of our world.
Day Five (July 31-August 17) begins one day after this New Moon and will be an exciting life-changing time; there is no doubt it will be overwhelmingly stressful. The Full Moon on August 13 will add astrological fuel to radical transformations. If at all possible, be as calm and receptive as possible, so that you can receive the spiritual directions coming to Earth during Day Five. Be present, and nurture the strength of courage in your hearts through unconditional love; only you can do it.
Interestingly, earlier in the post, his analysis of the astrological significators indicated the following:
Mercury in early Virgo is a big player this month. The chart is cast for Washington, DC, home of the current world empire, and Mercury is right on the mid-heaven. Mercury exactly opposes Neptune (and closely opposes Chiron); trines Pluto; and is quincunxed by Uranus. This means we will be visionary (Mercury opposite Neptune) about the huge transformations (Pluto), while extreme change (Uranus) will push and push. But Mercury’s action is much more intense than that, and the dynamic suggests the financial crisis is deepening. Mercury will exactly oppose Neptune late on July 28 (after this reading gets posted) and will turn retrograde on August 2 (when the US may begin to default); then Mercury opposes Neptune a second time on August 8. Mercury gets back to a third opposition to Neptune on September 8. This suggests the US will be struggling with either a default or a downgrade on its debt rating during this period; the negative elements of Mercury opposite Neptune are fantasies and illusions about resources.
to read the full report, go to: http://www.aquasoul.com/index2.html