Founded by Max Farndale 1947 - 2018
Dec 20, 2017 - Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap, is having a field day. It's currently trading at $850, a new all-time-high, after an incredible rally in which it nearly doubled its price in nine days writes Stan Schroeder on Mashable.
Ethereum's current market capitalization is $82 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.
Bitcoin, by far the biggest cryptocurrency with a $318 billion market cap, has also grown in this period, but at a much slower pace. It's currently trading at $18,976. Its price neared the important psychological milestone of $20,000 on two occasions but has swiftly bounced back.
There was good news for both Bitcoin and Ethereum in December. Two large exchanges, CBOE and CME, started trading Bitcoin futures this month, and the launch went pretty much without a hitch. Futures at both exchanges are trading above current price for January, at $19,490 and $19,600, respectively.
Ethereum likely benefited from a recent statement from SEC Chairman Jay Clayton, which commented on the state of ICO or initial coin offerings — crowdfunding events typically held on Ethereum's platform. Clayton warned potential investors of the dangers of unregulated ICOs but he also made it clear that some digital tokens generated in ICOs are not securities and do not fall under SEC's regulations.
Continue here to read the full article and view graphs on Mashable || December 20, 2017 |||
Dec 20, 2017 - VALLEY CENTER, Calif., Dec. 19, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Concierge Technologies, Inc. (OTC Ticker: CNCG) today announced that their wholly owned California subsidiary Kahnalytics, Inc. has acquired all of the assets and business of Original Sprout LLC, a California Limited Liability Company ("OS"). As of today, Kahnalytics has commenced operations under the fictitious business name "Original Sprout" from its location in San Clemente, CA.
Original Sprout, a manufacturer and distributor of clean, non-toxic, all-natural hair care and skin products, was founded in 2003 by master hair stylist Inga Tritt. Since that time the company's distribution has grown to include major grocery store chains, professional salons, health and beauty stores, family resorts, and hundreds of individually owned retail and Internet outlets. Originally conceived as a non-toxic baby shampoo, the product line has been expanded over the years to include an adult hair and skin care line, specialties for teens, and additions such as sun screen and lotions. The complete line remains true to its heritage of all-natural, non-toxic, ingredients. The brand is well recognized and in use by caring mothers, celebrities and royalty alike world-wide.
The purchase price, subject to certain adjustment provisions and staged payments, was paid in cash by Kahnalytics with funds advanced by Concierge Technologies under an interest-free loan. For further details please refer to the Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Concierge Technologies on December 19, 2017.
David Neibert, President of Kahnalytics and COO of Concierge Technologies, remarked "We have been working to close this transaction since first signing a letter of intent on May 1, 2017. Since that time Original Sprout has operated in consistent fashion and continued to grow its sales revenues. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Concierge Technologies, Original Sprout will further benefit from our attention to bottom-line profitability and access to additional resources for marketing outreach and product development. The current staff of Original Sprout will remain with the company and, over-all, the transition will be a seamless event for our customers. Original Sprout is a remarkable company and Inga Tritt has created a remarkable product. I hope our shareholders take the time to investigate our website at www.originalsprout.com and to try our products available at select retailers or online. Many mainstream hair care products claim to be "all natural", but Original Sprout is the real deal. Try the products, you'll be as impressed as we are."
About Concierge Technologies, Inc.
Founded in 1996, Concierge Technologies, Inc. today is a global conglomerate with operating businesses in financial services, food manufacturing, and security systems with facilities located in the United States, New Zealand, and Canada. Concierge's common stock is listed as "CNCG" on the OTC QB Exchange.
This release may contain "forward-looking statements" that include information relating to future events and future financial and operating performance. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which that performance or those results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time they are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting Concierge Technologies or its subsidiary companies, please refer to the Company's recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings, which are available at the Company's website (www.conciergetechnology.net) or at www.sec.gov.
SOURCE Concierge Technologies, Inc.
Dec 20, 2017 - Victoria University of Wellington geologist Dr Rob Mckay is leading an international expedition to Antarctic waters in January to discover how warming oceans will affect the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, and what that could mean for rising sea levels, global weather systems and marine life. An associate professor at Victoria’s Antarctic Research Centre, Dr McKay will head a 30-strong team of scientists from the International Ocean Discovery Programme (IODP) on the JOIDES Resolution, a 140m long scientific research ship operated by the IODP. “We plan to spend nine and a half weeks down in the outer Ross Sea to drill six geological drill sites—each of which could be up to a kilometre below the sea floor,” says Dr McKay. “We want to understand how the ocean and the ice sheets interact. So what happens when you put warm water next to the ice sheets? Do they melt? If so, how quickly do they melt? And what’s the impact of that melt on the oceans?” By drilling down so deeply into the sea floor, the team will be able to get a glimpse into the past—up to 20 million years ago—and “greenhouse worlds” that contained the same level of carbon dioxide currently in our atmosphere. "Using these geological records to see what the planetary response was to the current carbon dioxide levels means we can better understand what the scale of change could be for us, and what the earth is capable of in a warmer world,” says Dr Mckay. “Antarctica today acts as a giant heat-sink that keeps the planet cold. If you change that, you’re changing a major part of the global climate system. We’re trying to understand what happened the last time that was changed.” If the West Antarctic Ice Sheet were to melt—as it has in the past—Dr McKay says the global sea level would rise about 3 metres. The impact from the collapse of the Eastern Antarctic Ice Sheet would be even more dramatic, as it contains enough ice to cause an estimated 20-metre rise in sea levels. “The consequences of that for coastal living, globally, are obvious, but we’re also trying to understand the implications for the biosphere in the Southern Ocean. This is one of the largest biological habitats on the planet and we don’t know how it will respond to these changes,” says Dr McKay. An important difference between then and now is also the fact that the increase in carbon dioxide levels that took many thousands of years to occur as part of natural cycles, has happened in just a couple of centuries due to human emissions and is continuing. No stranger to the coldest, driest, windiest continent on earth, Dr McKay travelled to Antarctica when he was just 20 years old for his first-ever overseas trip—which he describes as a “complete sensory overload”. Two decades later, and the five years he has spent planning the current expedition are about to pay off, as he will follow in the footsteps of a number of pioneering Victoria University researchers. “One of the reasons I was invited to be the co-chief scientist on this expedition is that we have a very strong link with records of previous drillings, led by Victoria,” says Dr McKay. “It’s been almost 50 years since the first drilling in Antarctica, which was carried out by scientists that included Victoria University Emeritus Professor Peter Barrett—former director of the Antarctic Research Centre. He revolutionised the way we view Antarctica, in terms of its geological record, and really pioneered core sample drilling on the continent.” “He developed a record that is absolutely fundamental to interpreting Antarctica’s role in global climate change.” After a hiatus of almost eight years, Dr McKay is looking forward to returning to Antarctica and drawing on this wealth of existing research to gather material that is “likely to inform global research for many years to come”. Dr McKay will be joined by two other New Zealanders on the expedition: Giuseppe Cortese, a microfossil expert from GNS Science who will be exploring how plankton communities will be affected by global warming, and Western Springs College teacher Rosa Hughes-Currie. Ms Hughes-Currie will be the first New Zealand high school teacher to take part in an IODP expedition.
| A Victoria University release || December 20, 2017 |||
Dec 20, 2017 - Delays in collecting containers from the Ports of Auckland is costing the road freight transport industry and their customers, and end consumers could ultimately pay the price. The introduction of automated straddle carriers by the Port has reduced the working area at the container terminal and queue jumping by some trucking companies is creating delays of up to three hours for a truck to pick up a container.
As a result, the road freight transport industry is looking at charging customers for the time trucks sit idle at the Port, waiting to pick up containers.
In the past trucks have usually only had to wait 20 to 30 minutes to pick up a container, but the continued growth in container freight of between five and ten per cent a year is putting more pressure on the Port’s operations.
National Road Carriers CEO David Aitken says the issue has been building for years but recent increases in wait times mean it is reaching the stage where the industry may have to act.
“The time is coming when the industry as a whole may agree to charge for waiting time which will add to costs for end consumers.”
The problem is a complex one, he said, with no easy fix.
While the road transport industry is calling for the Port to be transparent around its booking system and not let some drivers push in when they do not have a slot booked to pick up a container, the solution is not that simple.
“Our industry and customers also have to be more organised and plan ahead at least 24 hours when they ask us to pick-up a container,” said Mike Herrick, the Managing Director of TDL Ltd.
The industry is incurring increased costs with more staff working shifts to pick-up containers at night, as well as the cost of the delays.
Passing costs on to customers when they can no longer be absorbed is becoming a real possibility.
“It’s been happening in Australia for a long time. It has become an acceptable part of the costs of doing business there,” said Top Tranz Ltd Managing Director Marcus de Kort.
“The delays have become the norm,” said Barry Mackenzie, the Managing Director of Philpott Airfreight Ltd. “It’s very frustrating. I know the Port has got to provide a service to the ships and turn them around promptly, but they should also be providing a better service to us.”
“Sometimes the boats are late arriving, but there is no space to store containers,” said. “Yes, there will be a bit more room when the updated automation process has finished, but the freight volume is increasing all the time.”
Mr Mackenzie said there were often queues of trucks, but straddle carriers to load the containers onto them were sitting idle without drivers, compounding the delay problem.
“The space is jammed with containers, often they have to shift three or four to get the one we are picking up.”
The Port operates a booking system, so transport companies can reserve a time to pick-up a nominated container. Only so many slots are available each hour, with some flexibility allowed due to Auckland’s increasing traffic congestion.
“But if the system starts running behind time it can never catch up,” said Mr de Kort. “If a truck sits idle for two to three hours its work schedule for the rest of the day is disrupted and it can’t meet other commitments during the day.”
Larger companies had more resources to juggle against hold-ups at the Port said Mr Herrick, but smaller fleets could often not deploy a different truck to do a job originally scheduled for the one held up at the Port.
“The problem is certainly worse at the moment with the pre-Christmas peak,” said Mr de Kort. But when the Port reduced staff numbers at off peak periods the problem has continued.
With exports expected to reach their annual peak volume early in 2018 the delays at the Port are expected to continue.
“When we moved to night shifts, the problem was solved for a while,” said Mr Herrick. “But now we operate 24/7 five days a week, with shorter hours at the weekend.”
Complicating the process are the different booking systems used by the Port, the Metro Port at Te Papapa and the six-empty container depots around the city where containers are stored in between use.
National Road Carriers Association is the largest nationwide organisation representing companies involved in the road transport industry. It has 1700 members, who collectively operate 15,000 trucks throughout New Zealand.
| A National Road Carriers Association release || December 19, 2017 |||
Dec 19, 2017 - Bitcoin: Flipping the Coin - You must be familiar with the above quote if you’ve watched the Christian Bale movie The Big Short. Does that mean the Bitcoin is a bubble waiting to burst? Maybe. The truth is no one knows just yet. It’s difficult to assess whether something is a bubble by simply reading the news or following the market. So, let’s begin by understanding what is a Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a decentralized, digital cryptocurrency. Confused? Let’s take an example. Let’s say that you are ordering headphones from Amazon via a seller and you want to know exactly where they’ve been before they were shipped to you. How do you find out? The answer is, you cannot. You can’t know the exact source of the product and you definitely cannot find out all the transactions related to those specific headphones.
Imagine if there was some sort of a digital ledger that could tell you all that and more? There is. Blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that stores all transactions related to a specific product or asset. But then what is a Bitcoin? Blockchain technology is what makes the Bitcoin possible.
Bitcoin is a peer to peer decentralized digital currency that is used to buy and sell products online. Decentralized means that the Bitcoin is not managed or issued by a company, government or financial institution. Bitcoin uses blockchain to store all transactions in a digital ledger which is then accessible to everyone globally using their computers. Now that you understand the basics, let’s understand why there is so much hype surrounding the Bitcoin.
1 Bitcoin costs $10,886.85 at the time of writing this article. Crazy, right? Bitcoin was worth $1 in April 2011 and now, 6 years down the line, it’s worth more than 10,000 times its original value. But, why is the price of the Bitcoin so high? Bitcoin’s growing demand and the awareness amongst the public about cryptocurrencies is causing the price of the Bitcoin to rise.
The price of the Bitcoin has been fluctuating a lot recently but some are betting that the price of the Bitcoin will rise to $40,000 by the end of 2018. People are even purchasing 5% of 1 Bitcoin so that they can sell it off and earn a profit when the price rises again. Various Bitcoin exchanges like Coinome, Zebpay, Unocoin and several others in India are currently allowing the public to purchase and sell Bitcoin also known as BTC. So, should you invest in Bitcoin? I hope I can help you answer that question by the end of this article.
Warren Buffett, one of the world’s wealthiest individuals and a person who is widely regarded as one of the best investors of his time had this to say about the Bitcoin: “It’s a mirage.”
Several others share his thoughts but does that mean that they are right? Well, they could be but it’s quite difficult to assess something like this and who knows what could happen in the future. Let’s take a look at some important points:
Hopefully, some of these points helped you make a decision whether you should or should not currently invest in Bitcoin. Invest wisely and only invest in something you truly understand and believe in.
Source: FreeCodeCamp || December 2, 2017 |||
Dec 19, 2017 - In the world of aerospace engineering the race to build the first new civilian supersonic aircraft is certainly heating up. With several major players currently working on supersonic passenger jets, Aerion and Lockheed Martin are targeting those for whom even first class commercial air travel is substandard. The pair has just announced a partnership to develop the world's first supersonic business jet.
Aerion has been chugging away developing its AS2 supersonic business jet for several years now, first collaborating with Airbus on the aerodynamics and structural design before working with GE Aviation on the development of a supersonic engine. This latest announcement is a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Lockheed Martin to work together on all the future phases of development on the supersonic business jet from engineering to production.
"Following our initial review of Aerion's aerodynamic technology, our conclusion is that the Aerion AS2 concept warrants the further investment of our time and resources," says Orlando Carvalho, Executive Vice President for Lockheed Martin. "We are committed to remaining on the cutting edge of aerospace technology and are excited to examine the contribution we might make to working with Aerion on making aviation history."
Aerion has been subtly improving its supersonic jet engine design over the years after announcing a new three-engine configuration back in 2014. The latest design pulls the two outboard engines forward, under the wings, while leaving the third engine in the tail.
Aerion currently estimates the AS2 will be ready for its first flight by 2023 but several other companies are racing to be the first supersonic player in the new millennium. Earlier this year, Spike Aerospace took to the skies with a flight test of an unmanned SX-1.2 prototype demonstrator that is a subscale version of its planned S-512 supersonic passenger plane. The successful tests come ahead of a projected flight date for a full-scale S-512 in 2021.The new three-engine configuration
NASA is also working on its own designs for a a supersonic passenger plane, which is also aiming for first flight tests in 2021, with Lockheed Martin again helping with the engineering and design challenges.
Lockheed Martin's skill and experience with supersonic engineering seems to be a strong validation of Aerion's designs. The company is known for its supersonic combat aircraft so if any company has the know-how to move the technology into a civil or commercial application then it is Lockheed Martin.
The next few years promise to be exciting for fans of supersonic aviation.
Source: Lockheed Martin and New Atlas || December 19, 2017 |||
Dec 18, 2017 - The Whangaparaoa Community Recycling Centre has found a way to harness the power of the sun as it gears up for the busy festive season. The recycling centre recently began using a solar-powered wheelie bin lifter for glass recycling after being granted $11,000 by the Glass Packaging Forum (GPF). The machine, which was custom made by Simpro Engineering, lifts bins filled with colour-sorted container glass and tips it into a storage container at the small site.
The glass can then be transported to New Zealand’s only glass manufacturers O-I New Zealand to be remade into new 
glass bottles and jars. The previous system saw workers manually pull the bins up a ramp and tip the glass out.
Sustainable North Trust trustee Betsy Kettle says the bin lifter is a great addition to the operation. “The workers love it because it eliminates the manual strain on their backs and frees up the space taken by the rusty old glass ramp.
“Having the extra space also means that the glass collection truck doesn’t have to shift the bins in the parking lot across the street, making the Whangaparaoa Road safer, too,” she says.
The recycling centre is once again expecting a busy festive season as the number of recycled glass bottles and jars increases over the summer. The new bin lifter gives them the capacity to deal with the extra load, Kettle says.
The site does not have a power supply, meaning it is essential the bin lifter be solar-powered. It also powers the center’s eftpos machine and can recharge the staff cell phones, she says.
The Sustainable North Trust and Community Business and Environment Centre (CBEC) jointly run the recycling centre under contract to Auckland Council. The recycling centre handles around seven tonnes of glass a month.
The GPF promotes the environmental benefits of glass packaging and manages the accredited GPF Product Stewardship Scheme. It allocated grants to fund infrastructure, research, events and public place recycling to increase the volume of recycled glass going back to the furnace at O-I, or for alternative uses for recycled glass.
| A Glass Recycling Forum release || December 18, 2017 |||
Dec 18, 2017 - The boss of New Zealand’s census is confident Stats NZ's IT system is up to the job. But internal emails from October paint a shambolic picture of the $121 million project, with contractors pulled in to fix bugs in a key system, delays to crucial testing and blown budgets for individual projects. David Williams reports.
On October 20, a day after Winston Peters announced New Zealand First would form a government with Labour, the head of New Zealand’s 2018 census, Denise McGregor, emailed her staff the management team’s newly drafted list of cultural principles.
“We are one team, not a series of projects,” was the first of 11 principles inspired by a speech from legendary rugby sevens coach Gordon Tietjens. Others included “when things go wrong we collectively fix without blame”, “share the load” and “escalate early”. In a sign of the sweat being expended on Stats NZ’s momentous project, the bigwigs vowed to lead by example by having time off to “ensure we are fit for the job” and “getting out” at lunchtime.
Optimism turned to grim realism, however, in the “IT update” section of McGregor’s email, which focused on the crucial Salesforce system, used to manage field staff work. “The Salesforce issue continues to provide challenges for resolution and is impacting the delivery of the overall programme,” McGregor’s email said. “There are a number of priority one work packages blocked from completion, and a backlog of testing is starting to build.”
Salesforce testing had improved, she said. The full file of 2.1 million records – all street addresses in New Zealand – had loaded and “a number” of errors were being investigated.
Lurching from success to doom
Two hours later, McGregor wrote an unvarnished assessment to Stats NZ deputy chief executive Teresa Dickinson. The “good news”, she said via email, was that 2 million records loaded. However, 103,000 records failed and performance issues
Continue here to read the full article by David williams on Newsroom
Dec 18, 2017 - A major report released today shows that New Zealand has a significant and growing digital skills shortage, primarily due to the speed and scale of the increase in demand for tech skills. The report, commissioned by the New Zealand Digital Skills Forum, should sound a warning bell to industry, government and the education sector, the Forum’s chair Victoria MacLennan says. More than 120,000 people were employed in the tech sector last year and about 14,000 new jobs were created. However, only 5,090 tech students graduated in 2015, and 5,500 tech visas were granted in same period, demonstrating a shortfall. At the same time, New Zealand is facing an 11 per cent annual increase in demand for software programmer jobs, the report says. We also face a diversity challenge – in 2016, 36 per cent of tech students were female and only eight per cent were Māori “The growing skills shortage in New Zealand’s IT industry and broader economy is very real. Industry, government, and the education sector need to continue working closely together to accelerate plans and activities to address it, otherwise the future prosperity of New Zealand will suffer greatly,” MacLennan says. “However, it’s important to note the digital skills challenges our economy faces are not new and are certainly not limited to New Zealand. “This report represents a great opportunity. Technology is such an important part of day-to-day life for all New Zealanders, meaning that just about everyone has a stake in our success as we respond to the challenges of our changing digital world. “We need to continue working together to help nurture and develop local talent, and at the same time make sure that we fill any gaps from the best talent we can find worldwide. If we do this well then we have the opportunity to make New Zealand a technology powerhouse on the world stage. “The findings in this report show that the supply of people with advanced digital skills doesn’t meet demand and this gap is growing. Through the Digital Skills Forum, a collaborative group of leading tech industry and government agencies, we’re working together to address digital skills shortages. But more must be done. “There has never been a better time than now for action. Our school education sector has this year been reformed to give every Kiwi child a digital education. Through targeted reviews and industry recognition, our tertiary sector is better positioned than ever before to deliver the quality graduates needed. There are also more alternative pathways into digital roles than ever before. “As a country, we must help younger New Zealanders discover a prosperous future working in the technology roles where the median salary is $82,000, almost twice the average median salary. “Together, we need to remove barriers for our graduates finding their first job, make it easier for those seeking a career change, and improve the gender and cultural diversity in digital roles. None of us can do this on our own. “As a result of this report, we now have tangible and concrete data on the size, scale and nature of the digital skills shortage in our sector and across the New Zealand economy. This report identifies both a challenge and a massive opportunity, but it will take all of us to realise it. The New Zealand Digital Skills Forum includes NZRise, NZTech and IT Professionals NZ from the tech sector, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Ministry of Education, the Department of Internal Affairs and the Tertiary Education Commission from government.
| A MakeLeomonade release || Dec 18, 2017 |||
Palace of the Alhambra, Spain
By: Charles Nathaniel Worsley (1862-1923)
From the collection of Sir Heaton Rhodes
Oil on canvas - 118cm x 162cm
Valued $12,000 - $18,000
Offers invited over $9,000
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
Mount Egmont with Lake
By: John Philemon Backhouse (1845-1908)
Oil on Sea Shell - 13cm x 14cm
Valued $2,000-$3,000
Offers invited over $1,500
Contact: Henry Newrick – (+64 ) 27 471 2242
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