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☆ 3 people share why they're paying as much as $4 million to live on a cruise ship all
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The Storylines MV Narrative luxury cruise ship is poised to set sail in 2025. StorylinesBut like a commercial cruise ship, residents of the MV Narrative will have plenty to do. Holt said when he signed on in 2021 to live aboard, the annual fee for a single guy like himself was $72,000 a year. Holt plans to give up his Virginia rental and live aboard the ship full time. Angela NuranThe MV Narrative won't set sail until 2025, but Angela Nuran and Paul Cosentino are ready.

☆ Luxury developers in Los Angeles bet someone will pay record prices for these condos
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-31 | by ( Ray Parisi | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +11 min

According to the building's website, the crown-jewel residence delivers almost 13,000 sq ft of indoor living area and nearly 6,000 sq ft of outdoor space. According to Eklund, the package deal brings the total interior footage to somewhere around 13,000 sq ft with an additional 6,000 sq ft outside. Building amenities include an over 12,000 sq ft outdoor area with pool, fireplaces and dining area. Her mega-deal spanned 15,500 sq ft at a price per sq ft of almost $2,250. On Central Park, he said, trophy condos have surpassed $10,000 and even $12,000 a sq ft. "That happens a lot, so is Los Angeles undervalued still?

☆ A home flipper who helps sellers get up to 30% more for their properties shared 5 easy upgrades that help boost resale value — and 5 design choices that turn buyers off
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Her company, Homegirl, advises clients on the interior design trends that boost resale value. She spoke with Insider about what trends buyers want right now that will help sellers get up to 30% more when listing their homes, and what styles are no longer in their favor. Minimalist art, right, is out of style. Unlacquered brass hardware, left, adds a sense of age to a room while black hardware, right, has fallen out of favor. Nadav Havakook/Homegirl, Wachirawut Priamphimai/EyeEm/Getty ImagesStatement-making, sculptural lights that double as art pieces are what buyers are looking for these days.

☆ Starbucks is inviting social workers to assist homeless people at some of its cafés
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

But as homeless people seek refuge in cafés, Starbucks has invited outreach workers to talk them. Starbucks contracts with outreach workers in eight US cities, including Los Angeles and Seattle. Recently, the Seattle-based chain has opted to bring in outreach workers to assist homeless people, The Guardian reported. Starbucks cafés in eight US cities, including Seattle, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Chicago, are part of the two-year-old program, according to the article. The company changed its bathroom policy after a racial-discrimination incident in which a Black customer was denied access to the bathroom.

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailMeet the robots replacing fast-food workersU.S. fast food eateries are struggling to find workers. To fill that void restaurants are turning to robots. With its mechanical arm and using computer vision technology Miso Robotics' Flippy 2 can cook everything from french fries and onion rings to cheese sticks. White Castle said it plans to add 100 Flippy's to its kitchens' nationwide. Automation could save U.S. fast food restaurants over $12 billion in annual wages, according to restaurant consultancy Aaron Allen & Associates.

☆ How robots are helping address the fast-food labor shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Shawn Baldwin | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Struggling to find workers and eager to relieve staff from boring, repetitive tasks, fast-food restaurant chains are adding robots to their kitchens. Using artificial intelligence, computer vision technology and a mechanical arm, Miso Robotics' Flippy 2 has been deployed to Chipotle, White Castle and Wing Zone. White Castle said it plans to add 100 Flippy robots to work the fry station at its restaurants nationwide. Automation could save U.S. fast-food restaurants more than $12 billion in annual wages, the group said. CNBC got a behind-the-scenes look at restaurant robot maker Miso Robotics to find out.

☆ We sold our belongings and bought a $2.5 million cabin on a luxury residential cruise ship that will sail the world. Here's what we're excited about and how we're preparing to live at sea.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

We got the whole ship, and we're going to be going ashore as much as we like. They sold their house and went all-in on living at seaAngela: We opted for the leasehold period of 24 years. That's really what we're gonna live off of. So everyone that's living on this ship, you're not going to be having the carnival nights and the crazy college party ambiance. Well, the Narrative is not going to spend just one day at port, they're going to spend three days, four days, five days depending on where you're going.

☆ I manage a Davos hotel where Bill Gates and other leaders stay for the World Economic Forum. We barely sleep and live off Red Bull, but we love it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-16 | by ( Natalie Rahhal | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Hans-Rudolf Ruetti manages the Grandhotel Belvédère, where the most important WEF participants stay. For more than 50 years, what's now known as the World Economic Forum (WEF) has taken place in Davos, and every year, the Grandhotel Belvédère has hosted WEF guests. There are several events being put on by important guests, and this is always a challenging task when it comes to safety and security. We also built an additional three kitchens from where we can deliver food exclusively for hotel guests and events hosted here by the forum participants. There really isn't anything we at the hotel don't like about the WEF.

It's that simple," Larry Olmsted, author of "Real Food/Fake Food," told CNBC. Some estimates say food fraud affects at least 1% of the global food industry at a cost as high as $40 billion a year, according to the Food and Drug Administration. "We might not know the overall impact of food fraud because so much of what fraudsters do is hidden from us and has been for centuries." Between 2012 and 2021, the most common type food fraud was lying about an animal's origin and dilution or substitution, both ranking at 16% of recorded incidents by food-safety monitor Food Chain ID. The Food Fraud Prevention Think Tank suggests five questions a consumer can ask themselves to reduce their vulnerability to product fraud.

☆ The Bathroom Design Trend That Pumps Up the Luxury
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Nina Molina | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

UNLIKE BACKSPLASHES in kitchens, where slabs of marble or showboat tiles can elicit oohs and ahs, backsplashes behind bathroom sinks “are usually just square rectangles and don’t go past six inches. Why?” asked Brigette Romanek, whose Los Angeles design firm masterminded the powder-room shown here. “There are no rules, so make it a bit more fun and interesting.” Here, a guide to zhuzhing up a prosaic powder room or water closet with a marble wash station. The AppealA pro way to make a décor statement in a powder room? “We love an eccentric splashback for the very reason that they’re often overlooked as a creative device,” said Gillian Khaw, co-director of Handelsmann and Khaw, a design studio in Woollahra, Australia.

☆ Safety official's remarks about possible gas stove ban fuel hot GOP takes about Biden
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Zoë Richards | Zoë Richards Is The Evening Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Republicans are warning that the Biden administration is coming for your stove if it's fueled by gas. “Gas stoves are the next thing the Biden Administration is coming after,” he tweeted. “Washington bureaucrats should have no say in how Americans prepare their dinner.”Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told Biden to "get your hands off our gas stoves!!!!" “There’s been a lot of gaslighting today about gas stoves,” Beyer tweeted Tuesday. “To be clear, I didn’t call for a ban on gas stoves.

☆ An architect shares interior-design upgrades for 4 rooms in your home for an extra-cozy winter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

NYC architect and designer Michael Gabellini recommended four upgrades to make a home extra cozy. His clients may demand luxury, but that doesn't mean that some upgrades can't be affordable. Install heated walls in the bathroomGabellini Sheppard designed the interiors for 611 West 56th Street in New York, with bathrooms that include heated floors. He's seeing a growing demand for heated walls, which are already popular in Germany. Gabellini SheppardYou've heard of heated floors — and now, heated walls — but what about heated countertops?

☆ ‘Eat All the Ice Cream’ and Other Top Tips From Isaac Mizrahi’s Kitchen
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Kathleen Squires | Photographs Linda Xiao For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

IT’S EASY TO SEE why Isaac Mizrahi’s Instagram feed is everyone’s favorite cooking show right now. The renowned fashion designer/actor/singer/producer’s videos, shot in his Bridgehampton, N.Y., and Manhattan kitchens, showcase his warm personality as well as his sporadic screw-ups. “This is exactly how cooking shows should be!” one commenter gushed. “They are always too perfect and intimidating!”On any given “episode” of his highly entertaining one-man show, Mr. Mizrahi (@imisaacmizrahi) might welcome his “darlings” to cook along, or to peek inside his drawer full of ice cream scoops, or to compose a cocktail along with him while he watches “Jeopardy!”

☆ This 29-year-old CEO is constructing apartment buildings out of factory-produced modules, and it might make homes more affordable for renters
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Robert Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Modular construction can make housing more affordable by delivering units at a lower cost, he says. Economies of scale not only reduce material costs, but they can also reduce waste generated during construction, Lawrence added. "Modular construction has the potential to provide housing at a lower cost and deliver buildings in a more cost-effective way than traditional sticks-and-bricks construction," Lawrence said. These apartments are also hitting the market at a time when real wages in Minneapolis are decreasing because of inflation. "We've proved that there are real cost and time savings associated with modular construction," Lawrence said

☆ Kids are pranking their parents on TikTok by telling them celebrities have died. Angela Bassett's son may have killed the trend by bluffing about her colleague, Michael B. Jordan
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( Jason Lalljee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Slater Vance joined in on a TikTok trend where users lie about celebrity deaths to their parents. Many social media users have called the trend distasteful. That's what 16-year-old Slater Vance learned last week, after joining in on it using his own famous parents: actors Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance. The trend involves users pranking their families on camera, pretending that celebrities — usually ones beloved to their parents — have died. "Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance just put an end to that TikTok trend and we owe them a debt of gratitude," one user said.

☆ Peru announces $1.6 bln economic reactivation plan after protests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 29 (Reuters) - Peru will launch an economic reactivation plan at the cost of some 5.9 billion soles ($1.55 billion) after weeks of protests following the ouster of former President Pedro Castillo, the country's economy minister said Thursday. The push comes as protests and roadblocks have crippled trade and commerce in Peru, causing the country to lose around 100 million soles ($26.30 million) a day, Contreras said. The total losses come to 1 billion soles, or 1% of Peru's December GDP, a ministry presentation showed. The plan will also expand public works on federal, state and local levels and invest in industry like mining and agriculture, Contreras said. With the plan, called "Con Punche Peru," the Andean nation will maintain its growth estimate of 3.1% to 3.9% for 2023, Contreras said.

☆ Layoffs and declining investments in foodtech aren't spooking these new VCs. Here's where they're looking to make bets in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-25 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

VC investment in restaurant tech firms, from ghost kitchens to delivery robots, slowed in the third quarter, according to Pitchbook. Despite an investment slowdown in foodtech, Crowder and Larisey believe there are massive opportunities in the sector. Another new foodtech VC firm, Rethink Food, is also looking differently at food innovation. Co-founder Shane Larisey says Redstick Ventures is looking at ag-tech companies that help increase yields in the field. Crowder and Larisey quickly point out that they are not interested in investing in marketplace meal delivery companies, which have yet to show profitability.

☆ Warren Buffett's right-hand man Charlie Munger might not get his windowless dorm built at UC-Santa Barbara
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

UC-Santa Barbara's Munger Hall may not be built after 13 people said it could pose health risks. The dorm — backed by a $200 million donation from Munger — was supposed to be 11-stories high with 4,500 beds across 70 square-foot bedrooms with no windows, according to the Times. Munger Hall has been criticized for its lack of windows in the bedrooms where students would live. Panelists said that Munger Hall could pose challenges to the mental and physical health of students, Vice reported. As far as the report, Munger told The Real Deal that the it's "all horseshit," adding that "it's ridiculous."

☆ How to Spot a Ghost Restaurant on DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber Eats
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Thousands of virtual brands are flooding delivery apps like Uber Eats, DoorDash, and Grubhub. According to a joint report by Grubhub and the market-research firm Technomic, 41% of independent restaurants are operating virtual restaurants. Uber Eats and GrubhubUber Eats and Grubhub do not label virtual brands. Our perspective is that a virtual restaurant is a real restaurant," Uber Eats told Insider. The Miami address for the virtual brand Sam's Crispy Chicken is listed as "MIA07-2" on the Uber Eats app.

☆ The foodtech falloff isn't spooking these new VCs. Here's where they're looking to make bets in 2023.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

VC investment in restaurant tech firms, from ghost kitchens to delivery robots, slowed in the third quarter, according to Pitchbook. But instead of leaning into kiosks and QR codes, Redstick Ventures and Rethink Food are entering the space with a different investing game plan. Despite an investment slowdown in foodtech, Crowder and Larisey believe there are massive opportunities in the sector. Another new foodtech VC firm, Rethink Food, is also looking differently at food innovation. Rethink Food"Our most recent investment is one of the most disruptive and exciting, and it's in cultured meat," said Rini Greenfield, a founding managing partner at Rethink Food.

Since the early days of the invasion, Mr. Putin has conceded, privately, that the war has not gone as planned. “I think he is sincerely willing” to compromise with Russia, Mr. Putin said of Mr. Zelensky in 2019. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. “I think this war is Putin’s grave.” Yevgeny Nuzhin, 55, a Russian prisoner of war held by Ukraine, in October.

☆ In Maryland, a White Kitchen Goes Au Naturel
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

When they purchased the modest-sized, woodland house in Towson, Md., from an interior designer in 1999 for $570,000, businessman David Watts and his wife, Nancy Watts—aged 59 and 58, respectively—fell in love with its natural wood finishes, especially the hewed cedar walls and beautiful chestnut beams in the family room. Over the years, they complemented the rustic elements with additions of their own, including naturally shed elk and deer antlers from their property, repurposed as cabinet hardware. “Yet, while the other spaces largely echoed the woods around, the white kitchen stuck out like a sore thumb,” says Mrs. Watts. “They wanted the kitchen to be reflective of the surrounding nature. We opted for warm woods in raw, unfussy forms, and smooth limestone-like finishes for the floors,” says Ms. Smith-Shiflett.

☆ Maya Rudolph and Amy Poehler are sweet on ‘Baking It’
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Rudolph told CNN that while she and Poehler aren’t frequent bakers, she trusts her former “Saturday Night Live” costar to “make something great if given the task.”“Thank you, I trust the same of you,” Poehler said in response. According to Rudolph and Poehler, the grannies are loving their new-found fame, even though they aren’t big on stars. “One of our favorite parts is we have like a celebrity special on NBC and then the rest of the season on Peacock,” Poehler told CNN. Poehler said salt, which caused Rudolph to quip, “I feel like you are little bit of a spicy salt, like a salt with herbs. You aren’t ordinary salt.”For the record, Rudolph fancies herself a spice like cinnamon, which “warms the belly.”Insert “sweater weather” joke here.

☆ The easiest way to travel full time? See what a 28-year-old paid for an apartment on a cruise ship
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

The MV Narrative is now under construction in Split, Croatia, from where it will set sail in 2025. The MV Narrative, the first cruise ship from operator Storylines, is scheduled to set sail from Croatia in 2025. A computer-generated image of the bathroom in a "Global" penthouse residence on board the MV Narrative cruise ship. A rendering of a residents' lounge on board the MV Narrative cruise ship, which is expected to carry around 1,000 passengers. A computer rendering of the living quarters of an "Envision" residence on board the MV Narrative cruise ship.

☆ I design sex rooms for a Netflix show. Some clients spend nearly $200,000 on a room but they aren't all as raunchy as 'Fifty Shades of Grey'.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Kate Duffy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Netflix's "How to Build a Sex Room" brings to light the business of sex rooms. Clients can spend about $200,000 on a sex room, but secondhand stores provide cheaper options. One day, a client turned around and asked her whether she had ever designed a sex room. Sex rooms aren't cheapConverting rooms into sex rooms can be an expensive project depending on the size and complexity of the space, Rose said. At the end of the day, Rose pointed out that sex rooms needn't always revolve around sex.

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