All posts by The Silo

State of fluidity behind latest luxury handbags

March 4, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

Our friends at Aranyani, the luxury handbag brand from India, are debuting their stunning SS2021 ‘Fluidity Collection’.

Founder’s Inspiration

Aranyani founder and creative director, Haresh Mirpuri, was inspired by the paradoxical experiences that we all lived through this past year, when creating Aranyani’s new collection. “Fluidity to me implies a state of continuous allowance. In the past year we all have had to be open to fluidity in order to live our lives,” says Haresh of his inspiration behind the collection.

Vibrant Colors

Aranyani depicts this balance through two vibrant new colors which are featured in this collection. The blue hue reflects the tranquil or meditative state, while the orange reflects the living creativity that surrounds us all.

2020 presented everyone with unforeseen challenges on a global scale.

While there was loss and heartache, there was also the opportunity for reflection, reinvention and ultimately for renewal. Aranyani founder and creative director, Haresh Mirpuri, was inspired by the paradoxical experiences that we all experienced over the last year, when creating Aranyani’s new collection.

“Fluidity is by definition a dichotomy. It can mean to flow easily or the state of being unsettled. We have experienced both throughout the last year. This is why fluidity was the inspiration for the collection. Through the imposed tranquility of quarantine, being unsettled in our daily routine, and subtle bursts of inspiration and creativity, we have all been brought together,” says Haresh of the collection.

Minitop handle in white Combo $1,120 usd.

In addition to Aranyani’s existing collections, the Kesuda, named for the exotic flower, and the Stone Drops, named for the semi-precious stones that are used in detailing, Fluidity will introduce the Fragrant Trails Collection. This collection combines ancient gold leafing techniques to create a motif that is inspired by one of the most well-known flowers in India, often used for worship. The gold leaf painting is an ancient Indian craft that has been introduced as an art in luxury leather bags for the first time, and has been mastered by Aranyani’s craftsmen and women in their atelier.

Mini Top Handle in Dusty Pink Taupe Combo $1,250 usd.

India’s natural beauty is handcrafted into each Aranyani bag.

“Artistry and craftsmanship provide a foundation for all we do. The beauty of India is the inspiration for all Aranyani bags. Using stones, embroidery or hand painting, our artists imbue each bag with its own exquisite piece of India,” says Haresh.

The Fluidity Story is available for purchase at www.aranyani.com

Vintage

Dead Media- 3D

March 3, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

IMG00639-20110104-1224 — A can of virtual reality

I’ve always been fascinated with stereo viewers. Once upon a time, when I was a wee lad, I visited my great-grandmother at her wee home in Jolly Olde England. It turned out that she had the same regard for immersive technology as I did- she had a Victorian era stereograph viewer and a sick collection of antique 3D stereo cards. Steampunk or what?

Yes, stereoscopy has been around for a long time. That contraption belonging to my great-grandmother was made of wood and had two glass lenses. It weighed so much I had to brace it on the floor, on top of a pillow, and lie in front, resting my head on my elbows. It was worth the effort. I could see ‘into’ the photograph and felt like I was transported into space and time. On a side note- I had this experience again decades later when I bought a heavily discounted (read: cheap) Nintendo Virtual Boy.

View-Master

This feeling of traveling outside of the body and experiencing a sense of virtual surroundings was shared by millions of kids and adults when the View-Master was first released in the late 1930’s. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say: “View-Master, since 1939, has been a device for viewing seven 3-D images (also called stereo images) on a paper disk. Although the View-Master is now considered a childrens’ toy, it was originally marketed as a way for viewers to enjoy stereograms of colourful and picturesque tourist attractions.”

Whatever the original intent was, View-Master has become synonymous with several generations of Pop Culture geeks and depending on your age, the sight of a black or red (or red and blue) View-Master conjures up images of Donald Duck, The Lone Ranger, or E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial.

Like most immersive technologies, educational and practical uses were developed. The U.S. Military used the View-Master as an aid in the identification of airplanes. The Gruber Company used the View-Master to develop human anatomy study guides. But for all of this, the best View-Master reels are 1960’s Batman and 3D stills from the original Tron film. Of course this is highly personal and your tastes may be different.

3D is back sort of…..although the last few years have seen North American releases of 3D blurays finally end (and no 3D televisions being manufactured), Europe continues to see new releases and these can be purchased online. This is a good thing. Sure I can dust off the bluray 3D version of Tron (Tron: Legacy). and still enjoy it’s jaw dropping immersion but it’s nice to know that the newer releases such as Wonder Woman 1984 can still be added to the collection.

Oculus Quest 2

If 3D is dying a slow death the same can’t be said for it’s direct descendant. Virtual Reality gaming and simulation takes immersion to an entirely other level: it provides a full 360 degrees of movement and viewing, complete with real world effects such as light and shadow movement and visual scaling. If you haven’t already tried VR gaming then you are missing out. But that’s a story for a future article.

For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

One of my personal fav's. — Tron 1982 ViewMaster Image

Travel

Best Countries For Post Covid Study Abroad Programs

March 1, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

As more students are heading towards graduation each year, the struggle to get a graduate job is becoming more difficult, and students have to ensure strong CVs in order to stand out from the crowd. The Covid pandemic has put a halt to students having options in countries other than their own. However, with a bit of luck, the pandemic will continue to end and travel restrictions will be eased. When that happens, international students will finally be allowed to return to studying abroad, learning new skills and experiencing new cultures.

Although this may be seen as one long holiday to those not in the know, those that study abroad will, in fact, have a higher starting salary, earning an extra 5% more than those who don’t. On average, this could amount to an extra £75,000 ($126,709 CDN at time of this article) over a career.

Not only will they earn more, they are also almost ¼ less likely to be unemployed after graduation. So although all study abroad programs come with a cost, with readily available bursaries, this opportunity is accessible to any student who is hoping to boost their employ-ability and is an opportunity that should be taken.

• Business and Finance Students – China: As the second largest economy in the world, China offers endless business opportunities, whilst encouraging students to learn the most widely spoken language in the world, Mandarin.

• Medical Students – South Africa: Of the 234 million surgical procedures made every year, just 4% of these happen in the poorest third of the global population. When medical students choose to volunteer in South Africa, they will gain experience in a different medical setting, and all whilst giving back.

• Education Students – Australia: As an English-speaking country, Australia is the perfect study abroad opportunity for future teachers. With the average UK class size standing at 30 pupils, the Australian’s average size of 16 will be a lot easier to manage. Plus for those who decide to stay in Australia long-term, new teachers can expect to earn £40,000+ ($67,572 CDN) compared to the £22,000 ($37,164 CDN) starting salary in the UK.

• Conservation – Madagascar: Conservation is a growing industry as concern grows for animals and the environment. As the fourth largest island in the world, and as home to species not found anywhere else, Madagascar is the perfect opportunity for a once in a lifetime opportunity for conservation enthusiasts.

• Art & Design Students – Italy: From ancient and classic sculpture to modern day art, Italy is the perfect place to learn and gain an even greater passion for art history.

• Humanities Students – USA: With three of the top five humanities universities based in the USA, America offers a vast array of historical and literary studying options. This time abroad will open up options for students who are wanting to work in academia, journalism or teaching.

For the Silo, Bekki Ramsay/storageworld.

Gaming

The Evolution of F1 Racing Video Games

February 26, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

According to our friends ‘over the pond’ at Select Car Leasing UK, (big time racing fans- go figure!) the history of F1 Racing Video Games began with 1982’s ZX Spectrum home computer. Cue up the time machine and take a look at this nifty info-graphic to discover the rest.

Culture

The Healthy Body Needs Shocking

February 23, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

Jenn Zerling author of Breaking the Chains of Obesity

Fitness plateaus – we’ve all hit them before and they are nearly impossible to break. Did you know that health journals may help you get past a plateau or move back toward unhealthy habits?

Logging food intake and exercising seems tedious; however, Jenn Zerling http://jzfitness.com , MS, CPT, the author of Breaking the Chains of Obesity, 107 Tools shares the importance of a health journal:

Make it simple.

Food diaries and activity points allow you to see common threads of repetition, which causes the body to become stagnant in weight loss. The body needs to be SHOCKED; therefore, switching up healthy foods and exercise programs will end stagnancy and help you get to your goal.

The lost ages: August – January

Don’t lose sight of fitness goals after the summer. Most North Americans gain between 5 to 15 pounds during fall and winter. These are the most dreaded pounds to lose as they are more “vanity” weight. Get into the same game of New Year, New You all year-round by logging food intake and activity points.

Demolishing the need to attempt weight loss from February through May: keep good track of the optimal behaviors needed during the “lost ages” time frame and you won’t worry about meeting your weight goals. Focus on common plateau causes including: Healthy hydration, Fiber: simple vs. complex carbs, Sedentary lifestyles: 9 to 5 work days should = three 10-minute bursts of fitness, Lifestyle and stress. For the Silo, Kelly Taylor.

Culture

‘Paws Off My Waterhole!’ Some Thoughts On The Study Of Hierarchies

February 22, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

Who benefits, and how, from the operation of human social hierarchies?

This article from Michael W. Diehl looks at social and economic inequality and the need to asses the costs and benefits that accrue to persons of varying status in social hierarchies.

This “behavioral ecology” has historically been concentrated on food selection between classes or statuses. Has ancient competition for food resulted in modern human social and economic equality? Read on by clicking on the blue image below. CP

Supplemental- Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs motivational model

Sci-Tech

Highest End Media Streamer Offers Optional Flux Capacitor Upgrade

February 17, 2021 The Silo 1 Comment

Wolf Audio Systems Announces Its Luna R High Fidelity Audio Servers

JACKSONVILLE, FL, — Wolf Audio Systems, a company dedicated to providing the ultimate in digital music source components today announced the introduction of its Luna R Audio Server, created to deliver the finest-available high-resolution and streaming audio playback. Leveraging technology and infrastructure developed for the award-winning Alpha 3 SX class of audio servers, Wolf has refined the second generation of the Luna to achieve audio quality levels previously found only in Wolf’s full-sized server lines.

Upgrade

The Wolf Luna R is, first and foremost, engineered to deliver extraordinary audio performance. Utilizing the same silicon architecture found in the Alpha 3 SX, Wolf’s second-generation Luna brings the Luna line much closer to Alpha and Red Wolf-level sound quality. The redesigned Flux Capacitor master clock is an optional upgrade; by operating at a high 24MHz clock rate, the Flux Capacitor ensures more accurate reconstruction and transmission of digital audio.

Depending on the option chosen, the Luna R features either an audio-modified Windows 10 Pro or new, proprietary Linux-based WolfOS operating system. The Luna R offers 2TB storage capacity (expandable to 32TB), 24-bit and DSD playback capability, an upgraded Flux Capacitor 24 MHz master clock and additional improvements. The Flux Capacitor creates one of the most perfect USB Audio signals with less jitter and better accuracy, for a more natural and more involving musical presentation, whether in stereo or multichannel PCM and DSD.

Versatile and Compact

The Luna R has a sleek, half-rack design that fits easily into any audio system. It can play back a wide variety of stereo and multichannel audio formats including FLAC, WAV, AIFF, ALAC, SACD, DSF, DFF, (PCM) from 16 – 32 bits, 44.1, 88.2, 96, 176.4, 192, 384, and 768 kHz audio, and DSD DoP and Native up to DSD1024.

At the heart of the Luna R is Wolf’s Windows-based operating system. Users can also opt to utilize WolfOS Linux-based operating system, based on Ubuntu software. The WolfOS features a custom kernel that offers the lowest I/O latency possible, keeps the audio functions isolated from the rest of the server and works seamlessly with the Luna R’s output circuitry. The Luna R includes 2TB of SSD (solid state drive) storage capacity for ultra-fast access to all content. An optional 32TB of expansion capability can also be added internally, while the Luna R can interface with external hard drives and any NAS system via the network. The Luna R’s Teac Blu-ray transport, now standard on Wolf audio servers, enables users to rip CDs and play audio discs in DVD and Blu-ray. The drive can also burn discs for storage or transport.

The SX Upgrade

The Luna R incorporates a host of additional refinements to ensure ultimate audio performance. These upgrades are the result of a collaboration between Wolf Audio Systems, Stillpoints and eXemplar Audio. The refinements address the areas of micro-vibration control, electrical grounding and radio frequency interference (RFI) suppression. For example, the server incorporates Portals, a new patent-pending type of grounding-noise conditioning, to remove MHz- and GHz-frequency power contamination and deliver a new level of clarity and resolution. Stillpoints internal standoffs are used to attenuate internal micro-vibrations, while constrained layer damping materials reduces ambient vibration to the case and non-critical componentry. Audience OHNO high-purity oxygen-free copper internal wiring ensures maximum signal purity.

The Luna R offers easy access to its musical content via HDMI and DisplayPort for use with a television and/or monitor. Its wireless connectivity also allows the user to control all functions using a wireless keyboard, mouse or tablet, or via a home automation system remote control, and also remote access via web browser and iOS/Android applications.

Like all Wolf Audio servers, the Luna R is compatible with a wide range of audio applications and streaming audio formats including Roon, JRiver, Audirvana, Qobuz, Tidal, Deezer and others. The server can connect to a TV or monitor to display album cover art, artist, track and album information and more. It offers a full complement of USB, Ethernet, HDMI and IR inputs and outputs, ensuring compatibility and full function for years to come.

The Luna R is currently available in black or silver finish at a retail price of $4,500 usd with 2TB of storage, and $5,000 usd for the Luna R Pure Digital Edition, with the Flux Capacitor included and 4TB of storage. The unit can be supplied with optional Stillpoints Mini SS isolation feet at an additional $500 usd.

Philanthropy

Wyland paints team usa Tokyo Olympics surf boards

February 15, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

At the time of this writing, it is still unclear whether the already postponed Olympics will go ahead as planned for Summer. Tokyo Olympic officials have said reports of another cancellation are false and that enough Covid vaccines have been secured to vaccinate every citizen of Japan. That bodes well for the games going ahead. With that in mind let’s optimistically report on a story about one of our favorite Summer Olympic sports: Surfing.

This year, the Wyland Foundation will be supporting the efforts of the USA Surfing team at the Tokyo Olympics through fundraising merchandise and Wyland painted surfboards to be auctioned off. The Wyland Foundation will be integrating the efforts to maintain healthy waterways and coasts into this year’s National Mayor’s Challenge for Water Conservation with an emphasis on the recreational role water plays in our lives.

“Just painted two surfboards for the US Olympic surf team. Carissa Moore, 4 time world champion and a member of the US Olympic Team for the Tokyo games and I pictured here at Haleiwa Alli Beach Park. I’m proud to be a US Olympic artist. Aloha!” said marine life artist, Wyland.

For years, WylandFoundation.org has rallied the support of mayors and cities throughout the United States to urge constituents to consider their environmental impact. The group works on educating constituents about CO2 emitted from our homes and lifestyles. Thousands participate nationwide annually pledging to save billions of gallons of water.

About the Wyland Foundation

Founded in 1993 by environmental artist Wyland (best known for his series of 100 monumental marine life murals), the Wyland Foundation, a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to promoting, protecting, and preserving the world’s oceans, waterways, and marine life. The foundation encourages environmental awareness through community events, educational programs, and public art projects. For more information, go to wylandfoundation.org.

Comics

No Wonder Thor Is Smiling In Vintage Comics

February 5, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

This time around in comic news we are looking back at the Journey into Mystery comic auction from Heritage Auctions.

What made this auction particularly interesting is the fact that pricing was reasonable and grading conditions were meticulous. Not always the case on other online auction sites (E-something, Kiji-something), Heritage Auctions or “HA” take great pride in the fact that their faculty includes not only comic fanatics but also experts in antique books and printing. It’s safe to say that ‘what you see and what you read’ here is ‘what you get’.

What about the comics?

In my opinion, Tales of Mystery starring the Marvel character Thor is still an undervalued comic book, even with all of the Marvel movie appearances. Consider that the first run Thor series was benefited by the pencil skills of Mr. Jack Kirby. Jack is an icon in the comic book collector world. Unique style? Check. Quality character poses? Check.

Sure, we all know the main reason for the comic was to set the stage for Thor (introduced by the way in 1962’s Tales of Mystery #83) but there’s also the less considered crossover appeal of major stories (and covers) utilizing such Marvel characters as Magneto , The Incredible Hulk and even Hercules.

Tales of Mystery, like other comics from the early 1960’s, has a naivete and a simple message: Good guy half-god deals with life and an identity crisis. And that’s the fun factor.

It’s been almost sixty years since Marvel introduced the comic character Thor.

That’s a long time. Thor is still around, starring in major motion pictures and wielding the mighty mjolnir. He’s not going away. So if you have the money, investing in one or more of these books is not only a fun move, it’s a wise move. Sure to increase in value. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker.

Travel

Marriage Proposals While Orbiting Moon By 2022

February 4, 2021 The Silo 3 Comments

Starting in 2022 it will be possible to ask for the beloved’s hand in marriage while flying over the lunar surface to the sound of Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me to the Moon”. The one-week interplanetary flight will be carried out using a self-contained and autonomous spacecraft allowing the two lovers to travel alone.

The ApoteoSurprise agency, a French marriage proposal planner specialized in creating extravagant proposals, introduces a whole new service for 145 million dollars which will allow 21st century handsome princes to propose while flying around the Moon. Reaching for the Moon in the name of love is about to become a reality, the ultimate goal of the Paris-based agency being to “stage the craziest and most outstanding marriage proposal of the last 13.8 billion years“.

From March 2022, elite lovers will be able to book the all-included service on the site www.proposeinparis.com and five months later find themselves enjoying the following program:
– Twelve weeks of pre-requisite technical and physical training.
– Takeoff on D-Day from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
– Richard Strauss’s “Thus spoke Zarathustra, Op.30” (Theme from 2001 Space Odyssey) resounding in the two space tourists’ helmets when the first effects of weightlessness are felt.
– Arrival in lunar orbit, three days later, flying over the satellite’s grayish surface at only 200/300 kilometers altitude.

Earthrise Apollo 8 — The famous ‘Earthrise’ photo from Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon. The crew entered lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 1968. That evening, the astronauts held a live broadcast, showing pictures of the Earth and moon as seen from their spacecraft. photo:NASA

– Cut-off of all communication with Earth for around thirty minutes while the capsule flies over the dark side of the Moon.
– The Frank Sinatra song “Fly Me to the Moon” played halfway through the orbital flight, allowing the suitor to make his marriage proposal far from any form of human life (engagement ring secretly hidden in his spacesuit).
– A spectacular Earth-rise seen from behind the lunar craters and return trip of nearly four days before atmospheric re-entry and final touchdown.

The flight-plan followed by the space capsule will mirror that of the mythical Apollo 8 mission in 1968. The spacecraft, traveling at a speed of up to 38,000 km/h, will be equipped with eight cameras allowing the couple to immortalize their entry into the history of the conquest of space and the conquest… of love! For the Silo, Nicolas Garreau.

Travel

My Magical Mystery Tour of Abbey Road Studio In London

February 3, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

Have you ever experienced something surreal?

I had reason to visit and work at Abbey Road Studio in London, and it still seems surreal!! My colleague Jayson Tomlin, Gary Katz (producer of Steely Dan), and myself were there to do testing and evaluation of some new technologies we’ve been working on for broadcast and consumer applications.

We spent a full day working in one of the mix-down studios, along with members of the BBC, Scotland Yard, Abbey Road, David Perreau, Felix Konrad, and some of Gary’s record producer ‘buddies”…Hugh Padgham (Genesis, Rush, Phil Collins, Police, Sting, XTC), and Elliott Randall (studio guitarist for Steely Dan).

Frank with Hugh Padgham (left) and Gary Katz (right)

Our connection with Gary has enabled us to connect with key members of the music production world, which in turn has enabled us to further evolve technologies for broadcast, and soon the consumer markets. Our work at Abbey Road was another step along this process, and it raised the bar for us, on what is expected of our products.

Frank on the steps of Abbey Road Studios

Being able to set foot into the building and studio where the Beatles recorded and produced all of their material was breathtaking. I’ll never forget, as we were wrapping up the events for the day, the studio engineer, whom we were working with, said “hey guys come with me, two is now open!” In my mind I’m thinking “this is where all the ‘magic’ happened.” So, off we went, and sure enough we walk into studio #2, and it’s still pretty much the same as if John, Paul, George, and Ringo were there the day before. Getting chills—again—as I write this!!

Jayson Tomlin and others take in Studio #2

Probably the most gratifying moment that day was towards the end. Hugh Padgham had been listening to some tech I’d developed, and told me how he’d done work with the late George Martin. His comment was how he had a good sense about how George produced the Beatles, and could we apply my ‘gizmo’ to their music.

Abbey Road Cafeteria

So…in the building they recorded the album Abbey Road, we added some treatment to the song “Golden Slumbers.” Together, all of us were in awe to hear the Beatles music, with some treatment from our efforts, done at Abbey Road!

Tape deck used in the recording of Sgt. Pepper’s

There’s a skylight in the ceiling of the studio we were working in. While listening, I looked upward through the skylight, and thought, “if Mr. Martin, Mr. Lennon, and Mr. Harrison are listening, my hope is you won’t feel I let you down.” I felt a tear trickle down upon having this thought. Quite possibly one of the coolest occurrences in this boy’s life!!

Frank between pianos used for the Beatles’ “Get Back” and John Lennon’s “Imagine”

Modestly, it was reassuring when each of our well-known music industry guests gave us the “thumbs up’ for our efforts. Further indication of how our little organization keeps growing and raising the bar! In closing, my sincere thanks to Jayson Tomlin, Gary Katz, Hugh Padgham, Andrew Scheps, and Elliott Randall for your feedback and friendship!!

Recording mixer used to record Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon

For the Silo, Frank Foti.

Earth

US Climate Scientist Pushes For Canadian Carbon Tax Serfdom?

February 1, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

(Calgary, Alberta) The Canadian Federation of Taxpayers (CTF) has issued a new report on global carbon taxes, showing most countries have frozen or rolled back carbon taxes, but US climate scientist James Hansen is pushing for a $210/t carbon tax in Canada by 2030. Hansen’s argument is that the tax has to be high enough that people will buy into the carbon dividend (rebate to lower income households) – effectively making Canadians into carbon serfs and a carbon welfare society. CTF reports: “About half of the emissions covered by carbon taxes are priced below US$10/tCO2e, according to the World Bank’s most recent State and Trends of Carbon Pricing (2019).” Canada has more than 600 greenhouse gas reduction/incentive measures on the books, which have never been audited for effectiveness.

This begs the question of “what is a climate scientist doing dabbling in Canada’s domestic affairs on carbon taxes, pushing a carbon tax that is 21 times that of the world,” says Friends of Science Society.

As revealed by Lawrence Solomon in the 2009 article “Enron’s Other Secret” “James Hansen, the scientist who more than any other is responsible for bringing the possibility of climate-change catastrophe to the public, was among the scientists Enron commissioned.”

Chart: How the World Puts a Price on Carbon | Statista

Enron had profited from cap and trade, but the company collapsed into a pile of ashes in 2001 due to off-book accounting and financial fraud.

None-the-less, a group of green billionaires took up the global cap-and-trade challenge, apparently working from the Enron carbon/cap-and-trade scheme model, as reported by Nisbet in 2018. Like Enron, they have funded local and global environmental groups to agitate for policies in countries around the world, favorable to their proposed global cap and trade plan. The plans require a price on carbon with the intention of funding their trillions in vested interests in renewables. Many of these groups are associated with the Tar Sands Campaign that has falsely created “Fear and Loathing” of the Alberta oil sands and driven a downturn in the economy.

Michael Moore’s recent movie “Planet of the Humans” revealed how this green crony capitalism is destroying the planet for no climate benefit.

Canadians now face an onslaught of Carbonbaggers – the number one being Mark Carney, now UN Climate Czar and former Bank of England and Bank of Canada governor. Carney threatens firms with bankruptcy if they do not comply with his demands to report on climate risk and abandon fossil fuel investments.

As Robert Lyman’s new report shows: “Broken Promises: Why Renewables Offer No Resilient Recovery”, Carney is misleading the public and investors on global oil consumption and demand.

Both oil production and consumption have risen by more than one million barrels per day per year since 2012.

• Oil demand is at its highest level in history.

• In absolute terms, oil demand is growing twice as fast as renewables.

• Global oil reserves have risen throughout the period, from 1141 billion barrels in 1998 to 1730 billion barrels in 2018; peak oil is nowhere in sight. That is a 10 million barrel per day increase over the nine years.

• In absolute terms, natural gas is experiencing the fastest rate of growth of all energy sources, almost three times as fast as renewables.

• Natural gas demand is at its highest level in history.

Friends of Science Society says carbon dioxide from human industry is a nominal influence on climate change, known since the 2013 IPCC AR5 report. The fact that financial ‘experts’ like Mark Carney are still pushing the climate-carbon dioxide catastrophe theme constitutes a violation of securities regulations related to ‘material change’. Furthermore, as Roger Pielke, Jr. reports, climate catastrophe scenarios are the product of green billionaires pushing the ‘climate porn’ scenario, which is far from reality or business-as-usual.

“Green” groups in Canada are demanding that the new Canadian Infrastructure Bank be used to finance their green crony capitalist schemes.

Friends of Science Society issued a request for ethics investigation into the development of the Canadian Infrastructure Bank in Nov. 2017. The Conflict of Interest concerns expressed there are still valid in their opinion.

Evidence from Norway to Zimbabwe shows that carbon taxes have no discernible impact on emissions reduction and are simply oppressive to taxpayers and industry. Friends of Science Society says Carbonbaggers should not be using carbon taxes as a means of creating a Canadian climate welfare state, especially not driven by foreign influences, street theatre, and deception.

See “The Roots of Global Warming”.

About

Friends of Science Society is an independent group of earth, atmospheric and solar scientists, engineers, and citizens who are celebrating its 17th year of offering climate science insights. After a thorough review of a broad spectrum of literature on climate change, Friends of Science Society has concluded that the sun is the main driver of climate change, not carbon dioxide (CO2).

Featured image by @HeatherLibby

Culture

How To Setup A Low Budget Home Gym

January 30, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

Back in college, I used to be very fit.

I swam three times a week, ran a few miles every other day and on weekends, I would bike with friends. There was not an ounce of fat in my body. But as years passed, I became too busy with work and eventually with raising a family that exercise became less important and I didn’t bother going to the gym. It came to a point when I saw myself in the mirror and hardly recognized my own body. In a span of 14 years, I gained over a hundred pounds. Plus Minus 100 Pounds Man Example I realized I needed to do something about it and fast. So I browsed the best online shopping sites looking for affordable gym equipment that I could just set up at home. I can’t go to a gym because, well…… Covid duh! Plus I can only workout in the wee hours of the morning when everyone else in my home is still fast asleep.

Start Cheap

Many of my friends made the mistake of investing in equipment that cost over a thousand dollars and ended up not using them anyway. The truth of the matter is that it’s very possible to create a home gym for very little money. In doing so, you won’t be wasting money in case you find yourself not using your home gym and if you do decide to fully commit yourself to a healthy and active lifestyle then you can always upgrade your equipment and machines in the future.

The following are the most essential things you’ll need:

1. Private Space

It’s difficult to work out when you have screaming kids running around you. Ideally, pick a room with a door so that you can exercise uninterrupted.

2. Full-Length Mirror

Being able to see yourself working out is a great motivator and it’s also a good way to check your form and technique. You can buy a full-length mirror for around $20 – $30.

3. Weights

Every home gym should have a set of dumbbells. For women, start with 5, 10 and 15 lbs. Men should use heavier weights. Or you can get an adjustable dumbbell that will enable you to add or swap weights easily.

Okay some old school equip has seen it's day but don't dismiss all vintage gym gear! — Okay some old school equip has seen it’s day but don’t dismiss all vintage gym gear!

4. Stability Ball

Old school trainers would never recommend the use of a stability ball but it’s actually very popular among fitness experts today. With a stability ball, you can improve your core strength and balance. Besides, there are many exercises you can do with this ball – body bridges, squats, crunches, hamstring curls, and others.

5. Resistance Bands

These bands are very versatile despite looking plain and simple. You can strap it to a door, bench or table to do squats, chest presses, and lat pull-downs, to name a few.

6. Cardio

You can get a skipping rope so that you can do cardio exercises in your home gym. Or you can just go outside to run, jog or walk. Cardio exercises are essential to help your body burn fat faster. For the Silo, Dimitry Karloff.

Supplemental– Looking for some examples of cool home gyms on a budget?

Culture

5 Ways to Stay in Touch With Your Customers

January 26, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

If you are a business owner, you probably know the importance of taking care of your business to last longer. This includes various steps, such as audience retention, brand reach and customer satisfaction. There are many practices that help in building the brand and trust. Staying in touch with your audience can be a great way to build your business.

This is a great way to remind them of your service. This builds trust and authenticity. Keeping the existing customers happy can be. There are many ways one can go about staying in touch with your customers. Initially, a business can start with manual modes of staying in touch. This can be feedback calls, offers, SMS, etc.

Here are five ways to stay in touch with your customers and audience to build brand authenticity and trust.

Automated Bulk SMS

SMS is a quick way to update your customers about offers, deals, etc. Although this can be done manually up to a certain point, it gets difficult once the number increases. There are many SMS API providers that enable you to send bulk messages to your customers. Bulk SMSes helps in providing timely and personalized information to the customers.

This increases user engagement, satisfaction rates and customer lifetime values. You can check out any SMS API provider to understand the deals and go with the one that suits your requirements.

Lead Nurturing

Be it an inquiry or just someone who has come in touch with your brand, treat them as your potential customers. Lead nurturing is an integral process of branding and growing your business.

Take care of them by checking on them, letting them know about your business, offering them a solution for their needs. Be the brand that strikes them when they have a business need that is similar to yours.

By email marketing, you can nurture your leads. Send them monthly emails about the new things in your company or brand. Update them with the latest deals and offers, and invite them to experience your service. This increases brand retention.

Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing has been on the rise and is proven to be one of the efficient ways to market in today’s digital world. Social media marketing is a form of digital marketing. Unlike traditional marketing, digital marketing focuses more on the customer than the brand itself.

This is a great way to tell your customers that you care about them. Social Media marketing also enables you to have a one on one conversation with your audience.

Make sure you use this space to increase customer satisfaction and to understand your audience better. Be present on all the relevant social media handles and nail down a content strategy that will add value to your customers.

Adapting and Improvising

Adapting is a fundamental process for a business to sustain. With new trends emerging every day, it is essential to keep moving forward along with it.

Be it strategy or message; it is important to improvise it according to what the customers need at the moment.

One way you can do this is to constantly be updated. Be aware of the new trends. Keep track of your audience and their activity.

Value Customer Feedback

Be it any business; the customer is the king. You are running the business for the customers, and it is essential to value customer feedback highly.
Customer feedback tells what a customer actually feels about your service. This valuable information can be used to improve your service to improve satisfaction.

A business that has an idea of a customer’s opinion goes a long way. This can also let you know about the needs of the customers.

You can send in a monthly customer feedback form the customers where they can rate their experience with you. This can be based on different areas of business like service, product, after-sales service extra.

Running a business is a journey that constantly needs an upgrade and improvisation. If you wish to run a successful long term business, you must start putting your customer before you. Little gestures you make for your customers will certainly take your business a long way.

It is a long term process, but taking customer satisfaction for granted can seriously cause great damage to your business.

Stay in touch with your audience and remind them that you care about them. This will take your business a long way and help in growing in the right direction. For The Silo, Esther Adams.

Finance

Bitcoin Can Now be Purchased Through PayPal but is it Ready for the Average Internet User?

January 25, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

After many years of toying with the notion of moving into the cryptocurrency market, 2020 finally saw PayPal admit to its ongoing interest, and embrace Bitcoin (and others) within its existing online payment services

The news has, within the crypto circles, been long anticipated. Following a disastrous attempt at collaborating with tech giants like Facebook and Mastercard on the Libra Project a while back, it looked as though PayPal may have gone shy on the idea altogether. That, coupled with the fact that interest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies among the ‘general digital public’ failed to take off in the way that was once predicted, made it seem as though a mainstream uptake of virtual currencies was nothing more than a pipe dream.

Of course, all that has now changed, and the company has finally enabled all users to buy, sell and store cryptocurrencies within its platform.
But, will this bring the average internet user to crypto for once and for all, or will the alternative currency remain relatively niche online, in spite of efforts to make it more accessible? Read more below.

Online Payment Services Are Adapting to User Requirements Better than Ever Before

In its heyday, PayPal was the go-to online payment service for anyone looking to make their digital dealings safer, more convenient, and more efficient. Rather than storing their personal details with multiple sites and companies, users could provide them once and once only, and allow PayPal to handle the security side of things.

The only issue was that PayPal was famed for its high transaction fees – both for merchants, and customers.

Now, the realm of online payment services has evolved to ensure that companies have fine-tuned their process for a relevant service – and that, in the process, transaction fees are kept competitive. In the realm of the online entertainment industry, digital casinos now offer Idebit deposit options for Canadian players over 18, for instance; in the US, vastly popular apps like Cash App and Venmo enable instant peer-to-peer payments with minimal processing fees.

There are two consequences to this evolution within the online payment services industry. For one, digital payment services are growing more attuned to the needs, concerns and demands of their users than ever before. They have to, if they are going to compete with the years in which PayPal has stood as the paradigm for payment security. This means that, for the average internet user, crypto will remain largely obsolete; they can feel safe in the payments they make online, and do not need to explore other avenues.

Secondly, it means that PayPal is facing significant competition on all sides, and that more and more users run the risk of abandoning the service altogether in favour of something cheaper, more convenient and easier to use.

Does the Average User Even Need Crypto?

PayPal is infamous for keeping the details of its new projects close to its chest, which means that we cannot be sure exactly what their motivations behind embracing crypto really are. Some already believe that it is ensuring a revolutionary stimulus for Bitcoin. It may simply be another move intended to ensure that they keep up with digital trends, rather than a fully-fledged commitment to the future of online payments.
In reality, many using the internet today have no need of crypto. Sure, it is safer and more private – something we all need to prioritize – but so are the services currently working to unseat PayPal at what it does best: simplicity.

Bitcoin is not simple – in fact, it is far from it. PayPal’s move toward the realm of virtual currencies does not make the technology itself any simple or more accessible to those who hold only limited knowledge about it, and only by targeting these user groups does it look likely that they will begin to embrace this alternative currency. For the Silo, Mildred Austria.

Politics

Cost Of Marijuana In 120 Cities And How Much Tax Revenue If Legalized

January 21, 2021 The Silo 4 Comments

First a few quick facts….

● ‏Tokyo, Japan has the most expensive cannabis‏ ‏, at 32.66 USD per gram. ‏

● ‏Quito, Ecuador has the least expensive marijuana‏ ‏, at 1.34 USD per gram.‏

● ‏Based on the average US marijuana tax rates currently implemented, ‏ ‏New York City could generate the highest potential tax revenue by legalizing weed‏ ‏, with 156.40 million USD per year. New York City also has the highest consumption rate of cannabis, at 77.44 metric tons per year.‏

● ‏Cannabis costs ‏ ‏$7.82 per gram in Toronto, Canada‏ ‏. ‏

‏Berlin, Germany – ‏ ‏Automatic cultivator device, ‏ ‏Seedo‏ ‏, after much research and data gathering, previously released the 2018 Cannabis Price Index, detailing the cost of marijuana in 120 global cities. Seedo is one of the many new ventures embracing the newly legalized cannabis industry. Their main goal is to allow both medicinal and recreational consumers to grow their own supply, avoiding extra taxes and bypassing harmful pesticides. The aim of this study is to illustrate the continuous need for legislative reform on cannabis use around the world, and to determine if there are any lessons to be learned from those cities at the forefront of marijuana legalisation.

‏Although Seedo’s technology enables smokers to get off the grid, this study considers one of the biggest byproducts of legalising cannabis—the potential tax revenue for the local government body. For this reason, Seedo decided not only to research the cost of cannabis around the world, but also to calculate how much potential tax a city could generate if they were to legalise marijuana. ‏

‏The study began first by selecting 120 cities across the world, including locations where cannabis is currently legal, illegal and partially legal, and where marijuana consumption data is available. Then, they looked into the price of weed per gram in each city. To calculate how much potential tax a city could make by legalising weed, Seedo investigated how much tax is paid on the most popular brand of cigarettes, as this offers the closest comparison. They then looked at what percentage marijuana is currently taxed in cities where it’s already legalised in the US. ‏

‏“This study has revealed some incredible insights into the kind of tax revenue that legalising weed could generate.” says Uri Zeevi, CMO at Seedo. “Take New York City for instance, which has the highest consumption level in the study at 77.44 metric tons of cannabis per year. If they taxed marijuana at the average US cannabis tax level, the city could make $‏ ‏156.4‏ ‏ million in potential tax revenue per year. This is equivalent to providing nearly 3 months worth of free school meals to every single public school kid in New York City.” ‏

‏The table below reveals a sample of the results for ‏ ‏Toronto, Canada‏ ‏:‏

‏City‏	‏Legality‏	‏Price per gram, US$‏	‏Total possible tax collection, if taxed at cigarette level, mil US$‏	‏Total possible tax collection, if taxed at average US marijuana taxes, mil US$‏	‏Total consumption in metric tons‏
‏Toronto‏	‏Partial‏	‏7.82‏	‏124.15‏	‏33.38‏	‏22.75‏

‏The table below shows the ‏ ‏top 10 most and least expensive cities for cannabis‏ ‏:‏

‏Top 10 Most Expensive Cities‏					‏Top 10 Least Expensive Cities‏
‏#‏	‏City‏	‏Country‏	‏Legality‏	‏Price per gram, US$‏	‏#‏	‏City‏	‏Country‏	‏Legality‏	‏Price per gram, US$‏
‏1‏	‏Tokyo‏	‏Japan‏	‏Illegal‏	‏32.66‏	‏1‏	‏Quito‏	‏Ecuador‏	‏Partial‏	‏1.34‏
‏2‏	‏Seoul‏	‏South Korea‏	‏Illegal‏	‏32.44‏	‏2‏	‏Bogota‏	‏Colombia‏	‏Partial‏	‏2.20‏
‏3‏	‏Kyoto‏	‏Japan‏	‏Illegal‏	‏29.65‏	‏3‏	‏Asuncion‏	‏Paraguay‏	‏Partial‏	‏2.22‏
‏4‏	‏Hong Kong‏	‏China‏	‏Illegal‏	‏27.48‏	‏4‏	‏Jakarta‏	‏Indonesia‏	‏Illegal‏	‏3.79‏
‏5‏	‏Bangkok‏	‏Thailand‏	‏Partial‏	‏24.81‏	‏5‏	‏Panama City‏	‏Panama‏	‏Illegal‏	‏3.85‏
‏6‏	‏Dublin‏	‏Ireland‏	‏Illegal‏	‏21.63‏	‏6‏	‏Johannesburg‏	‏South Africa‏	‏Illegal‏	‏4.01‏
‏7‏	‏Tallinn‏	‏Estonia‏	‏Partial‏	‏20.98‏	‏7‏	‏Montevideo‏	‏Uruguay‏	‏Legal‏	‏4.15‏
‏8‏	‏Shanghai‏	‏China‏	‏Illegal‏	‏20.82‏	‏8‏	‏Astana‏	‏Kazakhstan‏	‏Illegal‏	‏4.22‏
‏9‏	‏Beijing‏	‏China‏	‏Illegal‏	‏20.52‏	‏9‏	‏Antwerp‏	‏Belgium‏	‏Partial‏	‏4.29‏
‏10‏	‏Oslo‏	‏Norway‏	‏Partial‏	‏19.14‏	‏10‏	‏New Delhi‏	‏India‏	‏Partial‏	‏4.38‏

‏N.B. These tables are a sample of the full results. To find the complete results for all 120 cities, please see the bottom of the press release. ‏

‏The table below shows the ‏ ‏top 10 cities who could generate the most potential tax ‏ ‏by legalising cannabis, if taxed at the same rate as the most popular cigarette brand:‏

‏#‏	‏City‏	‏Country‏	‏Legality‏	‏Price per gram, US$‏	‏% of cigarette tax‏	‏Possible tax revenue, mil US$ ‏
‏1‏	‏Cairo‏	‏Egypt‏	‏Illegal‏	‏16.15‏	‏73.13‏	‏384.87‏
‏2‏	‏New York‏	‏USA‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.76‏	‏42.54‏	‏354.48‏
‏3‏	‏London‏	‏UK‏	‏Illegal‏	‏9.20‏	‏82.16‏	‏237.35‏
‏4‏	‏Sydney‏	‏Australia‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.79‏	‏56.76‏	‏138.36‏
‏5‏	‏Karachi‏	‏Pakistan‏	‏Illegal‏	‏5.32‏	‏60.7‏	‏135.48‏
‏6‏	‏Melbourne‏	‏Australia‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.84‏	‏56.76‏	‏132.75‏
‏7‏	‏Moscow‏	‏Russia‏	‏Partial‏	‏11.84‏	‏47.63‏	‏128.97‏
‏8‏	‏Toronto‏	‏Canada‏	‏Partial‏	‏7.82‏	‏69.8‏	‏124.15‏
‏9‏	‏Chicago‏	‏USA‏	‏Partial‏	‏11.46‏	‏42.54‏	‏119.61‏
‏10‏	‏Berlin‏	‏Germany‏	‏Partial‏	‏13.53‏	‏72.9‏	‏114.77‏

‏N.B. % of cigarette tax refers to the tax percentage on the most popular brand. Possible tax revenue refers to the total possible tax collection per year, if taxed at cigarette level. For a full explanation of how the study was conducted, please see the methodology at the bottom of the press release. ‏

‏The table below shows the ‏ ‏top 10 cities who could generate the most potential tax‏ ‏ by legalising cannabis, if taxed at the average US marijuana tax rate:‏

‏#‏	‏City‏	‏Country‏	‏Legality‏	‏Price per gram, US$‏	‏Possible tax revenue, mil US$‏
‏1‏	‏New York‏	‏USA‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.76‏	‏156.4‏
‏2‏	‏Cairo‏	‏Egypt‏	‏Illegal‏	‏16.15‏	‏98.78‏
‏3‏	‏London‏	‏UK‏	‏Illegal‏	‏9.20‏	‏54.22‏
‏4‏	‏Chicago‏	‏USA‏	‏Partial‏	‏11.46‏	‏52.77‏
‏5‏	‏Moscow‏	‏Russia‏	‏Partial‏	‏11.84‏	‏50.82‏
‏6‏	‏Sydney‏	‏Australia‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.79‏	‏45.75‏
‏7‏	‏Melbourne‏	‏Australia‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.84‏	‏43.9‏
‏8‏	‏Karachi‏	‏Pakistan‏	‏Illegal‏	‏5.32‏	‏41.89‏
‏9‏	‏Houston‏	‏USA‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.03‏	‏39.32‏
‏10‏	‏Toronto‏	‏Canada‏	‏Partial‏	‏7.82‏	‏33.38‏

‏N.B. Possible tax revenue refers to the total possible tax collection per year, if taxed at average US marijuana tax rate.‏

‏The table below shows the‏ ‏ top 10 cities with the highest and lowest consumption of cannabis, ‏ ‏per year:‏

‏Highest Consumers of Cannabis‏

‏ Lowest Consumers of Cannabis‏

‏#‏

‏City‏

‏Country‏

‏Legality‏

‏Price per gram, US$‏

‏Total consumption, metric tons‏

‏#‏

‏City‏

‏Country‏

‏Legality‏

‏Price per gram, US$‏

‏Total consumption, metric tons‏

‏1‏

‏New York‏

‏USA‏

‏Partial‏

‏10.76‏

‏77.44‏

‏1‏

‏Singapore‏

‏Illegal‏

‏14.01‏

‏0.02‏

‏2‏

‏Karachi‏

‏Pakistan‏

‏Illegal‏

‏5.32‏

‏41.95‏

‏2‏

‏Santo Domingo‏

‏Dominican Rep.‏

‏Illegal‏

‏6.93‏

‏0.16‏

‏3‏

‏New Delhi‏

‏India‏

‏Partial‏

‏4.38‏

‏38.26‏

‏3‏

‏Kyoto‏

‏Japan‏

‏Illegal‏

‏29.65‏

‏0.24‏

‏4‏

‏Los Angeles‏

‏USA‏

‏Legal‏

‏8.14‏

‏36.06‏

‏4‏

‏Thessaloniki‏

‏Greece‏

‏Partial‏

‏13.49‏

‏0.29‏

‏5‏

‏Cairo‏

‏Egypt‏

‏Illegal‏

‏16.15‏

‏32.59‏

‏5‏

‏Luxembourg City‏

‏Luxembourg‏

‏Partial‏

‏7.26‏

‏0.32‏

‏6‏

‏Mumbai‏

‏India‏

‏Partial‏

‏4.57‏

‏32.38‏

‏6‏

‏Panama City‏

‏Panama‏

‏Illegal‏

‏3.85‏

‏0.37‏

‏7‏

‏London‏

‏UK‏

‏Illegal‏

‏9.20‏

‏31.4‏

‏7‏

‏Reykjavik‏

‏Iceland‏

‏Illegal‏

‏15.92‏

‏0.44‏

‏8‏

‏Chicago‏

‏USA‏

‏Partial‏

‏11.46‏

‏24.54‏

‏8‏

‏Asuncion‏

‏Paraguay‏

‏Partial‏

‏2.22‏

‏0.46‏

‏9‏

‏Moscow‏

‏Russia‏

‏Partial‏

‏11.84‏

‏22.87‏

‏9‏

‏Colombo‏

‏Sri Lanka‏

‏Illegal‏

‏9.12‏

‏0.59‏

‏10‏

‏Toronto‏

‏Canada‏

‏Partial‏

‏7.82‏

‏22.75‏

‏10‏

‏Manila‏

‏Philippines‏

‏Illegal‏

‏5.24‏

‏0.6‏

‏N.B. Total consumption is calculated per annum. ‏

‏Additional quotes:‏

‏“The way that the legalised cannabis industry is rapidly evolving alongside new technologies shows how innovative emerging tech companies are today.” says Uri Zeevi, CMO at Seedo. “Take the way that cannabis and cryptocurrency have joined forces, with ‏ ‏examples such as HempCoin or nezly, which manage processes and payments in the new marijuana industry.‏ ‏ When you consider too the potential that these new technologies have to disrupt the cannabis industry, there’s no denying that these are very exciting times.” ‏

‏“At Seedo, we’ve built technology that helps regular smokers to grow cannabis plants of the utmost quality from the comfort of their own home, avoiding pesticides and taking ownership of their personal supply.” says Uri Zeevi, CMO at Seedo. “We believe that by understanding the cost of weed around the world, we can help to educate smokers about the potential financial benefits of hydroponic growing technology.” ‏

‏“That illegal cannabis use is so high in countries that still carry the death penalty, such as Pakistan and Egypt, those in power ought to see how desperately new legislation is needed.” comments Uri Zeevi, CMO at Seedo. “By removing the criminal element from marijuana, governments will then able to more safely regulate production, take away power from underground gangs, and as we’ve shown in this study, generate huge tax revenues.”‏

‏Further findings:‏

● ‏New York City, USA has the highest consumption rate of cannabis‏ ‏, at 77.44 metric tons per year.‏

● ‏Boston, USA has the most expensive cannabis of all the cities where it’s legal‏ ‏, at 11.01 USD, while Montevideo, Uruguay has the least expensive at 4.15 USD. ‏

● ‏While Tokyo, Japan has the most expensive cannabis of all cities where it’s illegal, at 32.66 USD, ‏ ‏Jakarta, Indonesia has the least expensive at 3.79 USD, despite being classed as a Group 1 drug with harsh sentences such as life imprisonment and the death penalty.‏ ‏ ‏

● ‏For cities where cannabis is partially legal, Bangkok, Thailand has the most expensive at 24.81 USD, while Quito, Ecuador has the least expensive at 1.34 USD. ‏

● ‏Bulgaria has the highest tax rates for the most popular brand of cigarettes, at 82.65%, while Paraguay has the lowest, with rates of 16%. ‏

● ‏Cairo, Egypt would gain the most revenue in tax if they were to legalise cannabis‏ ‏ and tax it as the same rate as cigarettes, at 384.87 million USD. Singapore, Singapore would gain the least, at 0.14 million USD, due in part to the city’s low consumption of marijuana at 0.02 metric tons per annum.‏

● ‏Based on the average US marijuana tax rates currently implemented,‏ ‏ New York City could generate the highest potential tax revenue by legalising weed, with 156.4 million USD per year‏ ‏. Singapore, Singapore would gain the least, at 0.04 million USD

‏About “Seedo”‏ ‏: Seedo is a fully automated hydroponic growing device which lets you grow your own medicinal herbs and vegetables from the comfort of your own home. Seedo controls and monitors the growing process, from seed to plant, while providing optimal lab conditions to assure premium quality produce year-round. Seedo’s goal is to simplify the growing process, making it accessible for everyone, without compromising on quality. ‏

‏The full results of the 2018 Cannabis Price Index:‏

‏#‏	‏City‏	‏Country‏	‏Legality‏	‏Price per gram, US$‏	‏Taxes of cigarettes, % of the most sold brand‏	‏Total possible tax collection, if taxed at cigarette level, mil US$‏	‏Total possible tax collection, if taxed at average US marijuana taxes, mil US$‏	‏Total Consumption in metric tons‏
‏1‏	‏Tokyo‏	‏Japan‏	‏Illegal‏	‏32.66‏	‏64.36‏	‏32.14‏	‏9.37‏	‏1.53‏
‏2‏	‏Seoul‏	‏South Korea‏	‏Illegal‏	‏32.44‏	‏61.99‏	‏31.61‏	‏9.57‏	‏1.57‏
‏3‏	‏Kyoto‏	‏Japan‏	‏Illegal‏	‏29.65‏	‏64.36‏	‏4.64‏	‏1.35‏	‏0.24‏
‏4‏	‏Hong Kong‏	‏China‏	‏Illegal‏	‏27.48‏	‏44.43‏	‏19.72‏	‏8.33‏	‏1.62‏
‏5‏	‏Bangkok‏	‏Thailand‏	‏Partial‏	‏24.81‏	‏73.13‏	‏99.11‏	‏25.44‏	‏5.46‏
‏6‏	‏Dublin‏	‏Ireland‏	‏Illegal‏	‏21.63‏	‏77.80‏	‏29.31‏	‏7.07‏	‏1.74‏
‏7‏	‏Tallinn‏	‏Estonia‏	‏Partial‏	‏20.98‏	‏77.24‏	‏22.13‏	‏5.38‏	‏1.37‏
‏8‏	‏Shanghai‏	‏China‏	‏Illegal‏	‏20.82‏	‏44.43‏	‏49.12‏	‏20.75‏	‏5.31‏
‏9‏	‏Beijing‏	‏China‏	‏Illegal‏	‏20.52‏	‏44.43‏	‏43.10‏	‏18.21‏	‏4.73‏
‏10‏	‏Oslo‏	‏Norway‏	‏Partial‏	‏19.14‏	‏68.83‏	‏19.28‏	‏5.26‏	‏1.46‏
‏11‏	‏Washington, DC‏	‏USA‏	‏Partial‏	‏18.08‏	‏42.54‏	‏47.51‏	‏20.96‏	‏6.18‏
‏12‏	‏Cairo‏	‏Egypt‏	‏Illegal‏	‏16.15‏	‏73.13‏	‏384.87‏	‏98.78‏	‏32.59‏
‏13‏	‏Reykjavik‏	‏Iceland‏	‏Illegal‏	‏15.92‏	‏56.40‏	‏3.97‏	‏1.32‏	‏0.44‏
‏14‏	‏Belfast‏	‏Ireland‏	‏Illegal‏	‏15.81‏	‏77.80‏	‏13.55‏	‏3.27‏	‏1.10‏
‏15‏	‏Minsk‏	‏Belarus‏	‏Illegal‏	‏15.80‏	‏51.15‏	‏9.08‏	‏3.33‏	‏1.12‏
‏16‏	‏Athens‏	‏Greece‏	‏Partial‏	‏14.95‏	‏79.95‏	‏7.42‏	‏1.74‏	‏0.62‏
‏17‏	‏Auckland‏	‏New Zealand‏	‏Partial‏	‏14.77‏	‏77.34‏	‏106.03‏	‏25.73‏	‏9.28‏
‏18‏	‏Munich‏	‏Germany‏	‏Partial‏	‏14.56‏	‏72.90‏	‏50.90‏	‏13.10‏	‏4.80‏
‏19‏	‏Helsinki‏	‏Finland‏	‏Partial‏	‏14.42‏	‏81.53‏	‏27.12‏	‏6.24‏	‏2.31‏
‏20‏	‏Singapore‏	‏Singapore‏	‏Illegal‏	‏14.01‏	‏66.23‏	‏0.14‏	‏0.04‏	‏0.02‏
‏21‏	‏Berlin‏	‏Germany‏	‏Partial‏	‏13.53‏	‏72.90‏	‏114.77‏	‏29.55‏	‏11.64‏
‏22‏	‏Stuttgart‏	‏Germany‏	‏Partial‏	‏13.50‏	‏72.90‏	‏20.20‏	‏5.20‏	‏2.05‏
‏23‏	‏Thessaloniki‏	‏Greece‏	‏Partial‏	‏13.49‏	‏79.95‏	‏3.17‏	‏0.75‏	‏0.29‏
‏24‏	‏Stockholm‏	‏Sweden‏	‏Illegal‏	‏13.20‏	‏68.84‏	‏15.06‏	‏4.11‏	‏1.66‏
‏25‏	‏Vienna‏	‏Austria‏	‏Partial‏	‏12.87‏	‏74.00‏	‏59.21‏	‏15.02‏	‏6.22‏
‏26‏	‏Copenhagen‏	‏Denmark‏	‏Partial‏	‏12.47‏	‏74.75‏	‏20.65‏	‏5.18‏	‏2.22‏
‏27‏	‏Moscow‏	‏Russia‏	‏Partial‏	‏11.84‏	‏47.63‏	‏128.97‏	‏50.82‏	‏22.87‏
‏28‏	‏Hamburg‏	‏Germany‏	‏Partial‏	‏11.64‏	‏72.90‏	‏50.16‏	‏12.92‏	‏5.91‏
‏29‏	‏Chicago‏	‏USA‏	‏Partial‏	‏11.46‏	‏42.54‏	‏119.61‏	‏52.77‏	‏24.54‏
‏30‏	‏Philadelphia‏	‏USA‏	‏Partial‏	‏11.30‏	‏42.54‏	‏68.37‏	‏30.16‏	‏14.22‏
‏31‏	‏Bucharest‏	‏Romania‏	‏Partial‏	‏11.18‏	‏75.41‏	‏17.23‏	‏4.29‏	‏2.04‏
‏32‏	‏Cologne‏	‏Germany‏	‏Partial‏	‏11.14‏	‏72.90‏	‏28.51‏	‏7.34‏	‏3.51‏
‏33‏	‏Geneva‏	‏Switzerland‏	‏Partial‏	‏11.12‏	‏61.20‏	‏5.90‏	‏1.81‏	‏0.87‏
‏34‏	‏Boston‏	‏USA‏	‏Legal‏	‏11.01‏	‏42.54‏	‏28.59‏	‏12.61‏	‏6.10‏
‏35‏	‏Adelaide‏	‏Australia‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.91‏	‏56.76‏	‏41.60‏	‏13.75‏	‏6.72‏
‏36‏	‏Istanbul‏	‏Turkey‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.87‏	‏82.13‏	‏21.79‏	‏4.98‏	‏2.44‏
‏37‏	‏Melbourne‏	‏Australia‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.84‏	‏56.76‏	‏132.75‏	‏43.90‏	‏21.58‏
‏38‏	‏Sydney‏	‏Australia‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.79‏	‏56.76‏	‏138.36‏	‏45.75‏	‏22.59‏
‏39‏	‏New York‏	‏USA‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.76‏	‏42.54‏	‏354.48‏	‏156.40‏	‏77.44‏
‏40‏	‏Düsseldorf‏	‏Germany‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.70‏	‏72.90‏	‏15.82‏	‏4.07‏	‏2.03‏
‏41‏	‏Brisbane‏	‏Australia‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.63‏	‏56.76‏	‏66.88‏	‏22.12‏	‏11.09‏
‏42‏	‏Hanover‏	‏Germany‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.51‏	‏72.90‏	‏13.46‏	‏3.47‏	‏1.76‏
‏43‏	‏Prague‏	‏Czech Rep.‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.47‏	‏77.42‏	‏63.95‏	‏15.50‏	‏7.89‏
‏44‏	‏Frankfurt‏	‏Germany‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.29‏	‏72.90‏	‏18.06‏	‏4.65‏	‏2.41‏
‏45‏	‏Wellington‏	‏New Zealand‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.11‏	‏77.34‏	‏19.53‏	‏4.74‏	‏2.50‏
‏46‏	‏Dallas‏	‏USA‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.03‏	‏42.54‏	‏51.01‏	‏22.50‏	‏11.95‏
‏47‏	‏Houston‏	‏USA‏	‏Partial‏	‏10.03‏	‏42.54‏	‏89.13‏	‏39.32‏	‏20.89‏
‏48‏	‏Vilnius‏	‏Lithuania‏	‏Illegal‏	‏10.00‏	‏75.76‏	‏5.20‏	‏1.29‏	‏0.69‏
‏49‏	‏Zurich‏	‏Switzerland‏	‏Partial‏	‏9.71‏	‏61.20‏	‏10.33‏	‏3.17‏	‏1.74‏
‏50‏	‏Montpellier‏	‏France‏	‏Illegal‏	‏9.70‏	‏80.30‏	‏12.21‏	‏2.85‏	‏1.57‏
‏51‏	‏Canberra‏	‏Australia‏	‏Partial‏	‏9.65‏	‏56.76‏	‏10.96‏	‏3.63‏	‏2.00‏
‏52‏	‏Zagreb‏	‏Croatia‏	‏Partial‏	‏9.43‏	‏75.26‏	‏24.35‏	‏6.07‏	‏3.43‏
‏53‏	‏Nice‏	‏France‏	‏Illegal‏	‏9.40‏	‏80.30‏	‏15.80‏	‏3.69‏	‏2.09‏
‏54‏	‏Phoenix‏	‏USA‏	‏Partial‏	‏9.35‏	‏42.54‏	‏58.26‏	‏25.71‏	‏14.65‏
‏55‏	‏Paris‏	‏France‏	‏Illegal‏	‏9.30‏	‏80.30‏	‏102.25‏	‏23.90‏	‏13.69‏
‏56‏	‏Miami‏	‏USA‏	‏Partial‏	‏9.27‏	‏42.54‏	‏16.24‏	‏7.16‏	‏4.12‏
‏57‏	‏San Francisco‏	‏USA‏	‏Legal‏	‏9.27‏	‏42.54‏	‏30.94‏	‏13.65‏	‏7.85‏
‏58‏	‏London‏	‏UK‏	‏Illegal‏	‏9.20‏	‏82.16‏	‏237.35‏	‏54.22‏	‏31.40‏
‏59‏	‏Colombo‏	‏Sri Lanka‏	‏Illegal‏	‏9.12‏	‏73.78‏	‏3.98‏	‏1.01‏	‏0.59‏
‏60‏	‏Riga‏	‏Latvia‏	‏Illegal‏	‏9.00‏	‏76.89‏	‏10.23‏	‏2.50‏	‏1.48‏
‏61‏	‏Bratislava‏	‏Slovakia‏	‏Illegal‏	‏8.92‏	‏81.54‏	‏7.24‏	‏1.67‏	‏1.00‏
‏62‏	‏Milan‏	‏Italy‏	‏Partial‏	‏8.85‏	‏75.68‏	‏46.06‏	‏11.42‏	‏6.88‏
‏63‏	‏Varna‏	‏Bulgaria‏	‏Illegal‏	‏8.83‏	‏82.65‏	‏4.84‏	‏1.10‏	‏0.66‏
‏64‏	‏Marseille‏	‏France‏	‏Illegal‏	‏8.69‏	‏80.30‏	‏36.23‏	‏8.47‏	‏5.19‏
‏65‏	‏Glasgow‏	‏UK‏	‏Illegal‏	‏8.65‏	‏82.16‏	‏15.21‏	‏3.47‏	‏2.14‏
‏66‏	‏Toulouse‏	‏France‏	‏Illegal‏	‏8.62‏	‏80.30‏	‏18.67‏	‏4.36‏	‏2.70‏
‏67‏	‏Birmingham‏	‏UK‏	‏Illegal‏	‏8.58‏	‏82.16‏	‏27.73‏	‏6.34‏	‏3.93‏
‏68‏	‏Kuala Lumpur‏	‏Malaysia‏	‏Illegal‏	‏8.54‏	‏55.36‏	‏6.61‏	‏2.24‏	‏1.40‏
‏69‏	‏Monterrey‏	‏Mexico‏	‏Partial‏	‏8.45‏	‏65.87‏	‏4.17‏	‏1.19‏	‏0.75‏
‏70‏	‏Edinburgh‏	‏UK‏	‏Illegal‏	‏8.41‏	‏82.16‏	‏12.22‏	‏2.79‏	‏1.77‏
‏71‏	‏Lisbon‏	‏Portugal‏	‏Partial‏	‏8.36‏	‏74.51‏	‏4.69‏	‏1.18‏	‏0.75‏
‏72‏	‏Strasbourg‏	‏France‏	‏Illegal‏	‏8.35‏	‏80.30‏	‏11.13‏	‏2.60‏	‏1.66‏
‏73‏	‏Warsaw‏	‏Poland‏	‏Partial‏	‏8.31‏	‏80.29‏	‏29.27‏	‏6.84‏	‏4.39‏
‏74‏	‏Lyon‏	‏France‏	‏Illegal‏	‏8.20‏	‏80.30‏	‏19.45‏	‏4.55‏	‏2.95‏
‏75‏	‏Los Angeles‏	‏USA‏	‏Legal‏	‏8.14‏	‏42.54‏	‏124.88‏	‏55.10‏	‏36.06‏
‏76‏	‏Liverpool‏	‏UK‏	‏Illegal‏	‏7.94‏	‏82.16‏	‏10.86‏	‏2.48‏	‏1.67‏
‏77‏	‏Amsterdam‏	‏Netherlands‏	‏Partial‏	‏7.89‏	‏73.40‏	‏20.94‏	‏5.35‏	‏3.61‏
‏78‏	‏Manchester‏	‏UK‏	‏Illegal‏	‏7.88‏	‏82.16‏	‏58.99‏	‏13.48‏	‏9.11‏
‏79‏	‏Rome‏	‏Italy‏	‏Partial‏	‏7.86‏	‏75.68‏	‏88.16‏	‏21.86‏	‏14.82‏
‏80‏	‏Toronto‏	‏Canada‏	‏Partial‏	‏7.82‏	‏69.80‏	‏124.15‏	‏33.38‏	‏22.75‏
‏81‏	‏Denver‏	‏USA‏	‏Legal‏	‏7.79‏	‏42.54‏	‏20.53‏	‏9.06‏	‏6.20‏
‏82‏	‏Naples‏	‏Italy‏	‏Partial‏	‏7.75‏	‏75.68‏	‏29.82‏	‏7.40‏	‏5.08‏
‏83‏	‏Leeds‏	‏UK‏	‏Illegal‏	‏7.67‏	‏82.16‏	‏16.93‏	‏3.87‏	‏2.69‏
‏84‏	‏Seattle‏	‏USA‏	‏Legal‏	‏7.58‏	‏42.54‏	‏20.59‏	‏9.08‏	‏6.39‏
‏85‏	‏Madrid‏	‏Spain‏	‏Partial‏	‏7.47‏	‏78.09‏	‏93.40‏	‏22.45‏	‏16.01‏
‏86‏	‏Calgary‏	‏Canada‏	‏Partial‏	‏7.30‏	‏69.80‏	‏52.23‏	‏14.05‏	‏10.25‏
‏87‏	‏Luxembourg City‏	‏Luxembourg‏	‏Partial‏	‏7.26‏	‏70.24‏	‏1.62‏	‏0.43‏	‏0.32‏
‏88‏	‏San Jose‏	‏Costa Rica‏	‏Partial‏	‏7.23‏	‏69.76‏	‏7.84‏	‏2.11‏	‏1.56‏
‏89‏	‏Buenos Aires‏	‏Argentina‏	‏Partial‏	‏7.13‏	‏69.84‏	‏25.32‏	‏6.81‏	‏5.09‏
‏90‏	‏Brussels‏	‏Belgium‏	‏Partial‏	‏7.09‏	‏75.92‏	‏15.50‏	‏3.83‏	‏2.88‏
‏91‏	‏Santo Domingo‏	‏Dominican Rep.‏	‏Illegal‏	‏6.93‏	‏58.87‏	‏0.67‏	‏0.21‏	‏0.16‏
‏92‏	‏Graz‏	‏Austria‏	‏Partial‏	‏6.84‏	‏74.00‏	‏4.81‏	‏1.22‏	‏0.95‏
‏93‏	‏Budapest‏	‏Hungary‏	‏Illegal‏	‏6.74‏	‏77.26‏	‏7.70‏	‏1.87‏	‏1.48‏
‏94‏	‏Sofia‏	‏Bulgaria‏	‏Illegal‏	‏6.66‏	‏82.65‏	‏12.83‏	‏2.91‏	‏2.33‏
‏95‏	‏Ottawa‏	‏Canada‏	‏Partial‏	‏6.62‏	‏69.80‏	‏35.43‏	‏9.53‏	‏7.67‏
‏96‏	‏Vancouver‏	‏Canada‏	‏Partial‏	‏6.40‏	‏69.80‏	‏23.44‏	‏6.30‏	‏5.25‏
‏97‏	‏Sao Paulo‏	‏Brazil‏	‏Partial‏	‏6.38‏	‏64.94‏	‏68.55‏	‏19.81‏	‏16.55‏
‏98‏	‏Rotterdam‏	‏Netherlands‏	‏Partial‏	‏6.33‏	‏73.40‏	‏12.75‏	‏3.26‏	‏2.74‏
‏99‏	‏Ljubljana‏	‏Slovenia‏	‏Partial‏	‏6.32‏	‏80.41‏	‏3.43‏	‏0.80‏	‏0.67‏
‏100‏	‏Barcelona‏	‏Spain‏	‏Partial‏	‏6.23‏	‏78.09‏	‏39.59‏	‏9.51‏	‏8.14‏
‏101‏	‏Montreal‏	‏Canada‏	‏Partial‏	‏6.15‏	‏69.80‏	‏60.52‏	‏16.27‏	‏14.10‏
‏102‏	‏Kiev‏	‏Ukraine‏	‏Partial‏	‏6.00‏	‏74.78‏	‏14.73‏	‏3.70‏	‏3.28‏
‏103‏	‏Abuja‏	‏Nigeria‏	‏Illegal‏	‏5.88‏	‏20.63‏	‏7.40‏	‏6.73‏	‏6.10‏
‏104‏	‏Lima‏	‏Peru‏	‏Partial‏	‏5.88‏	‏37.83‏	‏12.28‏	‏6.09‏	‏5.52‏
‏105‏	‏Mexico City‏	‏Mexico‏	‏Partial‏	‏5.87‏	‏65.87‏	‏22.58‏	‏6.43‏	‏5.84‏
‏106‏	‏Cape Town‏	‏South Africa‏	‏Illegal‏	‏5.82‏	‏48.80‏	‏2.47‏	‏0.95‏	‏0.87‏
‏107‏	‏Karachi‏	‏Pakistan‏	‏Illegal‏	‏5.32‏	‏60.70‏	‏135.48‏	‏41.89‏	‏41.95‏
‏108‏	‏Manila‏	‏Philippines‏	‏Illegal‏	‏5.24‏	‏74.27‏	‏2.32‏	‏0.59‏	‏0.60‏
‏109‏	‏Rio de Janeiro‏	‏Brazil‏	‏Partial‏	‏5.11‏	‏64.94‏	‏28.82‏	‏8.33‏	‏8.69‏
‏110‏	‏Mumbai‏	‏India‏	‏Partial‏	‏4.57‏	‏60.39‏	‏89.38‏	‏27.78‏	‏32.38‏
‏111‏	‏New Delhi‏	‏India‏	‏Partial‏	‏4.38‏	‏60.39‏	‏101.20‏	‏31.45‏	‏38.26‏
‏112‏	‏Antwerp‏	‏Belgium‏	‏Partial‏	‏4.29‏	‏75.92‏	‏4.10‏	‏1.01‏	‏1.26‏
‏113‏	‏Astana‏	‏Kazakhstan‏	‏Illegal‏	‏4.22‏	‏39.29‏	‏1.78‏	‏0.85‏	‏1.07‏
‏114‏	‏Montevideo‏	‏Uruguay‏	‏Legal‏	‏4.15‏	‏66.75‏	‏19.54‏	‏5.50‏	‏7.06‏
‏115‏	‏Johannesburg‏	‏South Africa‏	‏Illegal‏	‏4.01‏	‏48.80‏	‏3.76‏	‏1.45‏	‏1.92‏
‏116‏	‏Panama City‏	‏Panama‏	‏Illegal‏	‏3.85‏	‏56.52‏	‏0.81‏	‏0.27‏	‏0.37‏
‏117‏	‏Jakarta‏	‏Indonesia‏	‏Illegal‏	‏3.79‏	‏53.40‏	‏1.92‏	‏0.68‏	‏0.95‏
‏118‏	‏Asuncion‏	‏Paraguay‏	‏Partial‏	‏2.22‏	‏16.00‏	‏0.16‏	‏0.19‏	‏0.46‏
‏119‏	‏Bogota‏	‏Colombia‏	‏Partial‏	‏2.20‏	‏49.44‏	‏15.80‏	‏6.00‏	‏14.53‏
‏120‏	‏Quito‏	‏Ecuador‏	‏Partial‏	‏1.34‏	‏70.39‏	‏0.56‏	‏0.15‏	‏0.60‏

‏Methodology‏

‏Selection of the cities:‏

‏To select the cities for the study, Seedo first looked at the top and bottom cannabis consuming countries around the world. Then they analysed nations where marijuana is partially or completely legal, as well as illegal, and selected the final list of 120 cities in order to best offer a representative comparison of the global cannabis price. ‏

‏Data:‏

● ‏Price per gram, US$ ‏ ‏- Crowdsourced city-level surveys adjusted to World Drug Report 2017 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.‏

● ‏Taxes on Cigarettes, % of the most sold brand‏ ‏ – Taxes as a percentage of the retail price of the most sold brand (total tax). ‏ ‏Source‏ ‏: Appendix 2 of the WHO report on the global tobacco epidemic, 2015.‏

● ‏Annual possible tax collection is calculated in the following way: ‏

● ‏Total_Possible_Tax=Population_City*Prevalence*Avg_Consumption_year_gr*price*tax_level, where:‏

● ‏Population: latest available local population data sources.‏

● ‏Annual Prevalence (percentage of population, having used weed in the year). Source: World Drug Report 2017 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime‏

● ‏Average Consumption of weed per year in grams (people who consumed weed at least once in the previous year). ‏

● ‏Estimation, with the assumption, that one use of weed on average means one joint. ‏

● ‏One joint is assumed to have 0.66 grams of weed as in the paper of Mariani, Brooks, Haney and Levin (2010). ‏

● ‏The distribution of use during the year is assumed to be the same as in Zhao and Harris (2004), where the yearly usage varies from once or twice a year to everyday.‏

● ‏Total Consumption in Tons‏

● ‏Consumption=Population*Prevalence*Consumption_year_gr‏

● ‏Population: latest available local population data sources.‏

● ‏Annual Prevalence (percentage of population, having used weed in the year). ‏ ‏Source‏ ‏: World Drug Report 2017 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime‏

● ‏Average Consumption of weed per year in grams (people who consumed weed at least once in the previous year).‏

● ‏Estimation, with the assumption, that one use of weed on average means one joint. ‏

● ‏One joint is assumed to have 0.66 grams of weed as in the paper of Mariani, Brooks, Haney and Levin (2010). ‏

● ‏The distribution of use during the year is assumed to be the same as in Zhao and Harris (2004), where the yearly usage varies from once or twice a year to everyday. ‏

● ‏US tax level ‏ ‏- Average tax level in the states of US where weed is legal: Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. Includes retail sales taxes, state taxes, local taxes and excise taxes.‏

● ‏Legality‏

○ ‏Legal, if possession and selling for recreational and medical use is legal.‏

○ ‏Illegal, if possession and selling for recreational and medical use is illegal.‏

○ ‏Partial, if ‏

■ ‏Possession of small amounts is decriminalised (criminal penalties lessened, fines and regulated permits may still apply)‏

■ ‏OR medicinal use legal‏

■ ‏OR possession is legal, selling illegal‏

■ ‏OR scientific use legal‏

■ ‏OR usage allowed in restricted areas (e.g. homes or coffee shops)‏

■ ‏OR local laws may apply to legality (e.g. illegal at federal level, legal at state level)‏

‏First quote: Based on New York City Council’s free lunch initiative which began in September 2017, with 1.1 million public school children, at a cost of $1.75 per child per day.‏

Sci-Tech

High Tech Houseplants That grow air

January 15, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

Clairy is an astounding handcrafted object that monitors your indoor air quality and when VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds such as cigarettes, solvents, pesticides, copy machine chemicals etc.) levels are bad, eliminates pollution in your home. It makes you and your beloved ones breathe better and live better. It is much more than a pretty houseplant.

How is that possible?

Following an 80s NASA Clean Air Program research project, Clairy uses the power of specific species of plants to trap the air pollutants into their roots. That’s why it doesn’t need filters: the plant is the filter!

Clairy has also tech sensors that communicate with an app, so you can check directly the levels of humidity, temperature, and VOCs of your home with your smartphone.

What makes Clairy so beautiful?

It’s 100% Made in Italy by the artisans of Nove, near Vicenza, where the techniques of working with ceramics have been transmitted from father to son for centuries.

You can choose from four different colors: Corallo, Alabastro, Acquamarina and Blu Mare.

You should also consider our Premium Edition, Nero and Rame, made with the special technique called “Terzo Fuoco”. A masterpiece of Italian design you must have in your home. Holiday time is approaching, and we all want to give a gift that can be beautiful and useful at the same time. Clairy is the answer. For the Silo, Andrea Passador.

Vintage

Warhol, Lichtenstein Art Auction look back

January 11, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

Almost one decade ago: Andy Warhol’s “Endangered Species and Ads” prints bring a combined $677,000 USD alone at this notable Modern and Contemporary Art event.

Two complete portfolios by Andy Warhol, Endangered Species, 1983 and Ads, 1985, sold for $338,500 USD each to far exceed their estimates among a field of fresh-to-market iconic works during Heritage Auctions’ $2.9 million USD Modern and Contemporary Art Signature® Auction, May 22 in Dallas.

The auction sold 90% by value and 78% by lot.

Close up of one of the ten screenprints up for auction by ANDY WARHOL (American, 1928-1987)
Ads, 1985
Portfolio of ten screenprints on Lenox Museum Board
38 x 38 inches (96.5 x 96.5 cm)
Ed. 50/190
Each signed and numbered in pencil
Printed by Rupert Jasen Smith, New York
Published by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., New York
PROVENANCE:
Private collection, Texas
LITERATURE:
Feldman & Schellmann, II.350-359
Warhol, Andy:. American painter, photographer, filmaker and publisher, 1928-1987

ANDY WARHOL (American, 1928-1987)

Ads, 1985

Portfolio of ten screenprints on Lenox Museum Board

38 x 38 inches (96.5 x 96.5 cm)

Ed. 50/190

Each signed and numbered in pencil

Printed by Rupert Jasen Smith, New York

Published by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc., New York

PROVENANCE:

Private collection, Texas

LITERATURE:

Feldman & Schellmann, II.350-359

Warhol, Andy: American painter, photographer, filmaker and publisher, 1928-1987

Condition Report*:

With original Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc. cardboard portfolio box and index print. All screenprints unframed and in good condition with specifics listed below. Mobil: Minor rubbing 3/8″ in due to former frame. A few incidental surface scratches and rubs. One 5/8″ abrasion, resulting in very minor loss. Paramount: Minor rubbing 3/8′ to 1/2″ due to former frame. Very minor bumping to bottom right corner. Chanel: 1/2″ to 1″ light rubbing due to former frame. Slate purple backgrund has hazy toning, beginning about 1/4″ in. Apple: Very minor incidental rubbing to edge. Rebel Without A Cause (James Dean); Van Heusen (Ronald Reagan); Blackglama (Judy Garland): All have only very minor edgewear. Volkswagen; Life Savers: Very minor surface rubbing and edgewear. Donald Duck: Very minor edgewear. Top corners have minor wear. Light handling creases. Some wrinkling and an indentation at end of signature. Left side center shows some moderate wrinkling and creases with some minor loss, beginning at 11″ from the bottom up to 24″, and affecting 3″ into the work. The face and body of Donald Duck is affected somewhat, as well as the background near edge. Light wear in top left corner and a small abrasion on middle right side. Unframed

Two works by Ed Ruscha responded well among buyers as his gunpowder on paper titled Rustic Pines, 1967, realized $290,500 USD and a color screenprint, Double Standard, 1969, sold for $182,500 USD , setting a record for the work. Mel Ramos’ Georgia Peach, 1964, fresh from a Texas collection, sold for $158,500 USD.

“The market for good contemporary art doesn’t seem to have hit any ceiling,” said Frank Hettig, Director of Modern and Contemporary Art at Heritage. “Our focus is presenting fantastic, fresh-to-market discoveries and bidders certainly responded in kind. It gives us high expectations for our November 2 Modern and Contemporary auction in Dallas.”

Among the modern masterpieces in the auction, the magnificent, 7-foot Cobalt Chandelier, 2003, by Dale Chihuly reached $158,500 USD. It is the largest Chihuly chandelier to appear on the secondary market and was offered through a federal court-appointed receivership overseeing the sale of assets previously owned by R. Allen Stanford of Stanford Financial Group.

Forms in Space by Lichtenstein earned $53,125.

Roy Lichtenstein’s Forms in Space, 1985, a screenprint published by the artist for the Institute of Contemporary Art’s Rally round the Flag benefit, achieved $53,125 USD and Georges Rouault’s Chemineau, 1937, realized $40,625 USD.

Here’s a look at what some Lichtenstein’s other pieces sold for.

Sculptural art performed well as Étienne Hajdu’s La Mer, 1964, sold for $35,000 USD and Pablo Picasso’s Vase deux anses hautes, 1953, sold for $30,000 USD while Robert Graham’s Frieze Figure I-G, 1989/1990, brought $21,250 USD.

So what is that Volkswagen Warhol worth today in 2021? It’s hard to pen the value but in Spring 2019 one single print ad brought 30,000 UK Pounds ( 52,000 $ CAD) in a Christie’s auction.

ROY LICHTENSTEIN (American, 1923-1997)

Forms in Space, 1985

Screenprint in colors on Rives BFK paper

31 x 47-1/2 inches (78.7 x 120.7 cm)

Ed. 35/125

Signed, dated and numbered in pencil

LITERATURE:

Corlett, 217

NOTE:

Published by the artist for the Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.

Forms in Space has been created especially in honor of ICA’s benefit, Rally round the Flag (label on frame verso) .

Lichtenstein, Roy:. American painter, printmaker; born 1923 in New York City, died 1997 in New York City

Condition Report*:

Sheet: 35.75 x 51.5 A crease in upper center at extreme sheet edge; small pressure mark at lower right corner; lower right corner lightly bumped; paper lightly undulates; framed. Framed Dimensions 36.25 X 52.5 Inches

Supplemental- Apple logo designer dishes on history http://www.macworld.com/article/1142322/logo_design.html

Culture

Being In Canada 54 Years And Involved In Social Change

January 2, 2021 The Silo Leave a comment

This year, I have been in Canada 54 years. It is difficult to define what I need to do but I have to be more active, more involved in positive social change…….The state of Trumpism gnaws at me.

A few years ago, during March 2017, about 40 of my photographs (1967 – 1974) of Toronto’s Baldwin St. were exhibited at the Toronto Arts & Letters Club. I recently spoke at the Club about my experience as an immigrant in 1967 with a draft dodger avoiding the Vietnam War.

In Feb. of that same year, I was fortunate enough to have exhibited photographs at Unlovable Gallery that John Phillips (my ex-husband and late husband) and I took of the American Civil Rights Movement. Last year, I gave a slide presentation at the Women’s Art Association on Canadian women photographers who worked between 1865 -1915. Three projects – war resisters, civil rights, and feminism.

My son, Bennett Jones Phillips, and his partner, Lisa Pereira are in the process of creating a record store on Baldwin St. and I am going to have an exhibition space- provided the current Covid epidemic is managed, controlled and finally defeated. (I had a gallery in the past on Baldwin). Here is a chance to be more active and socially involved. My plan includes an expanded “coming to Canada” exhibit with blow ups of my and John’s photos and some pages of John’s FBI file and underground papers. It looks like the space will be a shipping container. The opening event will likely include having a tent in the former Silverstein Bakery parking lot and having music, poetry, and a 60’s feel with Baldwin Street history – Irish, Jewish, Chinese, and American immigration being part of the opening focus.

There are lots of possibilities. I am very open to ideas and involvement of other people. So what do you think? Cheers, Laura Jones.

Culture

Big Money! When North America’s Most Expensive Home Was For Sale

December 11, 2020 The Silo 2 Comments

In 2016, the most expensive home on the U.S. market was in Manalapan, Florida and priced then at USD$195 million. Let’s take a look back in this feature via our friends at TopTenRealEstateDeals.com. as North America’s elite homes get more elaborate and expensive every year.

The mansion that was at the top of the price list a year earlier in 2015 near Fort Lauderdale, Florida was priced at USD$159 million and came with its own IMAX theater, a USD$2 million staircase and an entry gate decorated with 22-karat gold leaf. This year, Southern California has the #2 home on the market at USD$150 million with 38,000 square feet that was built on the site of Barbara Streisand’s former estate in Holmby Hills. In third place is Palazzo di Amore on 25 acres in Beverly Hills with 12 bedrooms and 23 baths at USD$149 million. An 11-acre estate in the Hamptons comes in at #4 for USD$140 million.

In 2016, Florida again claimed the top for-sale spot with the Gemini Estate near Palm Beach at USD$195 million. Designed by architect Marion Sims Wyeth and built in the 1940s for the Lambert pharmaceutical family (“Listerine kills germs that cause bad breath”), the Gemini estate was eventually sold to high-society couple Loel and Gloria Guinness as a winter retreat. It was purchased by the current owners, the Ziff publishing family, in the 1980s and underwent a four-year expansion and reconstruction that was completed in 2003.

Sited on almost 16 acres on a barrier island in Manalapan with over 1,500 varieties of tropical trees and plants acting as a nature preserve and privacy hedge from coastal highway traffic, the estate stretches from its 1,200 feet of Atlantic Ocean beachfront to 1,300 feet on the Intracoastal Waterway. The coral-clad main residence with over 62,000 square feet includes 12 bedrooms, 12 baths, two libraries, golf trophy room, kitchen with hand-painted tiles and three dishwashers.

Also, a seven-bedroom home named Mango House, a manager’s house with four apartments and two four-bedroom beach cottages with private quarters for extended family and friends. Grounds are thoughtfully planned with both activity and relaxation in mind. A sports complex offers a half basketball court, tennis court, practice golf course with two greens, a swimming pool surrounded by cultivated jungle, treehouse and butterfly garden, miniature golf course, a wide deserted beach and a boat dock with ocean access. A tunnel with its own living room and fireplace runs under South Ocean Boulevard to connect the mansion with the estate’s guest house and boat dock on the Intracoastal Waterway. Overall, the property totals almost 85,000 square feet of living space with 33 bedrooms and 47 baths.

The walled compound can be self-sufficient with two generators, gas pumps and propane tanks. America’s most expensive home is listed by Joseph Liguori of Premier Estate Properties in Boca Raton, Florida at USD$195 million. For the Silo, Terry Walsh.

Sci-Tech

5G Technology And Induction Of Coronavirus Into Skin Cells

December 11, 2020 The Silo Leave a comment

NOTE- the journal paper was retracted by the author a few days after receiving publication. We do not hold that the paper is factual or not, only that the content is interesting and deserves speculative consideration.

In this research, we show that 5G millimeter waves could be absorbed by dermatologic cells acting like antennas, transferred to other cells and play the main role in producing Coronaviruses in biological cells. DNA is built from charged electrons and atoms and has an inductor-like structure. This structure could be divided into linear, toroid and round inductors. Inductors interact with external electromagnetic waves, move and produce some extra waves within the cells. The shapes of these waves are similar to
shapes of hexagonal and pentagonal bases of their DNA source. These waves produce some holes in liquids within the nucleus. To fill these holes, some extra hexagonal and pentagonal bases are produced.

These bases could join to each other and form virus-like structures such as Coronavirus. To produce these viruses within a cell, it is necessary that the wavelength of external waves be shorter than the size of the cell. Thus 5G millimeter waves could be good candidates for applying in constructing virus-like structures such as Coronaviruses (COVID-19) within cells.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is the main problem this year involving the entire world (1- see full PDF below).

This is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus. This virus is a member of related viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans, coronaviruses cause respiratory tract infections that can be mild, such as some cases of the common cold (among other possible causes, predominantly rhinoviruses), and others that can be lethal, such as SARS, MERS, and COVID-19.

Among them, COVID-19 is an enveloped virus with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome and a nucleocapsid of helical symmetry. The genome size of coronaviruses ranges from approximately 27 to 34 kilobases, the largest among known RNA viruses (2, 3 see full PDF below). To date, many scientists have tried to find a method to cure this disease (4, 5 see full PDF below); however, without success.

COVID-19 may have effects on different types of cells. For example, it has been argued that this virus may have some effects on dermatologic cells (6 see full PDF below). On the other hand, it has been known that some waves in 5G technology have direct effects on the skin cells (7 see full PDF below).

Thus, there are some similarities between effects of COVID-19 and waves in 5G technology.

A new question arises regarding a relationship between 5G technology and COVID-19. The 5G technology is the fifth-generation mobile technology in which its frequency spectrum could be divided into millimeter waves, mid-band, and low-band. To find out how this may cause the creation of COVID-19 in human cells continue here to read the full PDF.

Silo article via – Biolife 0393-974X (2020)
Copyright © by BIOLIFE, s.a.s.
This publication and/or article is for individual use only and may not be further reproduced without written permission from the copyright holder.
Unauthorized reproduction may result in financial and other penalties
DISCLOSURE: ALL AUTHORS REPORT NO CONFLICTS OF
INTEREST RELEVANT TO THIS ARTICLE. 3
JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL REGULATORS & HOMEOSTATIC AGENTS Vol. 34, no. 4, xx-xx (2020)

Dr Massimo Fioranelli,
Department of Nuclear,
Sub-nuclear and Radiation Physics,
Guglielmo Marconi University,
Via Plinio 44-00193, Rome, Italy
e-mail: [email protected]
5G Technology and induction of coronavirus in skin cells
M. Fioranelli1, A. Sepehri1, M.G. Roccia1, M. Jafferany2, O. Yu. Olisova3,
K.M. Lomonosov3 and T. Lotti1,3
1Department of Nuclear, Sub-nuclear and Radiation Physics, G. Marconi University, Rome, Italy;
2Central Michigan Saginaw, Michigan , USA; 3Department of Dermatology and Venereology, I.M.
Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia

Gaming

How Videogames Are Classified As Age Appropriate

December 2, 2020 The Silo Leave a comment

Christmas is coming and kids across Canada and the World will be telling their parents, and Santa Claus himself, about the latest and greatest video game excitement they want under the tree on the big day. Buying age-appropriate videogames can be a daunting proposition but a great place to start if you’re feeling overwhelmed is the Entertainment Software Rating Board’s video game classification system, a series of easy-to-use ratings designed to help parents pick out the right games for their kids.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board was established by the video game industry in 1994 to provide age-based purchasing guidelines for games. ESRB rankings, which are used in both Canada and the United States, have been applied to nearly 20,000 individual video game titles since then, making it easier to decide what to bring home by providing a snapshot of what’s in the box.

The ESRB assigns virtually every video game on the market one of four rankings: E (Everyone), T (Teen), M (Mature) and AO (Adults Only.) The E rating indicates that a game is suitable for all players, while games rated T are considered appropriate for gamers aged 13 and up. Games with an M rating are for players who are at least 17 years old, and AO games are reserved for those of at least 18 years of age and generally aren’t sold by mainstream retailers. Age ratings are prominently displayed on the front of the game box, while “content descriptors” on the back provide details about specific game content, like alcohol and drug references, mature humour, strong language and violence.

ESRB ratings are a fantastic tool and studies by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission have consistently shown that the video game industry boasts better rating compliance than any other entertainment medium in North America- better, even, than MPAA ratings for movies. But ultimately, only parents can decide what their kids should play. Not sure about what they’re asking for? Check the box and then make the call.

To learn more about video game ratings, have a look at the Rating Board’s website where you can also access a detailed list of all currently-rated games. For the Silo, Andy Chalk.

Gaming

Canadians Playing Way More Video Games During COVID

November 19, 2020 The Silo 2 Comments

With his controller in hand and a hockey game already in progress on the screen

Jayson Hilchie - Entertainment Software Association of Canada

Culture

Protect Your Belongings With Self Storage

November 16, 2020 The Silo Leave a comment

A person standing in front of a box

Description automatically generated

People often store their belongings because they want to use them at a later time. However, keeping your items in your garage, crawlspace, or any other makeshift storage areas in your home can compromise your belongings and your overall organization and indoor air quality.

Instead of turning your home into a storage facility, consider saving space and protecting your items by keeping them in a self-storage unit. This option is a much better alternative to storing your items at your home in a shed or garage.

When you store your items outside, you have no control over the rising and dropping temperature. You won’t even know how these temperatures impact your belongings until you reach for something, and it’s not working anymore.

The good news is that there are many spacious, climate controlled storage units in Canada available so that you can store your belongings without compromising them or your space. Consider how keeping your items in a self-storage unit can not only benefit you but benefit your belongings.

Store Items in a Controlled Climate

When you store your items outside in your garage or shed, you can’t regulate the storage temperature. Keep your things in a climate-controlled self-storage facility so that you can have peace of mind knowing that they are being stored at regulated temperatures.

You’d be surprised how many things you need to store in a cool area. Climate control plays an essential role in protecting your belongings like artwork, electronics, paperwork, and furniture, which can be compromised by humid or freezing temperatures. Properly storing your belongings in a space with regulated temperature can also help to extend their overall lifespan.

A large brick building with a tiled floor

Description automatically generated

Create More Space & Improve Air Quality

Clutter is not just an eyesore. Storing your items close together can cause them to scratch and damage one another. Even more importantly, packing items so close together can impact the air quality of a space, which can compromise your belongings’ integrity.

When items are packed together in a small area, there is no air-flow. Poor ventilation causes humidity, moisture build-up, and condensation. All of which can damage electronic items internally and the external surfaces of furniture.

Cluttered furniture, appliances, and other devices can also trap and hold dust. This dust can build on your furniture and trigger allergies in those living in the space. Like humans, our belongings need space to thrive.

Protect Items During a Renovation

Home renovations are exciting, but the dirt, dust, and contractors in and out of your house are often overwhelming. When you are doing a home renovation project, protect your existing belongings by storing them in self-storage.

This way, you can protect your things from dirt and dust build-up and prevent damage from tools, fallen objects, and movement. You move around furniture so much during a renovation that it is better to move the furniture out of the way entirely. Utilizing self-storage to store items will also help create more space for you and your contractors to work.

Maintain Security & Privacy

Maintain the privacy of your items while you are protecting them from wear and tear. Your self-storage unit should offer security to ensure that your items are adequately protected and can only be accessed by you.

Choose a storage facility with state-of-the-art security features like passcodes and durable locks that can ensure your belongings’ safeguarding. For the Silo, Mila Urosevic.

Sci-Tech

Whole City COVID Testing Will Begin In Liverpool UK

November 12, 2020 The Silo 2 Comments

Pasadena, Calif. (November, 2020) – Innova Medical Group, Inc. (IMG) has partnered with the UK Government in its roll out of whole city screening and testing, beginning in Liverpool, with its INNOVA SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Qualitative Test Kits.

Innova Medical’s lateral flow antigen test uses nasal and throat swab samples to screen for infection, with highly accurate results in as little as 15-minutes. This test can be easily and safely administered anywhere, on both asymptomatic and symptomatic people, without costly delays and the need for a full-scale laboratory. With its low cost per test, about the same as a coffee and biscuit in London, at-risk populations and many with inequitable access to healthcare, can achieve peace-of-mind with a negative result. U.K. Government data showed the IMG rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen test screened asymptomatic individuals with 98.98 percent accuracy.

https://youtu.be/S2qRibNrBPs

Dr. Susan Hopkins, Incident Director at Public Health England, said, “The tests we are using in Liverpool are accurate, especially in finding people who are infectious at that moment in time and so are more likely to pass it on to others. Part of the purpose of working with Liverpool to roll out whole city testing is to better understand how these tests work in the field, improve understanding of why people get tested, and the impact of this approach on reducing the transmission rate.”

Using the National Health Service (NHS COVID-19) app, people can book a test and later input their test results.

Individuals taking part in the roll out of Operation Moonshot will be notified of positive or negative results by text or email. With this important test-and-trace system in place, public health authorities can diagnose cases, isolate infected patients, trace their contacts, and implement stringent infection control policies to reduce outbreaks.

With colder months and the holiday season ahead, the risk of virus transmission accelerates with more indoor gatherings and travel. If people do not know they have COVID-19, it is unlikely they will take precautions to prevent virus spread. Research studies show that to achieve disease control both asymptomatic, people who are infected but never develop symptoms, and pre-symptomatic, infected people who develop symptoms later, must be isolated.

Under Operation Moonshot, the UK Government hopes to flatten the curve by employing proactive, rather than reactive, measures in its COVID-19 response. Up to 1-in-5 United Kingdom coronavirus infections present with no symptoms, but they are still contagious. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says up to 40 percent of infected people are asymptomatic and should be tested if they have been exposed. Typically, a person develops symptoms 5 days after being infected; however, infectivity was found to be highest a day before symptom onset. After symptoms, such as a cough, fever, and shortness of breath, first appear, a person can remain contagious for at least ten days.

The Innova Rapid Antigen Test quickly identifies infectiousness. The lateral flow test can identify people with a high viral load who are the most likely to spread the virus. Daniel Elliott, President of Innova Medical Group, Inc., said, “Our lateral flow device incorporates a German nitrocellulose membrane partially composed of nanoparticles of colloidal gold. [ Colloidal gold is nanoparticles of gold in a liquid solution. These gold nanoparticles are coated in such a way that they detect Covid antibodies. CP ] This advanced, proprietary technology combined with our room temperature reagent, allows testing at point-of-care settings such as workplaces, universities, and airports.”

GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN AND PRODUCTION

Innova Medical Group Inc. offers a global supply chain including the innovative and respected firms, GE Healthcare (USA) and Sartorius (Germany). IMG secured exclusive manufacturing and distribution agreements for its best-in-class portfolio of screening and diagnostic tests. By the end of November 2020, IMG will produce millions of kits per day in its Brea, California plant, combined with activity from plants in other global locations. After being selected over a large number of submissions to take part in Operation Moonshot, IMG is also exploring options for production in the United Kingdom.

The Innova test carries a CE Marking indicating that this IVD device complies with the European In-Vitro Diagnostic Devices Directive (98/79/EC). This device may be legally commercialized in the European Union (EU). For the Silo, Julie R. Manley.

About Innova Medical Group

Innova Medical Group, Inc. (IMG), is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pasaca Capital (Pasadena, Calif.). IMG strategically pivoted and leveraged its expertise in Healthcare and Medical Devices to create an ecosystem to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Innova Medical Ecosystem is delivering millions of tests every day to satisfy the diverse, point-of-care requirements of the world’s governments, large corporations, and institutions. IMG offers a global supply chain including the innovative and respected firms, GE Healthcare (USA), and Sartorius (Germany). IMG secured exclusive manufacturing and distribution agreements for its best-in-class portfolio of screening and diagnostic tests. For more information, visit www.innovamedgroup.com.

Culture

Hope & Horror Of War Brought To Life At Canadian War Museum

November 10, 2020 The Silo Leave a comment

Every Remembrance Day I try to tour the Canadian War Museum – a mammoth exhibition of battle since earliest times. Each year, “lest I forget”, the photos and exhibits tell a story of fear and courage, sacrifice and survival, humanity, brutality, violence, and hatred.

Early combat was limited to the distance you could throw a spear, fire an arrow or swing a club. Armour was made of wood. Much of war consisted of ambush and surprise. Today, though Canada’s military still use snowshoe and canoe, they not only prepare for ambush, but also for nuclear threat.

The War Museum describes 150 years of French-British conflict in North America, ending in the Seven Year’s War and the British conquest of Canada.

CanadianWarMuseum2 — The Canadian War Museum

Then in 1775, American anger exploded into revolution – creating two countries in North America. For Americans, their invasions of Canada during the American Revolution and War of 1812 are considered minor campaigns. Yet north of the border, they were struggles for survival.

Canadian forces went abroad in 1899 and again in 1914 to fight wars as part of the British Empire. One thousand volunteers fought in South Africa; 620,000 fought World War I.

In 1914 Europe was a powder keg. Opposing alliances and secret treaties divided the heavily armed great powers. After the assassination of Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand, countries rushed to settle old scores or to support allies. Britain, France and Russia stood against Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey. The rest of the world was dragged into a war that killed nine million and destroyed empires.

The War Museum focuses on the trenches of France and Belgium from 1915 to 1918, and the battles of the Somme, Vimy, Passchendale and the Hundred Days. Systems of fortified trenches stretched the length of the Western Front. Frontal assaults led to tremendous casualties. It was a long, bloody war.

In the 1930’s, Germany, Italy and Japan became aggressive dictatorships. The leading democracies – Britain, France, and the United States – tried to negotiate adopting a policy of appeasement. But the dictators responded with even more aggression.

War Museum exhibits cover Adolf Hitler and the rise of fascism, including an infamous Mercedes limousine used by Hitler at Nazi rallies. As World War II became a reality, Canada was the first Commonwealth country to send troops to Britain in 1939 – by the end of the conflict, 1.1 million Canadians served. Museum exhibits cover boots on the ground, as well as the costly Battle of the Atlantic where Canadians sunk 50 enemy submarines. The story of Canada’s air war is told, as well as our involvement in the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan – much of which took place at local airfields.

The Second World War alliance of the Soviet Union and the Western democracies was short lived. Opposing world views, and territorial disputes deteriorated into the Cold War of 40 years.

Communist North Korea’s invasion of South Korea in 1950 sparked a three-year war that killed or wounded 3.5 million.

And Canadians have gone on to serve in NATO, NORAD, the United Nations, the Persian Gulf, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.

The War Museum is well worth the visit.

It reminds us that history is filled with both horror and hope.

History is not only the story you read, it is the one you remember.

We will remember! For the Silo by MPP Toby Barrett

Culture

The Strength Of The Past And Its Great Might

November 8, 2020 The Silo 2 Comments

Within the last generation, archaeology has undergone a major transformation, developing from an independent small-scale activity, based upon museums and a few university departments, into a large-scale state organization based upon national legislation.

This has entailed an increase in resources on an unprecedented scale, and has drastically changed the profile of archaeology, which is now firmly fixed within the political and national domains. Moreover, decision making within the discipline has shifted from museums and university departments towards various new national agencies for the conservation and protection of the cultural heritage.

The consequences of this development for the discipline as a whole had remained largely unnoticed until …..click here to read the complete electronic essay by Kristian Kristiansen University of Gothenburg.

Also available via our friends at academia.edu

Earth

The Canada Goose

November 6, 2020 The Silo Leave a comment

CANADA GOOSE aka Branta canadensis

The Giant Canada Goose is one of the most common and widespread species of goose in North America. It is most easily identified by its brownish-grey body, long black neck with a black head, and white patches on the face.

Canada Geese live around ponds, rivers and lake shores, and have become quite a common sight in parks. It’s hard to believe that they were nearly extinct in the 1960’s!

Geese feed mostly on land and frequently spend 12 hours a day or more feeding. Their diet consists of a variety of grasses, aquatic vegetation, and various grains.

Canada geese find mates during their second year and once paired, the geese remain together for life. Females usually return to the same nesting area each year.

Although an increasing number of Canada Geese are choosing to winter in Canada, especially in urban areas, the majority fly south to the United States and even Mexico

The spectacle of Canada Geese migrating in long, honking, irregular “V” formations across spring or autumn skies is one of the most dramatic indications of the change of seasons in Canada. For the Silo, Dixie Greenwood.

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It’s been almost sixty years since Marvel introduced the comic character Thor.

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This begs the question of “what is a climate scientist doing dabbling in Canada’s domestic affairs on carbon taxes, pushing a carbon tax that is 21 times that of the world,” says Friends of Science Society.

Michael Moore’s recent movie “Planet of the Humans” revealed how this green crony capitalism is destroying the planet for no climate benefit.

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Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is the main problem this year involving the entire world (1- see full PDF below).

Thus, there are some similarities between effects of COVID-19 and waves in 5G technology.

Store Items in a Controlled Climate

Create More Space & Improve Air Quality

Protect Items During a Renovation

Maintain Security & Privacy

Using the National Health Service (NHS COVID-19) app, people can book a test and later input their test results.

GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN AND PRODUCTION

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