Rich, Educated Men Drink the Most: OECD Study

That ol' supply and demand thing'll getcha every time. JL

Fox News reports:

But wealthy women and poor men are most likely to abuse alcohol or take part in “hazardous drinking,” says the study.

At Silicon Valley's Very First Fashion Week Flying Pants Seem Normal

We hesitate to inquire too closely about what is meant by 'normal.' JL

Josh Lowensohn reports in The Verge:

This is not a traditional fashion show, and we are where new technologies are being imagined. Today it's human models. Tomorrow, robots. Or something like that. Basically, people just want to see drones carrying sparkling shirts. Can your pants become drums? Yes, Yes they can.

Smartphones Will Soon Recognize Faces and Other Visual Images

The impact is expected to be beneficial. Mostly. JL

Tom Simonite reports in MIT Technology Review:

Making mobile devices more intelligent could temper the privacy implications of some apps by reducing the volume of personal data such as photos transmitted off a device.“You want the intelligence to filter out the raw data and only send the important information to the cloud"

Facebook Presses Vendors to Increase Pay, Benefits for Contract Workers

Silicon Valley is responding to increasing public commentary about the gap between the 'improving the world' pronouncements it tends to spout and the conditions under which many of its employees and contractors labor.

Matching rhetoric and reality is always a good strategy. JL

Deepa Seetharaman reports in the Wall Street Journal:

Wages of $15 an hour, 15 paid days off annually for holidays, sick leave and vacation. Facebook will also require new parents receive a $4,000 bonus if they don’t get paid parental leave.Facebook expects to bear the cost of the new standards as vendors increase their rates.

Walmart Challenges Amazon Prime With Unlimited Shipping For $50: But Will Economically Struggling Customers Care?

Walmart and Amazon are becoming the world's dominant retailers, which means they are competing for every advantage. Amazon Prime generates fees and locks customers into their network. Walmart is now offering a similar service - for half the price.

That could be a devastating advantage - but its not clear that Walmart's core customer cares - or can afford it even if they do. JL

George Anderson reports in Forbes:

When you are used to routinely spending $50 or more on dinner  it’s easy to forget that there are lots of Americans trying to feed a family of four for a week on that same $50. For lots of Walmart customers, that’s a lot of money to invest in an intangible future service.

In an Uber-Dominated World, How Come Notorius Billionaire Carl Icahn Is Investing $100 Mil in Lyft - And Calls It a Bargain?

The elbows in the ride sharing game just got a whole lot sharper.


Carl Icahn normally - if that word can be used to describe anything the notorious greenmailer does(now more politely called 'activist investor'). He usually takes a position in a large public company until management does things he wants. He has lately focused on tech, even Apple - not that he cares about innovation, that's just where the big money is.

More often than not, the stock price goes up and he makes money both from appreciation and from other inducements management may offer to make him go away. That he has invested in Lyft in the face of the Uber juggernaut suggests that he and others believe Lyft offers some upside - and that Uber is ripe for a fall. He and other billionaires the article below names missed the Uber opportunity. Aside from improving Lyft's prospects, it would surprise no one if it turns out Icahn shorted Uber before he bought into ride sharing. JL

Sarah Lacy reports in Pando Daily:

World’s most notorious sharp-elbowed, combative, activist shareholder invests in…. Silicon Valley’s most cuddly startup? Call it 'the enemy of Uber is my friend coalition.'

The Kendall Jenner Effect: How Social Media Is Changing Modeling

You were wondering why your phone had stopped ringing? JL

Marissa Muller reports in MTV News:

An increasing amount of brands are refusing to consider any models whose followers count dips below 10,000.