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Greg's hijack thread

Chobani: The yogurt company growing as fast as Google and Facebook - Postcards

How do you get from zero to $1 billion in revenue in five years?

Google (GOOG) did it by organizing the world's information.

Facebook (FB) did it by making the world more open and connected.

A hyper-growth trajectory, you might assume, requires a world-changing idea, brilliant programmers, and a Silicon Valley address.

Not necessarily. Hamdi Ulukaya borrowed $1 million to buy an 85-year-old factory in upstate New York, came up with a new recipe for an ancient product and took on Fortune 500 giants in a consumer category that most experts figured was locked up.

Five years after selling the first case of his Greek-style yogurt, Chobani, in October 2007, Ulukaya reached $1 billion in annual revenue. This kind of growth is unheard of, particularly for a startup, in the packaged-goods business?and rare in the tech world.

But Ulukaya has landed in the league of tech's fastest-growing companies--and can claim something that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google's Sergey Brin and Larry Page cannot: He owns 100% of his startup.

On Saturday night in Monte Carlo, Ulukaya, 41, was named Ernst & Young's World Entrepreneur of the Year, copping the grand prize in a competition that pitted him against 48 entrepreneurs whom E&Y designated tops in their own countries. Ulukaya's win was a surprise only because many of the 1,000 attendees at the professional services firms' annual confab guessed that the judges?successful entrepreneurs from across the globe?wouldn't bestow the top award on a U.S. founder. But Ulukaya, who emigrated from Turkey to America at 22, impressed the judges and everyone else with his up-from-nothing success story.

Over breakfast in Monte Carlo last Thursday, Ulukaya told me about growing up in a tiny village in eastern Turkey, working on his father's dairy farm and moving to the U.S. hoping to learn English and go to business school. New York City's hubbub overwhelmed him. So he moved upstate, took some classes at the Albany branch of the State University of New York, and started a wholesale feta cheese business called Euphrates.

Everything changed one day, a decade later, when Ulukaya opened a piece of mail that said: "Fully equipped yogurt factory for sale." Defying the advice of cautious friends and advisers, he borrowed just over $1 million from the SBA and Key Bank (KEY) to buy the Breyer's yogurt factory that plant Kraft Foods' (KFT) was shuttering. He recruited four workers from the plant and a "yogurt master" from Turkey and started work on creating the best-tasting, highest-quality yogurt.

Ulukaya has no serious business training, no corporate role models ("I never worked for anyone except my father.") and no investors except for himself. So it's natural that Chobani's strategy is based on instinct?the founder-CEO's. The organization is flat?"no layers," Ulukaya says. He employs 3,000 people in New York State and Idaho and at a dairy he bought in Australia. His corporate motto: "Nothing but good." From the start, Ulukaya has allocated 10% of Chobani's after-tax profits to philanthropy. Chobani's foundation is small but growing rapidly.

A billionaire at least on paper, Ulukaya says he longs to inspire other entrepreneurs to do some version of what he's doing?that is, make real stuff in real America. "I want to help bring entrepreneurship back to small towns, or else wealth will be only on the coasts," he says.

As for the glamorization of the tech and social-media crowd, he adds, "Who says you have to be a certain way to be a cool entrepreneur?"
 
How The Human Face Might Look In 100,000 Years | XFINITY Lifestyle Blog by Comcast

We?ve come a long way looks-wise from our homo sapien ancestors. Between 800,000 and 200,000 years ago, for instance, rapid changes in Earth climate coincided with a tripling in the size of the human brain and skull, leading to a flattening of the face. But how might the physiological features of human beings change in the future, especially as new, wearable technology like Google Glass change the way we use our bodies and faces? Artist and researcher Nickolay Lamm has partnered with a computational geneticist to research and illustrate what we might look like 20,000 years in the future, as well as 60,000 years and 100,000 years out. His full, eye-popping illustrations are at the bottom of this post.

Lamm says this is ?one possible timeline,? where, thanks to zygotic genome engineering technology, our future selves would have the ability to control human biology and human evolution in much the same way we control electrons to power our world today. (For a critique of the scientific assumptions behind Lamm?s hypothesis, see this post by Forbes reporter Matthew Herper.)

Lamm speaks of ?wresting control? of the human form from natural evolution and bending human biology to suit our needs. The illustrations were inspired by conversations with Dr. Alan Kwan, who holds a PhD in computational genomics from Washington University. UPDATE: Lamm?s project was also sponsored by the website MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, where he has a blog.

Kwan based his predictions on what living environments might look like in the future, climate and technological advancements. One of the big changes will be a larger forehead, Kwan predicts ? a feature that has already expanding since the 14th and 16th centuries. Scientists writing in the British Dental Journal have suggested that skull-measurement comparisons from that time show modern-day people have less prominent facial features but higher foreheads, and Kwan expects the human head to trend larger to accommodate a larger brain.

Kwan says that 60,000 years from now, our ability to control the human genome will also make the effect of evolution on our facial features moot. As genetic engineering becomes the norm, ?the fate of the human face will be increasingly determined by human tastes,? he says in a research document. Eyes will meanwhile get larger, as attempts to colonize Earth?s solar system and beyond see people living in the dimmer environments of colonies further away from the Sun than Earth. Similarly, skin will become more pigmented to lessen the damage from harmful UV radiation outside of the Earth?s protective ozone. Kwan expects people to have thicker eyelids and a more pronounced superciliary arch (the smooth, frontal bone of the skull under the brow), to deal with the effects of low gravity.

The remaining 40,000 years, or 100,000 years from now, Kwan believes the human face will reflect ?total mastery over human morphological genetics. This human face will be heavily biased towards features that humans find fundamentally appealing: strong, regal lines, straight nose, intense eyes, and placement of facial features that adhere to the golden ratio and left/right perfect symmetry,? he says.

Eyes will seem ?unnervingly large? ? as least from our viewpoint today ? and may feature eye-shine enhance low-light vision and even a sideways blink from re-constituted plica semilunaris to further protect human eyes from the disruptive effect of cosmic rays.

There will be other functional necessities: larger nostrils for easier breathing in off-planet environments, denser hair to contain heat loss from a larger head ? features which people may have to weigh up against their tastes for what?s genetically trendy at the time. Instead of just debating what to name a child as new parents do today, they might also have to decide if they want their children to carry the most natural expression of a couple?s DNA, such as their eye-color, teeth and other features they can genetically alter.

Excessive Borg-like technological implants would start to become untrendy, though, as people start to increasingly value that which makes us look naturally human. That ?will be ever more important to us in an age where we have the ability to determine any feature,? Kwan says.

Wearable technology will still be around, but in far more subtle forms. Instead of Google Glass and iWatch, people will seek discrete implants that preserve the natural human look ? think communication lenses (a technologically souped up version of today?s contacts) and miniature bone-conduction devices implanted above the ear. These might have imbedded nano-chips that communicate to another separate device to chat with others or for entertainment.

The bird?s eye view of human beings in 100,000 years will be people who want to be wirelessly plugged in, Kwan says, but with minimal disruption to what may then be perceived as the ?perfect? human face.
 
Tom Hanks Posts Graphic Video of His Elbow Surgery

Tom Hanks Posts Graphic Video of His Elbow Surgery?It's Pretty Gross (and Funny)!

TMI, Tom Hanks!

The two-time Oscar winner underwent a procedure to relieve bursitis (the build-up of fluid) in his elbow yesterday?and he recorded the whole thing and put it on WhoSay !

And yes, it's gross...

But also funny, thanks to Hanks' trademark sense of humor.

"My elbow is being drained," the currently mustachioed actor, lying on his stomach, said by way of setting the scene as his doctor approached with a syringe. "What does it look like?"

"Red," the doctor replied. "Red stuff," Hanks echoed. "Hey, I don't feel a thing."

"Another syringe," he continued to narrate. "Two syringes! How 'bout that? Double-barreled. Look at the fill-up. Look at that, baby! There you go...Yowzas."

"Is it blood, or is it just blood y?" Hanks inquired. "Just blood y," the doctor said.

"I had bursitis," Hanks explained to the camera, "not to be confused with lumbago."

That's OK, Tom, we won't.

Warning: There will be blood! This video is not for the squeamish?so if you just want to hear Tom cracking jokes, crank up the volume and look the other way...

Tom Hanks Pictures, Videos, Bio on WhoSay
 
these little guys are going to make it big i think. i hope.
 

Script submitted by a 10 year old fan
 
Medieval Church Repurposed As Stunning Modern Bookstore | Design on GOOD

Medieval Church Repurposed As Stunning Modern Bookstore


In Maastricht, a medieval city located in the southern part of the Netherlands, architects Merkx + Girod have managed to find a way to reopen and repurpose an abandoned church as a breathtaking bookstore without damaging or disrupting the building?s historic elements: Meet Selexyz Dominicanen.
 
maniclion said:
so what are the rules?? Worst mobile site ever, just a blurb about texting and no content...
Click to expand...

It's the video clip. Maybe you can figure out what those women mean- I couldn't.
 
thats kinda crazy ^^^^


I'm skipping the gym and eating a huge ass bag of peanut m&m's tonight

thats it...thats all I've got
 
Ancient Egyptian Statue Moves | Egyptian Statue Moving on its Own | LiveScience

An ancient Egyptian statue appears to have started moving on its own, much to the amazement of scientists and museum curators.

The statue of Neb-Senu, believed to date to 1800 B.C., is housed in the Manchester Museum in England ? at least for now. But if the statue keeps moving, there's no telling where it will end up.

"I noticed one day that it had turned around," museum curator Campbell Price told the Manchester Evening News. "I thought it was strange because it is in a case and I am the only one who has a key.

"I put it back, but then the next day it had moved again," Price said. "We set up a time-lapse video and, although the naked eye can't see it, you can clearly see it rotate." [In Photos: Ancient Egyptian Skeletons Unearthed]

The 10-inch (25 centimeters) statue was acquired by the museum in 1933, according to the New York Daily News. The video clearly shows the artifact slowly turning counterclockwise during the day, but remaining stationary at night.


This daytime movement led British physicist Brian Cox to believe the statue's movement is due to the vibration created by museum visitors' footsteps. "Brian thinks it's 'differential friction,' where two surfaces ? the stone of the statuette and glass shelf it is on ? cause a subtle vibration, which is making the statuette turn," Price said.

"But it has been on those surfaces since we have had it and it has never moved before," Price said. "And why would it go around in a perfect circle?"

On his blog, Price also speculates that the statue "was carved of steatite and then fired [which] may imply that it is now vulnerable to magnetic forces." Steatite, also known as soapstone, is a soft stone often used for carving.

Oddly, the statue turns 180-degrees to face backward, then turns no more. This led some observers to wonder if the statue moves to show visitors the inscription on its back, which asks for sacrificial offerings "consisting of bread, beer, oxen and fowl."

None of the proposed explanations satisfies Price. "It would be great if someone could solve the mystery," he said.

But Paul Doherty, senior scientist at the Exploratorium in San Francisco, believes the statue's movement isn't caused by any supernatural force, but by something quite ordinary: vibrational stick-slip friction, sometimes called stick-slip vibration.

As Doherty told LiveScience, if the glass shelf on which the statue rests vibrates even slightly, "the vibrating glass moves the statue in the same direction," causing it to turn around.

An everyday example can occur when someone uses an electric blender on a kitchen countertop: The vibration of the blender can cause a nearby coffee cup to "walk" across the countertop.

But why would the statue stop moving after turning 180 degrees? Doherty believes the statue stops turning because it's asymmetrically weighted: "One side of the statue has more weight than the other side." After turning around on the shelf, the statue's uneven bottom reaches a more stable position and stops turning.

Besides the footsteps of passing museum visitors, the source of the stick-slip vibration "could be some trolley that goes by during the day, or a train that passes during the day," Doherty said.

 
Special effects behind the Janitors

 
Chinese developers have just declared the world's largest building open for business. The New Century Global Center in Chendgu is roughly the size of Monaco, and includes an artificial sun that shines 24 hours a day, a full-scale pirate ship, an entire Mediterranean village, and a 164-yard-long LED screen intended to replicate the horizon.

China just cut the ribbon on the world?s new largest building.

The New Century Global Center, which recently opened in Chendgu, China, is 328 feet high, 1,640 feet long, and 1,312 feet wide. That?s roughly 20 times the size of Sydney?s legendary Opera House, four times the size of Vatican City, and three times the size of the Pentagon. And its 420 acres in floor space is nearly the size of the entire country of Monaco (499 acres).

It?s an absolutely mammoth structure.

But what good would the world?s largest building be without a mind-boggling array of businesses, range of activities, and mix of amenities.

The world’s new largest building is four times the size of Vatican City – Quartz
 
Gregzs said:
Chinese developers have just declared the world's largest building open for business. The New Century Global Center in Chendgu is roughly the size of Monaco, and includes an artificial sun that shines 24 hours a day, a full-scale pirate ship, an entire Mediterranean village, and a 164-yard-long LED screen intended to replicate the horizon.

China just cut the ribbon on the world?s new largest building.

The New Century Global Center, which recently opened in Chendgu, China, is 328 feet high, 1,640 feet long, and 1,312 feet wide. That?s roughly 20 times the size of Sydney?s legendary Opera House, four times the size of Vatican City, and three times the size of the Pentagon. And its 420 acres in floor space is nearly the size of the entire country of Monaco (499 acres).

It?s an absolutely mammoth structure.

But what good would the world?s largest building be without a mind-boggling array of businesses, range of activities, and mix of amenities.

The world?s new largest building is four times the size of Vatican City ? Quartz
Click to expand...

Its got an indoor beach with a wave pool? Time for me to learn Mandarin and Cantonese. These people have money to burn obviously.
 
Gregzs said:
Chinese developers have just declared the world's largest building open for business. The New Century Global Center in Chendgu is roughly the size of Monaco, and includes an artificial sun that shines 24 hours a day, a full-scale pirate ship, an entire Mediterranean village, and a 164-yard-long LED screen intended to replicate the horizon.

China just cut the ribbon on the world?s new largest building.

The New Century Global Center, which recently opened in Chendgu, China, is 328 feet high, 1,640 feet long, and 1,312 feet wide. That?s roughly 20 times the size of Sydney?s legendary Opera House, four times the size of Vatican City, and three times the size of the Pentagon. And its 420 acres in floor space is nearly the size of the entire country of Monaco (499 acres).

It?s an absolutely mammoth structure.

But what good would the world?s largest building be without a mind-boggling array of businesses, range of activities, and mix of amenities.

The world?s new largest building is four times the size of Vatican City ? Quartz
Click to expand...

Of course all of that is thanks to Patents they stole from us.
 
Using DNA To Trace Michelle Obama

First Lady Michelle Obama always suspected that she had white ancestors. But she had no idea who they were. With DNA testing and research, I was able to solve that mystery and finally identify the white forbears who had remained hidden in her family tree for more than a century.

All across the country, growing numbers of people are turning to DNA testing as a tool to help unlock the secrets of their roots, using companies such as ancestry.com, among others. When I started researching my new book, ?American Tapestry: The Story of the Black, White and Multiracial Ancestors of Michelle Obama,?? I pored over historical documents that I found in local archives, courthouses and libraries as well as records that I found online on ancestry.com and other state and local databases. But I knew that DNA testing would be the only way to unearth the truth.

I suspected that Mrs. Obama?s white ancestors belonged to the white Shields family that had owned her great-great-great grandmother, Melvinia Shields. So I persuaded several descendants of the black and white Shields to do DNA testing.

The results showed that the two families were related. The DNA testing indicated that Melvinia?s owner?s son was the likely father of Melvinia?s biracial child, Dolphus Shields. (Dolphus Shields is the first lady?s great-great grandfather.)

This was painful news for many of the Shields descendants. They knew that that Melvinia might have been raped and that their kinship originated during slavery, one of the darkest chapters of our history.

But last month, members of both sides of the family ? black and white ? put aside the pain of the past. They got together for the very first time in Rex, Georgia at a ceremony to commemorate Melvinia?s life. They swapped family stories, posed for photographs, exchanged phone numbers and had a meal together.

It was something to see.

David Applin, who is Melvinia?s great-grandson, said the reunion was ?wonderful.? And Jarrod Shields, who is the great-great-great grandson of Melvinia?s owner, described it as a day ?my family will never forget.?

This story was contributed by guest blog author Rachel L. Swarns

Rachel L. Swarns has been a reporter for the New York Times since 1995. She has written about domestic policy and national politics, reporting on immigration, the presidential campaigns of 2004 and 2008, and First Lady Michelle Obama and her role in the Obama White House. She has also worked overseas for the New York Times, reporting from Russia, Cuba, and southern Africa, where she served as the Johannesburg bureau chief. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her husband and two children.
 
Giant Colin Firth Terrorizes London - Esther Zuckerman - The Atlantic Wire

Giant Colin Firth Terrorizes London

People in London are learning the sobering lesson that Colin Firth's legendary sex appeal as Pride and Prejudice's Mr. Darcy, the star-making role he played in the BBC's 1995 miniseries, is somewhat lost when he is transformed into a 12-foot fiberglass sculpture.

Giganto-Firth, The Guardian's Liz Bury reports, currently rises out of the Serpentine lake in London's Hyde Park and is meant to invoke the scene in which Darcy takes a refreshing (and sexy) swim. (See video to right.) Though never appearing in Jane Austen's actual text, the scene was voted "the most memorable moment in a British TV drama" in a UKTV survey. The fact that Darcy's dreamy dip wasn't an Austen creation is rankling at least one Austen scholar, according to Bury. John Mullan, who wrote What Matters in Jane Austen? Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved, said: "This is an installation that celebrates the imagination of Andrew Davies [the miniseries' writer] rather than that of Jane Austen."

The Pride and Prejudice miniseries has a rabid fan base, but even those who love Firth in all his sopping wet glory have decided that the statue, which commemorates the launch of UKTV's Drama channel, is perhaps a little unsettling.

Others are rightly pointing out that the statue makes Firth look like an evil sea monster.

And others rightfully think the statue?what with its protruding pectorals?is decidedly not classy.

The statue will travel to several locations around the UK before ultimately landing in Lyme Park, Cheshire, where the scene was filmed. And where it will hopefully continue to scare children and other passersby for the foreseeable future.
 
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