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One of the ways that gig companies have been able for years to define their workers as independent contractors is by exploiting the allure of individualism. The contractor has their freedom, the thinking goes, so why would they exchange that for a full-time job with benefits? “These words have gained a strange kind of prestige from downwardly mobile, college-educated tech workers,” said John Patrick Leary, the author of Keywords: The New Language of Capitalism . It was part of what Reddit’s founder, Alexis Ohanian, has called “hustle porn,” cheerleading multiple jobs and their backbreaking exertions, giving a cheerful spin to the full 30% of Americans who do something else for pay in addition to their full-time jobs, according to an NPR/Marist survey. Hustling and nimbleness and the like implied, however, that there is a slinky joy in picking up gear at a studio and dropping it off across town or selling CBD oil part time. Once called drably “another job,” these … [Read more...] about The lie of the hustle

Axiom Space is No. 49 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2023 . Explore the full list of companies that are reshaping industries and culture. Since November 2000, the International Space Station has provided a unique microgravity platform for research in biology, medicine, materials science, and physics, as well as for observing Earth’s atmosphere and deep space. But with the station set to close by 2031, NASA has entered into commercial agreements with three companies—Blue Origin, Nanoracks, and Northrop Grumman Systems—to develop replacements, though it’s not clear they will be ready in time. Houston-based Axiom Space has a head start on all of them, with the sole contract to build a commercial module that will be attached to the ISS—and eventually detach to become its own free-floating commercial station, offering a new place for humans to live and work in space long-term. In 2022, the company took a big step toward making that a … [Read more...] about How Axiom Space took a giant leap toward building a commercial space station

Holdfast Collective is No. 4 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2023 . Explore the full list of companies that are reshaping industries and culture. In September 2022, Patagonia, renowned for being at the forefront of environmental advocacy, sustainable production, and progressive business practices, had a new declaration: Earth would be its only shareholder. What that actually meant was that founder Yvon Chouinard and his family had given up ownership, transferring the company’s voting stock to the Patagonia Purpose Trust and the other 98% of its ownership to the Holdfast Collective , a new 501(c)(4) organization. Holdfast’s mission is to preserve wildlands and pursue other nature-based climate solutions, fund grassroots environmental organizations, and support politicians working to fight the climate crisis. Although other companies have used this organizational structure for philanthropic ventures, Patagonia is taking a different … [Read more...] about Patagonia uses capitalism to save the planet with the Holdfast Collective

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin A few days ago, the board of Arlington County, Virginia voted unanimously to allow multi-family housing structures—often called “missing middle” housing—in neighborhoods that were exclusively zoned for single family homes. This is a great win for supporters of more housing, but there is more work to do. Arlington has some of the highest housing prices in Virginia. According to data from Zillow , the typical home in Arlington is valued at $747,335, which is the 17 th highest in the state. And it is not unique among Northern Virginia (NoVA) cities: The Washington D.C. metro area, where Arlington is located, has 28 of the 30 most expensive housing markets in Virginia. The only way to keep housing prices stable is to build enough housing to meet demand, and the only way to bring prices down is to expand supply faster than demand. Land-use regulations such as minimum lot sizes, height requirements, and density … [Read more...] about Arlington, Virginia Passes Important Housing Reforms, But More Work To Be Done

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin A surprising — yet not so surprising — mid-pack second-tier favorite, Ushba Tesoro muscled all the competition out of the way in the $12-million Dubai World Cup on Saturday evening at the Emirate’s fabled Meydan race course and took the win. Touts in London and the States had been looking hard at the colt and were factoring him in as a horse that would work well in exotics and that could not be counted out . In the running he proved that and much more. As expected, the lone Irishman in the mix and a strong co-favorite among the London bookmakers, Algiers, put in a solid showing and placed. Going off as the co-favorite alongside the Bob Baffert-trained defending 2022 Dubai World Cup victor Country Grammer, Algiers fought tooth and nail up the backstretch and around the far turn, but it was Ushba Tesoro under his very thankful jockey Yuga Kawada who got the better trip. Algiers went off at 11-4. The wholly outmatched Emblem … [Read more...] about The Dubai World Cup 2023 Upset: Ushba Tesoro Wins, Algiers Places, Emblem Road Shows, And Country Grammer Finishes A Ragged Seventh

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Jeff Ruby, the gregarious proprietor-founder of the eponymous chain of steak houses, is most famous for his brilliant innovation at putting his “print” advertising on the fastest moving surface in athletics, namely, down the legs of pretty much every leading jockey’s blazing white trousers. At first the placement was ridiculed, but it’s now a celebrated fixture at racetracks nationwide. Much in that same trajectory, Mr. Ruby’s eponymous race at Kentucky’s “lesser” track, Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky, has grown to become a standard hundred-point win-and-you're-in prep for the Kentucky Derby. Formerly the Spiral Stakes, this afternoon’s showdown is highly regarded as a bellweather for the ultimate May showdown in Louisville. It’s called the Jeff Ruby “Steaks” after the name of the formidable sponsor’s restaurant chain, but, amusingly, the Daily Racing Form refuses to admit Mr. Ruby’s pun and simply calls it "the Ruby." … [Read more...] about The 2023 ‘Jeff Ruby Steaks’ Stakes: Major Dude And Two Phil’s Gird For Battle, And For A Berth At Churchill Come May

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The importance of engagement in both workplace and educational success has been well illustrated over the last 20 years by the analytics company Gallup. Even though tracking engagement throughout the day can be quickly done in the traditional classroom, schools remain focused on attendance. But why should they when mental presence, more than physical presence, is the necessary precondition for learning? There is data supporting the importance of engagement engagement. In a meta-analysis of decades of corporate engagement data, Gallup found that high engagement consistently leads to more positive outcomes, such as higher productivity, lower absenteeism, higher quality work, and higher job satisfaction. Likewise, with in grades 5 to 12, Gallup found engaged students are 2.5 times more likely to say they do well in school and are 4.5 times more hopeful about their futures than their disengaged peers. Engagement correlates … [Read more...] about Student Engagement Matters More Than Attendance; Why Don’t Schools Track It?

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Despite ongoing silent runs on the Regional and Community Banks, it appears that both Fed Chair Powell and Treasury Secretary Yellen view the events of the recent past (SVB VB , Signature Bank, First Republic, Credit Suisse, and now Deutsche Bank) as one-off events and not symptomatic of stress in the world’s financial system. The dictionary defines “obtuse” as “annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand.” We can’t think of anything more precise! The chart at the top shows the continued decline in the value of S&P’s Regional Banking ETF through the close of business on Friday (March 24 th ). On Wednesday, the Fed raised interest rates 25 basis points despite liquidity issues in the banking system and the apparent loss of confidence in that system by a significant portion of the public. During his press conference, Powell acknowledged some FOMC concerns over banking issues, said that they had considered a "pause,” … [Read more...] about Obtuse: The Fed & Treasury View Of Banking Issues

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Brands are taking advantage of the national attention on both men’s and women’s basketball athletes during March Madness, but their strategies differ. Some had campaigns ready to go before the tournaments began, while others have been sitting on the sidelines waiting to see which programs and athletes emerge as this year’s biggest stories. Last year, Doug Edert and his signature mustache cashed in when Saint Peter's made history by becoming the first 15 seed to advance to the Elite Eight. Entering March in 2022, Edert had around 1,500 followers on Instagram and was rarely posting. A year later, he has more than 148,000 followers and has worked with national brands like Buffalo Wild Wings and Barstool Sports. Edert’s mustache is again a focus this year as it adorns special edition Pringles cans. The ““March Mustache Collection” also features Duke’s Dariq Whitehead and Virginia’s Ben Vander Plas. Fans are asked to show off … [Read more...] about How Brands Are Using The NCAA Tournament To Strike New NIL Deals

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin One of the things I like about Sony is that every once in a while the company is willing to swing for the fences and release a product that is — different — from everything else out there. Extreme. That’s the case with the Sony SRS-RA5000 , a big, pricey wireless speaker that’s bristling with drivers, sculpted to look like a piece of modern art and optimized to make the most of the 360 Reality Audio format. First Impression Sony knows how to design eye-catching products, and the SRS-RA5000 certainly draws attention. It’s a large (13-inches tall) speaker. All curves, the unit is wrapped in black cloth and dominated by a trio of copper-coloured speaker grills across the top. Maybe they’re rose gold. It depends on the light. Either way, they pop against the black. There are discrete touch controls for music playback on one “side” and for power and connectivity on another. The speaker basically looks like a piece of … [Read more...] about Sony SRS-RA5000 Review: A Sculpted, 7-Driver Speaker That’s Optimized For 360 Reality Audio