My wife, Margaret was born and raised on a dairy farm. My books and blogs have long profiled how farming – commercial and much smaller, urban farming keeps evolving. It is nice to see a focus on rural revival and how retailers like Tractor Supply Co are thriving
And it is nice to see Successful Farming magazine celebrate its 120th anniversary. Congratulations.
Hey coffee and tea addicts, Panera Bread is offering a monthly subscription for $8.99 a month. And redemption is facilitated through your mobile app
“For $8.99/month plus tax, you can enjoy any size drip hot coffee, hot tea and iced coffee every two (2) hours during regular bakery-café hours, including free refills of the same beverage at any participating U.S. Panera Bread bakery-cafes. You can choose any size coffee or hot tea when redeeming your subscription benefits. Cold Brew, espresso drinks, Iced Tea, and other beverages are not included in your subscription.”
I am a one cup of coffee in the morning, and then iced tea during day. For some reason, Panera excludes iced tea so the offer is less interesting for me, but even the coffee appears attractive, especially if a Panera is near you.
As the annual show kicks off in New York, the focus is about how technology is reshaping the retail experience but I found as interesting the latest Monthly Economic Review from the NRF’s Chief Economist, Jack Kleinhenz, especially the economic data he summarizes. Inflation, supply chains and COVID continue to muddy the waters but as he summarizes
"Consumer spending propelled growth in 2021 and will continue to be a bright spot as 2022 unrolls. The current recession recovery cycle is very different from previous ones. Consumers have never been as wealthy as they are today. In fact, consumer wealth grew an additional 18.1 percent year-over-year in the third quarter, keeping well ahead of inflation. If there is one lesson we have learned it is not to underestimate the resilience of the consumer and, therefore, the U.S. economy. With stimulus programs in the rearview mirror, consumer income and spending will instead be fueled by job growth paired with wage gains going forward. That said, the omicron variant could cause households to crunch down. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell recently said “people are learning to live with it” but households have already changed their behavior. Theater performances and concerts are being canceled and universities are returning to remote teaching. Fortunately, we have a lot of tailwind in terms of job growth, spending and production as we turn the calendar to 2022."
Dallas-based Texas Instruments is betting big on American-made chips, with an ambitious plan to invest up to $30 billion to build as many as four new semiconductor fabrication plants in Sherman.
TI said Wednesday it will begin construction next year on the first two plants producing its 300-millimeter wafers used in everything from cars and trucks to industrial machinery. It estimates chip production will start by 2025.
Two additional plants could be added at the 4.7 million-square-foot site in Grayson County to meet future chip demand. The company said the plants could employ as many as 3,000 workers when complete.
Ok, so we are at the last entry in my series recapping 2021
Last week, the Census Bureau revealed the US population grew only 0.13% during the year from April 2020 to 2021. That is the slowest growth since the country was founded. However, our home state, Florida bucked the trend and had the largest net domestic migration gains.
There is a big difference in recent migrants. Many of them are younger than in previous generations, many of which came to retire in the Sunshine State. And many of the recent ones are coming to the West Coast of Florida, which is less developed and more relaxed compared to the Miami east coast.
This trend is being confirmed by the hottest new reality show on Netflix - “Selling Tampa”
Of course, the west coast is not just Tampa, or even the broader Tampa Bay area. My wife, Margaret has perfected the art of day trips as she wrote here. During the pandemic that has meant lots of driving trips along the west coast and I have been cataloging photos on Instagram as part of my “West Coast on the East Coast” series.
Below are images of the first photo from some of the 2021 entries. They are all in batches of 10 photos here - click forward once you drill into each entry.
Come visit. Also consider moving here. We have lived here for 30 years and are big fans!
In the meantime, follow along with my series. Happy New Year!
Another in a series of the Best of 2021 – this time courtesy of National Geographic
The one below = “Medical worker Nazir Ahmed stands with a cooler of COVID-19 vaccine doses in the meadows of Tosamaidan, southwest of Srinagar in the Indian territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Ahmed spent roughly seven hours searching by foot and car for shepherds and nomadic herders who had yet to be immunized.”
One in a series of Best of 2021 posts, this one about hotels from Conde Nast Traveller
:For the first time, the 2022 Gold List features a singular global list curated by the editors of Condé Nast Traveller's seven international editions in the U.S., U.K., Spain, Italy, India, the Middle East, and China. From the sustainable-focused Shinta Mani Wild eco retreat in Cambodia, to Borgo Santo Pietro in Tuscany, to The Carlyle, a Rosewood Hotel in New York, these are the classic, exceptional places that CNT editors return to again and again."
One in a series of Best of 2021 posts, this one about movies from The New York Times
“This year, it felt to me as if every good movie was also an argument for why movies matter. There is a lot of anxiety, pandemic-related and otherwise, about what the future of the art form might look like. Will everything be streaming except a handful of I.P.-driven spectacles? Will streaming platforms (and their subscribers) be receptive to daring, difficult, obnoxious or esoteric work? Anyone who claims to know the answers is a fool. What I can tell you for sure is that these 10 movies, and the 11 that almost made the list, do what they can to resist the dishonesty, complacency and meanness currently rampant around the world. They reward your attention, engage your feelings and respect your intelligence. Every little bit helps.”
Benedict Cumberbatch in “The Power of the Dog,” left, Kristen Stewart in “Spencer” and Ariana DeBose in “West Side Story.”
One in a series of Best of 2021 posts, this one about restaurants from the World’s 50 Best site
Top 8 below – need to make a trip to Copenhagen for just this reason!
One in a series of Best of 2021 posts, this one about inventions from Time magazine
“To assemble our list of 2021’s Best Inventions, we solicited nominations across a variety of categories from TIME’s editors and correspondents around the world, and through an online application process. We then evaluated each contender on a number of key factors, including originality, creativity, efficacy, ambition and impact.
The result is a list of 100 groundbreaking inventions—including vaccines for COVID-19 and malaria, an emotional support robot for hospitalized children, an environmentally friendly dye for jeans and a brand new pasta shape—that are changing how we live, work, play and think about what’s possible.”
One in a series of Best of 2021 posts, this one about books from the Wall Street Journal
The page above links to its reviews of its 10 selected books.
One in a series of Best of 2021 posts, this one about trends from Google Search
CES 2022
While many participants will still participate in person, the show is unlikely to be the kind of massive tech extravaganza that you’d find prior to the pandemic.
Still, there will be an impressive array of new and interesting products on display during the COVID-shortened show, which various companies are streaming for the public. From self-driving cars and massive new TVs to smart home gadgets, the metaverse, and NFTs, CES 2022 will feature all of the latest tech has to offer.
Yahoo
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January 05, 2022 in Industry Commentary | Permalink | Comments (0)