Drones are Ready for Deliveries

Imagine ordering something online and then half an hour later it's dropped off for you by a mini-drone.

It might sound like science fiction, but some well known retailers are currently testing possible delivery methods with the hope that drones will be delivering goods to their customers in the next five years. Online retailer Amazon is one of these retailers and they are enthusiastic that their delivery drones one day will be delivering items to their customers within 30 minutes of them placing an order.

US law does not yet allow the use of drones for this purpose but it is expected that laws and regulations will be in place by 2020. Amazon boss Jeff Bezos said in a recent interview that the company is ready to introduce its drone delivery system as soon as those laws are in place.

What does this mean for the future of online purchasing and online classifieds? Companies like Amazon will employ their own delivery drones but this also opens up the door for new business ventures of independent drone delivery companies whose primary activity is to deliver purchased goods from retailer to customer. Imagine you order a pizza online from your local pizza parlor and within 30 minutes it is delivered to your own backyard by an independent delivery drone. Free classified websites will be filling up with drone delivery services to deliver anything from groceries to a six-pack of your favorite beer.

Many technological and safety issues remain to be resolved, however, before drone deliveries become a reality. While it is currently possible for delivery coordinates to be programmed into GPS navigational systems, it is rather hard to imagine how drones will deal with telephone and power lines and how to navigate around people and other moving objects. Dr Darren Ansell, a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) expert from the University of Central Lancashire said: "The UAVs do not currently have the awareness of their environment to be able to avoid flying into people. Other things to consider are security of the products during the transit. With no one to guard them the aircraft and package could be captured and stolen,”

Until now drones have been used almost exclusively in combat zones. We have all heard of the stories where drones have delivered deadly strikes to targets in faraway places and also how sometimes they have crashed into populated areas killing innocent people. But like many technologies that have been designed for use in military conflicts, we are now seeing another example of how to adapt such technologies for domestic use and improve our everyday life.

Maybe you need a new fan belt from your local dealership and the parts manager quickly gets it delivered to you by drone. Maybe you have ordered a news steering cable for your boat from a boat classifieds website and the supplier sends it out immediately via an independent drone delivery service. Or maybe you are just out fishing with your buddies and you have run out of beer.

Don’t worry; it’s on the way soon to “drone” in on you.

Who will be the Big Winners in the FIFA World Cup

The Beautiful Game is back and football fans around the world all have their eyes fixed on Brazil for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. 32 teams from across the globe are meeting in the South American country to decide who will raise the golden World Cup trophy on July 13th in Rio de Janeiro, and we are all waiting to enjoy the show.

The host country Brazil has got to be considered one of the pre-tournament favorites. Their young and talented striker Neymar will be looking to convert all his hype into glory for the home nation. There are very few countries in the world that love football more than Brazil and their fans would love nothing more than forgetting about all their much publicized social problems and seeing their home side take the Cup. Brazil has a very long line of great players and Neymar, while still very young, will be looking to become one of the greats.

Neighboring South American country Argentina will also have plenty to say about who takes the glory in Rio. Striker Leo Messi will be looking to step out of the shadow of Argentine hero Diego Maradona and finally deliver the World Cup back to Argentina. While Neymar is still very young and full of potential, Messi has been on the big stage already for many years but has yet to deliver any major success for his national side. The three-time Ballon d’Or winner will be looking to add the World Cup to his vast achievements and cement his place as one of the all-time greatest players.

Defending World Cup Champion and two-time European Champion Spain cannot be forgotten. The Vicente del Bosque squad will be featuring some familiar faces in Brazil, players such as Andres Iniesta, Iker Casillas, Xavi Hernandez and Fernando Torres, but many eyes will be on the young Diego Costa. Costa made a big impression this year with his club Atlético Madrid taking them to the final of the Champions League but he has been beset by nagging injuries over the last month. All of Spain will be anxiously waiting to see how he responds to his first World Cup. It would be a lot to ask for the Spanish team to repeat their 2010 success but the top-ranked team in the world will be difficult to beat.

England has largely disappointed in recent years in the big tournaments and striker Wayne Rooney is in need of international success to solidify his position as one of the English greats. That isn’t the case for Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, who is arguably world’s best player over the last two years and winner this year’s Ballon d’Or. Portugal is not a favorite to win the World Cup but if he can lead his team deep into the later rounds he will certainly be welcomed back to Portugal as a hero.

The strong teams will continue to show their talent but we will also keep our eyes open to see which of the other teams and individual players will catch our attention and maybe deliver a lethal surprise to one of the favorites.

After all of the experts have given us their opinions about who they think will win and lose, the real winners will be the football fans around the world. Get ready, the World Cup is here and it’s time to sit back and enjoy the Beautiful Game.

The Transformation of the Newspaper

It’s pretty hard to imagine our daily life without a newspaper and we are witnessing its transformation right before our very eyes. But how much has it really changed?

Things continue to happen every day in our lives that are deemed to be newsworthy and our desire to be informed of these occurrences has never changed. The daily newspaper has been as much of a fixture in our daily lives as a cup of coffee or a glass of orange juice. For generations, the news has been delivered to or doors every morning or afternoon by the neighborhood paperboy and we looked forward to its arrival. You either found it on the doorstep first thing in the morning to join you for your first cup of coffee or it was waiting for you when you got home after a day’s work. Either way, the newspaper was very much an important part of our daily lives.

For centuries, the newspapers in America have remained the same. There were changes to formats and advances in the use of photos and the introduction of color but the newspaper was still exactly that, the newspaper. The first American newspaper came out of Boston in 1690 and was called Publick Occurrences Both Forreign  and Domestick, which was suppressed after the first edition. The Boston News Letter came along in 1704 as the first government approved newspaper and in 1783 and the The Pennsylvania Evening Post became the first daily published newspaper in America. Newspapers remained largely unchanged for the next 200 hundred years until the industry was turned onto its head by the internet, and it’s hard to imagine of an industry more affected by the digital age.

Whatever your favorite newspaper, from the national papers like the New York Times or Washington Post to the local papers like the Charleston Gazette and the Sacramento Bee, they are all available online as well as on your doorstep. The front page, the sports page and the national and local pages have now become bright and in color with video on our computer screen, Ipad or smart phone. Online classifieds have replaced what used to be called the Want-Adds and even the obituaries have become vast online data bases.

Beyond just having our favorite newspaper available online, social media sites such as Twitter have become sources of our daily news and websites such as the Huffington Post dedicate themselves to bringing us online news. What’s more is they are all generally free. Today, 77 percent of all adult Americans look at news stories online by way of links through social media.

Free classified websites have also taken a major bite out of what used to be exclusively in newspapers. Looking for a new or used car was easy just by picking up the newspaper. Now, not only can you find the car of your choice via dedicated car sales websites, you can also apply for and get approved financing to make the purchase and then even get your personalized car insurance at the same time on the very same website.

The editorials, the weather forecast, the pet classifieds, and the box scores are all still available in the newspaper that is waiting for in your doorstep, but the digital revolution is radically changing how you look at the news together with your morning cup of coffee.

Having a Pet Cures Loneliness in More Ways Than One

It has often been said that a dog is “man’s best friend” and most of us who have had dogs over the course of our lifetime would very likely agree. There is, however, a certain group of people who may have never owned a pet and consequently have yet to understand the true meaning of this old phrase.

People who have advanced in their years and have faced the reality of living alone due to death of a spouse or separation from family are increasingly finding companionship by becoming pet owners. Many of these people have never been pet owners, or at least haven’t owned a pet since childhood, and are finding that the company that comes from having a pet goes far beyond just having your dog or cat greet you when you arrive back home.

Studies have shown that loneliness leads to depression and that this can become a slippery slope for elderly people who fail to address the negative effects of being alone. Older people who have lost their spouse may also have become socially isolated due to always having done everything together with the spouse that is suddenly no longer there. There are many free classified websites that people can go to in order to find companionship with the opposite sex, and while it works for some, it may not be the answer for everyone.

A study published in 2007 in Society & Animals concluded that pets “improve some determinants of mental health such as loneliness.” In a survey of 339 residents of Western Australia, the researchers found pet ownership to be frequently associated “with social interactions, favor exchanges, civic engagement, perceptions of neighborhood friendliness and sense of community.”

Having a pet creates purpose and purpose requires energy, which is exactly the formula that an elderly person needs when confronting a future of being alone. To acquire a dog, for instance, requires certain planning and this in itself is the beginning of the process of conquering loneliness. Elderly dog owners seem to find “significantly less dissatisfaction with their social, physical and emotional states,” according to a 1993 study by veterinary researchers at the University of California at Davis. There are many online classifieds where one can look to find the dog or other pet of your choice. Big dogs or little dogs, they are all there for your choosing.

The prospective pet owner must think about the kind of pet they would like. If the choice is a dog, what kind of dog would be the best choice? Is it best to choose an energetic dog or a quite dog? What kind of breed and should it be male or a female? Also, give yourself the time to understand the full impact of having a dog before you make your choice. Go to the park to see and talk with other dog owners and see how they react with others. Also note how certain dogs behave with children and when around other dogs. All of this will be important when choosing the dog that is best for you.

There are many pet classifieds to assist in finding the dog of your choice. Not only with locating the different breeds but also finding all of the accessories you may want to consider as well, such as toys, grooming tools and the appropriate food.

It’s never too late to become a pet owner. A dog truly is a “man’s (or woman’s) best friend”.