Advantages, alternatives and the way ahead- Technology News, Firstpost

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Maharashtra plastic ban explained: Advantages, alternatives and the way ahead- Technology News, Firstpost

"As Maharashtra grapples with the ban on almost all single-use plastic products, questions abound about the efficacy of the state government's move, especially when compared to anti-plastic policies in other states. The authorities' efforts in implementing the ban, and more pressingly, the exact 'Dos and Don'ts' of the much-speculated step are being closely followed as well."

"The products that are included in the ban — the list of which was first issued by the Devendra Fadnavis-led government in March this year — are: All kinds of plastic bags (both with and without a handle), all plastic or thermocol cutlery such as spoons and plates, non-woven polypropene bags, food containers, plastic packaging, and PET and PETE bottles."

"The exemptions include: Plastic used for medicine packaging, food grade plastic, plastic used for the handling of solid waste, and that used for manufacturing and exporting purposes, along with compostable bags for agriculture. On 25 June, Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam allowed for the exemption of thermocol for decoration and fish storage."

AmEx can bar merchants from steering card customers elsewhere | Reuters

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AmEx can bar merchants from steering card customers elsewhere | Reuters

This court case came down on last Monday from the US Supreme Court, yet got very little coverage in the news media.

"A federal appeals court on Monday cleared the way for American Express Co to block merchants that accept its cards from steering customers toward lower-cost cards from other issuers. "

""The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York said a lower court judge in Brooklyn erred in February 2015 in finding that American Express’ “anti-steering” rules violated federal antitrust law."

"Underlying the case were the fees that merchants pay to process transactions, which the U.S. government estimated at more than $50 billion a year, and which can be passed along to cardholders in the form of higher prices."

"The lower court judge, Nicholas Garaufis, had found that non-discrimination provisions (NDPs) in American Express’ merchant agreements, meant to dissuade customers from using cards from Visa and MasterCard, unreasonably restrained competition."

"But the appeals court said Garaufis erred by focusing entirely on the interests of merchants rather than cardholders who might benefit from American Express rewards programs and perceived prestige. "

July 3, 2018 11:53 am Update

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Corrosion once again eat the truck cap’s ground wire off the frame’s terminal connector this morning. I noticed voltage drop in the truck cap over the weekend (suggesting resistance in a wire) and this morning suddenly I discovered that I had lost all power back to the cap.🔋

Second time this has happened. Also happened in April 2018 (I installed this wire in April 2017).⚡️ I thought it was a salt issue, but happening in the summer, I think wire is copper-coated aluminum and the aluminum is oxidizing from water plus electricity (and maybe the aluminum and copper being dissimilar metals.)

Annoying. I am thinking i am going to have to replace the wire with pure copper, and figure out how to heat shrink it, when I am not near the gas tank.🔥 The question being how to fish the wire connector through the hole in the truck bed, although I have ideas — maybe run excess wire through the bed and use that wire to heat the shrink wrap not near the gas tank.