A dozen eggs costs less than $1. Grass-fed ground beef costs less than $5 per pound. Welcome to low food prices.
For nine straight months, food prices have fallen, a pattern with little precedent outside of recessions, according to a Bloomberg report, and a trend largely attributable to a confluence of low oil and grain prices and tough competition from discounters moving into the grocery space.
Shoppers are learning to seek out bargains wherever they may be instead of shopping for all their groceries at a single store, the report said. That process has been aided by the likes of Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and Target (NYSE: TGT) pushing into groceries, as well as expansion from Aldi and other lower-priced stores.
While the decline is appealing to consumers, for some of the businesses that supply grocery stores, the ongoing drop is a problem. Marketplace cited one cattle farmer saying that the price for his beef cattle is down about 50 percent, and therefore people like him will likely take losses and have a harder time investing in their businesses moving forward.
The change in food costs is striking. Business Insider went to a Wal-Mart store in Richmond, Virginia, and compared recent prices there to prices at the same store in September 2015. One dozen eggs cost 67 percent less, peanut butter was 28 percent cheaper, and ground beef was 8 percent cheaper. Not all prices were down, though. Business Insider saw that canola oil, for instance, had jumped in price considerably.
Whether more products will turn higher in price in the months ahead is unknown, but Marketplace did quote food industry analyst Phil Lempert arguing that the current low prices could be seen as a correction since prices were extraordinarily high just three years ago.
David A. Arnott is the National News Desk Editor with The Business Journals.
NPR not only supplies an entire transcript of the entire debate, but its national correspondents fact-check the statements and weigh in on points they make throughout.
CNN reports that in a post-debate poll, Clinton was thought to be the winner by 62 percent of voters, versus 27 percent who thought Trump had the better night. The poll is based on interviews with 521 registered voters who watched the debate and included both landline and cell phones, with a 4.5 percent margin of error.
Top takeaways from the first presidential debate, as written by the Wall Street Journal’s Aaron Zitner. Here’s one: “Mr. Trump bet that voters would see some of his more assertive business tactics as an example of how he would fight for them in office.” Check it out.
We don’t really think about it on a daily basis, but the Earth is still changing all the time. It just happens so slowly that we can’t really perceive it. But every now and then, things speed up… a lot.
Recently, the crew of the Maiken was enjoying a leisurely sail through the South Pacific when they spotted a strange discoloration on the water. They moved in closer to inspect it, but by the time they realized what it was, it was too late.
The crew of the Maiken was sailing the South Pacific when they spotted an unusual shadow.
As they got closer, what they had taken to be a sandbar revealed itself to be something else entirely.
A huge amount of pumice stone was floating to the surface of the water. It looked like a beach.
They decided to get a closer look and redirected their yacht towards it.
It looks like a beach in the middle of the ocean!
The crew decided to sail through it, leaving a break in the stone behind them as they went.
They wondered what could have caused this expanse of stone to suddenly appear.
The field of pumice was getting even larger as they passed through it. The crew had an uneasy feeling and upped their speed.
Once they were a safe distance away, they heard a faint rumbling. Looking back they saw water bubbling from the surface.
The source of the pumice stone was an underwater volcano that was actually erupting at the time!
They anchored to watch this tremendous event. Massive plumes of smoke filled the sky.
As the smoke cleared, they noticed something strange just at the water’s surface….
It was land!
The stunned crew couldn’t believe what they were seeing: It was the actual birth of a new island.
They sailed a little bit closer to see if their eyes were playing tricks on them.
But it was real. The peaks of this new land mass were already taking form.
It was one of the rarest events imaginable.
They were so lucky! Not only because they were able to witness such an impossible sight… but also because they apparently very narrowly escaped with their lives!
Smithfield Farms, the largest pork producing farm in the USA was sold in September to China with the unanimous support of its stockholders!! The hogs will still be raised here, but slaughtered and packaged for sale there before being sent back here. This includes labels of Morrell, Eckrich, Krakus, Cudahy, Premium Ham, Cook’s and Gwaltney
The same with many chickens. They can now be shipped there, but when they come back all that needs to be labelled is that they WERE RAISED IN THE USA . Not that they were processed in China !!!
Our great FDA at work again. The chickens will be all processed and most sold to fast food restaurants for sandwiches, along with schools and supermarkets. The China slaughter and processing are not nearly equal to the requirements here.
We recently learned that Starkist Tuna is now owned by Korea , and is in big conflict with the U.S.concerning quality, safety, and records, which Korea refuses to produce.
Read several articles on Google about this, and even one that was defending the eating of tilapia said to avoid the fish that came from China ?
Also, I had just returned home from buying Albertson’s 4-day special of 4 bags of frozen tilapia for the price of one? Sure enough, on the top of the bags, it read “farm raised”, and on the bottom in small print it said, ” China ”
Recently a Food inspector on TV said he had lived overseas and he had seen the filthy conditions their foods are raised and processed in. Some foreign workers have to wear masks as they work in these places, because the food is so rotten, it makes them want to throw up. Many of their fish on Fish Farms are fed raw sewage daily. He said he has seen so much filth throughout their food growing and processing that he would “never” eat any of it. They raise it, put some food coloring and some flavorings on it, then they ship it to the USA & Canada for YOU to consume and feed to YOUR families. They have no Food & Safety Inspectors. They ship it to you to buy and poison your families and friends with.
Imported food we eat and the junk we buy:
Green Giant frozen vegetables are from China,
and so are most of Europe ‘s Best.
Arctic Gardens are OK so is Birdseye.
*Never buy the grocery store garlic unless it is clearly marked from USA or Canada *, the other stuff is grown in people poop (even worse than chicken poop). China is the largest producer of garlic in the world; U.S. is next.
*Buy only local honey*, much honey is shipped in huge containers from China and re-packed here.
Cold-FX is grown and packed in China and is full of fecal bacteria. Doesn’t work anyway, big scam.
If the country of origin is not clearly marked, beware
If produce, ask an employee.
Watch out for packages which state “prepared for”, “packed by” or “imported by”. We don’t understand the lack of mandatory labelling, especially the produce.
The country of origin should be clearly shown on the item in the store.
Go to the local farmers’ markets in season and keep a wary eye open the rest of the year.
Please read this very carefully, and read to the very bottom. It’s important for all of us.
How is it possible to ship food from China cheaper than having it produced in the U. S. or Canada ? It is not, it is part of Obama’s ‘trade agreement’ with China .
FOR EXAMPLE THE “OUR FAMILY” BRAND OF MANDARIN ORANGES SAYS RIGHT ON THE CAN ‘FROM CHINA ‘. – SO, for a FEW MORE CENTS, BUY THE * LIBERTY * BRAND, *GOLD BRAND or DOLE from CALIFORNIA *.
Beware, Costco sells canned peaches and pears in a plastic jar that come from China .
ALL “HIGH LINER” AND MOST OTHER FROZEN FISH PRODUCTS COME FROM CHINA OR INDONESIA . THE PACKAGE MAY SAY “PACIFIC SALMON” ON THE FRONT, BUT LOOK FOR THE SMALL PRINT. MOST OF THESE PRODUCTS COME FROM FISH FARMS IN THE ORIENT WHERE THERE ARE NO REGULATIONS ON WHAT IS FED TO THESE FISH.
*Recently The Montreal Gazette had an article* by the Canadian Government on how Chinese feed the fish: They suspend chicken wire crates over the fish ponds, and the fish feed on chicken poop.
If you search the internet about what the Chinese feed their fish, you’ll be alarmed; eg: growth hormones, expired anti- biotic from humans? Never buy any type of fish or shellfish that comes from these countries: Vietnam , China or the Philippines .
Steinfeld’s Pickles are made in India – just as bad!
Another example is in canned mushrooms. No-Name brand comes from Indonesia .
Also check those little fruit cups. They used to be made in Canada in the Niagara region until about 2 years ago. They are now packaged in China . Most sold in Aldi stores.
While the Chinese export inferior and even toxic products, dangerous toys, and goods to be sold in North American markets, the media wrings its hands! Yet, 70% of North Americans believe that the trading privileges afforded to the Chinese should be suspended.
Well, duh! Why do you need the government to suspend trading privileges?
SIMPLY DO IT YOURSELF, CANADA and the U.S.
Simply look on the bottom of every product you buy, and if it says ‘Made in China ‘ or ‘PRC’ (and that now includes Hong Kong ), simply choose another product, or none at all. You will be amazed at what you can do without.
THINK ABOUT THIS
If 200 million North Americans refuse to buy just $20 each of Chinese goods, that’s a billion dollar trade imbalance resolved in our favor fast! The downside? Some Canadian/American businesses will feel a temporary pinch from having foreign stockpiles of inventory.
Just one month of trading losses will hit the Chinese for 8% of their North American exports. Then they will at least have to ask themselves if the benefits of their arrogance and lawlessness are worth it.
*START NOW and don’t stop, and tell your friends*
Send this to everybody you know. Let’s show them that we are intelligent, and NOBODY can take us for granted *Start reading labels more closely and buy American even if it cost a few cents more*.
The labels on coconut oil can be confusing. Learn what all the terms mean so you can buy the best product.
Coconut oil can do almost anything, from cooking to cleaning to beautifying. It tastes delicious, is made of medium-chain fatty acids that are easily digestible, and has antibacterial qualities. Supposedly it can boost your immune system and reduce hypertension. Clean your teeth with it, remove stains, condition hair, scrub the shower, and season pots. It’s no wonder that coconut oil has become the new darling of everyone’s home.
But how do you pick the best coconut oil? There are many varieties now available and the options can be overwhelming. Here is your essential guide to decoding coconut oil labels.
Should I buy organic or non-organic?
This term reveals whether or not the coconuts used to make the oil were grown with pesticides. Look for the green USDA Organic logo, but keep in mind that some smaller-scale producers may harvest coconuts from locations that cannot afford to undergo the expensive organic certification process. If in doubt, do some research on a specific company.
What’s the difference between refined and unrefined?
‘Refined’ may sound nice, but stay away from it! Unrefined is always a better option. In the words of Allie White on the Free People Blog:
“The word ‘refined’ basically means the coconut oil you’re holding was made from copra, a.k.a. old, rotten, dried coconuts that have been left to bake in the sun, then [are] refined and deodorized in order to be sold.” It’s a dirty, labor-intensive process and a “rotten product not only for the people who are making it, but also for the planet… not something you want to be consuming or putting on your skin.”
To offer another perspective, however, refined coconut oil can withstand higher temperatures before reaching its smoke point. Food Renegade argues in favor of refined coconut oil, saying that they’re great for cooking when you need lots of “clean, pure, malleable fat without a dominating coconut flavor.” How the oil is refined is what matters, according to Food Renegade:
“Most are refined using a chemical distillation process dependent on lye or other harsh solvents, or they’re made from the rancid oil byproducts leftover from creating dessicated coconut flakes. Sadly, these are refined, bleached, and deodorized in an effort to create a palatable product that can be sold to consumers. Many coconut oils are even hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated! (Avoid these at all costs as the hydrogenation process creates synthetic trans-fats.) However, there are some quality, non-hydrogenated refined coconut oils available that are refined using a natural, chemical-free cleaning process (usually involving steam and/or diatomaceous earth).”
What does raw mean?
This signifies that the coconut oil has been made from fresh, raw coconut meat, and no heat has been used to ‘cook’ it in any way prior to processing. Think of it in terms of vegetables: once you cook a vegetable, it can lose some of the nutrients it had prior to processing.
Should I choose virgin or extra-virgin?
We’ve all gotten used to buying extra-virgin olive oil, but it’s not so important with coconut oil. In fact, the general consensus appears to be that there’s no difference between virgin and extra-virgin coconut oils, nor do these terms mean anything at all; there is no industry standard for determining what falls into these categories.
How is the oil extracted?
There are three main types of extraction.
Cold-pressing is manual extraction to press the oil out of the coconut meat. It results in lower yields than other methods (which use heat to help with extraction), but produces an oil that is fresh, clean, and rich in nutrients. It is never heated above 42 degrees Celsius (107 degrees Fahrenheit).
Centrifuge extraction uses a machine that spins chopped coconut to separate the oil from the meat. The resulting ‘raw’ oil requires no further refining; it has a mild taste that makes it pleasurable to eat straight off the spoon, and tends to be the priciest oil because it retains all its nutrients.
Expeller processing heats the coconut and crushes it to prepare for oil extraction. “The extractor uses a chemical solvent (hexane) to separate the coconut from the oil [and] further refining is often necessary to cleanse the extract,” according to The Beauty Gypsy.
Chemical extraction is basically the process described above for refinement. It should be avoided if possible, as the product quality is far inferior to these other extraction methods.
What does whole kernel mean?
Whole kernel refers to the entire coconut kernel being used to make oil, including the brown inner skin, as opposed to ‘white kernel’ oil that removes the brown skin before processing. As a result, the whole kernel oil has a slightly nuttier taste and may look slightly yellower. It’s not a significant difference.
Is the coconut oil fair trade?
“It’s not just what you grow, it’s how you grow it,” says personal care products giant Dr. Bronner’s. The company now sells certified ‘Fair for Life’ coconut oil that guarantees fair pay for workers, safe working conditions, a fair trade premium to help with community development projects, education for children, and job stability. In an industry rife with injustices and abuses, spending a few extra dollars for fairly traded coconut oil can go a long way toward supporting some of the world’s poorest and most exploited farmers.
Yahoo has acknowledged a data breach that exposed information from hundreds of millions of users’ accounts. The possibility the company would make that announcement was reported by Recode.
In a release posted today, Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) said it has “confirmed that a copy of certain user account information was stolen from the company’s network in late 2014 by what it believes is a state-sponsored actor” and that at least 500 million user accounts had been exposed.
Moving forward, the company said it would notify affected users and has already take steps to secure those accounts. The company also recommended changing passwords on Yahoo accounts if they have not been changed since 2014, which is when the company said the theft occurred.
Recode said the announcement may affect Yahoo’s pending sale of its core assets to Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ). Yahoo had not replied to Recode with a comment about the report as of this morning.
Recode noted that there were reports this summer of a major breach; Yahoo said at the time that it was investigating. A separate report by Motherboard said a hacker, identified as Peace, claimed to have obtained 200 million Yahoo user credentials that he had been selling privately but then decided to sell more openly. That report said the data appeared to include usernames, hashed passwords, dates of birth and some backup email addresses.
Costilla County, CO — Across the U.S., local zoning officials are making it increasingly difficult for people to go off the grid, in some instances threatening people with jail time for collecting rainwater or not hooking into local utilities.
As zoning laws have increasingly targeted the off-grid lifestyle, many have moved to the Southwestern U.S. as an escape from overzealous zoning officials.
In Costilla County, Colorado, there has been a major influx of off-grid residents to the San Luis Valley. The combination of lax zoning regulations, cheap property, and an already thriving community of self-reliant off-grid homesteaders has led to many new residents.
The off-grid lifestyle, enjoyed by an estimated 800 people, is now being threatened as county officials have recently made moves to essentially regulate and license the lifestyle into oblivion.
Tensions boiled over during a county commissioners’ meeting in San Louis, Colorado, devolving into a shouting match between homesteaders and police. One of the major points of contention is the county’s attempt to ban camping on your own property, in an effort to force the off-grid homesteaders back onto the grid.
“We are residents who have come to live off the grid. It’s all our land.” … “These are harsh economic times. We have nowhere to go,” twenty-year resident Paul Skinner said.
“We’ve been regulated out of life,” homesteader Robin Rutan told Colorado Public Radio. “I came here because I couldn’t live by the codes [in other regions].”
The county, which requires residents to have a camping permit to live in an RV, “small house” or other camp style home, has started to simply refuse the renewal of these permits.
This is obviously a major problem for homesteaders, who often live in such accommodations while building their permanent residents.
“They started enforcing the changes before they were actually made,” resident Chloe Everhart said.
Everhart said she performed due diligence prior to buying her land, with one of the most important aspects of the plan being a 90-day camping permit. Without a 90-day permit, camping on residential plots is only allowed for 14 days per every three months.
But just as Everhart was arriving, the board of commissioners instructed the planning and zoning commission to no longer issue camping permits.
In spite of her best efforts, Everhart is now an outlaw.
County land use administrator Matt Valdez disputes the claims that the county is trying to regulate people’s lifestyles out of existence. He says that his office has discretion to deny camping permits under existing code and claims that too many new residents were habitually renewing permits meant to be temporary.
“We’re not trying to drive people off their property,” Valdez said.
Valdez said he simply wants to make sure already established rules are followed for aesthetic and safety reasons.
The vilification of people who choose to live an alternative lifestyle is extremely commonplace in modern America.
While there may be legitimate issues that need to be addressed, people have a right to use land that they own in the manner they see fit. To use the technicalities of the law to essentially evict people from land they own reeks of tyrannical overreach and oppression of personal liberty.
Update: The county has dropped it’s planned zoning changes under increased public scrutiny, but they continue to refuse to issue 90-day camping permits to the off-grid land owners.
Jay Syrmopoulos is an investigative journalist, free thinker, researcher, and ardent opponent of authoritarianism. He is currently a graduate student at University of Denver pursuing a masters in Global Affairs. Jay’s work has been published on Ben Swann’s Truth in Media, Truth-Out, AlterNet, InfoWars, MintPressNews and many other sites. You can follow him on Twitter @sirmetropolis, onFacebook at Sir Metropolis and now on tsu
Google Drive backup is one of the most used cloud tools by professionals and personal users, for its ease of control and the great collaboration provided for Google Docs, Spreadsheets, and Photos.
Let’s be honest, using two separate cloud services for both storage and backup is hard. Syncing files every day is an important task, but so is backing them up.
I started using Google Drive backup as my primary solution when I bought an Android tablet that came with 100GB free storage space and haven’t looked back since.
Though it’s worth noting the service has some disadvantages (lacks scheduling features, and has privacy issues), that’s why if you’re looking for a simple backup solution, I would recommend services like:
Each of them provides unlimited storage, strong encryption and run incremental backups continuously in the background.
Returning to Google Drive, it has some great advantages as well, the interface is super easy to use and all files can be viewed and edited online. Not to mention, it also provides free storage for all photos under 16MP via Google Photos.
There’s yet another advantage to the storage service that’s not very well known – if you convert uploaded documents to Google Docs’ formats, they won’t count towards the total storage limit.
In this post, we’ll be covering tips and tricks to using Google Drive backup for every important file on your computer.
Before We Start – Things You Will Need
A Google Drive account and a good amount of storage space on your hard disk. Check the folder size of what you want to upload, before starting the backup process.
Storage plans are considerably affordable, so procuring space shouldn’t be an issue. Currently, Google Drive provides 15GB of free storage to all users.
Step 1 : Download The Desktop Client
The web app can upload data too, but finds it difficult to upload a large amount of it. If your system accidentally shuts down or the internet gets disconnected, the online resume process also becomes difficult, because you have to check which files uploaded and which ones didn’t.
Whereas, the desktop client resumes backups and synchronization right where it left off.
Google Drive’s syncing option by default is activated, and to backup data, it needs to be deactivated.
For those still confused over the terms “backup” and “sync,” here is a more simple explanation – With syncing, the same copy of a file is saved on the local machine, and a cloud server.
Changes made to the file will be reflected on all devices that are synced to your local machine.
For example, if this article is written in a Word file then synced with all my devices, I would be able to access and edit it from anywhere. All the modifications will be reflected across other related machines, however, if I accidentally deleted the Word file from any one of my devices, it will be removed from all of them.
Syncing is for ease of accessibility, and it can’t be used as a backup substitute. Backing up files the right way means I can retrieve a copy of it, even if it’s been deleted from my local drive.
Before moving on to how to deactivate syncing, there are two things you should know about Google Drive:
1: Files in the main folder are automatically synced
2: Uploaded Documents automatically convert to Google Docs formats
When directly saving a file to Google Drive or opening a Gmail document in Google Docs, the file is stored in the main folder. Even when selective sync is checked, all files will be synced to the local drive, whether you want to or not.
So, before downloading the desktop client, make sure to check your online Google Drive folder and see if there are any files that you don’t want to sync, and move them to a separate folder to save space.
Just remember that Google Drive doesn’t allow sub-folders to be selectively synced.
When directly creating a new Google Doc or converting an uploaded document into Google Docs’ format, such files are not counted against the storage space quota.
Individual files might look similar, but they will have different extensions. For instance, Word files change from .doc to .gdoc, and Excel files change from .xls to .gsheet. The difference between them is clearly visible in their thumbnails.
When an uploaded file is opened in Google Drive during editing, a Google Docs copy of it is created.
While doing research, I found user feedback stating that Google Drive might miss some document formats if it doesn’t support them. But as a regular Google Drive backup user, I have personally not noticed any such problems, with any document.
The option to automatically convert uploaded documents into Google Docs’ format is present in the Settings pane.
But there is an issue here -– conversion is not selective.
Checking this option means all uploaded files will be converted to Google Docs; slowing down both the backup and restoration processes, since documents will be converting from one format to the other.
There is one other issue that can occur during restoration, read Step 4 to learn about it.
My recommendation – Only choose this option if you’re low on storage space.
Moving on to the process of deactivating syncing, go to the Google Drive app on your desktop, click the three dots present on the top right, choose preferences and a new Window should open.
There will be two options here:
Sync everything
Sync selected folders
Choose the ‘Sync selected folders’ option and uncheck the folders that you do not want to backup, or the folders you don’t want synced with a local machine.
The best option would be to create a separate backup folder, which will come in handy when you need to restore all of that backed up data.
Step 3 : Moving Data to The Backup Folder
Since Google Drive creates a separate folder on the system when the desktop client is installed, it becomes super easy to drag and drop data into the folder. As soon as a file or folder gets dropped on it, the upload process will start in the background.
Pro Tip – Photos which are less than 16 megapixels upload directly to Google Photos, and aren’t counted against your storage space quota.
Issues During The Backup Process
Since Google is not inherently a backup tool, it has limitations which should be kept in mind:
It lacks incremental uploads
There’s no backup scheduling
New files need to be moved manually to the Drive folder
I searched extensively for third-party apps that could help with these issues, but unfortunately, none of the apps tested were perfect.
Duplicati claims to encrypt and backup data to various cloud services, including Google Drive. When trying it out, I found a huge list of supported services; except Google Drive. Instead, it had Google Docs.
A little confused, I decided to try anyway. In the next window, it asked for my Google credentials and Google Docs collection.
Yes, collection, which was a way to sort Google Docs into folders before the Google Drive era, and that feature has since been deactivated.
This service has a free version and a paid one, which provides encryption. Cloudberry impressed me with the features it had — files are easily filtered, and backup scheduling came with many options too.
When I ran the backup, I wasn’t getting upload speeds above 16 KB/sec, which further plummeted to 4 KB/sec after I took this screenshot.
And before you ask, no, it wasn’t my internet speed’s fault.
Worse yet, when I checked in Google Drive, only one out of three folders were backed up.
Here’s the folder I was trying to backup
And this is the folder Cloudberry backed up
I tried again with a different folder, and Cloudberry still missed a few files. This could turn into a huge issue when backing up a large folder; you would never know which files didn’t backup until finding out the hard way.
I also tried to automate the process by using a batch file script, but that solution didn’t work either.
The only way out of this conundrum is to move folders manually every week, or better yet, use Google Drive backup for redundant folders that you still want to keep. Since the files won’t be changing every day, no new files or incremental uploads will be required.
As for running Google Drive in the background at specific times, choose the Task Scheduler in Windows or Automator in Mac. Though they’re only useful for one-time backups, it’ll be still useful because the uploads won’t hinder your work.
To use Task Scheduler, just search for it on Windows and open it.
Specify the time when you want to run Google Drive
Choose the ‘Start a Program’ option (The remaining two functions do not work on Windows 10)
To enter Google Drive in the Program/Script section, make sure to put the path to its .EXE file which should be present in Program Files.
Step 4 : Restoration
There are two ways to restore backed up data from Google Drive:
Choosing the web app’s download option
Sync folders with a local drive
To directly download a folder, right-click on it and select ‘Download’.
Since you’ll be downloading a folder with hundreds of files in it, Google Drive will kindly zip the folder first, and then let you download it.
Downloading via the web app takes double the time, and God forbid if the internet breaks down in between, you have to go through the whole process again.
That is why I recommend the second method.
All you have to do is follow the steps mentioned above to deactivate file syncing, but this time, checkmark the backup folder. As the syncing process initiates, files will start appearing in your Google Drive account.
Pro Tip — Converting all documents into the Google Docs format when backing them up, will render the syncing option void for file retrieval because files synced with the local drive will still be in the Google Docs format.
Even after syncing, they can be opened online only, if you try to open them with Microsoft Word or a similar word editor, you will only find the link to the original file in it.
The Zip option seems to be the way to go, it’s a give-and-take relationship, between saving storage space and quick restoration.
In Summary…
Even though Google Drive is mainly a cloud storage and syncing service, it can be used as a decent makeshift backup tool. The best part is that all your data, whether it needs to be synced or backed up, can be saved on one cloud account.
Of course, Google Drive does have a few shortcomings, but in my opinion, it’s easy-to-use interface, accessibility and affordability are all top tier.
Have you used Google Drive as a backup tool? Please share your views and experience with us in the comments section below.
One thought on “How to Use Google Drive to Backup Your Data”
Hi Ritika,
First, thanks for featuring CloudBerry here. My 2 cents, Google Drive is not really designed for backups. As you mentioned it’s more a sync storage then backup storage, thus it comes with weak load-bearing capacity. Google limits very frequent requests to reduce excessive load on their servers. When you try to access it too often you will see a error message – “Please, reduce your request rate”. If you want to backup you sensitive or business data better use Google Cloud Storage. We have compared Google Drive to Google Cloud Storage from the backup perspective on our blog – http://www.cloudberrylab.com/blog/choosing-online-backup-storage-google-cloud-storage-vs-google-drive/. Check it out!
Lunch time can be a nice break from classes — but not if you don’t have anyone to sit with. (Photo: XiXinXing/Shutterstock)
For a shy kid, there are few things worse than having no one to sit with at lunch. Sit by yourself and you might as well put a target on your back to attract the bullies. Ask to sit at an occupied table and you face rejection — or worse, if that makes the bullies circle like sharks. But thanks to a new app called Sit With Us, kids on their own at lunch can find a place to sit with just the click of a button.
Sixteen-year-old Natalie Hampton from Sherman Oaks, California, knows how difficult the school lunchroom can be. When she was in the seventh grade, she ate lunch by herself every single day. “When you walk into the lunchroom and you see all the tables of everyone sitting there and you know that going up to them would only end in rejection, you feel extremely alone and extremely isolated, and your stomach drops,” Hampton told NPR.
Hampton is now in her junior year at a different school, and she has plenty of friends to sit with at lunch. But the memory of those lonely lunch table days has stuck with her. “I felt that if I was thriving in a new school but didn’t do anything about the people who feel like this every single day, then I’m just as bad as the people who watched me eat alone,” said Hampton.
The Sit With Us app keeps planning discrete, so kids don’t have to feel embarrassed about not having anyone to sit with at lunch.
But rather than scold kids or guilt them into sitting with people they don’t know at lunch, Hampton decided to take a positive approach to the problem. Sit With Us lets kids discretely search for a lunch table via their phones rather than deal with an awkward walk through the lunchroom. The app also allows students to act as “ambassadors,” inviting others to join them if they wish.
Hampton emphasized the need for the app to be private so that kids don’t have to feel embarrassed about eating lunch alone. “You feel like you’re labeling yourself as an outcast when you ask to join a table with someone you don’t know,” Hampton explained. “This way, it’s very private. No one else has to know. And you know that you’re not going to be rejected once you get to the table.”
Sit With Us is the perfect solution for new, shy or socially-awkward students who may have difficulty navigating the politics of the school cafeteria. And it’s also good for kids like Hampton, who have lots of friends now but want to reach out to others to make sure they never have to sit alone.
Most of us generally assume that intelligence is inherited from both parents. But that’s not quite the case. There’s only one parent who gets the credit and that is – drum roll please – mom!
Through extensive study, we now know that intelligence is passed on through ‘conditioned genes.’ These particular conditioned genes live in chromosome X – which women contain two of.
But wait – what exactly are conditioned genes and why do they matter? The answer, coming right up!
Intelligence & Conditioned Genes
Conditioned genes behave differently depending on which parent they come from.
German researchers pioneered this concept back in 1984. Robert Lehrke continued to study it in more recent years. He found that genes from dad go to the limbic system, while mom’s head straight for the cerebral cortex.
Both are areas in the brain but they do very different things. The limbic system deals with emotion, instinct and mood. The cerebral cortex handles intelligence.
In other words, when mother passes on genes associated with high intelligence, they’ll wind up right where they need to be. If dad passes on those same genes – remember, men have one X chromosome – they’ll never make it to the area that needs them.
Because of these findings, psychologists now say the best predictor of a child’s intelligence is their mother’s IQ.
Just take a moment to appreciate how ironic this discovery is. For much of human history, we’ve ascribed intelligence to men, while attributing emotions to women. These findings prove that the exact opposite is true, as far as genetic development goes.
Alas
Moms, while this definitely gives you some bragging rights, don’t get too excited. Psychologists estimate genes account for just 40% to 60% of intelligence. The rest depends on environment and parenting styles – which both parents are a part of.
Consider your initial contribution more of a running start than a golden ticket.
Interestingly enough, dads, research shows that after your child is born, you have a much greater impact on their intelligence. Children who spend more time with their fathers wind up with higher IQ levels.
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My Black Lab 
Hi Ritika,
First, thanks for featuring CloudBerry here. My 2 cents, Google Drive is not really designed for backups. As you mentioned it’s more a sync storage then backup storage, thus it comes with weak load-bearing capacity. Google limits very frequent requests to reduce excessive load on their servers. When you try to access it too often you will see a error message – “Please, reduce your request rate”. If you want to backup you sensitive or business data better use Google Cloud Storage. We have compared Google Drive to Google Cloud Storage from the backup perspective on our blog – http://www.cloudberrylab.com/blog/choosing-online-backup-storage-google-cloud-storage-vs-google-drive/. Check it out!