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Friday, 30 April 2021

LeBron James Wears $30 Designer Face Mask Everyone Can Score

LeBron James, particularly in recent years, hasn't been afraid to speak publically or invest in the things he believes in.

From publically speaking out about Black Lives Matter and police brutality in the United States to investing millions in philanthropic pursuits, including opening the 'I Promise' School in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, the NBA's brightest star and candidate for the greatest basketball player of all time demonstrably has his head screwed on right.

Fashion has been a big part of his activism, having worn politically charged clothing to many NBA games over the last twelve months. Now it seems his latest fashion exploit also calls attention to another worthy cause – and his co-sign will undoubtedly help it immensely, too.

LeBron shared a photo of him embracing Washington Wizards player Russell Westbrook after a LA Lakers game on Wednesday, a game LeBron was forced to sit out due to injury. James posted the photo in a context where Westbrook's currently facing a lot of criticism over his performance with the Wizards, with LeBron's reputation of the critics a real bro move.

But the really classy thing wasn't the Westbrook moment itself, but what he was wearing during it: a bright orange face mask from Henry Masks, an African-American owned designer face mask brand that's also a social enterprise. It's the most stylish and worthy PPE one can cop in 2021 – and it's also remarkably affordable.

 

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A post shared by LeBron James (@kingjames)

Launched by Patrick Henry, bespoke tailor and founder of cult designer label Richfresh, Henry Masks operates as a subscription service. For less than 30 USD a month, you get sent two masks every month in a variety of different colours and patterns, with the company donating an additional mask for every mask sold to a health care worker or family in need.

Entirely made in the USA, washable and reusable, the other cool thing about Henry Masks is their origami-like design, which means they don't need a metal or plastic strip to fit properly over your nose.

Stylish, practical, cheap and supporting a good cause? They really tick all the boxes.

RELATED: The Most Fashionable Face Masks For Perfect Pandemic Protection

LeBron's actually been rocking the masks for quite a few months now, and it seems he's also inspired some of his fellow NBA players and celebrities – such as Kyle Kuzma, Chrissy Teigen and Michael B. Jordan – to don the classy face coverings too.

Nicely done, King James.

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Australia Is Going Bonking Mad For Airbnbs With Bathtubs

What's the one thing Australians love more than a cold Bintang on an Uluwatu clifftop? An Airbnb with an outdoor bathtub.

That's right: second-hand cars and property market speculation aren't the only burgeoning trends in Australia this year. We're also seeing the (re) emergence of an old hippie habit.

Washing outdoors.

 

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A post shared by Outdoor Baths (@outdoorbaths)

Outdoor bathtubs are having a moment in Australia. The 'outdoor bath' hashtag is up to 33,063 posts and counting and the 'outdoortub' hashtag isn't doing too badly itself, currently holding 4,690 Instagram photos to its name.

Though these hashtags are international, scroll through them and plenty, you'll see, were taken down under. There is also a burgeoning trend of Australian Airbnb's having their very own Instagram pages (with names like @that_special_spot).

 

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A post shared by Byron Bay (@that_special_spot)

That's before we dive properly into Airbnb: after spending hours scrolling through the accommodation booking platform and noticing outdoor baths everywhere from Byron Bay to Tasmania, we thought we'd talk to someone in the know.

We interviewed Susie Aulich who, along with husband Gordan Cuff, owns an eco-luxe recycled shipping container Airbnb in Lilydale, Tasmania. Susie told us: "Outdoor baths are getting more common now. When we first started it was really unusual."

"We bought our property years ago and it is totally off-grid," Susie added. "It just had a house on it and a small meditation studio, so we renovated the meditation studio and rented that out and essentially started our own accommodation business because all our friends wanted to come and stay."

Things took off from there, with Susie and Gordan next purchasing an old shipping container and converting that too. The result? The Container.

[caption id="attachment_289441" align="alignnone" width="920"] Image: Airbnb. This "closed loop" system has its own hydro system run by a creek, which gives it unlimited power (backed up with solar). They also plant a 100 trees a year to offset the carbon of tourists flying in.[/caption]

Not only is the place bouncing with environmental credentials ("we're totally off-grid – generate all our own electricity") but it has one of those coveted bathtubs. It's not a nue age Instagram gimmick though. They've had it for about 45 years.

Susie, who is a registered tourism operator as well as an Airbnb host, told DMARGE, "We're old hippies." So even though the container (and its bathtub) does have an Instagram presence, it was not designed with that in mind.

"For us it is an experience – we've never advertised."

Though they sometimes give nights away to fundraisers for charitable causes, for Susie and Gordan it's all about word of mouth.

 

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"With Airbnb people understand they're not just getting an accommodation but an experience."

"People who stay with us don't meet us so it's about the place and the environment, not the hosts."

"It's very rare on planet earth you can go somewhere and not see another person or another house and that's the experience they get with us."

As for the bath, Susie told DMARGE, "It's pretty good – great when the sun sets. It faces west so you get these technicolour sunsets and that's a pretty nice place to be. Our water isn't treated with chlorine or fluride or anything like that so you're getting a really natural experience, which I think is pretty special."

"People certainly love taking photos and they do put them online."

"If you give guests a great experience everyone wants to share that – everyone wants a true story of a wonderful experience and if you're continually giving that to your guests then they give back to you."

"We're running on a return guest percentage of 45%."

"I think it's a pretty good bath. You're under the stars; you don't see anything else but this amazing view. It's a pretty good spot to hang."

 

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A post shared by Estella Mason (@stella____rose)

"Bathing outside is pretty good for a couple of things," Susie shared. "You're in nature, but you also don't have walls and a ceiling to clean – bathing outside is a really good thing to do."

"People were looking for something different [so this is] a good fit."

Susie also told DMARGE she thinks it's: "Great it's spreading – we can all learn from each other and want everyone to have a good experience."

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Thursday, 29 April 2021

Heartwarming Conor McGregor Fan Moment All Celebrities Should Learn From

If you're someone who isn't all too familiar with mixed martial arts and the UFC, chances are you'll likely have a preconceived opinion about the guys and girls that take part: namely, they're brutes who will knock you out if you so much as glance in their general direction.

However, given the sport's global popularity and the high-profile names it has produced, those involved have found themselves with reputations to uphold, not only to keep themselves on the right side of the public eye, but as ambassadors of the sport. And there is no name bigger in UFC than Conor McGregor.

The Irish MMA fighter may not actually be the most successful ever, with rivals such as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Jon Jones recording greater winning records, but such is Conor's outlandish, outspoken and extravagant personality, he is widely credited with playing a vital part in UFC's success. But, while he may regularly post images of said extravagant lifestyle on his Instagram account – along with the occasional piece of helpful workout advice – we rarely see Conor engaging with his fans.

RELATED:Excessive’ Conor McGregor Photo Reveals How Training’s Different For The Mega Rich

That has changed with his most recent upload. In a side we rarely see of 'The Notorious', Conor posted an image of himself with two fans, looking more stoked to be there than they were. He can also once again be seen sporting some incredibly short shorts, the likes of which he's rocked before, perhaps in a bid to become a trendsetter (or maybe he just forever dreams of spending his days in Ibiza). He also appears to have undertaken a serious grooming regime, following 2020's rather unkempt look.

The image attracted its fair share of comments, including "this side of Conor people didn't wanna see."

Others weren't convinced this wholesome moment was proof of Conor's character. "What are you talking about?" one wrote. "Conor isn't a good person lol. I'm still a fan though."

Another commented, sarcastically, "Wow, he took a picture. Incredible."

There were also other comments, such as, "Bro why is there soo much distance between him and the guy and not the girl". We imagine this is more down to the girl leaning in than Conor choosing sides.

In any case, the picture highlights the rarity of celebrities meeting their fans and actually being happy about it. International playboy Dan Bilzerian showed off a rare side of his in 2020 when he posted some images of himself with fans, only popping a slight smile, however.

Further compare Conor's beaming smile with that of some other celebrities who are known for being miserable sods (sometimes even making them cry), and Conor's moment becomes even more heartwarming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLwoFJPzVlQ

It's a huge deal for fans to meet their idols, and all they ask for is a few seconds of their time for a photo. Conor's wholesome photo could be seen as inspiration for the wider celebrity community.

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Influencers Face Deportation From Bali After ‘Cheeky’ Stunt Backfires

Tourists have thrown themselves into some boiling Nasi Goreng over the years. From the American man arrested over his negative Tripadvisor review of a Thai Hotel to the Russian influencer Vitaly Zdorovetskiy getting jailed for his provocative pyramid photos in Egypt, we've seen all sorts.

The faux pas have continued into 2021. At the start of April news broke that a group of models had been taken into custody in Dubai after they did a nude photoshoot on the balcony of one of the city's skyscrapers. Now two YouTubers are facing deportation from Bali after a cheeky prank has got them in some hot water.

The pair – Josh Paler Lin and Leia Se – are known for their stunts, which have in recent times included everything from hiding in the sand at the beach...

 

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A post shared by Josh Paler Lin (@joshpalerlin)

... to jumping through the windows of police cars.

 

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A post shared by Josh Paler Lin (@joshpalerlin)

Their latest prank showed one of them breaking local mask laws. After being turned away from a grocery store for not having a mask on, Se paints a fake mask on her face and manages to go into the shop.

"Josh Paler Lin and Leia Se have reportedly had their passports seized by local government and risk being forced to leave Indonesia as a result of the video," CNN Travel reports.

"The video, which was posted on April 22, went viral. Lin has 3.4 million subscribers on YouTube. Indonesia has been strictly enforcing its mask mandates. Police are allowed to issue fines on the first offense and deport foreigners on the second offense."

"Though this was Lin's and Se's first known offense, the hubbub surrounding the video drew so much attention that Balinese authorities seized both of their passports. Lin is reportedly from Taiwan but lives in the United States, while Se (who goes by the name Lisha online) is a Russian citizen, according to a police statement," (CNN Travel).

 

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A post shared by Niluh Djelantik (@niluhdjelantik)

According to MEA WorldWide, "Leia tries to avoid onlookers spotting her fake mask in the video, but the internet couldn't be stopped from slamming them as the clip went viral."

MEA WorldWide also claims, "After the video was scrutinized by the authorities, Putu Surya Dharma, a spokesperson from the regional office for the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, revealed that Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers will question the influencers."

MEA WorldWide also reported that as the issue went viral and backlash grew, "the two influencers released an apology video, where they sat with a legal team and claimed that there was no intent to disrespect the mask mandate."

 

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A post shared by Josh Paler Lin (@joshpalerlin)

"Claiming it wasn't to encourage people to not wear masks, the influencers said they just wanted to 'entertain people'. Josh said, 'I did not realize that what I did could… raise a lot of concerns. Once again we want to apologize for what we did and we promise not to do it again.' He added: 'Always wear a mask for our own safety and health (and) so we can help Bali to gain its tourism again,'" (MEA Worldwide).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03U0qTGLzl4

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Iconic Australian Band Prove 2021’s Safari Suit Trend Is Here To Stay

Men's fashion is a cyclical beast. If you don't have your finger on the pulse, you can find that what was cool yesterday is passé today... And vice versa.

Something we've been seeing over the last few months, in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, is a revival of the leisure (or 'safari') suit. While the first leisure suits originated in the 1930s on the West Coast of the USA, it was in the 1960s and 1970s that leisure suits became particularly popular, and it's that era – with all of its excesses and kitschiness – that the leisure suit is most associated with.

Rocking a leisure suit a decade ago would have been a great way to out yourself as an aspiring sex pest, but these days they're rather in. If you want further evidence that they're now de rigueur, just take a look at the APRA Music Awards red carpet, which saw one of Australia's most popular bands scrub up in coordinated 70s fashion. Shagadelic, baby.

Sydney group Liam Cordiale fronted the paparazzi at the awards ceremony in a rainbow of leisure suits. It's a fun yet still somewhat dressy way to dress for an event like this... And a damn sight more interesting than the uninspired looks most men on the APRA red carpet were rocking. (We're looking at you, Kevin Parker).

[caption id="attachment_289344" align="alignnone" width="920"] Image: Getty[/caption]

The boys backing the leisure suit like this proves something those in the know have known for a while: the leisure suit is the ultimate smart-casual ensemble. Eminently practical, great for warm or cross-seasonal weather, smart yet playful... We're a big fan, and we're glad the leisure suit's having a comeback.

RELATED: ‘Revolutionary’ Suit Trend Shows The Epicentre Of Men’s Fashion Is Shifting For The Better

Not to be confused with the ARIAs, the APRA Awards is much more of an industry event – a bit less in-your-face or popularly known as the ARIAs, but in many ways, more prestigious.

Lime Cordiale were nominated in two categories: Breakthrough Songwriter of the Year for founding members (and brothers) Louis and Oli Leimback; and Most Performed Alternative Work for their hit single Robbery, from their 2020 album 14 Steps to a Better You, which previously won the ARIA for Breakthrough Artist – Release.

We're not too fussed about what awards they're winning, however. They've already won our hearts with their leisure suits.

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Experts Reveal What Counts As Being ‘Over Leveraged’ In Australia’s Current Housing Market

With pockets of real estate all over Australia booming and interest rates at historic lows, it could be easy to get caught up in it all and buy something way over reserve. In fact, this is not just a hypothetical – barely a week passes these days without news breaking of a house selling for some scintillating sum.

Alongside this has come a debate about what constitutes being 'over leveraged' as more and more Australians want to become landlords (as the ABC reports: “Twenty years ago only one in 15 of us were landlords. It’s now one in 10 – more than two million of us”).

This leaves first home buyers competing not just among each other but also property investors, pushing prices in popular areas to crazy highs.

Weighed up against these intimidating highs though is the widely spouted (and in many suburbs, so far validated) fact that if you’re not getting in on the housing market you’re missing out.

This has been hammered home by revelations like that of one Australian school teacher, whose house earned more just sitting there over 50 years than she did in her entire career. This has also become a modern Australian cultural myth (based, and exaggerated, on fact), arguably propelling it even further still (see: Egypt Had Its Pyramids, Sydney Has Suburbia).

So, what exactly constitutes being over-leveraged, you might ask, before jumping headlong into a 50-year mortgage to join the club (or before casting judgement over your friends and neighbours' latest purchase)?

Mortgage broker Scott Baker told DMARGE: "It's important not to over leverage when looking at a mortgage and what this means will be different for everyone's personal circumstances."

"You always want to make sure you have plenty of buffer income to allow you to live."

"This could be for normal living expenses, enjoying a nice meal out or keeping regular holiday plans in your calendar."

"If you're having to make significant reductions to your lifestyle then this could mean you are over-leveraged and consider whether a mortgage that size is right for you."

Regarding the notion that if you can't afford for interest rates to go back to 'normal' (say, 7% or so) Mr Baker said: "I couldn't agree with that as it's not something you can put a black and white number on. Every person's individual circumstances are very different based on their income, liabilities and the goals they are looking to achieve."

According to RateCity, "If you’re in the market for a home loan, whether it is your first mortgage or if you’re refinancing, then it’s a good idea to create a budget before you sign up for your loan. In this budget give yourself a rate rise buffer of 2 percent, or 200 basis points."

"That’s because if rates rise by this much you’ll know that you’ll still be able to service the loan and live comfortably. If not, then you may face mortgage stress so you’d be wise to consider borrowing a smaller amount."

Investopedia says: "Just as it is wise to keep your fixed-income portfolio liquid, it is also prudent to lock in your mortgage at current [low] rates before they rise. If you are eligible to refinance your house, this is probably the time to do so."

Mozo, for its part, in April 2020, wrote: "While interest rates are at record lows, economists predict a rate rise in the near future, so it’s a wise idea to always have room in your budget for a market movement."

James Whelan, Investment Manager at VFS Group in Sydney recently told DMARGE people’s risk horizons have shifted as they still seek to get approximately 5-7% return on their investment portfolio (which should be varied), in a climate where interest rates are unusually low.

He told DMARGE we’ve had two generations of people get used to a certain risk vs. reward dynamic and now that has “come down from something that was very easy to invest in – 5-7% – where a part of your portfolio sits in that area [normally].”

“But because that’s now down to zero it means that your investments… everything needs to shift a bit to the right [imagining on the right-hand side we have our riskier investments] to get more because people still need to get their annual 5-7% return to be able to live and grow their portfolio.”

“So… people are taking more risks.”

What are the consequences of this? According to Mr Whelan: more risk-taking investment behaviour (plus government stimulus around the globe to combat the pandemic) means money is freer: “A whole lot of money has been pushed into the market – what that has done is pushed asset prices – up so it has inflated the stock and property markets.”

“It is easier for people to borrow at a lower interest rate.”

The question then, according to Mr Whelan, is: “Do you think that our financial regulators are doing enough to ensure people will be able to repay those loans should the underlying interest rates go up (which they inevitably have to do, as they are not normal right now)?”

“Just as 18% is not normal (when it’s up there it needs to come down), 0% is not normal either – it needs to go up.”

“If the answer to that question is, ‘no; we can’t afford to have that changed,’ then absolutely we are over-leveraged.”

On the other hand, the banks don’t want to foreclose “on an entire nation of people who can’t afford normal interest rates” either, Mr Whelan relates.

“No one has a really good answer for what happens if that happens.”

He also points out that there is a difference between the US housing finance system and the Australian one: “Right now usually what happens in a standard system – in America you can walk away, but in Australia the rest of your life is attached to [this investment] – you can’t just walk away, that’s your entire life.”

 

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“Knowing that and knowing that if there were some sort of calamity and knowing you couldn’t just let an entire nation of people suffer… it’s not the way we do things anymore – not since the GFC when they decided to bail the banks out (and they decided to fix a pandemic using the same solutions they did for the GFC) – they physically can’t let things fail any more.”

“By ‘they’ I mean every central bank and government in the world now especially if we’re all taking the lead from The Fed and the US government on these ones.”

“If we were at a stage when people physically couldn’t pay this mortgage on their place then… there are varying [ways that could play out].”

“I don’t think the people would be left footing the bill immediately but some future generation would be left footing the bill for it.”

“In short: yes we are over-leveraged to buying into this property market.”

“I would love to see a market and I think the economy would love to see a market that would be fundamentally ‘investible’ if more young people could buy their first home more easily and it was a place they wanted to stay. We don’t currently have that system in place and that’s a shame [both personally and as an investor].”

“It does really seem that it’s like a stack of cards but one that doesn’t seem like ever coming down.”

“That’s the problem. It would be nice (as an investor in things in this nation) to have young people buying a home and filling it with stuff – new stuff that they buy.” Instead, we have a lot of old people “buying investment properties at cheap money and renting them out.”

At the same time: “Ownership of your own home is the fundamental requirement of a good strong economy."

As the ABC summed up recently, “In Australia housing is two things: accommodation and a form of speculation.” So this tension point doesn't look like going away any time soon.

This article is not professional financial advice nor does it take into account your individual circumstances. DMARGE urges anyone with questions regarding 'over leveraging' to consult a professional mortgage broker or bank for individual guidance.

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Wednesday, 28 April 2021

Tesla’s Big Money Problem Is Killing The Planet

Tesla's success has been something out of a fairy tale. Not only has the American electric vehicle and clean energy company completely revolutionised the modern auto industry but it's done much to popularise renewables and technology among a whole generation of consumers. Tesla's made science cool again – whilst also making a lot of money for its founder, maverick tech visionary Elon Musk.

Indeed, Tesla just reported its seventh consecutive quarter of profits, despite a number of high-profile crashes caused by their autonomous driving software giving them grief in the press. The last twelve months have seen Tesla stock absolutely skyrocket, climbing from a 5-year average of around 50 USD up to 2019 to a whopping 880 USD at the start of 2021.

In short, things look good for Tesla – but could there be something undoing its success?

The reality is that Tesla isn't actually making a profit on their vehicle sales. Actually, they're making a non-insubstantial loss on every vehicle they sell, and they have been for a while. All that profit's coming from two sources: regulatory credit sales, and crypto investments.

The first isn't that suspect. Essentially, many international governments, such as the United States and European Union member states, hit car manufacturers with fines if they don't meet emission reduction targets. In some jurisdictions, manufacturers who beat the targets can sell the difference as credits to those who aren't.

Tesla has credits to spare, so they sell them to companies that would otherwise miss targets. It's like a carbon trading scheme; totally above board and crucially, incredibly profitable for Tesla.

It's the crypto investments that could be considered hypocritical.

[caption id="attachment_289257" align="alignnone" width="920"] Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (now part of the Stellantis group), which produces many fuel-hungry cars like this Dodge Challenger SRT Demon, is one of the biggest purchasers of regulatory credits from Tesla. Image: Car and Driver[/caption]

Back in January, Tesla bought around 1.5 billion USD of Bitcoin, the world's most valuable and prolific cryptocurrency, only to sell around 10% of their Bitcoin a few months later before their Q1 2021 financial results. It's a somewhat suss move, considering Elon Musk's high-profile backing of crypto as well as their announcement after their big Bitcoin buy that they'd let people buy their cars with the cryptocurrency. As Jalopnik's Bradley Brownell puts it:

"Tesla purchased $1.5 billion worth of BTC, announced that the company would begin accepting BTC as payment for its cars, which drove up the value of BTC, then sold enough BTC to make a hundred million in profit. Strange how that works, eh? Surely nothing untoward going on there. Not at all."

It certainly doesn't pass the pub test, and demonstrates just how much sway Tesla (or more specifically, Elon Musk) has over current investment trends. In the same way how anything Kanye West wears will become the next big thing in fashion, anything Musk backs will become the new flavour of the month when it comes to investing, it seems.

RELATED: ‘Better Than Any Alt Coin’: Graph Shows Why Professional Investors Are Dodging Dogecoin

"Tesla could become an interesting test case for corporate bitcoin ownership, and it wouldn’t be surprising if Musk’s old nemesis, the Securities and Exchange Commission, did some digging into it, especially given his social-media activity," MarketWatch's Therese Poletti relates.

"Tesla will continue to allow customers to make deposits and complete the purchases of its cars in bitcoin, and Musk has said that Tesla will hold that bitcoin. Those statements suggest bitcoin sales will not become another Tesla gimmick to push every quarter into the black, like regulatory credit sales, but Musk and Tesla have been known to not live up to forward-looking statements before."

But it's not just the optics of Tesla's Bitcoin gamble that are really concerning, it's the environmental implications.

"Tesla has had nine profitable quarters in the last three years, and is currently running seven in a row," Brownell continues.

"Very few of those have come without regulatory credit sales bumping the company into the black. As other automakers embrace electric vehicle sales, there will not be nearly the market for those credits in the automobile space."

"Will Tesla be able to continue apace without the help of such sales? I guess it’ll have to invest heavily in alternative currencies, which is a huge source of environmental distress."

And there's the rub: crypto is terrible for the environment, which is why it's ironic that Tesla's throwing its weight behind it.

Mining and storing crypto consumes an enormous amount of electricity, and the reality is that the vast majority of electricity generated globally comes from non-renewable sources. According to Digiconomist, a single Bitcoin transaction has the same carbon footprint as 1,140,542 Visa transactions or 85,767 hours of watching YouTube.

Now consider that you can buy a Tesla in just one Visa transaction using a regular currency...

[caption id="attachment_289274" align="alignnone" width="920"] A crypto mine in China. China is home to more crypto mining operations than any other country, despite the fact that crypto transactions are largely banned there. The Chinese government has started to crack down on mines because of their extraordinary electricity consumption. Image: Getty via WIRED[/caption]

"Analysis by the University of Cambridge suggests the bitcoin network uses more than 121 terawatt-hours annually, which would rank it in the top 30 electricity consumers worldwide if it were a country... Bitcoin's carbon footprint will get exponentially worse because the more its price rises, the more competition there is for the currency and thus the more energy it consumes," The Independent reports.

The real question is this: is Tesla's Bitcoin investment worse for the environment than the internal combustion engine (ICE) cars that Tesla's helping take off the roads? The answer is obviously no, but it's still less than ideal that Tesla needs to rely on such a polluting currency in order to stay afloat.

Ultimately, Tesla's Bitcoin moves and regulatory credit sales are an abstraction. The core issue is that Tesla's not actually generating a profit from its car sales, and so it has to rely on those other forms of revenue. This suggests they need to invest more in their manufacturing capacity; get more cars into showrooms for cheaper prices; so that they can start to turn a profit from their core business.

Tesla has already inspired hundreds of thousands of consumers around the world to join the energy revolution. If Tesla's continued success helps drive more investment in renewables, then Bitcoin's potential environmental impact becomes less of an issue.

Food for thought.

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Influencers Currently Living ‘Life Of Pi’ In Indonesian Islands

Most of the world isn't in a position to be stalking Skyscanner right now. But we can still live vicariously through each others exploits. And if you're in need of some mental teleportation; boy do we have some scenes for you.

American travel blogger and Youtube sensation Christian LeBlanc recently posted a bunch of Instagram stories whilst bobbing off Indonesian city port Makassar, aboard the luxurious Samara Liveaboard yacht.

The first video shows friend RIC (Mexican nomad and film-maker) diving off the yacht into the glassy blue waters.

[video width="720" height="1280" mp4="https://www.dmarge.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/98691309_471879787208603_2342736454928372357_n.mp4"][/video]

 

The second features LeBlanc giving us a rundown of their day and showing off the sunset.

[video width="720" height="1280" mp4="https://www.dmarge.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/98850969_1082149518862044_3413180079886904231_n.mp4"][/video]

 

Another video shows the group enjoying the final moments of their time on a small island, which they had to themselves.

[video width="720" height="1280" mp4="https://www.dmarge.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/73455300_450929312676224_509542065634285512_n.mp4"][/video]

 

In a later Instagram story, the group can be seen eating breakfast, back on board the boat.

[video width="720" height="1280" mp4="https://www.dmarge.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/79588761_740670036628009_3066969171910551779_n.mp4"][/video]

 

What takes the cake for us though, is a photo from earlier in the trip, in which RIC can be seen splayed on the boat's bow, in what some followers have called a scene reminiscent of Life of Pi.

"If I die today I die happy," RIC captioned the post (translated from Spanish). "We are going to sail on this boat through the Komodo islands in the next few days, I leave Instagram, my cell phone and everything that distracts me from enjoying what we are going to experience, see you in a few days!"

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by RIC | TRAVEL | BALI (@ricgm)

Comments rolled in like, "24 Bintangs later," and "totally remembered me of Pi."

Trips aboard the Samara Liveaboard are currently being advertised on Tripadvisor from $4,866 a night, with the following information also being offered: "Samara Liveaboard – Boat charter based in Labuan Bajo."

"Mostly we do sailing and visit some island around the Komodo National Park to see the Komodo dragons it, do snorkelling, hiking and trekking on the island surrounding."

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Christian LeBlanc (@lostleblanc)

"We are a boat hotel with 5 larger cabins and ensuite bathroom provide comfortable boat space to sail around the Komodo national park."

As always, check official government guidelines before travelling anywhere (Australians are still prohibited from travelling internationally without an exemption, for instance).

Also: spare a thought (maybe even a dollar) towards those who are in an incredibly tough situation right now.

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The post Influencers Currently Living ‘Life Of Pi’ In Indonesian Islands appeared first on DMARGE.



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