Beautiful diners get tables near windows or high visibility areas in restaurants

A study has shown that restaurants give preferential treatment to more attractive patrons. Researchers have found that beautiful and attractive diners get tables near windows or in high visibility areas of restaurants. A person who did not have good looks was either told there was no room or was led to a table in the back of the establishment which proves that beauty reigns supreme.
This has been reported in foxnews.com dated 7 January 2016.

In order to carry out the experiment, producers of the British docu-series “Tricks of the Restaurant Trade" hired four models who posed as would-be diners at three high-end London restaurants. At each eatery, the group were shown to tables closest to the front of an eatery—so called “golden tables” which see a lot of customer foot traffic. However, those not so attractive were shown to a table furthest from the front of the restaurant.
The name of the specific restaurants that was featured in the program were not mentioned but a chef and restaurant owner has admitted that such a practice is not uncommon. Every restaurant has such golden tables where they sit the best-looking customers. The clientele of a restaurant sends out a certain message about the place. Good-looking customers attract more people and it is a profitable situation so you sit them where they can be seen.

(Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Americans are buying stuff they do not really need

It is strange that Americans, today, are buying stuff they do not really need and that, in turn, helps the U.S. economy to grow. An analysis of the consumer spending data leads one to conclude that people are buying up stuff that they do not really need.
This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 3 November 2015.

It is an accepted that one person's luxury may be another person's necessity. However, some categories of spending tracked by the Bureau of Economic Analysis - such as jewellery and restaurants - consist primarily of stuff that pretty much anyone, if pressed, could do without. And, such goods and services comprise nearly a fifth of personal consumption, or an annualized $2.3 trillion in the three months through September.
An increase in the importance of non-essential spending can be interpreted in a number of ways. One reason could be a sign of greater overall prosperity. This means, when people have taken care of most of their basic needs, then they would move over to discretionary items.
During the last two recessions, spending in non-essential categories had dropped much faster than in essential ones. Another explanation could be that it reflects the increasing concentration of wealth in the hands of the rich. They can devote a larger share of their expenditures to luxury goods and services.
The income of this group has become more volatile in recent decades. That could be driving faster growth in non-essential goods during recoveries. In that case, it could translate into a bumpier ride for less affluent folks.
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This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 4 September 2015.

The decision has been taken by DDA because of the fact that the number of working women has increased, and they now enjoy increased presence in public places like markets and restaurants.
The existing Building Bye Laws 1983 and the National Building Code 2005 had adopted 60:40 male-female ratio for public toilets. As per revised norms, in shops or commercial offices where earlier one WC per 15 females was prescribed it would now be one WC per 10 females.
Similarly, in restaurants also the number of WCs for women prescribed has been doubled - earlier it was a single WC per 50 women and it is now modified to two WC per 50 women norm.
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This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 27 March 2015.

The hotel tower would be designed by Los Angeles architect Thom Mayne and its plans have been unveiled. It would stand tall at 381 metres (1250ft) and the slim, glassy skyscraper would mirror the surrounding mountainous landscape.
This would be Europe's tallest skyscraper and will stand at more than 70 metres above London's Shard. Moreover, the 53,000-square-metre building planned to be opened in 2019 will have 107 guest rooms and suites, apart from spas, a ballroom and a library, restaurants, a cafe, bar, sky bar and a gallery. It will also feature a swimming pool and fitness center.
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Ugandan teenager began with $14 and created his empire of paperbags

#AndrewMupuya #YELI #Uganda #paperbags This is the fascinating story of Andrew Mupuya and proves that perseverance pays in the long run – today he is an award-winning entrepreneur but he was just a 16-year-old teenager who decided to take on the world. He was in need of money and, luckily for him, at the time, officials in the country had announced that they were considering a ban on plastic bags to curb environmental damage.
In 2008, Andrew Mupuya was still in secondary school and, with both his parents unemployed, he seized the opportunity to start a paper bag production company. He carried out a feasibility study, market research around retail shops, kiosks, supermarkets around Kampala and discovered there is need and potential market for paper bags.
Once he took off, there was no looking back. His business has grown extensively and today, at the age of 21, he is the owner of Youth Entrepreneurial Link Investments (YELI), the first registered Ugandan company to make paper bags.
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Travel by MSRTC buses from Nashik to Pune

It takes roughly six hours to travel by bus from Nashik to Pune and, the prompt service of the MSRTC at half-hourly intervals have ensured that there are no hiccups. There are the semi-luxury buses as well as the air-conditioned Shivneri buses. During peak season or during festivals like Diwali or Dussera, passengers go in for online booking and those who do not do so get frustrated.
I had to wait in queue at Nashik for nearly two hours before I managed to get a seat to travel to Pune last week because it was ending of Diwali and the crowd comprised mostly of young men and women who were employed in IT firms in Pune and were going back to join duties.
The IT industry in Pune has resulted in hundreds of hotels and restaurants on the way – some of them like Daulat, Indraprastha, Kamats and Purohit are always busy and the cars in the parking lots bear testimony to the fact that for any place to prosper it is necessary to have good infrastructure that attracts investments.
As I waited at the Nashik bus stand I saw people ahead of me in queue getting their reservations for the 10am bus, then for the 10.30 am bus and by then, I was third in queue for the 11am bus. Unfortunately, when that bus arrived, there were only two vacant seats because all the remaining had been booked online!! I finally managed to get the 12am bus. Incidentally, the road for a major portion is through hills and the Ghat sections and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the huge mountains had been demolished in certain areas to eliminate curves and make the journey by road more pleasant. Moreover, elimination of frequent curves help to economize on fuel consumption and reduces fatigue for the drivers.
A proposal to have a railway route as an alternate means of communication failed to take off the ground.
As per the plans of the railways, the route between Nashik and Pune would be via Sinnar, Sangamner, Alephata, Manchar, Rajgurunagar, Chakan and Begadevadi on the Mumbai-Pune main line. This is the route that is flowed by the MSRTC buses. However, an alternate route has been proposed by an NGO named Rail Parishad – this is a route that will pass through Sinnar and then pass on through Akole, Kotul, Junnar, Ghodegaon before reaching Begadewadi. In the opinion of the NGO, this route would reduce the distance and also the cost of laying out railway lines.