Reports show one in six shoppers is tricked into purchasing a counterfeit luxury item. AI technology is helping identify these “super fakes” for shoppers right here in Charlotte.
NC-based National Pawn and Jewelry is now the first store in the Charlotte area to be able to authenticate luxury handbags.
Their new artificial intelligence (AI) technology is called Entrupy, which is 99.1% accurate in verifying luxury handbags.
During the initial phases of human civilization, natural springs and rivers used to be the only reliable source of accessing water. Communities who got deprived of these means would find themselves entangled in a variety of diseases. So much so, even premature deaths were a common occurrence. Things kept on transforming over time, and today we have come to a point where governments ensure a transparent supply of water 24/7 to every area.
However, modern water supply systems are not entirely perfect. They also face various plumbing issues. Depending on the severity of the damage, the public might sometimes have to wait for days before the water adequately streams again. Most people think relying on the local water supply system alone could land them in deep trouble and better off having a reliable backup for water. That is where a water pump can come very handy.
Installing a water pump means your family is less likely to confront a water shortage in the long run. As time goes by, more and more people have begun to realize the importance of water pumps. It is one reason why the number of household wells is witnessing a boom. As many as nearly 44 million homes in America own a well, including some of the country’s major urban centers.
But some people complain about the constant maintenance of the submersible water pump. Well, it happens when you do not install it properly. You must take the following factors into account for the correct submersible installation pump:
It is where most people go wrong. They end up investing in submersible water pumps without diving into their household requirements. For example, if you live in a three-bedroom house, its needs would somewhat differ from a one-bedroom home. Another common mistake people make is that they do not entertain the yield of the respective well.
Experts recommend considering the below-outlined features to avoid installing the wrong pump:
Inspect the pump: The Internet gets peppered with eCommerce stores that allow you to order a water pump from the comfort of your home. At times, the awful shipping could inflict damage on the internal or external part of the equipment. Make sure you keenly observe the pump before commencing the installation.
It is tough to keep wells on top of the cleanliness, especially when you abandon using them for months. That said, planting a water pump in well-containing debris could foster a series of mechanical hazards down the road. Moreover, the pump will provide impure water. Broadly put, a clean well is mandatory for optimal performance and the water pump’s last lifespan.
You can use a camera to find out whether the well is contaminated or not. There are also well experts out there who can do the job more professionally. As soon as the well becomes dirt-free, apply water well caps to keep the junk at a safe distance.
Alarm monitoring is the hallmark of a reliable water pump installation. As the name reflects, the system will keep a constant eye on the water pump and warn you when a failure creeps in. That way, you can take prompt action to deal with the problem before things get out of your control.
We can mention different monitoring alarms used as a preventive measure for the water pump. But installing all of them would be an undue burden on your budget. Sticking to the following notices will do the job quite comprehensively:
The motor is, hands down, the most critical part of a water pump. Therefore, you must tackle it with the utmost precision. Many people use lead wires to lift the motor throughout the installation procedure. This technique causes damage to the cables, and water might make its way into the lead wires.
It is also advisable to thoroughly drill down the motor and not use it until you are sure that the unit is 100 percent free from corrosion because a corroded motor could trigger plenty of hassles.
The final verdict
If you do not have a water pump already installed in your home, you can face a water crisis at any time. As mentioned earlier, the local water supply could undergo unforeseen issues leaving you with no other alternative. Hence, it would be a wise decision to install a water pump at your earliest.
Since their origins in 1700, gambling and gambling houses have become one of the top entertainment practices. Today, you can even find poker championships or people whose job is to play poker. But, you don’t need to be a professional to have a little bit of fun. And like everything else, with the internet and its power, you don’t even have to go to a casino to play a few hands.
Today, you could make some money online, from the comfort of your home, in your PJs. What a world we’re living in, right? But, for some people, online gambling just doesn’t feel the same. That is the way some places have millions of visitors from around the world, all gathered in one place with one wish – to play some gambling games.
We all know Las Vegas, right? I don’t have to say anything else before you associate Vegas with gambling and casinos. But, how did Vegas became The Vegas? Why is that you know this place as the place that keeps your secrets? And why is this city so popular with people all around the globe? In this article, we’ll dive deep into the history of Las Vegas, but we’ll also talk about online casinos and their power. So no matter if you are a person that likes to gamble all inclusive in Las Vegas, or you like the new, stay at home, gambling on the couch, you will find something informative in this article.
“Yeah, yeah, traveling and visiting places is great, but I don’t want to travel every time I like to gamble.’’ I hear you. The Internet hears you. You can play online, unfortunately, you need to know which website is a reliable one. There are tons of gambling websites and quite a few people put some money on their account and never saw that money again.
So, don’t waste even a penny, do some research and play only on verified trusted websites. And, lucky for you players out there, you don’t even have to do extensive research. You have this wonderful website which makes Canadian online casino reviews, the thing you need. They will rate, explain and give you links to the best rated casinos and their online playing rooms. Even though their basic purpose is rating casinos in Canada and giving reviews, it doesn’t matter where the casinos are situated with online gambling. What matters is how safe they are, what new game releases they have, their casino payout rates and customer satisfaction.
I have an option for you guys who aren’t patient enough to even search for a suitable casino by themselves. I’ve got you covered. I’ll suggest one to start from to get the same Las Vegas experience. My choice is Yukon Gold casino Canada Avis. You can find online Yukon Gold casino review where you’ll find all info on this casino. With a 5 star rating and millions of users daily, this casino is one of the most trusted ones. They currently have more than 500 gambling games, from slot machines, to different variations of table games. Whatever you like! And if the best time for gambling is your lunch time – you can even download their mobile app. Hey, we all have to make money to spend money.
Las Vegas was originally named by a Spanish explorer by the name Rafael Rivera. Because of the Hoover Dam and its needs, a lot of young male workers gradually came to Las Vegas. The Mafia at the time saw an opportunity and started building theaters and casinos in order to provide entertainment. Eighty years later, the settlement of Las Vegas got its railroad, connecting Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. And boom, you have a small settlement that is rapidly turning into a city.
Since then, gambling laws and regulations have changed, some governments even tried to ban casinos and alcohol in the state. But Las Vegas raised above and stayed the Capital of Gambling. Today, with more than 130 casinos in the Vegas valley, and almost the same number of hotels, millions of tourists come to play. People in Las Vegas are playing dice 24 hours a day, every day. But I guess you can get tired of playing, at some point.
Believe it or not, the first dice was discovered to be from the Paleolithic era. Throughout history, people were fond of gambling and wanted to test their luck. And out of that reason, maybe a little bit out of the “money’’ reason, gambling lovers made Las Vegas what today is. From the money earned from casinos, Las Vegas spread and became the capital of gambling. Today, it stays as one of the cities that never goes to sleep, always ready for fun and games. Even though it is a great place to visit, not everyone likes to travel as much as they like to gamble. Luckily, today with the internet, we can gamble online, at home, on the couch. Check out the reviews I posted earlier and find the right website with all the games you like. Play on a safe website and risk a little bit to gain a little bit more.
Charlotte FC, the newest Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise, have made only their second ever signing with the capture of Australian goalscoring midfielder Riley McGree from Adelaide United. The 21-year-old, who was named Young Player of the Year for the 2019/20 A-League season, is one of the hottest prospects down under and will add genuine firepower to the new Charlotte FC offense.
Of course, with Charlotte FC not due to play competitively in the MLS until the 2022 season and still ironing out things like logos and team nicknames, the franchise took the immediate decision to loan McGree out. McGree joined EFL Championship side Birmingham City on a season-long loan. Zoran Krneta, sporting director of Charlotte FC, believes a period of time in English soccer will “help Riley get to the top of his game” to hit the ground running in 2022.
McGree’s short-term switch to the EFL Championship will provide him with much-needed exposure and a chance to play in the sport’s most competitive second tier on the planet. Ordinarily, the coverage and attendances of the Championship beats many top divisions across Europe and some of the leading regulated sports betting brands in the US are also starting to offer markets to fans of English soccer in North America.
It’s still unclear as to what ambitions Birmingham City have for the upcoming season. With just six points from their opening six games, the Blues could become embroiled in another relegation dogfight like last season when the survived by the skin of their teeth. From a purely selfish point of view, Charlotte FC fans will just be pleased to see McGree playing competitive football, regardless of whether it’s a promotion push or a relegation battle.
It all started out for McGree in the academy team of Adelaide United. Four years ago, McGree was able to break into the senior squad and the following campaign he featured 22 times as an 18-year-old, scoring twice from midfield too. Such was his impact on the A-League that European scouts were already sniffing around him. Belgian side Club Brugge took the first step to bring him to Europe in 2017 – a side that regularly qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
However, McGree was loaned back to A-League sides Newcastle Jets and Melbourne City to further aid his development. It was during his time with the Jets that he would be catapulted onto the global soccer stage after scoring five goals in 12 games. He was part of a Newcastle team that reached the A-League semifinals. It was during this game that he would go on to score the most outrageous scorpion kick goal – one which would secure him a nomination for the Puskas Award.
McGree secured another loan switch to Melbourne City the following season, scoring another eight goals in 30 appearances. A midfielder averaging a goal every three games is worth their weight in gold. But despite his rapid development in the A-League, McGree failed to break through into the Club Brugge senior setup and was subsequently sold back to his former employers Adelaide United on a three-year contract.
McGree has already started to receive international recognition with the Australian national setup. He has appeared nine times for the Socceroos’ U23 squad and has been a part of the senior side back in 2017. Former Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Bosnich also marked McGree as a star of the future for the national team. However, like Bosnich, McGree was always going to need to venture overseas to further his career and the move to Charlotte FC was always going to happen.
McGree has waxed lyrical about becoming “part of something special” with the MLS’ newest expansion franchise and the Australian will certainly be keeping a keen eye on who else his new employers sign in the coming months, with plenty more signings required to fill the roster. Only McGree and Spaniard Sergio Ruiz are contracted to Charlotte FC at present, but there is still plenty of time until the real action begins in 2022.
If you’ve recently been playing with your cat and found that they gave you an unpleasant nip (or worse), it’s good to know that this is not an abnormal trait, despite it potentially being potentially painful. Cats play biting during their playtime is tied to the natural instincts, which are often quite aggressive, and is not due to your cat being a particularly nasty feline. In this article, we take a look at why cats like to bite while playing with their owners and dig a little deeper to find if there’s anything you can do about it.
Keep your cat’s instincts in mind
Although aggressive play might compel you to research cat insurance in Australia for fear of having a particularly aggressive cat, it’s good to keep in mind that this is a form of behaviour that many cats embody. Biting during playtime doesn’t necessarily indicate that your cat wants to stop playing – on the contrary, it’s their way of demonstrating that they want to take playtime up a notch. If they really get into the zone, this kind of behaviour can result in your whole hand – or even arm – getting clawed up, but this is just a case of them really getting in touch with their predatory instincts, and these primal urges are not easily controlled. This biting frenzy can actually be induced by pet owners who play roughly with their cat, as it is this aggressive show from the owner that the cat is directly responding to (so don’t be too surprised if you get bitten after a particularly rough time playing with your cat). If your cat recognises that you love to play aggressively, this might actually reinforce their biting behaviour, as they might see it as being encouraged by you.
Preventing surprise cat bites
Thankfully, there are definitely ways to stop your cat from getting too nippy during play time. By far the best way to do this is to stop reinforcing their aggressive behaviour by developing a better understanding of their body language. As soon as you see certain signs, such as your cat adjusting their stance or the positions of their ear, tail or eyes as if they’re about to pounce, just back off. By responding to these signs you’re just enabling bad behaviours in your cat, and the longer these are kept up, the harder the habits are going to be for your cat to break. It’s also important to not make yourself the toy during playtime – rather, rely on stimulating toys to help redirect their attention to something that isn’t your hand or arm. If they still want to claw up your poor hand, then throwing a toy in another direction completely might help instead.
What not to do
Whatever you do, do not respond with aggression if you get clawed up by your cat. Although it might be far from pleasant, punishing a cat physically will only make the animal more fearful of humans, and you in particular. Alternatively, it could also go the other way and further reinforce the bad behaviour of your cat due to your own show of aggression also seeming like a bit of play. Remember – if your cat continues to give you grief during playtime, just keep walking away until they get the idea.
2020 has, without a doubt, been one of the most unpredictable years in American history, not only in terms of the pandemic, protests and unrest, and politics, but also in the economy and real estate market.
After roughly 7 years of exponential growth in housing prices, many economists were predicting a crash in 2020, but as of October 21st, 2020, prices are still going up.
So what happened?
I spoke with David Hoffman, one of Charlotte’s top-selling real estate agents and former Washington economist, about why there’s been such a discrepancy, especially given this year’s shutdowns, job losses, and prevalent fear.
He told me that we essentially skipped the Spring selling market when the pandemic and lockdowns hit, which became one of the largest factors in the Charlotte market only having 1.1 months of housing supply (down 55.1% year over year) and an average sales price of $349,041 (up 16% year over year).
“We went straight from Winter to Summer, because the spring Market was stopped when agents weren’t allowed to do physical showings, and potential sellers weren’t sure what was going to happen in the world; week to week. This created both pent-up demand, and a limited supply of housing,” David said.
When Summer hit and interest rates fell to historic lows, Spring and Summer buyers combined to make demand go through the roof, especially in rural areas.
“Demand for the large home in suburbia with an acre and a pool has never been higher, versus demand for a small house in the big city on a quarter acre of land. More and more, buyers are wanting enough space to work, vacation, and homeschool, without being too close to neighbors who might spread the virus,” said David. “With the pandemic increasing work-from-home situations, buyers no longer see the benefit of being an urban environment when they can get more bang-for-the-buck a little further out.”
So what will happen next year?
At this point, a large crash in the housing market seems unlikely; at least locally. Either the economy will continue its “V-shaped” recovery and continue to increase housing prices, or market conditions will level off and supply will catch up with demand over the coming months, stabilizing prices in 2021. “Regardless, hundreds of new people moving to the Charlotte area from the north, each day, will keep prices from falling too sharply whenever a downturn does arise,” Hoffman said.
Many leading experts are of the opinion that realtors and agents are going to take help from technology to plug the loopholes in operations. In other words, we are going to see a lot of virtual open houses, chat support, digital showcasing, paperwork and other online activities. If you were looking for the Real Estate Forecast for 2021, it is going to be heavily dominated by tech adoption and digital adaptations.
What do you think the next few months will bring?
What do you think the housing market in 2021 will look like?
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If you’re thinking about moving in or around Charlotte, let us connect you with a top agent in your area by filling out the form below:
Further details have just been announced about President Trump’s massive rally scheduled to be held in Gastonia today.
The rally will be held in newly constructed grandstands at the Gastonia Municipal Airport.
In an interview with the Gaston Gazette, airport manager Jon Boyd said they are expecting upwards of 15,000 people to pack the grandstands and the pit in front of the rally stage.
The Gastonia Municipal Airport is located at 1030 Gaston Day Rd. in Gastonia, NC.
Attenders will have to park in one of 5 satellite parking areas and then be shuttled to the event.
Local traffic around Union Road and Gaston Day will be shut down for most of the afternoon and evening.
The event notes that gates will open at 4pm on Wednesday, October 21st, and the President is scheduled to speak at 7 pm.
North Carolina has witnessed the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths over the past week, with Gaston County recording one of the highest positive testing rates in the state at 10%.
North Carolina is still in Phase 3 restrictions. According to Executive Order 147, people must continue to wear cloth coverings over their mouth and nose when in public places where physical distancing is not possible.
Less than a year after the first Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Clinic opened in west Charlotte, Novant and Jordan have just announced their second location. The new North End facility will provide vital access to primary and preventive care to individuals who are uninsured or underinsured.
The new North End location will be a 6,800 square foot clinic equipped with 12 patient exam rooms, an X-ray room and space for physical therapy. It will also implement the same integrated services model as the Freedom Drive clinic in west Charlotte, including a full-time licensed clinical social worker on-site to help address those social determinants of health.
Together these two medical clinics, which were made possible by a $7 million donation from Michael Jordan, offer comprehensive primary care, including behavioral health and social support services. The aim is to more directly address health equity gaps, which have further been exacerbated by COVID-19.
“We will continue to do good things within the Charlotte community. It gives my family great pride to know that we are making a difference in Charlotte,” said Jordan in a zoom call.
You can watch the recorded zoom video here:
Discovery Place Kids-Huntersville is celebrating its 10th birthday this month. Officially opening its doors on October 23, 2010, the Museum is the first of two Discovery Place Kids locations to open in the Carolinas. In 2013, Discovery Place Kids opened in Rockingham.
With nature and science museums already well-established in the Charlotte region, Discovery Place decided to open a children’s museum in Huntersville after recognizing the need for early childhood education opportunities closer to Mecklenburg County’s fast-growing towns. Through a generous partnership with the Town of Huntersville, the Museum found a home in a new building as part of the new Huntersville Town Center.
“As our first Discovery Place Kids location, this Museum has set a standard for the quality of experiences we offer at our children’s museums. It is a truly special place located in the heart of Huntersville, where we have felt welcomed and loved by the community for the last decade,” said Catherine Wilson Horne, Discovery Place president and CEO. “Given the challenges facing the world this year, we are especially excited that our doors can be open as we celebrate this milestone in our organization’s history.”
Following a six-month closure due to COVID-19 this year, the Museum reopened in September with adjusted protocols to keep visitors and staff healthy and safe.
“We have had so many families come back during the last month and tell us how much they have missed being able to come to the Museum,” said Lauren Fike, director. “It has been great to be able to get back to our core mission – providing young children with experiences that are educational as well as fun.”
Over the last decade, the Museum has found plenty of ways to execute that important mission.
Special annual events like Countdown to Kindergarten and New Year’s at Noon have brought thousands of eager kids and their families to the Museum while daily and monthly programming covering topics from health and wellness to STEM careers and opportunities continues to be a major draw.
Today, total visitation stands at over 1.7 million. This includes 114,000 students visiting with their schools as well as 86,000 visits through our Welcome Program, which provides low-cost admission to North Carolina and South Carolina families who receive Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) or Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) food and nutrition benefits. The Museum also has hosted thousands of birthday parties and thousands of classes during its 10 years in Huntersville.
“Since we opened, our goal has been to give families a safe place where their children can explore the world, develop new skills and experiment with new ideas,” Horne said. “Looking back on the past 10 years, I think we’ve been able to do that quite successfully in Huntersville and we look forward to continuing to serve that community for decades to come.”
For more about Discovery Place Kids-Huntersville or to purchase tickets to visit the Museum (advance tickets are required), visit the Museum website.
North Carolina just recorded its single highest one-day total of COVID-19 deaths.
According to the NC Department of Health and Human Services, a total of 53 people died today from the virus, and another 1,203 are currently hospitalized (the second-highest number on record).
Today marks the 4th day since the pandemic began that 50 or more North Carolinians died in a single day from Covid-19.
We also saw an additional 1,578 new positive cases reported today with the percentage of positive tests hitting 7.4% statewide – the highest level in over 2 weeks.
Positive test rates are highest in North Carolina’s rural counties with Gaston County among the highest in the state at 10%, the county President Trump will be holding his large campaign rally tomorrow.
There are now just 3 days left in Phase 3 restrictions for our state. Governor Roy Cooper is expected to announce any possible changes to the restrictions tomorrow during a press briefing.