Emerging Technology

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these hyperlinks are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

Defining Emerging Technology

The words “Emerging Technology” suggests that it would mean technology recently coming out. This is partially true, as it usually does refer to a new technology, but it can also refer to the continuing development of an existing technology. The electric vehicle sector is a fine example of this. Though many would think of electric cars as luxurious, plush, and ultra modern, the first electric car debuted back in 1832. Though it was a very rough and impractical vehicle, it was still a real electric vehicle. Fast forward to the 21st century, the technology becomes immensely popular during the late 2010s, with the 2020s causing major legacy brands to drastically increase their electrification strategies. There are many technologies and ideas that can be explored, but the following shall be the focus for this write-up:

• Biometrics
• Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment
• Lyme Disease Vaccine
• 3D Printed Houses
• Air Fryer
• Plastic-eating Organisms
• Solid State Batteries
• Recycling Car Batteries 
• All-electric Aircraft
• 5G
• Linux Smartphones
• Solar-powered Smartphones

Biometrics

Fingerprint scanning, eye scanning, hand ID, and voice unlock all have something in common: they are all biometrics. For a long time, passwords or keys have generally been the way of safeguarding accounts, smartphones, and other confidential properties. Biometrics are biological characteristics that can be used to identify individuals. These can be biological biometrics such as blood or DNA; Morphological biometrics like fingerprints, eyes, and the shape of a person’s face; or behavioral biometrics like how a person may speak, walk, or type. Authentication by biometric verification is becoming increasingly common in corporate and public security systems, consumer electronics, and point-of-sale applications. In addition to security, another major reason for the use of biometric verification has been convenience, since there are no passwords to remember or security tokens to carry.

Alzheimer’s Disease Treatment

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease that destroys brain cells, causing thinking ability and memory to deteriorate over time. This in turn affects thinking, behaviour, and the ability to carry out tasks. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia, accounting for 60 to 80% of all diagnoses. However, this does not mean that if a person has dementia, that they have Alzheimer’s. Dementia is an umbrella term for a set of symptoms caused by physical disorders affecting the brain. Though Alzheimer’s has been in existence for a while, it has only been the last 20 years that science is finally making serious discoveries towards dealing with the disease. In 2021, two notable drugs are being examined: A vaccine involving Protollin and Aducanumab.

On November 17, 2021, researchers at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital have been given permission to launch clinical trials into a nasal vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease. The new vaccine uses Protollin, which activates the immune system, and is being created to prevent and slow the disease progression. Made of proteins drawn from bacteria, Protollin activates white blood cells in the lymph nodes in the neck, and sends them to the brain to clear beta-amyloid plaques. The single ascending dose (SAD) trial will involve 16 subjects aged between 60 and 85 years with early symptomatic Alzheimer’s disease.

On June 07, 2021, The US Food and Drug Administration announced the approval of Aducanumab (Aduhelm). The drug was approved under the Accelerated Approval pathway, one of the alternative drug approval pathways. However, this drug is controversial given that not all Dementia experts agreed on its unproven benefits. The accelerated process allows Biogen to sell the drug, but must agree to design and carry out a study to prove that there is a clinical benefit. The federal agency’s decision was based on the biomarker changes showing that the monoclonal antibody reduced amyloid-beta from the brain. It could take years to accumulate concrete data, and if it does not have a clinical benefit, the FDA can withdraw approval of the drug.

Lyme Disease Vaccine

On December 21, 1998, the FDA approved LYMErix, a vaccine created to help prevent Lyme Disease: an inflammatory disease characterized at first by a rash, headache, fever, chills, and later by possible arthritis and neurological and cardiac disorders, caused by bacteria that are transmitted by ticks. Unfortunately, the vaccine had 5 major problems:

1. The vaccine efficacy of <80% meant that 20% of fully vaccinated individuals could still get Lyme Disease
2. Achieving full protection required three vaccine doses given at the time of the initial dose, and 1 month and 12 months after the initial dose.
3. The vaccine safety and efficacy database lacked tests in young children, a population at high risk of developing Lyme Disease.
4. The vaccine was only effective against the predominant North American Borrelia strain without necessarily conferring protection against international subspecies.
5. Within a year of licensure, reports of adverse reactions occurring after vaccination started to appear. This continued for the next few years and involved numerous high-profile complaints.

On July 09, 2003 the pharmaceutical giant settled the class action suits with Sheller, Ludwig & Bailey as well as several other smaller law firms. The Lyme Disease vaccine was then pulled off the market. 

 In April 2020 Valneva and Pfizer entered into a collaboration agreement to co-develop the multivalent protein subunit candidate VLA15. The program had earlier been granted Fast Track designation by the US FDA in July 2017.The vaccine covers six serotypes that are prevalent in North America and Europe. It attacks the outer surface protein A (OspA) of Borrelia, an established mechanism of action for a Lyme disease vaccine. OspA is one of the most dominant surface proteins expressed by the bacteria when present in a tick. Valneva and Pfizer say that VLA15 has demonstrated ‘strong immunogenicity and safety data in pre-clinical and clinical studies so far,’.

3D Printed Houses

The concept of 3D printing has been thought of since the 1970’s. It was not until 1981 that the first experiments began. Since then, there has been hundreds of different objects that have been 3D printed including cups, tools, instruments, and more. One particular area that is still very young with the potential of immense benefits is 3D construction. The great benefits of 3D printing houses can be particularly seen in developing countries, where transporting expensive materials may be cost-prohibitive. With 3D printing, it can allow them the build houses using locally sourced materials to reduce the impact of shipping, handling, and other logistical issues. It is not only developing countries interested, however. Countries like Canada and the United States have been interested, too. The United States has even gone as far as to announce that it will be building the world’s largest 3D-printed neighborhood in Austin, Texas in 2022.

While it may sound exciting to some, there a still caveats involved like the fact that there are several parts of the house that cannot be 3D printed: Windows, toilets and fixtures, are some of several. Then there is also the issue of structural stability and durability of the 3D printed components, hence why 3D printed houses may face legal issues in areas with strict building codes.

Air Fryer

An air fryer is a small countertop convection oven designed to simulate deep frying without submerging the food in oil. A fan circulates hot air at high speed, then produces a crispy layer. The reason the popularity of these types of ovens is surging is because of the health benefits and claims they bring: the flavour of fried foods without all the calories and fats of found in deep fried food. While the amount of fat and calories reduced will vary from food to food, it has been consistently proven that they do noticeably reduce fat and calories. While air fryers may have taken off greatly since their creation in 2010, they have a few main drawbacks: costlier, smaller, and thus require more space to prepare larger quantities of food. It should be also noted that air fried foods do not taste exactly the same as deep fried foods. Some people will even go as far to say that if flavour is top priority, that air fryers may not be the best choice. Despite these setbacks, they remain a growing popularity.

Plastic-eating Organisms

There are bacteria and fungi that can break down plastic. The problem is which species? Which types of plastic? And how fast can these organisms dissolve voluminous amounts of plastic? Not all plastics are made equal as some are tougher to break down, due their more industrialized compositions that are not found in nature. Ideonella sakaiensis, is only able to eat a particular kind of plastic called PET. Pestalotiopsis microspora and other fungi species are capable of breaking down polyurethane plastic. As concerns for the environment and waste reduction have grown immensely in recent years, the research for the best plastic-eating organisms has, too. Given that there are numerous organisms in nature that have been proven to be able to break down numerous plastics, it would be safer for scientist to go stick with the route of using existing species as opposed to trying to re-engineer bacteria with unintended consequences. This is a concern some have expressed, but even that too, needs to proven if it is true that the excessive use of re-engineered bacteria to eat plastics would truly cause problematic resistant bacteria to occur.

Solid State Batteries

The batteries present in most electronics and automobiles today are lithium-ion batteries. Unlike the lead-acid and nickel-metal hydride batteries of the past, lithium-ion batteries are made with a liquid electrolyte to control the flow of energy between the cathode and anode. The advantages of a lithium-ion battery include longer battery life, greater performance in varying temperatures, recyclable components, and higher energy density. Despite the many benefits, there are drawbacks to lithium-ion batteries. Though lighter than older battery technologies, the liquid inside still make lithium-ions rather heavy. They also perform better when in stackable packs, which adds more bulk and weight. The electrolytes are also flammable, can be unstable in extreme temperatures, and lead to explosions or fires if damaged or improperly charged.

Solid State Batteries are the hot pursuit in battery technology for the 2020s. This is because Solid State Batteries use solid electrolyte, have higher energy density than a Li-ion batteries, faster charging, no fire or explosion risks, all while being smaller and more compact by default. With all the immense benefits that SSB offer, why then has it not found its way across smartphones and electric cars, yet? The answer is cost. Scaling up production to the level needed for usage in electric vehicles and other devices is presently extremely expensive. Despite the challenge, many companies including Ford, Volkswagen, Samsung and others have announced plans for the investment and development of this game-changing technology.

Recycling Car Batteries 

For some reason, some critics insist that electric vehicle batteries cannot be properly recycled and re-used. This is false. Tesla, Volkswagen, Nissan as well as several other third parties, have successfully managed to both recycle or extract components from batteries. As the race for electrification surges in the 2020s, there has been understandable concerns of what will happen to all the batteries from millions, eventually billions of vehicles across the world. Manufacturers are certainly aware of this, and are working to do their part to ensure that old batteries will not become useless, problematic pieces of waste.

All-electric Aircraft

Land vehicles are not the only machines going all-electric. Aircrafts are also heavy polluters, hence why there is a lot of effort also going towards making aircrafts zero-emission vehicles. While the automotive industry is moving faster, the aviation industry has not been asleep in regards to electrification. On September 15, 2021, Rolls-Royce announced through a Tweet about their all-electric airplane, Spirit Of Innovation, taking its first flight. 2 years before this, the world’s first commercial all-electric plane, the six-seater Harbour Air ePlane, performed a 15-minute trial flight in Richmond, British Columbia, on December 10, 2019. The development and production of zero-emission aircrafts is continuing strong.

5G

5G Ultra Wideband began rolling out on April 3, 2019. Though the technology to use it is available in many handsets released then and now, it has still yet to reach many places around the world to the extent that 4G currently has. 5G has been deployed in 60+ countries and counting, though not all cities in these countries have it, yet. What exactly is 5G and what makes it much more special than 4G? 5G is the 5th generation mobile network. It is a new global wireless standard after 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G networks. 5G enables a new kind of network that is designed to connect nearly everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices. The benefits?

• 5G is significantly faster than 4G
• 5G has more capacity than 4G
• 5G has significantly lower latency than 4G
• 5G is a unified platform that is more capable than 4G
• 5G uses spectrum better than 4G

Linux Smartphones

At one point there were 4 major mobile operating systems: BlackBerry 10, Windows Phone, iOS, and Android. Microsoft halted active development of Windows 10 Mobile back in 2017, before entirely discontinuing it on January 14, 2020. Similarly, BlackBerry has not developed BlackBerry 10 since 2017, and will be ultimately decommissioning the BlackBerry OS network on January 04, 2022. Where does this lead consumers who want an offering outside of Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS? Linux. While the present major contenders do not have handsets suitable for hard-core daily use, they exist for basic use: PinePhone from Pine64, and Librem 5 from Purism.

The first PinePhone was released in July 2020, with pre-orders for the newest PinePhone Pro available October 15, 2021. The Librem 5 released November 18, 2020. What makes these two handsets exciting, and potentially game-changing for consumers is their emphasis on privacy and the speed at which their operating systems are developing. The handsets both have physical hardware for shuttering their microphones, cameras, and Wi-fi, while their operating systems are open-sourced. In addition to all of this, both handsets also have headphone jacks, MicroSD card slots, and removable batteries — 3 features that have disappeared alarmingly fast from Android handsets, whose makers used to previously include these features in their past handsets. The displays on the PinePhone and Librem 5 also do not have notches or holepunches; a trait that a number of consumers strongly dislike.

Solar-powered Smartphones

Fingerprint scanning, iris scanning, vein reading, wireless charging, zooming lenses, 8K recording, and rapid charging are just some of the many advancements smartphones have seen in the last 5 years. One notable advancement not widely seen yet would be a solar-powered smartphone. While the idea of solar-powered smartphone sounds intriguing on paper, its usefulness would be limited in reality for a number of reasons: cost, complexity, and fragility.

Solar panels are still not inexpensive yet, and applying them to millions of smartphones would be extremely expensive. Durability and reliability would be the next points to be concerned about. Because a smartphone is used very often, and oftentimes dropped, bumped, and scuffed, the solar panels would have to be sturdy enough to withstand daily abuse, which is a complex challenge in its own right. The solar-powered phone’s body and internal components would also have to have high heat-resistance to withstand sunrays in case a user wants to charge their device in direct sunlight for an extended period of time. For this reason alone, it would be far more sensible to wait until Solid State Batteries become mainstream in smartphones before making mass produced smartphones with solar panels. Certainly not all smartphone should, nor do they need to have solar panels. However, offering models that have them is a good offering for outdoor consumers that would love this feature.

COVID-19: A Wake Up Call For Change

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these links are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

COVID-19

A new illness has rapidly made its way across the world, since its official discovery on December 31, 2019, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. The disease was simply called “coronavirus” until it was officially given the name Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in February 2020. COVID-19 comes from a large family of coronaviruses. Some of these viruses are zoonotic, being able to spread from animals to humans. Others, are not. Human coronaviruses are common and usually associated non-severe illnesses such as the common cold. COVID-19 has a highly variable effect, ranging from mild to severe depending on a person’s health and age. COVID-19 is a new disease that has not been identified in humans until 2019. This disease is caused from SARS-CoV-2.

Before COVID-19 emerged, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2002-2003, and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2012, were the only two other cases of coronaviruses that have been documented. Canada Health Services offers complete informational pages on updates, awareness, symptoms, and many more.

A Wake Up Call For Change

COVID-19 has taken the world by shock and tragedy. Hospitals are overwhelmed, many businesses have been forced to close, supply chains are overworked, and the list goes on. There have been many outbreaks in history: SARS, MERS, Ebola, Zika virus, and H1N1 to name a few. Yet, it only seems to be now that the world is realizing that the way of doing a number of things needs to be changed. COVID-19 is a wake up call for change, but will society listen? Remote working, health, sanitation, diet, manufacturing, and governmental systems — all of these need to be looked at.

Remote Working

Working remotely is when an employee works away from a traditional environment such as an office, through the use of technology. Remote work has risen a lot in recent years as more people and employers continue to discover the tremendous benefits associated with it. The benefits?

• No commute
• Saves Energy
• Environmentally friendly
• Saves costs
• Greater hour flexibility
• Greater work-life balance
• Greater employee retention
• More productivity
• Reduces/eliminates the spread of illnesses such as colds, COVID-19, and others

Despite all the benefits remote working does for the world, many companies still have not embraced it. As a result, millions of vehicles flock to the road contributing to air pollution, congested roads, and noise. Huge buildings take up lots of space, consume lots of energy, materials, and plenty of other resources. Employees, depending on their distance, have less time for themselves due to commuting, weather, and road conditions. As a result, they will be more likely to take sick days, or have peak performance.

With the rapid international spread of COVID-19, it is only now that some companies who have been adamant about remote working, have been forced into it. It should not take the outbreak of a contagious disease to realize that remote working exists. In the age of high-speed Internet, advanced computers, smartphones, and a plethora of applications, there should no longer be an excuse for this. For all jobs where it is possible to work remotely, it needs to become a permanent thing if companies wish to drastically reduce environmental pollution, save energy and costs, and make their employees happier. Resisting remote technology is both unintelligent and dangerous.

Hospitals

There has been many outbreaks in the history of time. Some restricted to specific geographical areas, while others make their way around the globe. Despite all the outbreaks of the pasts, the health infrastructure of many countries have been tragically caught be surprise in the rapid spread of COVID-19. Italy is a notable example of this. Despite being a highly developed, internationally recognized nation for its history music and food, Italy has been suffering the hardest from this. The reason? Not enough hospital beds for its predominantly old population, not enough medical equipment, nor enough doctors to deal with the influx of diseased patients.

The world’s infrastructure should have been prepared for rapid outbreaks. It has already seen them. Why did COVID-19 in particular have to remind the world that many countries should have increased the number of available beds and equipment? As a result of this tardiness, many people, particularly the elderly, have died. Worse, the loved ones in some countries were not even allowed to have ceremonies or say last words, due to strict isolation measures in place.

Sanitation

Soap and water is not a new invention. It has actually been around for millennia. It is not precisely known when people discovered the vital importance of washing the hands with soap and water. An Austro-Hungarian doctor, Ignaz Semmelweis, did propose the practice of washing hands with chlorinated lime solutions in 1847 while working in a Viennese hospital. Between sometime then and now, washing with soap and water has become the universal golden standard for both disease prevention and hygiene. Unfortunately, despite all the past outbreaks around the world, it seems to be only now, with COVID-19 around the globe, that proper hand washing is being internationally emphasized more than ever. Why now? Imagine all the lives that could have been saved if people across the world had consistently washed with soap and water, since the time that golden combination has been discovered. The Centres For Disease Control And Prevention and Health Canada have complete informational pages dedicated to hand hygiene.

Diet

What do mice, rats, bats, monkeys, and bushmeat animals all have in common? All have proven past records of causing horrific illnesses. Plague, HIV, and Ebola are three notable examples. While the source of COVID-19 is still not 100% certain at this time (March 2020) most authorities have traced the genetic connection to bats, pangolins, or possibly other wild mammals. It is time to permanently stop eating wild animals with consistent connections to disease. Not only is it highly unsanitary, it is also bad for the ecosystem and environment. Frequently hunted animals will go extinct from excessive hunting.

There has been efforts to educate people to refrain from bushmeat during the ebola outbreak. Still, many other countries around the world continued eating animals with a consistent history of disease. Since COVID-19 has spread, the subject of wet markets has been revisited once again. Rather than waiting for something to become an international problem, the lesson should have been learned from the past already.

Some people may be quick to point out that proper cooking can kill the viruses. Unfortunately, bushmeat handlers often practice very poor handling, cooking, storing, and disposal of the meats. Even then, there are some diseases that cannot be cooked out. Lytico-bodig disease is an example.

Manufacturing

The world is too heavily dependent on China, as well as other countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and the Philippines. The route reason for this is bulk, cheap labour. As a result, a number of tech companies with plants in China, faced product delays and shortages of parts when the country was forced to shut its factories down. Outside of viral infections, local manufacturing has the following benefits:

• Easier communication. When a company produces its goods in the same country it is based, this eliminates language barriers.
• Positive press. Manufacturing locally sets a company apart from others, and the “Made In Local Country” is a valuable marketing tool.
• Higher labor standards. Generally speaking, manufacturers in developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, have higher and better-enforced labor standards to protect the well-being of workers.
• Positive perception. Because the public of developed nations tends to perceive their local-made products as being of better quality than products manufactured overseas, they are more willing to pay more for them.
• Faster fulfillment times. By going with a domestic manufacturer, companies experience a quicker turnaround time, than they would sourcing their product overseas.
• Reduced shipping costs. The farther a product has to be shipped, the more expensive it will be.
• Flexible payments options. International manufacturers often accept only a few payment methods. In some cases, they require full upfront payment from foreign clients. Local manufacturing almost always offers flexible financing terms.
• Easier Visiting Businesses who choose a local manufacturer are much better able to see firsthand how a facility operates, and see how their product is produced. This in turn allows it to be easier to catch prohibited practices.
• Greater Intellectual Security. Connecting closely with the easier visiting point, this also allows for decreased intellectual property theft
• Environmentally Friendlier. By making a product on the same soil as its domestic market, this reduces excessive usage of planes, trucks, and trains.

With all these benefits in place, and the consequences COVID-19 highlighted, it is time to stop taking advantage of other people for cheap, bulk labour. All existing foreign plants can remain in place, or gradually transition back to the country origin. For all newer companies and plans for newer factories, local is the way to go for a better, more secured future.

Abolish Communism

There are just 5 countries out of 195 that have a communist government system: China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. Unlike democratic countries, the citizens of communist countries have far less freedoms and rights, including the press. While communism has proven to be oppressive and cruel for a long time, COVID-19 further proves that it is high time these countries, especially China, work towards abolishing it as soon as they feasibly can.

China did not ask for this disease to come upon themselves. It was not man-made, brought be spies, soldiers or any kind of superstitious nonsense. However, China can be rightfully scolded for detaining and quieting people such as Li Wenliang, who tried to warn the public about a disease spreading. As a result of China spending more effort in censoring and oppressing, it and the world has now suffered more than necessary from the communist government’s dictatorial approach to matters. It is time for communism to end. Many nations that were previously communist, have managed to transition peacefully. China can do the same.

Racism

Since the time and spread of COVID-19, there has been increased racism towards Asians. While the virus did in fact come from China, and the government can rightfully be blamed for mishandling it, viruses do not know or care about race. They are not something that exclusively affects one race or ethnicity, and avoids the rest. Reacting towards others with hate, only creates greater problems. It hinders the healing process. It makes people worried about getting treatment.

Poverty

Poverty is an intensely complex subject caused from numerous factors: lack of education, inability to get education, lack of employment, mental health, physical health, gender, racism, high cost of living, and many other factors. Billions across the world do not have proper houses. They are living on the streets, in shacks, shelters, and other unstable conditions. As a result, this poses a serious risk for the community spread of COVID-19. Curbing poverty is a complex problem with no single solution. However, world leaders should not wait until an outbreak arrives to realize that they should have done more sooner.

Will The World Wake Up?

Will the world wake up? Or will leaders and citizens go back to usual as soon as things slow down? COVID-19 is certainly not the first, nor will it be the last international plague. More will follow at an unknown point in time. 

January 2020 In Review

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these links are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

Why January 2020?

January 1st, 2020, marked the start of a brand new decade. This year also happens to be a Leap Year, giving it a length of 366 days as opposed to 365. As with other New Year’s Days, the day was celebrated through fireworks, parties, gatherings, or other special events. Before the 2020s decade began, many people took the time to reflect the changes , challenges, and opportunities they have been through during the 2010s. Likewise, people also expressed the excitement and things that wait in store for their lives going forward. One’s personal experience with how January 2020 went for them will vary significantly from person to person. Many may report feelings of mediocrity, excitement, sorrow, anger, or fear for a variety of reasons. Outside of people’s personal responses, January 2020 unfortunately made a lot of headlines that have either been shocking or both shocking and sad.

Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752

On January 08, 2020, a plane crashed between the Iranian cities of Parand and Shahriar. 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, 4 Afghans, 3 Germans, and 3 Brits, bringing the total to 176 casualties. Investigators were scrambling that Wednesday to determine the cause of the crash. Iranian state media blamed it on technical issues, while Ukraine said it was a rocket attack. It has since been definitely proven to be an attack, with Iran even admitting that it fired 2 ballistic missiles at the plane. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, President of Ukraine, says leaked audio proves Iran knew what happened to flight 752 before they even shot it down.

Motive

Why did this happen in the first place? Tension. Hostilities between Tehran and Washington District of Columbia were soaring. Iran fired rockets at the Iraqi bases in retaliation for an American drone strike that killed Iran’s top commander, Qasem Soleimani, in Iraq on January 03, 2020. As a result, this put Iran into a very defensive mode, thus leading them to firing missiles at a plane, only to come out with the truth after being widely condemned for their action.

“If there were no tensions, if there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families. This is something that happens when you have conflict and war. Innocents bear the brunt of it and it is a reminder why all of us need to work so hard on de-escalation, moving forward to reduce tensions and find a pathway that doesn’t involve further conflict and killing”  — Justin Trudeau

Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)

Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more critical diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS-CoV) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS-CoV). The current ongoing novel coronavirus is a strain that has not been previously identified in humans. The virus was first reported from Wuhan, China on December 31, 2019. Since then, it has been wreaking havoc on China. Due to travelling or even proximity in the case of countries such as Japan and Korea, there have been a number or coronavirus cases outside of Asia as well. Despite the official report date of December 31, 2019, individuals have been reporting unusual respiratory problems since early December 2019.

Symptoms

Common signs of infection include respiratory symptoms, fever, cough, shortness of breath, and breathing difficulties. In more serious cases, the infection can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory syndrome, or kidney failure, ultimately leading to death. Standard recommendations to prevent infection spread include regular hand washing with soap, covering mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing, and thoroughly cooking meat and eggs. Close contact with anyone showing symptoms should be avoided.

Origin

The source? It is still not absolutely certain. Officials have been trying to identify whether it were bats, snakes, civets, or seafood, but there is still not a definite agreement. The Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market has been widely considered as the main source of the outbreak of a novel coronavirus. Again, not everyone agrees, with some parties saying that it was caused from bats — a species not offered at the Huanan Market. Xinhua has confirmed that some samples from the Huanan Market were found to have the virus. This also proves that the virus is highly relevant to the trading of the wild animals.

Cure

The vaccine for 2019-nCoV is under development at this time. Medical supplies, masks, gloves, and hazmat suits have been surging in demand ever since the outbreak started making headlines. For now, proper sanitation, handling, cooking and storing of foods, as well as healthy dieting is the key to preventing and fighting the disease.

Cancellations And Deaths

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has caused many events within China to be cancelled, as well as travel to be either restricted or temporarily forbidden in the case of some countries such as the United States. At the time of this writing, the death toll stands at 492 and counting. Racist abuse towards Asians has also been on the rise, creating more problems alongside an already critical problem.

Departure Of The Sussexes

The departure of the Sussexes is not a tragic event by any means.It is, however, one that made notable headlines across the world in January. The biggest shock was to the Royal family. Despite Harry mentioning that it was something he thought about for a long time, it still brought much shock the Queen and other Royal members.

Motive

Privacy and safety. Harry openly mentioned that the death of his mother Princess Diana is a wound that still hurts. She died during an accident while desperately trying to get away from paparazzi in Paris. After watching the media harm both Meghan and himself for years, they decided to move away from the Royal life in 2020. The Queen confirmed this with a statement released on January 13, 2020.

What This Says About The Monarchy

The Sussexes have admitted trying to keep a tough face about their struggles. Meghan in an interview last year said that nobody ever asked if she was ok. This brings up numerous questions:

1. If the Royal family members wanted them to stay, why did they do so little, if anything to look after their mental health?
2. Why did the Sussexes feel afraid to tell at least one person in the family that they were struggling and could do for some support?
3. Was the Royal family oblivious to the malicious media about the Sussexes? Did they not notice that all the harmful press towards the Sussexes was weighing on them?

Ultimately, the departure of the Sussexes proves that the Monarchy has much improvement to do in regards to offering better personal support for their members. Additionally, it needs to do a better job at offering more privacy, curbing racism, sexism, and other toxic attitudes. All of which are issues that have been brought up through statements in the past.

Brexit

The word “Brexit” is portmanteau of the words “British” and “Exit” referring to the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union. A referendum (also called public vote) was held back in June 2016, where 17.4 million people opted for Brexit. This resulted in 52% for Leave, 48% for remain.

European Union

The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union involving 28 European countries. The Union allows free trade, meaning goods can move between EU countries without and checks or extra charges. The Union also allows free movement for people to live and work in the countries they choose. The United Kingdom joined back in January 01, 1973.

Motive

There are many reasons behind the reason for the United Kingdom wanting to leave. Ultimately, these are the three major reasons: Immigration, economy, and sovereignty.

Immigration

The European Union allows anybody within the Union to move and work freely between EU nations. Some Leave voters cited frustration with the lack of control they have over their borders. Others expressed disdain over immigrants taking jobs and not adapting British culture. Another thing voters hated was the right of migrants to claim welfare benefits in the United Kingdom, which Brits believed was putting a strain on the National Health Services.

Economy

The United Kingdom prefers being in control of its economy. The fact that the country uses the British Pound Sterling as its currency as opposed to the Euro, is an example of this. Some people have expressed frustration and competition over jobs caused from the free movement policy of the European Union. Criticism of the Union irresponsibly spending money has also been brought up.

Sovereignty

The United Kingdom prides itself on being a nation with a long, rich history, and having immense international influence. Over time, a number of British people began feeling disconnected with the European Union, and frustrated with its policies. By leaving the Union, they believe that Britain will have far greater independence and a better sense of British nationality.

Concerns Over Brexit

The United Kingdom has been in the European Union for 47 years. Naturally, this created shock and disappointment from other European Union countries when their Leaders heard the news. Many Remain voters are greatly concerned about the future economy of Britain, as well as ease of movement. Though Britain left the Union, there is still a lot of matters that must be dealt with during its transition period:

• Law enforcement
• Data sharing and security
• Aviation standards and safety
• Access to fishing waters
• Supplies of electricity and gas
• Licensing and regulation of medicines

Until December 31, 2020, the United Kingdom must abide by European Union rules.

Calabasas Helicopter Crash

On January 26, 2020, the following people died in a helicopter crash:

• Ara Zobayan, 50
• Kobe Bryant, 41
• Gianna Bryant, 13
• Sarah Chester, 45
• Payton Chester, 13
• John Altobelli, 56
• Keri Altobelli, 46
• Alyssa Altobelli, 14
• Christina Mauser, 38

Motive

Kobe was supposed to coach a youth basketball team, the Lady Mambas, for 12:00 PM in Thousand Oaks, California. Gianna, Alyssa, and Payton were involved with the game. A Sikorsky S-76B helicopter took off from John Wayne Airport en route to Camarillo Airport. Weather conditions were not good that day, leading the pilot to seek special permission to fly through fog. The helicopter took off at 9:06 AM, only to end up striking a hill 40 minutes later, killing all 9 occupants from blunt trauma.

International Reaction

Kobe Bryant was recognized as an international basketball icon that many fans admired. As such, the annunciation of his death had millions in shock. Numerous celebrities, officials, and regular people paid various tributes to his death. Ceremonies were held for the families that lost their love ones in the crash.

Newfoundland Snow Storm 2020

Newfoundland is a province in Canada that normally snow a lot. Unfortunately, this year brought a record-breaking amount of snow. Enough snow that caused the province to declare a state of emergency for 8 days, last month. The last time the province declared a state of emergency was 35 years ago.

Details

Before the snow storm took place, Newfoundland had already been getting a lot of snow. When the storm did arrive, it only further exacerbated the situation. During the rage of the storm on January 16, 2020, winds topped speeds of up to 130 km/h on some parts of the province’s coast. The storm was large enough for it to be seen outer space. Thousands of homes and businesses lost power. On the evening of January 18, 2020, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) commenced planning and began activating forces to support the province of Newfoundland and Labrador following the unprecedented winter storm. The mission was wrapped up on the 28th of January. Snowfall totals from a Tweet shared the heights for some municipalities:

• 93 cm (Mt. Pearl)
• 91 cm (Paradise)
• 82 cm (St. John’s East)
• 77 cm (St. John’s YYT)
• 48 cm Lethbridge
• 35 cm (Gander West)
• 34 cm (Gander YQX)

The Rest Of 2020?

Despite the deaths caused from fallen aircraft or disease, and the political moves that happened in the United Kingdom, a nation who many other countries trade with extensively, there is still much to be seen for the duration of 2020. The situation with the novel coronavirus serves as a reminder for the science industry to be prepared for unexpected outbreaks. Most importantly, taking early warnings more seriously, and preventing potential outbreaks by engaging in more sanitary practices across all industries — be it hospitality, culinary, health, or engineering.

Electric Vehicle Startup Predictions (2019)

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Introduction

When the cold weather comes, you know it is time to put on winter gear. Flip a coin, and it will land on either side. Drop glass on concrete, and it will break. Such scenarios are obvious and highly predictable. This is the polar opposite when it come onto predicting the success of electric vehicle startups. As proven during the past months of 2019, there are a lot of ups and downs in the automotive landscape. Factors like poor funding, lack of consumer interest, and poor relations with suppliers can easily make or brake a startup.

Success?

What do I define as success? For this write-up, success means bringing a prototype to production, and remaining afloat for at least a decade and beyond. Before proceeding further, it is very important that I mention I am by no means a professional expert in determining the outcome of  businesses. To predict the success of the electric startups I am discussing, I will be focusing on the following:

• Leaders
• Product
• Finances
• Factories

The Startups

• Havelaar Canada
• Lucid Motors
• Rivian Automotive
• Faraday Future
• Atlis Motor Vehicles
• NIO
• Bollinger

Havelaar Canada

By far, this Toronto-based company is the most enigmatic on this list. The last time the public has seen, or heard from Havelaar was all the way back in 2017. The Bison E-Pickup truck was unveiled at that time. Since then, there has been no public sightings, or any media reports for the matter. This had led me to think that they must have cancelled it. At least, that is what I thought. Upon visiting the website a couple days ago, I discovered that the look of the website has changed significantly since the last time I did a critique on it back in 2018. There is no longer any mention of the E-Pickup anywhere.

Leaders

Under the team page of the website, I can see that there are two men listed: Tony Han, founder and CTO, and Russell Pullan, CEO. Both have impressive credentials from the Ontarian universities they studied at. Both also happen to speak no less than 3 languages! It does not mention their fluency, but nevertheless, having a conversational command of multiple languages is not only impressive, but motivating for those doubting the purpose of learning another language or two. Linguistics aside, Havelaar mentions that Tony led the development of the Bison — the first pickup truck designed and prototyped in Canada.

Leadership Conclusion

The leaders seem to be credible people, and I have not found any shady reports on them to date.

Product

In 2017, the product was the Bison E-pickup. They even built a prototype of it, too. What I see now is the Havelaar powertrain. The powertrain consist of a motor, battery, and an inverter which converts battery energy from DC to AC for the motor, controls motor speed and captures energy from regenerative braking to recharge the battery. They also proudly mention that the system does not use an on-board charger for the following reasons quoted directly from the website:

• Less weight leads to better driving performance
• Fewer parts for greater reliability
• Lower cost is critical for the mass-market
• More space for design flexibility

Under the sustainability page, Havelaar states that the powertrain is capable of charging directly from the grid, renewable sources such as solar panels, and existing charging stations. Havelaar says it is unique intellectual property that existing electric powertrains currently do not have.

Product Conclusion 

which vehicles have they implemented these powertrains within? How come nobody has talked about how innovating this technology is? For this reason, I will say that it sounds promising on paper, but remain uncertain about how good it truly is.

Finances

Because Havelaar Canada is so mysterious and under-reported, their financial information and funders are not widely talked about. Nevertheless, the University of Toronto news section (November 10, 2017) mentioned that the University of Toronto Electric Vehicle Research Centre (UTEV) secured a major investment to support collaborative research into next-generation electric vehicle (EV) technologies with its founding partner Havelaar Canada. How much? No exact number givens.

Financial Conclusion 

The financial state is unknown, but based on how much they may have been testing their powertrain or even pickup truck under the quiet, their financial state could very well be excellent.

Factories

Invest In Ontario says that vehicles are being built now at Havelaar’s prototype facility in Toronto. The website went on to further mention that Ontario government site selectors are helping Tony find a location for a full-scale manufacturing facility. The goal initially was to begin commercially selling the E-Pickup in 2019. With it being November 2019 at the time I write these predictions, Havelaar are nowhere to be seen in Ontario. Nor are they remotely mentioned by anyone. No journalists, automotive photographers, nothing. Perhaps the timetable was a bit too aggressive and they have decided to take their time more? Building an electric vehicle is challenging, so I do hope they take their time to make Canada’s first electric truck right.

Manufacturing Conclusion

Havelaar currently does not have a full-scale factory. Given that they appear to be serious and proud of their powertrain, they are likely still actively looking for a good site.

Success: Unknown

As a Canadian myself, I would really love to see the Bison E-Pickup became a reality. Could Tony and his team become the Elon Musk of Canada? I am not too sure about them reaching international levels of appeal. However, they do appear to be interested in keeping their technology affordable. How much? I do not know. Being designed and built in Canada will be a major selling point for Canadians. Other countries that highly respect Canada, will find that attractive, too. Mind you, they did not mention anything about selling it abroad. In case they do, the capability of charging directly from the grid will be on of Havelaar’s best selling points. That is if, someone does not master it by the time their trucks launch, if they ever end up launching it.

Lucid Motors

Is Lucid Motors just another one of those California startups that is all talk and no action? Some people might say so, but it appears that this is not truth. While it might not end up being a “Tesla Killer” you will learn why it is more than just a flashy luxury competitor below. In fact, it is apparently not even being targeted at Tesla.

Leaders

There are a lot of team leaders over at Lucid. I will be focusing solely on the chief executive officer, who also happens to be the chief technology officer: Peter Rawlinson. Before Peter took over his role, the company was led by their former CEO and co-founder Sam Weng. Is Peter Rawlinson a good leader? I tried searching around to see if he was scandalous or ill-natured in anyway. Luckily for him, I did not find any reports on that. In fact, what I did find was that he was Vice President of Vehicle Engineering at Tesla and Chief Engineer of the Model S. Yes, that is right: former chief engineer of the Tesla Model S. This is a huge deal, because Tesla is considered the golden standard for electric vehicles.

Or at least you think so? Perhaps not? Based on what Peter said earlier in 2019 at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) he has a different opinion:

“Today there isn’t a luxury EV available for anyone to buy anywhere in the world. I’m not hammering Tesla unduly here, I’m just an observer, I’m being analytical. I think they’re beautifully engineered, super products, but not true luxury.”

So who exactly are his competitors then? Mercedes, Audi and BMW are his main competitors.

Leadership Conclusion

Lucid Motors has fantastic leaders that know what they are doing.

Product

Lucid’s flagship product is presently the Lucid Air. This is a full-sized, all-electric, luxury sedan. According to the website, the Lucid air will have 643km of range, do 0 to 100 km/h in under 2.5 seconds, and have a top speed of over 321 km/h. I have no idea how close those numbers will be under real world testing. I remain highly skeptical of getting anywhere near 600km of range during a long, cold Canadian winter. The interior? Yes, in my honest opinion, both the interior and exterior proudly displays luxury. The exterior particularly looks like a blend of Bugatti Chiron, 2015 Dodge Charger, and 2019 Lincoln MKZ. Based on the existence of test drives seen on YouTube, Lucid has clearly managed to build working prototypes.

Product Conclusion

 I am not into sedans, but even I cannot deny that this vehicle looks very luxurious and sporty. I believe that it will have its audience, if marketed correctly.

Finances

Lucid Motors announced a $1 billion deal with the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund back in September 2018. They confirmed it completed later.

Financial Conclusion

Lucid received a generous fund, which now leads to the next point: factories.

Factories

On November 06, 2019, Lucid Tweeted that construction is underway in Casa Grande, Arizona to begin production of the all-electric Lucid Air luxury sedan in late 2020. 7 days later, Lucid even released a video to YouTube titled “Lucid Air Beta Prototype Body Structures”

Manufacturing Conclusion

Lucid is getting real with making the Lucid Air a legitimate all-electric true-luxury offering.

Success: Quite Likely

So long as Lucid Motors does not irresponsibly plough through its budget, or run into some unexpected complication, they will likely succeed as a company. However, their rivals BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz are also electrifying, too. All of which have far more resources, especially Audi. None of those competitors will offer a full-size luxury sedan by 2020 however, so this could give Lucid a chance to get into customers hands first.

Rivian Automotive

Of all the startups I am discussing within this predictive post, this one by far is the one that has been making most headlines. The company has a rather interesting history in that it was founded in 2009, with the focus to build an electric sports coupé. This prototype was partially revealed in 2011, but then scrapped entirely. Fast forward to November 2018, and two products were revealed.

Leaders

Robert (also called RJ) Scaringe is both the CEO and founder of Rivian. He has also become very recognizable and has made plenty of media appearances, too. His official profile states that he earned his MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he was a member of the research team in the Sloan Automotive Laboratory. So far, there has not been any controversies and scandals he has been involved with.

Leadership Conclusion

Rivian is in good hands. The investments, media coverage, and interest proves this further. 

Products

Rivian is releasing two products for 2020: Rivian R1T and Rivian R1S, a pickup truck and SUV respectively. Both of which also have functional prototypes. Why is this creating such intense hype and interest from legacy automakers? Traditionally, pickup trucks are known for being gas-guzzling monsters. North America and other parts of the world are deeply in love with pickup trucks. Electric vehicles are also quickly capturing consumer interest. Pickup + all-electric powertrain = intense interest. So much so, that even a legacy automaker announced a strategic investment.

Product Conclusion

Finances

Rivian has received a healthy amount of investment from various groups. The original three were the Saudi Arabian Abdul Latif Jameel, Japan’s Sumimoto Corporation, and  London’s Standard Chartered Bank. Amazon invested $700 million in February 2019. Ford Motor Company invested $500 million in April 2019, as part of a strategic partnership to build an all-new battery electric vehicle using Rivian’s flexible skateboard platform.

Financial Conclusion 

Rivian has solid finances. Investors clearly see Rivian as a worthy startup, based on all the investments they have been receiving. As of September 2019, they managed to secure $1.5 Billion.

Factories

When it comes onto manufacturing, Rivian has clearly done their homework. They were focused on their electric vehicle technology and manufacturing during their planning stages. It was not until when they officially took over an abandoned Mitsubishi in Normal, Illinois, that they decided it was time to unveil themselves to the world.  On March 24, 2019, Rivian Tweeted a photograph of the factory stating that there is a lot going on inside.

Manufacturing Conclusion

Rivian is on track for launching full-scale production in 2020.

Success: Highly Likely

Unlike a lot of other startups that have been too ambitious about what they are offering without getting their finances, technology, and facilities sorted out, Rivian has done the polar opposite: kept silent for nearly a decade till they met what needed to be done. This stealth mode has done wonders for them. With investors, consumers, and commercial industries all highly interested in what they have to offer, I strongly believe that they will be successful. However, this can change drastically if the company falls short on reliability, servicing, customer service, or gets into a severe scandal to name a few.

Faraday Future

Similarly to Tesla and Lucid, Faraday Future is also based in California. Unfortunately, Faraday Future’s name has become associated with “vaporware” and being a joke-of-a-company as other people would put it. So what went wrong? Are these accusations justified?

Leaders

The founder and former CEO, Jia Yueting, is largely why Faraday Future has been, and still is in much uncertainty and financial trouble. This is the same man who fled from his native land, China, to escape billions of dollars of debt, left LeEco crippled, only to end up declaring bankruptcy in the United States last month, October 2019. Given his past leadership and role with Faraday Future, it is no wonder investors have been spooked to pour their resources into this company. After acknowledging that his presence as CEO and debts were dragging the company, Faraday Future appointed Carsten Breitfeld as CEO on September 03, 2019. This is the same person who led the development of the BMW i8. In addition to this, Carsten co-founded Byton, and once served as the CEO for Iconiq Motors. He is confident about reigniting hope and trust for the future of Faraday. Jia Yueting is still involved with the company as chief product officer. Many concerns with this company are still present, including the financial status.

Leadership Conclusion

Despite Carsten’s clean reputation, it remains to be seen how much of an improvement will be made under his rule.

Product

Despite all the negative press about Faraday Future, and how financially weak they are, they do have functional prototypes. Both YouTube and Facebook videos prove this. As for the product itself, it is called the Faraday FF91. It is an ultra-luxury, high performance crossover. A very good-looking, futuristic one, too. With a price tag ranging between $150,000 – $200,000, the company made it very clear that it was meant to go after Bentley and Rolls Royce. Likely the Bentley Bentayga and Rolls Royce Cullinan respectively. They did not say which models precisely, but this assumption makes a lot of sense. Beyond the FF91, Faraday also mentioned plans for a mid-sized crossover called the Faraday FF81, and then the Faraday FF71, which they plan to use as the volume seller.

Product Conclusion

Faraday has interesting, ambitious plans. However, they are struggling miserably to get the Faraday FF91 into production, making it seem highly unlikely they will even get the higher volume models on the road anytime soon or ever.

Finances

Faraday’s finances is the major reason why the company is struggling so badly. So much so, that the company has lost key people such as Nick Sampson, Peter Savagian, and many other employees over the years. Speaking of that, Faraday put many employees on unpaid leave last year, only to confirm that they could not actually return March 1st 2019 as planned. This too, is another notorious thing that has caused distrust and disappointment, as ex-employees had just moved on and did not bother to wait it out. Who can blame them?

The biggest financial battle took place during the dispute with their partner, Evergrande back in October 2018. What happened was that Evergrande agreed to spend up to $2 billion to finance Faraday Future and get the FF91 to market. However, Faraday spent $800 million of that investment by mid-2018 without building a single salable vehicle. This resulted in a prolonged dispute that nearly put Faraday out of business. By December 1st 2018, Faraday Future publicly Tweeted  they have entered into a newly agreed upon restructuring agreement. This agreement would allow them to open up to other investors.

Financial Conclusion

Faraday Future’s financial state is highly unstable.

Factories

Faraday Future initially planned to build a $1 billion factory in Nevada to produce the Faraday FF91. Those plans were cancelled in 2017 for an existing factory in Hanford, California, where tire company Pirelli used to operate. As I mentioned above, Faraday has managed to produce prototypes of the FF91, but nothing salable due much hardships.

Manufacturing Conclusion

Faraday Future has a factory, but has not been able to put it to good use.

Success: Highly Unlikely

I would like to see Faraday Future successfully produce salable vehicles. Their design language is unique, fresh, and futuristic. Unfortunately, their financial situation and lack of investor interest make it highly unlikely that they will succeed. Especially, when you consider that other rival startups have managed to secure far better funding, and remain in the minds of interested consumers.

Atlis Motor Vehicles

This startup was founded in 2016. No, not in California or Michigan, but in Mesa, Arizona. I like the looks of the Atlis XT quite a bit, but there are a number of questions: will it successfully make it to production? What about the company? Will they be successful as whole? If there is one thing really great about the company’s website, is that they actually have an FAQ page that addresses a lot of these questions: their future, the audience, and such.

Leaders

Mark Hanchett is the main leader behind Atlis Motor Vehicles. He has served as Founder, Director, and CEO of Atlis Motor Vehicles since inception in 2016. His profile mentions that he has over ten years of product development experience with 16 successful electromechanical and software product launches. Which exactly? That is not specified. At least not on the Atlis biography. It does mention that before starting Atlis, he served as a director at Axon Enterprise Incorporate from 2012 to 2017. Before that, he served as senior mechanical engineer and project manager. Ross Compton, Lead Vehicle Desinger (LVD) also appears to be a notable figure withing company, as he has even been interviewed about the company back in July.

Leadership Conclusion

Based on what I have read about the leaders, they are no doubt experienced people that understand pickup trucks and electronics. Hopefully, they will execute this successfully. The lack of a prototype at this point in late 2019 has many people skeptical about Atlis.

Product

Atlis Motor Vehicles’ sole product at the moment is the Atlis XT; a 100% battery-electric full-size pickup truck. Now you might be wandering, “How is this small company that has no prototype at this point, supposed to be taken seriously?” According to Atlis, they plan to have the first batch of trucks hopefully delivered sometime in 2020. And yes, that is the same year where the Rivian R1T will also be debuting. Based on what I have read in the Atlis FAQ, it turns out that this company has done its research. They fully acknowledge the existence Bollinger, Tesla, Rivian, and the traditional pickup trucks under Ford, General Motors, and Fiat Chrysler. For Rivian specifically, Atlis pointed out that Rivian is offering mid-sized luxury trucks geared towards the adventurous crowd.

Atlis makes it clear that they are differentiating themselves by offering full-size work-focused trucks for consumer and work related customers. Seeing that the option for a flatbed, service body and dually exists for potential customers proves this. But, what about when the legacy automakers start doing this, who have far more servicing stations and infrastructure available? This, too, was addressed by Atlis simply stating that they welcome competition, and believe that there is room for everyone to play with pickup trucks in America.

Instead of offering different models through dealerships, Atlis will sell its trucks directly to consumers, akin to Tesla. Unlike Rivian’s R1T and Tesla’s Cybertruck, the Atlis XT will appeal far more to people who want a truck with conservative styling.

Product Conclusion

Pickup trucks are indeed extremely popular vehicles in North America. However, Atlis will need to prove that their trucks will be as reliable as they say they will be, and charge as fast as they say they will. If this is met, they will have an amazing, highly customizable product. And above all, Atlis needs to get a factory to produce the vehicles.

Finances

The Start Engine page of Atlis Motor Vehicles provides tons of information. Everything from the CEO, the company, why they are doing what they are doing, how they plan to succeed, and more. From what I have read, their current priorities are to raise funding and complete the prototype of an Atlis XT pickup truck within 12 months of the close date of the financing round. I do not know how long that financing round is. Atlis also mentioned that they do not have any large investors.

Financial Conclusion 

Atlis has only managed to build the platform of the truck. They have a long way to go with production and creating real results.

Factories

I have not seen any mentions of where their factory is, or where they even plan to build their pickup trucks. The only thing they promised is that they will be American-made and American-built. I assume that they will almost certainly build the trucks locally within Arizona.

Manufacturing Conclusion

They will be American, but the exact location is entirely unknown at this point.

Success: Unlikely

As much as I love the looks of the Atlis XT, I remain skeptical about Atlis Motor Vehicles being successful. They do not have a factory, money or even one working prototype. Even money-stricken Faraday Future has been able to make functional prototypes, and land a factory. Atlis XT does have an advantage over the Bollinger B2 for being far cheaper. It also subjectively has a styling advantage over the polarizing Rivian R1T and even more polarizing Tesla Cybertruck. By the time Ford and General Motors drop their traditional-styled all-electric trucks between 2021-2022, Atlis is going to be in for a very savage battle. However, if Atlis does manage to deliver its first 100 trucks in 2020 and get people and the media to fall in love with them, they could stand a chance. Who knows. It is better they take their time, rather than rush to be first. Maybe Atlis might somehow survive even with Ford, General Motors, and all the other automakers in place.

NIO

Despite seeing this name a fair bit in the media, this is the startup I know the least about on this list of startups I am making predictions for. Researching it and sharing my predictions will certainly be interesting for this very reason. Let us start with the fact that its Chinese name is Weilai, meaning Blue Sky Coming. This is apparently represented in their symbol. The top is about the sky, openness, vision, and the future. The bottom part is about the earth, direction, action and forward momentum. This is their directional philosophy and stands for their commitment to a brighter future. Highly interesting that they mention future, given that this is exactly what I am doing with them in this write-up: predicting their future success.

Leaders

William Li (李斌, Bin Li in Chinese) is the CEO and founder of NIO. He is also apparently dubbed as the “Elon Musk of China” due to his presence and ambitions with NIO. That said, NIO does not quite have the international fame that Tesla does. This is due to the fact they do not sell vehicles outside of Asia, despite having offices in Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom. I do not even know if they sell vehicles outside of China for the matter. As for William himself, he holds a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Peking University where he minored in law. This interestingly contrasts with a number of the other Leaders I have looked at here, who have mechanical and electrical degrees.

In 1996, William co-founded Beijing Antarctic Technology Development Corporate Limited. This is a pioneer web hosting service provider in China. He served as the director and general manager between 1996 to 2000. In 2000, he started his second company, Bitauto. It was an automobile Internet content and marketing services provider. He served as the CEO and chairman for 13 year, before selling it in 2013. In 2014, NIO was founded.

Leadership Conclusion

William Li had humble, lowly beginnings, yet pushed to be successful and productive. He sounds like a good leader, but will this be enough to keep NIO afloat?

Product

NIO has not one, not two, but three production vehicles: NIO ES6, NIO ES8, and the hyper-limited NIO EP9. The NIO ES6 and ES8 are both all-electric crossovers, the latter of which can be had in a 7-seat configuration, akin to that of the Tesla Model X. It does not have falcon doors, unlike the Tesla Model X, which would have been really cool. Aside from these three models, NIO plans to release a compact sedan, mid-size sedan, minivan, and subcompact crossover post 2020.

Product Conclusion

 NIO has a lot of interesting products in their portfolio. None of these are offered outside of Asia, though.

Finances

At this point, you will know why I believe this company will not succeed: the financial situation is disastrous. Despite NIO being able to raise over $1 billion from investors in 2016, the company has totalled $5 billion in losses in 2019. Cost overruns, weak sales, and dangerous recalls have led NIO to dive 74% since its market value hit a record $11.9 billion about approximately a year ago. NIO’s reversal of success explains why concerns are growing that China created an electric vehicle bubble that may soon become destroyed. I personally have not looked into the finances of other Chinese electric vehicle startups, so I do not know how exaggerated this may or may not be. Despite the financial struggles, William said that investors need to understand that making new cars costs money, from an interview back in June 2019.

Financial Conclusion

The way NIO has laid off thousands this year, and bled through billions is not something exclusive to NIO. At the same time, something needs to be done soon, or it will become defunct.

Factories

NIO does not make its own cars. The company had plans to build a factory in Shanghai for 2020, where Tesla is currently constructing its third Gigafactory. They cancelled the idea back in March this year, and will instead continue using their current contract manufacturer, state-owned automaker JAC Motors. The advantage this has is that it allowed NIO to put its cars on the road sooner, as opposed to waiting years until it gets its own factory. However, this also comes at cost. NIO has to pay JAC motors a fee for every vehicle that comes off the line. On top of this, NIO also has to compensate JAC Motors for any operating losses during the first three years of the deal.

Manufacturing Conclusion

 NIO may have been better off waiting in order to secure things, rather than rushing production by getting involved with a 3rd party.

Success: Not Unlikely

“NIO didn’t position itself in the right place. I’m not optimistic about its future in the long run.”  -Yale Zhang

Yale, based on my personal research, I would certainly agree with you. I may not be a foresight expert, but you do not need to be such when dealing with predictions after researching this company. Quite sad to day this, as this is a company whose name literally translates to Blue Sky Coming, reflecting their sunny, clear ambitions. NIO was, and is determined to become the “Chinese Tesla”. Perhaps too determined, that they have not spent enough time securing funds, calculating losses, securing their own factory, and dealing with quality issues. Being a startup is not easy, as even Tesla and other had their challenges. But, when the losses and problems are too big, too early, this spells trouble.

Bollinger Motors

The final startup I will be making predictions for in this write-up. Similarly to Ford, General Motors, and Rivan, Bollinger is also headquartered in Michigan. It was originally New York, till they moved there. Why that state? Michigan and California are popular founding states for automakers due to their history. Bollinger appears to want to be seen as an old-school, yet modern automaker by setting up shop in Michigan. Do I think they will succeed? We shall find out below.

Leaders

When looking at the team of Bollinger leaders, there is one thing that notably stood out to me: Paco! “Who is that?” You must be asking. A dog. His is the ergonomics engineer, and love to play with tennis balls. While not something to be taken seriously, this does show that the small team at this startup knows how to have fun, despite the immense amount of work they have been putting into the Bollinger B1 and B2. The CEO and founder of Bollinger Motors is Robert Bollinger.

Robert’s history is fairly interesting. He studied at Carnegie Mellon, earned an industrial degree, went to New York City and worked his way to becoming a creative director, used those skills to help a friend with a hair care company, then moved north to the Catskill Mountains to co-start a grass-fed cattle farm. It was there, where Robert discovered the faults of present pickup trucks. It reignited his automotive passion, and drove him to create Bollinger Motors.

Leadership Conclusion

In good company. Sounds familiar? That is the tagline of their team page, and after reading their stories and the amount of work the Bollinger workers put into the vehicles, this is accurate.

Product

Bollinger Motors plans to offer two trucks: the Bollinger B1 SUV and Bollinger B2 pickup truck. They have managed to build working prototypes. As evidenced from the exterior and interior styling of these trucks, they are focused on utility, and not luxury. Think Jeep and Hummer, but only with an all-electric powertrain. When a person looks at their asking price of $125,000 they would immediately think that they will not stand a chance. Seeing as though numerous automakers also plan to produce all-electric pickup trucks post 2020.

For Bollinger, their main selling points are their very high ground clearance (38cm) at stock, excellent traction due to the presence of a large battery placement, and unique features such as the pass-through mid-gate storage that allows owners to place materials through the middle of the vehicle. If my knowledge serves me correct, no other vehicle presently has the capability of allowing very long objects to be carried straight through their bodies.

Financial Conclusion

The rudimentary, yet modern all-electric powertrain will be highly attractive to customers that want something highly capable, without all the extra bells and whistles found in something like a Tesla. The high asking price is not for many, however.

Finances

I tried searching for the answer as to who is funding or investing in Bollinger Motors. I could not find any information. As it turns out, it is because they do not have any investors. I soon found this:

” The Bollinger Motors team is the foundation our trucks are built on. Years of family office, private equity, investment banking, and capital markets experience.”

While I was searching around further for the financial information, a source made it very clear that they intend to be a low-volume, ready-to-work truck company, who is not chasing Rivian. Within that interview, I found my answer:

“Yeah, we’re solely self-funded right now” – Robert Bollinger

Now that officially makes sense and justifies the $125,000 USD price tag. If this translates directly to CAD, that would be $166,000. There will likely be some adjustments by the time Bollingers sells its vehicles to Canadian customers.

Manufacturing Conclusion

Making electric vehicles is very difficult and extremely expensive. Bollinger Motors wants to make vehicles that can last, but at the same time must be able to make a profit to stay afloat. They are a small team without major investors, hence the steep price on its proposed offerings.

Factories

Bollinger Motors currently has a facility in Ferndale, Michigan. If things go as planned, the company will be producing their vehicles in a Detroit factory — something not done since 1925 when Chrysler was founded.

Manufacturing Conclusion

This will be America’s forth company from the Detroit area. I can imagine the official opening of that factory being a great day of pride and nostalgia for Americans.

Success: Quite Likely

I cannot count the number of comments this company has been getting on Instagram about the vehicles being too expensive, they are going to fail, and how the Cybertruck’s price is far better. Not all comments have been moans, complaints,  or comparisons though. Some Instagram users have even reminded the complainers that this is a startup that does not have investors, and must be able to sell them at a profit to stay afloat. While I suspected the price was for a reason, I admittedly wondered if they were going to fail, too.

By actually doing my own research on the company, learning about how and why the CEO started, and who they are trying to compete with, this totally changed my view on the company. Bollinger Motors mission is to create a low-volume, reliable, simple, rugged truck. They do not care about what Tesla, Rivian, and the others are doing.

That said, it does make me curious as to how they will compete when General Motors revives Hummer as an all-electric brand in 2021-2022? Then again, this does not even seem to be 100% confirmed at the moment. Even if it is, Bollinger has acknowledged the existence of current and future truck makers, and is not afraid of the competition. They know who they are, and believe that they can have a presence in the market.

Summary Of Success

As stressed in the beginning, I am not a forecast expert. I also do not wish any horror upon any of these companies, including the ones I predict will not be successful. In an ideal world, it would be fantastic to see all of these electric vehicle become successful. Seeing Havelaar Bisons, Lucid Airs, Rivian R1Ts, Faraday FF91s, Atlis XTs, NIO ES8s, and Bollinger B2s would be extremely refreshing to see on Canadian streets. Sadly, money is the driving issue behind startups failing or struggling. Let us also not forget that sometimes it is other things as well such as poor planning, or even leaders with a shady history.

Inspiration Behind This Post: Compilation And Explanation March 2018 – May 2019

Disclosure: Millennium River is an independent website that uses hyperlinks. Some of these links are affiliate links. When you click and purchase a product(s) through these links, I may earn a commission on qualifying sales. This is done at no extra expense to you. You may also support this website via PayPal. Unless it is clearly stated, the content is not sponsored.

What Happened?

Between Uropygial Gland: What is it? and up to Webpages: Laurentian Wireless, they all originally had an “Inspiration Behind This Post” section. From Webpages: Red Maple Greater Toronto Area Home Renovation Group and onward I stopped putting it in. Now, I have decided to remove it from all of my writings. Why? As time went on, it began to look increasingly unprofessional in my eyes. This was especially true for articles. I was originally going to officially launch my services back in January or February this year, with the latest being March. I then put it off to take a little more time to properly finish the remaining parts of the portfolio project. Also, to get a few additional blog posts done.

With me planning to finally launch my services this month, I need the website to reflect the professionalism my brand touts. Having that section in articles, webpages, and other categories, detracts from the nature of the post. Maybe some might disagree, and think that it was a nice, unique touch. Either way, I have now decided to compile them all into this post from the first to the latest published on May 03, 2019. For the ones that did not have any, I will create it here. For all posts published after May 03, 2019, I will not post their inspirational sections here, but probably within another compilation. No guarantee, though. For now, enjoy my source of motivation for 40+ writings.

Inspiration Behind This Blog Post: Welcome to Millennium Creek!

Ah, this was my very first post on the website. The creek had been silent and lifeless for two years, before it started flowing with life. How things have changed between then and now! I posted this as a sign of interest towards developing the website, but was not exactly sure when do it. This leads right up to the next post: Rediscovering its Purpose

Inspiration Behind This Blog Post: Rediscovering its Purpose

This post was created as an affirmation to turning Millennium Creek into a professional website focused on various types of write-ups. It goes into detail about why I came back to it, what I planned to do it, and more.

Inspiration Behind This Article: Uropygial Gland: What is it?

I have been aware of the basic functions of a bird’s oil gland for quite some time. However, I have not really thought much about this subtle gland. This has changed when I had handled a budgerigar some time this year (2018), and noticed that its gland looked odd for a small bird. This then prompted me to go and learn more about this seemingly simple orifice. I wanted to learn more about the function, appearance, and diseases of the uropygial gland.

Inspiration Behind This Article: 2018 All-electric Cars Canada

For this blog entry, my motivation stems from my love for vehicles, particularly all-electric ones. Electric car offerings are truly getting more exciting, as we go further into the future.

Inspiration Behind This Article: Alto Clef: Does it Have Any Real Use?

As anyone would be able to tell from the way I went into such passionate detail with parts of this post, I am really into band instruments. So much, that it was only natural that I would create this post as part of the Millennium Creek restoration effort for this week. Why the alto clef? It is an underrated clef that it grossly misunderstood.

Inspiration Behind This Article: Will America Eventually Ban All Chinese Smartphones?

I wanted to do a post on smartphones, but could not decide what exactly I wanted to write about. The latest flagship available? iOS?  LG’s plummeting smartphone sales? I then thought about Huawei and ZTE with the legal troubles they are going through. I thought that this would make an excellent, interesting, informative, provocative subject matter to discuss. Do I personally think that the United States will eventually ban all Chinese smartphones? If by ban, we are talking about a total ban as in no importation, forbidding sales, and blocking them off from American cellular towers, then no.

Inspiration Behind This Article: Racism in Canada 2018: Getting Better or Worse?

This week, I knew that I wanted to do a post on racism/multiculturalism on Friday. In fact, I had that determined before I even knew which topics I precisely wanted to cover for the previous blog posts. Racism is a serious issue that must not be ignored and swept under a rug. It is a problem that prohibits prosperity and safety. We must acknowledge that it exists, talk about it, and seek to eradicate it whenever we can. Canada may fare better than many other places in the world, but there is still much work and improvement that needs to be done.

Inspiration Behind This Article: Keystroke logging

Cybersecurity is not a glamorous topic, but is very important. I felt that this article deserved to be resurfaced, since it contains enough valuable information in a manageable format.

Inspiration Behind This Article: Encrypting Your Smartphone’s MicroSD Card

Despite being originally written in 2016, microSD card slots are still a valuable component in phones that support them. This article contains a lot of valuable information, majority of which is still relevant in 2018. For this reason, it deserved to be polished, reformatted and uploaded onto Millennium Creek, giving it a far better chance to flow and get the views it deserves.

Inspiration Behind This Article: China Dress: Simply a Dress or More Than That?

Keziah Daum. Who is that you may ask? Perhaps you are well informed about this story already, but maybe not. Keziah is a regular 18-year-old, American citizen from Woods Cross High School, Utah, United States of America. She is a Caucasian person that decided to wear a qipao for her 2018 prom. Why? She personally thought it would be a beautiful, unique dress to wear for the special event. Unfortunately, after posting photographs on social media, a Twitter user tweeted, “My culture is NOT your ****amn prom dress” Now based on what you already might know, or what you have recently read from this blog post: are there any restrictions for foreigners wearing a qipao? No, none at all. There is a reason why YesStyle, Modern Qipao, and Chinese Clothing Online ship to plenty of non-Asian countries. Even Amazon. This story has since caused a debate on whether or not, it was really cultural appropriation. Most have sensibly agreed that it was not. Even though the criticism was uncalled for, this story inspired me to research and learn more about what I simply always called the “China dress“.

Inspiration Behind This Article: Starbucks Anti-bias Training Day

I did not have plans to write such a blog post today. But when the headlines came up about Starbuck’s official anti-bias training taking place across over 8,000 American outlets, it inspired me to do another blog post on racism. Though the incident was very unfortunate and should have never happened, the story, follow-ups behind it, and all the media surrounding it, have been very interesting. It has sparked a lot of debate over the lingering presence of racial profiling, especially towards Black people.

Inspiration Behind This Blog Post: Fiat Chrysler Automotobiles: June 2018 Discussion

When I heard that Fiat Chrysler was announcing a new five-year plan on June 1st, I knew that I was definitely going to do a blog post on it. I wanted to take a look at what was said, the rumors, and of course my opinions on this. The latter, not-so-surprisingly, ended up being the longest section of this entry. Which Fiat Chrysler brand is your favourite? How do you feel about their new five-year plan? The departure of Sergio Marchionne in April 2019? Comment down below and share your thoughts.

Inspiration Behind This Article: The Tokay Gecko

This post was originally supposed to be my unpublished 200-worded piece “Are Tokay Geckos Too Violent For Beginners?” But it did not happen. The original piece was not complete garbage, but was also not up to Millennium Creek standards and quality. I figured that if I were going to put up an information piece on tokay geckos, that I should expand it and include much more useful information. Why tokay geckos in particular? I wanted to do an article on an exotic animal of the sort. The tokay gecko’s stunning colours and feisty personality made it a good choice.

Inspiration Behind This Article: Indigenous Peoples of Canada

A little bit back, I created a rough notepad titled “Millennium Creek Upcoming Topics May-June 2018” There, I brainstormed a list of topics and types of writings I wanted to do over the summer. It has since been moved to a word file titled, “Ultimate Millennium Creek Writing Plan For June-July-August 2018” On this word file, I have laid out all the posts and different types of writing styles I plan to do. Since I had the topic of Indigenous Canadians in the notepad for some time, I decided to go with it. Writing about Indigenous Canadians has been an interesting, eye-opening, refresher about the people I live among. The people that have inhabited this country long before foreign settlers from other continents have arrived.

Inspiration Behind This Article: Health Benefits of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

As mentioned in the previous post, a summer plan was created for the types of writings and topics I wanted to do. While it did not explicitly state which topics or types of writing I was going to do, extra virgin olive oil was one that was planned for quite some time. Why this topic? I was searching around the Internet one day, and stumbled across a post that went into the lengthy health benefits of extra virgin olive oil. I then decided that I definitely wanted to do my own post on this topic. I wanted to add my take on it, and include information and tidbits that the others have failed to mention.

Inspiration Behind This Article: What is SaaS?

While I have been seeing the term “SaaS” for quite some time, it was not until more recently that I would do something more about it. I decided to add it to my writing plan of future topics. Now here it is on the Internet. Writing and researching it has given me a much better understanding of what it is, and more awareness of the companies that use or offer it. It probably should not come as a surprise, that I do prefer one-time purchases over subscription models when it comes onto computer software. I can see why businesses go with SaaS for the benefits discussed earlier. For me, one-time purchases suit my needs. What about you? Do you prefer subscription models or one-time purchases?

Inspiration Behind This Article: The Difference Between Nationality Versus Ethnicity

Aside from it being a planned summer article, I wanted to do this post to clarify the difference of these terms. There are many articles on the Internet that either have them mixed up, or written entirely inaccurately. This is not to say that mine is the best, and only one worth of reading. It is not. But, at the same time, it was thoughtfully and factually put together to give it credibility and quality. Found this article helpful, informative or interesting? Drop a comment below or share it with your friends and relatives.

Inspiration Behind This Critique: Royal Bank of Canada Website Critique

A continuation of the plan summer plan to put up various categories of writings on Millennium Creek. If you read the beginning of this critique, you will know that Canadian Tire and Havelaar Canada will be appearing on Millennium Creek to join RBC as part of the portfolio for non-endorsed website critiques.

Inspiration Behind This Critique: Canadian Tire Website Critique

This write-up is the second out of the three non-endorsed website critiques, being done for a portfolio project. Why did I choose Canadian Tire of all online retailers? Well, there were a lot of other online retailers that I could have went with. For the second critique, I wanted to choose an online retail that was based in Canada, that also has a physical store. For those two reasons, it should be no surprise that Canadian Tire was one of the first places that came to mind, so I went with it. Readers, what are your impressions of these critiques so far? Comment and share your thoughts.

Inspiration Behind This Critique: Havelaar Canada Website Critique

This write-up is the third and final out of the three non-endorsed website critiques, being done for a portfolio project. If you have read my previous articles pertained to automobiles, then my inspiration behind this post should be very clear: my love all-electric cars. As such, I originally thought about doing a critique for Tesla. But then, I thought that the Tesla already has enough press and attention surrounding them, so I thought about doing Jaguar. Now Jaguar may only have one all-electric vehicle in the lineup, but the company as whole was attractive enough to make me consider it. I was then torn between Tesla and Jaguar. I then decided to do neither of those two, and went with the lesser known, Canada-based, Havelaar Canada. Turned out to be a good choice. If it does make it to production, I hope there will be a 4-door crew cab option.

Inspiration Behind This Essay: Is It Acceptable For Women To Breastfeed In Public? Yes

Upon finishing the articles and website critiques for the Summer Project, now Autumn Portfolio 2018 Project, the next part of it is argumentative essays. Seeing as though I had already done this particular topic originally on May 30, 2016, I figured that it made lots of sense to upload it as the first choice for this part of the project. For the argumentative essays I cover in this project, I do plan to cover both “For” and “Against” *insert topic*. I plan to do three topics, bringing it to six essays, or six sides depending on how you look at it. For those of you that hated doing argumentative essay in school, you would probably think this is madness. Truth is, as long as the subject matter is not complex, and you understand the format of argumentative essays, they are actually quite easy to do. Or am I just saying that because I am an experienced writer? Either way, drop a comment on this topic and let me know what you think of public nursing.

Inspiration Behind This Essay: Is it acceptable for women to breastfeed in public? No

This essay serves as the voice against public nursing. For the side that supports public nursing, click here. Now that both sides of this subject matter have been explored, I am almost certain that you must be wondering how do I, Millennium Creek, feel about women breastfeeding in public? Well, it should not come as a surprise, but it surprises me that this is even a debate in the first place. As far as I am concerned, I do not know of any mother that would flagrantly expose their entire chest with the intention of creating shock and disgust. Virtually nobody would want to put themselves and their child in unnecessary danger. A mother nursing her infant should be treated as casually as somebody drinking from a water bottle to satisfy their thirst.

Inspiration Behind This Essay: Should Canadians Be Required To Know Both French And English Upon High School Graduation? Yes

I honestly do not remember why I chose this as one of the subjects I wanted to cover for the essays part of the portfolio. I do remember going through lists of good topics to do for an argumentative essay. I do not recall specifically seeing anything titled “Should Canadians Be Required to Know Both French and English Upon High School Graduation?” I believe that I did run into something that had to do with language and bilingualism. From there, I decided to go with this one. Do you also agree that Canadians should know both languages by the time they graduate? Type your comments and let me know.

Inspiration Behind This Essay: Should Canadians Be Required To Know Both French And English Upon High School Graduation? No

This essay serves as the voice that is against forced bilingualism on high school students. For the voice that supports it, click here. Do you agree with the points in this essay? I strongly suspect that most people would side with this voice, but I might be wrong? Let me know by leaving a comment. “Should Bilingualism Be A Graduation Requirement In Canada?” Perhaps would have been a nicer sounding title for these essays.

Inspiration Behind This Essay: Is Technology Limiting Creativity? Yes

This is the 3rd and final topic for the argumentative essay part of the portfolio project of 2018. I came around to choosing this topic by browsing a list of good essay topics. Why this one in particular? Though you may very well know at this point that I am into electronics, it is also because of how interesting and thought-provocative it is. In fact, I honestly feared that I would not know how to go about writing this. Thankfully, it came through and I managed to get this side of the topic done. Do you agree that technology is limiting creativity? Comment and let me know.

Inspiration Behind This Essay: Is Technology Limiting Creativity? No

Now that the “No” voice of this essay topic is complete, this marks the completion of the essay part of my 2018 portfolio project. As explained on the “Yes” voice, my inspiration behind choosing this topic for an argument, was the result of two things:

1. Browsing through a list of topics to do for an argumentative essay
2. My love for technology

With that said, it is obvious that I believe technology is not limiting creativity. The problem is people themselves not knowing how to be creative, and where to draw their sources of inspiration. My own website, Millennium Creek, is a good example of creativity that would not have been possible without the appropriate technology in place. Do you also agree that technology is not limiting creativity? Or have you sided with the “Yes” voice? Comment and let me know. While some people would love a world without smartphones, computers and televisions, our lives would be significantly harder in too many ways.

Inspiration Behind This Creative Piece: Speech: Let It Become A Legal Requirement To Label Genetically Modified Organisms In Canada

I do not think I have ever written any speech of the sort before. Whether it be intended for school, work or business. The idea of writing a speech definitely brought feelings of uncertainty, but I still did not cancel the idea. The completion of this speech marks the first write-up of the Creative Writing part of my portfolio part. Why a speech? Why this topic? As to why I would want a speech, it is because I thought it would be a valuable, challenging write-up to have in my portfolio. As for my topic of choice, I simply searched around for good speech topics. Interestingly, what happens to be a good topic for persuasive essays, also happens to be an excellent topic for speeches. For that reason, it is no wonder I have seen some people go as far to call speeches “spoken essays”. What do you think? How do you feel about this topic? Comment and let me know.

Inspiration Behind This Creative Piece: Beautiful Blue Creek (Haiku)

A Haiku was originally going to be the first write-up for the Creative Writing part of my portfolio project. Instead, I opted to write a speech first, making this the 2nd writing in the category. Why a Haiku? The last time I have written a Haiku probably dates back to elementary school. Yes, that is indeed a frighteningly long time!

Much of the content on Millennium Creek tends to be articles or writings that often tip 1,000 words. Doing a short Haiku on creeks, felt refreshing and very different. I am quite a fan of the simplicity and beauty of Haiku. I may create more of them in 2019. For now, I will proceed to working on the next creative piece.

For those of you that absolutely love Haiku, I recommend you have a look at Basho: The Complete Haiku, On Haiku, and maybe this mug? Have you ever written a Haiku? Perhaps you frequently write Haiku? Comment and let me know.

Inspiration Behind This Creative Piece: Walk of the Wilderness

Is this a story? Or is it a poem? A poetic story? Those are the questions that frequently came up in my mind while I was writing this. Truth be told, this is supposed to be a “long poem”. It probably might not look like it to some, but that was the intention. It is neither a fictional or non-fiction story. Now because poetry admittedly is not my specialty, there may be some debates on how good it is, or how you might personally disagree with my classification of it this work. Walk of the Wilderness marks the 3rd creation of the Creative Writing part of my portfolio project. It was supposed to be the 2nd, but if you already read the “Inspirational” section of my Haiku, you will have the answer to why it is not.

So aside from creating this as a “look what I can do” sort of thing, you must be wondering about what the actual inspiration of this particular poem is, right? It happened when I tasked myself with the objective to complete a third Creative Writing piece. It was originally going to be a write-up of one of my real dreams. I could not decide which dream to write about. I did not want to waste too much time on it, because 2018 was coming to an end very soon. I wanted to get the Creative Writings done before Christmas. I then decided to just write one massive, story-like poem about a brief dream belonging to no one, themed around walking through the wilderness. I did not plan, nor even look at other poems for inspiration. I just threw myself in front of the keyboard, brainstormed the title, and wrote whatever came to my mind.

As anyone can tell, it is advisable to plan and get inspiration when writing poetry. It makes it more organized and refined. Or at least I think so. Well, I suppose writing whatever floats up also has its perks, too. Particularly, if you are trying to really flex that originality muscle. What did you think about this long poem? Think it does not deserved to be called such? Feels more like a story?

Inspiration Behind This Creative Piece: What Love is This?

This long piece falls into the same category of my previous Walk of the Wilderness, classifying as a long poem. If you view it as a series of short poetic stories, I will not blame you for seeing it that way. Now that aside, What Love Is This? is the 4th and final creation of the Creative Writing part of my portfolio project. What you will not know about this write-up, is the fact that it was not supposed to even come into being. In fact, I was originally going to stop the Creative Writing portfolio after writing #3. But suddenly, I felt a strong desire to create just one more long poem, before calling it complete. I am quite glad I did.

Why love? I figured that if I was going to write poems, that I had to do at least one love theme. Sounds like such a cliché thing to do, but the urge was strong. Very strong. Like Walk of the Wilderness, What Love Is This? was written in the same manner: placed myself in front of the keyboard, brainstormed a little, and just let my fingers do the rest. As a result, you may either find the poem adorable or creative, or very uncool.

Inspiration Behind The Product Descriptions From an Old Portfolio

I was originally going to start the 2019 portfolio project with the following writing categories: Blog posts and copywriting. I then had a change of heart and revised it to be product descriptions and copywriting, while making the blog posts optional. The reason is because I am going to be officially selling my services in the coming weeks. Likely in February, but possibly March. While my services have already been available for some time, I have never posted them officially and openly on social media.

Back in 2018, I completed articles, website critiques, argumentative essays, creative pieces, and the occasional blog post. Blog posts are nice and all, but they have not been a focus on Millennium Creek. I believe that getting product descriptions and copywriting into my portfolio sooner, would make it look far more attractive than common, regular blogs posts.

Seeing as though  I had already completed a write-up of original descriptions a few years ago, it made sense to tidy them up, and publish them as the first for this category. And yes, I am aware that writing product descriptions is a form of copywriting. By “copywriting” I have web pages in mind for the next category.

Inspiration Behind The 2019 Product Descriptions: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and iPhone XS Max Accessories

The completion of this makes it the 2nd write-up of the Product Descriptions part of the portfolio project. The 1st was Product Descriptions From an Old Portfolio. Creating these names and descriptions from scratch was no easy task. I took a look at Google Maps and other products to get an idea for names and certain technical details. Even then, it still took some work. Nevertheless, completing this gave me some valuable experience and insight about product copy.

Why the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and iPhone XS Max? Those two are among the most recognizable high-end devices in the world, making them a sensible choice to write portfolio descriptions for. Of course, there are many other fantastic devices out there. Some of which you can argue are even better. And finally, I would love to know what your top three picks would be if these products were real. Comment down below.

Inspiration Behind The 2019 Product Descriptions: Kaskawulsh Men’s Fashion

Fashion is a big deal because you have to wear clothes. You have to protect your body from the elements of the outdoors. And most obviously, you do not want to violate laws of indecency. Some people care greatly about looking stylish. Others value comfort, while some prefer to just buy whatever is affordable and necessary. The world of fashion is truly, very broad. I could have done men’s luxury fashion, women’s fashion, children’s fashion, ethnic fashion, and many more. For this portfolio piece, I decided to go with an imaginary, upscale brand that is not too expensive for the masses, but is not very cheap either.

Which of these products would you buy if they were real? Comment down below and share your interests.

Inspiration Behind The 2019 Product Descriptions: Cielistellati Fine Musical Instruments

My love for musical instruments. That is the driving reason behind choosing this as the 4th and final subject for the Product Descriptions category of the portfolio project. Woodwinds, brass, orchestral strings, percussion, keyboards — they all have their unique strengths and voices. If Cielistellati instruments were real, and money were no barrier, which of these instruments would you buy? I have a deep feeling that 95% of population would pick piano or violin. Prove me wrong by commenting on what your choice would be. Even if it is piano and violin, there is certainly nothing wrong with that. Both are beautiful when played by musicians who have been trained properly.

For those of you who are Italian, or at least understand the language, Cielistellati comes from the Italian words “cieli stellati” meaning starry skies. Your eyes would indeed be starry with the craftsmanship and sound quality of these instruments, if they were real.

Inspiration Behind The Webpages Of Laurentian Wireless

Every website obviously has webpages. Does every website have good pages? Unfortunately, they do not. I wanted to have a knack at writing webpages. I went ahead to test my webpage content writing skills with this category of the portfolio project. The reason why I chose a wireless carrier, will not be a surprise to any readers who have read most of my write-ups. (Love for smartphones and other electronics!)

Now finally, if Laurentian Wireless were a real company, would you subscribe to them? Or would you prefer to stick to Telus, Koodo, Rogers, Fido, Bell, Virgin Mobile or Freedom Mobile? Comment down below and let me know. I would also like to know what you think of this write-up. Should I have included certain details within pages that I missed? Your constructive feedback is very important to me.

Inspiration Behind The Webpages Red Maple Greater Toronto Area Home Renovation Group

Red Maple Greater Toronto Area Home Renovation Group (Red Maple GTA HRG) is the second write-up within the webpages category of the portfolio project. We all need a good, clean, peaceful house to dwell in. Therefore, this makes home renovation an extremely big industry. So big, that it was only natural that I would include it as one of the 5 webpage topics to go with. And because I am based in Ontario, I chose to go with an Ontarian-themed, imaginary example company.

Inspiration Behind The Webpages Of Wonder Food of 6 Worlds Restaurant

Wonder Food of 6 Worlds Restaurant (WF6WR) is the third write-up within the webpages category of the portfolio project. Not only is the hospitality and tourism industry interesting, it is a huge sector of commerce. When coming up with an imaginary example company, I knew I wanted to include a restaurant, but was not too sure of which theme to go with. Thinking of all the ethnic restaurants around me, I decided to go with a unique, multi-ethnic theme. A little challenging, but I like how it turned out.

Inspiration Behind The Webpages Of Seaforth Serpents

Seaforth Serpents is the fourth write-up within the webpages category of the portfolio project. People love their pets, particularly cats and dogs. While cats and dogs are popular and all, I wanted to go with something a little more niche for the 4th write-up of this area: reptiles, particularly snakes. I originally expected this piece to be quick and easy to type, but it proved me wrong. Animal shop websites actually have a lot of important text that needs to be on their webpages, or you risk numerous complications. Still, I personally love reptiles, so writing this was not uninteresting.

Inspiration Behind The Webpages Of Thunder Things Automotive Group

Thunder Things Automotive Group (TTAG) is the fifth and final write-up within the webpages category of the portfolio project. As mentioned in earlier automotive writings, I love all-electric vehicles, making this a very alluring choice to go with. TTAG may be an imaginary example company, but I really would like to see Canada create its own home-grown brand soon.

Inspiration Behind This Blog Post: “Maseromeo” What If Maserati And Alfa Romeo Merged Into One Brand?

As mentioned within the first paragraph of this post, this was originally intended to be a blog post written shortly after completing Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: June 2018 Discussion. Why did I still bother with it? Because it was too interesting of a discussion to throw off. Both Maserati and Alfa Romeo are internationally recognized brands that can stir up a variety of emotions.

Inspiration Behind This Blog Post: The Truth About Alfa Romeo’s Logo Surprised Me Greatly

My inspiration for this blog post is summed up perfectly within the first paragraph of this post: stumbled across an image with text about the logo, thus leading to me creating an entry all about it.

Inspiration Behind This Blog Post: Do I Believe There Is Life On Other Planets?

Without a doubt, the other celestial bodies around us are extremely fascinating. Some believe there is, or was life at some point on them. Others, such as myself, believe they never had or will ever be capable of supporting life. As such, I wanted to create a blog post entirely dedicated to this, and why they cannot support life.

Inspiration Behind This Blog Post: Remote Work Is Not Nonsense; It Is The Way

This blog post may very well be the most passionate-driven entry posted on Millennium Creek. Being someone who believes strongly in remote work, I felt as though I was called to do this when I saw someone write remote work off as nonsense on Twitter. Within the post, I go into plenty of detail about what remote work is and is not.

Feeling Inspired?

This was a ton of text to go through, but I do hope that you managed to read it all. And most importantly, I hope it left you feeling inspired to take some action of the sort. Whether it be reading the write-ups they link to, or creating a write-up inspired from them.