Buying a house has always been a stressful experience. It involves a lot of money for most people, and it’s where you’re going to live, the most meaningful space in your life. Finding the house that ticks all the financial, physical, and emotional boxes can be a challenge. And it’s a challenge that a lot of people fail: 82% of home buyers experience buyer’s remorse.House hunting should be relatively straightforward—you need X number of bedrooms, X amount of square footage, in this specific area, at this specific price, with this short list of features and amenities. But we often let our emotions mess us up, usually without even realizing it. Considering how much of your money and time is going into buying a house, you owe it to yourself to be aware of these six psychological traps that can lead you to the wrong house.The endowment effectIt’s natural—and often useful—to imagine your future life in a house, to picture your family around the dining table, or the perfect spot for a prized piece of furniture. But all that imagining can lead to a phenomenon called the endowment effect, where you place a higher value on something you own. By imagining your future in the house, in a sense you’re imagining that you already own it, and suddenly it becomes much more valuable and important to you. This can lead to irrational decisions like overbidding for the house. To defend against this, try to keep your imaginings unemotional—measurements, use of space, correct number of rooms, fixtures, and outlets. Avoid emotionally charged visions like prom pictures at the foot of the stairs or serving holiday dinners to a crowd of friends and family.Price anchorsThe anchoring effect causes us to put too much weight on the first piece of data we require, creating a bias that influences all subsequent decisions. With a house, the first piece of data you typically get is the list price—and real estate agents and home sellers always tweak the list price for their own purposes. They might set it low to inspire a bidding war, or set it high to imply the house is special in some way. Either way, they’re trying to anchor that price in your head in order to manipulate you in some way.To fight back, research the fundamentals and come up with your own fair price for the property (your real estate agent can help you with this). Once you have an objective opinion on what the house is actually worth in the market, you can proceed using the list price as a starting point for negotiation instead of an anchor.Herding behaviorsBidding wars work because of herd behaviors—once we see other people doing something, it suddenly seems like a much more legitimate option. Contagion theory describes how an opinion held by a large majority can "infect" individuals, which can come into play when people are bidding way over listing price on a property and you suddenly feel like the house is worth more than you thought. Another herding behavior that can push you to overpay for a property is the scarcity principle—the belief that a limited supply makes something more valuable. That can explain how a house that you thought a bit overpriced yesterday can suddenly seem worth much more once you realize the inventory of comparable houses is not as large as you thought—but the fundamentals of the house or the market haven’t changed.The scarcity principle can be explicitly leveraged against you by someone selling a home, as well. Listings that emphasize the unique features of a house—maybe it’s the only one on the block with a basement, or has an outdoor space no other house in the neighborhood boasts—can make the home seem more valuable even if those features weren’t on your list of must-haves.Choice paralysisAlso called "analysis paralysis," this psychological phenomenon occurs when you’re overwhelmed by choices, decisions, or what-if scenarios. We tend to assume that having more choices is always better—but having to constantly sift through property features or having to choose between several very similar, comparable properties can leave you frozen and unable to make a decision. That can lead to losing out on a house that’s perfect for you and your family—not to mention much higher stress levels.Combating choice paralysis when house hunting is all about slowing down and shutting out. Seeing a dozen potential houses every day will just leave you with a long list of houses that might work. Instead, take each potential house one at a time, and focus on that property. Have a plan based on facts—what you can afford, what you need to have in your home—and carefully consider each property against that plan before moving on.Sunk-cost fallacyThe sunk-cost fallacy is a psychological trick that you can actually play on yourself. It boils down to a feeling that once you’ve invested time and energy into something, walking away would transform the whole experience into a huge waste of time. That pushes you to try and salvage that time. When house-hunting, that translates into buying a house in part because you’ve put a lot of time into it. Combating the sunk-cost fallacy when house hunting can be a challenge. The key is to resist attaching a value to the basic work of finding a house and negotiating the sale. The ultimate value is getting the right home, not in paying yourself for the time spent finding it.FOMOThe fear of missing out can drive people to worry that prices or interest rates are going to rise and they’ll be priced out of the market; that a particular house will get snatched up by someone else if they hesitate to make the jump; or that time is running out for them to jump into home ownership. Once you convince yourself that you’re about to miss your one and only shot to get the house hunt right, you’re vulnerable to bad decisions.The only way to defend against FOMO is to remove the fear part. Having the advice of a trusted real estate professional and doing some research about the market can reassure you about home prices, and getting pre-approved by a lender can give you confidence in your buying power and ability to make an offer when the perfect house comes along. Most importantly, hit pause and ask yourself if you would buy this house at this price if all the perceived pressure was taken away.

A pair of studies analyzing the effects of AI on our planet have been released and the news is fairly grim. Greenpeace studied the emissions generated from the production of the semiconductors used in AI chips and found that there was a fourfold increase in 2024. This analysis was completed using publicly available data. Greenpeace Many of the big chipmakers like NVIDIA rely on companies like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and SK Hynix Inc. for the components of GPUs and memory units. Most of this manufacturing happens in Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, where power grids are primarily reliant on fossil fuels. This accounts for some of the increase in global emissions. The organization also says that global electricity requirements for AI could experience a 170-fold increase by 2030.  Greenpeace Greenpeace’s estimates have led some to worry that the AI race could derail global decarbonization goals, according to a report by Bloomberg. The nonprofit recommends that governments in eastern Asia transition to renewable power for chip manufacturing, but the opposite seems to be happening. South Korea recently announced plans to build plants for four gigawatts of gas-fired power generation. Taiwan has used the increased power demand related to AI as an excuse to expand liquid natural gas projects and grid infrastructure. Another study by The International Energy Agency (IEA) took a look at the US. The analysis suggested that power consumption by AI-adjacent data centers could account for half of the growth in electricity demand by 2030. As a matter of fact, the US economy could be on track to consume more electricity for processing data than for manufacturing all energy-intensive goods combined. This includes aluminum, steel, cement and chemicals. IEA Electricity demand from global data centers could more than double by 2030 to around 945 terawatt-hours (TWh). That’s more than the entire electricity consumption of Japan. It’s a whopping 30 times more than the electricity consumption of Ireland. Proponents of AI say that the massive energy needs will eventually abate as the technology leads to scientific discoveries that accelerate innovation in fields like batteries and solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. However, that’s a big fat maybe.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/global-emissions-due-to-ai-related-chipmaking-grew-more-than-four-times-in-2024-160304017.html?src=rss

A new benchmark leak suggests Nvidia's RTX 5060 Ti may be great for budget GPU gamers, but that may not matter due to the state of GPU prices.

Technology stocks declined Thursday, giving back some gains after the Nasdaq recorded its second-best day ever.

Six years ago, LVMH’s billionaire CEO Bernard Arnault and President Donald Trump cut the blue ribbon on a factory in rural Texas that would make designer handbags for Louis Vuitton, one of the world’s best-known luxury brands. But since the high-profile opening, the factory has faced a host of problems limiting production, 11 former Louis Vuitton employees told Reuters. The site has consistently ranked among the worst-performing for Louis Vuitton globally, “significantly” underperforming other facilities, according to three former Louis Vuitton workers and a senior industry source, who cited internal rankings shared with staff. The plant’s problems—which haven’t previously been reported—highlight the challenges for LVMH as it attempts to build its production footprint in the U.S. to avoid Trump’s threatened tariffs on European-made goods. “The ramp-up was harder than we thought it would be, that’s true,” Ludovic Pauchard, Louis Vuitton’s industrial director, said in an interview on Friday in response to detailed questions about Reuters findings. The Texas site, situated on a 250-acre ranch, has struggled due to a lack of skilled leather workers able to produce at the brand’s quality standards, the three former workers told Reuters. “It took them years to start making the simple pockets of the Neverfull handbag,” one source familiar with operations at the plant said, referring to the classic Louis Vuitton shoulder tote bag. Errors made during the cutting, preparation and assembly process led to the waste of as many as 40% of the leather hides, said one former employee with detailed knowledge of the factory’s performance. Industry-wide, typical waste rates for leather goods are generally 20%, a senior industry source said. Several former employees who spoke to Reuters described a high pressure environment. To boost production numbers, supervisors routinely turned a blind eye toward methods to conceal defects, and in some cases encouraged them, four former employees told Reuters. Pauchard acknowledged there had been such cases in the past, but said the issue had been resolved. “This dates back to 2018 and one particular manager who isn’t part of the company anymore,” he said. Poorly crafted handbags deemed unfit for sale are shredded on-site and carted away in trucks for incineration, two of the sources with knowledge of the firm’s supply chain said. A former production supervisor who often travelled to the site, said Louis Vuitton mostly used the Texas plant for less sophisticated handbag models, producing its most expensive products elsewhere. Pauchard, Louis Vuitton’s industrial director, said the company was being “patient” with “a young factory.” “Any bag that goes out of it must be a Louis Vuitton bag, we make sure it meets exactly the same quality,” he said. “I am not aware of any kinds of issues suggesting the quality coming from Texas is any different from that coming from Europe.” Made in USA Perched behind a hill, the handbag maker’s two production facilities were built on grounds near grazing cattle and a gas well. Louis Vuitton named the site Rochambeau in tribute to a French general who fought in the Revolutionary War. Workers at the site make components and entire models of Louis Vuitton handbags like Felice pochettes and Metis bags—with “Made in USA” tags inside. The items sell for around $1,500 and $3,000 at high-end boutiques. LVMH declined to comment when asked which handbag models are fully or partially made in Texas but former workers interviewed by Reuters mentioned the Carryall, Keepall, Metis, Felice, and Neverfull handbag lines among the plant’s products. In its marketing material, Louis Vuitton says its handbags—typically made at French, Spanish or Italian leather ateliers by artisans known as “petites mains”—are assembled using a process that it has perfected since the mid 19th century. After cutting canvas and leather using hand tools and laser-cutting machines, they stitch pieces together using industrial sewing machines. Workers at the Texas facility, which includes dedicated floors for cutting and for assembly as well as a warehouse, were initially paid $13 per hour. As of 2024, base pay for a leather worker position at the plant was $17 per hour, according to two people who recently applied for positions. The minimum wage in Texas is $7.25 an hour. A former leather worker who arrived as a migrant in the U.S. some years before, said she felt proud when she was hired by the prestigious French brand, but said some workers struggled to meet the brand’s quality standards and production targets. “We were under a lot of pressure to make the daily goals,” said the former worker, who left the factory at the end of 2019. Another person who worked at the facility until 2023 said she cut corners, like using a hot pin to “melt” canvas and leather to conceal imperfections in a particularly difficult piece called the Vendome Opera Bag. Another former leather worker said they’d seen people melt material to hide holes or other imperfections in stitching. Damien Verbrigghe, Louis Vuitton’s international manufacturing director, conceded some at the Texas plant had chosen to change jobs or leave because of its stringent quality requirements. “There are artisans that we hire, who we train and who, after several weeks, or months, realize in light of the expectations, the level of detail that is required, they would rather work in other fields like logistics,” he said. “Some people chose to leave us, because it’s true that it’s a job that requires a lot of savoir faire.” Three former workers at the plant said they received between two and five weeks of training. A current Louis Vuitton employee in France said receiving just a few weeks of training wasn’t unusual as most learning happens on the production line supervised by more experienced craftspeople. “Knowledge of sewing on leather/canvas is a plus, but not required. We offer comprehensive training,” the company said in a job posting for artisan positions in Alvarado published on its website in January. Verbrigghe said training in Texas is “exactly the same program that we have in all our workshops,” that is, six weeks on the training line, where new artisans do nothing but learn basic operations and skills before going on to train on the assembly line. There, he said, they are “accompanied and continuously mentored by trainers.” Tax breaks LVMH got a host of tax breaks and incentives from Johnson County, including a 10-year, 75% property tax cut, promising the company an estimated $29 million in savings. ”We look forward to serving this exceptional company,” wrote the county’s top executive, Roger Harmon, in 2017 correspondence seen by Reuters. In its 2017 application letter for the tax abatement, obtained by Reuters through records request, LVMH said it was aiming to hire 500 people within the first five years of the plan. At the ribbon-cutting ceremony in 2019, Arnault said, “We will create approximately 1,000 high-skilled jobs here at Rochambeau over the next five years.” Three former staffers, however, said headcount stood at just under 300 workers in February 2025, a figure Verbrigghe confirmed. The White House did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. Pauchard said initial recruitment difficulties were largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown that followed, adding that a decline in local demand also played a role. Despite the problems, LVMH is planning to move even more jobs to Texas. LVMH said in its 2017 filing that its first Texas production facility would cost around $30 million. A second filing from 2022 to local authorities put the cost of its second workshop, completed last year, at $23.5 million. At a town hall last fall, workers at one of two California production sites were told that it would close 2028 and they could move to Texas or quit, according to a former employee who was present. Pauchard confirmed the town hall and said Louis Vuitton intended to streamline its California operations and transfer more skilled artisans to Texas—with so far limited success. Its executives, he said, “underestimated the fact that Texas is far away from California.” —Tassilo Hummel and Waylon Cunningham, Reuters

Those attending the Capsule Plaza space at Milan Design Week might've spied this pallet being unloaded: Those are nested units of this THING_01, a casual seating object designed by Konstantin Grcic for his 25kg label. "A stool without a seat. Is it? You sit on a piece of tube—right height, comfortable width. The tube ends are plugged (coloured TPE), leaving no sharp edges. Three legs keep it stable, with the front two doubling as a footrest. THING_01 is made of raw stainless steel—tough, simple, and low maintenance. Indoors or outdoors, it works. Light and easy to handle, it goes wherever you do. And when not in use, it nests neatly with others." These are made to order—limited to six units max, per buyer—and the TPE caps are available in yellow, black or grey. They run €550 (USD $607) a pop.

Robotics has long been dominated by rigid materials and precise mechanical movements. But a fascinating development is taking hold – soft robotics. These robots, built from flexible and compliant materials, are opening up new possibilities in fields ranging from medicine to exploration. The latest innovation making waves in this exciting area is a squishy salamander robot. This isn’t your typical clunky, gear-driven automaton; this robot moves with a fluid, life-like gait thanks to its soft construction. The beauty of soft robotics lies in its inherent adaptability and safety. Unlike their hard counterparts, soft robots can bend, stretch, and twist, allowing them to navigate complex environments and interact gently with delicate objects. This is particularly advantageous in applications like healthcare, where robots need to operate safely within the human body, or in handling fragile items in manufacturing. The salamander robot by Soiboi Soft perfectly exemplifies these benefits. Designer: Soiboi Soft Its squishy body, likely constructed from elastomers or other flexible polymers, allows it to undulate and crawl in a manner reminiscent of its biological inspiration. This biomimicry isn’t just aesthetically pleasing; it’s functional. The robot’s soft limbs and torso can conform to uneven surfaces, providing better traction and stability compared to rigid-legged robots. While the specific details of the robot’s actuation aren’t fully elaborated, it likely utilizes pneumatic or hydraulic systems to create movement. These methods are common in soft robotics, allowing for controlled deformation of the flexible materials to produce motion. Think of inflating and deflating chambers within the robot’s body to create the necessary bends and twists. The potential applications for such a robot are vast. Imagine search and rescue operations where a squishy robot could squeeze through tight spaces and navigate debris to locate survivors. In environmental monitoring, a soft salamander could traverse sensitive ecosystems without causing damage. The inherent gentleness of soft robots also makes them ideal candidates for human-robot interaction, potentially assisting in elder care or even becoming unique educational tools. The development of this squishy salamander highlights the rapid progress in soft robotics. As material science and actuation technologies continue to advance, we can expect to see even more sophisticated and versatile soft robots emerge. These flexible machines promise to revolutionize various industries and offer solutions that were previously unattainable with traditional rigid robotics. The future of robotics may just be a little more… squishy. The post Squishy salamander robot pushes boundaries of soft robotics first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Apple-like design and a focus on motion control makes this tiny cube unique.

Companies tied to Elon Musk have dozens of workplace health and safety cases open at OSHA. Unions leaders and former OSHA officials are concerned.

Macworld If you’re looking for a larger tablet with a great screen and a speedy chip, you don’t need to spend a thousand-plus on an iPad Pro. The 13-inch M3 iPad Air is a fantastic mid-range option, and today it’s officially available for its very best price: Amazon is selling the 13-inch iPad Air for $730, a savings of $69 and the deepest we’ve yet to see for Apple’s newest iPad Air. This tablet has a gorgeous 12.9-inch Liquid Retina display with slim bezels and a fantastic design. Despite it’s size, it’s also super light, so slipping this one into your bag and carrying it around won’t be as difficult. And the new M3 chip ensures you’re going to be able to quickly launch apps and movies and swap between it all without a hitch. Speaking of apps, this tablet comes with 128GB of storage, so you’ll be able to install a lot of them. And of course, it’s ready for Apple Intelligence for maaking your own emoji, editing photos, and getting help with your writing. While the M3 iPad Air isn’t much of an upgrade over the M2 model, it’s a fantastic pick for anyone getting their first tablet or upgrading from an older model. So snag the M3 iPad Air for its very best price of $730 at Amazon while this deal still stands. View Deal at Amazon