A former Virgin Australia flight attendant has shed light on the rigorous grooming requirements that cabin crew must adhere to while on duty.

Chelsea Dorricott, from Sydney, shared these details in a TikTok video, explaining that airline employees are prohibited from wearing any visible facial piercings or jewelry on their lips, nose, or eyebrows.

“As cabin crew, we have a specific set of grooming standards to follow,” Chelsea explained. “While regulations might vary slightly between airlines, for mine, facial piercings are strictly off-limits. This includes piercings on the lips, nose, and eyebrows.”

However, earrings are permitted, but only in the form of simple studs or pearls in each lobe. “You can have ear piercings, but they must be either double studs or a single simple pearl,” Chelsea noted. “Cartilage piercings are also not allowed, so I remove mine while at work. Additionally, hoop earrings are prohibited, so I replace them with gold studs.”

Hidden Feature: The Safety Scarf

Another interesting detail shared by Brodie Capron, a former Virgin Australia cabin crew member, is the “secret” purple scarf feature that many passengers may not be aware of. In one of her videos, a follower noticed that Brodie’s scarf was a clip-on, asking, “I never knew the scarf was a button? I thought it was tied?”

Brodie responded, “It’s a safety feature. In case of emergencies, we won’t get stuck or if someone tries to grab it, we can move away. The ties that our male crew wear are also clip-on for the same reason.”

AirHelp: Your Flight Compensation Expert

Experiencing flight delays or cancellations can be frustrating. AirHelp is here to help you navigate the complexities of flight compensation and ensure you receive what you’re entitled to.

How Good Luck Inspired Ramesh to Achieve His Goals??? Need more clearance on this story!

Indian KFC Worker Slaps Manager And Resigned Immediately… See the shocking video here – Shocking Story Happened in India Recently!

Good luck can sometimes serve as the catalyst for extraordinary achievements. Ramesh Gupta, a cook at KFC, is a prime example of how a stroke of fortune can inspire one to take risks and achieve their dreams.

Struggling financially and facing a tough year, Ramesh stumbled upon an online opportunity offering a substantial match bonus. With nothing to lose, he deposited ₹200, leading to an astonishing winning streak that transformed his life. His winnings soared to an unbelievable ₹34,83,02,672, turning his modest investment into a life-changing fortune.

Ramesh’s newfound wealth gave him the confidence to pursue his dreams. He quit his job, boldly announcing his departure in the middle of a busy shift, and planned a dream vacation to Europe. Additionally, he decided to buy a brand-new car and help his family purchase a bigger house.

His story is a testament to the power of good luck in inspiring people to take risks and pursue their goals. Ramesh encourages others to seize opportunities, highlighting how a small risk can lead to monumental rewards. His journey from financial struggle to incredible success serves as an inspiration for anyone looking to turn their dreams into reality.

Anjali Sharma, a 28-year-old senior flight attendant with Air India, was following her usual routine on what was supposed to be a long and uneventful flight. However, the monotony of the journey took a dramatic twist when Anjali, during a scheduled break, decided to check the live stream of the Indian National Lottery results. To her utter amazement, she realized that her ticket numbers perfectly matched the winning combination, securing her a life-changing sum of ₹500 crore (approximately $60 million USD).

Passengers on board were initially confused as Anjali, usually the epitome of professionalism, began to react emotionally. Tears of joy, incredulous laughter, and excited exclamations erupted from her as she comprehended the magnitude of her unexpected fortune. Her colleagues, unaware of the situation, rushed to her side, fearing a medical emergency, only to be swept into her contagious elation when she revealed the cause of her excitement.

The flight had its first scheduled stop at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. Despite the long journey ahead, Anjali made the decision to disembark there. Her sudden departure left passengers and crew members speculating about her abrupt exit, but soon the news spread, and they celebrated her good fortune.

Anjali’s decision to leave the flight was met with understanding from her superiors, given the extraordinary circumstances. She expressed her gratitude to the passengers and her fellow crew members before exiting the aircraft to a round of applause and cheers. The airline quickly arranged for a replacement stewardess to ensure the flight continued smoothly to its final destination.

Later, in an interview, Anjali shared her thoughts on the unexpected turn of events. “I bought the lottery ticket on a whim, never imagining I would actually win. It feels surreal, and I’m still trying to process it all. I am grateful to my colleagues and the passengers for their understanding and support. This win will change my life, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”

The incident has since gone viral on social media, with many celebrating Anjali’s incredible luck and the heartwarming reactions from those around her. The story of the stewardess who won the lottery mid-flight has become a testament to the unpredictable nature of life and the joy of unexpected fortune.

BlackBerry’s new leader is the former head of its cybersecurity business unit.

The Waterloo, Ont., company said this morning that John Giamatteo is its new chief executive officer and a member of its board of directors, effective immediately.

Richard Lynch, who has served as interim chief executive officer since Nov. 4, after the departure of John Chen, will continue as board chair.

The company also announced that it will separate the IoT division (which offers its QNX operating system for industrial and automotive manufacturers) and its cybersecurity division (which offers Cylance endpoint and Mobile Threat Defence solutions) and that they will operate as fully standalone divisions. However, BlackBerry will no longer try to make the IoT business a publicly traded company.

Giamatteo has served as the president of BlackBerry’s Cybersecurity business unit since October 2021.

Giamatteo has over 30 years of experience with global technology companies, the BlackBerry announcement said.  As president of the cybersecurity business unit, he oversaw enhancements to the product portfolio, go-to-market strategy, and organizational efficiency, the statement said.

Before joining BlackBerry he was president and chief revenue officer at McAfee.  Before that, Giamatteo was chief operating officer at AVG Technologies, a provider of internet and mobile security.

“We are delighted to appoint John to the role of CEO for what will be a transformative period in BlackBerry’s history, as we work to fully separate our two core business units to drive enhanced shareholder value,”  Mike Daniels, chair of BlackBerry’s compensation, nomination and governance committee, said in a statement. “His deep industry experience and outstanding track record of inspiring teams and delivering operational excellence means he is strongly positioned to drive this critical transformation of BlackBerry.”

In a statement, Giamatteo said he is “honored and excited to lead the next phase of BlackBerry’s evolution as its CEO. BlackBerry’s IoT and cybersecurity businesses have market-leading technology, exceptional teams and large market opportunities.

“The Board and I are fully aligned on the next steps needed to unlock the value within BlackBerry, and work on this effort will proceed at full speed. I look forward to working with the entire team to uphold our legacy of innovation and continue providing exceptional service to our customers as we deliver on our goals.”

The announcement also made it clear that the company has given up plans to monetize the IoT division by making an initial public offering of stock. Instead, the board has decided that it will become a standalone division.

The process will include the separation and streamlining of BlackBerry’s centralized corporate functions into business unit-specific teams, with a view to each division operating independently and on a profitable and cashflow-positive basis going forward.

“The board, with input from its advisors, believes that a full separation of BlackBerry’s IoT and Cybersecurity businesses will open up a number of strategic alternatives that can unlock shareholder value,” said board chair Lynch said in a statement. “Management is focused on moving quickly to complete this reorganization that will further enhance the focus of both businesses on their respective markets as well as their capacity for fast, flexible decision-making.”

Epic Games scores Epic victory over Google, The New York Times appoints an editorial director of AI, an upstart Paris startup is challenging some of the big players with a smaller open source model and is ChatGPT slowing down because Christmas is approaching?

These and more top tech stories on Hashtag Trending

I’m your host Jim Love, CIO of IT World Canada and Tech News Day in the US.

Google Workspace has added a feature allowing users to record their name’s pronunciation on their profile card, aiming to reduce mispronunciations. This update, applicable to Google Docs and Gmail, lets colleagues hear the recorded name by clicking a play button next to the user’s name. 

The feature, which rolled out on December 11, is on by default but can be disabled by admins. It’s available for various Google Workspace accounts, including Business and Enterprise levels, as well as Google for Nonprofits customers. 

This feature already exists in other workplace applications like Slack and LinkedIn.

For me this is more of a public service announcement than a news story. As someone who struggles with names constantly, I didn’t know that this was already on LinkedIn or Slack.  It’s easy on both – once you know it’s there – google it.

Sources include: ZDNet

Epic Games’ legal victory over Google may have far-reaching impacts

Google’s legal defeat to Epic Games over its Play Store’s practices could have significant financial implications, potentially costing billions in revenue. A California jury found Google’s Play Store to be an illegal monopoly, leading to potentially major changes in how it operates. The ruling increases scrutiny on Google amidst other antitrust battles and may also have some implications for Apple’s app store, although Apple won their suit with Epic. 

An appeal process could delay these changes for years.

The final outcome remains uncertain as that lengthy process begins.

Sources include: Reuters

The New York Times has appointed Zach Seward as the editorial director of artificial intelligence initiatives. 

This move reflects the growing interest in AI within media organizations. Seward, co-founder of Quartz, will collaborate with newsroom leaders to define AI usage principles, focusing on ethical considerations and public trust. His role includes forming a team to explore AI tools, developing journalist training programs, and guiding the use of AI to enhance journalistic work.

The Times said that Seward was selected in part because of his support for journalists and their critical role in news, indicating they are pursuing AI as a supporting technology and not a way to replace journalists.

Sources include: Axios

U.S. Border Security Innovations: AI and Robotic Enhancements

The U.S. is enhancing border security with AI and robotics, including AI-powered vehicle and cargo scanning and robot dogs for patrol. Pangiam and West Virginia University are developing AI algorithms for unusual movement detection, while Altana will assist in tracking precursor chemicals for fentanyl. DHS’s research arm is collaborating with Ghost Robotics on robot dogs capable of transmitting real-time data. These advancements come amid staffing shortages and concerns over data transparency and use in surveillance.

Sources include: Axios article one and Axios article two.

And an upstart Paris-based startup, is challenging the dominance of OpenAI, Google, and Meta with its new open source model, Mixtral 8x7B. 

This model, which integrates Sparse Mixture of Experts architecture, has been released with an open-source license and is extremely competitive in its performance on industry benchmarks. 

 “Mixture of Experts” allows models to be pre-trained and using far less compute making it cheaper and faster to train and scale up.

Despite that, Mixtral equalled ChatGPT 3.5 on tests and surpassed Llama 2 70B on most benchmarks with 6x faster inference.

Mistral AI has recently raised substantial funding and is launching ‘La Plateforme’ for API endpoints of its models. That and the fact that it offers three models, Mistral Tiny, Mistral Small and is charging for the use of  the yet to be released Mistral medium, gives it two revenue sources.  So even though it is an open-source company, it’s valuation is already potentially more than two billion dollars.

Obviously, there is still room to compete in the AI model business.

Sources include: Analytics India Magazine 

Users of ChatGPT have observed a perceived decrease in effort from the AI.  OpenAI has admitted there is a problem but has said that they have not made changes to the model that could cause this. 

This has led to some speculation, most of it based on anecdotal evidence. One of these is the “winter break hypothesis.” This unproven idea suggests that ChatGPT mimics human behavior by slowing down in December. 

Tests on response lengths for different dates have shown some indications of this, but it’s really difficult to do effective tests given that generative AI models don’t produce the exact same results each time. 

But the fact that the problem exists and the December hypothesis is as good of a guess as anything else, reveals  the unpredictable nature of large language models (LLMs) and how little even their creators know about the behaviour.

Sources include: ArsTechnica.  

And that’s what’s trending today.

Hashtag Trending goes to air 5 days a week with a special weekend interview show we call “the Weekend Edition.”

You can get us anywhere you get audio podcasts and there is a copy of the show notes at itworldcanada.com/podcasts 

I’m your host Jim Love.  Have a Wonderful Wednesday!