Despite the fact it could be on the brink of financial collapse, German-based airline Lufthansa is trying to do its bit during the pandemic. With many flights around the world – both international and domestic – currently grounded, airlines (Lufthansa included) are finding ways to keep some of their inactive fleet, active.

Following in the footsteps of Air Canada – which recently gutted three of its Boeing aircraft – the flag carrier airline of Germany announced on Instagram it had ripped the seats out of six of its Airbus A330 aircraft so that they could be used to transport vast quantities of medical supplies to the countries who need them most. Lufthansa added that a few A350 aircraft have also been (temporarily) transformed into freight carriers.

 

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A post shared by Lufthansa (@lufthansa) on Apr 24, 2020 at 7:15am PDT

The airline added, “A very special mission for six of our A330 – to deliver urgent medical products and to maintain the global supply chains, our passenger aircraft are currently flying around the globe as freighters with unusual cargo.”

“Extended seats in Economy, Premium Economy and Business Class create plenty of space for the urgently needed goods.”

The move has received a lot of support on Instagram, with many users congratulating the airline for a “good job!”. It’s certainly a selfless act considering it could soon see its entire fleet grounded for an indefinite amount of time unless it manages to secure a bailout.

The German government and the airline are currently in the middle of negotiations, but with some $13 billion required to keep it afloat, the government in return wants an equity stake and seats on the board. Business Insider claims “CEO Carsten Spohr regards as impossible requirement”.

As of today, May 4th, Lufthansa and other airlines in the Lufthansa Group, have made it mandatory for passengers to wear facemasks when boarding flights that are currently running, although recommends they remain worn for the entire duration. Passengers will, however, need to supply their own masks, and the rules are said to be in place until at least August 31st.

Germany currently has 166,000 confirmed cases of the virus and just under 7,000 deaths at the time of writing. The country has certainly managed to contain it far better than its neighbours Italy, Spain and the UK, which all have death tolls above 20,000.

As ABC reports, Chancellor Angela Merkel has a degree in quantum chemistry, so has been able to explain to her country the effects of the coronavirus and how it’s transmitted in a way that is much easier to understand, along with guidelines to be followed that receive more attention and respect.

Read Next

• Air Canada Makes Dramatic Change To Assist Medical Workers Amid Pandemic
• This Heavyweight Airline Could Be The Next To Fall

The post Lufthansa's Smart Solution To An Inactive Fleet Is Exactly What The World Needs Right Now appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image="253930" img_size="medium" onclick="custom_link" img_link_target="_blank" link="https://www.toddsnyder.com/"][vc_column_text]We're huge fans of Todd Snyder here at DMARGE. The New York-based designer consistently marries a perfect blend of sportswear and fin...

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Swiss watchmaker Piaget has made dreams a reality with the full-production launch of the Altiplano Ultimate Concept. The watch was first shown at SIHH 2018 where it was introduced as the world’s thinnest mechanical watch, measuring an incredibly svelte 2mm thin. Piaget had to manufacture several new parts to make the thin profile possible, and so the idea of it becoming a full-production model we could buy seemed unlikely, or not possible at all.

Piaget has now silenced the doubters with this recent announcement.

The Altiplano Ultimate Concept is made using a newly developed cobalt-based alloy that is said to be 2.3 times stronger than gold, and as mentioned before, several of its 283 individual parts had to be re-sized and re-engineered. Wheels, for example, have been reduced from a conventional 0.2mm thick to 0.12mm and the sapphire crystal comes in at 0.2mm. On standard watches, it’s usually 1mm.

Given the size, or rather, the lack of size of this timepiece, the power reserve from its mind-boggling movement – which is machined directly into the case – is an impressive 40 hours.

But if the minute proportions of the Altiplano Ultimate Concept weren’t enough, Piaget has said it is completely customisable. Using the company’s “Style Selector” service, you can change the colour of the bridge and dial, finish of the hands and main plate, as well as the strap. By default, the AUC comes with a specially developed ultra-thin alligator skin strap with velvet calfskin lining and Kevlar core.

Piaget says there are a staggering 10,000 permutations of the AUC, which given the level of ingenuity involved to manufacture the watch is astounding. It does, however, mean that on the off-chance, you meet someone else wearing one, there will be a very good chance your models won’t be the exact same.

Pricing is perhaps unsurprisingly, available on request although a release date has yet to be decided. Our eyes will now be peeled to see if Michael B. Jordan gets one of his own.

Read Next

• On The Wrist: Road Testing The Piaget Polo S
• 50 Watch Brands That Every Man Needs To Know

The post Piaget Altiplano Ultimate Concept: Record-Setting Watch Becomes A Reality appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Influence is a funny word. Positive by reflex. Defined by inertia. But as social media evolves faster than a respiratory virus, we have quickly realised that it’s just another word for power.

In the last few years, people have turned against the term. We’ve also branched out into other platforms.

Now, especially in this Era Of Boredom, we’ve found ourselves prancing to China’s second most viral export of recent times: TikTok.

Far from reading your uncle’s political rants on Facebook, or seeing your pretentious aunt’s latest Instagram post, TikTok rewards quirky, engaging, none-too-serious, post intelligence modern skits. If you didn’t understand that sentence, don’t worry: neither did most people on the planet beyond the age of 25.

However, this mismatch may be contributing to a new trend, which we’re calling ‘tik toking’. Whether it’s concerning or hilarious, we’ll leave up to you, but the fact remains that social media influencers are taking advantage of this ‘tik tok’ phenomenon – this embarrassing lack of understanding on the part of mainstream media of internet culture – to successfully provoke, gain coverage and grow their profiles.

Case in point? Where to start. As we reported in January, adult movie star/shock-jock influencer Vitaly ran into hot water (or, rather, an Egyptian jail), for climbing one of the pyramids of Giza to get the perfect Instagram snapshot.

 

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A post shared by Vitaly (@kingvitaly) on Jan 14, 2020 at 10:59am PST

Far from being a surprise, though, the captions on his posts suggests he knew exactly what he was doing.

“Was it worth it? F— YEAH! I did it for a good cause and soon I’m going to share the whole video so the whole world can see.”

Although the post has received over 197,315 likes, not everyone was convinced of his altruism, with several commenters complaining it was all a publicity stunt.

“Why don’t you donate your money! Instead of climbing around on a [sic] ancient historical for no reason!” wrote one Instagram user, to the tune of 2,361 likes.

Alex Hayes is another Big Name on Instagram, who first went viral in 2015 after fooling the media with an “obvious” fake selfie with a shark.

As The Sydney Morning Herald reported at the time: “Sydney surfer Alex Hayes reckons it was ‘obvious’ his shark selfie was a fake – but that didn’t stop the hungry hordes of the internet (and several media outlets) rushing to share the image.”

“The 17-year-old schoolboy posted the picture on his Facebook and Instagram accounts on Thursday last week. It appeared to show him sitting nonchalantly on his surfboard at Clontarf Beach as a shark swims directly beside him,” The Sydney Morning Herald wrote in 2015.

“By Saturday, stories of shock and awe had appeared on news websites such as the Daily Mail Australia, Pedestrian.tv, respected British newspaper The Independent, and the somewhat less respected Daily Mirror, which chose to run the story despite openly speculating that it could have been photoshopped.”

Alex is now an Instagram personaje with 593k followers.

He is also admired for his honesty around mental health, and inspiring others to pursue their goals, too.

This leads us to the latest example of (in this case, potential) media manipulation or, as we like to call it ‘tik toking’. It comes in the form of Linn Clarke, a Swedish backpacker who recently was strung up in the Australian media for flouting lockdown rules to sunbake.

While swathes of Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs and Northern Beaches did much the same as Linn, who is currently living on the Gold Coast, there was one crucial difference: they didn’t post about it on social media inviting a fine (or if they did, it didn’t get picked up by the tabloids).

But first: context. What the hell happened?

News.com.au’s take is, “A Swedish backpacker has gone viral after appearing to dare police to fine her $1200 for flouting social-distancing restrictions while sunbaking on a Gold Coast beach.”

The post 'Tik Toking': Are Travel Influencers Deliberately Provoking The Media To Gain Followers? appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

To say Australia’s tourism industry has suffered from The Virus is like saying socks don’t quite go with sandals. 100,000 tourism workers have lost their jobs, no f*cker is going anywhere and, as Flight Centre chief executive Graham Turner recently told The Australian, many tourism companies will be “decimated” if domestic travel restrictions are not lifted within a month.

But, though possible, such a loosening is unlikely. As the ABC recently reported, even though we may be less than three weeks away from kids returning to school and office workers being released back into the wild, “some form of restrictions are likely to remain for the six months through September.”

How this will affect your coastal-jaunt ambitions remains unclear. But, though nothing is certain, if our case-load remains as low as it is now, it is expected domestic holidays will be legal by September. In fact, there are now suggestions Australia and New Zealand may resume tourism in what’s being referred to as a “trans-Tasman bubble.”

Of course, until the data comes through, no-one can say for sure.

What we do know, is that Australians are getting restless. As The Chronicle.com.au reported this week, Apple Maps data shows direction requests have begun trending upwards again after plummeting in early March.

 

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A post shared by greatoceanroad (@greatoceanroad) on Dec 9, 2019 at 12:16am PST

Similarly, “Requests for road directions in Australia are still down 58 per cent from normal levels, but have begun to increase after bottoming out at more than 70 per cent in early April.”

On top of that, “Foot direction requests have also begun to tick up.”

Suffice to say, we’re pacing our cells.

A DMARGE analysis of the latest Google Search Trends shows this impatience may not be reserved for getting back to the office and bottomless brunches. Why? If you look at the search data for down-under hotspots, Australians appear to be regaining interest in domestic travel.

How so? After a 28th April announcement that NSW would join Queensland in a loosening of laws, we noticed an uptick in search traffic for the twelve apostles, the great barrier reef, Uluru and Noosa beach houses, to name a few.

This comes in a context where, “With most international routes likely to be shut for at least the rest of the year, companies such as Flight Centre and Intrepid Travel are revamping their travel pack­ages to cater for local rather than international travel,” reports The Australian. 

On top of that, reports came out on Friday that Qantas and Jetstar are now selling flights for June, despite no official word on domestic travel bans being lifted, leading media to speculate they know (and are preparing for) something we don’t.

 

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A post shared by Johan Drone Adventures (@johan_drone_adventures) on Apr 19, 2020 at 3:00am PDT

This interest in domestic travel also comes after the Federal Government has announced a $95 million support package for zoos and aquariums, which The NSW Tourism Industry Council says “is a great show of faith and support for tourism operators at a time when they need it most.”

In a press release, Simon Spellicy, Chair of the NSW Tourism Industry Council, said, “We know how hard the tourism industry is suffering, particularly in NSW which is the gateway to Australia for many international visitors.”

RELATED: Virgin Australia Collapse Holds Intriguing Silver Lining, Experts Claim

“Many tourism operators which exhibited animals suffered tremendous financial losses as a result of the bushfires, and now they’ve been hit with the impacts of COVID -19,” Mr Spellicy said.

“These operations can apply to the Government to access these funds which can be used for animal welfare costs, including the cost of feed, specialised care and utilities relating to animal care.”

“This fund is on top of any support the relevant businesses can receive should they meet the criteria for JobKeeper payments.”

“The NSW Tourism Industry Council strongly encourages businesses to apply for these grants to assist with their operational costs at a time when visitation is not possible,” Mr Spellicy said.

“This also comes at the same time as the establishment of the Tourism Restart Taskforce which will provide advice to industry and Government on the short, medium and long-term priorities to rebuild tourism in Australia.”

“As a representative body, the NSW Tourism Industry Council will continue to liaise directly with Federal Minister Simon Birmingham on NSW specific initiatives that will drive visitation to specific locations, both in Sydney and regional NSW,” Mr Spellicy said.

More to come as the story develops.

Read Next

• Qantas Ticket Sales Suggests Domestic Travel Could Return Sooner Than You Think
• Sicily Makes Tourists Post-Pandemic Offer Too Good To Refuse

The post Post Pandemic Tourism: Google Search Trends Point To Growth For Australia appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

It’s a predicament as old as Joey Tribbianni himself. Symptoms include blue heart emojis, meeting for coffee rather than drinks (unless you’re super deep) and the soul crushing, “who else is coming” response to romantically-laid plans.

The ‘friend zone’ is like the penalty box of dating, only you can never get out. Once a girl decides you’re her ‘friend,’ it’s game over. You’ve become a complete non-sexual entity in her eyes, like her brother, or a lamp. – Ryan Reynolds

Whether it’s been going on weeks or years; the ‘9th circle of hell’ is hard to extract yourself from. This is made worse by the fact that, chances are, you friend-zoned yourself. Worse still, by attempting the climb, not only might you lose a friend, but you risk of being lumped in with the dreaded (and often mischaracterised) “nice guy” movement.

retweet if you think we need to put an end to this “friend zone” term.
Women do not owe you sex because you were nice to them. Cut that shit out.

— Michelle Guido (@heyyguido) May 2, 2018

To say the least; the stakes are high. To prove that you are not in the minority of humans who would only pursue a friendship with the singular aim of “taking Grandma to Applebee’s (where would we be without Conan O’Brien), we asked leading dating coaches for their advice.

According to Gad Krebs, a relationship coach, prevention is better than cure.

“I can’t say that this never happens, but far more hearts end up broken than filled.”

As to making it clear you value the friendship and don’t expect anything out of it—at the same time as hinting you would be open (remember: play it cool) to something more—he said:

“I don’t know if the topic can be broached unless you are prepared to lose the friendship. Your desire for something more will not ever erode, it can only be replaced by finding love elsewhere.”

According to Wingman, however, it’s better to be subtle.

“Don’t beg for her to give you a chance, EVER. She made a conscious decision to not be anything more than friends with you… You’ll do much better if you start putting less focus on her and more focus on you.”

Aside from the obvious: working out, dressing better, etc. it is also important to start flirting with other people.

“A twinge of jealousy that comes from knowing other people find you attractive is priceless.”

Not only will this make her curious, but will help you practice flirting.

“The more women you meet, the better you become at playing the game and getting the girl you want.”

Once ready, try out your banter. If it’s going well couple it with some non-creepy body language. What’s key is how she responds—if there’s sexual tension it’s normally pretty darn obvious. If not: she’s just not that into you. You can now casually tone it back to how things were before, without having embarrassed yourself, accept reality and move on.

The friend zone isn’t real, your friend just isn’t attracted to you.

— Shower Thoughts (@TheWeirdWorld) May 1, 2018

Whilst this is well-meaning advice, Chris Manak, a Melbourne-based dating coach for men, disagrees. He says (especially in the casual dating scene) it’s better to be direct.

“If you’re having a good chat, just ask. Don’t be weird about it.”

Watch this video to see exactly why courage might be all you lack.

“The friend-zone is a psychological state in which you put yourself when you behave like a friend with the person you like, because you don’t have the courage to behave otherwise”.

And this, to see the brutal process happening live on national TV…

locked in the friend zone on NATIONAL TV. this is just brutal to watch pic.twitter.com/viiaKq91BQ

— theCHIVE (@theCHIVE) April 27, 2018

RELATED: How Much Men Need To Make To Improve Their Attractiveness

The post Stuck In Friend Zone? How To Escape Without Ruining Everything appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

One of the main aspects of a classic car that some owners wish they could change is the stereo system. Of course, some owners may wish to keep their pride and joy as is, as it represents the pinnacle of technology at the time it was built. But fast forward to the modern-day and the necessity to have a phone connected to a hands-free system can be vital, and being able to play a library of music at the touch of a button is almost non-negotiable.

But when it comes to Porsche, you may think that the purists out there will want to keep their car in pristine, original, untouched condition.

Porsche themselves disagree, and as a result has recently announced the Porsche Classic Communication Management system. The PCCM is available for 911 models from the very first generation built in the 1960s all the way up to the 993 911 series that was introduced in the early 1990s. A second PCCM Plus system is available for the 996 911 and 986 Boxsters.

A simple swap out of the single-DIN unit found in your early-generation Porsche 911 to the PCCM will gift you DAB+ radio, Apple CarPlay, SD-based maps with navigation, USB and AUX inputs and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. Even though the PCCM might have all the bells and whistles you’d expect on any modern car – including 3.5-inch touchscreen display – Porsche has been careful to remain faithful to the design language of its early models and as a result, has given it a similar black surface finish and older-generation style control knobs.

So has Porsche correctly identified a feature its customers want? After all, owning a classic Porsche in original condition is something many will aspire to, so making modern upgrades – no matter how well they integrate with the original aesthetic – could be seen as a waste of time.

We reached out to Damian Royce, Porsche collector and owner of the Classic Car Addict Instagram account, to get his expert opinion. To our surprise, Damian started off by saying, “I think this is a great idea from Porsche.”

“It shows how mindful they are about their classic model customers who want the best of both worlds and makes real sense for the modern classic 996, which is still used as a daily driver.”

Damian was also highly receptive of the angle Porsche took in the design, “What’s really smart is the way they have designed this modern system for the old classics, which integrates quite well in Porsche’s iconic spartan dash.”

However, he admits it won’t be to everyone’s taste, “While some enthusiasts will no-doubt stick with period correctness, others will like the opportunity to blend old with new tech.”

“It’s a win for those who want it.”

Reddit appears to agree with Damian too, with many users praising the OEM-style design path Porsche has chosen.

“This is really cool. I don’t know why so many aftermarket head units still look so neon and sci-fi,” says one user.

“That 1999 Boxter S for like $7k is starting to look a LOT nicer now. Apple CarPlay and modern phone connectivity is the only reason I don’t want to buy something older than ~2016 or so,” adds another.

Another references the prices (the user in question references the US prices, we’ve displayed the Australian prices here), A$2,643.10 for the PCCM and A$2,968.33 for the PCCM Plus, “Honestly, for the car, that’s a great price. Most people who own a classic Porsche and are thinking about things like adding CarPlay would jump at a true Plug-n-Play solution from Porsche themselves.”

“Plus, being a head unit that doesn’t stand out like a sore thumb in a classic car is a good touch. Keeping the buttons was a classy move.”

We also noticed some comments asking whether the system would fit 997 generation 911s, or if Porsche planned to release one that would fit in the future. We reached out to Porsche for comment on this. They told us the system won’t work with 997 generation cars, nor do they have any plans right now to release such a system.

Read Next

• A Guide To Buying A Classic, Vintage & Used Porsche 911
• The Porsche Factory Like You’ve Never Seen It Before

The post Porsche Classic Stereo: Controversial New Accessory Will Have The Purists Fuming appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

Keeping your set of wheels sparkling clean isn’t always an easy task. You may use it on a daily basis – granted, maybe not at the moment given the current pandemic – so just finding the time to head outside armed with a hose, pressure washer and bucket may prove tricky. Or you can take the easy route and drive it into a hand carwash or detailers and let the professionals do the job. But where’s the fun in that?

Spending a couple of hours with your pride and joy, caressing its curves with a cloth and cleaning out the nooks and crannies will provide you with a huge sense of satisfaction and achievement. Just trust us on that one.

But there is a right way and a wrong way when cleaning your car, and there’s a good chance you’ve been doing it the wrong way for some time. Just take a look at the body at an angle and you’ll probably see a series of scratches, caused incorrect washing. Porsche is aware of the common issues faced by many a car washer, and so has enlisted the services of Richard Tipper, a professional car valet to give us the tips we need for a spotless motor.

Tipper often spends a couple of days cleaning and detailing his cars – don’t worry, we don’t expect you to do the same – as not only will he clean the areas you can see, he’ll go deeper into the car to clean the areas you can’t. He’ll often take the seats out of cars to get any fallen crumbs or McDonald’s chips. We’re pretty sure everyone will have at least one chip lurking somewhere in their car.

Once you’ve dedicated a good few hours to washing your car, Richard says it’s best to start with the wheels, since they’re the dirtiest. You should have a bucket specifically for wheel cleaning, as it will hold onto dirt and grease over time, which you wouldn’t want to lather over the bodywork. You’ll also need some soft-bristle wheel brushes and a deionising decon gel – Richard says to steer clear of acidic wheel cleaners – which you should spray onto a cold wheel, avoiding the brake disc as much as possible. Work the gel into the wheel with the brushes, making sure to get behind the spokes if you can.

Wash off with a gentle rinse, never blast them with a power washer up close. Oh, and if you have to apply tyre shine for that showroom look, don’t put a cover over it after as the shine will transfer on to it from the wheels.

Once they’re done it’s on to the main event. Keep your car out of direct sunlight when washing to avoid smears and arm yourself with two buckets, a soft wash mitt and some microfibre cloths. Apply a pre-rinse agent to the whole body and then take the two buckets, one with soapy water, one with plain water. Dip the mitt into the soap, apply it to an area of the body (starting with the roof first) dunk it into the plain water to rinse off any dirt and grease, back into the soap and repeat.

Hose her down and grab a microfibre cloth – Richard doesn’t bother with a chamois leather, so neither should you – lay it on an area of the bodywork, let it soak up water and pull it off. Repeat around the whole body for a streak-free shine. Finally, Richard recommends getting an automotive dryer to blow the water out of the hard to reach areas such as around hinges.

And voila, you can now enjoy a clean car, on the outside at least. The interior is a whole different ball game, so to find out Richard’s top tips for cleaning the seats, steering wheel and even the engine, head to Porsche’s website. 

Read Next

• The Porsche Factory Like You’ve Never Seen It Before
• A Guide To Buying A Classic, Vintage & Used Porsche 911

The post Car Washing Tips: Professional Car Detailer Reveals The Common Car Wash Mistakes We All Make appeared first on DMARGE Australia.

The gym may be where we sculpt our bodies into the temples we long for them to be, but the key to unlocking the potential gains we can make lies in the kitchen. The foods we consume play a huge part in the makeup of our bodies, and we’re constantly being told to adhere to various diets or how much protein we should be consuming to really make a difference. And obviously, there are times we simply eat out of boredom. That’s all well and good, as fad diets do have their merits, but none of them will be as effective if the foods we consume as part of them aren’t weighed out correctly. It may sound obvious, but so many recipes ask us to measure food out by the tablespoon, or by the dash or handful, but who’s to say how much a handful of something weighs?

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A post shared by James Kew (@jameskewfitness) on Apr 26, 2020 at 10:01am PDT

It’s a topic online fitness coach James Kew has touched upon in a recent Instagram post. He questions why we should weigh food, and the simple answer is so that we be accurate when creating our dishes. If we follow a recipe and it asks for one tablespoon of peanut butter, it doesn’t clarify exactly what one tablespoon should look like, which can have a detrimental effect on your body.Going on the image in James’ post, it depicts two versions of a tablespoon of PB. In this writer’s view, the one on the left would be deemed an appropriate amount, but that’s also why this writer doesn’t have a six-pack.As James’ post adds, “weighing food can minimise inconsistencies in visual estimations for a more accurate understanding of how much energy you are consuming.”Underestimating how much you’re actually eating in terms of nutritional content is a common phenomenon. An Australian health study from back in 2012 found that males and females can underestimate their average energy intake by as much as 17 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.This could partly be blamed on our idea of what constitutes a portion size. Serving size is what goes into making a dish: one cup of something or 200g of something else etc, but portion size is the amount we consume in one sitting.Portion size isn’t just affected by how hungry we think we are, but the dishes and bowls we use to serve food can have an influence too: a large, deep bowl, for example, may, perhaps unintentionally, make us fill it up to the brim. And who can honestly say they accurately measure out pasta or rice?Again, it might seem obvious, but it’s a simple nutritional mistake you might be unaware you’re making.So next time you head to the kitchen for that post-workout fuel, weigh your ingredients out instead of guestimating them and you may notice you gain muscle much quicker.

Read Next

• Nutrition Tips Every Australian Should Know Right Now
• LeBron James Diet Revelation Proves Keto Warriors Wrong

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