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Carrying tools and machines from one place to another requires a special bag to reduce load and ensure safety. A <keyword id="12485493" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="technician-bag" source="Orion">technician bag</keyword> ensures comfortable carrying and convenient storage of the equipment. The bag comes with multiple storage compartments to carry various types of equipment. If you are looking to buy a durable and high-quality technician bag, here is a list of the top picks from Amazon.<br /><br /><bulletContentEmbed name="B079Z2HWVF" columns="1"><bulletContentHeading name="B079Z2HWVF_head"><div type="image" title="Padded Back" msid="87572859" hostid="261"></div></columnHeadThumb>B079Z2HWVF</columnHeadTitle></columnHead></bulletContentHeading><bulleteContentBody name="B079Z2HWVF_body"><bulletContentRow name="B079Z2HWVF_9687657585708627"><bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowHead col="1">AmazonBasics Tool Bag Backpack, 51 Pockets</bulletContentRowHead></bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowBody><bulletContentRowCell col="1">Made from 100% polyester, this tool bag backpack from AmazonBasics is durable. It comes with 42 inside pockets and 9 outside pockets to keep the tools in an organized manner. The padded shoulder straps and back provide comfort while travelling. It features an adjustable chest strap.</bulletContentRowCell></bulletContentRowBody></bulletContentRow><bulletContentRow name="B079Z2HWVF_7454745377882261"><bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowHead col="1"></bulletContentRowHead></bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowBody><bulletContentRowCell col="1">Its multiple compartments make it easy to carry essentials.</bulletContentRowCell></bulletContentRowBody></bulletContentRow></bulleteContentBody></bulletContentEmbed><br /><br /><bulletContentEmbed name="B0816SX9DD" columns="1"><bulletContentHeading name="B0816SX9DD_head"><div type="image" title="Lightweight Design" msid="87572883" hostid="261"></div></columnHeadThumb>B0816SX9DD</columnHeadTitle></columnHead></bulletContentHeading><bulleteContentBody name="B0816SX9DD_body"><bulletContentRow name="B0816SX9DD_1336749027665062"><bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowHead col="1">Tiara Canvas White Electrician and Technician Bag, 22 Pockets</bulletContentRowHead></bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowBody><bulletContentRowCell col="1">Made from overlap stitching and thick thread, this tool bag from Tiara is long-lasting and durable. To ensure easy carrying, it is lightweight. With 22 pockets it provides ample storage space to carry tools conveniently. This bag offers style with functionality.</bulletContentRowCell></bulletContentRowBody></bulletContentRow><bulletContentRow name="B0816SX9DD_0863059103385381"><bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowHead col="1"></bulletContentRowHead></bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowBody><bulletContentRowCell col="1">Its lightweight design should make it convenient to carry.</bulletContentRowCell></bulletContentRowBody></bulletContentRow></bulleteContentBody></bulletContentEmbed><br /><br /><bulletContentEmbed name="B07Y572GCB" columns="1"><bulletContentHeading name="B07Y572GCB_head"><div type="image" title="Adjustable Strap" msid="87572888" hostid="261"></div></columnHeadThumb>B07Y572GCB</columnHeadTitle></columnHead></bulletContentHeading><bulleteContentBody name="B07Y572GCB_body"><bulletContentRow name="B07Y572GCB_1031743316642918"><bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowHead col="1">Exel Polyester Professional Technician Sling Tool Bag</bulletContentRowHead></bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowBody><bulletContentRowCell col="1">With multiple pockets, this technician sling tool bag from Exel provides sufficient space to carry tools. To provide comfort while carrying, it features an adjustable shoulder strap. Made from polyester material, it is water-resistant and abrasion-resistant. Its lightweight design makes it convenient to carry. Also, it comes with a padded divider.</bulletContentRowCell></bulletContentRowBody></bulletContentRow><bulletContentRow name="B07Y572GCB_5938411547356579"><bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowHead col="1"></bulletContentRowHead></bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowBody><bulletContentRowCell col="1">It comes with a handle and a shoulder strap for carrying.</bulletContentRowCell></bulletContentRowBody></bulletContentRow></bulleteContentBody></bulletContentEmbed><br /><br /><bulletContentEmbed name="B08KJ8QDDD" columns="1"><bulletContentHeading name="B08KJ8QDDD_head"><div type="image" title="Multiple Compartments" msid="87572902" hostid="261"></div></columnHeadThumb>B08KJ8QDDD</columnHeadTitle></columnHead></bulletContentHeading><bulleteContentBody name="B08KJ8QDDD_body"><bulletContentRow name="B08KJ8QDDD_7732968518861848"><bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowHead col="1">Goldline Multipurpose Tool Bag for Mechanics, Electrician &amp; Technicians</bulletContentRowHead></bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowBody><bulletContentRowCell col="1">This tool bag from Goldline features 6 compartments to help carry tools in an organized manner. Made from waterproof material, the bag keeps the belongings safe. It has a storage capacity of 40 kg.</bulletContentRowCell></bulletContentRowBody></bulletContentRow><bulletContentRow name="B08KJ8QDDD_7663066604505181"><bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowHead col="1"></bulletContentRowHead></bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowBody><bulletContentRowCell col="1">The bag provides sufficient space to carry tools.</bulletContentRowCell></bulletContentRowBody></bulletContentRow></bulleteContentBody></bulletContentEmbed><br /><br /><bulletContentEmbed name="B08YK2J29T" columns="1"><bulletContentHeading name="B08YK2J29T_head"><div type="image" title="Durable Material" msid="87572922" hostid="261"></div></columnHeadThumb>B08YK2J29T</columnHeadTitle></columnHead></bulletContentHeading><bulleteContentBody name="B08YK2J29T_body"><bulletContentRow name="B08YK2J29T_8834037940858346"><bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowHead col="1">Teo 14-inch Polyester Black Tool Bag</bulletContentRowHead></bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowBody><bulletContentRowCell col="1">This technician bag from Teo is made from synthetic leather to provide durability. To provide comfort while carrying, it features an adjustable padded shoulder, detachable sling strap and padded hand-held strap. The multiple compartments make you carry all tools comfortably in an organized manner. With a wide shoulder strap, it reduces fatigue.</bulletContentRowCell></bulletContentRowBody></bulletContentRow><bulletContentRow name="B08YK2J29T_9569149628644762"><bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowHead col="1"></bulletContentRowHead></bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowBody><bulletContentRowCell col="1">It provides multiple carrying options.</bulletContentRowCell></bulletContentRowBody></bulletContentRow></bulleteContentBody></bulletContentEmbed><br /><br /><bulletContentEmbed name="B091L1G399" columns="1"><bulletContentHeading name="B091L1G399_head"><div type="image" title="Water-Resistant" msid="87572926" hostid="261"></div></columnHeadThumb>B091L1G399</columnHeadTitle></columnHead></bulletContentHeading><bulleteContentBody name="B091L1G399_body"><bulletContentRow name="B091L1G399_4263232716430211"><bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowHead col="1">Rigsafe Reinforced with Metal Accessories Tool Bag</bulletContentRowHead></bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowBody><bulletContentRowCell col="1">This 18-inch large tool bag from Rigsafe is suitable to carry weight up to 25 kg. Made from water-resistant material, it should be safe to carry outdoors. Its large capacity should allow you to keep tools conveniently.</bulletContentRowCell></bulletContentRowBody></bulletContentRow><bulletContentRow name="B091L1G399_2214730356634229"><bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowHead col="1"></bulletContentRowHead></bulletContentRowHeading><bulletContentRowBody><bulletContentRowCell col="1">It can hold weight up to 25 kg.</bulletContentRowCell></bulletContentRowBody></bulletContentRow></bulleteContentBody></bulletContentEmbed><br />

Best technician bags in India

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Tyra Reeder, 21, works in Maryland at the first unionized Apple store.</li><li>She's currently in the process of transitioning to a full-time position and has been a vocal participant in the store's move to unionize. </li></ul><p><em>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Tyra Reeder, 21, who works at the first unionized Apple store located in Towson, Maryland. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.</em></p><p>I grew up on Apple products. Ever since I was a kid, I dreamed of one day working for the company.</p><p>As an Apple nerd at heart, I couldn't wait to turn 18, which is the minimum required age to apply for a job there. When my 18th birthday finally rolled around, I applied to work at the Towson Town Center Apple store in Maryland, near Towson University, where I was a freshman. </p><p>It was January 2020, and unbeknownst to everyone at the time, COVID-19 would hit just two months later. The pandemic brought everything to a standstill and forced all nonessential businesses to temporarily close their doors.</p><h2>It took a year and 8 months before Apple contacted me regarding my job application</h2><p>When Apple sent me an email to schedule a preliminary interview, I was ecstatic and immediately called my parents to share the news. The interview process took roughly two months and consisted of an initial phone call, a group Zoom call, and a one-on-one Zoom with the store manager. </p><p>I received a job offer for a part-time position as a technical specialist and started work in January 2022. In that role, I'd check in repairs and handle basic troubleshooting and diagnostics for all sorts of devices. </p><p>I was earning $20 an hour, a significant jump from the $13 an hour I was making at my last job. Even as a part-time employee, I had access to countless benefits, including health and life insurance, vision and dental plans, discounted Apple stock, and product discounts. </p><p>My onboarding began with a three-day virtual training program, followed by a month of in-store training in the product zone to become acquainted with the product line. </p><h2>From there, I transitioned over to the Genius Bar</h2><p>I underwent an additional three weeks of training in preparation for my role as a technical specialist. Working at the Genius Bar can be an emotionally charged experience because, for the most part, the people coming in are already pissed off that their phone has some sort of issue.</p><p>My job is not only to determine if we can repair their device but also to repair the relationship between the customer and Apple. In the time I have with customers, my goal is to find a way to rebuild the bridge that, in their mind, has already been burned.</p><p>Some days behind the Genius Bar, I feel like a therapist or a marriage counselor, while on other days I feel like someone's punching bag. I understand a device like a phone enriches people's lives in so many ways, which makes them become very passionate about it. But there's still no reason to yell and scream or demean me and call me names.</p><h2>When I feel emotionally drained, I often talk to my coworkers</h2><p>They have become like family to me and can relate to exactly what I'm going through.</p><p>During my shifts, which can run anywhere from six to nine hours, we get an hour lunch break. I always make a point of leaving the store so I can decompress. That hour is usually all I need to come back feeling refreshed. </p><p>Outside of the store, we don't wear our Apple shirts. People have been known to approach us for help when we're off the clock, and sometimes all they need is a glimpse of our Apple shirt peeking out of our coat.</p><p>They'll come running over to us, phone in hand, asking us to fix it or inquiring when the new iPhone is coming out. The truth is, we have no idea when the new phone model is coming out until right before it hits the store. </p><h2>Cracked displays are the most common hardware issue that brings people into the store </h2><p>Not a single day goes by where I don't see a cracked display. If you don't have AppleCare, there's no easy way to look you in the eye and tell you it's going to cost you somewhere in the range of $300 for a display replacement, but that's the truth when it comes down to it. Whether we're giving you the cost of a repair or suggesting it might be time to consider replacing your device, it's not because we want you to spend your money.</p><p>When it comes to software issues, unexpected restarts — or what we refer to as a "Boot Loop," where your screen is stuck on the Apple logo — are the most common challenges that customers encounter.</p><h2>Usually, a restore is all it takes to get it up and running and get you out the door</h2><p>Keep in mind that in order to get your phone fixed at all, whether it's a hardware or software issue, you must know your Apple ID. When it comes to your Apple ID, we don't know it nor can we find it for you. You can call support and they can guide you through the process of retrieving it, but even they can only assist you to a certain degree before it's just up to you. </p><p>I once had a customer who pleaded with me to get inside her locked phone because she was trying to gain access to photos of her mom, who recently passed away.  Sadly, there was nothing I could do to help her because once we restart the phone, we lose everything in the process. </p><h2>For every painful or difficult experience, there's a heartwarming moment that makes it all worth it</h2><p>Sometimes, I witness a kid come in so excited because they've managed to save up enough money to buy their first phone. Others, a little old lady comes in upset that her phone doesn't ring, only for me to turn her ringer on and have her look up at me, wide-eyed, like I performed some sort of miracle. </p><p>At the moment, I'm in the process of becoming full-time and moving up to the "expert" level, which means I'll get to open up phones and fix them myself. I'm currently on a gap year at school, but plan to return in the fall and complete my undergraduate degree in communications. </p><p>I see myself here long term, and my goal is to one day become a Lead Genius and work my way up to management. </p><h2>Apple is a company I've come to and found a family at</h2><p>Every morning I wake up grateful for the opportunity I've been provided with. But like the Apple credo says, "Because good enough isn't," there are certainly things many of my colleagues and I believe we could do better.</p><p>That's why I was a vocal participant in our recent move to unionize, and why now that we are the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-workers-vote-for-first-unionized-store-in-towson-maryland-2022-6">first store in the country</a> to do so, I plan to play an active role in the negotiating process.</p><p>After all, we are the face of Apple.</p><p>When you come into the store, you're not looking at <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fleadership%2Ftim-cook%2F">Tim Cook</a> or <a href="https://affiliate.insider.com?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.apple.com%2Fleadership%2Fdeirdre-obrien%2F">Deidre O'Brien</a>. You're looking at Tyra Reeder and people just like me. In order to do our best, we need to feel our best, and being fairly compensated and having a schedule that takes our mental health into consideration does just that.</p>

I'm an Apple Store technician. It's a tough job, but I love the joy of fixing a customer's beloved device.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Linda Andrade posts over-the-top TikToks from the perspective of a "millionaire's wife." </li><li>She told Insider many of her posts are exaggerated, and she's faced backlash in response.  </li></ul><p>Shopping sprees, designer purses, and expensive jewelry are fixtures in Linda Andrade's TikTok account, where the 24-year-old posts lavish videos from the perspective of a <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lionlindaa/video/7272753898568322346" target="_blank" rel="noopener">"millionaire's wife."</a></p><p>Andrade, 24, is based between Dubai and California. She married her husband Ricky five years ago, and has since built a social media presence around their luxury lifestyle, labeling herself the "Original Dubai Housewife." Insider was unable to independently verify Andrade's husband's income, but according to his <a href="https://www.rickyandrade.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">website</a>, he became a millionaire by pivoting to day trading and entrepreneurship after he quit his job as a dishwasher technician when he was 21.</p><p>Andrade's videos, sometimes featuring Ricky, can gain millions of views, but they're not always well received. They're also not always entirely accurate — while she calls herself a "housewife" on social media, Andrade actually owns her own business, but she justifies the label because she does not contribute to the household bills, she said.</p><p>The spoiled persona she sometimes puts across is also fabricated — Andrade told Insider her family immigrated to the US from Jordan and did not come from a wealthy background. </p> <p>But she doesn't mind the criticism — it's all helped her to go viral and grow her audience, as part of a long-term goal to become a reality TV star. And while not everyone likes her content, it seems to be working.</p><h2><strong>Andrade knows many viewers take her satirical videos at face value</strong></h2><p>Luxury content is very popular on TikTok, but it sometimes comes at a cost, as TikTokers have previously <a href="https://www.insider.com/quenlin-blackwell-influencer-backlash-buying-couch-accidentally-2022-10">faced intense backlash</a> and been <a href="https://www.insider.com/influencer-tara-lynn-harry-styles-tickets-backlash-2022-11">called insensitive</a> for talking about expensive purchases on the app. </p> <p>Andrade — who has been sharing snippets of her life on TikTok since 2020, often showing herself <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lionlindaa/video/7260355690768698667" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spending</a> huge amounts of money — is no exception.</p><p>She told Insider her over-the-top videos are intended as satire and stem from her own sense of humor, and added that she thinks one reason people find her TikToks entertaining is because they are "otherworldly" and provide "a total escape from a normal life."  While many commenters do say they find Andrade's portrayal of her lifestyle aspirational, others see it as out of touch.</p><p>In June, she posted a <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lionlindaa/video/7241347538090020139" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a> captioned, "How much I spent in a day as a millionaire's wife," where she says she bought two Chanel bags for $7,000 each, rented a car to take her around the mall because she didn't want to walk, and spent $16,540 in total throughout the day. </p> <p>It was viewed 10.7 million times and received several critical comments from people comparing her portrayal of wealth to their own financial situations. </p><p>"And here I am struggling to keep the lights on in my house, this sorta waste makes me ill," one comment with 6,127 likes read. </p><p>Andrade told Insider that this video is just one example where she would exaggerate certain details of her life for the purposes of making a video. Though the TikTok was framed as showcasing her expenses across a single day, a clip of a "24K Gold Coffee" that was featured was actually taken from a different video, although she did, in fact, buy two Chanel bags that day, she said.</p><p>She also said that when she's putting videos together she sometimes won't specify the currency or will overstate the prices of her purchases to make things seem more expensive.</p><p>Andrade has also drawn criticism in videos where she appears <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lionlindaa/video/7258311507635703083" target="_blank" rel="noopener">to</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lionlindaa/video/7257967021676203310" target="_blank" rel="noopener">complain</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lionlindaa/video/7243450530293501226" target="_blank" rel="noopener">about</a> her wealth or be ungrateful. In one <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lionlindaa/video/7233143417100946731?q=lionlindaa%20worst%20things&amp;t=1694012365643" target="_blank" rel="noopener">clip</a>, she says some of the "worst" things about being married to a millionaire are having "too much food" and that her husband buys her "too many things." </p><p>Andrade told Insider she doesn't often read her comments, but says she thinks that some viewers take all her claims about her expenses "very seriously," and she sometimes tries to make her videos sound even "more ridiculous" to make it clear she is joking. </p><p>In reality, Andrade said she is grateful for all the gifts her husband buys her and is concerned that some people seem to think she is actually unappreciative or a "spoiled brat."</p><p>At the same time, Andrade said that the online rage that comes in response to her online persona is only helping to grow her online presence — she currently has 734,000 followers and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lionlindaa/video/7261732103094603051" target="_blank" rel="noopener">several</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lionlindaa/video/7267286999730490667" target="_blank" rel="noopener">viral</a> <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lionlindaa/video/7228684006987042094" target="_blank" rel="noopener">videos.</a></p><h2><strong>Andrade wants to spark emotion in her viewers</strong></h2><p>Andrade told Insider she thinks that many of her videos do well because people either find them funny, or they elicit strong emotional responses from viewers. </p><p>"I took a marketing class, and if you can make someone feel something, whether that's happy or sad or angry, you're going to get a response. So for me, the easiest way for me to do that is to make people angry," she said. </p> <p>She added that she tries to be careful to not be insensitive, telling Insider she once posted a video where she referred to a part of Dubai as "the poor side of Dubai," which upset some viewers, leading her to delete the video. </p><p>Andrade is also conscious that her luxury content could potentially put her at risk. She told Insider that she keeps some details private and also obfuscates some parts of her life in order to minimize her chances of being targeted for robbery. </p><p>For now, Andrade said she is "not mad" about being a somewhat controversial figure on TikTok because it has led to online growth, which she hopes will help her achieve her goal of appearing on reality TV one day. But she told Insider that once she hits around 1 million followers, she will pivot away from controversial content and begin to post more openly about her life.</p><p>As for the way people view her online, she said, "I do want to change it eventually and create an actual, reputable brand of myself."</p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/culture"><strong>For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.</strong></a></p>

A 'millionaire's wife' knows her over-the-top videos showing off her wealth make viewers angry — and it's all part of her plan

<p><em></em></p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Nic Tiemens worked as an <keyword id="11976460" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="aquarium" source="Orion">aquarium</keyword> technician one summer and cleaned Michael Jordan's fish tank.</li><li>Tiemens loved the field and moved to Los Angeles to start a company making and keeping up aquariums.</li></ul><p><em>This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nic Tiemens, a 42-year-old aquarium designer in Los Angeles, about his business. It's been edited for length and clarity.</em></p><p>I grew up in Chicago in the 1990s. After graduating from high school, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do in life but wanted to be creative. I was going to college and looking through the classified ads. I was 21 at the time and needed a summer job.</p><p>We're going back before the internet and LinkedIn. To find a job, you had to buy the paper. I saw a $6-an-hour job to become an aquarium maintenance technician. I thought, "That's a really cool job." I had an aquarium growing up, and I love fish.</p><p>I didn't have the prerequisites they required — professional experience and a résumé that showed you'd worked in a pet store — but I was certain I would love the job. I just had this intuition that I would love it.</p><p>So I showed up to the office unannounced and begged my way into getting hired. The first job I was put on as a trainee was an aquarium installation in Michael Jordan's house.</p><p>I got to go into the house and meet Michael and his family. After I finished my training, I got put on that account as the head maintenance technician. Every Monday morning, I would go to Michael Jordan's house and clean his fish tank.</p><p>That summer was life-changing because I got to meet so many captains of industry and icons in Chicago, and I fell in love with the idea of building and maintaining aquariums on a really elaborate scale.</p><div type="image" title="Nic Tiemens with a large filled aquarium." height="2045" width="2727" msid="88980365" hostid="261"></div><p>I decided to move to Hollywood because I thought with all the movie stars and mansions there would be a market for statement aquariums. Two years through my college degree in Chicago, I packed my bags and moved to Los Angeles with this ambition.</p><p>I was young and broke, so I found a local company that needed an extra maintenance technician and started working. I quickly realized the aquariums I had been working on back in Chicago were much more advanced than what I was seeing in Los Angeles.</p><p>I thought, "Well, I could do my own thing out here and do it so much better than all of these other companies." So I called my former boss in Chicago and begged him to come out here and partner with me.</p><p>He did, and we started our company in 2004. We've done aquariums of all shapes and sizes and all price ranges.</p><p>In the past five years, we've found our niche doing these aquariums that are six figures and up and are on a scale that you would typically see in a public aquarium.</p><h2>We're working on a 2,600-gallon saltwater aquarium in Bel Air</h2><p>One project consists of a 2,600-gallon saltwater aquarium for a spec home in the neighborhood of Bel Air. A spec home is move-in ready with all the amenities sorted. Developers working on $50 million to $100 million megamansions add wild amenities like bowling alleys, indoor-outdoor swimming pools, or even an over-the-top aquarium, like ours.</p><p>We often have to put the aquarium in before the house is completed; otherwise, we couldn't get it in the property. For the Bel Air aquarium, we had to use a crane to lift it into the house from the street.</p><div type="image" title="Nic Tiemens and his business partner" height="4000" width="4000" msid="88980366" hostid="261"></div><p>We build the aquariums in our workshop and then install them into the houses. Once an aquarium is filled, we introduce bacteria to the tank so it will have a biological bed for the incoming fish. The process can take six to eight weeks.</p><p>Then we can start to add our show fish, which are owned by us and then bought by the clients. We maintain the tank once it's installed, for a fee.</p><p>When we started the business, we were maintaining about 20 or 30 aquariums between my business partner and I. In the first five years, we were doing about $200,000 in revenue a year.</p><p>In the past five years, we've made sure we take on only jobs that we know will give us the opportunity to build the best aquarium possible. We turned down jobs that wouldn't allow us to do the necessary things to really make the aquarium thrive because we're just not interested in it.</p><p>We've gone from doing maybe two or three installations a year to 11 bookings already in place for 2022. Our least expensive aquarium is $75,000. Our most expensive is about a quarter of a million. We made just short of $1 million last year.</p><p>We are very careful about not becoming too busy, because we don't want to spread ourselves too thin.</p><p>Obviously, our clients who are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars with us are expecting the most high-quality product and perfect customer service. This is the right size for our business right now.</p>

I design aquariums for megamansions in Los Angeles that cost up to $250,000 — here's how I got my start

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Insider went inside the world's largest fly farm harvesting larvae as a sustainable protein source.</li><li><keyword id="12897102" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="insect-protein" source="Orion">Insect protein</keyword> is becoming increasingly popular in animal feed, replacing soya or fishmeal.</li></ul><p>An insect farm might conjure images of fields, barns, and muddy boots, not a fully automated, high-tech facility in a commercial warehouse on an industrial estate.</p><p>Only the name, "Protix," gives away the nature of this facility in the town of Bergen op Zoom in the south of the Netherlands, where the insect company has operated since 2019.</p><p>This 15,000-square-meter warehouse is the world's largest black soldier fly farm. Demand for edible insects — and facilities like these — is on the rise.</p><p>At the moment, around 80% of Protix's production is used for pet food, with the rest used for aquafeed and poultry feed. </p><p>This is set to change as fish, poultry, and pig farmers seek alternative sources of protein to fishmeal and soy. Insect protein in poultry and pig feed was approved last year by the EU, which also greenlighted house cricket, yellow mealworm, and migratory locusts for human consumption.</p><p>Protix is preparing to announce 10 new locations as it expands in Europe and North America.</p><p>Its facilities are the culmination of a decade of intense R&amp;D and the conviction that insect protein could improve the environmental footprint of our food.</p><p>This plant has produced 15,000 tonnes of live larvae per year for the last two years; that's 10,000 tonnes of protein per hectare per year. Soy, in comparison, produces just <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12571-010-0108-x/figures/10">one tonne of protein per hectare per year</a>.</p><p>This is part nature, part nurture. Nature provided the black soldier fly, a champion bio converter. Protix has nurtured the technology to farm it, which it has spent a decade perfecting. </p><p>The first thing you notice as you walk in — and the only giveaway that this facility is indeed a farm — is the smell that comes from the insects' feed, which reminded me of the odor of a hamster cage.</p><p>The plant is split into sections that deal with different stages of the process, but its beating heart is the vertical farm.</p><p>This is where the larvae live, in crates stacked almost four meters high and more than 16 meters deep in dedicated storage units. The temperature is kept at a balmy 30-degrees Celsius. </p><div type="image" title="Vertical stacks of crates alongside one side of a long indoor corridor" height="3024" width="4032" msid="88739361" hostid="261"></div><p>There are three such storage areas, arranged around a central conveyor system where feeding and harvesting are done. Technicians control every step of the process through a central console. Everything here is bespoke, from the shape of the crate to the proprietary software.</p><p>"You can't buy anything off the shelf," Kees Aarts, Protix's founder and CEO, told me as we toured the facility.</p><div type="image" title="two men and a woman sitting at bank of computers in a factory" height="3024" width="4032" msid="88739363" hostid="261"></div><p>The larvae are fed by-products from the food and drink industry, such as potato waste from a French fry factory or waste grain.</p><p>Feed ingredients are delivered daily and stored in silos at the back of the plant. They are then mixed and turned into a special puree in giant mixers.</p><div type="image" title="Large steel containers with a ladder against them containing animal feed" height="3024" width="4032" msid="88739367" hostid="261"></div><p>The larvae are fed every couple of days: The stacker crane pulls out entire columns of crates, which are sent round the conveyor system to be filled with feed and then taken back to the vertical storage area. </p><div type="image" title="Large green crates with wires attached on a conveyor belt" height="5292" width="8183" msid="88739370" hostid="261"></div><p>Larvae are harvested in just six to eight days. One percent of the larvae are left to pupate into adult flies and used for breeding, which is done in a special chamber, out of bounds to visitors.</p><div type="image" title="Insect larvae on a transparent plate, held by a blue gloved hand" height="3024" width="4032" msid="88739372" hostid="261"></div><p>For harvesting, crates are brought back to the central conveyor system and tipped into a giant sieve, where the larvae are separated from the leftover feed before being washed.</p><p>The larvae are then sent to be processed in an adjoining room. Protix's main products are a protein meal and an oil, which must be separated through a centrifuge. The protein is then packaged into bulk bags and the oil in container tanks. </p><div type="image" title="Woman in face mask holds a protein meal produced from insects" height="2274" width="3024" msid="88739376" hostid="261"></div><p>"It's like having the seed company, the farmer, the miller, and the packaging company all under one roof to produce a protein meal," Aarts said.</p>

Look inside this high-tech farm growing fly larvae for protein, as demand for insects surges across the world

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In makeshift labs across <keyword id="15385" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Colombia">Colombia</keyword>, farmers and technicians begin to turn coca leaves into coca paste, which eventually becomes <keyword id="14727" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="cocaine">cocaine</keyword> sold all around the world.</li><li>The following is an excerpt from "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kilo-Deadliest-Cocaine-Cartels_from-Jungles/dp/0062905295" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kilo: Inside the Deadliest Cocaine Cartels — from the Jungles to the Streets</a>" by Toby Muse.</li></ul><p>THIS COCA LABORATORY OPERATES ONLY because it has the permission from the FARC dissidents who rule from the jungles. And right now, the coca is about to change. To evolve.</p><p>"Laboratory" is a grand term for wooden poles buried in to the earth holding up a roof made up of large sheets of black plastic. Even with no walls, it's gloomy inside as the five men prepare for the day's work. Huge barrels stink of gasoline and ammonia. This is their office. They start at 6 a.m. and work until 4 p.m. Like office workers, they eat lunch here, listen to the radio, chat, and joke around. Here they will turn the coca leaves into coca paste, a brick of dried powder that is just one stop short of pure cocaine.</p><p>Small amounts of coca are legal for the indigenous who consider it a sacred plant. Wandering the countryside, a policeman is not expected to rip out every coca bush he sees. If a policeman sees a coca laboratory, he's expected to take it down and make arrests. In the fields, it's coca. Here in the laboratory, it's the beginning of the cocaine conspiracy. And people act like it.</p><div type="image" title="Kilo cover" height="1179" width="840" msid="78902268" hostid="261"></div><p>Still, a couple of months ago, soldiers walked into this coca lab and sheepishly asked for some gasoline for their motorbikes. The lab workers gladly filled a canister with gasoline while everyone pretended not to notice the mattress of coca leaves.</p><p>At first, the lab workers are not interested in talking. "What's the recording for? You better not be with the police. What part of the United States are you from?"</p><p>"Not a gringo. I'm from England."</p><p>"Ahhhhh, a gringo from England. You saw the match? What did you think?" says Pedro.</p><p>This f---ing question. I'm half-American, half-English. For all my time in Colombia, I've always said I'm English. Americans aren't too popular in the cocaine countryside, given the billions the United States has spent funding fights against the cartels, guerrillas, and cocaine. So, I'm British. With these words, people relax. And I can work.</p><p>And then came that f---ing football match. Colombia and England faced off in the World Cup in 2018. After an ugly game, England won. Colombians felt they were robbed (they weren't). Now every Colombian wants to hear the English man say Colombia should have won.</p><p>"It was an ugly match."</p><p>Pedro is pacified and allows me to stay in the laboratory. Right now, there's work to do. Pedro and Carlos empty the sacks of coca leaves on to the floor. A one-ton mattress of green coca leaves. It's irresistible — some coca-pickers, known as raspachines, dive on top of it, like kids into a mound of snow.</p><div type="image" title="Colombia cocaine production" height="2333" width="3500" msid="78902269" hostid="261"></div><p>"Stop it!" Pedro yells and the raspachines stop messing around and file out. He cranks up the wood chipper and it whirs away. Pedro thrusts armfuls of coca leaves in and out sprays shredded coca. It takes about two hours to pass a ton of coca through the wood chipper.</p><p>The farmer's wife arrives with lunch. Today it's chicken, rice, yuca, and a bottle of apple soda. Colombians are gourmands and lunch is the countryside's most important hour. Now is the time to talk.</p><p>"This helps keep people alive. But no one is getting rich off this," Pedro says pointing to the lab. Carlos runs through the farmer's costs to process a ton of coca leaves: $250 for the coca pickers, $80 to the laboratory workers, $150 for the gasoline, other materials another $50.</p><p>"He's left with $200 . . . That's not much," Carlos concludes. That's $200 every ninety days and it comes expensive — the farmer now lives outside the law. Someone steals from him, threatens him, slaps him like a dog? Well, live with it, because with a field full of coca, he's not phoning the police anymore.</p><p>Farmers used to grow seven, eight hectares of coca and could make decent money. But the fields became too easy for the police to spot and swoop in and destroy them. Now almost all farmers grow a hectare or so.</p><div type="image" title="Toby Muse Colombia coca cocaine" height="1875" width="2500" msid="78902271" hostid="261"></div><p>"Across Colombia, a lot of people look to the coca because it produces a lot of jobs. Not riches, but a lot of jobs," says Pedro. For the men here in the laboratory, coca exists because of the poverty of the countryside. It's that simple: give the farmers an alternative and they'll ditch coca now. Pedro used to grow coca until the government arrived, promising to help transition him to legal crops.</p><p>"The government told us they would help us if we grew cacao. The <keyword id="1817540" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kilo">kilo</keyword> was three dollars. And that's an okay price. It promised to help us export the cacao. But the government made some deals and flooded the country with cheap imports ... It's now a dollar a kilo. You can't cover costs at that price. So, what did the people do?" He sweeps his arm around the laboratory.</p><p>Pedro interrupts himself: "Do you believe in God?"</p><p>I communicate with a nod, a shrug, and a firmer nod. "Good. Can't speak to anyone who doesn't believe in God. So, as I was saying ..."</p><p>Where else in the world can you be thrown out of a coca laboratory for being an atheist? Nowhere, that's where. Only Co-Lom-Bi-A.</p><p>Pedro picks up his story again — he was out of the laboratories for sixteen years. When the price of cacao dived, he asked his cousin for work. So, it's back to the labs.</p><p>"I've got four hectares of cacao, but here I am working in the laboratory. It's not paying. I had to come here, leaving my wife and kids back home."</p><div type="image" title="Colombia cocaine production" height="2333" width="3500" msid="78902272" hostid="261"></div><p>He earns $16 a day and he'll be gone from his home for three months.</p><p>"Here in the countryside, ninety percent of people just survive. What does that mean? You work to eat, not to have. Not to make money. Be it coca, cacao."</p><p>Lunch is finished and now is the obligatory post-consumption chat to ease the digestion. And all want to keep talking because the endless dysfunction of Colombia is a source of fascination for every Colombian. Colombia, the enigma that befuddles its own citizens. Rebels, prostitutes, soldiers, taxi drivers, priests all try to understand why Colombia is the way it is: violent, charismatic, corrupt, happy, swimming in cocaine, a tragic beauty.</p><p>The main culprit is always corruption. This is a country where the top anti-corruption official is arrested on charges of corruption, where the anti-kidnapping cops are found running their own abduction rings, where drug cops are found on the cartel's payroll. Daily stories emerge of politicians, police officers, military officials, public servants on the take. And still the corruption rolls on. Corruption keeps the country ignorant; it distorts. Corruption kills.</p><p>"Where you're from, the politicians don't steal everything?" asks Pedro.</p><p>"No! There are corrupt people ..."</p><p>"But less than here? Here they steal everything ... We should have the best highways in the world, but look at them ... We need schools, highways, we need business. What are we going to do with yuca and coffee if people don't have the money to buy them?"</p><p>This is frustrating. I've heard it all before. I ask: How will it ever change if Colombians don't change it and throw out the corrupt politicians?</p><p>"But if you're poor here, what can you do?"</p><div type="image" title="Colombia cocaine production" height="2333" width="3500" msid="78902273" hostid="261"></div><p>A history of political violence that murdered would-be reformers has taught Colombia to be cynical. It's a widespread cynicism that often assumes the worst, that treats every accident as one more piece of treachery. The cynicism has become the bane of too many. If the game is rigged beyond hope, what's the point of trying to change things, too many ask. They've convinced themselves nothing will change. I've never met a people so proud of their ability to live through anything, but so pessimistic about the chance of changing it.</p><p>I ask about the FARC's peace process.</p><p>"War and cocaine. Everyone gets rich off of both. That's why it won't end," says Pedro. "This industry isn't what it used to be," says Pedro. "Before, the coca farmers made good money. They sold their coca, spent the weekend with two, three prostitutes, brought their whiskey, and returned home with still enough money to make the wife happy. Now ..." His voice trails off.</p><p>The reason is that the price of coca has remained the same for the past twenty years. All other prices have gone up — the prostitutes, the booze, food — but the coca paste still sells at around $400. Yet it's all they've got. This part of the country has been growing coca for the past three decades, but no one's seen as much coca as there is now.</p><p>The chat is winding down. It feels like there's not much more to say. The mulch of coca is spread across the floor. Carlos tosses an ammoniac solution over it. He dusts that with a mix of cement, lime powder, and ammonia. The ammonia fills my lungs, like a chemical weapons attack. I rush outside and gasp the air. The workers in the laboratory laugh.</p><p>Two of the workers march up and down over the mulch, mixing it all together with their rubber boots. They look like old Italian grandmothers crushing grapes for wine. They smirk, aware of how ridiculous it looks. For all the billions made, the production is still rustic.</p><div type="image" title="Colombia cocaine paste" height="2333" width="3500" msid="78902274" hostid="261"></div><p>The mulch is shoveled into huge metallic barrels and the gasoline is added. Around seven of these barrels are needed to hold the ton of coca leaves. There it's left to sit for three days. The gasoline extracts the coca base.</p><p>They roll out drums packed three days earlier. The drums are drained. The gasoline now holds the cocaine alkaloid. A filthy mulch is left behind in the drum and that's tipped out into mounds next to the lab, out in the open in the clearing.</p><p>At one corner of the clearing is a muddy chute that leads to a stream. It carries all the chemicals and dredge straight to the pristine streams. This happens thousands of times a day across this country, acids and gasoline dumped in the streams. Add the thousands of acres of rain forest chain-sawed down to make way for new fields of coca, and cocaine ain't exactly environmentally friendly.</p><p>Pedro's pouring out the final solution into a barrel, passing it through cloth, ensuring any solids are left behind.</p><p>"Dip your finger in and lick it."</p><p>I lick my finger gingerly. It tastes of gasoline and immediately puts my tongue to sleep. That was cocaine's big break- through: as an anesthetic back in the 1880s.</p><p>This solution will dry and solidify and become coca paste — one step short of pure cocaine. A ton of coca leaves has been turned into a kilo and a half of coca paste.</p><p>Pedro grabs one that dried out today, a dirty whitish and yellow solid blob.</p><p>"A kilo and a half!" he says, putting it in a tatty plastic bag. He steps out of the lab and gets on his motorbike and revs the engine. He'll drop the coca off with the farmer who owns the coca field, passing the coca paste up the next link of the chain. The motorbike's gas tank has a sticker: If God is with me, then who would be against me?</p>

Step inside a Colombian jungle lab where coca leaf begin its journey to become cocaine

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"></div><p></p></div></div>Apple is suddenly trying to fill a lot of open positions at its stores.<p>Apple <a href="https://jobs.apple.com/us/search?#&amp;t=0&amp;sb=req_open_dt&amp;so=1&amp;lo=0*USA&amp;pN=0">posted 15&#xa0;job listings</a> for&#xa0;U.S.&#xa0;Apple Stores in the past week. That may not seem like many, but&#xa0;there are certainly more than 15 openings, as the listings are not location-specific - each one is for "various" locations and does not specify a number of spots being filled.</p><p>The openings&#xa0;include store leaders, the highest-ranking role at an Apple Store, and one of the few that comes with a salary.&#xa0;</p><p>Other positions Apple include Geniuses, Apple's in-store technicians, and its Apple Store Leader Program, a 24-month program that is designed to train managers.&#xa0;</p><p>See here:</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>Apple says that there's no problem keeping retail employees.&#xa0;Apple's retail operation posted a 81% employee retention rate in 2015, according to&#xa0;<a href="http://www.fastcompany.com/3055415/apples-angela-ahrendts-on-what-it-takes-to-make-change-inside-a-successful-business">a Fast Company interview with Apple's retail boss Angela&#xa0;Ahrendts</a>&#xa0;published on Thursday:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>We just ended the year with the highest retention rates we've ever had: 81%.</strong> And the feedback is that it's&#xa0;because they feel connected... I don't see them as retail employees. <strong>I see them as executives in the company</strong> who are touching the customers with the products that Jony and the team took years to build.</p><p><span>This is the first time that Apple has publicly shared its retention rate for its retail employees as a whole, but in 2012 Apple <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/24/business/apple-store-workers-loyal-but-short-on-pay.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=0">told the New York Times</a> that its&#xa0;annual retention rate for its Genius roles&#xa0;came in at "almost 90%."</span></p><p><span>"81% is pretty good for any retail establishment," Stephen Baker, an analyst at NPD Group, which tracks retailers, said. "It's a business with a lot of employee turnover. But Apple Store is not a normal retail business."</span>&#xa0;</p><p>According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics,&#xa0;turnover in the retail sector stands at 5% a month - or 60% annually.&#xa0;</p><p><span>However, as the economy has picked up, the labor force is getting tighter,&#xa0;and <a href="%C2%A0a%20press%20release%20published%20Thursday%20in%20Fast%20Company%20masquerading%20as%20">retailers have been pressured to raise wages</a>&#xa0;over the past year as Wal-Mart and other major employers raise their minimum wage.&#xa0;</span><span>Apple expanded its stock grant&#xa0;program, previously available&#xa0;only to high-ranking executives, <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/15/technology/apple-stocks-free-for-all-employees/">to retail employees</a> in 2015.&#xa0;</span></p><p><span>Apple declined to comment.</span></p><h2><span>Out of touch?</span></h2><p><span>The retail stores have also undergone a lot of changes under Ahrendts, who took over in May 2014, and this may be fueling some dissatisfaction.</span></p><p><span><span>Ahrendts&#xa0;has more closely integrated Apple's online and physical retail operations, and has angled Apple's stores more as a place for users to become familiar with&#xa0;Apple products and the brand than merely a place to buy iPhones. For example, when the Apple Watch first launched, customers could not buy&#xa0;one from the store, although they could book an appointment to try one on.</span></span></p><p>Some anonymous cranky Apple Store employees on social media<span>&#xa0;took offense to&#xa0;<span>Ahrendts describing them as "executives" in her Fast Company interview.&#xa0;</span></span></p><p><span><span><div></div></span></span></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;<div></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;<div></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">It's not the first time that&#xa0;<span>Ahrendts'</span> attempts to pump up retail workers has hit a <a href="https://twitter.com/NTF_it/status/605470596688805889">sour</a> note. Last summer, she told retail workers gearing up for the Apple Watch launch in a recorded video that "<a href="http://9to5mac.com/2015/06/01/apple-watch-june-store-launch/">this is what you were born to do</a>." &#xa0;</p><p><em>Got more information on Apple? Email tips to the author of the post at kleswing@businessinsider.com</em></p><p>&#xa0;</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/ceres-landscape-mystifying-scientists-mountain-crater-outer-space-nasa-footage-2016-1">NASA just released footage of the most mysterious pyramid in the solar system</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="NlaGtqMDE6zBUoLB-vMOFf5_S2M9RvZb" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

You Searched For "buy technician bag" and got 9 results

Best technician bags in India

Shradha Aneja

I'm an Apple Store technician. It's a tough job, but I love the joy of fixing a customer's beloved device.

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Chris Stokel-Walker

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Emilile Filou

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Toby Muse, "Kilo: Inside…

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Kif Leswing

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You Searched For "buy technician bag" and got 9 results

Best technician bags in India

Shradha Aneja

I'm an Apple Store technician. It's a tough job, but I love the joy of fixing a customer's beloved device.

Jenny Powers

A 'millionaire's wife' knows her over-the-top videos showing off her wealth make viewers angry — and it's all part of her plan

Charissa Cheong

I design aquariums for megamansions in Los Angeles that cost up to $250,000 — here's how I got my start

Chris Stokel-Walker

Look inside this high-tech farm growing fly larvae for protein, as demand for insects surges across the world

Emilile Filou

Step inside a Colombian jungle lab where coca leaf begin its journey to become cocaine

Toby Muse, &quot;Kilo: Inside…

Apple is suddenly trying to hire a bunch of new people for its stores

Kif Leswing

Police thought an 18-year-old girl 'made up' being raped at knifepoint - the guy who did it is now spending 327 years in prison for 27 other rapes

ProPublica and The Marshall P…

America is telling the Fed that the economy keeps improving

Akin Oyedele

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Toby Muse, "Kilo: Inside…