Southwest CEO Compares Major Outage To “Once-In-A-Thousand-Year” Flood

You might recall the massive technical outage that hit Southwest Airlines last week, canceling 700 flights and snarling travel plans for thousands of people. That was a bad thing, the airlines CEO Gary Kelly says, but Southwest will move past it, comparing the issue to an infrequent natural disaster.

The issue was traced back to the failure of a single router at Southwest Airlines’ Love Field data center, at least, that’s what the company thinks right now. Though it had a backup system in place, the way that it failed was so rare the company couldn’t quite have prepared for it, Kelly says.

“What’s unique is the partial failure, it’s never happened,” he told the Dallas Morning News. “This isn’t a drill you can run.”

Things returned to normal a few days later, but there’s still a backlog of customer service requests to be processed, which means the company needs to focus on fixing its relationship with those folks, Kelly says.

“We’re mainly focused on winning back our customers that we didn’t serve well,” Kelly said. “We care about that.”

Going forward, Kelly says he’s confident that the company can learn lessons from the incident that could help the airline better recover the system during future disruptions.

And though the outage was bad news for Southwest and likely left a sour taste in many customers’ mouths, Kelly said the event won’t define the airline going forward, which he says is known for its customer service.

“I don’t think it changes anything in the grand scheme of things. This is a 45-year-old company and a really good one,” he said. “It seems to me this is the once-in-a-thousand-year flood, but we’re going to make darn sure that’s the case.”

Southwest CEO: Router failure that grounded flights equated to ‘once-in-a-thousand-year flood’ [Dallas Morning News]

MillerCoors Buys Craft Beer Company Hop Valley Brewing Co.

Less than a week after MillerCoors became the sole property of Molson Coors, following federal regulators’ approval of a $107 billion beer merger between SABMiller and Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller, the brand announced it would continue its growth spurt, this time buying craft brewer Hop Valley Brewing Co.

The deal, announced on Friday, brings together Oregon-based Hop Valley — the maker of beers like Alphadelic, Citrus Mistress, and Alpha Centauri — Tenth and Blake Beer Company, MillerCoors’ craft and import division.

“We are very proud of what we have achieved to date, and even more excited about the future for our company and our employees,” Charles “Chuck” Hare, Hop Valley Brewing Company co-founder, said in a statement. “From the get-go, it has always been about the beer, and we are looking forward to working with Tenth and Blake to get our beers – made right here – to even more consumers.”

Under the deal, for which financial details were not available, Hop Valley will operate as a separate business unit of Tenth and Blake. The current management team will remain at the help and retain an ownership interest, MillerCoors said in a statement.

The deal is expected to be completed this fall.

“We’re thrilled to join forces with the Hop Valley team, to add an incredible roster of brands that complement our portfolio perfectly,” Scott Whitley, president and CEO of Tenth and Blake, said in a statement.

MillerCoors’ purchase of Hop Valley comes just a week after the company’s Tenth and Blake division also bought Georgia-based Terrapin Beer Company, maker of Hopsecutioner, HI-5, RecreationAle, and Rye Pale Ale.

[via The Chicago Tribune]

Here Are This Year’s 9 Most Calorie-Filled Chain Restaurant Meals

You have to know that when you’re tucking into some huge plate of pasta, fried food, bread, sauce, cheese, and meat at a chain restaurant, that’s probably not healthy, but do you know how unhealthy?

That’s why the Center for Science in the Public Interest is once again here to rain on everyone’s pig-out parade with its Xtreme Eating Awards for 2016, in which the organization calls out some of the most calorific, sugary, salty, and fatty meals you’ll find at your local strip mall:

Applebee’s “Build Your Sampler”

•Calories: 3,390 calories total (Cheeseburger Egg Rolls: 630 calories; Brew Pub Pretzels & Beer Cheese Dip: 510 calories; Chicken Quesadilla: 610 calories; Boneless Wings w/Classic Buffalo Sauce: 440 calories [240 calories for bleu cheese dressing]; Spinach & Artichoke Dip 960 calories).
•Saturated Fat: 65 grams
•Sodium: 11,650 mg

Even if you split this handpicked array of apps among four people, you’re still looking at 850 calories each. According to CSPI, that’s about the same as eating an Applebee’s Classic Burger with cheddar cheese.

Maggiano’s “Marco’s Meal For Two”

•Calories: 2,830 calories total per person (Mozzarella Marinara: 1,530 calories; Taylor Street Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage: 1,410 calories; Fettuccini Alfredo: 1,560 calories; Warm Apple Crostada: 1,150 calories)
•Saturated Fat: 77g
•Sodium: 6,400mg

Another build-your-own type meal, this mix at Maggiano’s is meant for two people but even then each person is getting more than a full day’s calories, and four days of saturated fat and sodium.

Cheesecake Factory: Fried Chicken & Waffles Benedict

•Calories: 2,580 calories
•Saturated Fat: 86g
•Sodium: 3,390mg

“Belgian waffle topped with crispy fried chicken strips, poached eggs and Hollandaise” sounds pretty tasty — oh, it also comes with a side of potatoes? Even better!

Of course, unless you’re an NFL defensive end trying to put on weight, you’ve probably already eaten your full calories for the day, not to mention enough sodium for today and tomorrow, and four days of saturated fat.

CSPI says this one meal is like eating two Marie Callender’s one-pound Chicken Pot Pies… topped with half a stick of butter and a quarter cup of maple syrup.

Dave & Buster’s: Short Rib & Cheesy Mac Stack

•Calories: 1,910 calories
•Saturated Fat: 42g
•Sodium: 3,390mg

Short rib meat on “thick slices of sourdough” with a gooey slathering of mac & cheese — and don’t forget the “crispy seasoned tots” on the side. You might as well chow down on three Big Macs and a medium order of french fries for what you’re getting at D&B.

SONIC: Grape Slush with Rainbow Candy

•Calories: 970 calories

SONIC Slushes are already calorific to begin with, so adding a bunch of candy is going over the top. CSPI says this drink is the equivalent of gobbling down 1.25 cups of sugar, or 120 ounces of Fanta Wild Cherry Slurpee from 7-Eleven.

Romano’s Macaroni Grill: Cremini Pork Shank

•Calories: 1,800 calories (add 2,280 for “Rosemary Peasant Bread”)
•Saturated Fat: 43g
•Sodium: 3,700mg

You can feel your mouth watering (and belt busting) as you read about this meal’s “Braised pork shank, marsala wine sauce, caramelized onions, mushrooms, roasted parmesan potatoes.” CSPI says this is the same as eating two Outback Steakhouse 10 oz. Ribeye Steaks, each with a side of seasoned french fries.

Uno Pizzeria & Grill: Whole Hog Burger

•Calories: 2,850 calories
•Saturated Fat: 62g
•Sodium: 9,790mg

With over a full pound of meat — including ground beef, sausage, bacon, prosciutto and pepperoni — four types of cheese, garlic mayo, pickles, fries & onion rings… it’s actually a bit of a surprise to us this one came in under 3,000 calories.

This uno burger is like eating four McDonald’s Quarter Pounders with Cheese and two medium fries.

Jersey Mike’s: Chipotle Cheese Steak

•Calories: 1,850 calories
•Saturated Fat: 30g
•Sodium: 4,330mg

Fourteen inches of “freshly grilled steak, melted white American cheese, peppers and onions… drizzled with our spicy chipotle mayo” is the same as eating 24 inches of Subway Roast Beef subs.

Buffalo Wild Wings: Dessert Nachos

•Calories: 2,100 calories
•Saturated Fat: 64g

Polish off all those wings and beer with a “crispy flour tortilla sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, loaded with ice cream and our gooey breaded cheesecake bites, all topped with chocolate and caramel sauce.”

“It’s like eating four Taco Bell Crunchy Tacos (filled with beef and cheese) topped with a 14 oz. container of Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream and two melted Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars,” says CSPI.

Dogs Left In Running Car Shift It Into Drive, Plow Into A Walmart

A dog owner in West Virginia did what she probably thought was the responsible thing while out with her pets, leaving them in the car with the engine running while she was inside Walmart. However, in one of the best arguments against automatic transmissions that we’ve ever seen, the dogs shifted the car and drove it very slowly into the outside of the store.

The vehicle was first spotted by an employee out in front of the store on a break, who thought someone was “messing with her” when she saw the sedan inching toward her. She saw that there was no driver behind the wheel: only two dogs. She got out of the way, letting the car crash into the building.

Since the small dogs couldn’t reach the gas pedal, the crash was at an extremely low speed, and there was very little damage to the car or

The owner explained to police that she just wanted her dogs to stay cool while she was inside the store. Instead, the rebellious pups shifted the car and opened the window.

Dog crashes car into Walmart [WSAZ] (Thanks, Maura!)

Tesla Buys SolarCity For $2.6B

After working together for years to build and test solar-based batteries for homes and businesses, Tesla has officially bought SolarCity — which is already chaired by CEO Elon Musk — for $2.6 billion.

Tesla announced in a regulatory filing [PDF] on Monday that it had reached a deal with SolarCity to combine the electric car company with its solar-energy sister company in an all-stock transaction.

The deal must still be approved by a majority of SolarCity stockholders, directors, and executives of both companies — some of them not named Musk. SolarCity shareholders will receive $25.83/share plus about one-tenth of a share of Tesla.

According to the regulatory filing, the Board of Directors for Tesla — with Musk and two other executives recusing themselves from the discussion, determined the merger was in the best interest for both companies.

Tesla and SolarCity said on Monday that they believe the combined company will realize $150 million in cost savings in the first full year after the deal closes.

The deal comes a month after Musk suggested combining the two companies, for which he owns a 20% stake in each, in order to better integrate Tesla’s battery-storage aspects with SolarCity’s solar panel expertise, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“It’s really all part of solving the sustainable energy problem,” Musk said. “That’s why we are all doing this to accelerate the advent of a sustainable energy world.”

Tesla and SolarCity have worked together on several initiatives in recent years, making the merger a natural move for the two companies.

In April 2014, Tesla announced that it had partnered with SolarCity to test a new line of batteries at 11 Walmart stores in California.

Additionally, Musk has strong family ties to both companies. While Musk is chairman for both companies, the WSJ reports his cousins founded SolarCity and sit on the board.

[via The Wall Street Journal]

Uber Sells Its China Business To Competitor Didi For $35 Billion

It’s easy to think of Uber as belonging squarely American millennials, but the ride-hailing app, and the ecosystem attached to it, are truly global enterprises. The service operates and competes in dozens of nations worldwide… except with one less, now that it’s having to give up on one of the most populated countries on Earth.

Didi Chuxing, China’s homegrown ride-hailing service, has announced that it will be buying Uber’s Chinese operations for the equivalent of $35 billion.

The fight between the two companies has proven brutal for Uber, which was able swiftly to dominate and become profitable in many American cities, but faced many more challenges in China. The company had been spending $1 billion per year trying to compete with Didi, and, frankly, not recouping it.

Didi will be buying Uber’s data, business, and branding inside of China. Uber will get a 20% stake in the newly combined company.

Didi founder and CEO Cheng Wei said in a statement that, “Didi Chuxing and Uber have learned a great deal from each other over the past two years. This agreement with Uber will set the mobile transportation industry on a healthier, more sustainable path of growth at a higher level.”

Didi has for some time been getting backing from China’s largest internet businesses, including Alibaba and Tencent. Apple has also invested about $1 billion in Didi.

In a blog post, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick explained the company’s reasoning. “We’ve grown super fadst and are now doing more than 150 million trips a month [in China],” Kalanick wrote, but that doesn’t mean it’s enough.

“As an entrepreneur, I’ve learned that being successful is about listening to your head as well as following your heart. Uber and Didi Chuxing are investing billions of dollars in China and both companies have yet to turn a profit there,” Kalanick wrote.

Profit is not only the entire point of business, but also necessary to keep growing your company, as Kalanick concluded: “Getting to profitability is the only way to build a sustainable business that can best serve Chinese riders, drivers and cities over the long term.”

The deal will have to be approved by Chinese regulators before becoming official.

Uber to Sell China Business to Rival Didi After Losing Billions [Bloomberg]

You Can Still Upgrade To Windows 10 For Free — Here’s How

July 29 has come and gone and maybe you’re sitting there smacking yourself for not upgrading to Windows 10 for free while you had the chance. If you don’t want to spend $120, there’s still hope for you yet.

Microsoft’s offer for the general public to upgrade for free officially ended, but the company left a bit of a loophole open, as LifeHacker notes: if you use assistive technologies, upgrading is still free for now. If you don’t use assistive technologies, well, there’s no verification process involved.

All you have to do is go to Microsoft’s accessibility site, sign up for a free upgrade, and check a box that says you use assistive technologies.

This might not last — Microsoft told LifeHacker in a statement that the tool isn’t supposed to be a workaround for anyone who doesn’t use assistive technology and missed the deadline. But again, there’s no indication on whether or not Microsoft verifies such designations, at least not at this point.

There’s no end date for the upgrade extension in place now, and when it does remove the free upgrade for assistive technology users, the company will let the public know.