OK, it happened to me again, yesterday. I was getting ready to cross the street- no one was coming- except for the car that just pulled out of the spot by the curb and almost hit me. One of those danged electric cars that makes no sounds. (I admit it; I was on the curb- but there is a clearly marked pedestrian crossing, which in this area means- STOP if I am on the curb. But, of course, Mr. SaveTheEnvironment (actually it was a Ms.) obviously only cares about non-human things.)
Category Archives: Technology
Time, time, time…
I’ve been remiss. I’ve not offered any advice to my clients who bill for their time in a very long time. Lawyers, Accountants, Management Specialists, Technical Services. So, this post is overdue. And, it applies to a lot of other specialties, as well.
Telecommuting?
I am tired of hearing that Marissa Mayer made a mistake. For those of you who live under a rock, she’s the head of Yahoo that was hired to turn the company around. And, when she came off her maternity leave, she decreed that working from home is not in Yahoo’s best interest. Her ostensible reasons? Yahoo needs to move quickly, it needs to focus on collaboration and communication. And, in her mind, that means working remotely full-time doesn’t work. That also means that some of the Yahoo employees are going to have to move- or quit. Immediately, many folks (in and out of the company) began complaining, citing that there is data that folks are more productive when working from home. That folks need to balance life and work- and this move does not fit that model. Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson, the creators of ROWE (Results Only Work Environment), took tremendous umbrage at Ms. Mayer’s approach. Their site posted this letter… Continue reading Telecommuting?
What I learned from the WSJ today…
So, as I am wont to do, I was devouring my newspapers at St. Elmo’s (the best coffee shop in Alexandria- come visit!) and ran across this article by Reuel Marc Gerecht (Israel’s New Islamist Neighborhood) that blew me away. It was even a topic of conversation with a few of my friends. Not because it discussed Israel (which is a topic near and dear to my heart), but because of the thought processes it engendered about the more global situation.
You are under their spell…
So, I gave you Frank Kessler’s message on Friday. Today, I’ll talk about how the food industry has been manipulating food- and us- to keep us addicted to eating more- and more- and more. The industry specialists know that food’s addictive quality is a function of its salt content, fat content (squared), it’s “crunchability”, and a pleasing mouth feel.
Yo, Ho, Ho and a Bottle of Rum!
When I moved to Charlottesville (VA), I found out that I was wrong about a whole bunch of things. No, not about Southern mentality, as it radically differs from that of Northerners. (But, I’m not making light of that at all!) Instead, it was that I found out that Thomas Jefferson was not dead- instead, he was alive and still the mayor of the place!
The Times, they are a-changing..
It’s not your father’s library anymore.
I’ve written that I access my local library (Alexandria, Virginia) electronically. Any hour of the day or night. And, as long as I have a valid library card, I can view current (ok- three weeks older and more) journals and magazines; even some digital books.
Fashion- or Science?
Science fiction? Nope, this stuff is real. Meet Suzanne Lee of Bio-Couture. Ms. Lee is a designer based in London, England. No, not that kind of designer- a fashion designer. She’s also a Senior Research Fellow at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
Company causes this misery!
Many of you know I grew up in Greater New York City. Where Robert Moses transformed the area to produce a plethora of roads and bridges. But, even with all that building, traveling was tough. The Southern State Parkway (which was the backyard of my childhood home) opened in 1927. This four lane, 25 miles long, parkway started with tolls providing access to New York City for those on the Southern reaches of Long Island. It became 8 lanes (city line to the Hempstead Lake State Park) and six lanes thereafter before I was 10. The tolls disappeared sometime after I left the area.
Rational Drug Design
When one thinks about drug research, they rarely recognize that it’s often just a series of trial and error. One considers a series of potential drugs and determines if and how it works. Rational drug design is a completely different (and still a nascent) process.