Who knew? - It is more important to be liked at work than respected

Research at Columbia University shows that jobs, pay raises and promotions are more apt to be awarded based on a worker's charisma than on his or her academic background or professional qualifications.

Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas found that during corporate downsizings, hiring and firing decisions boil down to how well people are liked by their supervisors. "It's not enough just to do a good job; you have to be likeable in the eyes of your employer," says company president James Challenger.

The good news is likeability is a skill that can be learned.

Read more: Be Popular at Work: Four Steps

...the remedy for being limited to only one drink per person at open bar parties!!!!!!!!

The sweetest words ever written

It's been said that the richest, sweetest,
most evocative sentence ever written was:

Jesus wept.

The second richest, sweetest, most evocative sentence ever written:

There are no tropical storms in the Gulf at this time.

And Next Week, The Carver Revealed!

Is it just me, or did I have flashbacks from James Byrd in Jasper when the "black" nativity figure was being dragged behind that car in Nip/Tuck?

So, who is The Carver?

My guess is the totally insane plastic surgeon guy that Christian traded the sportscar with for Kimber.

How much caffeine is too much caffeine?

About 10 grams of caffeine or about 150 mg/kg can kill (via cardiac arrhythmias, electrolyte imbalances, cardiovascular collapse, seizures) about half the people who manage to consume this much (L50). For you coffee fiends out there, make that sure you don't overdo it. A cup of really good Joe can have 50-200 mg of caffeine. Here is a calculator that will help you to determine your potentially lethal dose (via the latte addicts at Fark.com).

From the "Its Not MY Fault" Department

Prejudice, racism, bigotry; A new mental illness? - Like any other phobia, psychiatrists are considering whether to classify some cases of extreme fear or dislike of selected groups (race, religion, sexual orientation) as a mental illness.

[In other news, a guy with the "God Hates Fags" sign has been wrestled to the ground, straight jacketed, given 50 mg of haloperidol and rushed to Whispering Willows state psychiatric hospital for evaluation.]

Earth Maps

I found this link to a thought-provoking map: it's a map of the world redrawn according to population. Each square on the grid represents approximately 1 million people.

The Western Hemisphere is just shockingly small compared to Africa or Asia. And don't blink, or you'll miss Australia.


There's also an interesting one there of the world upside down, and one of the true size of countries, which by necessity must distort shape. You may already have seen this map on TV's The West Wing.

Do these maps change your perception of the world?

(Source: msnbc.msn.com.)

Houston profile

This week a friend pointed me to a site that simply compiles information on various cities, including Houston. I'm not going to list everything they have here - browse the page if you want to see the whole array of stats.

The income and home value graphs are interesting with the expected "long tails." I think the year-round weather graphs are my favorite: temp, rain, humidity, wind speed, sunshine, cloudy days, and, my personal favorite, snowfall - where looking at the national average and range makes you very happy to live here. As you might expect, our average temps, rain, and humidity are higher than the national average, our wind speed is below average (a major factor in our air pollution, I'm sure), and our sunshine is just about average.

My least favorite part is the very scary looking EPA "Enviromap" of pollution.

Most surprising fact: we have 25 over-the-air TV stations? Can people actually pick up that many without cable or satellite? I had no idea.

If you have any nice pictures of Houston, they take uploads.

Top Cop Job in Freeport Has a Physical Performance Standards Requirement

Freeport's looking for a new police chief, but if you want to be considered for the position you have to run 1.5 miles in at least 16 minutes and 28 seconds.

And run 300 yards within 70 seconds.

Moreover, you have to do "leg presses, sit-ups and push-ups," the town's city manager told the local paper today.

No word on how many are required.

Twenty-five leg presses, 30 sit-ups and 40 pushups sound reasonable, even though I'm not entirely sure what a "leg press" is.

I'd have thrown in a high-jump requirement of at least 4-feet for those times when the chief has to crash through a plate glass window, roll on the floor and come up in a proper shooting position.

Google Transit: Not here yet, but . . .

I love the things Google is doing with its maps -- and that it has opened its design so others can play, too -- but this one has great potential: Google Transit.

It allows you to plot a trip using mass transit in . . . well, for right now, only in Portland, Ore. Other cities will be added, according to the Google Blog, and hopefully Houston will be one of them.

The site taps into publicly available route information from transit agencies. Houston's a possibility because Metro already has a trip planner. The data Google would need is already on the Web.

Update: Google has a similar service called "Ride Finder" in selected markets - including Houston. It is cool checking out the real-time locations of Houston area taxis.

News you can, um, use

Up to now, the newspaper was the only news medium you could take into the bathroom with you. Now there's this: News you can wipe with. (Or as I like to call it: "Read It And Wipe")


Ecccchhhh. Angel Soft (a complicatedly weird name, when you consider it. Kinda religiocoprapornographic.) offers tips on how to use toilet paper.

Update: Oh crap! It even gets better: a Japanese toilet seat/mp3 player.

Hey! My idea du jour: The Tampax iPod shuffle!!!!!!!!

9 out of 10 Afghans Say Life Is Better Thanks to U.S.

Those crazy Afghans! They aren't supposed to LIKE their life after the U.S. helped them overthrow their tyrannical leaders! Our liberal friends want them to hate us!

More than three-fourths of the people living in Afghanistan say living conditions, security from crime and freedom of expression have improved from the days when they were living under Taliban rule, an ABC News poll says.

On the questions of jobs and economic opportunity, people are evenly divided on whether economic opportunities are better or worse.

Almost nine in 10 — 87 percent — say the U.S.-led overthrow of the Taliban in 2001 was a good thing for the people of Afghanistan. And three-fourths of Afghans say their country is headed in the right direction, far higher than in the United States, where only three of 10 say that.

The optimism comes in a country where people say by a 2-1 margin that their own economic situation is bad, medical care is limited and basic services like electricity are not available for many people.

Six in 10 Afghans say attacks on U.S. troops cannot be justified, while three in 10 say they can.

The poll of 1,089 adults was conducted by Charney Research with field work by the Afghan Center for Social and Opinion Research in Kabul from Oct. 8-18 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

What is wrong with these people? Don't they know they are supposed to hate the American infidels who invaded and are now occupying their county? Guess they don't get CNN there and haven't been listening to Democrat politicians in Washington who believe our presence in Afghanistan and Iraq is only provoking Muslims to hate and attack us.

the Flash Mind Reader

Can you figure out how this works?

click here

Cow flatulence breakthrough

Cows, it turns out, burp and break wind all day long, emitting about 14 percent of global methane gases. That's a problem "worth doing something about," said UK scientist John Wallace. And he has, Reuters reports, helping to develop a diet that makes bovine eruptions smell sweeter. In a 12-month trial, the new eats slashed ozone-damaging methane emissions by 70 percent. Still, even without this breakthrough, I'd rather live in the country.

Winning more trouble?

"Any problems people have, money magnifies it so much, it's unbelievable." Not unbelievable biblically, since Christians know that what's inside a person is more important than the external environment, and this story about lottery winners shows that.

Specific bible verses on the subject:

"Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NIV)

"For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." 1 Timothy 6:10 (NIV)

So, now here is the question: Does reading this story and these bible verses make you feel better about not winning the lottery?
--Heck, not me. Human nature kicks in and tells me, "That wouldn't ever happen to me! Other people, yes - me, NO!" LOL!

Come on Lotto! MAKE MY DAY!

“The Economy is Booming”

And I blame Bush for these numbers!

Via Bloomberg.

U.S. economic growth rose at a 4.3 percent annual rate from July through September, the quickest since the first quarter of last year and evidence of the economy's resilience in the face of record energy costs.

The revised figure for gross domestic product, the value of all goods and services produced in the U.S., was higher than forecast and compares with a 3.8 percent pace initially estimated, the Commerce Department's figures showed today. Growth was 3.3 percent in the prior three months.

A second straight quarter of declining inventories will keep factories humming, providing fuel for an economy that's grown in excess of 3 percent since March 2003, the longest such streak since 1986. Consumer spending, construction and business investment were stronger than the government first estimated.

“The economy is booming,'' said Mike Englund, chief economist at Action Economics LLC in Boulder, Colorado. Englund correctly forecast third-quarter growth. ”As much as people may have been concerned about gas prices, consumers took the hit and now gas prices are falling.''

Strange how quiet our friends on the left have been about the lowering gas prices. They were just so darn excited when prices were high, and HOPING for bad economic numbers.

Their silence is just another stark example of how good news for America is bad news for the Democrat party.

Death is an equal opportunity offender

Back during Katrina, many national figures from Jesse Jackson to Al Sharpton to Louis Farrakahn jumped up out of thier hidey-holes and announced to the world that Bush bombed the levees in order to kill the black man. Those rumours continue to circulate even though it is becoming quite apparent that the 17th St levee was not only not built to print, but even if it had been, it would have failed when 11-12 ft of water was pushing on it, which is exactly what happened. The soil in the entire mississipi delta region is weak and poorly consolidated. The sheet piling only went 10 ft down, when the print called for 17-1/2 ft. But even had it been been driven 25 ft down, it still would have failed. These were built 10 years before Bush took office.

Today, I was listening to KSEV (Dan Patric's station)and heard a report that something on the order of just under 500 bodies have been positively identified and released to the families so far. Of those, 15 were hispanic, and the remiander was 50% white and 50% black (give or take a tenth of a percent or so.). Statistically the only demographic that suffered worse than any other was those over the age of 75.

So will we be hearing a version of the story that Bush bombed the levees to kill off medicare recipients now?

Music wants to be free

If Sony and other labels would just adhere to this Digital Consumer's Bill of Rights, the world of online music would be a much better place, both for the consumers and producers of music.

In the early days of the Internet, holders of copyrighted information were enraged by the mantra, "Information wants to be free." As scary as that is for those who make money selling information -- either in digital or analog form -- it's true, and not a new idea. Anyone who's ever told a secret they shouldn't have knows this.

Fortunately, there are some music-industry folks who get it, and as proof, Martin at gHacks.net has compiled a list of 40 sites that give away music.

Independent artists have even adopted a method to alert fans that they won't face 20 years of prison time for downloading their songs. In an effort to combat the FBI's Anti-Piracy Seal, they have created an alternative logo for artists who aren't concerned with file sharing and federal level copyright infringement.

Kathleen Blanco dilly-dallied as 1,000 people died

Louisiana's failed governor Kathleen Blanco is busy lately, trying to shift blame for the Hurricane Katrina fiasco on President Bush.

I don't forget history, and nor should you. Here's a reminder:

UPDATED: 6:42 pm CDT August 28, 2005
Gov. Blanco said President George W. Bush called and personally appealed for a mandatory evacuation for the low-lying city, which is prone to flooding.

Speaking Sunday, Bush said that he "cannot stress enough the dangers this hurricane poses to Gulf Coast communities."

"I urge all citizens to put their own safety and the safety of their families first by moving to safe ground," he said.

WDSU meteorologist Dan Thomas said the dangers from the hurricane cannot be overstated.

"I've told some people in the newsroom, I think this is going to be the scariest moment of your life," he said.

Blanco screwed up. Bad. Now she's pathetically trying to shift blame for this fiasco.

PAY NO ATTENTION… !!!

… TO THAT MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN electricity
leaking out of the Wham Bam Tram!!!

Republican gubernatorial primary - the fight starts!

We've all been waiting for the eye-scratching and hair-pulling to commence in the Republican gubernatorial primary. It's finally time to microwave Orville Redenbacher:

Gov. Rick Perry's campaign Friday accused Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, his Republican primary rival, of using her state office equipment to produce a campaign news release.
That prompted Strayhorn's camp to fire back and accuse a Perry aide of acting as a political operative even when he was working in the governor's press office at the state Capitol.

"Yes you did!" "No I didn't, but you did!" "Neener, neener!"

Another stimulating debate between the GOP leaders of the Great State of Texas on the difficult issues facing us. Repeat after me: "Adios, MoFos".

How To Control A Runaway Camel

I've always wondered what to do if my camel bolted while trying to park. Now I know.

"Hold on until the camel stops.
Whether the camel is running in circles or in a straight path, it will not run very far. The camel will sit down when it grows tired."

Cool Truck Pictures

Look at these cool TRUCK pictures

Leaving It On or Shutting It Off

Is it better to turn off the computer or can I just keep it on all the time?

You obviously save electricity when you shut down the computer after you are done using it, potentially around $100 a year depending on your system. However, starting a computer up cold every morning wastes a lot of time.

On the other hand, turning your machine off at night clears up items in the computer's memory and gives it a fresh start in the morning, which may make it appear less sluggish if you generally have a lot of programs running over the course of the day.

If you are torn between leaving it on or shutting it down, consider the third option: setting the machine to hibernate or sleep for the night. The computer uses minimal power in this state, but starts much faster than if it was started up cold in the morning.

It's Festivus Time -- for the Saner segment of the country

A hand-me-down holiday from the early Romans and, more importantly, “Seinfeld.” Festivus is a holiday about nothing in particular for people with nothing in particular to celebrate.

Media Life Magazine
... But a small segment of the country, perhaps a saner one, is up to something entirely different: preparing to celebrate Festivus. ...

The notion of a made-up holiday called Festivus got its first airing in a 1997 episode of “Seinfeld,” and it has since wormed its way into hearts of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Americans, who, fed up with the commercialism of mainstream holidays, now choose to celebrate the year's end in what amounts to a big goof on tradition. Celebrants gather round a metal pole, rather than a Christmas tree or Menorah. There's some whining in the place of carols. There's some wrestling.

The celebrations require few physical trappings. An aluminum pole of any height is required. But tinsel is most definitely not. Another no-no is gifts of any sort.

The holiday was introduced to the TV world by Frank Costanza, played by Jerry Stiller, in the now-famous episode 166 of Seinfeld. Costanza, according to the show, created the holiday as an alternative to the overly commercialized Christmas holiday. This wacky holiday, celebrated in the show on Dec. 23, wasn’t over until the host was wrestled to the ground.

For those who are exceedingly sane, be sure to purchase a Festivus Pole for home delivery at The Festivus Pole.

Sticks and stones ...

A leftist high school teacher in Vermont is in the hot seat for salting his vocabulary quizzes with liberal propaganda, tweaking President Bush and the Evil Empire of the Far Right.

The Associated Press reports that Bret Chenkin, an English teacher at Mount Anthony Union High School in Bennington, Vt., gave the quiz several months ago, and it asked kids to fill in the right word on questions like this one:

"I wish Bush would be (coherent, eschewed) for once during a speech, but there are theories that his everyday diction charms the below-average mind, hence insuring him Republican votes."

("Coherent" is the right answer.)

Can you believe this guy is a so-called English teacher? A vocabulary test ... and he can't even spell "ensuring"!

Duke's money is still good in Texas

What do the following people have in common?

Kevin Brady
Michael Burgess
John Carter
Louis Gohmert
Randy Neugebauer
Ted Poe
Pete Sessions

Yes, I know, they're all Republican Congressmen from Texas. They're all also the recipients of campaign contributions from former Rep turned convicted felon Randy "Duke" Cunningham, and as The Stakeholder notes, they have not seen fit as yet to give that money back.

And why should they give it back? Well, for starters, this is where that money may have originated:

"Between the year 2000 and June of 2005 in our district, you conspired to accept bribes in exchange for performance of official duties. Did you do that?" [U.S. District Judge Larry A.] Burns asked Cunningham.

"Yes, your honor," Cunningham replied.

"Did you take both cash payments and payments in kind?"

"Yes, your honor," the congressman said.

So if any of these folks happen to be your Congressman, you might want to ask them what they plan to do with the Duke's money. Let me know what happens if you do.

Things that make Tom smile...

....in no particular order

Slip’n slides
Chocolate anything
Drinks served with umbrellas
Autumn leaves (red and yellow)
Good books (non-fiction)
Long Hot showers
Owning a holiday closet
Booking a cruise
Stained Glass Windows

Grandma Barton's: choo-choo-train-track cookies, chicken fried steak, cinnamon Rolls, Sausage Kolaches, & Gingerbread-boy cookies with M&M buttons

Remembering summers with Grandma Barton and making homemade noodles (24 egg yolks), then hanging them on the clothes line to dry

Remembering Grandpa Barton say: "Too damn much gravy", "People only hear 10% of what you say", "write it down and put it in a box - later if you write a book, you'll have to call it fiction!"

Thinking about going to Gaylen's deer lease in the "good-times" van and being sooo sick

Thinking about Grandma Beyer and "falling off the floor", "chimley", "black kernels in cream-of-wheat" & the "kitchen zink"

Remembering Alta Loma get-togethers & Playing in Grandpa Beyer's workshop

Roosters
Playing a game and remembering someone's made-up rules
NOEL/LEON
Smell of homemade apple pie
Fluffy beds
Puppies & small lap dogs
When my children have sleepovers
Massages
When someone asks me an "IT" question
When someone asks me a credit card question
Appreciative people
A smile from a stranger
A smile from a friend
Tulips
My kids
My kids going to school
My kids coming to visit
Talking to my friends
Being invited to lunch with friends
Laying and watching the stars
A good thunderstorm
Snow
A DJ who can work a crowd
The Nutcracker Market
Helping other people spend their money
Crisp air & burning ears on a winter-night stroll
A working automatic gate
Sharing a joke
Private family jokes
Mexican restaurants
Any restaurant with a complete separate margarita menu
$8 soap
The Convention Crew!
Convention Crew Shirts
Blue cheese dressing
Sour cream
Quesadillas
Taking a really good picture
Catching people singing in their car
Buy one-get one free (OK, anything free!)
Fig Newtons
Extreme Christmas decorations
Fleece
Betty BOOP
Riding home with my carpool companions....they really crack me up
“Honky-tonk badonkadonk”
GRITS!
Friday
Sweatpants
Chilly weather
Venti Mocha (Whole milk & with WIP!)
Rachael Ray and Paula Dean
The thought of chili-flavored Frito's in Acapulco
My leather jacket
Bath and Body Works
Long sleeved T-shirts
Halloween costumes
S’mores
Taking a nap on a Sunday afternoon
Reading fortunes out of fortune cookies
The smell of real vanilla extract
Fondue
Getting free tickets to an event
Changing into comfy clothes after work
Helping others do their job easier
Getting compliments
The way chenille feels

Thinking about Cedar Lodge vacations and eating left-over potatoes & onions (fried)

Thinking about giraffe’s long, very sticky tongues

John Denver's "Sunshine on My Shoulders" song, even the elevator versions

Finding out a friend or co-worker is pregnant with triplets
Women in maternity clothes
Random giggles from children

The way the ocean tastes when walking up next to it

The songs "What Child is This” and “Mary, did you know”

Humming "It's a Small World" when I shower and "If I only Had a Brain" when I work . . . (Both songs crack me up . . . A lot)

Winning $$$ on a scratch-off lottery ticket

Tom's Pet Peeves - and "Yes" I have a few....

....in no particular order

People who do something they know is wrong - just because they think they can get away with it

Ties, Suits and Sport Coats (on me)

Grocery carts with one bad wheel
Shoppers that take up the whole aisle

Mumbling, then saying, "Forget it!"

When anyone thinks their "don't remember" might trump my "do remember"

Saying, "drop it" the moment a conversation veers into an unwanted direction

Cooks that don't clean up as they go
People that stack their dirty dishes on the disposal side of the sink

Greeting cards that throw sparkles, sequins or confetti on the hapless recipient

Using the TP down to the last ten squares without fetching a new roll

Having a drawer full (or more) of unknown cords, transformers, rechargers, adapters

Standing in my TV line-of-sight during the last 30 seconds of any show (Thank heavens for TiVo!)

Finding a TV remote in the car or anywhere else where it couldn't possibly be used

TV Shows or ads with doorbells, ringing phones, or alarm clocks!

Radio Ads featuring horns, sirens, or people yelling "Look out!"

Braille signs at drive through windows
Taking forever to leave a parking space while others are clearly waiting for it

People who put the coffee pot back on the burner with only an ounce of coffee left

Sneezing or coughing when you have a full bladder
No toilet paper or paper towels in public bathrooms

Standing in the way of folks wishing to use an escalator, moving sidewalk or doorway 

Keeping anything on the floor

Being put on the speakerphone without warning

Retail clerks that ignore the live customer to help one that interrupts via phone

When people think they own the world
When people think only about themselves
Parents who don't parent

People who blow their horn at you the nano-second the light changes to green

People who enter thru the exit and exit thru the enter. Can they not read what it says over the doorway?

Guys who wear wife-beaters in public...they call them undershirts for a reason

People who talk on their cell phone or to others during movies

People who pick their nose in public
Rude and mean people
Ignorant and racist people
Any Gap commercial

Famous people that name their kids God-awful names

People in bike clubs that ride 6 a-breast, blocking traffic - Single file please!

People that spell "you're" as "your" –or– “their” as “there” or “they're”
The incorrect use of "its" and "it's". "It's" is not the possessive of "it".

People who say Chipolte not Chipotle

Hearing "February" pronounced "Febyuary." (Also "nuclear" pronounced "nucyular," and "axe" instead of "ask.")
Hearing Irregardless - It is not a word people, it is redundant!

People who don't tell me their opinions and thoughts if they think that I will get angry or upset

The office sourpuss
Abuse of sick leave

pop-up windows on the web
Stale content on web pages
People that don't answer e-mail
Web pages that play music
The "REPLY ALL" email feature
Spam (email & food product)

Tags in shirt collars
Stickers on everything you buy
Littering



Slow traffic
Drivers who speed up when I change lanes in front of them
People who insist on passing and then drive slower than I was


Anyone who claims it is not "their job"
The race card
Scientology

People that think they are entitled to have the federal government help them in every situation

People that make their emergency at work - your emergency

Pink for girls - Blue for boys

Bank machine convenience fees

Athletes that complain about not being able to get by on $14 million a year

Women in ‘g-strings’ and low-rise jeans
Rubber neckers

CD Plastic wrap and sticker seals

Those advertising mail-in cards found by the dozen in every magazine

People who don't start writing their check until after all of their items have been rung up by the cashier