April 25th, 2008 by A.J.
Well if this is not the confirmation the world needed that we are in a recession:
The drop in porn rentals and sales is worrisome on several fronts: Till now, porn has been a recession-proof business. Further, with the country already in a dispirited mood, the fact that porn has gone limp may indicate a true plunge in consumer confidence. DVD porn is down between 10% and 30%, depending on which nook and cranny of the business you scrutinize.
Read all about it in Variety -Hard times ahead as porn goes soft?
February 5th, 2008 by A.J.
I was doing some research on why business people who read more, earn more. So I started with a Google of the term “people who read earn more.” Look at some of the titles that came up:
I still haven’t found why readers earn more than non-readers, but I have arrived at a conclusion….All types of people earn more than all kinds of other people.
November 26th, 2006 by A.J.
A Japanese company and an American company decided to have a canoe race. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race. On the big day the Japanese won by a mile.
The American team became very discouraged and morally depressed. The American management decided that the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found. A “Measurement Team,” made up of senior management was formed. They would investigate and recommend appropriate action. Their conclusion was that the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the Americans had 1 person rowing and 8 people steering.
So American management hired a consulting company and paid them incredible amounts of money. They advised that too many people were steering the boat and not enough people were rowing. To prevent losing to the Japanese again next year, the rowing team’s management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the “Rowing Team Quality First Program,” with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower: “We must give the rower empowerment and enrichment through this quality program.”
The next year the Japanese won by 2 miles.
Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. Then they gave a High Performance Award to the steering managers and distributed the money saved as bonuses to the senior executives.
November 24th, 2006 by A.J.
I came across this picture of a model home PC created in 1954 as envisioned to be fifty years in the future. The caption reads:
Scientists from the RAND Corporation have created this model to illustrate how a “home computer” could look like in the year 2004. However the needed technology will not be economically feasible for the average home. Also the scientists readily admit that the computer will require not yet invented technology to actually work, but 50 years from now scientific progress is expected to solve these problems. With teletype interface and the Fortran language, the computer will be easy to use.
I just can’t imagine what the fancy steering wheel was used for 
August 11th, 2006 by A.J.
If you’re an equities trader like me, you must hear a lot about hedge funds…big returns, lots of money, set for life. So why not start your own? How hard could it be?
Could this be indicative of a hedge fund bubble? Last year 1,000 or so funds went belly-up. But around 2,100 new ones started, bringing the grand total to over 8,000, up from 600 ten years ago. (At press-time there were 6,010 Taco Bells in the U.S. Just FYI.) One curmudgeon by the coffee urn muttered that it reminded him of 1990s-era day-trading seminars. Booya to you, mister!
May 3rd, 2006 by A.J.
Qantas is the safest major airline. Maintenance is the key. Apparently, after every flight, Qantas pilots fill out a form, called a “gripe sheet”, which tells mechanics about problems with the aircraft. The mechanics correct the problems, document their repairs on the form, and then pilots review the gripe sheets before the next flight.
And it seems that a sense of humor permeates the entire organization. Here are some actual maintenance complaints submitted by Qantas’ Pilots and the solutions recorded by maintenance engineers.
Pilots: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
Engineers: Almost replaced left inside main tire.
Pilots: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
Engineers: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft
Pilots: Something loose in cockpit.
Engineers: Something tightened in cockpit.
Pilots: Dead bugs on windshield.
Engineers: Live bugs on back-order.
Pilots: Number 3 engine missing.
Engineers: Engine found on right wing after brief search.
Pilots: Aircraft handles funny.
Engineers: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.
Pilots: Target radar hums
Engineers: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.
Pilots: Mouse in cockpit.
Engineers: Cat installed.
Pilot:. Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
Engineers: Took hammer away from midget
December 22nd, 2005 by A.J.
For all of you “politically correct” citizens, please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006,
For everyone else, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year!
November 17th, 2005 by A.J.
I’ve been working with a client to interview candidates for a finance/accounting position. I’ve met some very sharp and eager individuals who could fill the positions and it makes it difficult to choose. But for every ‘”good” candidate, there are several “bad” candidates. Here are some lines extracted from their resumes that told us to hold off.
“Please don’t misconstrue my 15 jobs as ‘job-hopping’. I have never quit a job.”
“I have lurnt Word for Widows, computor operations and spreasheet progroms.”
“I procrastinate, especially when the task is unpleasant.”
“Instrumental in ruining entire operation for a Midwest chainstore.”
“Wholly responsible for two (2) failed financial institutions.”
“I have become completely paranoid, trusting completely no one and absolutely nothing.”
Do you think any of them wonder why they have not received any interviews, much less a job offer?
October 19th, 2005 by A.J.
200 of the best small companies, with “small” defined as revenues between $5 million and $750 million (I should be so small :-). The 200 Best Small Companies at Forbes.com.
May 29th, 2005 by A.J.
Thanks to Pointsec Mobile Technologies, we now know that forgetfulness qualifies as a major IT concern. The company contacted taxi companies in nine countries asking them how common it is for customers to leave cell phones, PDAs, laptops and other tools of the mobile professional behind in cabs. The results were staggering to say the least.
In Chicago alone, the survey suggests that more than 100,000 devices were left behind in a six-month period. But the news isn’t all bad: passengers were reunited with their cell phones 80 percent of the time, and with laptops and PDAs 96 percent of the time.
If you’re not practicing the password and encryption features of your device, you better. Oh and remember to tip your cab driver. Most items were returned thanks to the efforts of the drivers themselves.
