Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Monday, September 17, 2007
What can we do to save the Earth?
Twin articles on the actions being taken to save the environment...
Can this really save the planet?
What's wrong with turning lights off?
Can this really save the planet?
What's wrong with turning lights off?
looking for hand grip for my dslr
currently looking at the following 2...still yet to find availability in singapore, not really into the leather ones, the 2 below are made of neoprene material
op/tech grip strap
zing action strap
op/tech grip strap
zing action strap
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Don't let a messy desk disrupt productivity
The Coloradoan - www.coloradoan.com - Ft. Collins, CO.
extract from the above link.
--------------------------------------------------------
Get organized at the office
14 steps to create a new organized work area:
extract from the above link.
--------------------------------------------------------
Get organized at the office
14 steps to create a new organized work area:
- Bring only critical items and accessories into the work space.
- Keep only critical daily items on the desktop.
- Store pens, paper clips, etc., in a drawer for easy access.
- Maximize the desktop by using shelves for books, extra paper and supply storage.
- Be consistent and return items to an assigned home after use.
- Remove all items that are not relevant. This includes removing plants that are no longer healthy, old calendars, old newspapers, periodicals and awards from the Y2K era.
- Hang pictures and recently completed certificates in view for daily inspiration. If there is a picture of the next vacation destination, add it to the collection. Avoid covering every inch of wall, as that creates a cluttered view and contributes to mind clutter. If there are too many pictures to hang without creating a cluttered view, rotate the items quarterly.
- Store current manuals and projects on the work space within view if you are reading them this week. All binders should be stored on shelves and reference books, and manuals should be out of immediate range if not used daily.
- Scan critical files and project information from past projects to a CD or DVD, which require less space than files and storage boxes. Keep in mind that 80 percent of items that are filed are never reviewed again.
- Think twice before printing an e-mail or article. What will happen to the paper? Will it end up in a pile of clutter that will creep across the desk and take up valuable work space only to be viewed next year while looking for something else? If so, save the paper and ink for another day.
- Consider replacing a large monitor with a new flat screen monitor that takes up less work space and contributes to more work area for other activities.
- If the cubicle or office space wall color is unappealing and painting is not an option, try adding color by stretching fabric over one wall to add interest. Changing fabric seasonally will keep the view interesting.
- If your work area is situated with your back to the door and you cannot rearrange the space, install a small mirror so you can see anyone entering your area from behind.
- Schedule 10 minutes a day to eliminate clutter and return the work space to a welcoming, productive area for the next work session.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Hands-on preview: HP iPaq 900 business smartphone - infoSync World
infoSync World
And I was hoping for HTC to come out with something like this first...wifi, GPS, 3G, touchscreen, Windows Mobile 6, QWERTY keypad, all checked...
And I was hoping for HTC to come out with something like this first...wifi, GPS, 3G, touchscreen, Windows Mobile 6, QWERTY keypad, all checked...
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Japan's free spirits
first posted at evozero on 01/10/04
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Japan's free spirits
It is nearly 15 years since Japan's economy ground to a halt, triggering a period of introspection about the country's values and its place in the world. In the second of a special series, BBC News Online's Sarah Buckley reports on how young people's expectations about work are changing.
Hidden in central Tokyo is an area known as Golden Gai - a strip of anonymous tiny counter-bars which attract those in search of a counter culture.
Bartender Shinichi Yoshimoto used to do a 16-hour day at a loan-sharking company. 'I took the first train to the company and I took the final train home,' he said.
He gave it all up to become a 'furita' - a term to describe those who do part-time or short-term work.
Economic changes, partly stemming from Japan's long economic troubles, mean that the Japanese work pattern is changing.
Previous generations could expect to spend their working lives at the same company and never face the sack. Now such 'lifetime employment' is dying out. Jobs are more scarce as companies struggle to regain productivity.
Many Japanese still choose to follow in their parents' footsteps. But this changing environment has brought more freedom for the young - for some, this is exciting; for others, it is terrifying.
Shinichi, who has travelled to nearly 40 countries, said his time abroad opened his eyes.
'Our parents don't know the joy,' he said.
'I realised that life is very short, so I don't have any time. Life is only for joy... I like losers like me.'
But not everyone is keen on Japan's 'losers', who over the last decade have become an increasingly visible section of the population.
Hideaki Omura, a lawmaker with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said 4 million furita out of a working population of 65 million was "very serious".
"We should enforce a policy to make young people get a proper job," he said.
He stressed that furita do not pay income tax or make pension contributions.
"They work only when they want to, so... they are not the regular workforce that the country can rely on.
"They are young people, very lively with good skills and potential, but they don't contribute their skills."
Shinichi, however, is not just having fun. He has a plan for the future. Using his experience of working in publishing, he is setting up his own publishing company.
"Instead of saving, I'm making a company and making friends. That's my investment for the future," he said.
Other furita interviewed also had plans.
Harumi Sato, 24, who works for a temping agency, wants a variety of experience before post-graduate study in ancient literature. Twenty-eight-year-old Hiroko Abe, who works for two bars, an internet café and a medical check-up car, dreams of setting up a salon where people can meet and exchange ideas.
She is studying law in her spare time and hopes a legal qualification will back up her future.
"I think everyone wants to be like us, but they can't do it so they're envious. They don't have the confidence," she said.
Freedom's dark side
One of those who certainly lacks confidence is Gen Kubata, who lives with his mother, and has not worked since being bullied during a brief spell working at a printing company.
"I was bullied in junior high school and then I got the same experience (at work) so I thought 'that's enough'", said 23-year-old Gen, his shoulders hunched.
He also stopped socialising, and even spent some time as a hikkikomori - a complete recluse who never goes out.
While the furita phenomenon has affected Japan for some years, Gen belongs to a group only recently identified. These people are known as Neet - those Not in Education, Employment or Training and under 25 years old.
While there were only 80,000 Neet in Japan in 1997, there were at least 400,000 in 2000, according to estimates.
Kei Kudo works at Sodateage Net, a centre in Tachikawa city outside Tokyo, which helps Neet people reintegrate into society.
He said he believed there were several reasons for the rise in Neet. Parents are allowing their children to live at home; as people live longer there is less hurry to start a family and career; and more people are entering higher education without a clear purpose.
The last reason is in part due to one of the most significant shifts - there are less job opportunities.
Kei said some of Japan's unskilled work was being outsourced to countries like China or Vietnam, and that corporate Japan was hiring fewer new recruits instead of cutting established staff.
"They (Neet) cannot step into society again because they're afraid of people and lack confidence. They don't need to get into society again because of their parents," Kei said.
What exacerbates their problem, says Yuji Genda, the author of a book on Neet, is their dislocation from a broad social spectrum.
"I have never met a Neet who doesn't want to work. My impression is that they want to work too much. They think about what is the goal or concept of work too much. They are very serious."
He said Neet had no real understanding of the world, for which he blamed shrinking social networks.
"There are lots of kids who have never talked to adults, apart from parents and teachers.
As Japan emerges from its decade of economic upheaval, young people lack support at a time when they need it most.
Society is becoming more polarised as economic changes force it to be more competitive. Those with confidence and skills may be able to forge their own way, but others who are not so fortunate have a tough time ahead.
BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Japan's free spirits
It is nearly 15 years since Japan's economy ground to a halt, triggering a period of introspection about the country's values and its place in the world. In the second of a special series, BBC News Online's Sarah Buckley reports on how young people's expectations about work are changing.
Hidden in central Tokyo is an area known as Golden Gai - a strip of anonymous tiny counter-bars which attract those in search of a counter culture.
Bartender Shinichi Yoshimoto used to do a 16-hour day at a loan-sharking company. 'I took the first train to the company and I took the final train home,' he said.
He gave it all up to become a 'furita' - a term to describe those who do part-time or short-term work.
Economic changes, partly stemming from Japan's long economic troubles, mean that the Japanese work pattern is changing.
Previous generations could expect to spend their working lives at the same company and never face the sack. Now such 'lifetime employment' is dying out. Jobs are more scarce as companies struggle to regain productivity.
Many Japanese still choose to follow in their parents' footsteps. But this changing environment has brought more freedom for the young - for some, this is exciting; for others, it is terrifying.
Shinichi, who has travelled to nearly 40 countries, said his time abroad opened his eyes.
'Our parents don't know the joy,' he said.
'I realised that life is very short, so I don't have any time. Life is only for joy... I like losers like me.'
But not everyone is keen on Japan's 'losers', who over the last decade have become an increasingly visible section of the population.
Hideaki Omura, a lawmaker with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said 4 million furita out of a working population of 65 million was "very serious".
"We should enforce a policy to make young people get a proper job," he said.
He stressed that furita do not pay income tax or make pension contributions.
"They work only when they want to, so... they are not the regular workforce that the country can rely on.
"They are young people, very lively with good skills and potential, but they don't contribute their skills."
Shinichi, however, is not just having fun. He has a plan for the future. Using his experience of working in publishing, he is setting up his own publishing company.
"Instead of saving, I'm making a company and making friends. That's my investment for the future," he said.
Other furita interviewed also had plans.
Harumi Sato, 24, who works for a temping agency, wants a variety of experience before post-graduate study in ancient literature. Twenty-eight-year-old Hiroko Abe, who works for two bars, an internet café and a medical check-up car, dreams of setting up a salon where people can meet and exchange ideas.
She is studying law in her spare time and hopes a legal qualification will back up her future.
"I think everyone wants to be like us, but they can't do it so they're envious. They don't have the confidence," she said.
Freedom's dark side
One of those who certainly lacks confidence is Gen Kubata, who lives with his mother, and has not worked since being bullied during a brief spell working at a printing company.
"I was bullied in junior high school and then I got the same experience (at work) so I thought 'that's enough'", said 23-year-old Gen, his shoulders hunched.
He also stopped socialising, and even spent some time as a hikkikomori - a complete recluse who never goes out.
While the furita phenomenon has affected Japan for some years, Gen belongs to a group only recently identified. These people are known as Neet - those Not in Education, Employment or Training and under 25 years old.
While there were only 80,000 Neet in Japan in 1997, there were at least 400,000 in 2000, according to estimates.
Kei Kudo works at Sodateage Net, a centre in Tachikawa city outside Tokyo, which helps Neet people reintegrate into society.
He said he believed there were several reasons for the rise in Neet. Parents are allowing their children to live at home; as people live longer there is less hurry to start a family and career; and more people are entering higher education without a clear purpose.
The last reason is in part due to one of the most significant shifts - there are less job opportunities.
Kei said some of Japan's unskilled work was being outsourced to countries like China or Vietnam, and that corporate Japan was hiring fewer new recruits instead of cutting established staff.
"They (Neet) cannot step into society again because they're afraid of people and lack confidence. They don't need to get into society again because of their parents," Kei said.
What exacerbates their problem, says Yuji Genda, the author of a book on Neet, is their dislocation from a broad social spectrum.
"I have never met a Neet who doesn't want to work. My impression is that they want to work too much. They think about what is the goal or concept of work too much. They are very serious."
He said Neet had no real understanding of the world, for which he blamed shrinking social networks.
"There are lots of kids who have never talked to adults, apart from parents and teachers.
As Japan emerges from its decade of economic upheaval, young people lack support at a time when they need it most.
Society is becoming more polarised as economic changes force it to be more competitive. Those with confidence and skills may be able to forge their own way, but others who are not so fortunate have a tough time ahead.
evozero
first posted at evozero on 19/09/04
evozero
evo: evolution, mitsubishi lancer evolution vii
zero: neutral, the middle path, light is right
evozero: philosophy of balancing evo & zero
evozero
evo: evolution, mitsubishi lancer evolution vii
zero: neutral, the middle path, light is right
evozero: philosophy of balancing evo & zero
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