Getting caught is the mother of invention

Words for our times:

Getting caught is the mother of invention.

Robert Byrne

Do’s and Don’ts when Talking to a Job Hunter During the Recession

Hello, gentle blog reader,

The following is from Ben Atlas’ site (via my Inbox).  Thanks, Ben! Bobbi :

If a friend approaches you trying to vent about his/her frustrating job search, keep this in mind:

Do’s (there are only three, especially during the recession):

1. A real contact – not an email or a phone number but an introduction.
2. A real lead – again not a job listing but an introductory conversation with a hiring manager looking for an employee.
3. Yes, money or an actual job offer, meaning you are offering your friend cash or a paid gig.

…. and you can check out the “don’t”s: here

http://horizontalplane.com/2008/12/dos-and-donts-of-talking-to-a-person-who-is-looking-for-a-job/

How Big is Wal-Mart?

Hello, gentle blog reader,

Here’s something that showed up in my Inbox:

This should boggle your mind!!
And scare you as well!

HOW BIG IS WAL-MART?

1 . At Wal-Mart, Americans spend $36,000,000 every hour of every day.

2. This works out to $20,928 profit every minute!

3. Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St. Patrick’s Day (March 17th)
than Target sells all year.

4. Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco +
K-Mart combined.

5. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people and is the largest private employer. And most can’t speak English.

6. Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the World.

7. Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger & Safeway combined,
and keep in mind they did this in only 15 years.

8. During this same period, 31 Supermarket chains sought bankruptcy
(including Winn-Dixie).

9. Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store in the world.

10. Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the US of which 1,906 are SuperCenters; this is 1,000 more than it had 5 years ago.

11. This year, 7.2 billion different purch asing experiences will occur
at a Wal-Mart store. (Earth’s population is approximately
6.5 billion.)

12. 90% of all Americans live within 15 miles of a Wal-Mart

13. Let Wal-Mart bail out Wall Street!

Elie Wiesel Foundation, Palm Beach Country Club and Synagogue are Big $$$ Losers in Madoff Ponzi Scheme

Update: In an ironic twist of fate, Madoff’s been robbed! http://bobbiblogger.wordpress.com/2008/12/28/the-50-billion-ponzi-scheme-swindler-is-robbed/

Hello, gentle blog reader,

Perhaps you’ve been following that giant Madoff Ponzi scheme that’s resulted in at least $50 billion in losses.  Hard to imagine someone in such a position of trust causing so much misery.   In today’s New York Post, there’s an article describing the carnage:

Members of a posh Upper East Side synagogue suffered a $2 billion bloodbath in Bernie Madoff’s epic Ponzi scheme.

The Fifth Avenue Synagogue ranks with the decimated rolls of the Palm Beach Country Club in terms of members scorched by the scam.

Ira Rennert, chairman of the synagogue’s board and owner of the priciest mansion in the Hamptons, had $200 million staked in Madoff’s fund, Fortune magazine reported.

He was one of at least 10 synagogue heavy hitters fleeced in the scandal, said a prominent congregant.

The synagogue was a breeding ground for Madoff investors given that its president, J. Ezra Merkin, reportedly served as a powerful recruiter for the alleged scamster.

Here’s the rest of the story: 

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12212008/news/regionalnews/manhattan/synagogue_of_ufferers_145221.htm

No matter what you’ve lost in the meltdown, can you still breathe, walk, see, hear, think, and move your hands?

Good morning, gentle blog reader,

“No matter what you’ve lost in the meltdown, can you still breathe, walk, see, hear, think, and move your hands?”

That got me thinking.  Whatever has happened in this economic meltdown, if you’re reading this–you’ve survived.  Here’s one person’s take on coping with tough times:

http://www.aish.com/spirituality/growth/Survival.asp

CRASH!! The small aircraft you were flying in has just crash-landed on the side of a mountain. You’re alive and uninjured, but it’s late afternoon on a chilly December day.

You won’t waste time playing the “Blame Game,” blaming the pilot, the company that rented you the airplane, or the government for its insufficient regulation of the aviation industry. You won’t waste time playing the “If Only Game”: “If only I had used a different company or taken the train…” It’s getting darker and colder on the side of the mountain, and all you’ll care about is how to survive.

The economy has crash-landed. Many of you have lost your jobs, your homes, or the value of your investment portfolios or pension plans. It’s not worth playing the “Blame Game” or the “If Only Game.” At this point, you have to focus your energy on how to survive.

I can’t offer you financial survival tips, but if you’re looking for spiritual survival strategies, here is my four-point plan. They spell the acronym R.E.A.L. because this plan is Reality Therapy.

REDEFINE YOUR IDEA OF SUCCESS

http://www.aish.com/spirituality/growth/Survival.asp

Explorers put Unexplored Mount Mabu in Mozambique on the Map

Hello, gentle blog reader,

Here I thought every square inch of Planet Earth had been discovered, charted, mapped, and walked upon, but British explorers have discovered an unmapped region in Mozambique, Mount Mabu. It looks so beautiful. Here’s more on the story:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/dec/21/mount-mabu-mozambique-jonathan-timberlake

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2008/dec/21/new-species-wildlife-mozambique?picture=340939201

 

 

the small striped swordtail butterfly

 

Hemipteran bug

 

Pygmy chameleon

The Sombrero Galaxy and more–some great photos!

Good morning, gentle blog reader!

The weather outside is frightful…but inside it’s so delightful.  I came across these wonderful pictures from outerspace and hope you like them as much as I do–my family especially likes the Sombrero Galaxy!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/space/12/16/space.spotlight/index.html

Bobbi