NYC and Quincy (that rhymes ;))

Well, the huge snowstorm that hit the North East is old news. Every year, a 'massive blizzard' dumps feet of snow on the North East and every major news group covers the storm from a week before it comes to weeks after the storm. They show pictures of buried cars and video clips of teenagers snowboarding down their streets.
Removal of the snow is an entirely different issue. Once the novelty of the annual snow-party-hoorah wears off, people are faced with the prospect of clearing the snow off the street. As New York City struggled with the task of clearing the snow, Quincy, Mass. had successfully discovered a way to clear snow more quickly and cheaply.
Instead of paying contractors by the hour to clear snow, they pay by the inch. This leads to a 5 to 10% savings and, miraculously, the work was finished more quickly! I suppose there is less incentive to dilly-dally at work if you are not getting paid by time spent! Maybe NYC should take a page out of the book of Quincy.

Here is the link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/22/opinion/22tue4.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Enjoy the warm(ish) weather!!

Retirement 2.0

The man responsible for leaving perhaps the biggest impact on cycling that the sport has ever seen is finally retiring. His strong career included seven consecutive Tour de France wins and success in many other events throughout his years. He retired once before, but came out of retirement with hopes of earning an eighth title. He finished his next two races 3rd and then 23rd respectively, failing to acquire another victory.

Armstrong's road to his seven major titles was long and plagued with misfortune. Before winning his first Tour de France race, he had to overcome testicular cancer. He has also faced many accusations of using performance enhancing drugs, coming away clean after every drug test.

In this interview announcing his retirement, he even had a shout out to J-Beibs! He was quoted saying, "Never say never... Just kidding."

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Here is the link to the Wall Street Journal article:
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/02/16/sports/cycling/AP-CYC-Armstrong-Retirement.html?ref=global

Publish Post

Are you FBO?

Are you FBO? (FBO = Facebook Official)
This phrase has officially entered the public jargon. Whenever a girl is beginning a new relationship, it is practically guaranteed the first question her best friend will ask is, "Well are you FBO yet?"
This forces couples exploring a dating relationship to "DTR" sooner and sooner. DTR means to define the relationship. This DTR phenomenon is becoming more and more important in relationships as there is increasing pressure to put a label on the relationship.
Another aspect of facebook relationship titles is the demographics behind the labels. More women than men report their relationship status. Of those reported, more men were listed as single than women.
So is the facebook relationship status a good thing? I guess it depends. If you are a single 30-year-old male, this could be very beneficial to you. If you are a confused college freshman unsure of where you stand with the cute boy next to you in class, you might not be in such a rush to define your late night Common Grounds conversations.
The good news: you don't have to list your status. So all peer pressure and social implications aside, enjoy your freedom is remaining relationship anonymous!

Here is the link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/06/fashion/weddings/06FIELD.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=weddings

Go Green or Go Home

Have you ever considered the math behind going green? Sure, there are plenty of serious business equations involving risk and returns and expenses and assets... But for one family owned tortilla company, Mi Ranco, the math is clear. Basically, it boils down to:

Company - $$$ + new lights and green equipment = $$$$$$$$

Makes sense. Another equation that makes sense:

Tortillas  + Going Green = SUPER ENERGY SAVINGS!

While it is easy to oversimplify the process of going green, there are several legitimate business, practical and financial matters to take into consideration. For Mi Ranch, the cost of the green renovations is recovered, twice over within a year, due to high margins of energy savings. Whether going green will really make a large impact on the money savings of an organization depends on its individual needs and situation. That said, it is rare to find a company that would not benefit in the long run from going green. Are you feeling inspired to go green in your own home or office? Check out this video for a few additional tips:

Here is the link the the NY Times article: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/02/is-your-business-trying-to-go-green/?ref=smallbusiness