Curious Rami

On May 1st 2007, the infamous tire in the tree in Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada (highway 102) disappeared. Please take a moment to remember the tire in the tree.

 Update May 19 2007: The picture above is taken from: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2330994504

What do you think?

By Goodman Ace:

• you
• save
• money
• easy
• guarantee
• health
• proven
• safety
• discovery
• new
• love
• results

Reference: http://www.mailingknowhow.com/salesletters/never-forget.htm

Growing up, my parents always measured my performance in school by how I did in math and English. Although they encouraged me to learn music, it was only as a hobby and always next to math and English. As an engineer now, I very much appreciate what they did. However, after watching this very interesting and entertaining talk by Sir Ken Robinson, I wonder, what little Rami would have achieved if his creative mind had been stimulated further.

Checkout this very interesting presentation by Dan Dennett and leave a comment with your thoughts:

http://www.ted.com/tedtalks/tedtalksplayer.cfm?key=d_dennett

Quotes are a great source of inspiration; they help me focus on what really matters in life. Ernie J. Zelinski from http://www.thejoyofnotworking.com has a good collection of quotes collected and arranged in an e-book entitle: “1001 Best Things Ever Said about WORK (and the Workplace)”.

Here are some of the quotes mentioned in the e-book:

Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.

— Albert Einstein

Don’t follow trends, start trends.

— Frank Capra

Machines should work; people should think.

— IBM motto

It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.

— John Wooden

Never trouble another for what you can do yourself.

— Thomas Jefferson

I never thought of achievement. I just did what came along for me to do — the thing that gave me the most pleasure.

— Eleanor Roosevelt

The e-book is available at: http://www.thejoyofnotworking.com/ebook/1001BestThingsSaidaboutWork.pdf

Most workers know whether they are stressed at work or not, but it is usually difficult to identify the cause of the stress. Are they stressed because they feel undervalued or because they have to work long hours? Maybe they are irritated by coworkers, for example; seeing others not pulling their weight or being constantly interrupted by mangers.

33 News/WYTV has an article listing the top 10 most stressful professions, the top 10 work stresses, and the top 10 colleague irritations. Stressed professionals should read the article to identify the root of their stress.

Here is a quote from the article which can be found at: http://www.wytv.com/news/health/2788381.html

TOP TEN WORK STRESSES
Workload
Feeling undervalued
Deadlines
Type of work people have to do
Having to take on other people’s work
Lack of job satisfaction
Lack of control over the working day
Having to work long hours
Frustration with the working environment
Targets

TOP TEN COLLEAGUE IRRITATIONS
Seeing others not pulling their weight
Managers changing their minds about what they want doing
Lack of support from managers
Pressure from managers
Feeling put-upon by managers
Interruptions by colleagues
Interruptions by managers
Bullying behavior by managers
Lack of support from colleagues
Bullying behavior by colleagues

I just came back from a much needed three weeks vacation. The transition form a stressful lifestyle to a stress-free lifestyle is incredible.
Here are some of what I learned and did on my vacation.

• The longer the better: Save your vacation days and take them all at once. Try to make your vacation as long as possible. Moreover; when working overtime, take lieu time instead of overtime pay whenever possible.
• A new start: Try to book your vacation in between the end of your current project and the start of your next project. This way you will be back fresh and relaxed to start a new project.
• Take care of your health: Most people put off seeing their doctor because appointments are usually during work hours, and seeing the doctor always seems to be a low priority task.
  • See your family doctor for a general check up.
  • See your dentist, most likely it has been a long time since your last check up.
  • See your optometrist, if you are feeling those strained eyes, you might be due for a new pair of glasses.
  • Sleep as much as possible.
  • Eat well and while on vacatioun learn to cook few healthy meals.
  • If you are not athletically active; then start while on vacation. Jogging and squash are my favorites. You will have enough time to sleep off that tough first week.
• Disconnect yourself from work: Leave your work’s laptop, PDA and cell phone at work if possible. Make sure you have a back up person that knows enough about your projects to answer most questions while you are on vacation. The main idea here is to do whatever possible to avoid being called while on your vacation.
• Blog break: Take a break from blogging and reading blogs. This way you will have fresh prospects in your blogging when you come back.
• Time to think: Think about your future and what you want form life. Is your job satisfactory? Do you want to go back to school? Etc.

Please feel free to share your vacation tips with me in the comments section.