Monthly Archives: November 2003

DAMNED LIES AND STATISTICS

Two recent editorials by economists suggest that private sector accountants aren’t the only ones tempted to inflate and misstate the numbers to please their bosses: US Unemployment Rate is Actually 8% An economist at the University of Chicago argues that … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works | 8 Comments

WINTER COMES TO CALEDON

Posted in Creative Works | 6 Comments

THE JOYS OF UXGA

My new laptop has an upgrade called a UXGA screen. I’m told this gives you 25% more pixels to the inch (50% more per square inch), which results in a crisper, more legible picture. This has three consequences that I’ve … Continue reading

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | 2 Comments

THE FOURTH TURNING

You would think I would like, or even find vindication in, a book that predicts an imminent ecological holocaust. After all, that’s what the hundreds of scientists who developed and urged passage of the Kyoto Accord did. And my articles … Continue reading

Posted in Our Culture / Ourselves | 4 Comments

CAP GEMINI ON MEASURING INNOVATION

A few years ago, the Centre for Business Innovation at Cap Gemini published a study called Measures that Matter, which indicated that, more than any other factor (and they looked at management skill, brand recognition, product quality and customer satisfaction), … Continue reading

Posted in Working Smarter | Comments Off on CAP GEMINI ON MEASURING INNOVATION

TEN THINGS

Ten Things I Love About Americans They’re doers. When they’ve decided to do something, they do it. No pissing around. No foot-dragging. They’re honest. Straight goods. Face value. They’re friendly. They talk to strangers, and love to help. They’re risk-takers. … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works | 23 Comments

UNDERSTANDING TRACKBACK AND COMMENT NOTIFICATION

I‘ve read a half dozen “layman’s” explanations of trackback, and I confess I still didn’t really understand it until yesterday. I also somehow thought it was connected to comment notification, which it isn’t. For those as befuddled as I was, … Continue reading

Posted in Using Weblogs and Technology | 7 Comments

HANDY’S ‘TINY CENTRE’: A FEDERATION OF ALL THE WORLD’S INDEPENDENT BUSINESSPEOPLE?

I‘ve now finished Charles Handy’s Age of Unreason and Age of Paradox. They were both written a little over a decade ago, and the thinking in them is dated, almost quaint, coming as it did before the dot com boom … Continue reading

Posted in Working Smarter | 5 Comments

HOLIDAY WISHES

Each year I put together a crossword puzzle to include with our Christmas cards. For those that have the time and inclination, you can print out and solve this year’s edition below. The answers are here. Across 1    Card game … Continue reading

Posted in Creative Works | 2 Comments

TERRORISM IS A REACTION, NOT AN ACTION

There has been a lot of pleading lately, from people across the political spectrum, for Democrats and liberals to ‘develop a real policy to deal with terrorism’. In the absence of this, the argument goes, every terrorist act plays into … Continue reading

Posted in How the World Really Works | 12 Comments