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I’m a complete freak for organizational tools. I don’t subscribe to a particular system (such as Franklin Covey, which my friend Rick has mastered), but I do give a lot of thought to ease of use and effectiveness, especially as compared to slickness and coolness.
So I was a little too excited at running across D.I.Y. Templates, which features a directory of To Do List templates. They range from the quirky (the note card template seen here) to more complicated layouts that include daily or weekly timelines and checkboxes. There are forms for work stuff, finances, money, blah and even blahblahblahblah (spoken quickly).
Read more »
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Remember about 5 years ago when everyone was all abuzz about the new “Do Not Call ” Registry? You signed up and it prevented telemarketers from getting your information and calling you. Great idea, and for the most part it worked. If you are still receiving what you believe to be are telemarketer calls, well that is probably because you have done business with the company, they can retain your number and harass you for up to 18 months after the initial business was conducted.
Anyway, when you initially signed up for the National Do Not Call Registry it was for a 5 year period, and those 5 years are just about to elapse (well if you signed up during the first year at least). It might not be a bad idea to head on over to their website and re-sign up for the registry to keep your cell phone and home phone telemarketer free for the next 5 years, or you can simply call them at 1-888-382-1222.
Oh and if you feel like you have still been getting telemarketers calling and it was unrelated to something you purchased (and your name is on the registry) you can report them and they will receive a fine up to $11,000 (though charitable organizations, political or survey work are all exempt).
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Does anyone else remember the commercial from the 80’s for Heshey’s chocolate milk? Basically the gist of it was that Chocolate Milk Came from a chocolate cow. Well, now when folks ask where low-fat milk comes from, apparently a valid answer actually will be “from a low-at cow.”
Fonterra, the # 1 dairy exporter, and ViaLactia, “a leader in global biotechnology-based products, services and technologies for the dairy industry,” have issued a press release about Marge, a cow they have with a genetic mutation that produces milk with only 1% fat (regular, good old fashioned cows produce milk with 3.5% fat). Not only does the milk have less fat in it, but according to the head research scientist, Dr. Russell Snell ““Her milk is also reduced in saturated fatty acids and higher in omega 3 fatty acids, while butter made from her milk is spreadable straight from the fridge.”
And being that all of these changes are “naturally occurring” there is no worries about hormones or any of that stuff effecting the milk or the drinker.
While it is going to be a while before Marge’s milk (or her offspring’s milk… some of them also have this trait) hit the market, Dr. Snell says: “This kind of research is a great example of the benefits of belonging to an integrated co-operative with farmers and scientists working together.” That would probably be because Fonterra ows ViaLactia… He did say they are working on figuring out how to best use the information they have attained “for the benefit of all Fonterra shareholders.”
Still, naturally occurring Low-Fat Milk… Kind of cool.
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I have a friend who, prior to getting his BlackBerry, was a huge fan of Jott.
We’d be out and I’d mention an event to him or something coming up and he would call Jott and have an email sent to himself to remind him about it.
Jott is like that personal assistant you wish you had. Basically you call the service, tell them who you want to Jott (you, of course, register all of this infoirmation oline before hand) and then just speak your message into the phone. Your message is then transcribed and emailed to which ever account you have registered. Jott yourself and when you get back home or back to work and check your email you have a message telling you to remember to pick up your Dry Cleaning today (well, if that is the message you sent yourself in the first place at least).
If you feel like you are always forgetting things and don’t have an assistant to keep you on the ball or a PDA well then Jott might just be a great idea for you. If you do have an assistant and are still forgetting hose important things, well then maybe it is time to start looking for a new assistant. Oh, did I mention that it is also currently free?
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As of last week in fact, and with summer has come summer weather. We are hitting the 80s and 90s on a regular basis now with lots of sun (and, well some haze too, but that is to be expected in NYC). There are some folks out there, sitting at their desk right now wishing they could just get out, go outside and enjoy this warm weather somewhere nice as opposed to under the harsh fluorescent lighting that they are regularly exposed to.
Well, for all you folks with laptops and WiFi cards (ok, does anyone still own a laptop without one these days?) there is hope:
The Parks Department has posted a map showing which parks are wired and up and running now for a wireless connection.
There is also NYC Wireless Supernode, a company providing free wireless connections throughout the city through nodes. They have a map up as well showing you were they have hotspots and which are currently up and running.
So, gather all of those important papers together, grab that laptop case, check out one of the maps, and get yourself out into the open, spend the day soaking up some sun while you work from outside the office. What a concept, once I get a battery pack for my office iMac maybe I’ll be able to heave it to a park and enjoy some of these sunny days this summer too.
