Hump Day Art

US Loses Big Time

Attacks on businesses and consumers are a blight on the economy, with criminals foreign and domestic using the Internet to steal identities, intellectual property, trade secrets and just about anything else they can get their hands on. 

A new economic model (above) developed at a prominent D.C. think tank puts the cost to the U.S. economy as high as $100 billion annually, with a corresponding loss of as many as half a million jobs. 

The report, released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and written by James Lewis and Stewart Baker, two old hands in the Washington cybersecurity policy discussion, offers a quantitative approach based on data from the Commerce Department and analogous losses from activities such as car crashes, piracy and other losses and crimes. 

The authors explain: "One way to think about the costs of malicious cyber activity is that people bear the cost of car crashes as a tradeoff for the convenience of automobiles; similarly they may bear the cost of cybercrime and espionage as a tradeoff for the benefits to business of information technology." 

The report, sponsored by security software vendor McAfee, eschews survey data, which the authors say is flawed because respondents "self-select," and businesses often either conceal or do not realize the full extent of the losses from a cyber attack. 

"We believe the CSIS report is the first to use actual economic modeling to build out the figures for the losses attributable to malicious cyber activity," Mike Fey, executive vice president and CTO at McAfee, said in a statement. 

"As policymakers, business leaders and others struggle to get their arms around why cybersecurity matters, they need solid information on which to base their actions." 

Cybersecurity is the subject of a long-running policy debate in Congress, with lawmakers divided over what role the government should play in setting and enforcing security standards for critical infrastructure operators in the private sector.   Read more:

Forgers Know No Boundaries

A museum in China has a problem. It seems to have a few fakes in its vast collection. Well, as many as 40,000. Everything it owns may be nothing more than a mass of crude forgeries.

Wei Yingjun, a consultant to the Jibaozhai Museum in Jizhou, about 150 miles south of Beijing, insists the situation is not that bad. He is "quite positive" that 80 or even more pieces out of tens of thousands in the museum are authentic. 

Beijing Museum

In spite of this sterling defence, regional authorities in Hebei province have closed the museum amid a national scandal driven by some very free speech on China's internet. One online satirist suggested it should reopen as a museum of fakes – "If you can't be the best, why not be the worst?"

Maybe that's a good idea. All museums have a couple of fakes in their collections. Sometimes they own up to them, sometimes they put any dubious artifacts in a dark storeroom – and sometimes they don't know. But a collection that its accusers claim is entirely inauthentic is in its way a masterpiece of museology.

It's not like Jibaozhai is a small museum – it has 12 vast halls and cost 60 million Yuan (about £6m) to build, opening its doors in 2010 during a culture boom that is seeing about 100 museums open every year across China. Unfortunately, it's hard to fill that many museums, and China also has a prolific faking industry. Art factories export low-cost fake Rembrandt and Van Goghs, while antique shops are full of eye-fooling replicas of classical Chinese art.

In one of his provocative works, Ai Weiwei smashes what appears to be a priceless historic vase. He is drawing attention to modern China's uneasy relationship to its long cultural past. This is a land with a continuous art tradition going back to prehistoric times – yet this creative past was severed from the present by the revolution of the 20th century. Surely the demand for museums across China reflects a desire to reconnect with a great heritage. The museum of fakes may be an absurd side-effect. But the angry and precise criticism that exposed it is a triumph of citizenship.

10 Tips for Success, continued

Part 3

6.  Hidden Rules or Agendas

These hidden rules/agendas are perhaps the most insidious aspect of the business world and are indeed not a new phenomenon but have been around for years, and are definitely not taught in our business schools, because they are never "on the books" as the saying goes.

Hidden Rules are never written down in policies or SOPs but strongly influence one's ability to be promoted when violated.  It could be as simple as telling your boss what he/she wants to hear or looking the other way when ethics are violated or simple maintaining the status quo rather than looking for a fresh approach.  It could losing to your boss when recreational games are played are voting with your boss when decisions need to be made.

Whatever these rules are, you need to discover them as quick as possible and not learn them the hard way.

Another issue is having an understanding that most everyone has a hidden agenda regarding their employment.  It might be doing whatever they have to do to get to the top or under mining a project because they want another project to look better.  It might simply be someone who needs experience to move on and has no company loyalty or someone who is getting ready to retire in a couple of years and does not want to rock the boat.

Discover as quick as you can these hidden agendas.

7.  Secure a Mentor

The fastest way to secure one's position is to identify a mentor and determine if he/she  is willing to take you as their protégé.  This person is ranked high in the company, should be well respected by all, and in a position to help you or a person of both title and influence.

It is equally important to make sure your mentor is not currently engaged in any territorial battles or power struggles to keep their positions in tact, or if they are that there is a high degree of probability they will win and pull you through the fire with them.

Securing the right mentor could take as long as 3-5 years and the average company tenure is 5-7 years as most people change jobs about 6-8 times during a 40 year career.

8.  Communicate Well

Just being a "slick talker" may gain you temporary short term benefits but you will soon be perceived as an "oily" used car salesman who offers nothing of substance or value.

Being able to present well is absolutely critical only marginally impacted by "piss poor" Powerpoint slides regarding graphics; however, there must be no spelling errors or grammatical errors of any kind.

And, when you are orally communicating, you better make sure you have perfect subject/verb agreement.  In other words, you don't want to use the word "ideal" when you mean "idea," nor do you want to say "I seen" when you mean "I saw" or "I have seen."

10 Tips for Success, part 4 will be posted on Thursday, August 1, 2013

Carlos Danger and His Secret Sex Bunker

by Laura Heffner

The title of this blog sounds like a title of adult animated series that you would find on FX or Adult Swim.  Or a complete joke but either way Anthony Weiner has made an absolute dick of himself.  And a fool of his wife to whom he seems to blame for his marital problems which prompts him to sex chat with a girl young enough to be his daughter.  

All the late night talk show hosts have jumped on this new development with one writing a cleverly humorous song about Carlos Danger.  That moniker alone just shows America and New York just what a fool this man is.  Though I am not necessarily advocating divorce, I think his wife needs to kick this man to the curb.  He has made a fool of her publicly over and over.  If anyone would have any mind to put him in any office other than janitor, they are obviously living in the fantasy world Weiner was and probably still is. Maybe this time he will be Pierre Peril.   He doesn't seem to appear to think his actions are really all that inappropriate because in his own words, it really depends on what your definition of what inappropriate means.

The general opinion though of Huma is that she stays because she is a power hungry political climber who idolizes Hillary Clinton.  Though I can't speak for her and really have never followed anything she has done, I just wonder if she wanted to climb the political ladder, why hook her ladder to such an obviously dysfunctional   man who can't keep it in his pants and obviously likes to snap shots of his privates.  Why not climb herself and leave him behind?  I think the day and time when a man needs a woman for something such as this has been over for many years.  Maybe she takes Hillary's counsel and doesn't think for herself.  I never could understand why Hillary stayed with Clinton after the Lewinsky debacle.  I suppose it has to do with ratings and polls rather than self-respect.  

Either way, this whole situation is ridiculous.  I hope New York turns their back on this goofball and invites someone with a little bit of sense into the ring. Someone who isn't looking to rent a "secret sex bunker" in Chicago and calls himself Carlos Danger... I wonder if he had a cape embroidered with "CD" for some of his escapades?  Okay, I take that back.  I don't really want to know after all.   

In The Clouds

On a Star Trek (left) episode back in 1969 entitled The Cloud Minders, a planet named Memory Alpha was depicted in which all the intellectuals and artists lived in Stratos, a utopian, floating city in the clouds while the rest of the inhabitants toiled in mines on the plant below.

In a very similar way, much of what we do today happens in “the cloud;” although, I cannot help but remember a comment we used to say as teenagers,

“…you have your head (implying nose as well) so high up in the air (clouds) that if it rained, you would drown…”

While it is doubtful the above statement will ever happen, we must be mindful of how advances in technology have and will continue to control our lives.

I am a “paper” kinda guy and it was very difficult for me to go “paperless” but now, using “track changes,” I cannot imagine myself ever going back to paper again…  especially to grade papers.

I am also a PC desktop kinda guy as it allows me to feel as though I am still living in a brick and mortar work.  However, I have recently discovered that I no longer need to increase the size of my HDD (Hard Disk Drive) because all I needed was to purchase an external HDD with a USB connection.

And, when I thought it could not get any better, the “flash” drive was invented that can hold 8-10 gigs of data and can easily slip into one’s shirt pocket as most of us are well aware.

Nowadays, it is “trendy” to use either the IPAD or the Android Tablet and we no longer have a need for a desktop PC with an external HDD or flash drive because we store all our data “in the cloud,” like the dwellers of Stratos with the added protection of data encryption.

Recently, I have become a Tablet/Cloud kinda guy and remain forever mindful of not looking up into the clouds too long in case it rains.

Myths and Mythologies

In the words of Deepak Chopra, I was brought up in India, a land that is imbued with a living mythology. Very early on in my childhood, it was my mother who told me that the word “inspiration” literally meant to be in spirit. The spirit, in turn, was the spirit of God, who breathed into the dust of the earth and animated it with consciousness. The most fundamental factor of existence, then, became the awareness or consciousness of existence.

 

Since it was impossible to imagine God as an infinite being, our collective consciousness used symbols to express divinity. These symbols were literally the gods and goddesses in our mythical stories. Long before I became aware of Joseph Campbell and “The Power of Myth”, I was already deeply immersed in the stories of these magnificent mythological beings who had supernormal powers that went beyond human capacities. Everyday my mother would read to me and my younger brother Sanjiv stories from the Mahabharata and Ramayana, the Indian epics equivalent to the Odyssey and Iliad. Here I learned of the great archetypal energies of Saraswati, the goddess of wisdom, Lakshmi, the goddess of abundance, Krishna, the cosmic alchemist, Ganesh, remover of obstacles.

 What is interesting here is that all cultures and I mean all cultures have myths and mythologies around which their culture, language, rites and rituals, and values are built. 

 

As I grew up,  Chopra continues, I was immersed also in the lives of mythical characters in our own times: Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mother Theresa. Their stories and their lives were extraordinary not only because they were great storytellers, but they actually lived their stories.

Several years ago, I listened to an audiobook entitled:  Don’t Know Much About Mythology by Kenneth C. Davis, and what I found out was that in ALL these different mythologies from ALL over the world, similar myths about creation, virgin birth, a great flood, afterlife, were part of their belief system, even though they may have used different words to describe the person or the event.

HOW CAN THIS BE?

It is this question that I have asked myself over and over and over again because my upbringing taught me that the great flood described in The Holy Bible took place (I guess I had assumed) on in that region…  so, how could a great flood also be described in the mythologies of South America and Australia?

This really does beg the question as to the truth and validity of all the myths and mythologies that we were lead to believe were exclusively our own…

But, on the other side of the coin, if these events happened all over the globe then one might just have a tendency to believe that they are TRUE…  for a race of people, not just a few…  and, was this not the point of Gandhi, Mandela, King, and Theresa?

Sunday Funnies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Caturday

Now what?

T. G. I. F. Solitude

Need a hobby?

CELEBRATION

Happy

B'day

Mick

Jagger

70, and still going strong...

Earning Taxes the Old Fashioned Way

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or Fatca, is forcing millions of Americans living abroad to reconsider their U.S. citizenship, a lawyer, Colleen Graffy, writes in the Wall Street Journal.

"The legislation is Fatca, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. To appreciate its breathtaking scope along with America's unique "citizen-based" tax practices, imagine this: You were born in California, moved to New York for education or work, fell in love, married and had children. Even though you have faithfully paid taxes in New York and haven't lived in California for 25 years, suppose California law required that you also file your taxes there because you were born there. Though you may never have held a bank account in California, you must report all of your financial holdings to the State of California. Are you a signatory on your spouse's account? Then you must declare his bank accounts too. Your children, now adults, have never been west of the Mississippi but they too must file their taxes in both California and New York and report any bank accounts they or their spouses may have because they are considered Californians by virtue of one parent's birthplace," Graffy explains.

"Extrapolate that example to the six million U.S. citizens living around the globe. Many, if not most, don't know about these requirements. Yet they face fines, penalties and interest for not complying—even if they owe no U.S. taxes, own no U.S. property, have no U.S. bank account and haven't lived there in years—if ever.

A particularly alarming aspect of Fatca is that it seeks to co-opt foreign banks as long-arm enforcement agencies of the Internal Revenue Service—even when it might contravene that country's own privacy or data-protection laws. If financial institutions don't report U.S. citizens holding accounts with them, these institutions face a 30% withholding tax on securities transactions that originate in the U.S."

Graffy argues that because of the difficulty in following this law -- it's easier and more attractive for Americans abroad to simply renounce their U.S. citizenship. "Given this threat, why allow an American, or even suspected American, to bank with you? The reporting costs, and the consequences of a mistake, are too onerous."

And sometimes those Americans perhaps feel that they don't have much of a choice. "Foreign financial institutions trying to avoid these new requirements have two alternatives: to drop American clients, or don't invest in the U.S. Neither scenario benefits America."

Graffy herself lives in London.

Tips for Success, continued



3.  Put work first       

There is an unwritten “rule of thumb” an unspoken policy (so to speak) that all employees, especially those in the ranks of management or white collar, that WORK comes first.  Upper Management does not really care how you prioritize the rest of your life away from work, but they (your employer) comes first.  Management is not concerned so much with missed birthdays of children or anniversary or even holidays, including religious as it is nothing personal, it is just business.  This is especially true for those who cater to the customer at nights and on the weekends or 24/7 as the saying goes.

Rather than try and fight this battle, you must either assume that this is simply the way it is going to be or accept the trade-off of a lesser position at a lesser company for a lesser amount of compensation.  It is possible for some to put family first but they are the exception and not the rule.

 

4.  Know when/when not to speak one's mind

According to the First Amendment (Bill or Rights) of the US Constitution, Americans have “Freedom of Speech,” and while that is a nice thing to have (many in the world today do not have this), it does not apply in the workplace.  However, some companies do accept their employees playing the “devil’s advocate” role but even that can get carried too far and jeopardize one’s employment.

All employees have to be careful during the first 6-18 months of their employment because they are basically still on probation, but even after their probationary period is over, one must be very careful what one says and one must also be aware that this varies with position or title and among various people.

 

All companies have “grapevines” about which employees should be aware and it is there that you will discover when you can talk freely and when you cannot and to whom speaking freely is possible.  However, one should assume the default position is play your comments “close to your vest” as you would your cards when playing poker.

5.  Be consistent

Not being consistent is not the same thing as “straddling the fence,” which is another error many Executives make for fear of being wrong.  Mistakes happen and you will have an opportunity to learn from your mistakes so that you don’t make the same mistake twice which is the real “sin.”  But, being consistent comes about when one is self-aware, and don’t confuse this with being self-confident or having self-respect because awareness is knowing one’s strengths and weaknesses so well that situational action become instinctive.

For instance, if you are going to “pad” your annual budget by 10% do so by that amount all the time – do not vary from 5% one year to 15% the next year so that you average 10% as that makes it difficult for Upper Management to plan accurately and that inconsistency could get you “fired.”

Treat all employees equally even though different employees will have different needs, all will know that you are treating them the same.  Try not to have “favorites,” because that undermines being consistent; however, there will be some who will be your “go to” people and the others will also know who they are and if you fairly distribute incentives then that consistency will outweigh everything else.

Tips for Success, Part 3 on July 30, 2013

Another Reason to Not Like Amusement Parks

by Laura Heffner

Rosy Esparza got on the Texas Giant the Six Flags over Texas for the last roller coaster ride of her life.  Unfortunately for her son, who was seated next to her, he watched as she fell from the coaster to her death.  As witnesses say, she had been concerned about her lap bar being secure.  Though details are sketchy, there were plenty of witnesses as she fell 75-feet to her death. 

When I clicked on several of the articles at different news sites to see if I could garner information and details from different sources, the same picture of Rosy (Rosa) was in each article.  Rosy was a bigger built lady and it made me think of my last time I visited an amusement park.  Being larger built, I avoided some rides as you pretty much had to be squeezed into the ride's seat.  I've never been a huge fan of roller coasters and scary rides.  When I gained weight, I was even less enthused as it seemed I too wondered if the lap bar would hold.

Maybe my fears were not unfounded.  Maybe her lap bar had failed or not actually engaged.  I do not know about the intricate physics that is most likely involved in making sure that the cars stay on the tracks for a roller coaster.  I'm sure the cars can only be a certain size and with so many of us now of larger  girths, are we overloading the systems?  Or is it just that an employee did not do their job and make certain the lap bar was locked?  I know they walk along and pull up on the bars to check them, did they that time?  

S

Hopefully they look closer at their safety features, maybe that if not all the lap bars are securely locked the cars will not move.  Whatever the reason for Rosy to fall to her death in front of her son, Six Flags has been shutting down multiple coasters around their parks as a precaution until the cause has been discovered.  I feel for her son as this will be with him always.  

All I know is, I have another reason to not like amusement parks...  

Hump Day Art

Be Weather Wise - Take Shelter

Parents Want Mary Jane

A new survey released recently reveals that a majority of American parents support medical marijuana legalization, and nearly half support legalization for recreational use.

Perhaps more surprising is the unexpected author of the study: The Partnership at Drugfree.org, one of the harshest critics of drug use in the nation.

In the survey, titled "Marijuana: It's Legal, Now What?" the Partnership addresses the growing acceptance of marijuana in the country.

"With marijuana now legal for recreational use in Colorado and Washington State, for medical use in 18 states and the District of Columbia, and effectively decriminalized in 14 states, it's clear that society's approach to marijuana is changing dramatically," the authors wrote.

Seventy percent of respondents said they favor medical marijuana legalization, 52 percent favor marijuana decriminalization and 42 percent favor legalization for recreational use. The Partnership interviewed 1,603 adults, 1,200 of whom were parents of children ages 10 to 19.

Interestingly, support for each of the three legalization scenarios -- medical legalization, decriminalization and legalization for recreational use –- increased by anywhere from 3 to 11 percentage points when respondents were provided with more details explaining the meaning of each one.

While the survey may be seen as a sign that the Partnership is becoming a more progressive organization, some marijuana supporters view the move as a begrudging acceptance of an inevitable situation.

"This is a classic repositioning move from advocates who know they've badly lost an argument with the American people," Tom Angell, founder and chairman of the marijuana reform organization Marijuana Majority, said in an email. "It's great to see the Partnership conceding that marijuana legalization is no longer a matter of if and that the key question now is how marijuana will be regulated in the post-prohibition era."

Despite the growing acceptance of marijuana use in the nation, there was one area that did not see support from survey respondents: teen use. For example, in Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal, 85 percent of parents surveyed agreed that marijuana can have negative consequences on teen development.

Angell argued that if more people supported legalization, marijuana would be regulated in a safe and efficient way.

"A clear and growing majority of Americans support marijuana reform," he said. "I welcome those who unsuccessfully tried to stand in the way of progress to now do the mature, responsible thing by coming to the table to help craft regulations that will keep young people safer than prohibition ever could."