It has finally happened. The ridiculous has been ecstatically merged with the sublime. The North American Aerospace Defense Command now offers ongoing Christmas Eve data on Santa Claus’ round-the-world trek.
If you love social networking and weird online gadgetry and . . . and . . . and . . well, Santa Claus himself, then go ahead and check it out, the NORAD Santa website, with its extensions to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Google Earth, Flickr, and who knows how many other social sites. Using OnStar navigation and a subscription service, you can even get live “Santa” feeds on a GPS system.
Now, if your kid is internet savvy and also of the believing-in-Santa age (which is a right precocious combination but not unusual these days), you may have some trouble getting him or her out of the car on Christmas eve, as the GPS method is rumored to be the best one for actually tailing the famed North Pole resident. It’ll also become more and more difficult to explain the whole Santa concept in a believable way as your child goes online and sees some odd things, such as groups of hundreds of reveling “Santas” drinking heavily in the streets of various cities and “Santacons,” where, again, there are so many Santas, it will be tough to stick with the story about all of these folks being Santa’s helpers who are not exactly clones, but kind of clones, but not really.
NORAD also offers the Santa tracker as an iphone app. This all came about because as far as fifty years ago, NORAD actually started receiving phone calls from children who thought this agency would have the go-to guy to find out more about Santa’s whereabouts. Well, NORAD played ball and welcomed the calls. It evolved into today’s Santa tracker.
On the iphone app you can view a map detailing where the bearded old elf has (supposedly) been and when he is actually due to arrive at the next location. As far as I know, there is no indication of how many plates of cookies he has eaten, glasses of milk drunk, and so forth, but you know they’ll think of that next. As long as kids are curious and Santa remains the popular fellow he has always been (and as long as we as a culture can keep our sense of humor in the face of everything that assails us) there will be those who go that extra mile to keep the Santa myth alive.
A techy’s got to have some fun, after all.
In our investigation of Chu’s book, Thick Face, Black Heart, we have come to understand that winning is both a matter of self-confidence in the face of all odds and compassionate ruthlessness. Meaning doing what will achieve a compassionate goal, even if there is pain in the short term. Now we hit upon another concept that’ll help us get there, and that is the surprising power of negative thinking. That’s right. Negative thinking.
When discussing the idea of dharma—or duty with a view toward establishing balance—in the business world, it is inevitable that the subject of the disgruntled employee should come up. In Thick Face, Black Heart, Chu talks about this common dilemma: when one is duty-bound to serve a manager who is fool, then what do you do?
This time of year people are buying buying buying, so a lot of folks out there are thinking thinking thinking. That is, they’re thinking about how to take advantage of all this money changing hands and make a little extra cash. A small Christmas business can be a great sideline as well as a wonderful way to introduce your children to the concepts of business. It can also be a great way to practice what it would be like to go into business for yourself and to prepare for all the unforeseen difficulties, if you plan to go that route at some point in the future.
Let’s face it, most of us want to get away from the office when we socialize. We don’t really want to party in the office and don’t really have anything unique to say to our coworkers in a party setting. So when it comes time for that Christmas office party, many approach the thing with a feeling of impending doom. Sometimes these parties can even have long-ranging effects, with bosses expecting coworkers to display appropriate social skills and impress them with humor. Well, here are a few handy tips that will help you to survive the Christmas office party and, hopefully, use it to your best advantage.
When your online business includes a blog—and most successful businesses do—it is hard to ensure that it serves its purpose. You may be a great blogger, but not be able to draw in the clientele you hope for. Repeatedly you ask yourself why, but to no avail. SEO optimizing, offering excellent advice and teaching, and providing professional-level content all seem like great ideas, but if they are not paying off for you, then what? Here are a few ideas that could help you get on the right track with your blogs:
Information technology being what it is—a job that manipulates mostly digital information—many IT workers work from home. Techno-commuting and home-based businesses can be incredibly profitable ventures and provide a lot of ease for those who wish to work from home. Some home workers include:
In a recession, sometimes people can feel stuck in their jobs. Perhaps you wouldn’t even want to seek another position or make a horizontal move, but when there are so few jobs available, there is a sense that you don’t dare consider it. As a result, people sometimes lose their passion for their work. It no longer seems like something you choose to do, something that fascinates you, but something that you better do “or else!” But with the right mindset, you can overcome this loss of enthusiasm. It is important to remain passionate about what you do in order to improve your skills, enjoy your day, and build your reputation, so here are five tips to help you stay on top of your field and like it!
Security, in terms of both internet and intranet data sources and interfaces, is becoming a bigger issue every day. As more and more people face the results of identity theft, and more and more companies hire larger and larger IT departments to prevent such problems, the issue of passwords comes to the forefront.
Online security is of paramount importance these days, so choosing your password is something you should do with care and attention. The best, most secure, passwords follow these four guidelines:
