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Showing posts from 2011

Pacific Bell, Facebook and Glynn Granger

If you had voice mail from Pacific Bell or SBC in the late 1990's or early 2000's you may have talked to Glynn Granger. If you did you probably would remember the call. From his cheerful opening greeting to his unmistakeable laugh ( Ha..Ha..Ha ) to his determination to correct whatever problem you had, Glynn was an icon at the San Ramon center. While at the Dublin library over a week ago, I ran into a former co-worker and after sharing stories about what other PacBell alumni were doing, Glynn's name came up. On a spur of the moment we decided to see if he was on Facebook and there he was, in living color. Wow, we thought he's accepting friends, so we clicked on the button and waited for the reply. About a day later I saw that "red number one" on messages, clicked it and saw Glynn's photo. I can't tell you how happy I was to read what he had to say. When the first few words were, "John, this is Ralph, Glynn's son," I can't

On Michelle and Sarah

I wonder how much airtime Michele Bachmann would get if she didn't look the way she does. In other words, good looking. I wonder how much of Sarah Palin's political appeal arises from her physical appeal. Which is appealing I think Michele Bachmann (R-MN) is pretty. I think that Sarah Palin is pretty, too. I'm not saying they're smokin' hot babes. I'd reserve that for someone younger, like Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly. If I were in my 20s, I suppose that having any corporeal thoughts at all about these women would be, as the kids say, ewwww. But from my boomer perspective, they're real lookers. I don't remember Bella Abzug getting all this attention.

Pizza and art are a good mix

If you are like the majority of people you go to a pizza restaurant for the food, beverages and maybe the location and service. Lanesplitter Pizza and Pub in Berkeley besides having such interesting pizza combos such as the Heartstopper, the Chopper and the Splitter has added a new service to the menu. Rather to the wall. For the past six years they have added artwork, paintings and other exhibits to the already cozy atmosphere inside. Their manager Chloe said they have been showcasing a variety of local and up and coming artists who normally do not have a chance to display their talents at galleries and similar venues. The artist has the entire month to showcase their work on the walls of Lanesplitter's and it provides a unique diversion from the usual television screens and video games one gets accustomed to. Plus you can learn something new from the exhibits. For the month of March the artist who is showing their paintings is Jesse Berger. "We like an idea what type of

Those credit card annual fees

Mitchell of San Leandro was notified recently that next month his Wells Fargo credit card which he has had over 20 years was now going to hit him with a $45 annual fee. Banks describe this annual fee as a a yearly charge for basically the convenience of having a credit card. "I was out of work for a bit, so I had to charge my credit card," he said. "Now I have to pay that yearly fee on top of the interest because I need to keep the card." If your credit card decides to charge you an annual fee, they are required by federal law to notify you 45 before it becomes effective. You can reject the fee by opting out and closing your account, but this could possibly hurt your credit score. David Lazarus of the LA TImes wrote about Bank of America charging one customer $59 for their annual fee. "I feel like an indentured servant," Sue Laman told Lazarus. "But what can I do? I can't refuse their annual fee. They know I have no choice except to pay.&q

Visual CV provides resumes with your photo

Visual CV provides your resume with your photo. take a look. http://www.visualcv.com/users/237152-jvswag/cvs/279500/edit

We all need jobs, don't we

Looking for and landing a position seems to be tougher than ever. Sending out resumes in the "black hole" for job postings can make you weary. Trying to locate a job in the "hidden job market" means getting past rocks, firewalls or gatekeepers. With the current economy not showing much change, sometimes it helps to come up with a different and unique approach to landing a job. There was the sandwich board guy in New York who was featured on CNN. Some places like schools, churches and groups have started reverse job fairs. Howard Friedenberg decided to take matters into his own hands. Specifically to a website and to BART. He and a group of job seekers in the East Bay have set up a website www.weallneedjobs.com and have put themselves on a billboard banner at a Bart Station. Actually four banners at four stations up and down the East Bay. The billboard has their photos on it, the website address and is worded to draw your attention. This isn't your typical buy ou

Welcom to Kable Kon, this is McBug

Welcome to Kable Kon, this is McBug, how may I help you? “Yes, I’m having a problem with my cable reception.” “Oh, sorry to hear that; what kind of problem are you having?” “You mean you don’t know?” “Uh, no, I don’t know. I can’t see your tv. In order to assist you I need you to first tell me what the problem is.” “I thought you people could see into my Kable box.” “Well, no, we can’t do that.” “But you can see into my modem.” “Well, yes, we can do that.” “Why can you see into my modem but not my Kable box?” “Er, well, I don’t know. I guess we have a different relationship with your modem than we do with your Kable box. So, could you tell me what problem you are having?” “Yes, all I see is snow. Green snow.” “Oh, green snow. OK. You’re probably on the wrong tv input and you more than likely have a video input plugged into an audio jack or an audio input plugged into a video jack or you may have an audio input plugged into a video jack and a video input plugged into an audio jack.” “Wh

AOL buying Huffington Post

Internet company AOL Inc. famous for it "you've got mail," and local patch news sites is buying online news hub Huffington Post in a $315 million deal that represents a bet on the future of online news. Huffington Post grew quickly from startup to online giant. Over time, it launched city-specific pages and developed a roster of sections such as food and books. The work of its 70-person paid staff is augmented by content from news outlets and 6,000 bloggers who write for free. In a blog post about the deal, Arianna Huffington praised AOL's vision. She wrote that the deal was signed at the Super Bowl in Dallas.

VP says hang in there

Well it looks like we have a new phrase from the vault to add to the 21st century. Hang in there. According to Wikipedia: Hang in there, was a popular catch phrase made by a motivational poster. The poster featured a picture of a small kitten, hanging on to a tree branch. It has since become a popular relic of the 1970s. A copy of the poster was famously presented to former Vice President Spiro Agnew by 100 of his supporters in Congress when he was under pressure to resign in 1973. Now we have another VP connecting with the phrase.As part of the Obama Administration’s social media outreach this week, Vice President Joe Biden sat down with Yahoo! News’ Anna Robertson for a wide-ranging interview that included questions from sent in from internet users Biden said that while the economy is starting to grow, he understands there it is still painful for the millions of Americans still looking for work. “The message is "hang in there,” he said. “Things are coming back.” That

Entry level jobs ?

A article titled "Ten Top entry level jobs" was on the aol. job section recently. The list seemed to stretch what is really considered an "entry level job." Here are the positons they listed with the salary. 1. Investment Banking Analyst. $73,000. 2. Assistant Actuarial Analyst. $54,000 3. Junior Tax Associate. $53,000 4. Pharmaceutical Sales Representative. $51,00 5. Auditor. $49,000 6. Wind Turbine Technician. $49,000 7. Health Care Research Analyst. $47,000 8. Search Engine Optimization Analyst. $44,000 9. Forensic DNA Analyst. $41,000 10. Law Research Analyst. $40,000 Source: All salary data is from PayScale.com. The salaries listed are median, annual salaries for full-time workers with 5-8 years of experience and include any bonuses, commissions or profit sharing. Every job required a degree in the field. A high percentage of people looking today most likely would not fit the bill for the positions. Is there such a thing as a w

Five questions to ask, five questions not to ask at interviews

The interview has just about wrapped up. You are interested in the position and the interviewer pops this question at you ? Do you have any questions for me ? Well, you should have several. 1. What is the biggest challenge in this job? You want to know what you will be asked to do. Come up with a reply to how you handled a similar challenge. 2. What do you enjoy about working here? This is a chance to find out about the culture and people there. It may be in line with what you seek with a company. 3. Is this a new position or a replacement? If you are replacing someone, see if they were promoted or let go. If it's a new position, they may seek your input on job responsibilities. 4. What kind of supervision will I have? Will someone check in with you now and then or will you be required to punch in and out throughout the day. 5. When will you make a decision? This will show you are interested in the position. They should tell you in a few weeks or the end of the month