The number is actually 10, and comes from the bible. I was just reading an interesting article about this in the WSJ last week:
For thousands of years, Western society has insisted that it is better for 10 guilty defendants to go free than for one innocent defendant to be wrongly convicted. This daunting standard finds its roots in the biblical story of Abraham's argument with God about the sinners of Sodom.
Abraham admonishes God for planning to sweep away the innocent along with the guilty and asks Him whether it would be right to condemn the sinners of Sodom if there were 10 or more righteous people among them. God agrees and reassures Abraham that he would spare the city if there were 10 righteous. From this compelling account, the legal standard has emerged.
The jab at General Motors was unnecessary, and does nothing to prove your point, as they are not a monopoly.
GM *is* the largest automobile seller, both in North America and world wide! Currently GM sells 1 in every four vehicles sold in the United States -- Toyota sells 16%. While it is true that GM no longer has 60% of the market share (when there were concerns about a monopoly,) that is really an unfair comparison, as the market wasn't as diversified as it is today. And take a look at Japan's very closed domestic market and manipulation of the yen some time -- the Japenese government isn't exactly playing fair.
I write and receive "friendly letters" rather often. Email is fine and all, but there are some times when only a letter will do -- especially when the person you want to communicate with doesn't have email. For instance, my niece lives on the other side of the country. When her family moved out there, she was only three. So I sent her letters every week to keep in touch. And she dictated letters to her mother to send to me. Twelve years later, we still write each other a few times a month. She just got an email account right before Christmas, but we still take the time to write real letters. There is nothing better than going to the mail box and seeing a letter addressed to you that is not an ad or a bill!
Plus, it allows me to indulge in my stationery habit. Half of the drawers in my roll top desk are full of different writing paper for all occasions! I even go inside the post office to buy cool stamps for my letters. There are much cooler ones out there than the standard flags that help to make the envelopes more interesting.
Like everyone else, my inbox is flooded with spam, even though I only gave my address out to close friends/family. But my address is such that it can be easily guessed (first initial/last name.) To get around this, I was going to make my address some random string of alphanumeric charaters -- until it was pointed out that this is what spammers do and no one would read my mail.:(
We do this, but it is called "Dynamic Officing." Same idea, nicer name. Out of the 400 people who work in our department, nearly half are out of the office on any given day. We all have lap tops, cell phones, and 2 rolling filing cabinets. We "check in" to a desk in the morning. You keep the same desk everyday, until you are out of the office for more than 5 consecutive business days. At that time, they can reassign your cube.
As for personal affects out on the desk, they are allowed, as long at the stuff fits into one of your rolling cabinet drawers(in case you left your stuff out and they need to reassign.)
I like this idea. If I am in town, I have a usual spot to sit. When I am traveling, I don't care if someone sits in my cube, because I'm not there. I don't have to worry about calling in to check my voice mail, because I don't have a desk phone.
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The jab at General Motors was unnecessary, and does nothing to prove your point, as they are not a monopoly.
GM *is* the largest automobile seller, both in North America and world wide! Currently GM sells 1 in every four vehicles sold in the United States -- Toyota sells 16%. While it is true that GM no longer has 60% of the market share (when there were concerns about a monopoly,) that is really an unfair comparison, as the market wasn't as diversified as it is today. And take a look at Japan's very closed domestic market and manipulation of the yen some time -- the Japenese government isn't exactly playing fair.
I write and receive "friendly letters" rather often. Email is fine and all, but there are some times when only a letter will do -- especially when the person you want to communicate with doesn't have email. For instance, my niece lives on the other side of the country. When her family moved out there, she was only three. So I sent her letters every week to keep in touch. And she dictated letters to her mother to send to me. Twelve years later, we still write each other a few times a month. She just got an email account right before Christmas, but we still take the time to write real letters. There is nothing better than going to the mail box and seeing a letter addressed to you that is not an ad or a bill!
Plus, it allows me to indulge in my stationery habit. Half of the drawers in my roll top desk are full of different writing paper for all occasions! I even go inside the post office to buy cool stamps for my letters. There are much cooler ones out there than the standard flags that help to make the envelopes more interesting.
Like everyone else, my inbox is flooded with spam, even though I only gave my address out to close friends/family. But my address is such that it can be easily guessed (first initial/last name.) To get around this, I was going to make my address some random string of alphanumeric charaters -- until it was pointed out that this is what spammers do and no one would read my mail. :(
Long live Spam Assassin!!
We do this, but it is called "Dynamic Officing." Same idea, nicer name. Out of the 400 people who work in our department, nearly half are out of the office on any given day. We all have lap tops, cell phones, and 2 rolling filing cabinets. We "check in" to a desk in the morning. You keep the same desk everyday, until you are out of the office for more than 5 consecutive business days. At that time, they can reassign your cube.
As for personal affects out on the desk, they are allowed, as long at the stuff fits into one of your rolling cabinet drawers(in case you left your stuff out and they need to reassign.)
I like this idea. If I am in town, I have a usual spot to sit. When I am traveling, I don't care if someone sits in my cube, because I'm not there. I don't have to worry about calling in to check my voice mail, because I don't have a desk phone.