A Day in the Life...

Workplace anger -- who wins?

2007-08-03T10:46:00.001-07:00

As I begin my professional career it is important to remember the difference in perception people have of you in the workplace. As a woman (who doesn't particularly likes to yield) it is difficult to maintain a positive and professional reputation while also not becoming a pushover.

An article on CNN.com "Workplace anger -- who wins?" discusses a study that addressed the problems that women (in comparison to men) face in the workplace when expressing anger.

If you're anything like me (and majority of my girlfriends) I recommend you read this article ... perhaps it'll help you find a balance or simply prove that you're not crazy when you think there is still a very real "double standard" in the workplace.

Non-beverage alcohol in Russia

2007-06-15T09:32:00.000-07:00

According to BBC, 43% of men in Russia die from high alcohol consumption. Unfortunately this may not come as a surprise to some -- the Vodka stereotype comes to mind -- what may come as a surprise is the fact that men in Russia are drinking aftershave and cleaning agents!

According to the article aftershaves contain up to 97% alcohol and they're cheap... men who drank heavily or non-beverage alcohol (aka aftershave...) were six times more likely to die than men who did not drink at all or did not have a drinking problem. Life expectancy for men in Russia is 59, and 72 for women...

I am Russian and I constantly get the Vodka jokes -- but I guess it's not all laughs for some :(

Paris Hilton on BBC

2007-06-07T09:36:00.000-07:00

I realize that Paris Hilton is famous for being famous but I still don't see why her (not at all surprising) release from jail needs to end up on BBC's homepage ... b/c when I think important news I think Paris Hilton! Just a little disappointed...
Meanwhile, I'm glad the folks at the G8 summit are finally making nice over climate issues.

Hope for sex-boost slimming pill

2007-04-30T09:34:00.000-07:00

BBC is reporting that scientists are working on a new pill for women to not only boost's women's libido but decreases their appetite!!! Talk about killing two birds with one stone ... It'll take about 10 years to develop and get the pill to market but when it does maybe it'll create a new breed of women -- always ready and never hungry!

A bit of a downer but the article does mention that according to psychologists when women go off sex its mostly as a result of problems in the relationship rather than physiological issues ... just something to keep in mind...

Oh and the article has a really bad photo accompanying it.

My MC Commercial

2007-04-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

Replacing cell phone: $50
New student ID: $18
Bottle of Advil: $4
Doing the senior fountain run: Priceless!

Forbes Homepage

2007-04-26T09:14:00.000-07:00

I have a major issue with the Forbes homepage ... maybe it's just my computer but this is not really working for me ...

The strange existance of Ram Charan

2007-04-24T14:41:00.000-07:00

I am a bit of a Consulting buff. I am planning to go into IT consulting when I graduate USC and for the time being am planning to make a career of it. So it was no surprise that I got sucked into an article in by David Whitford in Fortune today about the (apparently) most influential consultant alive, Ram Charan.

It's a long article (for CNN), five full pages, and it's worth every word! I mean this guy is truly fascinating. He started college (in India) a the age of 15, went to Harvard Business School (graduated top 3% of his class), was a professor at a number of Universities before abandoning academia to pursue his passion of solving problems, aka consulting.

He never married, never had kids, he never even learned how to drive or bought his own place (until recently, although he is planning to move in "maybe never"). He lives out of hotels and airplanes. Rents an office in Dallas, TX (where he's never really been) and has his assistants FedEx him boxes with clothes and supplies to where ever he is in the world (and he's all over, trust me!)

If you have some time, and you are interested in reading a profile on a truly extraordinary (if at times peculiar) individual, read the article on the strange existence of Ram Charan.

Interpersonal skills important in the business world

2007-04-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

In case you're a business junkie like me but opted for a different major, say Communication, this should make you feel a little better about your choice.

According to an article in Fortune newly hired MBA's are said to be lacking interpersonal skills and more top-tier B-Schools are starting to offer communication, team-building, and leadership classes as part of the curriculum.

Home stretch

2007-04-23T13:24:00.000-07:00

So I am pretty much 2 weeks away from graduating and I am one of the lucky few to get half of my finals out of the way before finals week even starts. This privilege comes at a price though, which is having to study for two tests this week. So I will try to post some fun and interesting stuff this week, but it might be lame so I apologize in advance.

Back to studying now ... and preparation for excessive-graduation-related drinking

BMW M5 vs. BMW M6

2007-04-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Picture Order (top to bottom): M6, 5 Series, M5, 6 Series

So I have a bone to pick w/ BMW about the new M5 and M6 bodies. I realize that the M5's body is modeled after the 5 Series, which was fine, for last year's body. But now that the new 5 Series came out, it's much smaller than the older body and looks just like the 3 Series ... Granted it's more powerful, but why pay $20,000 more for a car that looks just like it's $35,000 model?? (Side note: The 3 Series Coupe is excluded from this entire conversation.)

Okay so now you look at the M6, which I LOVE b/c it's just the absolutely sexiest car EVER. It doesn't exactly beat out the Lambo -- it's just a different kind of sexy. Anyway, I digress.

So moving onto the M6, which is modeled after the 6 Series, which is totally fine b/c the 6 Series doesn't look like the 3 or 5 Series.

So why couldn't BMW just put a little more work into differentiating the 3 from the 5?? My life would be much easier b/c (although I wouldn't actually be able to buy either) I used to love the M5 and now I just want the $105,000 M6 -- see what you made me do BMW?! Maybe I just don't like the new 3 and 5 Series bodies ...

Pictures are on the left.

Meredith Brooks by Room Eleven

2007-04-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

If you're familiar with Meredith Brooks' "Bitch" song from back in the day, listen to the jazzy version by Room Eleven. Not sure yet how I feel about it ...

Wal-Mart back to #1

2007-04-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

CNNMoney.com
Wal-Mart is back on top pushing Exxon Mobil back to #2 of America's largest corporations ... Americans are officially spending all of their money on stuff and gas.

*Side note: Oil companies are the only companies I know of that hire accountants to deflate reported profits ...

Men never grow up

2007-04-13T21:22:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry but I had to share this as proof of men's infinite immaturity ...

Lame Blogging Week

2007-04-13T09:52:00.000-07:00

I might not be looking very hard but it seems that this week has been a really lame news week. No really interesting news or huge mess-ups ... other than maybe BBC putting Anna Nicole news on their homepage...

At any rate, I am hoping I find some interesting tidbit to post this week, but if I not I am sure next week will be much more interesting. Oh and in case you were wondering ... Comedy Central has really lame jokes on their site, example:
Q: What do you call a dog with no legs?
A: It doesn't matter, he's not going to come anyway.

If you want real entertainment watch the "Make Love not Warcraft" episode of South Park

It made it to BBC after all ...

2007-04-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

Anna Nicole's baby daddy decision made it to the front page of BBC News today ... I guess its somewhat newsworthy, but still, look at the other stories ...*sigh*
I have a question though, how come it takes months to do a paternity test for Anna's baby when Maury can figure out who the baby daddy is while the commercials are running?! Just wondering ...

Magic Flying Carpet or Mansion?

2007-04-06T09:19:00.000-07:00

CNNMoney.com
This might look like a mansion, but it's really a private Jet. Only took about $150M to decorate ... no biggie.

Alanis Morissette "My Humps" video

2007-04-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

I wish she'd put more energy into her own songs ... but this definitely has entertainment value. I have to say, with her voice, it actually sounds like a serious song. Watch it -- its pretty f***ing funny!!!

Donald gets to keep his hair

2007-04-02T09:12:00.000-07:00

SI.com

This seriously looks like a torture scene a little ... Trump is enjoying the shave WAY too much:

CNNMoney Tech Page

2007-03-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

I like it when major websites make mistakes...

Lamborghini Murciélago LP640 Roadster

2007-03-30T09:06:00.000-07:00

CNNMoney.com
Stats almost as impressive as the Bugatti ... but the Bugatti body doesn't hold a candle to the Murciélago... *sigh* I love Lamborghini...

Engine: V-12

Power: 640 hp

0-62 mph: 3.4 seconds

Torque: 486 foot-pounds

Max Speed: 205.1 mph

Price: $400,000

World's tallest man ties knot

2007-03-28T13:03:00.000-07:00

Wow ... so many questions ...

CNN.com
BEIJING, China (AP) -- After searching high and low, the world's tallest man has married a woman two-thirds his height, a Chinese newspaper reported Wednesday.

Bao Xishun, a 7-foot-9-inch (2.36-meter) herdsman from Inner Mongolia, married saleswoman Xia Shujian, who was 5 feet 6 inches (1.68 meters) tall, several days ago, the Beijing New reported.

Bao's 28-year-old bride is half his age and hailed from his hometown of Chifeng, even though marriage advertisements were sent around the world, it said.

"After a long and careful selection, the effort has been finally paid off," the newspaper said.

Bao was confirmed last year by the Guinness World Records as the world's tallest person.

Bao was in the news in December after he used his long arms to save two dolphins by pulling out plastic from their stomachs.

The dolphins got sick after nibbling on plastic from the edge of their pool at an aquarium in Liaoning province.

Attempts to use surgical instruments to remove the plastic failed because the dolphins' stomachs contracted in response to the instruments, Chinese media reported.

Watch 300 for free...

2007-03-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

I was out on my daily cruise of CNNMoney and what do I see on the homepage? Want to watch '300' for free? It's unbelievably easy

And so I click on it ... and lo and behold... they're right!!! I personally watched it on IMAX and I strongly recommend everyone doing that. But if you're simply interested in watching the movie w/o the amazing quality ... go to one of the sites the article recommends. The movie is posted in parts so it might be a little time-consuming ...

Personally though I say spend the $14 on the IMAX ticket and watch it properly ... the men in it are worth it!!!

Celebrities in Rehab

2007-03-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

So I was working on an assignment for a class, so naturally I was looking through Go Fug Yourself and Perez Hilton. And it wasn't so much the Go Fug Yourself posts (although the Janice Dickinson bit came very close...) but the Perez posts that made me wonder.

Why do all these celebrities keep checking into rehab? How much are they actually drinking? I mean I understand they have a lot of free time (and I know I tend to drink in my free time ...) but honestly, how much alcohol does a celebrity need to consume to be eligible to check themselves into rehab? And my following question is, what is the POINT of going to rehab for alcohol/drug use if the first thing they do once they're out is party??? Don't get me wrong, I've gone out sober once or twice ... but somehow I don't think they're lining up to be the DD for the night ...

Texas lawmaker offers choice: Abortion or $500

2007-03-23T21:31:00.000-07:00

I am not one to touch on controversial topics b/c I end up being the one getting into heated arguments, but I had to post this ... the law hasn't been approved or anything, but just the suggestion makes me livid!

For full article: CNN.com

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (Reuters) -- A Texas legislator has proposed that pregnant women considering abortion be offered $500 not to end their pregnancies.

Republican State Sen. Dan Patrick, who also is a conservative radio talk show host, said Friday the money might persuade the women to go ahead and have babies, then give them up for adoption.

He said during a legislative conference in New Braunfels, 45 miles south of Austin, there were 75,000 abortions in Texas last year.

"If this incentive would give pause and change the mind of 5 percent of those women, that's 3,000 lives. That's almost as many people as we've lost in Iraq," Patrick said.

Decongesting the West Side

2007-03-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

I share a car with my sister (until May) and she works downtown and I go to school downtown so it works out in the morning. When it doesn't work out however is at the end of the day. She's officially entered her "busy season" at work, which means she's in the office from 8AM until about 12AM every day (including weekends ... although the hours are a little better on the weekends). At any rate, since LA doesn't see it fit to have any sort of public transportation (other than 1 commuter express) that goes directly from Downtown to West LA (more specifically Santa Monica), neither of us can forgo the car for the opportunity to use public transportation...

Hopefully this will all change when Villaraigosa's plan to build a subway to Santa Monica ... one can only hope!! Oh and I don't think expanding the 405 is the way to go ...

The Bugatti Veyron

2007-03-16T09:28:00.000-07:00

Fortune.com
Let's see ...
1,001 HP
922 foot-pounds of torque
0 - 62 in 2.5 seconds
253MPH top speed (without the second key? 233MPH)
Price? $1.4 Million

I can appreciate that ...

The passing of a friend

2007-03-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

Words cannot describe the turbulence of emotions that accompanies the loss of a friend and so I will not try. What I will say is that from the loss we seem to forget the fights we've had, the trouble and the problems that somehow seemed so important at the time. It brings out the laughs, the mischievous behavior and all the good and wonderful memories that made your friendship what it was.

I want to dedicate this posting to my dear friend Russ who is no longer with us. He always made me laugh and even in his passing, through the tears I smile, because that is what I think he would have wanted us to do. May he rest in peace, he will be greatly missed by all.

The Lottery Winning Trend Continues...

2007-03-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

CNN.com
Another $80 million win --a trucker this time! His first purchase? A house for his daughter -- she's apparently been meaning to move out of the trailer park. I swear I am NOT making this up!!! Do you think its that people who (themselves or their family members) DONT live in trailer parks simply don't play the lottery -- or is it that they just don't win?

I have high hopes for this man -- I really do -- I'm not being sarcastic!

One Man, One Year, One Thousand Bars

2007-03-06T20:22:00.000-08:00

Achievement

One Man, One Year, One Thousand Bars

Dan Freeman 03.06.07

Forbes.com

I have to give this man props -- 1000 bars in 1 year -- that's averaging 3 bars a day (if he goes to one every single day of the year)

There are a number of issues that immediately came to mind as I began reading the article:
1. First, how healthy is it to consume (at the bare minimum) 1000 drinks in one year? I suppose some of us may do it anyway, even without the challenge, but I don't know, it just sounds like a lot

2. Second, how much money did this guy spend? I assume that once the story became known , he began to get free drinks, but still, that's a lot of drinks to pay for ...

3. And lastly, when did he have time to be productive?? I mean, taking on 1000 bars in one year is quite the task -- do you think he kept his day job? Or did the day consist of recovering from a hangover?

Just some things to consider when you read the article. All in all -- an alcoholic's dream come true...

Bosnian president rides to rescue

2007-03-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

BBC News
One of Bosnia's three-member presidency has helped a woman in labour by escorting her car to hospital at high speed with his motorcade.

It's almost like it's taken out of a movie. A couple in distress rushing to the hospital with the woman in labor ... and here comes Zeljko Komsic, Bosnian president, escorting the couple to the hospital where the woman gives birth to a healthy baby boy. The parents promised to name their child after Mr. Komsic. I suppose all's well that ends well -- except for the name -- I don't know how I feel about that ...

Shut Up and enjoy the show

2007-03-02T13:08:00.000-08:00

I wonder why more theaters are not doing this here ... from the LA Times:

Shut up and enjoy the show

From Times Wire Reports

March 2, 2007

A historic Russian theater has installed equipment to block cellphone signals in an attempt to stop patrons from taking calls during performances, Itar-Tass news agency reported.

Plays, operas, ballets and films in Russia are routinely interrupted, despite stern warnings to turn phones off.

This is my favorite part: Alexander Chepurov of St. Petersburg's Alexandrinsky theater, which was founded in 1756, said one actor had resorted to saying, "Turn off that stupid phone and let me finish my soliloquy!"

Lottery winning done right

2007-02-28T16:45:00.000-08:00

At last! A person won the lottery and, get this, actually did something normal with the money! I'm talking investments, college funds, paying off bills, starting a consulting company. Check out the CNNMoney story on Brad Duke, 34, who won $220 million (only got $85 million), and what he did w/ his lottery winnings:

$45 million: Safe, low-risk investments such as municipal bonds
$35 million: Aggressive investments like oil and gas and real estate
$1.3 million: A family foundation
$63,000: A trip to Tahiti with 17 friends
$125,000: Mortgage retired on his 1,400-square-foot house
$18,000: Student-loan repayment
$65,000: New bicycles, including a $12,000 BMC road bike
$14,500: A used black VW Jetta
$12,000: Annual gift to each family member

I'm just happy he didn't waste it all on a brand new trailer home ...

Finding time to post

2007-02-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

So I'm going through a bit of a crunch time in school. With a couple midterms, a paper, and a project I find little time to look around for interesting bits of information, or the energy to complain about anything other than my lack of motivation to study due to a MAJOR case of Senioritis.

I am sure I am not alone in this ... so I send my sympathy to anyone else who is hunched over research, books, finance problems, and anything else that has to do with your college education ...

Spring Break is just around the corner!!!

"Reserved for Expectant Mothers"

2007-02-24T16:58:00.000-08:00

So I was at the Century City mall today -- doing some Saturday afternoon shopping -- and I saw this sign in the parking garage, it said "Reserved for Expectant Mothers." My first though was, wow, that's great, its the equivalent of a lactation room at the office but a parking spot...

And then I thought about it... how can do they know if you're an expectant mother (other than the obvious belly)? I mean, is there a certain time frame where you are considered to be an expectant mother where you are allowed and not allowed to park? Is it just in the third trimester or is as soon as you get pregnant?

The purpose of the sign is obvious -- but I couldn't stop my brain from coming up with all these questions... Thought I'd share...

Why my life would be easier if I drove a Hummer

2007-02-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

I have a bone to pick with moronic LA drivers and road repair workers (or actually the people who decide when/where to do roadside construction).

The last two days has been hell on wheels -- an hour to get to downtown from Venice (a 15 mile drive, on the highway) and another 20-30 minutes to get from Downtown to the Parking Structure on Hope St. (a 2 miles drive on city streets) [in LA we count miles, not minutes]

The blame can be equally distributed between a number of causes:
1) Morons who don't know how to drive but somehow got their licenses and were able to purchase a car (which I guess means they're somewhat functional enough to hold a job yet not bright enough to figure out how to use turn signals or switch lanes)

2) Road construction on Main St. just before Pico Blvd., blocking my way to the 10 (detours are available but thats not the point!)

3) Construction on Flower St. and 6th St. -- b/c whoever is responsible for deciding when to do construction apparently can't even fathom the idea of MAYBE just MAYBE doing construction at night when there aren't 100 cars and 20 buses on a tiny little 3 lane downtown street

4) And last but not least -- the weather -- in LA (in case you don't live here) people tend to forget how to drive when there is a drop of rain. I almost feel like it's enough for the car in front of you to clean their windshield and get cleaner mist on your windshield to freak you out enough to make you forget how to operate a vehicle.

These are just SOME of the problems NORMAL LA drivers are faced with every morning, and I didn't even mention the people who like to signal left and go right and the ones that slow down to 2 MPH on Abbot Kinney/Main St. about a mile before they actually decide to turn (that IS once they figure out which fucking street they're turning on!!!)

As you can see -- although we try to say that "you get used to the traffic and the drivers" you NEVER get used to it and it's never OK

So if I drove a Hummer, and had no concern for the cost of my car insurance, a lot of people would be fixing the back of their cars -- daily!

Two Clowns Shot Dead in Colombia

2007-02-21T12:19:00.000-08:00

So how disturbing is this?! I am reading BBC News (b/c as we've learned it is so much more informative and relevant than CNN) and I see this headline Colombia clowns killed on stage

And I'm thinking -- who would ever want to murder a CLOWN, let alone two, and on stage no less!! So I'm continuing to read and apparently it's not the first time this has happened! A prominent clown named Pepe, was murdered just last year!

I'm not one to poke fun -- but these people (or person?) had some serious clown hating issues. Just something I think parents should keep in mind when deciding to throw their kids clown-infested birthday parties...

New Favorite Comedian

2007-02-16T19:02:00.000-08:00

So I discovered a new comedian -- Gary Gulam. Apparently he was on Last Comic Standing -- he's Jewish (as you can tell by the name) , but looks Italian and is apparently 6'6 even though he really doesn't look that tall on stage (maybe it was just the TV).

He's hilarious -- he has a new DVD out "Boyish Man" (I saw it on HBO -- the wonderful of joys of cable!)

Anyway ... I recommend!!

The $1 Coin Replacing the $1 Bill?

2007-02-15T09:40:00.000-08:00

There's an article in today's CNNMoney.com about the unveiling of the Presidential Dollar Coin and it talks about how the government is considering replacing the dollar bill with the dollar coin. The article says that consumers are not as welcoming of the coin as the government would like them to be. Apparently the govt could save $500 million annually by switching to the coin -- not a bad deal!

Anyway so I was thinking -- it probably wouldn't be such a bad idea to replace the bill except for when we go out!

I mean what will happen when we're at the bar and we want to tip a $1? Will we have to carry change in our pockets? Will they make coin holder additions to money clips? B/c admit it -- no one carries change when they go out. And here's another thought -- will the $1 coin become the new quarter? In which case, I think that washers and driers should begin to accept $1 coins -- there's nothing worse than carrying $20 in quarters -- except for maybe $20 in dimes or nickels but no one uses those anymore, or pennies (and this opens a whole different discussion, which I won't go into b/c it will be entirely too long!)

Anyway ... just a thought!

The last thing you want to see before Valentine's if you're single

2007-02-13T23:33:00.000-08:00

Turn up the volume -- the song is half the fun!

Venice T-Shirt

2007-02-09T16:02:00.000-08:00

I saw this T-Shirt while I was washing my car today it said "Venice: where art meets crime" I thought it was pretty funny

Pelosi -- News Worthiness -- CNN v. BBC

2007-02-09T11:23:00.000-08:00

Soo I was making my regular daily visit to CNN.com and I was thoroughly amused by the depth and detail of the Pelosi Plane Story. My first two thoughts were -- at last the White House is supporting her and second -- why do we care about this? So this made me want to visit the BBC News website and see what they thought was important to tell us about ... here are the front page stories from both websites, you be the judge...

CNN:

Your e-mails: Anna Nicole charmed us | I-Report
Gates: U.S. has evidence of Iran aiding Iraq fighters
Pentagon report: Prewar intelligence manipulated
Madam speaker's big luxury plane wasn't her idea
Snow buries upstate New York | I-Report: Gallery
Time.com: Why astronauts don't like shrinks
Mom gave son gun, ordered payback, cop says
Reports: Harvard set to name first female president
Cops: Homeless paraplegic dumped on Skid Row
Cameras, TV, cells just need touch, no buttons
Fat dog skateboards down Arizona streets
PGATOUR.com: Live video from Pebble Beach
CNN Wire: Latest updates on world's top stories

BBC:

Jerusalem 'tense' after clashes
US air strike kills Iraqi troops
Upstate New York buried in snow

YouTube enforcing copyright

2007-02-08T09:44:00.000-08:00

So there's this really funny comedian, Anjelah Johnson, and she has a skit on Google Video. So I wanted to post it on my blog and I went to YouTube so I could get the URL and it was unavailable due to copyright claim from Comedy Time -- how sad.

Anyway, here's the Google Video link in case you're interested, it's REALLY funny! Its about going to a nail salon, so maybe just funny for the girls ...

Anjelah Johnson -- Nail Salon

Google Execs earning salaries of $1 in 2005???

2007-02-03T18:37:00.000-08:00

What do you think? A typo? I wonder if they read through this stuff before they publish ...

"Co-founders and Presidents Sergey Brin and Larry Page and Chief Executive Eric Schmidt received salaries of $1 each in 2005 and were not included in a separate 2006 plan for executive bonuses of up to $3 million each filed with federal regulators in October."

Google execs to get up to $1.5 million bonus
CNNMoney.com
February 2, 2007

O'Reilly on Colbert and John Stewart

2007-02-02T20:17:00.000-08:00

You know you're doing something right when the O'Reilly Factor dedicates a segment to figuring out the Stephen Colbert-John Stewart Phenomenon.

iVillage Commerical

2007-01-31T12:34:00.000-08:00

I thought this was really funny...

Also, there's a really funny video segment on the iVillage website -- it's called Daily Blabber -- she's pretty tough ... a little like Perez! Take a look at the one about Jennifer Aniston's nose job ...

News from Israel

2007-01-29T08:59:00.000-08:00

I lived in Israel for 6 years before I moved to California -- so this blog will include news from Israel from time to time.

From BBC News:
Three dead in Israel suicide bomb
A suicide bomber has killed three people at a bakery in the southern Israeli town of Eilat, police say.

Premium Wireless Service BEST IDEA EVER!

2007-01-26T10:45:00.000-08:00

Okay you have to look at this website. Its a company called VOCE and they offer premium wireless service meaning you basically have a concierge service 24/7 for ANYTHING you might need!

It's a bit pricey -- $200 flat fee and a $500 one time membership fee but you get unlimited domestic calling and messaging, unlimited 411, a new phone every 12 mos. at no charge, etc.

They have a VOCE Boutique and the rest is at Neiman Marcus. I just think it's a genius idea ... read some of the testimonials!

Myspace Hackers

2007-01-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

So I have a myspace profile -- together w/ the other Billion people out there! Anyways, for the past few weeks I kept getting locked out of my account "due to excessive failed logins". So it made me think -- why would people want to hack into your myspace account? I mean there isn't any real important information on there about me. It doesn't have my address, my phone number, no credit card info, etc.

The way I found out I had people hack my account was seeing a bulletin about how people had hackers in their friends list. So I went into my friends list and loandbehold I had about 12 hacker profiles. The way I knew it was hackers was b/c their profiles said "this profile no longer exists" which means myspace cancelled their account (I think).

So I guess I wanted to post the question of WHY do people want to hack into other people's profiles? Sometimes they will even corrupt/change your profile for you. Some will attach some virus thing so that your account becomes contaminated if you look at a hacked profile. Any thoughts/insights?

Moving Away from Hardware?

2007-01-25T11:48:00.000-08:00

An interesting article from Forbes.com on open source information storage -- a move away from hardware toward a more mobile information storage/access.

Investing through Social Networks

2007-01-24T13:26:00.000-08:00

I heard about this on a Podcast (I can't remember the name) and this site is basically an Investing version of a Social Network Site. People basically share their investment recommendations with other members of the site. The goal of this company is to help people invest better by having access to relevant information without having to spend hours searching for it. I though this was an interesting approach to online communities. Check it out!

http://socialpicks.com/

City to Trump: You're fined!

2007-01-19T13:24:00.000-08:00

Donald Trump has officially taken the saying "No such thing as bad publicity" to whole new level. A lawsuit over a Flagpole?!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/01/19/trump.flag.ap/index.html

A few things from the drive home

2007-01-18T19:34:00.000-08:00

So as I said I commute from Venice to Downtown ... here are a few really great things about commuting from Downtown LA at 6:00PM on a Thursday:

1. Seeing as there are exactly 3 on-ramps that can get you out of Downtown onto the 10W its a special treat when they close one of those on-ramps (for 4 months in case you're curious) in which case about 5 million people try to squeeze through 2 on-ramps. Luckily for me 80% of those people are only getting on the 10 to get to the 405 (aka LA's largest parking lot) so only about 10 miles of my drive consists of traffic.
2. People who drive on the highway at night w/o their headlights on are morons. Doesn't it seem like its a bit strange that the back of the car that's in front of you is completely dark?!
3. You feel cheated when standing in traffic b/c of an accident if you don't get to see the wreck.
4. If people thanked the person who let them in front of them the world would be a better place.
5. And last but not least I don't know why radio stations that have a special two hours dedicated to "Traffic Jam" feel the need to play a commercial every other song.

As a side note: I felt like I was in Bezerkeley for a moment when I saw a Honda Insight with a bumper sticker that says "Another veteran against the war in Iraq"

Who said being stuck in traffic for 15 miles (in LA we don't count the length of the drive in minutes/hours but in Miles) is so horrible??

You have to start somewhere ...

2007-01-18T14:54:00.000-08:00

I figured I've waited long enough to make my first post. This is my first blog ever. I'm not really a blogger. I've always been a bit weary of bloggers and sometimes even thought of them as people who simply have too much time on their hands. But that was then and this is now.

Perhaps it's because having my own blog has become a part of a class assignment or maybe it was after I started reading CNNMoney.com-related blogs. Either way, I suppose blogs are the way to go nowadays so I figured I'd join the party.

I haven't quite finalized what I am going to post on this blog, but I think it'll be a little bit of everything.

I am finishing my senior year at USC as a Communication Major and Business Minor (to those of you who are familiar with Comm students at USC this shouldn't come as a surprise). I don't live near campus and I enjoy a wonderful 15 mile drive down the 10E every morning (an experience that I will be sure to share with you in great detail). I am also one of the lucky few who thinks she figured out what she wants to do when she grows up. For now it's IT Consulting ... might sound geeky and boring...but I think it might be pretty exciting. Okay so I'm a bit of a geek ... deal with it!

So this blog will consist of my daily experiences, my thoughts on different topics and maybe a little sharing of interesting information I find while aimlessly surfing the internet instead of working :)

And I hope you'll comment ... it's a little boring talking to yourself ...

Welcome

2007-01-13T16:38:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

I will begin posting soon ... :)

Elena