Author: Chris Matheus
Is drinking at work a good idea?
An article at PayScale.com, refers to work done by Matthew Yglesias at Slate examining the question of whether people were more productive in the days of the three-martini lunch. Yglesias quotes a research paper from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Entitled “Uncorking the Muse,” the paper showed that subjects with a blood alcohol content of approximately .075 performed better on the Remote Associates Test, which measures creative problem solving.
http://www.payscale.com/career-news/2013/08/heres-why-you-should-get-drunk-at-work
Disclaimer: FOCM Networking does not condone the over imbibification of alcohol in the work environment. Someitmes however, itsh (oopsh) kinda fun to have a few (hiccup) drinks when stormbraining, I mean brainstorming. Just look at the possible headlines FOCM Members came up with for Anthony Weiner news headlines in the previous posts in the Humor section.
Job Opportunity for IT Professional;
If anyone is or knows of an IT guy looking for a new position drop me
a line (nickhargaden@ardroeconsulting.com)
Small company growing quickly
Most day to day IT is subcontracted, so it’s more managing
enterprise/clinical trial solutions in house, partnering with the
business.
Location: Arizona
Skills/experience: medical imaging, DICOM standard, PACS etc.
Nick Hargaden
Ardroe Consulting
nickhargaden@ardroeconsulting.com
Scottish Wedding Reception Incident
The Scots are a fun-loving breed of people.
FOCM Networking goes to Greece
FOCM Networking is headed to Greece for an in-depth observational study of that country’s approach to networking. I have been training for this all summer and feel very prepared.
I will spend the week on the island of Rhodes, which looks to be the easternmost island (not counting Cyprus) in the Greek islands.
On the agenda is lounging poolside learning to communicate with our Scottish hosts, dining out amongst the local peoples, listening, talking, eating, drinking and observing behavior and attire on the beaches.
FOCM will be back in the USA September 7.
FOCM Member makes magazine cover
FOCM member Kris Gustafson made the cover of Computer World’s August 26, 2013 edition along with his colleagues in Quintiles Big Data and Analytics group.
Most assuredly, he would not have attained this level of notoriety without the help and support of FOCM.
Ventriloquist and the farmer
seen on friend’s Facebook page
A ventriloquist was driving through the midwest when his car broke down. He walked a ways and found a farmer who would let him use his phone. Well, the farmer seemed to be a real stereotypical rural type, so the ventriloquist thought it would be possible to have some fun with him. The farmer began to lead him back to the house.
Along the way, they passed a horse. The ventriloquist said to the farmer, “Is this your horse?” The farmer replied, “Yep.”
The ventriloquist asked, “Can he talk?” The farmer said, “Nope.” The ventriloquist then said to the horse, “So, how do you like it here?”
He then threw his voice, and said in a horse-like voice, “Oh, it’s pretty good. Every morning the farmer feeds me oats.”
Upon hearing this the farmer was startled and quickened his pace.
Soon they came to a cow. The ventriloquist asked, “Is this your cow?” and the farmer replied, “Yep.” He then asked, “Does it talk?” and the farmer replied, “I..I don’t think so.”
The ventriloquist asked the cow, “How do you like it here?” and threw his voice again. In a cow-like voice, he said, “Oh, I like it just fine. Every morning the farmer comes and milks me.”
Upon hearing this, the farmer squirmed. He looked down at the ground and continued walking.
Soon they came to some sheep. The ventriloquist asked, “Are these your sheep?” and the farmer replied, “Yep.”
He then asked, “Do they talk?” and the farmer exclaimed, “Yes, but they lie!”
Jokes for the weekend
Seen in the August 2013 edition of Reader’s Digest
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
Did you hear about the pregnant blonde? She got a maternity test to make sure it was hers.
Why are blonde jokes short? So brunettes can remember them.
Good advice from Oscar Wilde
Always borrow money from a pessimist. He won’t expect it back.
You can (and should) network everywhere
Here is an example of not missing any opportunity or place to network. This event occurred at a Sunday church service and was initiated by the mother of a recent college graduate. You never know who you might meet at an event and whether or not they know of someone who is hiring for just the skill set or education that you or a friend of yours might have.
Submitted by a FOCM member
Her son graduated from Penn State with a degree in Civil Engineering. At Sunday church service the following week, during the “joys and concerns” portion of the service, this proud mother stood up and said: “Our joy is that our son graduated from PSU. Our concern is that he needs a job so if anyone knows of any company that needs a civil engineer, please see me after church.”
After church a woman came up to the mother and said “I am a professor of Civil Engineering at Villanova and I recently received an email from a guy with whom I had done a project. He asked if I had any December grads and I did not. I will let you know if he still is looking.”
A week later the mother received an email from the Professor forwarded from the hiring company. The mother forwarded it to her son and within 2 days he had a phone interview. The company does not use Monster or any of those internet job sites. They only hire from referrals. Three phone interviews, two face-to-face interviews, and 4 weeks post-graduation this young man got a job.