Froodee

Living. Blogging.

Did Your Career Suffer A Hit In 2009?

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architectMain
At the beginning of the year 2009, a Chinese friend told me that astrologers predicted that it would be the worst year for a lot of people. I dismissed it offhandedly, saying that no one can predict such things. Unfortunately, it did turn out to be rather bad for a LOT. In terms of career, here are the worst hit jobs in the past year, courtesy of MSN Career Builder.

Architects – according to statistics, many architects did not survive the year. A whopping 17.8 percent lost their jobs in the first three quarters of 2009 alone! This is not really that surprising as not many were into building in the past year.

Carpenters – what happened to the architects happened to carpenters as well. Throughout the various levels of the carpentry profession, job losses were experienced in the past year. The numbers are quite shocking – around 270,000 carpenters lost their jobs in 2009.

Pilots – now this is quite a surprise, isn’t it? I would have thought that being a pilot afforded reasonable job security. However, all the issues facing the airline industry also extended to the pilots. In the past year, jobs for pilots (as well as flight engineers) spiraled down by 30.4 percent!

Computer (software) engineers – this is also a surprise for me. I have always thought that this profession was stable. The figures quoted were for the American job market, though; and the reason for the decline in jobs was that they were outsourced to countries where the labor is cheaper.

There is a longer list at MSN if you’re interested.

Now enough bad news. In a couple of days, we will be leaving 2009 behind and we will be welcoming a brand new year. Let’s take on a more positive outlook, shall we?

Which American City Is Most Literate?

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ReadingManiacs
If you ask me this without allowing me to check, I won’t know the answer. I did read an article over at USA Today, and found out that the most literate cities in the United States today are Minneapolis and Seattle. Now, trivia and fact enthusiasts would probably have fared better at “guessing.” After all, these two cities have been alternating at getting the top two spots for the past six years.

These figures are the results of a yearly study that takes a look at culture and resources for reading in the major cities all across the country. There are six indicators to check literacy:

1. Newspaper circulation
2. Number of bookstores
3. Library resources
4. Periodical publishing resources
5. Educational attainment
6. Internet resources

This year’s study couldn’t have come at a better time. Figures for the circulation of print newspapers have declined while online newspapers are getting more hits. Some sectors have hinted that the reason for the decrease in interest in print newspapers is due to the online versions. However, Jack Miller of Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, Connecticut says that this is not true, despite the popular opinion. In fact, he mentions that cities which have high circulation figures also have corresponding high numbers of people going online to read newspapers. The same thing applies for bookstores – both online and offline.

If you live in any of these two cities, you ought to be proud. If not, then perhaps you should start a personal campaign to help increase literacy – if not in your city, then at least at home!

Duggars Get Ready For 19th Child

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Everyone knows about the Duggars – the Arkansas family composed of 20 members: 2 parents and 18 kids. Jim and Michelle Duggars got married in 1984, and while they started using the Pill in the beginning, bad experiences with it led them to decide to use natural birth control. Since then, their family has grown to a size that is not normally seen these days. The Duggars have attracted a lot of attention – they have their own web site and have even made numerous TV appearances.

Now you would think that having 18 children would be enough to take measures NOT to have more. It’s not so for the Duggars! They have managed to raise their children in an amazing way, and their lives are perfect examples of practical living. Actually, just recently, they built a 7000 sq. ft. home debt free!

Their adventure is not over yet, though – eight months after Michelle gave birth to Jordyn-Grace (the 18th child), she found out that she was pregnant again! She is due to give birth in March, several months after the first Duggar grandchild is due. Yup, the eldest son, John, and his wife, Anna, are expecting their first child in October. This family is something else, isn’t it?

Number of kids aside, the Duggars have been role models for many families around the world. Jim and Michelle have done an astounding job in raising their children. Perhaps more parents out there – new and experienced alike – might learn a thing or two from them!

World’s Fastest Internet Connections

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Which country has the fastest Internet connection? If you are thinking the United States, think again! The Communications Workers of America (CWA) recently conducted a survey to rank the countries of the world based on the speed of their Internet connection. The results were published in a report, and guess what? South Korea ranked number 1 with the average download speed of 20.4 megabits per second!

Compared to that speed, the United States lags far behind at only 5.1 mbps. In fact, the US ranked only 28th. The other top “scorers” are Japan with 15.8 mbps, Sweden with 12.8 mbps, and the Netherlands with 11.0 mbps.

So just how fast is the Internet in the top countries? In Japan, for example, users can upload a video in high def within 12 minutes. Compare this to the 2.5 hours it would take the average American to do the same thing.

Who tested the speeds? Speedmatters.org was the one responsible for the testing and the organization reported that from 2008 to 2009, the average speed in the US increased by a mere nine-tenths of a megabit per second. The outlook does not seem very bright, as there does not seem to be any indication that the US will be making any significant progress in improving infrastructure.

On the bright side, President Obama has promised to make broadband available to every home in the US. While that does not mean that the speeds will increase, at least more people should be able to gain access to the Internet.

Human-Dog Hybrid

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human-dog-hybrid-300x123Hybrids seem to be spending a lot of time in the spotlight these days, don’t you think? But have you seen or heard of this sculpture that is a different kind of hybrid that is taking the Internet by storm? If you haven’t, then that picture should catch your attention at the very least.

So this is what has been going around the Internet, mainly through e-mails: this picture of a sculpture which is a juxtaposition of humans and dogs. I know that dogs are supposed to be man’s best friend but this sculpture just does not evoke nice and positive feelings in me. Take a look at it again and you just might have an idea of what I am talking about.

The sculpture is the brainchild of Sam Jinks. This particular photo shown is titled “The Young Family,” and is actually part of a larger collection dubbed “We Are Family.” The hybrids in this collection, as you can see, are more human-like than dog-like, but the similarities still do not easily with the average person.

If you want to see more of these strange creatures, you just need to go to Patricia Piccinini’s web site. Not a familiar name? Here is a short description from the National Gallery of Victoria:

She is keenly interested in how contemporary ideas of nature, the natural and the artificial are changing our society. Specific works have addressed concerns about biotechnology, such as gene therapy and ongoing research to map the human genome… she is also fascinated by the mechanisms of consumer culture.

Indeed, this collection supports that, doesn’t it? What can you say about the sculpture?