I think for me though, it’s a sad loss of the Bell Labs Research Institution.  I’m all for companies being stronger and more able (though frankly the record of that happening in mega mergers like this is very low, please see stories about the lack of success of megamergers here @ C/net, and here @ HBR).  But the United State’s private corporate labs (such as Bell Labs) and our public labs (such as Lawrence Livermore) are national treasures that helped keep our country a technology leader.  For sure, Bell Labs won’t disappear and the defense piece will be kept in tact under U.S. influence.  Still, this just feels like a sort of dismantling of some national treasures.

What were the causes of Lucent’s demise?  Probably too many to list, but there’s a well done article on this by Chinese blogger  Dr.Richard Zhao Liang (赵粮) that is well worth a read.  You can see his article at this link here.

The man’s humor was different.  It was more one liners and more challenges to the audience that they had better laugh, his material was funny!  His flow was off too, probably just a bad night, but while he is a funny, national headliner for comics, he seemed more prone to goad the audience into laughing about his material than telling a story to have them laugh with him.  It was an interesting contrast between the two.

That got me to wondering about humor between men and women.  Have you ever wondered how they differ or are the same?   Well there’s a great article, written by Gina Barreca, at Ms. Magazine entitled  "Real stories, real laughter, real women" that I think you might like that talks about this.

Gina Barreca makes this interesting observation about the differences:

The difference, in fact, between men’s humor and women’s humor seems to
be the difference between revolt and revolution. Masculine humor has of
course included digs at the conventions of the world, poked fun at the
institutions and establishments, but without the truly anarchic edge
that characterizes feminine humor. Women’s humor calls into question
the largest issues, questions the way the world is put together.

She also makes note that feminine humor has been and is often hidden:

Why has the feminine tradition of humor, ubiquitous as it is, remained
essentially hidden from the mainstream? In part it is due to the
Tupperware mentality that sought to preserve humor by keeping away from
the potentially hazardous male gaze. If men didn’t find funny what we
found funny, then they would think we were foolish. If they thought our
joking was foolish, we might learn to like it less ourselves. It wasn’t
worth the risk.

You can read the whole article for yourself by clicking to this link here.

(photo courtesy of benhamin’s photos, used under Creative Commons license)

You would never know it from looking at
her, but she had a prosthetic leg, had been through WWII, worked at a
spy for both the British and the U.S. and had received the highest
medals for distinguished service from Britain, France and the United
States for her work in WWII.  If it weren’t for her pivotal role, key
parts of the war against Germany in France would not have been won by
the Allies.

The book, "The Wolves at the Door:
The True Story of America’s Greatest Female Spy" penned by
Judith L. Pearson is a fabulous true story of Virgina Hall.  Born in
the United States, yet with an incredible passion for Europe,
particularly France, Virginia accomplished more in her lifetime than
most people even dream of.  Perhaps the best part of the story though
is not what she accomplished but the obstacles she had to get over in
order to accomplish them.  I won’t spoil the story for you, but those
obstacles were physical in terms of her body, and discrimination, for
being a woman.  In the end, her amazing tenacity and inventiveness
and sheer passion for her life’s mission - being a spy and helping to
defeat the German’s - allowed her to rise above and triumph.

The book is one of those little
treasures.  Well written and about a niche topic that is very
valuable to read.  I highly recommend it.   Grab some tea, curl up on
a couch, and read!

You can get the book at your fav book store or at Amazon by clicking on this link here

Why would Google do this?   What do they have to gain?   Because controlling the distribution network (the means of getting content to you or having you physically access the Internet) may end up being a cost game more than anything else.   Surely, Google’s being able to use their almost unparalleled ability to target advertising to users will be improved by controlling the network. But, when companies like AT&T, who now own most of the on/off ramps to the network start setting up toll booths to get on or direct traffic (see article AT&T Sets up Internet Toll Booths here) then perhaps Google’s other reason is simply cost.  Why pay or be beholden to a toll booth operator to run traffic on their monopoly when you can build your own road and control it and your costs yourself. 

This may end up being one of the new AT&T’s biggest blunders.  Certainly, they own the pipes and can do what they will with them, but, but charging rather than partnering (and with excess dark fiber still out there and enabling technologies coming online such as WiFi and WiMAX) AT&T may inadvertently be pushing greater competition against themselves, rather than drawing them to themselves.  The end result?  It gives users such as you and I more choice, and lower costs.   It costs AT&T business, possibly subverting their network hold and causing long term losses in the long term.  Is this the kind of thing we can expect from the resurgance of Ma Bell?  If so, I think the Web/Tech world will be rife with innovative new approaches to getting on and off the net to skirt AT&T’s potential for too much control.

• Mistakenly grab and then apply your pink lip gloss as beard cover (ahhh it sticks like glue!)
• Epilate both legs and then both arms thinking "hey this will take only 5 minutes"
• Try at that moment to figure out how to style your hair - just use the wig
• Decide that rosy red cheeks can be corrected two seconds after having PUSHED the blush into the pours of your face with the same force as you would pound a 10-penny nail into a 2×4
• Choose to feed two hungry cats who decide at that exact second, when your ready to start working, that they are your bestest of buddies and snuggle oh so close and SHED white fur all over your new black blouse

The article does a good job of outlining the potential sources for our being transgendered as well as the ethical issues in intervening in children who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria. There are other good insights in the article as well, such as the authors opinion that psychological issues (such as depression, fairly common in the trans-community) are really a result of not dealing constructively with a person’s gender dysphoria.

Click here for this excellent article, from this well respected medical institution in New England

4-2-2008 Update
There is a nice Q&A Interview on the author of this Lahey Clinic article, Dr. Norm Spack. It was done in Boston.Com. You can reach the Boston.com Article by clicking here. You can read our coverage at Beck’s Cafe on this Boston.com article by clicking into Beck’s Cafe at this link here.

The ACS recommends a Breast Cancer Self Exam (BSE) monthly and posts directions you can read at this link here.   There are some additional options though for the BSE that may be worth taking a look at that are reported to make the BSE easier:

Mark for Life T-Shirt
This t-shirt shows wearers exactly how to do a BSE; simply follow the arrows.  T-shirts are based on bra size and come with instructions and a washproof pen to record suspicious bumps or changes.  You can check them out at Mark for Life or ring them up at 877-512-5433.

FaRose and Fenomenole breast self-exam scented oils
This helps your fingers slide over your skin (or your partners ;-)  ) for easy exams.   You can check the FaRose oil out at ZenMomma, 877-804-4749 or the Fenomenole oil at Bath By Bettijo, 877-528-1584.

The Aware Breast Self-Exam Pad
This FDA approved pad has liquid sealed between two sheets of plastic and, when pressed to the breast, it actually reduces the resistance between the fingers doing the exam and the breast being examined to give a better feel for lumps or changes.  You can see them at Aware BSE, 800-854-3002.

MammoPad by BioLucent, Inc
The FDA approved MammoPad takes some of the discomfort and pain out of a mammogram.  Sitting between the breast and the mammography machine it reduces discomfort by half researchers claim.  The pads aren’t available in stores, but you can check the MammoPad web site or call 866-460-4141 to see which mammography centers use them.

(Source material for this article came from USA Weekend Magazine, p. 13, January 13-15 2006 edition, author Karen J. Bannan)

It’s well worth a read.  I think the quote that sums it up best from her post is this:

Competence has become a commodity.The only way to differentiate yourself in the business world today is to insist on being yourself. Ironically, it takes some of us years to come full circle back to the place we were, before we tried to be someone else.

Interesting eh?  I’ve noticed myself that as I come to grips more with who I am, with being transgendered, that I’m able to me more authentic.  And, wonder of wonders, people respond to that positively (or are confused enough to just respond nicely, I’ not sure now that I think of it!).   It’s an interesting side benefit that I’d not anticipated frankly.   So as I don’t lead anyone astray here, I’m not out at work at this time.  However, the current effect is an interesting personal experience.   It sounds like all of us, whatever your walk in life, would benefit well from just being yourself.  And if your a leader or serve in a leadership position (whether business, civic or religious) it sounds like the key for you to do even better is to be authentic.  Read Jordy’s post and enjoy!

You can read her post at her blog here:  The Snake that Poisons Everyone

Virtual worlds have been around for a long time of course, MUDs, IRC worlds and virtual taverns, and today’s Web Based Chat have been around for a while.  People do meet each other and fall head over heels in love (or at least imagine they are).  But the communication piece that seems to always be missing in those "worlds" are the most important parts of interpersonal communication - the non-verbal kind: touch, facial expression, voice tone, hand movements, body lean.  All of these and so many others convey so much to the context of good communication it’s hard to imagine having good communication without them.   However, with the worlds the article mentions it appears some of that non-verbal communication (such as a person’s imagination, or how they might react to a given situation - albeit simulated) can be done.

Have a click over the article here to read for yourself.

The project, funded by the NIH, is designed to:

describe the economic, social and personal, family and workplace experiences of male to female trans-persons, how these experiences change over the course of our lives, and the impact of these experiences on our mental and physical health.

This sounds like a worthwhile study that will produce some very valuable information on the transgendered community.   If you live in the NY Metro area, go have a look, sounds like you could be a part of history if you do!

(source: Monday Funnies Yahoo Group)

Three couples--one elderly, one middle-aged and one newlywed--wantedto join a church. The priest said, "We have special requirements fornew parishioners. You must abstain from having sex for two weeks." Thecouples all agreed and came back at the end of two weeks.

The pastor went to the elderly couple and asked, "Were you able toabstain from sex for the two weeks?"

The old man replied, "No problem at all, Father."

"Congratulations! Welcome to the church!" said the priest.

The priest went to the middle-aged couple and asked, "Well, were youable to abstain from sex for the two weeks?"

The middle-aged man replied, "The first week was not too bad. Thesecond week I had to sleep on the couch for a couple of nights, but,yep, we made it."

"Congratulations! Welcome to the church," said the priest.

The priest then went to the newlywed couple and asked, "Well, were youable to abstain from sex for two weeks?"

"No Pastor, we were not able to go without sex for the two weeks," theyoung man replied sadly.

"What happened?" inquired the priest.

"My wife was reaching for a can of corn on the top shelf and droppedit," said the young man. "When she bent over to pick it up, I wasovercome with lust and took advantage of her right there."

"You understand, of course, this means you will not be welcome in ourchurch," stated the priest.

"We know," said the young man. "We’re not welcome at the supermarketanymore either."

============================

Ten Reasons God Created Woman

10. God worried that Adam would be lost in the Garden of Eden becausehe wouldn’t ask for directions.

9. God knew that someday Adam would need someone to hand him the TVremote. (Parenthetically, it has been noted that men don’t want to seewhat’s on ON TV; they want to see WHAT ELSE is on.)

8. God knew that Adam would never make a doctor’s appointment.

7. God knew that when Adam’s fig leaf wore out, he would never buy anew one for himself.

6. God knew that Adam would not remember to take out the garbage.

5. God wanted man to be fruitful and multiply, but he knew Adam wouldnever be able to handle labor pains and childbirth.

4. As "keeper of the garden," Adam would need help in finding histools.

3. Adam needed someone to blame for the Apple Incident, and foranything else that was really his fault.

2. As the Bible says: "It is not good for man to be alone."

1. And the No. 1 reason of all (Tada, drum roll, fanfare, etc.]

God stepped back, looked at Adam, and declared:     "I can do better than that."

============================

There was a religious woman who had to do a lot of traveling for herbusiness. Flying made her very nervous, so she always took her Biblealong with her.

One time, she was sitting next to a man. When he saw her pull out herBible, he gave a little chuckle and smirk and went back to what he wasdoing.

After awhile, he turned to her and asked, "You don’t really believeall that stuff in there do you?"

The woman replied, "Of course I do. It is the Bible."

He said, "Well, what about that guy that was swallowed by that whale?"

She replied, "Oh, Jonah. Yes, I believe that, it is in the Bible."

He asked, "Well, how do you suppose he survived all that time insidethe whale?"

The woman said, "Well, I don’t really know. I guess when I get toheaven, I will ask him."

"What if he isn’t in heaven?" the man asked sarcastically.

"Then you can ask him," replied the woman.

As I was doing my nails that night, I started thinking through some of the lessons from my visit, and how they might apply to any small company - or even small non-profit organization that has a big vision to help or change a sector of our society.

What are some of the Lessons Learned?

• Bullsh** with Integrity!
  • The small firm I visited wasn’t afraid to have a little hubris
    about what they did - but they didn’t let the fluff outstrip the facts
    of what they could really do.  Lesson?  Be proud of what you do and
    don’t be afraid to say so.  Don’t let others bully you around with
    their "apparent" knowledge, but don’t stray beyond the strengths of
    what you can actually do.
       
• Have fun and laugh alot
  • This small firm, in the middle of mid-America wasn’t afraid to pull practical jokes, laugh at their own foibles in the process of doing development, or even just kick back.  I don’t know alot of companies doing that today honestly.  It’s a good lesson in taking a breather and not sweating the small stuff.  This company knows they could get crushed by a Nortel or a Lucent, but, they also know they are having fun right now and making hay while their larger competitors are struggling for meaning in a changing telecommunications world.

• Age is meaningless when passion fuels you
  • I was really impressed with this companies spunk, tenacity and their innovation!  And, that 75% of the employees were 40 or older.  They were inventing things outside of their standard mission simply to make their standard mission work.  No one else in their industry was doing a thing to solve some basic problems, most of their competitors and fellow travelers were sitting on their hands just going with the status quo.  Not this small firm.  It showed me that age is meaningless for innovation and excellence when passion for what you do fuels you (and that stands true regardless if the passion is for engineering or for social justice).

• Do very cool things
  • This is related to the above lesson.  And Steve Jobs made a strong case for this in his commencement speech at Stanford this year (see link here for that very worthwhile read).  Basically, this small firm found something that was a problem in their industry and then they went after it.  They saw what they did as industry changing and as a bit of an adventure.  But in the midst of it, they were doing COOL THINGS, and that sense of impacting an industry for massive change really drives them.  Are you doing cool things?  In work?  In school?  In some social justice or grass community action work?  Don’t just go along in the rut - do something cool!

• Make some money
  • This small firm was very frugal.  They put their money into tools for their people, salaries and benefits, and in inventing.  They keep their overhead low (no Lear jet for the CEO of this company).  And they make money.  Not a ton, no one is getting rich - yet!   If your a non-profit, are you losing money or are you being as fiscally efficient as you can be without sitting on crates for office furniture?  If your a department in a larger firm, are you making money or are you getting that entitlement mentality?  Making money isn’t wrong and the results of that can be a broad swatch of goodness deepening on what you do with those profits.

• Long View
  • Unlike the quick fix view of today where ROI is expected in 9 to 12 months or the project or investment is folded, this unique firm knew this was a long term play and acted accordingly.  For sure, there were late night crunches to get a project done or meet a stage in a product development life cycle but this company focuses on a long term vision, balancing the need to generate cash now with the understanding that cool stuff that lasts takes a view that extends beyond the investors quarterly calendar.

Have a lookie at the link and the debate by clicking here.

Helen’s journal, (en)gender, is at this link here.

You can buy the book from Amazon at this link here.

I thought this was a smashing idea (in Boston we’d say that’s a wicked cool idea, but smashing is more in keeping here with my post).  SO what’s mine?

It is,  "Just be yourself".  That’s really it for 2006, I just want to be myself.  That takes a great deal more work than you’d think on the surface, (as I’m slooowly learning), but, for me in 2006, that’s actually a very good goal.

You can read how Koan threw the gauntlet down on personal mantra’s at this link here.

Click on for the fabulous taste treat!

What you’ll need
1 teaspoon olive oil
1.5 lbs skinless boneless chicken thighs trimmed of all visible fat (you could also use skinless chicken breasts)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 onion thinly sliced (depending on the pallet of your audience, 1/2 onion works well too)
1 garlic clove, chopped (I love garlic and used three cloves, quite yummy for garlic lovers - and my kids were ok too)
3 plum tomatoes chopped (I used 4 large regular tomaotes, it was just fine)
1 large baking potato, peeled and cubed  (Idaho, Irish, or Maine potatoes all work fine :)  use others as you see fit!)
10 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped (don’t use green olives, trust me on this).
1/2 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup dry white wine (or 1 bottle dry white wine - drink the bottle & save 1/4 cup for the meal ).
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

What to do
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Sprikle the chicken with the salt and pepper and saute until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes.  Add the onion and garlic; cook until the onion is just tender, about 5 minutes longer.  Stir in the tomatoes, potato, olives, broth, and wine.  Cover, reduce the heat, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the potato tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil.

Prep to plate time is about 40 minutes maximum.

Calories and Fat
Serves 4
Breakdown per serving

• Calories, 306
• Fat, 9 grams
• Carbohydrates, 19 grams
• Protein, 36 grams

While many of us may want to totally forget about these parts of us, we still have prostate’s and, we can get cancer and die from it.   See these links here for more help and happy reading:

Dr. Rebecca Allison’s Blog Post on Prostate Health
WebMD on Prostate Health
MedLine on Prostate Health

**UPDATE 12/22/2005**
Study finds that lifestyle and diet changes may stop or reverse prostate cancer progression.  See that study by clicking here.

What is the Halfbakery?

The halfbakery is a communal database of invention and speculation. Its users can publish inventions and add links and commentary to other people’s inventions.