January 2012 Archives

The Evolved Employer website recently posted a piece on a proposed US Labor Department plan where employers with federal contracts would have to have 7% of their workforce made up of people with disabilities.  Writer Melissa J. Anderson interviews people on both sides of the issue, who point out the various benefits and possible drawbacks to both workers and employers in the article.  Click here to read more. 

BTW Ms. Anderson concludes the article by noting that the "Office of Federal Contact Compliance Programs is accepting comments on the proposed rule until February 7".  You can contact the OFCCP yourself by clicking here. 

 

Matthew Swyers, CEO of The Trademark Company, lists five things he looks for in a "great job interview" that can separate good candidates from great ones in this article (click here).  Starting with "attention to detail" and including actually knowing who's your interviewer, Swyers makes clear what job hunters need to do to set themselves ahead of the pack.  This is must reading for any job seeker!
 

Sorry for the long lag time between blog posts but it's been busy lately!  While I was occupied with other commitments, a colleague pointed out to me that January is Braille Literacy Month.  (Yes, I have a great sense of timing!) BLM basically promotes the importance of learning and using Braille to visually impaired people, despite widespread belief (which I don't share) that audio technology is a more essential tool. 

As noted here in this article from Online Colleges, "(a)udio technology may have curbed Braille usage in the classroom and workplace, but that doesn't dilute its significance or usefulness any".  The article goes on to list important facts about the aforementioned significence and usefulness of the language, including noting that only 27 states require legally blind children have access to Braille resources, and that those visually impaired readers who were educated through Braille have a lower unemployment rate than those readers used to print media.  More facts from the article can be found online by clicking here.  (Thanks JH!)

What are your thoughts on this?  Let me know.

 

At the end of my last post on the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, I had stated the following:

But WHY is this film, flaws and all, so special to me? 

There's a good reason.  But first, after mentioning some of the flaws of this film in my last post, let me highlight it's strengths, of which there are many, and why they made this movie stand out to my much, much younger self forty years ago this month.

 

 

 

 

It was recently announced that all 22 "official" James Bond 007 movies (excluding 1967's Casino Royale and the 1983 Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again) would be released in one big household budget-busting blu-ray box set to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series, which began with 1962's Dr. No, sometime this year.  This month is also the 40th anniversary of me getting to see my actual first Bond film in theatres, the then recently released (December, 1971) Diamonds Are Forever.  The influence of this film on a kid of my age (I was well under twenty-one and Dad had to accompany me, ok?) was tremendous, and it's many flaws asides -time hasn't dimmed my memory that much- , Diamonds Are Forever will always be THE Bond movie to me. 

 

 

 

A brief video on how to magnify what you can see on your iPad2 screen: