1. Playing sports is fun. It gives your child something to do and a group to belong to. They have a group of friends that has the same goals and interests.

2. Research has found that kids that play sports, especially girls, are more likely to have a positive body image and higher self-esteem. They also are less likely to be overweight.

3. Kids involved in sports are less likely to take drugs or smoke because they realize the impact that these destructive activities can have upon their performance. Girls who play sports are also less likely to become pregnant.

4. Physical activities are a good way to relieve stress and reduce depression.

5. Sports help kids develop discipline. They learn to set goals and then work to achieve those goals. They learn that by working hard they can accomplish the things that they want to in their lives.

6. Kids who play sports quickly learn that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. They learn to be a good sport in both situations. It also helps them learn to deal with disappointment and go on.

7. Statistics show that kids who are involved in sports while in high school are more likely to experience academic success and graduate from high school.

8. Sports help develop teamwork and leadership skills. Kids quickly learn that they have to work together as a team to win the game.

9. Motor skills, strategic thinking, and even math skills are learned by playing sports. Students develop strategic thinking as they figure out plays and the best way to get around a player or score a goal. Math skills are used as they calculate scores and stats.

10. Regular exercise increases quality of life. Children who exercise are more likely to continue the practice into adulthood.

We challenge your company to support the health and development of future generations in your community. What are you going to do?

First off, be educated about the flu. It is important to understand that the annual “flu” and corresponding vaccine are not the same as H1N1. The H1N1 vaccine is supposed to be available end of September to early October 2009. Most county health districts and doctors offices have or will have “flu” vaccine by mid September 2009. It is reported that the general “flu” vaccine will give your immune system a boost to help recognize and attack other viruses so to me it seems prudent to get an annual flu vaccine. Check with your health district’s website or call the local offices to check on availability of the H1N1 vaccine.

Common Sense Goes a Long Way Toward Prevention

• WASH YOUR HANDS. According to the CDC this is the number one way to stop all spread of all infection. Yeah-sure you say you wash your hands-but did you know that several studies report the 3^rd most common contaminant on computer keyboards is urine? Don’t believe me and want to get totally grossed out-check this out.

• HAND SANTIZER IS A HELPFUL #2. Make hand sanitizer available to employees. Be generous and give them personal size ones to use in their cars-it is an inexpensive investment that may save you a week of aches and fever.

• COUGH OR SNEEZE INTO THE CROOK OF YOUR ELBOW. Why not cover your mouth with your hand you ask? Go back and read #1.

• CLEAN YOUR SPACE. Use disinfecting wipes to clean your work area, include desk telephones and the computer mouse as well as doorknobs and commonly touched areas. Not convinced? This is what a hospital study showed on computer keyboards in its burn unit. My research finds that the disinfecting wipes you can buy at the grocery store are more effective than rubbing alcohol at wiping out germs.

• IF YOU ARE SICK, STAY HOME. Keep your germs to yourself. Self explanatory.

• ACT AS AN EXAMPLE FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES. Get a flu shot, Connectzone.com pay’s for employee flu shots as an incentive to stay well. For added convenience contact your local health agency and see if you can have a nurse come to your office to administer vaccine to employees. Employees and employers may also want to consider getting a vaccine for pertussis, it is preventable and on the rise in most states.

• CHILDREN COUNT. Employees who are also parents may need to leave work for a sick child this winter flu season. Make a plan for employees to work remotely from home when possible. Employees should inquire with your IT personnel about remote connections and if your company can support you working from home. If your company doesn’t have the technology for remote connections ask if you can install a program such as Log Me In on your office PC and you can access it from home.

• STAY HOME PART II. Rather than traveling for business-if possible utilize tools such as Go To Meeting.  If you read the above link about how dirty hospital keyboards imagine what lives in an airport or worse yet and airplane. Remember hospitals are trying to be sanitary and are still that dirty-airports don’t care about being sanitary.  

• AVOID THE MASSES. I don’t want to contribute to hysteria but if this flu season turns out to be as bad as predicted we should consider avoiding crowds of people if we really don’t have to be there. It takes some planning-but it can be done. For example-plan and execute your Christmas shopping early before the masses descend on the malls. Better yet-order your gifts online. Use a home delivery grocery shopping service and avoid that icky grocery cart handle. If you do have to go to the grocery store use the disinfecting wipes offered near the carts. If your grocery store doesn’t offer these talk to the manager and ask them to.

• PLAN AHEAD FOR YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY. Just like preparing your emergency earthquake kit-you can prep your home for the invasion of viruses. Even if H1N1 doesn’t find its way into your home-some virus likely will this winter so plan ahead. If you have small children-get a couple extra bottles of pedialyte and check the expiration date on the Children’s Motrin. Make sure your medicine cabinet has adult ibuphrophen, cough syrup and Imodium-all things you don’t want to have to go to the store for at 1AM. I believe it worth the investment to have tissues with lotion around as well as popsicles, 7-UP and soda crackers. If you or your child has immune problems or underlying medical conditions such as Asthma-ask your doctor about their recommendations on when to go to the doctor if you get sick or when to go to the emergency room. Recall hospitals are dirty places-don’t go if you don’t have to.

KNOW THE HYPE. When you read an article projecting the H1N1 is going to kill between 30-90 thousand Americans this winter, know that the flu kills about 45 thousand Americans every year. When you read that it will kill mostly small children, elderly, those with underlying medical conditions and immune compromised individuals, understand that is the geographic group that always falls victim to the flu and usually has more severe complications. For the rest of us it is just a really icky week of achy joints, coughing, sneezing and fever. So don’t panic-plan ahead

Cyxymu is also the name of a town in the Republic Of Georgia-this is an English translation of Cyxymu’s Live Nation blog site. Here is some of the text on the blog site that is apparently a letter to the President of the Republic of Georgia:

“Уважаемый Дмитрий Анатольевич! Dear Dmitry!
Несмотря на то, что мы с Вами являемся можно сказать политическими оппонентами, да и к тому же Вы являетесь президентом той страны, которая оккупировала часть моей Родины, я хочу обратится к Вам с советом. Despite the fact that we are political opponents can say, and besides you are the president of the country which has occupied part of my homeland, I want to ask you to board.
Может быть этот коммент Вы так и не увидите тут (т.к. мои комментарии в этом сообществе часто не раскрываются), но я приложу все усилия, чтоб он дошел до Вас по тем или иным каналам. Maybe this коммент you did not see it (because my comments in this community often are not disclosed), but I will spare no effort, that he came to you on certain channels.
Думаю Вы уже в курсе того, что неизвестные хакеры устроили DDoS атаку на мои блоги, расположенные на livejournal.com, facebook.com, twitter.com, blogger.com. I think you’re already aware of the fact that unknown hackers staged a DDoS attack on my blog, located at livejournal.com, facebook.com, twitter.com, blogger.com. Кроме последнего все сервисы были повалены хакерами, которые по всем данным были из России. In addition, all projects have been the last stretch by hackers, who all data were from Russia.
Но это была не первая DDoS атака на мои блоги, в прошлом году мой блог на livejournal.com так же был под атакой, и не работал с октября 2008 года, по май 2009. But this was not the first DDoS attack on my blogs, in the past year, my blog on livejournal.com also was under attack, and has not worked since October 2008 to May 2009. Однако это не получило широкой известности и не было расследовано правоохранительными органами России, что видимо дало хакерам эффект вседозволенности. However, it is not widely known and was not investigated by law enforcement agencies of Russia, which apparently has the effect of permissiveness hackers.
Теперь же весь мир, с моих слов, говорит о том, что российские хакеры, которые по всей видимо на службе у правительства, могут, ради блокирования одного блоггера с иным мнением, закрыть доступ в большие социальные сети для миллионов человек. Now the whole world with my words, suggests that Russian hackers, who apparently in the service of the Government, may, for the sake of blocking one blogger with a different view, close to the big social networks for millions of people.
Так вот, уважаемый Дмитрий Анатольевич! So, dear Dmitry!
Прошу Вас дать задание своим спецслужбам найти и исполнителей, и организаторов этой атаки, и показательно наказать, чтоб другим было неповадно. I request you to give the job to find and special performers, and organizers of the attacks, and revealing to punish, to others it was nepovadno.
Необязательно публиковать скриншот этой страницы с Вашей резолюцией, но сделайте это, для восстановления имиджа Вашей страны. You do not need to publish a screenshot of this page in your resolution, but do it, to restore the image of your country.
А то, Ваше ПВО сбивало во время войны Ваши же самолеты, которые бомбили Ваши же колонны, а некто Нагавицин, утверждает, что это грузины перекрашивали свои самолеты в цвета ВВС России и так бомбили.. And then, your aircraft to shoot down during the war, your the same aircraft, which bombed your same columns, but someone Nagavitsin, argues that the Georgians perekrashivali their aircraft in the Air Force colors, and so Russia bombed ..
Постыдились бы. Would be ashamed.

Итак, я Вас предупредил, господин президент. So, I warned you, Mr. President.
Вы любите интернет, надеюсь Вы понимаете, как важно восстановить облик России после этой грязной атаки. You love the Internet, I hope you understand how important it is to restore the image of Russia after this dirty attack.

С Уважением Sincerely
Георгий George”

Some have suggested this shut down of Twitter and Facebook is due to the Koobface Virus. Of note is that criminal authors also picked August 6^th to launch and updated version of the Koobface Virus, which propagates by using Facebook and Twitter posts to trick folks into downloading trojanized software. So if Twitter or Facebook goes down-it would seem counter to the purpose of the malware. But then thankfully I don’t understand the twisted minds of those who create malware.

Hmmmmmm………………..I must say, this reeks of international intrigue.  Cyxymu’s government shutting down his blog seems to be the most logical explanation. I hear James Bond music playing in my head; I am having visions of Robert Redford and Brad Pitt in Spy Game.

Seriously, I do have a question though:

1. Who thinks that this guy’s blog is so dangerous that they are willing to go to such extremes to quiet his voice?

He must be worth listening to if his government wants to shut him up that bad!

Several of the books on their “10 must read books for Geeks” sound very interesting so I thought I would also share them with my readers. So here we go:

iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon: How I Invented the Personal Computer, Co-Founded Apple, and Had Fun Doing It

Authors: Steve Wozniak, Gina Smith
Publisher: W. W. Norton
288 pages
Book homepage ($2.99)

This book helps explain how the Apple fairy tale began in the 1970s and is written by Steve Wozniak the man supposed to have put together by hand the first personal computer. It details how Wozniak met Steve Jobs and how the Apple empire began.

The Ultimate History of Video Games

Author: Steven L. Kent
Publisher: Three Rivers Press
624 pages
Book homepage

If you want to understand the genesis of gaming this is a must read. The book reveals that early Atari  had the corporate climate of a dot-com startup, with rampant drug use and meetings staged in outdoor hot tubs. Did you know that Japan suffered a coin shortage during 1978 the height of Space Invadors? How about the original name for Pac Man was Puck Man-but do to vandal concerns that might replace the P with an F-it became Pac Man.

The Google Story

Authors: David Vise, Mark Malseed
Publisher: Delta
336 pages
Book homepage

Before 1998 there was no such thing as a Page Rank algorithm. Google was created by 2 students at Standford University. This book will outline how Page and Sergey Brin reinvented advertising and created one of the most successful and influential organizations of all time.

Does IT Matter?

Author: Nicholas G. Carr
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
208 pages
Book homepage

I am sure you have all heard the expression doctors have a “God Complex” so it seems do many IT managers. This book takes the position that just as many other industries such as railroads and telegraphs evolved to the point where humans become less necessary-the same thing will happen in IT. Does IT Matter-suggests that IT needs to change its mission to providing solutions for business.

Reading is of course essential, you can’t embrace technical ideas if you can’t read so reading should still be high on the list. Rithmatic (arithmetic)?  Well since computer technology is based on binary number systems, math is going to remain at the top of the list too. But what about Riting (writing)?

This blogger is going to say no not so much-I don’t think writing is very important and here is why:

1. I would venture a guess that 90% of people type and email or text a message rather than write a letter.
2. By the time a 9 year old enters the work force, technology is only going to have advanced and for all we know computers will work on voice command which will make even a typing skill outdated.
3. Most of the people I know only use their hand written signatures for things like birthday cards and signing checks.

Why is it so hard for school systems to evolve? It doesn’t seem to be so much of a problem in the college arena-but I think it is a huge problem for up and coming teen agers. Is it antiquated teaching styles from teachers and district administrators or are parents not using their voices to influence policy?

Is it me or doesn’t it seem more important to teach typing rather than enforcing perfect printing? Instead of cramping children’s hands with repetitive cursive, why not use that time for something like how to protect yourself on line? Health classes teach 7^th graders about protecting yourself from HIV with condoms (which BTW I don’t agree with) but no one is teaching them how to be safe on Myspace! Google streetview is taking pictures of playgrounds and putting children’s identities and locations on the internet and yet no one is telling 6^th graders about the downside of sexting.

Negotiating Salary:

From most employers’ standpoint, if an employee is deserving of a salary increase it is because they have added value to the company, not because a calendar page has turned. There are many ways an employee can add value:

1. Consistently increase your skill set with independent continuing education.
2. Seek out certifications for your industry.
3. Consistently give quality service to your “customers”. Customers being inclusive of co-workers, vendors and your employer.

Dos and Don’ts:

1. Never compare your salary with co-workers; what other employees make is irrelevant to your negotiation.
2. Do research salaries in your field.
3. Do consider your experience level.
4. Do evaluate the present economy.
5. Always be accountable for your mistakes.

Everyone is in Sales!

This is a key concept in business and life in general. If you ever want anything from anyone-you’re in sales. While generally I work in the administration of Connectzone.com, I am in sales because I want to “sell” the idea to my employees that working for me is a great place to be. Every time I have contact with a vendor I am selling them the idea that I am a great customer so I can get their best customer service. Of course I sell to my customers, but I am never talking with them about cables, I am selling them customer service and making their experience with us the best it can be.

As an employee you are in sales by selling yourself to your employer and your co-workers. It is simple things like arriving at work on time. I remember my father telling me before I went to my first job “if you start work at 8:00 AM that means you show up at 7:45 AM to put your coat away and get your coffee so you are actually working at 8:00 AM”. It is complex things like finding ways to positively interact with your co-workers and leaving petty jealousy and gossip at the door. It is courteous and respectful behavior, for example calling your supervisor if you are going to be late or absent. Be a problem solver, be creative and embrace new ideas!

The “No Whine Zone”

Most people have heard of Fox News “No Spin Zone”; make your work area a “no whine zone”. What the heck does that mean you may ask? It sounds easy and no one ever thinks they are whining-or they wouldn’t be whining. Trust me no one likes to be around a whiner. Instead view challenges as an opportunity to think outside the box and problem solve. Some days work is just hard and you can be faced with tasks you don’t like or that aren’t necessarily in your “job description”. After being in the workforce for 30 years, trust me, it’s like that for everyone. You can either be noticed for your whining or noticed for your positive and creative force and tenacity to meet a challenge. The later will get you farther in business and life.

When ConnectZone decided to exhibit at the 2009 Interop show this year, we knew it was going to be a big deal. How big, we had no idea. One thing you can say about things in Las Vegas: they will never leave you disappointed.  It may leave you broke, or feeling like your soul needs a shower, but there is no such thing in Vegas as “going halfway”. The 2009 Interop show was no exception.

This is one of the bigger shows of its type.  From their website: “Interop is the leading global technology event, with the most comprehensive IT Conference and Exhibition available. Business and technology leaders attend Interop to get the most up to date information available on key technologies, learn about the latest trends and meet with leading vendors.” Like ConnectZone, for instance. 

This Geek has done plenty of trade shows before and even attended Iterop in Vegas many years ago. It was before the Internet bubble burst and the sky was the limit. The memories have all but faded of the circus-like atmosphere: the Rent-a-babes (to draw foot-traffic), hired performers (acrobats and magicians), and professional impersonators (Austin Powers was big that year).

Now that I typed that out, it sounds a lot like a 12 year old boy’s dream birthday party.  That’s weird…

This year’s Interop show, held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center,  was less frenetic and more focused on increasing ROI (a fancy term for “saving money”); a reflection of the current economic conditions worldwide. Because ConnectZone has been helping  customers get more for their money since its inception, it was natural to exhibit at Interop this time around.

Even though we are best known for cables and connectivity, we decided to highlight ConnectZone’s new line of metal products (cabinets, racks, shelves) and power distribution units (PDU’s).  With so much concern about budget these days, and limited brand choices with these products, we anticipated many companies would be looking for a better deal.  Judging by the response we got at the show, we were right on the money, pun intended.

Our metal products are displayed on our website, but we are always getting new stuff, so add it to your favorites and check back often.

The big hit at our booth was a new line of PDU’s. They have digital amp usage readout and are IP addressable, which allows you to monitor usage and even reboot equipment through the Internet. Lots of “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” over that, as you can imagine.

Our cables, though, did not get relegated to the shadows somewhere.  The Cable Geek would have none of that!   We displayed our popular CX4 cables, for 10 Gigabit data speeds. We also showed off our fiber Mode Conditioning “Launch” cables and our special Ultra-flexible DS3 cables, which we can customize in custom lengths and configurations.

The other hot item at the show was our swag: ConnectZone bottled water! The temperature outside is above 100 degrees, and guess what everyone craves? H2O, that’s what!

We met some really nice people there, both attendees and exhibitors.  In my experience, the IT world is filled with genuinely likeable and polite people, almost without exception.  Something about working in a field that is cutting edge and constantly evolving that draws a certain, well, geeky personality. That must be why this Cable Geek felt at home, as if in a GI-NORMOUS room full of fellow geeks.

In our industry it may seem like there isn’t much we can do. We don’t use much in the way of chemicals; in fact our local waste service doesn’t even offer business service recycling. Then there is always the question of cost-even if it’s the right thing to do-there can be a substantial cost to recycle batteries and printer cartridges. Well here are some ideas that will cost you little or nothing to help stop global warming.

Email. Go as paper free as you can. Connectzone.com emails invoices, purchase orders and even     credit card receipts. This saves paper, postage and human resources to stuff envelopes.

Set up a robust and reliable system to back up your accounting system. If you have that-you don’t need to print invoices to attach customer payments to because you can print them anytime if you need to. Keep the check stubs from customer payments to cross reference if you need to. This also saves storage room and paper. 

Use rechargeable batteries. With all the wireless mousses and keyboards out there-recharge batteries. Then for additional savings-if your wireless mouse requires 2 batteries-only replace one at a time to make sure you are getting the full life out of the other.

Recycle broke hardware. In the same building park we are in is a business that recycles everything from printers to monitors-for FREE. At the end of this post I will give you a website that has many recycle options-many are inexpensive. Most are free!

 Pay invoices by credit card. It reduces the use of checks (paper), envelopes and stamps.

 Think small. There is a gardener in your office somewhere, seek him or her out and ask them if they would like the corporate coffee grounds. Even the paper filters decompose in the garden really quickly.

 Think Big. Plan a rooftop garden, think of it as an enviroscape for your employees and the local birds and bees. If you don’t have the space how about a planter with a tomato plant or lettuce-it will come in handy for a lunch time BBQ.

There is something simple all of us can do and we should. It would be fiscally irresponsible not to take advantage of saving money in business. It would be globally irresponsible not to help our planet. For more ideas check out www.earth911.com

My name is Sammy-I also go by Sam. I am a 5 year old Border Collie mix. I was rescued from a dumpster in Yakima by an organization called Lil’ Waif Puppy Rescue. I came to the rescue with something they called “failure to thrive”. They were really nice to me though; I got snuggled in a rocking chair a lot and got better. I used to stand in my water dish all the time and the nice lady who rescued me made sure I was adopted into a home that would involve water. Sure enough I got my own pond now and lots of friendly neighbor dogs that come over to play.

My favorite neighbor is a Chihuahua named Harley, he doesn’t seem to notice how much bigger I am than him. One of my other best friends is a Schnauzer named Zeke-I met him when we were both really young and I taught him to climb stairs. I also live with 3 cats-but they aren’t much fun to play with, in fact they are all kinda crabby.

I have a pretty easy life now-but had a really rough start. It was even a little rough when I got adopted to my forever home. My potty training coincided with my owners purchasing a Roomba. I tried really hard to hold it-but had an accident. My owners didn’t notice right away and one of them decided to start the Roomba and poop got dragged all over the house. They talk about it now like it’s a really funny story-but they didn’t think it was funny when it happened!

Most days I wake up around 7AM but I don’t generally get up to stretch until I hear someone getting into the shower. Then I stretch a bit and wonder on downstairs to see if any food magically appeared in my dish overnight. Then outside for a potty and squirrel check-I LOVE chasing the squirrels.

I am always excited to get in the car and go to work. I run into the warehouse and greet all the people there. I run up and down the aisles of the warehouse until I find each and everyone. If anyone is missing I find it very worrisome. There are so many aisles full of things like HDMI cables and patch cables-I don’t know what they are used for but they must be pretty important ‘cause we have a lot of them. One day a long time ago when our warehouse was in Kent Washington, I caught a rat. I made company history!

Then I go up to the business office and have to greet everyone there. I get to go for a walk at lunch and then I mostly sleep until it’s time to go home. If you want to see a picture of me visit our facebook page group. Until next time happy tails to you.

At one point in my life I was a trained “first responder” as well as certified to teach Red Cross first aid and CPR. Rule #1, secure yourself and your situation, one disaster is bad enough-don’t make it two disasters. So if you stop to help at a car accident, make sure your car is blocking traffic from hitting YOU so you can assist others. If you happen to run into an electrical emergency, shut off the power before you touch anything-better to be safe than electrocuted, you can’t help anyone if you are being electrocuted. If someone has fallen through frozen ice, get them a rope or branch, take off your shirt or jeans and throw it out to them, do not try to walk on the ice out to save them. It sounds like common sense right? But the thing is when panic takes over common sense, calm clarity and critical thinking go right out the window.

Before I go further I want you to click this link and start the music-reduce the window and come back to me.

Here is how it starts for me; I generally start by holding my breath, which after a short period of time makes me dizzy. Around the time I start to feel dizzy I know I am panicking-so I remind myself to breath. Immediately things get better. Then the song you are listening to, well it starts playing inside my stomach which makes white caps in my little sea of stomach acid. (BTW you should recognize this music-it is played in several famous slasher and satanic movies).

 Then I say to myself “Jemma, go to solution” and more often than not it flips a switch in me. It reminds me that if I am panicking I am not going to finish the physics test. If I panic, I am not securing my life preserver on the sinking ship. Panicking doesn’t help you perform effective CPR. Panicking, while totally natural, is essentially useless so save you or anyone else. Panicking was designed to increase your sympathetic nervous system responses so that in an emergency there would be more blood flow to large muscles to you could run away from a bear. A stimulated sympathetic nervous system increases blood flow to your ear drums so you can hear better and increases the size of your pupils to let more light in so you can see with better acuity. Adrenalin released in panic mode causes constriction in your bronchial tubes so you can increase the volume of oxygen you can take in and make it available to your body to do work in an emergency. Stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system makes it so you don’t notice if you are hungry or have to go potty-I suppose because if a bear is chasing you-it’s not a good time to stop for a sandwich. Adrenalin released by your sympathetic nervous systems constricts blood vessels so you bleed less if injured. The other funny stuff like an upset stomach, feeling dizzy-well that is all just silly side effects from the adrenalin. If you know about these silly side effects you can talk your way through them and control them rather than they control you.

When I worked in emergency veterinary medicine, guess what the busiest day of the year was? 4^th of July. Animals generally don’t appreciate fireworks; they think that their previously quiet neighborhood has suddenly turned into a war zone. They run into the street panicking and get hit by cars, they chew through dog crates, they chase and often bite fireworks, they run full speed into closed glass doors, and they escape yard boundaries and meet up with other panicking animals and get in fights. For the people of the USA, it’s a great day for celebrating independence from England for animals on the other hand it is a terrifying, horrific bonanza of unexpected and unpredictable loud noise and light. Fortunately as humans with a supposed larger forebrain we can understand what is happening whereas animals cannot.

This brings me back to my point which is whether in business or personal life panicking won’t help. The wolf lurking at the door is just fear disguised as a scruffy dog, he can’t really hurt you. Panicking on the other hand can suspend your ability to save your business or a life. Next time panic sets in, remind yourself it can’t help you and go to solution. As Ivar Hagland would say “remain calm, cool, and collect”.