Pursuit of Perfection

Striving for perfection involves hard work and determination to be the best. Perfection is elusive and some what subjective unless you are going for olympic gold. In the pursuit of athletic profection, I seek a combination of strenght, endurance, perfect form, and true content with performance. True perfection is when every thing has come together and you are totally satisfied.

Once you reach the pinnacle of your profession, does the pursuit change? What elusive challenge must  be present to motivate dominating performance. The fun of it all is the challenge to obtain that prized possession, once obtained; it becomes about your effect on those around you.


Perfection in life is a combination of phyiscal, emotional, and spiritual well being. Congratulation to all olympains who have reached the pinnacle of their sport.  God bless and may you reach your vision of perfection.

Office Romance ramifications

Early in your career when you were single, did you ever find one of  your co-workers attractive. The office bombshell hits on you and you wonder, should I take a chance on a office romance? Things to consider:

In corporate America, office romances are fairly common in the tune of 40% of workers have dated a co-worker. Typically, most of the relationship (72%) are in open or known about. To protect yourself and your  co-worker, you should find out if the company has a policy about office dating. Currently, 25% of companies have a inter-office dating policy.

The obvious down side off an office romance is risk of lost productivity due to flirting and trysts. A bad office romance can be very disruptive and lower morale for the people involved. If the romance ends badly, the result could be loss of key personnel, which ultimately is a management concern.
The worst possible out come for your office romance is a lawsuit based on harassment and coercion complaints. If you are considering and office romance during your career, I would proceed with extreme caution.

Upgrading computing power (32 to 64 )bit processor

I looking to upgrade to a 64 bit processor and operating system to increase speed and performance. So what is the deal?

The main advantage of upgrading to 64 bit processor is you double the processing power. A computer works on a bit and bite format or binary.  A bite in binary notation can be represented as a 1 or 0. The computer stores data in a series of 1 and 0 such as 10110101 and that how computations are made. A 32 bit processor  can represent number from 0 to 4,294,967,295 while a 64 bit processor can can represent numbers from 0 to 18,446,744,073,709,551,615.  The bottom line is, the 64 bit processor is must more efficient and faster when doing computation on small and large complex problem.

Companies that have large database and process 1000 of transactions can really benefit from upgrading to a 64 bit processor and operating system. The new 64 bit processor  Athlon is backward compatible where you can run 32 bit  operating system and software programs. 32 bit  O.S.  and programs are not designed to take advantage of the extra processing power so you will see little benefit.

The following Windows software will run on X64 bit platform:  Exchange, SQL database, Virtual Server 2005 R2, SharePoint 2007,  Windows 2008 and XP. If you are using these platforms, it is well worth it to upgrade. The speed and performance increase are fantastic!

The Real and hidden cost of college

For most college age students and their families, it has become very difficult to afford the sky rocketing cost of education. The typical college expense can run from $30,000 - $50,000 per year. Each year the cost to attend college  rises 3%  which out paces inflation. This cost typically does not include hidden costs  such as extra fees,  student activity fees, class dues etc.

While the economy continues to slump,  many people are questioning  whether the huge cost on a bachelors degree is even worth it.  The latest statics show, only 1 and 5 college graduates had a job prior to graduation in 2009. To help you and your family afford college, you should look at tuition and any additional fee that may be charged, these additional fees are not disclosed unless requested.

By federal law, Universities are required to provide the overall cost of attendance. The reality is, many schools provide the lowest possible estimates and only reveal these costs when asked. As consumers, we must factor in activity fees, lab fees, health clinic fees, gym fee and technology fees. You also have to account for room and board,  text books, supplies, health insurance, and transportation  expenses. You can do some research on various costs at  http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/

How to prevent wasting good money?
The number one way in which families waste money on college is when students drop out or take forever to finish. The drop rate for the average freshman is 55%. In addition, 45% of the students take 6 years to get their degree. When the economy is down these numbers are worse.

The worst case scenario is when the student flunks out of school. To prevent drop out, the student has to want to be in school  and recognize the value in the investment in education. College is an investment and you should look to get the greatest return on your investment. Of course, this is easier said the done.

Financing college -- if you are looking at college in the next few years, here are some tips:
Scholarship link http://www.usnews.com/education/paying-for-college/articles/2010/01/24/10-steps-to-raise-15k-or-more-for-college-now.html

Financial aide from admissions http://www.smartmoney.com/spending/rip-offs/10-things-college-financial-aid-offices-wont-tell-you-15281/

College Education 101 bang for you buck

The value of a college education is dependent on getting the most bang for your buck. In order to get the most bang for your buck, we must understand the economics of the degree obtained.  To be successful after college and in your career, students must be smart,  attend a high quality college, and earn a degree in high demand.

The real value of a college education based on a US News report is about $300,000 during a life time.  College graduates on average earn $20,000 a year more than high school graduates. For the average person who works 40 years that amounts to $800,000 minus inflation over these years, the real dollars are $450,000 today.  Subtract the cost of the college education at $30,000 per year and that gives you at net value of $300,00.

The benefits of a college degree are: a good quality job with benefits such as health insurance. Typically college graduates can find and keep their jobs. The unemployment rate of college graduates tends to be must lower such as  2 - 3%.  Most college graduates who are willing to work hard, have smartest, and dedication can find a rewarding and well paying career.

Higher Education and the Economy

Now that the graduate has that degree, where do we go from here?

In the USA, we face many problems on multiple fronts that we need college graduates to help solve. First and foremost, we need more graduates in the field of science, math, engineering, and technology to drive innovation.

We need graduates who can lead in developing a balance between spending on the military and socail programs that uplift and help US citizens and deal with immigration problem.

We need new innovative educators who lead in fixing our education system. There needs to be a balnace between spending on education and actually education our students. We should once again make education a top priority for all, not just the wealthy and private.

We need new graduates who will lead in solving the health care dilema. How do we make health care affordable and cover the millions of un-insured.

In short, we need our educational institutions to prepare the graduate of tomorrow who are willing and able to make the world and the USA a better place for all.

The Best College Education

The best education is one the affords your a satisfying and rewarding career that compenstates you very handsomely.

The old saying goes that college is the best four years of your life. You go to college, choose a major , in my case, Businesss Administration, get your degree, and live happy ever after.

The problem is the cost of higher education has sky rocketed, since I graduated. Since 911or the last decade, the economic climate has made it difficult for graduates to get a job that is related to their field of study or major. Many times graduates are forced to take the best job offer available. The first job out of college may have no relationship to your major and this can adversely affect a students career path.

If a college graduate never gets a job related to his or her field of study, how valuable is the college degree? The question becomes what is the value of a college eduction and how do you measure this?