One of my favorite political websites is OpenSecrets (www.opensecrets.org). It lists the political donors, who's giving the money, and where it is going. For example the top 3 donors are: 1. American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees 2. AT & T 3. National Association of Realtors Enter your zip code and you can see who the big donors in your town or city are, how much they gave, and to whom they gave. This site provides a lot of other useful and interesting...

The Web and current media technologies have the potential to allow a voter to be informed about every issue from every candidate. Each candidate, citizens, and the thousands of bloggers can discuss, chew, twist, and digest every viewpoint and nuance of every campaign. One can read just about any national or international paper online. Cable and Satellite TV provides a variety of newscasts. There are also Podcasts, email lists, online groups, MySpace-like places, and so on. Unfortunately...

In my last post (Wiki the Candidates) I wrote about how there were candidate bios in Wikipedia. While this action was new to me I found it quite interesting. Thinking about some of the new Web 2.0 technologies, I thought it might be interesting to see if social bookmarking sites played a role in the gubernatorial campaign. Del.icio.us is a popular social bookmarking site. I entered each candidate's name. Naturally, I received each candidate's home site. Here are some of the other sites tha...

I'm a fan of Wikipedia. I like the concept. Collaboration and social media interest me. Initially, I was surprised when I saw Wikipedia entries for the gubernatorial candidates. After a moment, I thought "why not". The Web offers a variety of techniques for communication. That is what the Web is about, communication. The following candidates have Wikipedia entries. * Chris Gabrieli (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Gabrieli) * Kerry Healey (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerry_Healey) ...

With today's technology, it is impossible to be uninformed about the candidates. Today, being uninformed is a choice! Please visit all the campaign sites, even for those candidates that you dislike. We have six candidates running for governor. Here are their sites: * Chris Gabrieli (www.gabrieli.org) * Kerry Healey (www.healeycommittee.com) * Christy Mihos (www.christy2006.com) * Deval Patrick (www.devalpatrick.com) * Tom Reilly (www.tomreilly.org) * Grace R...

The coffee shop in the supermarket finally opened on Tuesday, September 21. The day was a comedy of errors. The coffee machines were not correctly calibrated causing coffee pots to overflow. The ice coffee machine leaked. One of the ATM keypads didn't work. These are small issues that are being resolved. A good sense of humor helps. The coffee shop I work in is part of a national franchise. In addition to regular coffees, they offer specialty drinks, both hot and cold. Beware of some of...

Eating well is one of the most important things you can do in your life. However, there are other products that either go into your mouth, on to your body, enter your system via breathing, or other contact. With this in mind, I checked my shelves to see what earth-friendly products I have. JASON (www.jason-natural.com) - I use their toothpaste. They make a variety of other products. Desert Essence (www.country-life.com) - I just tried their mouthwash. It is quite good; it includes tea t...

Life at the supermarket is going well. The coffee shop hasn't opened yet, but I am having fun working as a cashier. Rumor has it that the shop opens tomorrow, 09/16/04. I joke with the customers. When customers pay with a debit card I have to ask them if they want any cash back. Then I ask them if they have any cash left. They laugh. When people buy a lot of food, I ask them if they are having a function. If they are, I ask them what time should I be there. Some people invite me. I ma...

Stress is a major factor that may lead to bad eating habits. Some people overeat when they are stressed. They are not hungry, they may not even particularly care about what they are eating, but they eat. I am this type of eater, an emotional eater. Eating habits are manageable. Stress is manageable. If you can manage your stress, you can manage your eating behavior. You will also live a longer and more enjoyable life. The One Minute Manager Gets Fit by Kenneth Blanchard, Ph.d, D. W. ...

Eating healthy is a lifestyle. I know, I spent many years not eating healthy. My previous lifestyle included many precious moments at McDonalds sharing quality time with quarter pounders with cheese, or enjoying grande nachos that could feed a family of six (if I ever gave them a chance), and I have enjoyed many mozzarella sticks. I've finally decided to start eating healthy. Normally I would say diet since I am overweight, but I think lifestyle is a better word. I believe this for the foll...

I am a member of the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union (www.ufcw.org). The UFCW represents workers in the following industries: health care, meat packing, chemical trades, textiles, and retail food. Their goals are workers' rights, better wages, benefits, and safer work areas. Members of this union comprise workers from the following stores. (This is a partial list.) Shaws, Pathmark, Fry's, Zehrs Markets, Stop & Shop, and Kohl's Bloomingdale's, Sears Roebuck, and Value Ci...

Introduction Everybody needs to pay attention to labor issues. It doesn't matter whether you work at a minimum wage job or you are a software engineer. Any company's main goal is to make a profit. I don't begrudge them; it is only natural that a company cannot stay in business unless it does makes a profit. However, I do begrudge the behaviors companies engage in to make a profit ! Companies oursource! It doesn't matter if it is manufacturing or software development. Actually, computer pr...

Which United State's city is not in a state? It is located within the continental United States. It is on the East coast. It is the capital of the United States. Yes, it is Washington D.C. Washingtonians have a mayor but have no governor or Senate representation. They have one member in the House of Representatives, Eleanor Holmes Norton. Thomas Jefferson selected their first mayor in 1802. This city consists of 69 square miles of land that was originally part of Virginia and Maryland....

The federal hourly minimum wage is $5.15. Some states pay more and some pay less. Some states have no minimum wage. Rent, gas, food, clothing and utilities. Can you afford to be minimumWaged ? The following list displays the minimum wage paid in each state and the District of Columbia. Alabama None Alaska $7.15 Arizona None Arkansas $5.15 California $6.75 Colorado $5.15 Connecticut $7.10 Delaware $6.15 District of Columbia $6.15 Florida None Georgia $5.15 Hawaii $6.25 Idaho $5.15...