Alex T's blog

I believe you have my stapler

I'm in! I got it, I'm in! Huzzah! Yay me!

Well, I'm almost in. I have an "offer meeting" on Monday morning. Again with the meetings! I've never been to such a thing before, so I don't really know what to expect. I wonder if they'll write down a figure on a piece of paper and pass it to me across the table. That would be so cool. I'm practising a poker face so I don't blurt out, "Oh my gawd! I'll take it! Kewl! Now I can move out of my mouldy, mouse-infested basement apartment and pay off my credit card debt! Will you marry me?" Because that wouldn't be very professional.

Pet Peeve's

I hate it when people misuse the possessive "s". What is with that? It's like an epidemic. I regularly get e-mails from library patrons asking if they can borrow "video's". I see cafe chalkboards advertising "cake's" and "sandwich's". Today, while doing research on hiring policies at large organizations, I found the following on the Smith College website: "Candidate's whose application [sic] are reviewed by the hiring manager and not selected for an interview" bla bla bla. Smith freaking College! Aren't they, like, one of the so-called Seven Sisters and like, totally prestigious? I actually took the time to write an e-mail to the webmaster pointing out the error. Yes, I am that anal.

There are other stupid mistakes that make me grit my teeth. Today, while reading the Globe and Mail over lunch, I almost choked on my chocolate mousse cake when I came across the following sentence in an otherwise touching obituary on the Facts and Arguments page:

"Their first child, Sara, was born in 1960, and Shelley began her full-time career as a mother. Returning to Winnipeg in 1960, she later gave birth to myself in 1963 and Marnie in 1966 ."

Arghhh! No no no! That's terrible grammar. The whole second sentence is a grammatical disaster. The highlighted sentence should read "she gave birth to me", not "myself". "Returning to Winnipeg" looks suspiciously like a dangling modifier (it just seems irrelevant to the rest of the sentence) and poor Marnie sounds like an afterthought, in more ways than one.

I have such a hard time reading newspapers these days. Even some fiction is difficult to understand - I read and re-read the same sentence over and over, trying to make sense of it. Like, "Marge didn't know three women, or even many children, who couldn't drink him under the table" - a sentence which I found in - I confess - a paperback thriller/suspense novel somebody left in the laundry room. Even so. What the hell is that supposed to mean? And how did it get past the editor?

I used to think I was just too stupid or dense or distracted, when I came across sentences I couldn't understand. But more and more, I'm convinced that a lot of people just don't know how to write clearly. It drive's me crazy.

Buzzword Watch: Hitting Hard

What is with "impact" these days? You'd think we were living in a battle zone or being constantly pelted with meteorites or something. Everything is impacted. You're impacted, I'm impacted, the snowstorm/marathon/strike will impact on transit services, this great new ad campaign will impact customers. Impact, impact, impact. I need a helmet.

It seems wrong to me. I understand that impact has been used as a verb since 1601, but it just doesn't feel right.

And don't even get me started on impactful.

Thought Experiment #2: Poverty

Suppose you have N poor people (however you define the term) living in society. Suppose also that it has been decided that direct handouts are not good policy and the key to ending poverty is creating opportunities for the poor to raise themselves out of poverty through education and work programs. Given the existence of free will--and, oftentimes, the preexisting habits or circumstances that led to being in poverty in the first place--equal opportunity will not create equal results. Some of the poor will take advantage of the opportunities given (call them group X), and others will not (group Y). After some time T after implementing said social programs, let's suppose Group X has successfully used those given opportunities and are no longer impoverished. Group Y, by definition, has not, and remain poor even after the anti-poverty programs have been implemented. This would seem to indicate that as long as Group Y (and free will) exists, poverty can NEVER be completely abolished. Even the most optimal social policy to end poverty will at most reduce N by X, since Y will remain in poverty regardless of the opportunities presented. Here's the problem: how do we know this has not already happened? What if the quantity of people in poverty today are already just the Group Y people who remained after the Group X people left. I'm not suggesting this is the case, but if it was, how would we know? What if current policies were already the most optimal anti-poverty measures one could create? Could we prove otherwise? Some people seem to say the existence of people in poverty shows that current social anti-poverty policies are inadequate. The inadequacy part is no doubt true, but the mere existence of poor people is not evidence of it. Since we can't tell by looking at someone whether they are Group X or Group Y (and people can change from one to the other through time as well...) how would we know if we already had the most optimal anti-poverty measures in place possible? How would we know if we had already done all we could? How do you judge the success or failure of an anti-poverty measure, anyway? Raw numbers? Percentages? Either measure fails to take into account the difference between groups X and Y--if Group Y happens to be increasing for whatever reason, the ranks of the poor will increase percentage-wise even if you had the best anti-poverty program in the world in place already... Important factors to consider in the debate about poverty and 'income inequality': what defines success or failure? How do you help Group Y people get out of poverty? (Or can you?) What metric can you use to determine if existing programs are already as successful as possible, or if change is needed? Without going through individuals case-by-case, how can you tell whether someone has already been given ample opportunity to escape poverty and thus current policies are adequate?

My gratitude

My blog website supports FoxyStilezArticles, which is a group of young and proficient essayissts who have contributed some of their work and thoughts in anticipations of getting a gig. Directly below is a resume of the most recent author to enroll in their crew, for additional authors simply see the posts below. Howdy! I happen to be one of the group organizers of FoxyStilezArticles, a hungry young web writing company. We all write in English and French for world wide online viewers, and are available for content building for your website. Listed below you will read my resume, and you'll be able to read other group organizers and writers' resumes on this internet site. At the end of my resume, you are going to view some samples of our authored articles. For work requests, you should mail us with the contactform on this webpage and we will react as soon as possible.

Resume

Dollie Lee
10806 Nettleton Drive
Florida Tallahassee
dollie_1992@gmail.com


Qualifications

Graduated With Special Honors from York University
7 years of composing experience (in particular for Internet viewers)
Exquisite fluency in Spanish and English
Dedicated, team-oriented member of staff with a aptitude for details


Business Expertise

FoxyStilezArticles, Dallas USA
2005 - Present
Writing Team Supervisor
Accountable for setting up a global group of internet writers to meet a complex set of output goals.
- Set records for efficiency, expanding productivity by 18% internationally
- Correctly maintained steady logs of project distribution
- Conducted QC for world wide production across a substantial group of internet writers


Special Skills and Abilities

Competent in Spanish and English
Sophisticated competence with a huge choice of office software programs


Examples of Published Posts


Larisa blog page | Thresa journal | Latia blog page | Terrance webpage | Ouida blog | Lorita web site | Aretha fantastic webpage | Davis dairy | Bertha daily pundit | Alba pundit | Mike daily pundit | Cherilyn dairy | Kerrie daily pundit | Alyssa blog page | Kristi web site | Enriqueta awesome blog | Margeret page | Annamarie online journal | Takako webpage | Jeannetta pages | Maximum Auto | Cheapest Webhost | Techy Gadgets | Boots and Fashion | Animal Rubber Bands | Design and Interior | House and family

Leona Rose Resume

Hello there! I happen to be one of many team organizers of FoxyStilezArticles, a worldwide Internet article writing combine. We are able to craft in English and French for global web readers, and are at hand for blog post development for your online business. Below you can see my curriculum vitae, and you might be able to see other team organizers and team members' CV's on this web-site. At the end of my curriculum vitae, you'll see some good examples of our written and published posts. For work requests, please contact us with the form on this internet site and we will react as soon as can be.

Resume

Leona Rose
4306 Duben Avenue
Arkansas Little Rock
leona_1992@gmail.com


Summary of Qualifications

Graduated Magna Cum Laude from Rivier College
10 years of creating experience (specifically for Electronic readers)
Exquisite fluency in Latin and Spanish
Focused, business-oriented individual with a flair for details


Work Expertise

FoxyStilezArticles, Dallas USA
1999 - Present
Crew Leader
In charge of setting up a global crew of authors to fit a challenging set of development goals and objectives.
- Set new records for productivity, raising productivity by 30% internationally
- Properly maintained continuous logs of job distribution
- Cared for QA for world-wide production over a significant crew of internet writers


Additional Skills

Proficient in Latin and Spanish
Sophisticated competence with a wide range of office software programs


Samples of Publicized Works


air ride suspension kits | austin car dealerships | auto air conditioning troubleshooting | auto painting prices | auto parts denver | auto parts san diego | auto rental deals | auto tires prices | auto window replacement | average car payment | bed covers for trucks | best place to buy tires | best truck tires | bluetooth for car | brake line repair | brake pad replacement | brake pads and rotors | brake pads cost | brake pads replacement cost | brake repair cost

Thought Experiment #1: Minimum Wage

What would a likely new minimum wage be? Over $6.00 certainly, perhaps $7.00. Why would we raise the minimum wage? To 'help the poor', of course. But...if raising the minimum wage from $5 to $7 'helps the poor', wouldn't it help them even more to raise it to $10, or $20, or $40? Why stop at $7? Who wouldn't benefit from getting $20 an hour instead of $5? Let's suppose a $20 minimum wage goes into effect tomorrow. What would happen? The most obvious effect is that companies with minimum wage employees will suddenly discover their payroll has quadrupled...but, unfortunately, their gross income has not magically quadrupled to go along with it. Thus, a $20 minimum wage would lead to a huge amount of layoffs, as companies are forced to find a equilibrium between productivity and expense. This seems inarguable... Here's the point: how can anyone argue that raising the minimum wage to $7 will have no impact on unemployment, if it's blinding obvious that raising it to $20 would? Obviously, the layoff effect itself will be exponentially greater at $20 than at $7, but if it's clear that (higher minimum wage == layoffs) in large cases, wouldn't it be proportionally just as true in small cases as well? There's undoubtedly still a policy argument in favor of a higher minimum wage even accepting a result of higher unemployment, but using an 'extreme case' thought experiment should make it clear that if large changes have certain consequences, then small changes will also have (proportionally smaller, yet undeniably present) consequences as well...

Loren Jackson CV

Como Estas! I am one of the crew leaders of FoxyStilezArticles, a globally distributed content writing collective. We are able to publish in English for world wide web viewers, and are at hand for written content generation for your webpage. Down the page you can read my CV, and you might be able to see other crew leaders and team members' CV's on this web site. At the end of my CV, you're going to check out some examples of our written articles. For employment queries, please reach us using the contactform on this web site and we shall respond as soon as feasible.

CV

Loren Jackson
8451 Meadow Ridge Court
Arkansas Little Rock
loren_1998@gmail.com


Summary of Qualifications

Graduated With Special Honors from Belmont University
10 years of creating experience (directly for Web viewers)
Superb competency in Spanish
Focused, staff-oriented staff member with a flair for particulars


Employment Experience

FoxyStilezArticles, Boston USA
1999 - Present
Group Manager
Accountable for setting up a global team of writers to suit a demanding set of output goals and objectives.
- Set records for efficiency, expanding output by 19% around the world
- Properly kept regular records of job distribution
- Cared for quality control for worldwide creation across a large team of authors


Additional Skills

Fluent in Spanish
Innovative proficiency using a huge choice of office software


Examples of Released Posts


brake rotor | brake rotors replacement cost | buying new car | car ac repair | car advertisements | car alignment cost | car breaks | car carpet cleaner | car inspection nj | car junk yards | car oil change | car paint job | car rental brooklyn | car rental florida | car rental nj | car rental places | car rental sfo | car rental tucson | car struts | car tires for sale

Zora Jones Resume

Greetings! I happen to be one of many team managers of FoxyStilezArticles, a well-known Internet writing group. We publish in English for world wide web visitors, and are at your disposal for written content production for your web page. Down the page you may find my resume, and you'll also be able to check out other team managers and writers' resumes on this web site. At the bottom of my resume, you're going to see some samples of our written posts. For job inquiries, please mail us using the contactform on this site and we shall answer as soon as feasible.

Resume

Zora Jones
551 Brown Tree Circle
South Carolina Columbia
zora_1995@gmail.com


Summary of Qualifications

Graduated With Special Honors from The University Of Toronto
10 years of creating experience (expressly for Web visitors)
Superb competency in English and Latin
Dependable, group-oriented worker with a talent for particulars


Business Experience

FoxyStilezArticles, Ottawa Canada
2005 - Present
Group Senior Officer
In charge of planning a worldwide staff of writers to meet a challenging set of assembly goals.
- Set new records for production, boosting production by 20% globally
- Accurately kept reliable records of job distribution
- Handled QC for world-wide production across a substantial staff of freelance writers


Additional Skills

Competent in English and Latin
State-of-the-art skills using a wide selection of office software programs


Examples of Publicized Writing


change transmission fluid | cheapest tires online | denver car dealerships | fuel efficient cars 2011 | high performance tires | indianapolis car dealerships | junk yards in colorado | junk yards in houston | junk yards in jacksonville fl | mid size trucks | most fuel efficient suv 2011 | off road tires for sale | oil change cost | oil change deals | omaha car dealerships | paint car | power distribution block | radiator leak | rear spoiler | rebuilt transmission prices

Roxana Patel CV

Como Estas! I happen to be one of the writing team managers of FoxyStilezArticles, a worldwide web article writing group. We can write in Spanish and English for worldwide internet audiences, and are on the market for article content building for your web-site. Listed below you will find my resume, and you may be able to read other writing team managers and team members' CV's on this web-site. At the bottom of my resume, you will discover some illustrations of our authored posts. For employment requests, please mail us with the contactform on this web site and we'll react as soon as feasible.

Curriculum Vitae

Roxana Patel
12983 Lower Canyon Drive
New Mexico Santa Fe
roxana_1987@gmail.com


Summary of Qualifications

Graduated Magna Cum Laude from Dartmouth College
10 years of creating experience (specially for Internet audiences)
Superb competency in English and Spanish
Devoted, group-oriented staff member with a aptitude for details


Employment Experience

FoxyStilezArticles, San Francisco USA
2002 - Present
Crew Supervisor
Responsible for coordinating a worldwide crew of authors to suit a demanding set of development targets.
- Set records for output, raising productivity by 12% throughout the world
- Correctly kept dependable records of task distribution
- Managed quality control for world wide output over a significant crew of internet writers


Extra Skillsets

Proficient in English and Spanish
Advanced skills with a huge selection of office software


Examples of Released Articles


retractable truck bed covers | rim and tire packages | rotors and brake pads | shocks and struts | shocks for trucks | suspension lift kits | tire balancing | tire changer machine | tires atlanta | tires charlotte nc | tires chicago | tires cincinnati | tires colorado springs | tires denver | tires houston | tires indianapolis | tire size for my car | tires jacksonville fl | tires kansas city | tires las vegas