Indonesia is home to one of the healthiest marine environments on earth

Photo Credit : Andy Shorten

Indonesia is home to one of the healthiest marine environments on earth :
by Jonathan Wootliff Tue, 07/28/2009 9:54 AM

Indonesia is home to one of the least fished, least populated, healthiest marine environments on the planet.
With my GreenWatch Column all too often highlighting the many serious conservation challenges facing this nation, the islands of Raja Ampat provide the location for a truly good news story.

Situated off the northwest tip of Bird’s Head Peninsula on the island of Papua, Raja Ampat is an archipelago comprising more than 1,500 small atolls surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo.

Part of the newly named province of West Papua, formerly Irian Jaya, the marine life diversity in the Raja Ampat area is the highest recorded anywhere on Earth, according to leading ocean biologists.

This remote place encompasses more than 40,000 square kilometers of land and sea, which contains Indonesia’s largest marine national park, Cenderawasih Bay. Biodiversity is considerably greater than any other area sampled in the legendary Coral Triangle, composed of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.

It is a diver’s paradise, where pristine reefs consist of vast swathes of vivid red, pink, yellow and purple coral.
And it’s also a place where worlds almost literally collide. These remarkable waters are just east of
the famed Wallace Line – named by the famous 19th-century natu-ralist Alfred Russel Wallace – which fascinatingly separates the fauna of southern Asia from that of Australasia.

The Raja Ampat archipelago is part of the 340,000 square-kilometer transition zone known to modern oceanographers as Wallacea.

Scientists describe it as “the epicenter of marine biodiversity”, where the discovery of new species is extraordinarily commonplace.
According to The Nature Conservancy, which conducted a study together with partner organizations, these waters contain 1,070 fish species, 537 types of coral and 699 mollusk species as well as regular sightings of the wobbegong, a curious flat shark that spends most of its time on the seabed.

Wobbegongs are well camouflaged thanks to a symmetrical pattern of bold markings resembling an elaborate fabric pattern, which is why they are often referred to as carpet sharks.

These creatures make use of their relative invisibility to hide among rocks and catch smaller fish that swim too close, typical of ambush predators, but they present little danger to humans

Properly protected, this biodiversity goldmine could serve as an evolutionary laboratory and maritime seed bank to kick-start recovery for the entire area.

The so-called Four Kings at least for now remain an unspoiled example of the richness of the coral ecosystem. But the relative isolation that protects this maritime marvel is under threat.

Sorong is the westernmost coastal city on Papua and is the gateway to these incredibly species-rich coral reef islands, widely considered as the heart of the world’s coral reef biodiversity. But it is also the logistics hub for Indonesia’s thriving eastern oil and gas frontier.

Like so many isolated parts of Indonesia, Sorong has experienced exponential growth in the past five years, and further growth is anticipated as the city becomes better linked by road to other frontier towns in Papua’s Bird’s Head Peninsula.

And like in so many other places, as this nation develops economically, there are increasing and often daunting challenges in preserving the country’s incredible nature.

Over the years, the tiny population of ethnic Melanesian Papuans, mainly subsistence fishermen, has shown respect for conservation. But when they see big commercial boats from Sulawesi and other populous Indonesian islands, whose own local waters have been depleted, anchor offshore and wipe out fish stocks with dynamite bombs, it’s difficult for them to avoid the temptation to blow up the reefs themselves in a bid to keep at least some of the profit from leaving their islands.

That’s why leading international environmental groups, including Seacology, Conservation International and The Nature Conservancy are striving to provide a better deal for the villages by offering rewards in the form of schools, community centers and solar power in exchange for long-term protection of their ecologically priceless waters.

World-renowned diver and oceanographer Sylvia Earle, who counts Raja Ampat as one of the most spectacular places on Earth, says that the next 10 years will be the most important in the next 10,000.

Known as a global ambassador for the seas, this extraordinary marine explorer, who is now in her seventies and still diving, says, “We’ve got a limited time to make a difference.”

The Indonesian government has established Raja Ampat as a separate administrative unit, which gives communities a greater say in managing the natural resources upon which their livelihoods depend.

This structure also offers an important opportunity to include conservation in the spatial planning of the newly formed local government.

But the pressure to extract the islands’ and oceans’ wealth is relentless, and it is likely to need stronger measures from both national and local governments to ensure the long-term preservation of this jewel in Indonesia’s crown.

: Excerpt

Famous Canals & Waterways

THE PANAMA CANAL

The history of the Panama Canal goes back almost to the earliest explorers of the Americas. The narrow land bridge between North and South America offers a unique opportunity to create a water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. This potential was recognized by the earliest colonists of Central America, and schemes for such a canal were floated several times in the subsequent years.

By the late-1800s, technological advances and commercial pressure advanced to the point where construction started in earnest. An initial attempt by France to build a sea-level canal failed, but only after a great amount of excavation was carried out. This was of use to the effort by the United States which finally resulted in the present Panama Canal in 1914. Along the way, the nation of Panama was created through its separation from Colombia in 1903.

Today, the canal continues to be not only a viable commercial venture, but also a vital link in world shipping.

THE SUEZ CANAL

The Suez Canal is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigating around Africa. The northern terminus is Port Said, and the southern terminus is Port Tawfik at the city of Suez.

The canal is 192 km long with Ismailia, on the west bank, 3 km north of the half-way point. It consists of the northern access channel of 19.5 km, the canal itself of 162.25 km and of the southern access channel of 8.5 km.It is single-lane with passing places in Ballah By-Pass and in the Great Bitter Lake. It contains no locks; seawater flows freely through the canal into the Great Bitter Lake from both the Mediterranean Sea in the north and the Red Sea in the south, replacing evaporation.

The canal is owned and maintained by the Suez Canal Authority (SCA) of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

The canal may be used in time of war as in time of peace, by every vessel of commerce or of war, without distinction of flag.


Famous Ship Canals and Waterways
Name Location Length(mi)1 Width(ft) Depth(ft) Locks Yropened
Albert Belgium 80.0 53.0 16.5 6 1939
Amsterdam-Rhine Netherlands 45.0 164.0 41.0 3 1952
Beaumont–Port Arthur United States 40.0 200.0 34.0 — 1916
Canal du Midi France 149.0 n.a. n.a. 100 1692
Chesapeake & Delaware US 14.0 450.0 35.0 — 1829
Erie Canal US 363.0 70.0 7.0 82 1825
Grand Canal China 1,085.0 n.a. n.a. n.a. 7th cent.
Göta Canal Sweden 240.0 n.a. n.a. 58 1832
Houston US 50.0 (2) 40.0 — 1914
Kiel (Nord-Ostsee Kanal)Germany 61.3 144.0 36.0 4 1895
Panama Panama 50.7 110.0 41.0 1914
St. Lawrence Seaway US& Canada 2,400.03 4) — — 1959
Montreal to Prescott US &Canada 11.5 80.0 30.0 7 1959
Welland, Canada 27.5 80.0 27.0 8 1931
Sault Ste. Marie,Canada 1.2 60.0 16.8 1 1895
Sault Ste. Marie,United States 1.6 80.0 25.0 4 1915
Suez Egypt 119.95 1,197.5 68.9 — 1869


Source: American Society of Civil Engineers.

20 Ways to Waste Your Money - An Excerpt

20 Ways to Waste Your Money - by Erin Burt
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Whether a newbie or seasoned budgeter, nearly everyone has spending holes -- leaks in your budget that drain money with you hardly noticing.

These small drips can add up to big bucks. Once you find the holes and plug them, you'll keep more money in your pocket. That spare cash could be the ticket to finally being able to save, invest, or break your cycle of living paycheck to paycheck.

Here are 20 common ways people waste money. See if any of these sound familiar, and then look for ways to plug your own leaks.


How to waste your money

1. Buy new instead of used. Talk about a spending leak -- or, rather, a gush. Cars lose most of their value in the first few years, meaning thousands of dollars down the drain. However, recent used models -- those that are less than five years old -- can be a real value because you get a car that's still in fine working order for a fraction of the new-car price. And you'll pay less in collision insurance and taxes, too.

Cars aren't the only things worth buying used. Consider the savings on pre-owned books, toys, exercise equipment and furniture. (Of course, there are some things you're better off buying new, including mattresses, laptops, linens, shoes and safety equipment, such as car seats and bike helmets.)

2. Carry a credit-card balance. If you have a $1,000 balance on a card charging 18%, you blow $180 every year on interest. That's money you could certainly put to better use elsewhere. Get in the habit of paying off your balance in full each month.


3. Buy on impulse. When you buy before you think, you don't give yourself time to shop around for the best price. Resist the urge to make an impulse purchase by giving yourself a cool-off period. Go home and sleep on the decision. If you still want to make the purchase a day or so later, do your comparison shopping, check your budget and go for it. Oftentimes, though, I bet you'll decide you don't need the item after all.

4. Pay to use an ATM. A buck or two here and there may not seem like a big deal. But if you're frequenting ATMs outside your bank's network, the surcharges can add up quickly. Put that money back in your pocket by using ATMs in a surcharge-free network such as Allpoint or Money Pass.

5. Dine out frequently. A habit of spending $10, $20, $30 per person for dinner can be a huge drain on your wallet. Throw in a $6 sandwich for lunch and a $4 latte in the morning, and you've got quite a leak. Learn to cook, pack your lunch and brew your coffee at home and you could save a couple hundred bucks each month.

6. Let your money wallow. If you are stashing your savings in your checking account or a traditional bank account, you are wasting money. You could put it in a high-interest online savings account and get paid to save. You can even get an interest-bearing checking account through such reputable companies as Everbank, Charles Schwab, E*Trade and ING Direct.

7. Pay an upfront fee for a mutual fund. Selecting no-load funds can save you more than 5% in sales charges. Of course, no matter how well a fund has done in the past, you can't be sure how it will perform in the future. But if you pay a load, you'll begin the performance derby in the hole to the tune of the load. See the Kiplinger 25 for our favorite no-load funds.

8. Pay too much in taxes on investments. Are you investing in a tax-sheltered 401(k) or Roth IRA? If you're not maxing out those accounts before you invest in a taxable account, you're spending too much.

9. Buy brand-name instead of generic. From groceries to clothing to prescription drugs, you could save money by choosing the off-brand over the fancy label. And in many cases, you won't sacrifice much in quality. Clever advertising and fancy packaging don't make brand-name products better than lesser-known brands (see Similar Products, Different Prices).

10. Waste electricity. Of the total energy used to run home electronics, 40% is consumed when the appliances are turned off. Appliances with a clock or that operate by remote are typical culprits. The obvious way to pull the plug on your energy vampires is to do just that -- pull the plug. Or buy a device to do it for you, such as a Smart Power Strip ($31 to $44 at www.smarthomeusa.com, which will stop drawing electricity when the gadgets are turned off and pay for itself within a few months.

11. Pay banking fees. Overdraw your checking account and you'll pay $20 to $30 a pop, so it pays to keep tabs on your balance. Plus, are you still paying for a checking account? Free deals abound -- but make sure they're really free. For instance, will the bank charge a fee if your balance drops below a certain level or if you download your info into a personal-finance software program? That's not free.

12. Buy things you don't use. This sounds like a no-brainer to avoid, but how many times have you seen something on sale and thought you couldn't pass it up? Even if something is 50% off, you're spending too much if you don't use it. href=Couponing, for instance, can be a great way to save on your grocery bills. But if you buy things you wouldn't have purchased in the first place simply for the sake of using the coupon, you're wasting your money. The same goes for buying in bulk. A bargain is no bargain if it sits unused on your shelf or gets thrown away.

13. Own an extra car. Okay, so a car is a necessity for most people. But face it -- cars are a huge drain, from their loan payments to insurance fees to gas and maintenance costs. Own more than one car and you'll double or triple those expenses. Ask yourself if that second or third car is really necessary. Are you holding on to an old car for sentimental reasons? Can you or your spouse carpool, take public transportation or bike to work?

14. Ignore your local dollar store. Shopping at the dollar store can be hit-and-miss, but it's not all kitsch or junk. If you know what to buy, you can find some real bargains. For instance, my local dollar store charges 50 cents for greeting cards versus the $3-plus at a drug store or gift shop. (I have a big extended family so I figure this saves me more than $100 per year.) You can also score a deal on cleaning supplies, small kitchen tools, shampoos and soaps, holiday decorations, gift wrap and balloon bouquets.

15. Keep unhealthy habits. Smoking is not only bad for your health, it burns up your cash. A pack-a-day habit at $6 a pack costs $180 a month and $2,190 a year. A junk-food or tanning-bed habit can be costly as well. Not to mention the money you'll waste on medical bills down the road.

16. Be complacent about insurance. Your bill arrives and you pay it without a second thought. When was the last time you shopped around to determine whether you're getting the best deal? Rates vary widely from insurer to insurer and year to year. Reshopping your auto, home or renters insurance might save you hundreds of dollars.

It also pays to evaluate your insurance needs. For instance, upping your out-of-pocket deductible from $250 to $1,000 can save you 15% or more on your car insurance. Consider using the same insurer for your home and auto insurance -- you could snag up to 15% off for a multiple-line policy. And make sure you're not paying for insurance you don't need. For instance, you need life insurance only if someone is financially dependent upon you (such as a child).

17. Give Uncle Sam an interest-free loan. If you get a tax refund each April, you let the government take too much money in taxes from your paycheck all year long. Get that money back in your pocket -- and put it to work for you -- by adjusting your tax withholding. With a little discipline, you can use that extra cash each month to get started saving or pay down debt (or make ends meet to avoid going into debt in the first place). You can file a new Form W-4 with your employer at any time.

18. Pay for something you can get for free. Dust off your library card and check out books, music and movies for free (or dirt-cheap). Don't pay to receive your credit report when you're allowed to get it at no charge by law. Take advantage of kids-eat-free promotions. And dial 1-800-FREE-411 for free directory assistance.

19. Don't use a flexible-spending account. Your employer may allow you to set aside pretax dollars to pay for medical costs not covered by insurance. You can use the money for expenses such as therapy, contact lenses, insurance co-payments and over-the-counter drugs. You may be able to do the same for child-care costs.

20. Pay for unnecessary services. How many cable channels can a person watch? Do you really need all those extra features for your cell phone? Are you getting your money's worth out of that gym membership? Are you taking full advantage of your subscriptions (such as Netflix, TiVo or magazines)? Take a look at what you're paying for and what your family is actually using. Trim accordingly.

: An Excerpt

Twelve Tips for Team Building: How to Build Successful Work Teams

Twelve Tips for Team Building: How to Build Successful Work Teams
How to Make Teams Effective - By Susan M. Heathfield

People in every workplace talk about building the team, working as a team, and my team, but few understand how to create the experience of team work or how to develop an effective team. Belonging to a team, in the broadest sense, is a result of feeling part of something larger than yourself. It has a lot to do with your understanding of the mission or objectives of your organization.

In a team-oriented environment, you contribute to the overall success of the organization. You work with fellow members of the organization to produce these results. Even though you have a specific job function and you belong to a specific department, you are unified with other organization members to accomplish the overall objectives. The bigger picture drives your actions; your function exists to serve the bigger picture.

You need to differentiate this overall sense of teamwork from the task of developing an effective intact team that is formed to accomplish a specific goal. People confuse the two team building objectives. This is why so many team building seminars, meetings, retreats and activities are deemed failures by their participants. Leaders failed to define the team they wanted to build. Developing an overall sense of team work is different from building an effective, focused work team when you consider team building approaches.
Twelve Cs for Team Building

Executives, managers and organization staff members universally explore ways to improve business results and profitability. Many view team-based, horizontal, organization structures as the best design for involving all employees in creating business success.

No matter what you call your team-based improvement effort: continuous improvement, total quality, lean manufacturing or self-directed work teams, you are striving to improve results for customers. Few organizations, however, are totally pleased with the results their team improvement efforts produce. If your team improvement efforts are not living up to your expectations, this self-diagnosing checklist may tell you why. Successful team building, that creates effective, focused work teams, requires attention to each of the following.

* Clear Expectations: Has executive leadership clearly communicated its expectations for the team’s performance and expected outcomes? Do team members understand why the team was created? Is the organization demonstrating constancy of purpose in supporting the team with resources of people, time and money? Does the work of the team receive sufficient emphasis as a priority in terms of the time, discussion, attention and interest directed its way by executive leaders?


* Context: Do team members understand why they are participating on the team? Do they understand how the strategy of using teams will help the organization attain its communicated business goals? Can team members define their team’s importance to the accomplishment of corporate goals? Does the team understand where its work fits in the total context of the organization’s goals, principles, vision and values?


* Commitment: Do team members want to participate on the team? Do team members feel the team mission is important? Are members committed to accomplishing the team mission and expected outcomes? Do team members perceive their service as valuable to the organization and to their own careers? Do team members anticipate recognition for their contributions? Do team members expect their skills to grow and develop on the team? Are team members excited and challenged by the team opportunity?
In the first part of this article, three tips for effective team building were presented. Here are six more tips for effective team building.

* Competence: Does the team feel that it has the appropriate people participating? (As an example, in a process improvement, is each step of the process represented on the team?) Does the team feel that its members have the knowledge, skill and capability to address the issues for which the team was formed? If not, does the team have access to the help it needs? Does the team feel it has the resources, strategies and support needed to accomplish its mission?


* Charter: Has the team taken its assigned area of responsibility and designed its own mission, vision and strategies to accomplish the mission. Has the team defined and communicated its goals; its anticipated outcomes and contributions; its timelines; and how it will measure both the outcomes of its work and the process the team followed to accomplish their task? Does the leadership team or other coordinating group support what the team has designed?


* Control: Does the team have enough freedom and empowerment to feel the ownership necessary to accomplish its charter? At the same time, do team members clearly understand their boundaries? How far may members go in pursuit of solutions? Are limitations (i.e. monetary and time resources) defined at the beginning of the project before the team experiences barriers and rework?

Is the team’s reporting relationship and accountability understood by all members of the organization? Has the organization defined the team’s authority? To make recommendations? To implement its plan? Is there a defined review process so both the team and the organization are consistently aligned in direction and purpose? Do team members hold each other accountable for project timelines, commitments and results? Does the organization have a plan to increase opportunities for self-management among organization members?


* Collaboration: Does the team understand team and group process? Do members understand the stages of group development? Are team members working together effectively interpersonally? Do all team members understand the roles and responsibilities of team members? team leaders? team recorders? Can the team approach problem solving, process improvement, goal setting and measurement jointly? Do team members cooperate to accomplish the team charter? Has the team established group norms or rules of conduct in areas such as conflict resolution, consensus decision making and meeting management? Is the team using an appropriate strategy to accomplish its action plan?


* Communication: Are team members clear about the priority of their tasks? Is there an established method for the teams to give feedback and receive honest performance feedback? Does the organization provide important business information regularly? Do the teams understand the complete context for their existence? Do team members communicate clearly and honestly with each other? Do team members bring diverse opinions to the table? Are necessary conflicts raised and addressed?


* Creative Innovation: Is the organization really interested in change? Does it value creative thinking, unique solutions, and new ideas? Does it reward people who take reasonable risks to make improvements? Or does it reward the people who fit in and maintain the status quo? Does it provide the training, education, access to books and films, and field trips necessary to stimulate new thinking?
In the first part of this article, three tips for effective team building were presented. In the second, six tips for team building were provided. Here are three more tips for effective team building.

* Consequences: Do team members feel responsible and accountable for team achievements? Are rewards and recognition supplied when teams are successful? Is reasonable risk respected and encouraged in the organization? Do team members fear reprisal? Do team members spend their time finger pointing rather than resolving problems? Is the organization designing reward systems that recognize both team and individual performance? Is the organization planning to share gains and increased profitability with team and individual contributors? Can contributors see their impact on increased organization success?


* Coordination: Are teams coordinated by a central leadership team that assists the groups to obtain what they need for success? Have priorities and resource allocation been planned across departments? Do teams understand the concept of the internal customer—the next process, anyone to whom they provide a product or a service? Are cross-functional and multi-department teams common and working together effectively? Is the organization developing a customer-focused process-focused orientation and moving away from traditional departmental thinking?


* Cultural Change: Does the organization recognize that the team-based, collaborative, empowering, enabling organizational culture of the future is different than the traditional, hierarchical organization it may currently be? Is the organization planning to or in the process of changing how it rewards, recognizes, appraises, hires, develops, plans with, motivates and manages the people it employs?

Does the organization plan to use failures for learning and support reasonable risk? Does the organization recognize that the more it can change its climate to support teams, the more it will receive in pay back from the work of the teams?

Spend time and attention on each of these twelve tips to ensure your work teams contribute most effectively to your business success. Your team members will love you, your business will soar, and empowered people will "own" and be responsible for their work processes. Can your work life get any better than this?

Body Language: Mastering the Silent Language of Leadership - An Excerpt

Body Language: Mastering the Silent Language of Leadership

By Carol Kinsey Goman - She is an executive coach, author and keynote speaker who addresses association, government, and business audiences around the world. Her latest book and program topic is The Nonverbal Advantage: Secrets and Science of Body Language at Work.


All leaders express enthusiasm, warmth and confidence as well as arrogance, indifference and displeasure through their facial expressions, gestures, touch and use of space. If an executive wants to be perceived as credible and forthright, her or she has to think "outside the speech" and recognize the importance of nonverbal communication.

Whether you are a business executive promoting a vision for your company or a politician promoting a vision for the country, people interpret what you say to them only partially from the words you use. They are picking up most of your message (and all of the emotional nuance behind the words) from your nonverbal signals.

Here are five video clips that show the role of body language in leadership:

Watch those facial expressions

In last year's presidential debates, both candidates made facial expression errors. (Then) Senator Obama minimized his emotional reactions and reinforced the impression that he was remote and "cold." Senator McCain's forced grins and eye rolling in the third debate sent a negative signal that was reflected instantly in polls rating likeability: Obama scored 70% to McCain's 22%.

Talk with your hands if you know what they're saying

When people are being deceitful or guarded, they tend to use hand and arm gestures less than usual. They may keep their hands by their side, stuff them in pockets, clutch an object tightly, or clench their fists -- all gestures which are saying, "I'm holding on to something and I'm not going to open up to you."

When being truthful or forthcoming, people tend to use open gestures, showing their palms and wrists and spreading hands and arms away from their bodies, as if saying, "See, I have nothing to hide." Watch former eBay CEO (and current California gubernatorial candidate) Meg Whitman use these open and inclusive gestures as she addresses the Commonwealth Club.

Show your whole body

In this fast-paced, techno-charged era of email, blogs, wikis and IMs, one universal truth remains: Face-to-face is still the most preferred, productive and powerful communication medium. And to get the most bang for your communication buck - the best leaders get out from behind the lectern so the audience can see their entire bodies. They fully face the audience, make eye contact, keep their movements relaxed and natural, and stand tall - all of which are nonverbal signs of credibility and competence. Steve Jobs is a master at this, as you can see in his speech at MacWorld 2007 unveiling the iPhone.

Don't go overboard

There is nothing more convincing than genuine enthusiasm for your message. (Which is why no body language coach can "magically" make any leader appear to be passionate about a organizational change he doesn't truly believe in or a product launch she isn't really sold on.) But, too much enthusiasm can also be seen as over-the-top. Take a look at Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer introducing himself to an audience with dancing, jumping and shouting.

Align your words and gestures

It is crucial to communicate congruently - that is, to align your body language to support an intended message. Whenever your nonverbal signals contradict your words, the people you are addressing -- employees, customers, voters -- become confused. And, if forced to choose, they will discount your words and believe what your body said.

Sir Howard Stringer, the chair and CEO of Sony USA, is usually an eloquent and congruent speaker. But during a recent meeting with reporters in Tokyo, he didn't appear as confident as his words would have us believe. The problem was that Stringer was playing with his ballpoint pen, a nonverbal "pacifying" behavior that we expect to see when someone is under stress or needs reassurance.

So next time you engage those around you -- whether that means addressing an audience of hundreds or simply running a weekly department meeting -- stay aware of your gestures and expressions. They may communicate a lot more than your words.

By Carol Kinsey Goman | July 17, 2009; 10:53 AM ET | Category: Leadership Training

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The late Billy Mays is a great study in using body language.

Posted by: JeffRandom | July 19, 2009 9:30 PM

During presentation, I often keep both hands in front, often using both. Disarming.

I have also been in hostile situations, where body language destroyed the opposition.

In a seminar, which I thought was educational(in fact was), I took a front seat. The host/speaker of the seminar had researched guests and once I was identifed , he proceeded to attack me and industry I was part of. Towards the end of the seminar, he placed himself in a blocking position, between myself and the other guests/clients (behind and off to the side)that were in attendance.
I merely turned my head and looked out the window, which drew the attention of the guests/clients of the seminar and, forced the speaker back in front. I had to do this twice, for the message to be sent.


Jay

Posted by: James210 | July 19, 2009 10:08 AM

Very interesting. I'd caveat the notion, however, that using few hand gestures means someone is being less than forthright.

Unless you've observed someone in many situations, you can't possibly know whether their feeling inhibited by their need to hide something or are just naturally physically reserved as a function of their personality and/or background. My family or origin of shy Scandinavian-Americans almost never use gestures.

To mistakenly assume all speakers do is to make the same cliched error that has liars making calculated eye contact. Innumerable studies have shown eye contact is a worthless measure of sincerity - and so are hand gestures.

He Took the Road to Damascus - An Excerpt

He Took the Road to Damascus
What he found was a city caught between its ancient roots and modern sensibilities.

By Christopher Vourlias - Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, February 17, 2008;

"The problem with America," says Amr, digging into a gelato, "is that everyone thinks Syria and Iran are like Trinidad and Tobago."

We're sharing a park bench in a busy, modern part of Damascus. It's late in the day. Mothers chatter away on the benches, now and then looking up to keep an eye on the kids scooting across the playground. A toddler pedals by on training wheels; a few others chase a ball across the lawn. It's a scene just a hair removed from any American city, until the soaring cries of the muezzin fill the park. "Allahu akbar! Allahu akbar!" Two men sitting next to us break off their conversation and stare quietly toward a nearby minaret. A pair of soldiers in crisp khakis walk by, giving us wary looks.

Amr waits for them to pass and continues. "People talk about President Assad like he is Saddam Hussein," he says. "But he is not like that at all. And the country is much better than it was under his father. Much." He points to the rusting satellite dishes on a nearby apartment block. "Ten years ago, there was no satellite television. We are a modern, secular country. And we are going to get better. We must."
He's struck a defiant tone -- almost daring the world to prove him wrong -- and the strident turn in our conversation catches me off guard. A week after arriving in Damascus, though, I have to concede his point.

Before coming to this ancient city, I'd expected bearded clerics breathing fire on every street corner, women draped in coal-black chadors, the Morality Police confiscating CDs and festooning the trees with unspooled cassettes. Instead I've found a city of stylish cafes crammed late into the night; of flirty singles mingling in parks and shopping arcades; of young Syrians fretting over the latest fashions in glossy magazines. In fact, while the Baathists in charge cozy up to Tehran in the east, sentiment on the street seems to flow just as freely in the opposite direction.

Damascus is a city that, more than most, epitomizes this modern moment in the Middle East. Weighed down by history, maligned or misunderstood by the West, it's a city trying to chart a course between a proud past and an uncertain future. To say that it's having an identity crisis might not be entirely accurate. Peel back the centuries, after all, and you'll uncover a mercurial culture shaped by the comings and goings of countless conquerors. Around Damascus, every souk and street corner seems to tell a tale of empires past. And as events last week proved -- when a bomb blast ripped through the city's normally peaceful streets, killing one of Hezbollah's top commanders -- every day brings fresh questions about what lies on the road ahead.

If you'd come to this parched corner of the Levant 8,000 years ago, you'd find its sand already scuffed by the soles of its first inhabitants. Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities on the planet. The long list of its rulers includes the Babylonians, Persians and Romans of antiquity; the Umayyad caliphate that reigned during its golden age; and, centuries later, the Ottomans and the French. Behind what remains of its ancient ramparts, the Old City is a marvelous maze of winding souks and weathered facades. Dilapidated buildings lean toward each other, their upper floors kissing; old men shuffle down narrow, twisting lanes, disappearing under low archways with Arabic script chipped into the stone.

It's easy to get lost in the Old City -- most would argue it's part of the fun -- before eventually finding your way to Souk al-Hamidiyeh, the vaulted, airy arcade that serves as the Old City's main artery. Though the modern souk dates to the 19th century, it stays true to the tradition of the great Damascene bazaars, where spices from Arabia and silk from the Far East were carried along ancient caravan routes and traded in the marketplace. Today it holds a curious hodgepodge of shops, reflecting the paradoxes of the contemporary Arab consumer. Puma track suits share real estate with elegant headscarves, or hijabs; finely woven rugs are sold beside piles of cellphone accessories.

Tourists and window-shoppers stroll along the cobbled promenade, its roof punctured by bullet holes from the days of Vichy France. Outside Bakdash, the city's famous ice cream parlor, young and old patiently queue for vanilla cones crusted with fresh pistachio nuts. Pigeons whir in the rafters, racing out into the open air toward the minarets of the Umayyad Mosque.
Built in the 8th century, under the caliph al-Walid, the mosque is Damascus's spiritual heart. Three thousand years ago, Aramean settlers built the first temple on the spot where the mosque stands. A thousand years later, the Romans erected their own temple to Jupiter over its remains; later still, a Byzantine church dedicated to John the Baptist rose from the same ground. The church remained a place of worship for Christians and Muslims alike after the Muslim conquest, until al-Walid ordered its demolition to make way for the Umayyad Mosque. The caliph himself is said to have driven the first golden spike into the church before its walls were torn down. A modest payment was made to the Christian community to compensate for the loss.

Today pilgrims spill over the mosque's thresholds, sandals in hand, and shuffle across the vast courtyard. Elaborate gold mosaics, crafted by Byzantine artisans, shine down from the facades. Inside, the cavernous prayer hall is a busy communal area, where men sit murmuring over their Korans and women in colorful hijabs struggle to corral restless kids. A few tourists circle around the shrine to John the Baptist, whose head, according to legend, was found buried beneath the demolished church. Some versions of the story say the skin and hair were still intact. The head is still believed by the faithful to be buried in the shrine.

The streets flanking the mosque do a brisk business in souvenirs: plastic worry beads, hand-carved backgammon sets, inlaid wooden boxes. In the surrounding souks, bicycles and mopeds weave through the crowds; hawkers sell nuts and spices, olives and dates. Old women haggle over bolts of fabric, rifling through piles of cheap bras, clucking their tongues in disapproval.
Outside al-Nafura cafe -- a Damascene institution just steps from the mosque -- I meet a plump, middle-aged man with a hawklike nose and thick-framed glasses. He introduces himself as Hassin and offers me a seat, prompting a great commotion of shifting chairs and water pipes. We sit with our backs to the wall, watching the traffic on the street. His shirt is stretched across his stomach, straining at the seams; when he swivels his head, I can see drops of sweat beading in the folds of his neck. We talk over our tea about traveling and about life in the Middle East. Hassin has much to say about the United States, though he admits he's never been there.
"Why would I go to America?" he asks, almost startled. "I have everything I need here."

It's certainly possible to live -- and travel -- well in Damascus. Relaxed property laws and the introduction of private banking have brought a wave of new investments in recent years. Boutique hotels are blossoming in the Old City, and a new Four Seasons -- with three sophisticated and highly regarded restaurants -- has become a de rigueur stop for the Damascene elite since its opening in 2005. Shoppers who once had to travel to Beirut for the latest fashions can snatch up many of the same styles closer to home, since the country's notorious import barriers were eased. And the Syrian passion for food can be indulged in a growing number of fashionable restaurants around the city.

Many, like Beit Jabri, in the heart of the Old City, have given the traditional Damascene house a handsome facelift. Set in a wide, airy courtyard with ivy crawling up the walls, the restaurant attracts a stylish weekend crowd. On a Thursday night, men in pin-striped suits and open-collared shirts puff argileh beside a burbling fountain. Waiters in snug black vests circle the room; a pair of musicians strum string instruments over the din. Women in tight jeans and bright, bejeweled hijabs eye the scene from behind layers of makeup, fastidiously picking at plates of olives and stuffed grape leaves. Short cups of coffee are knocked back with religious devotion.

Maybe it's the constant caffeination that gives Damascus its restless energy. Late one afternoon I set out for Mount Kassioun, whose gentle slopes rise over the city. Near the top a stretch of restaurants and cafes perch along the ridge, and half of Damascus seems to have made its way here to take in the hazy sunset. Families stroll on the promenade. Young couples sit on the hoods of parked cars, locking hands and sharing their argileh in the dwindling daylight.

Kassioun has long held a special place in the lore of Damascus. It was here that many believe Cain slew Abel, and that the prophet Mohammed is said to have paused and, overcome by the sight below, turned his back on the city, preferring not to enter Paradise until the afterlife. Today's visitors are content to sip their sweet, thick coffees and admire the view. And as the lights of Damascus flicker to life, the bright green bands of a thousand minarets glow with their urgent calling -- a reminder that a city's fortunes rest on its faith in what is, was, and will be.

Christopher Vourlias is living out of a suitcase in Africa and working on his first book.

Digitize All of Your Old Media

Digitize All of Your Old Media
Back up a lifetime of memories to digital media so they'll be able to withstand the test of time.

Jackson West, PC World - PC World
Monday, June 1, 2009; 12:19 AM

Technology has progressed so quickly that anyone over the age of 30 has probably amassed a collection of data generated in both analog and multiple generations of digital technology. (I'm looking at you, Commodore cassette tape drive.) And though you may never need a particular bit of data, being able to find an eight-year-old résumé or to search through a decade of tax returns may prove invaluable at some point. It's a great way to reduce clutter, too: Once you've digitized and backed up your old media, you can then recycle or otherwise dispose of much of it. So let's look at what you need to know to digitize all of your old media.

Organize Your Collection

First, you need to take inventory of the digital media you may need to convert or recover, including old machines, hard drives, and removable media. Make special note of anything broken or damaged, since getting that data back may require a specialist's help.

For analog media--including paper documents, tapes, and film--that you plan to preserve, you'll want a simple reference system for finding the source item from the digital copy. I recommend sticker labels, available at any office supply store. Once you've converted something, just write the filename on the label and affix the label to the box or file folder.

Where to Store Your Digital Archive

The fastest way to store digital copies is to use an external hard drive. An external drive with USB that can store a terabyte of data costs around $100. So buy two! Use one for active archiving, and keep the other as a backup in another location. In case of a calamity, you'll still have a copy. A terabyte drive will hold approximately 180 hours of high-definition video, 100 days of CD-quality audio, or the equivalent of 200 single-sided DVD-R discs.

Another option is to store the data online. You can use software such as JungleDisk, which will store your data at a remote location that is accessible from practically any Internet connection. The software and service together cost $2 a month, plus storage costs based on how much you use--$15 a month for 100GB, $150 a month for 1TB. You can set JungleDisk to back up on the fly; that way, as you add to your digital history, the service will store new documents on multiple servers with near-instant accessibility.

Digital Media

For hard disks, including those from old machines, retrieving the data may simply be a matter of sliding it into an external drive enclosure and plugging it in. Most laptops have 2.5-inch disk drives, while 3.5-inch drives have been the desktop standard for the past decade. Enclosures for either size with USB connectors start at about $30. Make sure that the drive and the enclosure connections are compatible; for instance, check whether the drive is SATA or ATA/IDE (which will be marked on the drive).

If you have a lot of one type of old media, it may be best simply to get an old drive to match. USB readers for multiple memory-card formats and for external 3.5-inch floppy drives with USB connectors are readily available online for about $20. Other drives--tape backup drives; magneto-optical drives; and Zip, Jaz and Ditto drives--are easy to find on eBay. You may need special adapter cables to connect old serial ports to USB, and you may need the original software to recover compressed or protected backups.

Media Conversion

If you have just a few old disks or cartridges to handle, a number of data conversion companies will be happy to take a box of old media from you and either deliver their data to you via e-mail or burn it onto CDs or DVDs. If you live in a city, look for local companies, including PC repair shops, to save on shipping; and call multiple companies to compare prices. Advanced Computer Innovations can convert an astonishing array of media, operating systems, and file formats.

Data Recovery

Due to age or damage, some of your media and hardware might be unreadable. If you have the appropriate drive, you can use data recovery software to try to save the data--including lost photos or video from camera memory cards. Virtual Lab Data Recovery supports most common media, hardware, and file systems. Disk Doctors offers both software and services, including data recovery from damaged media and devices.

File Formats

After you've backed up all of the data on a device that you can use, it still may not be readable or searchable. Documents from old machines and software may be saved in binary formats that their modern equivalents can't understand. There are two approaches to converting data that your current software can't read into friendly formats: Look for conversion software or software add-ons online; or look for emulation software. The Emulator Zone has all sorts of old computer operating system emulators, including Commodore, Amiga, and Macintosh.


Analog Media

To digitize analog audiotape, you'll need a tape player to play back the cassette or open reel, an audio input for your computer, and a piece of recording software. If your computer doesn't already have a line-in connector, you can buy a USB device. For software, Audacity is a free, open-source sound editor that will get the job done. If the audio consists of interviews or spoken-word content, you may want to transcribe it so that the content becomes searchable. CastingWords charges only $0.75 per minute of audiotape for transcripts.

If you have more-exotic media, such as four-track cassettes or half-inch tape, and you want to preserve the independent tracks, you'll need a multitrack input device. M-Audio sells both four track and eight track USB devices. If you don't have a device to play back the original tapes, such as 1-inch analog or digital ADAT eight-track recordings, contact local recording studios. A number of restoration services, including Graham Newton, advertise online; consult one of them if you need help with damaged or broken tapes or records.

For digital video, a FireWire or FireWire-to-USB cable should suffice to connect a camera to your computer. Otherwise, recording videotape is the same as recording audiotape. In fact, if you expect to record video as well as audio, you can use any of a number of video conversion devices to record both--possibly saving you a bit of money. For instance, the EasyCap USB 2.0 Video Capture Adapter ($15 at Amazon.com) can perform both video and audio capture. When possible, use an S-Video cable to improve the quality of the transfer.

If you'd like someone else to do the work, you should be able to find a local service that can convert old tapes to DVD. If you have old professional-grade tapes (such as U-Matic, Beta SP, or DigiBeta), you may need to find a specialist. The folks at BetaSPtoDVD.com will convert almost any old tape to DVD, and they keep a great blog about video transfers and archiving tips.

Film

Depending on the quality of digital output you want, you have various options. For 35mm slides and negatives, or other transparent still photos, you can get a decent digital image with an inexpensive flatbed scanner equipped with a transparency adapter. If you want high-resolution digital copies for later printing, your best bet is to go to a service. Most professional photographers arrange for a service like New York's Matrix to scan film on a wet-mount drum scanner, which can produce stunning results. Check your local listings for professional photo or printing services.

For movies, you should go straight to the pros. But don't settle for DVD quality: Film is much more detailed than DVD video, and old footage made require some restoration for best results. Have the film scanned and returned as 1080p HD video (on Blu-ray discs or on an external hard drive). For transfers from16mm film to HD video (including film cleaning, return media, and shipping), fees range from $5 to $8 a minute at companies like My Movie Transfer and Video Conversion Experts.

Documents and Photos

For paper documents and photographic prints, a flatbed scanner generally does the trick. If you're working with art or photography, a sub-$100 entry-level scanner should be fine. If you're planning to scan an entire manuscript, however, you should probably look for a scanner that has an automatic feeder; such models start at around $300. It's also a good idea to have image editing software on hand for retouching photos and art, and optical character recognition software for converting typed or printed text documents so that you can search their contents easily.

Whether you're preserving family history or business documents, your own art works or a collection of old records, bringing your archives into the digital age and making them searchable stands to benefit you now and (especially) in the future.