+ 2 - 0 | § ¶Fun with Pumpkins!
I spent about 4 hours carving a pumpkin with 2 stencils. This is the result:
+ 0 - 1 | § ¶CBC News: Ottawa details rebates for home renovations
Details on the Energy Rebate are out. You get an auditor to come to your home, pay about $250 ($150 of which will be reimbursed) for them to tell you what to improve. Then, after you have done it, you get them in again and they calculate your rebate (up to $3,400, averaging about $1,000). (more)
+ 1 - 0 | § ¶Well, that was close - Mandrake destroys LG Optical drives
Mandrake's errata page shows that installing Mandrake 9.2 has rendered some LG drives useless. The drives are completely toast. I had downloaded Mandrake the other day to try it out; perhaps I will pass. Note that at this time it appears to affect only certain firmware revisions. According to Mandrake, LG says they do not test any of their drives with linux. The problem is something to do with the FLUSH_COMMAND screwing up the firmware. LG has fixed the problem with new firmware revisions. (more)
+ 1 - 0 | § ¶It's 'Waterloo Dark'
That beer I was trying to remember the name of; it's Waterloo Dark.
+ 1 - 0 | § ¶Manulife Indonesia announces deal to acquire ING-Aetna Life Indonesia
Manulife Indonesia announces deal to acquire ING-Aetna Life Indonesia - apparently they are on a roll!
+ 0 - 1 | § ¶OpenDB media database
My OpenDB is up and running. Not all my titles are in it yet, and only two CD's are entered. If you want to browse, feel free to - you will need to use ID of guest and password is guest. (more)
+ 2 - 1 | § ¶Yahoo! News - Want a Raise? Standing Tall May Help
"Tall people earn considerably more money" is how this article starts out. It is a good affirmation that we are not dealing with any sort of 'meritocratic' system here. Not that there was any real suspicion that we were. I'm sure we've all seen years of service or break-buddy promotions in our careers. (more)
+ 1 - 0 | § ¶Manulife to stand by Boston - globeinvestor.com
Manulife to stand by Boston; this is a telling article about the millions of dollars in tax breaks given to Manulife by "the city and state" in order to keep the jobs and company presence ion Boston. This is somewhat alarming to one working out of MaritimeLife in Halifax. I hope Boston enjoys their Chrismas tree. (more)
+ 0 - 1 | § ¶SunnComm Says Pointing to Shift Key \'Possible Felony\'
OKay, this is ridiculous. There is a Slashdot article regarding using the Shift key is a possible felony.
For a quick background, SunnComm created this incredibly smart DRM software that keeps you from copying audio CD's. Unfortunately, it depends on having autorun enabled to work, as it loads a fancy piece of spyware that garbles your CD. (more)
+ 1 - 0 | § ¶Insurers set to kick sand at banks
Insurers set to kick sand at banks - latest article that means nothing and everything to me.
+ 0 - 1 | § ¶Deal aftermath: How many jobs will vanish?
Deal aftermath: How many jobs will vanish? The answer, I think, lies in the numbers.
"The rule of thumb is that for every job cut, you save $1,000," said Ira Zuckerman, an analyst with Nutmeg Securities Ltd. in Fairfield, Conn. With necessary cost savings estimates at $250 million, that would mean 2,500 jobs, Zuckerman said.
How many employees at MaritimeLife? 2,300? (This is me being an absolute fear-monger. The article infers nothing of the sort, really. I am just in a particularly fiendish mood.) The article points out that there will be job losses; and I don't think that anyone at MaritimeLife or John Hancock is naive enough to think otherwise.
+ 0 - 2 | § ¶No More Macs!
Macs are different, not better is what this guy is getting at I think. It is a great rant about Macs and how usable they are. Some swearing, might not be suitable for workplace viewing. Very funny, worth the two minutes to view it for sure.
+ 2 - 0 | § ¶Memo advises managers how to deal with merger
Memo advises managers how to deal with merger and what to tell employees. Managers should "Take some time to walk around. Employees will appreciate seeing you and having some time to ask questions."
+ 1 - 1 | § ¶Need a hand?
Get a grip! Great pictures. I can't read a thing on this page, but the direcitonal arrows are great. Sexual content, maybe not suitable for workplace viewing. I think it's a salad shooter. Or tosser. Or something.
+ 0 - 2 | § ¶Large Hancock investor bridles at price of Manulife deal - 2003-09-30 - Boston Business Journal
Large Hancock investor bridles at price of Manulife deal
The price "doesn't make sense, frankly," James Barrow, president of the Dallas-based investment manager, told the Globe and Mail.
+ 0 - 2 | § ¶Manulife Financial - John Hancock Questions & Answers
There is now a John Hancock Merger Questions and Answers page on the Manulife.com site; here is a quote relevant to Halifax employees:
How many jobs will be cut?
It is expected that the growth prospects of the combined company ultimately will limit the number of reductions that prove necessary and that the vast majority of these reductions will occur through normal attrition during the lengthy integration process, combined with healthy business growth.
This is a complementary merger, not an overlapping one.
This deal is all about growth and for that you need talented, engaged people.
It is premature to speculate on job cuts at this time. We have an Integration Team that will be reviewing all of the overlapping areas over the next six months. They will produce specific recommendations.
Where does Maritime Life fit into all of this? Will jobs be lost in Halifax as a result of the transaction?
We intend to integrate Maritime Life successfully into our operations, as we have previously integrated acquired businesses in our other transactions in the past. We believe Maritime Life will significantly add to our Canadian operations and contribute to Manulife's earnings. Maritime life has grown through acquisitions and has been recognized among Canada's Top-50 employers.
We are very aware of how important Maritime Life is to Halifax. It is our intent to maintain a significant presence in this great community and take advantage of the talented work force.
+ 1 - 0 | § ¶Forbes.com: Manulife's Wake-Up Call For Canada
In the article entitled Manulife's Wake-Up Call For Canada, the possiblity of the Manulife/MaritimeLife merger harming the chances of Canadian banks merging is raised. (more)
+ 0 - 1 | § ¶Italian surname "key" to Manulife-Hancock deal
Italian surname "key" to Manulife-Hancock deal - ""It's the only reason we did it," joked David D'Alessandro".
+ 0 - 2 | § ¶More Manulife/MaritimeLife news items
To add to my previous entry regarding CIBC/Manulife, this article:
A Market for Gossip
also mentions CIBC, and seems to question why trading was so high for John Hancock stocks before the news releases.
And this article:
Goldman Sachs back in favour
mentions Goldman Sachs and the tangled web they seem to have.
Here is an interesting artcle that raises the possibility of the merger not happeneing:
Manulife bid drops in value
And one final article :
Taking another look
questions the market's response to the news.
+ 1 - 0 | § ¶The Globe and Mail
Manulife's big deal sets stage for something even bigger is how the headline reads. The article hints at possible CIBC mergers in the future. I am only posting these, I don't pretend to have any knowledge of high finance.