today on MSN

Shiminay

LOL - you must be going catatonic blitz!

---

All the best,

Blitzkrieger

I have far too much time on my hands - at least during the day when the library is full of muppets. Empty now so I have to go study

Blitzkrieger

the gifted technicians here at CIT never bothered to change the start page on IE from MSN b4 locking the options settings so I think I'll take the **** out of the topics there today (this is quite long)

Tips on how to raise a smarter child[a must for all americans]
______________________________________________________________
As a parent, you want your child to do well when he or she is old enough to go to school, to learn skills and knowledge to be a success in life. But you hear some frightening statistics about the abilities of students today[still, their aim is good, eh?].

Elementary-school students spend more time watching TV than reading [TV is bad. nothing educational or entertaing on TV - just sex and violence] ; in fact, their TV-watching time almost equals the time they spend with teachers in school [Discovery channel or some sad twat in a tweed jacket reading from a book? WhateverKidsWatchAnyway or some leering ****er who gives you lots of writing so he can sit at his desk and try to look up girls skirts?][/i]. In an international study of 12th graders in 14 countries, the United States ranked 11th in chemistry, ninth in physics and last in biology[Things are improving then?].

Tired of trophy kids?[no more room on the wall's for them?]
Trade strategies on Moms & Parenting

The good news is that it's never too early to start helping your child develop the skills and attitudes it takes to be successful in and enjoy school. You can give your child a head start and set the stage to help him or her do well in school later by taking an active role now in the development of learning skills.

Ideas that work:

Give your child some attention! According to the National PTA, one of the most basic things you can do to foster your child's ability to learn is to get involved. You might be tired and cranky with a thousand things on your mind [and how] at the end of a busy day, but when your child comes charging at you full of enthusiasm about something he or she learned or discovered that day, don't put him or her off until "later." Take the time to match your child's excitement about what he or she learned.[Your boss just gave you an impossible deadline but you're entusiastic about abc!!!] Let your child tell you about it.


At mealtimes, use the together time to have your child tell you what he or she discovered that day.[Mommy and the postman went upstairs.....]


Display any artwork or papers that your child does. You probably framed your child's first attempt at drawing or coloring, right? Keep it up![When your kid starts dating it's still there! Show it to their dates! Tell them again how proud you are!] Tape it to the refrigerator. Tell your child how proud you are of his or her efforts.


Make mistakes OK. Children can't learn if they don't take risks, and they won't keep taking risks if it's not all right to make a mistake. [No, it wasn't that valuable! And you almost made that triple sommersault too! Pity all these silly electronics were in the way]Encourage your child to learn about how he or she can keep from making the same mistake again.[With a baseball bat]


Foster decision-making in your children at any age. Don't do everything for them![Get you own damn dinner] With today's "information explosion" it's impossible for anyone to know everything. Developing decision-making and critical- and creative-thinking abilities in children is essential for them to navigate on the information superhighway when they are older.[Yeah kids - go play in the traffic]

(I'm bored- what else is there?)

7 tips of great bosses
_________________________

Seven Habits of Highly Effective Managers
The practical pathway to leadership.

By Kathy Simmons [How would a woman know anything about management? (JK)]

Exceptional managers have that "special something" that sets them apart from the crowd.[A pogo stick. No - really] It's not as mysterious as it sounds. Most of the time, that "special something" is the sheer determination to maintain positive habits of success. Do you want to join the ranks of highly effective managers? You can start with these seven proven career-boosters.

1. Increase Your Self-Discipline[Contact Miss Whiplash : 555 3423232]
If you are like most people, you find it easy to do bang-up job when you are in high spirits.[high on spitits?] The real test comes when you are not feeling motivated or particularly energetic.[i.e. every day] Are these good enough reasons to snap at customers or behave like a nasty martyr at work?[I know this one....] No![Damn!]

As manager, like it or not, you are a role model. You set the standard when it comes to personal behavior, [stop that! You'll go blind]so make sure that standard is high. A moment of impulsiveness can tear down years of hard work when it comes to your career and reputation. According to Daniel Goleman, author of Working With Emotional Intelligence (Bantam Doubleday Dell, 2000), self-control reveals itself in the absence of emotional fireworks. The signs of self-control include "being unfazed under stress or handling a hostile person without lashing out in return."[Ahhh - the mindless automaton approach]

---

Good managers don't throw their weight around or rely on intimidation to get results.[It's not a threat -it's a promise]

---

2. Show Consistent Kindness
Good managers don't throw their weight around or rely on intimidation to get results. Do you?[*innocent whistle*] Any job--especially management positions--involves the support and assistance of others. You can't perform effectively as a one-man band. Thus, it is foolish to burn bridges and alienate co-workers.[No, no aliens in your band.....wait - it sounded good in my head...]

And, whether you need them or not, treating others poorly will affect your self-esteem. Can you feel good about yourself if you are upsetting or neglecting others?[Hell.......no] If you don't feel good about yourself, how effective can you be?[every morning have a good feel about yourself? damn dyslexia!]

One impressive manager, Rita, was aware of the power of this habit. Rita always made it a point to say "good morning" to the clerical staff. Her department was large, but this did not deter her from interacting with everyone.[slut!] She would arrive at the office early every morning to chat with the file clerks and receptionist. Talk about a feeling of respect! Rita knew that many of these "lower level" employees were the first (and sometimes only) ones with whom a potential customer would interact.[She wouldn't go near them herself - she might catch something!] The more encouragement and esteem they felt, the more pride they would take in their day-to-day duties. Many of these employees called Rita "the best manager we ever had."

3. Stretch Goals
What if the following words came out of an airplane loudspeaker: "Folks, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is we have lost our direction finder and one engine. The good news is we have a tail wind, so wherever we're going we will get there at a rate of 600 miles an hour."[Tailwind - sweet] The bad news certainly outweighs the good, right?[D'oh!] So it is with your career. Without goals that are clear in your mind--goals to which you are firmly committed--your career flight plan is tragically flawed.[Here comes the areoplane *make aeroplane noise here*] Working at a frenzied pace does not amount to much if you don't have a clear vision of the end result you are striving to achieve.[By doing a little bit every day you can gradually let the task completly overwhelm you]

High-impact managers must take goal-setting seriously. Your staff expects it, and studies show that the majority of managers fall short in this area. A recent survey polled 7,800 workers, and more than half of them (58 percent) believe that management does a poor job setting goals.[Jesus! Do you want them to wipe your **** for you too?] How can you avoid this? Write your personal goals and work area goals down. Place them in a visible area so that you--and others--can be reminded of them daily.[You haven't finished that yet have you, twat.] Writing goals down greatly elevates the likelihood they will be met, but only 5 percent of employees have actually developed this habit.[Duh! There's a reason.]

4. Welcome Criticism
Criticism may sting, but you must embrace feedback and not avoid it. After all, how else will you know what to improve upon? Don't fool yourself into thinking other opinions don't matter.[well my world's shattered] In the business world, your credibility and reputation play a key role in how far--and how quickly--you move ahead. Soliciting [now you're talkinging]input [awwwww]from others always leaves you with a clearer view of your blind spots. Becoming defensive and hostile when faced with constructive criticism will insulate you from the truth and greatly limit your potential.

(bored again)


New Research on Why Nicotine Is Addictive

The Drug Not Only Triggers Pleasure, but the Memory of Pleasure

[New research just in! Cheetos turn your fingers orange!]

"Addiction to nicotine is a complex sequence of events that causes the addictive behavior," says Daniel McGehee, PhD, a University of Chicago neurobiologist. He recently presented a paper showing that because nicotine triggers a memory mechanism in the brain called long-term potentiation (LTP), it reinforces the pleasant physiological effects of smoking. Though his research uses rats[we have the same brain as rats now? mmmmmm, cheese., he believes that the same cellular mechanisms are at work in people who smoke cigarettes.