Roadside Ice-cream seller

Its a hot day today. Normally, people would not think twice about getting a ice-cream.

Ever since I was young, ice-cream sellers often came into the neighbourhood in their tricycle type of motorcycle, peddling their ice-cream.
They would often have a big shade on their vehicle.

The seller would lure the victims ie the kids out of their houses with coins eg 50cents to gather around his truck for a bite of that juicy cooling piece of food.

It was as if nobody could resist them then.

The seller can sometimes play cheat by cutting a smaller piece for the same price or totally ignoring you, knowing that you would chase after him.
They seemed to have the upperhand and kids would often feel both love and hatred towards the seller.

They do not even care how the kids eat the ice-cream. The mess they created after the fail to consume the ice-cream at the right moment.

But now the scenario changes.

With the introduction of door to door delivery of Wall's ice-cream and ice-cream palour like Swensens and Gelare, the roadside ice-cream seller face a new threat which they have to improve.
Quality of Service.
People are now aware of the difference between the palour and roadside sellers. They can have a choice of not messing themselves up so why not even if it is more expensive? They paid for the service no matter now that the roadside seller's ice-cream seems to be cheaper.
Last time the roadside sellers failed to notice how inconvenient to lick and ice-cream,they have improvise to use a plastic bag or paper to cover.
However, other similar roadside ice-cream seller follow suit without fully understanding the rationale behind the application so their packaging abit off.
But is the tradition of roadside ice-cream selling going to fade away in the times of history or does the improved quality of service to consumers help to preserve their business?

That's in the future to know.

Some funny videos

Erm, I dun get this one





A riddile to be solved



Man and woman in conversation.

Some jokes for laugh

Murphy's Lesser Known Laws...

1. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

2. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

3. Those who live by the sword get shot by those who don't.

4. Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.

5. The 50-50-90 rule: Anytime you have a 50-50 chance of getting something right, there's a 90% probability you'll get it wrong.

6. If you lined up all the cars in the world end to end, someone would be stupid enough to try to pass them, five or six at a time, on a hill, in the fog.

7. The things that come to those who wait will be the scraggly junk left by those who got there first.

8. The shinbone is a device for finding furniture in a dark room.

9. A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.

10. When you go into court, you are putting yourself into the hands of 12 people who weren't intelligent enough to get out of jury duty.


This Kid knows how to think!

A little boy got on the bus, sat next to a man reading a book, and noticed he had his collar on backwards.
The little boy asked why he wore his collar backwards.
The man, who was a Priest, said: 'I am a Father.'

The little boy replied: 'My Daddy doesn't wear his collar like that.'

The priest looked up from his book and answered: 'I am the Father of many.'

The boy said: 'My Dad has 4 boys, 4 girls and two grandchildren and he doesn't wear his collar that way!'

The Priest, getting impatient, said: 'I am the Father of hundreds' and went back to reading his book.

The little boy sat quietly thinking for a while, then leaned over and said: 'Maybe you should wear a condom and your pants backwards instead of your collar'.


Bran Muffins

The couple were 85 years old, and had been married for sixty years. Though they were far from rich, they managed to get by because they watched their pennies.

Though not young, they were both in very good health, largely due to the wife's insistence on healthy foods and exercise for the last decade.

One day, their good health didn't help when they went on a rare vacation and their plane crashed, sending them off to Heaven.

They reached the pearly gates, and St.Peter escorted them inside. He took them to a beautiful mansion, furnished in gold and fine silks, with a fully stocked kitchen and a waterfall in the master bath.

A maid could be seen hanging theirfavorite clothes in the closet.

They gasped in astonishment when he said, 'Welcome to Heaven. This will be your home now.'

The old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost.

'Why, nothing,' Peter replied, 'remember, this is your reward in Heaven.'

The old man looked out the window and right there he saw a championship golf course, finer and more beautiful than anyever built on Earth. 'What are the greens fees?,' grumbled the old man.


'This is heaven,' St. Peter replied. 'You can play for free, every day.'

Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch, with every imaginable cuisine laid out before them,from seafood to steaks to exotic deserts, free flowing beverages.'

Don't even ask,' said St. Peter to the man. This is Heaven, it is all free for you to enjoy.'The old man looked around and glanced nervously at his wife.'Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol foods, and the decaffeinated tea?,' he asked.

'That's the best part,' St. Peter replied. 'You can eat and drink as much as you like of whatever you like, and you will never get fat or sick.

This is Heaven.' The old man pushed, 'No gym to work out at?''Not unless you want to,' was the answer.

'No testing my sugar or blood pressure or...'

'Never again. All you do here is enjoy yourself.'The old man glared at his wife and said, 'You and your bran muffins. We could have been here ten years ago!'

email tips

When in Doubt, End Emails with "Thanks"
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By Heinz Tschabitscher, About.com
Should you write "bye", "regards" or "best wishes?"
The proper way to sign off is often not only the last, but also one of the most difficult parts of an email (almost as difficult as the greeting).
When in Doubt, End Emails with "Thanks"
When you can't decide what to write and have no idea what's appropriate,
end your message with a simple "thanks" that is never out of place.


Closing a email or a letter....
So, you have composed your letter or email and get to the end and are not quite sure how to close it. We have all been there. Let this lens inspire you the next time you are stumped.
Do you have a favorite closing that you use to end your letters or emails? If so feel free to share some of your favorites.
New Table of Contents
Business Email/Letter Closings
Informal Email/Letter Closings
Love Letter Email/Letter Closings
Email Etiquette
The Do's and Dont's of Email
Email Providers
Email Marketing
What are your favorite closings for emails and letters?
Business Email/Letter Closings
Best Regard,Cordially,Enjoy,Enthusiastically,Good Wishes,Many Thanks,Most Sincerely,Regards,Sincerely,Thank You,With Confidence,
Informal Email/Letter Closings
Adios,Blessings,Cheerio,Cheers,God Bless,Gotta Boogie,Grace and Peace,Have Fun,Health and Happiness,Keep the Faith,Later Vader,Later Alligator,Lots of Love,Onward and Upward,Over and Out,Peace, Love & Happiness,Peace & Blessings,Rock On,See ya,Smell ya Later,SMILE,TA TA,Toodles,Your Friend,
Love Letter Email/Letter Closings
Adoringly Yours,Affectionately,Especially yours,Eternally Yours,Forever and always,Kiss ya,Kisses,Hug ya,Hugs and pogo sticks!Hugs, kisses, and broken fingers,Hugs and kisses,Love, peace, and chicken grease,Love you now and forever,Love, hugs and kisses,Love you,Love always,Lustfully yours,Sweet Kisses,Xoxo,"Your girl" always,Always,Always and forever,Always your baby,Always yours,Forever my love,Forever yours,I am forever yours,I love you very, very much,I will love you always,I'll love you always,Lots of love,Love always and forever,Love and best wishes,Love and kisses,Love you,Loving you always and forever,Loving you with all my heart,Missing you,My heart belongs to you always,Remembering us,Sending you all my love,Soon to be your wife,Still thinking of you,Thanks for understanding,Thinking of you,Unabashedly yours,Unconditionally yours,With affection,With all my love,With appreciation,With hope and love,With love,With love and anticipation,With love and expectation,With love and kisses,You have all my love,You know I love you,Your darling,Your devoted lover,Your eternal soul mate,Your faithful hubby,Your hubby,Your wife always,Yours always,Yours and only yours,

The Do's and Dont's of Email
Email Replies
Tips on how to create effective email messages: includes email etiquette rules, sample email policies and lists email management software.
Writing sensible email messages
Writing sensible email messages As we've never seen before, getting your inbound email under control will give you a huge productivity boost, but what about all the emails you send? If you want to be a good email citizen and ensure the kind of
Email Etiquette
Effective and appropriate email etiquette is still important. This resource will help you to become an effective writer and reader/manager of email.
Email Providers
Are you trying to find the perfect email provider? Here are a couple that you may be interested in trying. If you use a provider that I do not have listed feel free to share your favorite...
Thunderbird
Gmail by google!
Hotmail
Want more? Get it with Yahoo! Mail Plus.
Email Marketing
Autoresponders are great for individuals or businesses that find themselves bogged down in email.Instead of having to send out hundreds of emails yourself, Autoresponders will allow you to reach an unlimited amount of people with the simple click of a button.Here are a few ideas for using Autoresponders:NewslettersEmail MarketingFollow UpPromote Business or ProductsCampaignsNOTE: Do not abuse the autoresponders or the individuals whom have entrusted you with their email addresses. No body likes SPAM!


Stewart Clark (Assistant Professor)
Tel work: +47 73 59 52 45, fax +47 73 59 52 10 E-mail: stewart.clark@ntnu.no
E-MAILS AND LETTERS 10-POINT CHECK LIST:

1. Always use a standard.
There are differences between British English and American English customs in letter writing. British English is the standard in most public administrations in Norway.


2. Always use a salutation (greeting) in English.
In 99% of cases this will be with "Dear... ,". The exception is letters of recommendation that start: "To whom it may concern,".


3. Always place the heading under the salutation.


4. Always try to round off a letter with "-ing forms".
These stress that you have an on-going relationship and there is unfinished business. Some examples are: "We are looking forward to receiving your comments on this report, by the end of September". "We are looking forward to discussing matters with you on 12 September".


5. Always use the ending that matches the salutation.
It is easy to make mistakes here, so follow the summary given in the box below.


6. Always write the month in letters or use the ISO standard for all-digit dates.
Write the month in letters, e.g., 12 June 2003, or use the ISO standard for all-digit dates (CCYY-MM-DD) so that
12 June 2003 is 2003-06-12. Never write a date as 12/6/03 in English. To Europeans, this may mean 12 June 2003; but most Americans will understand it as December 6, 2003.


7. Never use a place-name in front of the date.
Never write "Oslo, 12 December 2003" at the top. Just write the date.

8. Never use exclamation marks (!) in business letters.
An exclamation mark in English is used to express astonishment or surprise. You are very unlikely to need them in normal business letters, faxes or e-mails.


9. Never use short forms like "I'm" and "don't" in business letters.
Only use these in informal, conversational writing and when reporting speech. Sometimes they are used in e-mails.


10. Never capitalize "you" and "your" in mid-sentence.
Many people have told me that they were taught this in school. Capitalized "You" and "Your" in mid sentence disappeared a few hundred years ago, so there must be some old teachers around.



















Summary of how to start and end e-mails and letters in British English (BE):

I. Formal tone, where you write to an institution or an unnamed person:


These start with the following salutations:
Dear Sirs, (when writing to a company, organization, university)
Dear Sir, (to an unnamed person, who is male)
Dear Madam, (to an unnamed person, who is female)
Dear Sir or Madam, (the safe option to an unnamed person, such as: Head of Legal Department)

These always end:
Yours faithfully,
II. Normal business e-mails and letters, where you know recipient's name:
These start:
Dear Mr Jones, (to a named man. Never "Mister")
Dear Ms Jones, (to any named woman, no reference to her marital status)
Dear Professor Jones, (used for all types of professors: (assistant, associate and adjunct)
Dear Dr Jones, (can be used for someone holding a PhD, Dr. ing. or other doctorate)

These two are becoming rare:
Dear Mrs Jones, (to a named married women. Some write (Mrs) after their names to ask for this salutation in the reply)
Dear Miss Jones, (to a named woman, who is unmarried)

These always end:
Yours sincerely, (this is the same tone as "Hilsen", "Vennlig hilsen")

Note that in British English, you do not use a stop after abbreviations like Mr, Mrs, Dr or Ms (pronounced "miz"), as is the custom in AE.

III. E-mails and letters to colleagues, associates and friends etc.:

These start:
Dear Jim, (if a person signs his letter with "Jim", use this in your reply. If you use "Dear Mr Jones", you signal coldness and distance to Jim)
Dear Mary, (same comments as for "Dear Jim")
Dear colleagues, (useful in group mailings, but could be more personal)

There are many endings. Here are some on a scale from a business-like tone to close friendship:
Yours sincerely, (this uses the same tone as "Hilsen", "Vennlig hilsen". Even though you start "Dear Jim," you show that this is a businesslike e-mail or letter)
Regards, (although frequently used in e-mails and faxes, this is too informal for most business letters and is "warmer" than "Vennlig hilsen")
Kind regards, ("warmer" than "Vennlig hilsen")
Best wishes, (used to signal friendliness)
Warm regards, (getting slightly "hotter", frequently used for friends)
Love, (only used for close friends)











Note on e-mails:

Most people tend to avoid the formal tone
(I, above) in e-mails. But sometimes this is inevitable.

Though e-mails tend to be more friendly than letters, a salutation should still be used.

A typical e-mail from your company starts with "Dear Mary," or just "Mary," (the use of "Hi" should be reserved for personal e-mails). A typical ending is "Regards".

The ease with which e-mails can be forwarded is always a potential source of danger – it is better to be safe than sorry.

Letter of resignations
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Resignation-Letter

Write letters
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Report

Use punctuation correctly
http://www.wikihow.com/Use-English-Punctuation-Correctly

Writing skill
http://www.wikihow.com/Improve-Your-Writing-Skills

http://careerplanning.about.com/od/communication/a/email_etiquette.htm

Good workplace ideas

Are You a 'Value-Added' Employee?
© Rhoberta Shaler, PhDwww.SpeakingAboutWork.com
What is your focus when you go to work? Are you thinking "What can I give today?" or "What can I get?" Both questions are important, however, the former will get you further faster. It's that simple.
Often, when I am consulting with a company or team, the hew and cry is "The company/ management does not do enough for me/us." This may certainly be true, however, my first question is the opposite, 'What are you doing for the company/management?'. That's the way the equation works best. You give and then you get. Strangely, that's the way it works best in any relationship. Have you noticed that?
What you pay attention to expands. If you are focused on what you think you are not getting, that overshadows everything. Attitudes shift and conversations turn into whining sessions. Soon, morale dips and everyone is complaining. Often, the complaints have grown completely out of proportion and no one remembers why they were attracted to the company in the first place.
You can change this. Be a 'value-added' employee. Build your strengths rather than focusing on company weaknesses. What a concept! You choose your focus and attitude. You choose how you use your time. You choose your perceptions and perspectives. Use that power to become 'value-added'!
Now, I'm not talking about giving 'til it hurts. No, I'm talking about the way you use your energy to focus on your career path. Sure, there are employers who devour employees and spit them out spent, burned out and disillusioned. They exist. If you're working for one of those...and examine it carefully to be sure...move on.
I am talking about your choices to create the career you want. How do you want to be seen in the workplace? How does your current position further your progress towards your goals? Why did you choose it? What is your plan and how can you best follow that blueprint in your present position? Be pro-active in your own life.
How do you want to be seen in the workplace? As competent, confident and valuable, or, as adequate, mediocre and expendable? Unless you are working for Attila, the Hun, the way folks see you is mostly in your control. Good employees come to work on time, do their tasks well, and cause few waves. Great employees do all that and more. They are focused on the company's mission and vision. They can be excellent team-players and excellent leaders when needed. They are clear about their own purposes and visions and know why they have chosen to work where they work. They care about others and help them to achieve their goals. They do these things because it clearly moves them further along their career paths. It is in their own best interest to do so. They have their 'eyes on the prize'.
Here are a few secrets. Many folks would rather complain about things than fix them. By being a 'fixer', you are being 'value-added'. Many folks would rather find fault than good. By catching people doing things well and commenting on it, you are being 'value-added'. Many folks would rather see what they can get away with than see what they can give. By giving just a little more than expected, you honor yourself and you are being 'value-added'. Many folks would rather feel 'done wrong' than state their needs and boundaries. By being clearly communicating what you need and want, you are saving time and energy...and being 'value-added'.
Which side of these equations are you working from? Only one will get you where you want to go...although you'll have much more company on the other. Your choice!
© Rhoberta Shaler, PhD All rights reserved worldwide.
Rhoberta Shaler is the creator of The Consociate Way™: Promoting Performance and Peace in Your Workplace. As a motivational keynote speaker and corporate team builder focused on 'People Skills for Sustainable Success', she works with individuals and organizations to improve workplace relationships, build & strengthen teams, and manage conflict, anger, and difficult people.
Her press kit and her latest book, Optimize Your Day! Quotes & Thoughts for Optimal Living, are available at www.SpeakingAboutWork.com.


Effective Writing For the WorkplaceBy Claire E. White Effective writing in the workplace is an essential skill. The rules are basically the same for any type of writing, however there are some special issues which arise in the business context. Knowing the elements of good business writing can make or break a career. This article addresses some of these basic elements. Know Your Audience The key to effective business writing is knowing your audience. Before you sit down to compose your letter, memo or report, think about the recipient of your document. What are you trying to say to this person? Organization is crucial. Outlines are an invaluable aid to writing a lengthy report or memo. Remember, time is in short supply for most business professionals. By organizing your thoughts beforehand, you can determine what exactly you are trying to say. Decide what details must be included in the report or memo. Look for graphic elements to add to your presentation, especially if your report contains many boring statistics. Statistics and research bolster your conclusions, especially if they are presented in a visually appealing manner. With the advent of modern word processing programs such as Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect, it is easy to include spread sheets, graphs and colorful clip art to your report, thereby making your work memorable and convincing. After you have decided what the message is that you are trying to convey, work on saying it in concise language. Be brief, whenever possible. Avoid wordiness and unnecessary large words. Strive for clarity in your writing and avoid vagueness (unless there is good reason to be vague). For example: Wordy - It is the responsibility of the recruiting committee to ensure that the goals of the hiring task force have been implemented. Precise - Our recruiting committee must meet the hiring goals of the hiring task force. Wordy - The hurricane had the effect of a destructive force on the manufacturing plant.Precise - The hurricane destroyed the manufacturing plant. Avoid using vague words when a more precise word will do. Take a tip from the journalists. Tell the audience what you are going to say, say it using action verbs, then sum up what it is you have said -- and say it in as few words as possible.
Punctuation and Grammatical Errors
"Sometimes the passive voice can be a useful tool for avoiding placing blame for an error or for intentionally making a sentence vague. Effective use of passive voice in business writing is an art." Nothing can kill your credibility in a business setting faster than to have grammatical and/or punctuation errors, especially in a formal report. Many errors are due simply to insufficient proofreading of the document. Corporate lawyers routinely have a secretary read aloud to another person a very long document, while the second person checks for errors in copy. Obviously, you will not always have time for this procedure. However, before you issue a formal report, especially one that will be seen by upper management or will go outside the firm, you must have someone else proofread your document. The reason is simple; you cannot proofread your own work with 100% accuracy. Occasionally, the human mind will be too efficient and simply will supply the missing word in a sentence so that you will never notice that it is gone, or will transpose letters to their correct order. It is always easier to find errors in someone else's work. Some errors stem not from lack of proofreading, but from simple grammatical mistakes. The most common mistakes include misuse of apostrophes, splitting of infinitives (although this rule has been revoked by many style manuals, it still drives some people to distraction to see a split infinitive except in creative writing or dialogue), using contractions in formal writing, misuse of commas, incomplete sentences, ending a sentence with a preposition, verbs not agreeing with subjects and pronouns not agreeing with their antecedents. Invest in some good reference books, including a good grammar book and a good style book, such as The Chicago Manual of Style. Use them. Effective Use of Passive Voice How many times have we heard the admonition, "Don't use passive voice! Punch up your writing with active voice!"? In general, you should use active voice whenever possible in your writing. Well, like every other rule in the English language, there is an exception to this one. Sometimes the passive voice can be a useful tool for avoiding placing blame for an error or for making a sentence intentionally vague. Effective use of passive voice in business writing is an art. Sometimes you will be called upon to write a memo or other report describing a corporate disaster that occurred because someone made a mistake. Passive voice can be used to describe the mistake without directly placing blame, especially if the recipient of the memo happens to be a) your superior in the company; and b) the person who made the error which led to the disaster. In this situation it would be tactless, to say the least, to use active voice boldly to describe how your boss erred -- not to mention the deleterious effect it could have upon your career. Tactful honesty is a skill greatly admired in corporate America. Use it when needed, but use it sparingly. For example, instead of the memo saying: "Because J. Smith forgot to include the correct budget projections with the bid, we lost the client," try "The correct budget was inadvertently left out of the client packet, which led to the loss of the client." The second sentence is vague. It is unclear who left out the crucial enclosure. Your boss knows very well who is at fault, and will appreciate your not blaring the obvious to the entire company. Of course, this does leave the door open for you to be blamed for the catastrophe. Careful wording of who had responsibility for the client pitch will alleviate this problem. Passive voice, in general, should be avoided in business writing. However, there are times when judicious use of passive voice can increase the tact and diplomacy of your writing. Gender-Neutral Writing
"[C]ommunication is best achieved by writing in the preferred style of the recipient of your document -- especially if the recipient has anything to do with your chances of promotion." This is a difficult topic for the business professional. Under the traditional rules, the word "he" included both the female and male genders when referring to an individual's actions. "Everyone should open his report to page 1" was understood to refer to both the women and the men in the room. In today's society, most women take offense at this reference. For a time, writers used "she" in their writing, sometimes alternating with "he". This is confusing to the reader to say the least, and is offensive to many men. The best way to deal with this problem is to eliminate the pronoun altogether whenever possible: "Everyone should open the report to page 1." Some business writers have suggested pluralizing the pronoun as a solution to the problem. "Everyone should open their report to page 1." This is common in spoken English, but is grammatically incorrect. The theory is that it is better to be grammatically incorrect than to risk offending half of the population. Actually, "their" has been used for several hundred years to refer to a singular antecedent of indeterminate gender by famous authors including Jane Austen, C.S. Lewis, Charles Dickens and William Shakespeare. Some scholars advocate the use of neologisms such as "hir" (a combination of his and her). The issue is a hot one in some academic circles. Unless your boss holds a doctorate in English however, it is unlikely that he or she is aware of this controversy and simply will think that you cannot distinguish between singular and plural pronouns. Therefore, steer clear of "their" in this context. With the exception of certain industries, most corporations are formal places and grammatical errors will be seen simply as that -- not as an example of your tactfulness regarding a gender issue. If you must, use "he or she", which is correct, if somewhat annoying when used many times in the same article. "Everyone should open his or her report to page 1." When you do not know the gender of the person you are addressing in correspondence, the old rule was to write, "Dear Sirs". This is no longer acceptable. Write "Dear Sir or Madam", or better yet, use the title of the unkown addressee. "Dear Editor", for example. If you know only the initial and last name of the addressee, address the letter as "Dear J. Smith". Recent Trends in Business Writing Many recent articles describe a relaxation of formality in America's workplace, in everything from dress to writing styles. These articles urge professionals and workers to use simple words in company correspondence and to dispense with formality. While it is true that formality in the workplace has relaxed somewhat in the past ten years, a word of caution is in order. First, many of these articles are not written by business professionals. Although some industries have relaxed formality in dress and in writing styles, many have not -- especially those in the financial, banking and legal worlds. The region of the country in which your company is located must also be considered. For example, attire which might be considered appropriate in a computer design firm in Silicon Valley might not be at all appropriate in a large bank in Chicago or New York. The same rule applies to writing styles. The best approach is to obtain writing samples written by the CEO and other top officers of your company. Are they formal in style? Informal? The tone of a company is set by the person or persons at the top of the company. You should tailor your writing style to match this style, just as you would tailor your dress to the style of the company for which you work. Some firms pride themselves on the fact that their employees do not wear suits - computer companies and companies in the graphic arts often follow this creed. Others, such as those in the financial services industry, pride themselves on the fact that they have not relaxed any formality requirements even though the world around them has changed. The best rule is to follow the style of your company's upper-echelon leaders. If they use a formal style for inter-office memos, you should too. If they subscribe to the new rules of simple, more direct business writing, then you should as well. If in doubt, always use the more formal approach in a memo or letter, especially when writing to your superior officers in a corporation. Remember, writing in the workplace is not the same as writing for a scholarly journal or writing for a newspaper or magazine, although the goal is the same. The goal is communication, and communication is best achieved by writing in the preferred style of the recipient of your document -- especially if the recipient has anything to do with your chances of promotion. Formality, however, does not mean wordiness. Formality means not using contractions, addressing people by their titles, and avoiding slang. Even when writing in a more formal style, you should strive to avoid excess verbiage. Aim for concise sentences which get your point across quickly to save the reader time. Time is one of a business person's most precious resources. Get to the point of your memo or letter immediately, and your readers will thank you. Conclusion The myriad rules for punctuation and style can, at times, confuse even the most educated person. The situation is exacerbated by the changing times in which we live with all the issues relating to gender and the coining of new words and phrases to describe new technology. When dealing with marketing or advertising issues, often the best course for a business is to call in a professional writer from outside the firm. After all, no one is an expert in everything. With the trend towards instant and global communications via computer, a company's written communications and marketing literature impacts a larger audience than it ever has before. Shouldn't those communications be written by someone whose expertise is words? If you get in over your head, call in a professional writer -- you'll be glad you did. **Claire E. White is an attorney with over ten years' experience in major law firms. She is a former instructor at the University of California at Irvine Extension and is a frequent lecturer and writer on legal and business topics including computer law, corporate law, the Internet and effective business communications.

How to write effective business emails

I guess up to now, I must say I am still bad as I am in the past. What to do? Newbies on the road.

How much should I write in an email?
Email is meant for quick, simple communication. As a general guide that means roughly 4 or 5 paragraphs at most. Due to the limitations of formatting and layout, anything much longer than that is probably best sent as a separate attachment such as a Word file. Most people have a limited attention span with email - if they are receiving a lot of mail you want to get the main message explained in the shortest possible space.
Top
Do spelling and grammar matter in email?
We think it does. Poor spelling and grammar show a lack of attention to detail and sends the wrong message about yourself and how you do business. Most email programs today have built-in spell checkers so there is no excuse! You wouldn't send a letter that was poorly punctuated and uses no capital letters - why not make sure your email messages look professional too?
Top
What do cc: and bcc: mean?
There is a certain etiquette with email, especially in the use of the carbon copy (cc:) and blind carbon copy (bcc:) fields. It is courteous to add addresses to the 'cc:' field if those people need to know about the subject but are not required to act on the contents.
The 'bcc:' field is useful where discretion is required. People in this field are concealed from other recipients in the 'To', 'cc:' and 'bcc:' fields. They can themselves see others in the 'To' and 'cc:' fields but not the 'bcc:' fields.
In this example, an email is sent directly to John by Bob. He copies Tom by including Tom's address in the cc: field. Harry and Sue are blind copied - they can see who the original recipients were but Tom and John won't see their names.

Another way

Writing sensible email messages
Merlin Mann Sep 19 2005
http://www.43folders.com/2005/09/19/writing-sensible-email-messages

As we’ve seen before, getting your inbound email under control will give you a huge productivity boost, but what about all the emails you send? If you want to be a good email citizen and ensure the kind of results you’re looking for, you’ll need to craft messages that are concise and easy to deal with.
First: Understand why you’re writing
Before you type anything into a new message, have explicit answers for two questions:
Why am I writing this?
What exactly do I want the result of this message to be?
If you can’t succinctly state these answers, you might want to hold off on sending your message until you can. People get dozens, hundreds, even thousands of emails each day, so it’s only natural for them to gravitate toward the messages that are well thought-out and that clearly respect their time and attention. Careless emails do not invite careful responses.
Think through your email from the recipient’s point of view, and make sure you’ve done everything you can to try and help yourself before contacting someone else. If it’s a valuable message, treat it that way, and put in the time to making your words count.
Get what you need
Although the possible topics and content of messages are theoretically endless, I’d propose that there are really just three basic types of business email.
Providing information - “Larry Tate will be in the office Monday at 10.”
Requesting information - “Where did you put the ‘Larry Tate’ file?”
Requesting action - “Will you call Larry Tate’s admin to confirm our meeting on Monday?”
It should be clear to your recipient which type of email yours is; don’t bury the lede. Get the details and context packed into that first sentence or two whenever you can. Don’t be afraid to write an actual “topic sentence” that clarifies a) what this is about, and b) what response or action you require of the recipient.
Since the Larry Tate meeting on Monday has been moved from the Whale Room, could you please make sure the Fishbowl has been reserved and that the caterer has been notified of the location change? Please IM me today by 5pm Pacific Time to verify.
This isn’t the place to practice your stand-up act. Keep it pithy, and assume that no one will ever read more than the first sentence of anything you write. Making that first sentence strong and clear is easily the best way to interest your recipient in the second sentence and beyond.
Write a great Subject line
You can make it even easier for your recipient to immediately understand why you’ve sent them an email and to quickly determine what kind of response or action it requires. Compose a great “Subject:” line that hits the high points or summarizes the thrust of the message. Avoid “Hi,” “One more thing…,” or “FYI,” in favor of typing a short summary of the most important points in the message:
Lunch resched to Friday @ 1pm
Reminder: Monday is "St. Bono’s Day"—no classes
REQ: Resend Larry Tate zip file?
HELP: Can you defrag my C drive?
Thanks for the new liver—works great!
In fact, if you’re relating just a single fact or asking one question in your email, consider using just the subject line to relate your message. As I’ve mentioned before, in some organizations, such emails are identified by adding (EOM)—for end of message—at the end of the Subject line. This lets recipients see that the whole message is right there in the subject without clicking to the view the (non-existent) body. This is highly appreciated by people who receive a large volume of mail, since it lets them do a quick triage on your message without needing to conduct a full examination.
Sadly, good email subjects have become something of a lost art, especially among more recent additions to the Interweb. It’s a pity, because you’re far more likely to get a favorable response from a busy person when they can quickly grok your message.
Brevity is the soul of…getting a response
It’s completely depressing to check your email at 4:55 in the afternoon to discover a gothic novel of a message waiting for you, spilling down your screen the distance of 2 or 3 scrolling pages. It’s certainly not the kind of thing that excites the desire to engage and respond. I mean just look at all that!
So, although—in typical Merlin fashion—I have only anecdotal evidence and hunches to prove this point, I’d wager that there’s one visual trick most likely to improve your message’s success: fit it onto one screen with no scrolling. There’s a reason those web ads placed “above the fold” cost a lot more than the ones stuck down at the bottom; it’s the only part of the page that you’re virtually assured that anyone will see.
Whenever you can, try to distill your beautiful epistle down to just one or two points about a given topic, and then whittle that down to the point where there’s plenty of white space left underneath your closing. Got more to say? Put it in separate emails with—again—excellent Subject lines, and a descriptive, concise opener.
What’s the action here?
If your message includes any kind of request—whether for a meeting, a progress update, a pony ride, or what have you—put that request near the top of the message and clearly state when you will need it. Do not, under any circumstances, assume that your overwhelmed recipient will take the time to sift through your purple prose for clues about what they’re supposed to be doing for you.
Depending on the style of your team and the volume of mail they create, you might even consider adding functional text headers to the top of the body outlining the exact nature of the message. This email is: [ ] actionable [x] fyi [ ] social
Response needed: [ ] yes [x] up to you [ ] no
Time-sensitive: [ ] immediate [ ] soon [x] none
Sure, it’s geeky, but how many minutes have you wasted panning through a sloppy “project update” email only to completely miss the changed deadline or work request buried in the penultimate paragraph?
Remove the guesswork from your messages by thinking of them like friendly, civil work orders; you must not be afraid to ask for what you want, especially if you have any desire to actually have the recipient give it to you.
More good ideas
Make it easy to quote - Power email users will quote and respond to specific sections or sentences of your message. You can facilitate this by keeping your paragraphs short, making them easy to slice and dice.
Don’t chuck the ball - Emails to a thread are like comments at a meeting; think of both like your time possessing the basketball. Don’t just chuck at the net every chance you get. Hang back and watch for how you can be most useful. Minimize noise.
A reminder never hurts - If you’re following-up or responding to an email that’s more than a few days old, provide context right at the opening. For example, "You wrote in February asking to be notified when the new asthma inhalers are in stock; here’s a link to the items we’ve now made available on our site…."
Never mix, never worry - Unless your team really prefers to work that way, do not mix topics, projects, or domains of life in a given email. Inform everyone of Baby Tyler’s adorable antics in a different message than the one with the downsizing rumors and budget warnings.
No thanks - I’m not married to this one, but I know a lot of people who swear by it. In more informal settings and in high-volume mail environments, it’s not necessary to respond with a “Thanks” email whenever someone does what you asked. Save your gratitude for the next time you pass in the hall; a one-word “Thanks” email can be crufty and unnecessary. On the other hand, don’t hesitate to thank someone for their time if they’ve truly done you a proper.
RTFM - If you’re asking for help, make sure you’ve exhausted all the documentation and non-human resources you have at your disposal. When you do ask for help, be sure to quickly cover the solutions you’ve already tried and what the results were.
Skip the overture - If you’re writing to a busy person with an actual question or request, resist the desire to swoon for 2,000 characters. Either write a fan letter or a useful email, but mixing them can seem tacky and disingenuous. Just go ahead and ask Gary Gygax for his autograph already.

赤壁, Red Cliff

Red Cliff series is the latest offering from John Woo in the Mandarin film industry. It is proclaimed as the most expensive epic film ever made in the chinese film history.

Epic films as we all knew from the western mainstream film industry, are mainly derived from famous novels and books. It is totally fictitious like LOTR, Narnia, etc. However, for chinese epic films, though it is similarly adapted from chinese novels, is not totally fictitious. It is based on the main events of history in China. In a way, it is a historical account, part of the Chinese history.

Therefore, to enjoy films like Red Cliff, one must have some background knowledge of novels like "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (<三国演义>) and "Annals of the Three Kingdoms" (<三国志>). Otherwise, most of the time, audience will find themselves wondering, what is this film trying to show.

In essence, the director is trying to portrayed the gist of ancestor's brillance with regards to military strategizing. It focused on the famous war known as the War at Red Cliff to illustrate how minority can overcome majority so figures is not really everything in war. It illustrate the various tactics used and advocated by the Chinese ancestors like provocation, luring enemy using their complacency, know thy enemies, etc. One must really know the characters and which camp they are from before getting the true meaning of the film.

A brief note on the Chinese history. This is during the late Han Dynasty which belongs to the royalty surnamed Liu. As the Han Dynasty disintegrates, the country was broken into different fractions by the warlords.

Country Shu (蜀漢) was led by Liu Bei who was the royalty of the Han Dynasty. He was a straw shoes maker. He was assisted by the following brillant people. Guan Yu (关 羽) was the famous general who was fearless in front of army. Due to his virtues, he was later worshipped as a deity by the Chinese. Zhao Zilong (赵子龙) was the general who saved Liu Bei's son. Zhang Fei (张飞) was a general who was similar to a giant. Boisterous and strong, he was a man not to be forgotten. Finally,military adviser, Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮). He was the most brillant strategist in the Chinese history.

Country Wei (曹魏) was led by Cao Cao, a ursurper of the Han Dynasty throne. He has good sons who were noted in the history for their contributions in Chinese Literature.

Country Wu (東吳) was led by a good warlord, Sun Quan. He was supported by another brillant strategist, Zhou Yu.

This film start of with the 3 kingdoms having a political power disequlibrium. Country Cao was trying to conquer all so that Cao Cao can declare himself as king. Country Shu was the weakest, having suffered countless lost battles to Country Cao. Country Wu due to foreseeing an invasion by Cao,made allies with Country Shu. All these sounds like the type of political situation that some countries today are facing. For more information on the chinese history and characters, you may visit the following site, http://www.baoci98.net/3g/main.htm.

In terms of content of the film, it is just like the chinese style of literature, paving ways for the grand finale. Not very impressive as a starter. Moreover, the blood in the film seems to flow like ketchup. Splattered everywhere. The conversations are hilarious.

In terms of technical and creative use of medium,this film is very unique and shows traces of the Director's skills and sensitivity. The balance on fast action packed scene with emphasis on the movement using slow motion capture angle is very good.

In terms of character portrayal, all the cast played their best. However, I dun like the way Zhuge Liang is done. He is very gentlemanly but he should also seem harmless and like a laughing buddha. Cao Cao was not so Colour wolf? And so was Liu Bei.

The Gala Premiere at Vivocity GV tonight is very impressive. I get to see celebrities. My faves of the day is John Woo and Zhang Feng Yi. I am so glad that I won the ticket to see this part one.

I have always like the chinese literature arising from these 3 kingdoms. Here are the ones that I wish to share with you.

念奴娇　赤壁怀古宋·苏轼
大江东去，浪淘尽，千古风流人物。故垒西边，人道是，三国周郎赤壁。乱石穿空，惊涛拍岸，卷起千堆雪。江山如画，一时多少豪杰。遥想公瑾当年，小乔初嫁了，雄姿英发。羽扇纶(guān)巾，谈笑间，樯(qiáng)橹灰飞烟灭。故国神游，多情应笑我，早生华发。人生如梦，一樽(zūn)还酹(lèi)江月。

咏赤壁唐.李白
二龙争战决雌雄，赤壁楼船扫地空。烈火张天照云海，周瑜于此破曹公。

临江仙明·杨慎
滚滚长江东逝水，浪花淘尽英雄。是非成败转头空，青山依旧在,几度夕阳红。白发渔樵江渚(zhǔ)上，惯看秋月春风。一壶浊酒喜相逢，古今多少事，都付笑谈中。

南乡子 登京口北固亭有怀 宋·辛弃疾
何处望神州？满眼风光北固楼。千古兴亡多少事？悠悠！不尽长江滚滚流。年少万兜鍪(móu)，坐断东南战未休。天下英雄谁敌手？曹刘！生子当如孙仲(zhòng)谋。

Sexual Harrassment in workplace

Now this is really a sensitive issue to all women working.
A really disadvantage and social inequality at work.
What really constitutes to sexual harrassment?

In US, it is explained as such:

Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is a form of sex discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII applies to employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations, as well as to the federal government.
Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual's employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual's work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.
Sexual harassment can occur in a variety of circumstances, including but not limited to the following:
The victim as well as the harasser may be a woman or a man. The victim does not have to be of the opposite sex.
The harasser can be the victim's supervisor, an agent of the employer, a supervisor in another area, a co-worker, or a non-employee.
The victim does not have to be the person harassed but could be anyone affected by the offensive conduct.
Unlawful sexual harassment may occur without economic injury to or discharge of the victim.
The harasser's conduct must be unwelcome.
It is helpful for the victim to inform the harasser directly that the conduct is unwelcome and must stop. The victim should use any employer complaint mechanism or grievance system available.
When investigating allegations of sexual harassment, EEOC looks at the whole record: the circumstances, such as the nature of the sexual advances, and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. A determination on the allegations is made from the facts on a case-by-case basis.
Prevention is the best tool to eliminate sexual harassment in the workplace. Employers are encouraged to take steps necessary to prevent sexual harassment from occurring. They should clearly communicate to employees that sexual harassment will not be tolerated. They can do so by providing sexual harassment training to their employees and by establishing an effective complaint or grievance process and taking immediate and appropriate action when an employee complains.
It is also unlawful to retaliate against an individual for opposing employment practices that discriminate based on sex or for filing a discrimination charge, testifying, or participating in any way in an investigation, proceeding, or litigation under Title VII.
Statistics
In Fiscal Year 2007, EEOC received 12,510 charges of sexual harassment. 16.0% of those charges were filed by males. EEOC resolved 11,592 sexual harassment charges in FY 2007 and recovered $49.9 million in monetary benefits for charging parties and other aggrieved individuals (not including monetary benefits obtained through litigation).

(courtesy of The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission )

This is a very serious accusation especially in conservative Asian society.

We all suffer when sexual harassment is tolerated in our classrooms and workplaces. There are two types of sexual harassment, “quid pro quo” and “hostile environment.” Sometimes the two types occur together. The targeted person may be harmed emotionally, mentally, and even physically.
Hostile environment is the most common form of Sexual Harassment. Hostile environment has occurred when it unreasonably interferes with a person’s work or academic performance or it creates an intimidating, hostile, abusive or offensive environment. It usually involves a pattern of repeated behavior, such as:
Behavior that is unwelcome Requests for a date Behavior that is sexual in nature A shoulder or back rub Behavior that creates a hostile or intimidating environment Comments about a person’s appearance
Quid pro quo is a Latin term meaning “this for that”. This form of harassment is usually easy to recognize. Quid pro quo occurs when a supervisor or faculty member, or a person acting with authority, withholds, demands and/or promises a benefit by pressuring an employee or student to submit to unwelcome sexual conduct. For example:
A employee is denied a promotion because he/she refuses to be romantically involved with his/her supervisor; or A student received a lower grade because he/she refuses to go on a date with his/her teaching assistance; or A professor threatens to make a graduate students life miserable after he/she refuses to attend a conference with him/her and carries out the threat by giving the graduate more work than is required.
The following are some examples of behavior(s), if unwelcome, that may constitute sexual harassment depending on the severity and pervasiveness of the conduct:
unwelcome sexual remarks, jokes, or taunting displaying of graphic descriptions of pornography repeated requests for dates demands or requests for sexual favors unnecessary touching, grabbing, patting, pinching, leering, staring or suggestive gestures obscene phone calls unwanted e-mails or letters public humiliation bashing due to sexual orientation forcing a kiss sexual assault (forced or non consensual sexual intercourse, including penetration with a foreign object)
What to Do If You Are Accused of Sexual HarassmentIf you are told that your behavior is inappropriate and/or offensive, you must immediately stop the behavior. People perceive certain behaviors, jokes, and gestures, along with other things differently. What may be acceptable to you may be extremely offensive to someone else. Some times due to the difference in culture or morals you may not think your comment(s) or behavior are offensive. Nevertheless, you should try to understand the other person’s feelings and concerns and respect his or her request to stop the sexual harassment.
While it can be distressing to have a complaint made against you, if you are accused of sexual harassment you have the right to:
Be informed of the allegations filed against you, and provided with the opportunity to respond to specifics surrounding the allegations
Be accompanied by a support person, such as friend or campus resource administrator
Seek private legal counsel
Have the outcome of the investigation fully explained
In the event that the complaint is to be dismissed, receive notification of that recommendation
In the event a complainant is found to have been dishonest or to have intentionally made false allegations against the accused, the complainant shall be subject to disciplinary action up to and including, if deemed appropriate, termination or expulsion
The consequences to a person if sufficient evidence of a violation of the policy is found regarding sexual harassment can include:
Letter of warning Disciplinary probation Denial of promotion Demotion Suspension Termination
Intent vs. ImpactSexual harassment has been evaluated by whether a “reasonable person” would consider the inappropriate conduct offensive under federal law, Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act . However, in 1991, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Ellison v. Brady, concluded that the harassing conduct must be evaluated from the perspective of the victim. This means that the inappropriate conduct must be evaluated from the victim’s perception. The victim determines whether the conduct is sufficiently severe and/or pervasive as to create a hostile environment. The intent of the harasser has no factor in the matter. Because of Ellison v. Brady the standard brought the federal law closer to state law’s interpretation of what is a hostile work environment. Under the California Fair Employment and Housing Act, the environment is evaluated from the victim’s perspective. In this case the court acknowledges that a man or woman may suffer work environment sexual harassment even where his/her co-workers, or a “reasonable person,” would not be offended by the offensive conduct.The Title IX/Sexual Harassment Office is aware that sexual harassment complaints may be substantiated, in part, by the victim’s perception. To determine whether or not there has been a violation of Title IX, will be determined by whether the conduct is of a sexual nature and the victim is credible, and the victim’s perception of the environment will be given great weight to the complaint.
In case of nonphysical harassment conduct may be one or a combination of:
Unwelcome attention -- The person to whom the conduct is directed toward must not invite, condone, reciprocate or participate in the conduct.
Severe and pervasive behavior -- One incident does not usually constitute sexual harassment unless the conduct is severe, such as sexual assault or other physical touching. The less severe usually is repetitive or a pattern of inappropriate conduct.
Unreasonably interfering with academic/work performance and/or creates a hostile environment.
Academic FreedomThe University acknowledges the law to protect the freedom of UCR faculty, staff, and students under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I section I of the California Constitution to engage in legitimate intellectual and professional criteria, not personal views, with respect to political, religious, social or artistic expression within the University setting without unreasonable restriction or penalty.
In general, within the academic setting, speech that is significant to the academic course or addresses public concern would be protected by the Constitution. When does speech violate the campus policy? Verbal conduct is only actionable under the Sexual Harassment Complaint Resolution policy if the conduct exceeds the boundaries of academic freedom. For example, it would be appropriate to address sexual themes in a classroom situation if it exemplifies points in the course, but if the faculty member uses sexual dialogue that bears no relationship to the course, the speech would not be protected. Speech that is intended to advance the learning process is protected.

This is what is constitutes to sexual harrassment in US.
As can be seen, a sexual harrassment act is something that intrude on personal space and includes intimate acts to the other person.
As we all know, Asians have a lot of personal space. Anyone who trespasses this space is considered to be rude and possibly a "coloured wolf" in chinese.
But then again, it depends on a situational basis.
If you know that person well enough, may be you will allow them to touch your shoulder or acceptable parts of your body.
However, between colleagues, seldom do you have a male colleague whispering in your ears let alone touch your shoulders and back.
It is not as if like a hearty slap on your back by your boss which shows that this person has no bad intention or ulterior motive but to praise you.
It is like a slimy pat that leaves an icky feeling lingering that touched part of the body. It is as if the offender is trying to get a feel of you.
A woman's intuition is more often than not, very accurate.
If she feels that way, most likely she is being harrassed.
However, as we all know in court, the defence counsel will say that the lady has shown signs of looseness or sluty behaviour that the offender fall prey to and think that it is an invitation.
It is really an icky and vomitting experience though it is a huge allegation to say about the guy.
I don't think anyone will feel confortable if someone relatively foreign touch you.
So does anyone outside your family, loved ones and really really closed friends touch you.
I don't think any woman should tolerate this. The offender should be punished by law even if it is a feebly old man.
The very fact that they did that is enough to warrant an arrest. This has got nothing to do with age.
If the men know they are heaty, please, by all means, find your wife or the nearest thing is to find a pond or shower room and drown yourself in it. Don't ever touch innocent party who did nothing physically or intentionally to incur that unneccessary reaction of yours.
Better still, please get a knife and get it over and done with.
Ladies shouldnt be suffering in silence. If you suspect yourself to be victim, please stay in pairs, avoid being alone with the guy.
Please report the offender to the police.
You are not in the wrong.
Why should you suffer in silence when the evil guy gets away scotfree and prey on other women?
You should retailiate and make sure they pay back.
Though it might sound a bit vindictive and bloodthirsty, it is the only way to deal with them. In fact, you are helping them to solve their sickness which they failed to notice and indirectly help other women.