This year I’m spending Thanksgiving with my cousin and her family. It’s been a few years since I was in the relative vicinity (you know, since I lived in Texas the last time…) so it’s great to be back.

Adora and I have been reminiscing days with our grandma and grandpa and remembering childhood.  She’s a few years older than I am, so she has better memories of days and people I didn’t have the privilege of experiencing, or was too small to remember well.

Last night she showed me old video footage taken around 1970 – Christmas at my grandma and grandpa’s farm. I got to see the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and even other cousins as children. And my mom? She was approximately 17 in that video. How great is that??

In the spirit of the holiday we attempted my grandma’s famous rolls.

That’s right. We made rolls from scratch.

With real live yeast and everything.

In all reality, we made them for today’s Thanksgiving feast – but as a sneak peak I can tell you we tested them and they taste just like the ones grandma made for us years ago.

I  love celebrating today by remembering my family. I was and am blessed by them. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

After doing work, making a Porto’s run, and ordering “Heavenly Chicken” take-out from this place (though my Thai food standard remains this for the moment)…I come home, turn the laptop on, fire up the browser, and what do you know…that Maguindanao massacre still takes up a prominent space in my Google News gadget.

It just makes you shake your head. Looks like the world’s sticking with this one. When Amnesty International, the Irish Times, and “The Star” of South Africa (you could have at least spelled “Filipino” correctly) publish stuff about this tragedy, you know the event has the world’s attention for at least a couple of days.

Resolving this matter will be tough. I doubt the resolution (if any) will be acceptable to everyone. I just hope that this doesn’t blow up into some sort of clan war between two political dynasties. Reminds me of this really…haha. But alas, even the Dunmer had their rules. Hell, according to this very interesting article, the traditional rido, though embedded in a complex conflict environment, exempts women and children. But the article, written in 2007, points out that that’s progressively flying out the window:

“Potential targets or victims can be any adult male member of the family while the “degree of kinship is irrelevant” (Fischeder). If a series of killings has started, the next victim should be higher in position and social status than the last one (Vitug). Children and women are exempted – in theory. Someone who kills a woman on purpose is perceived as a coward (Bagayaua, 2004). But exceptions exist and it will be pointed out later that with the increased use of larger weapons victims are becoming more and more random…”

Of course, the President is vowing justice:

“The President is really very angry about this incident,” presidential spokesman Cerge Remonde said on the ABS-CBN television network.

“The President is very clear that those people responsible, regardless of who they are, should be brought before the bar of justice.”

As much I want to believe that…I don’t know. I mean, that’s pretty much the same thing she said to my Lolo seven years ago. Whatever happened to that?

i wish i was from south america

i wish i from uruguay

i wish i was from montevideo

it’s hard to explain

i wish my head would fall off

hehe

1. Personal assessment - To start a career search you must first understand who you are and what you want to do.  This involves objectively evaluating your Industry skills and experience, salary expectations, and career requirements to ensure that they match employers’ expectations.  Doing so will help highlight any skill sets that need to be improved upon as well as provide you with a map on where you are going.

2. Make your resume stand out - You have approximately 20 seconds to capture the reader’s attention.  Make sure your resume is easy to read by using a standard font type and size.  To ensure that the required skills for the position jump off the page at the reader, incorporate ‘buzz words’ from the job description into your resume.  For your key accomplishments, you want to include numbers, percents, and dollar signs where appropriate in order to highlight specific experiences.

3.  Elevator speech – Prepare a 30 second overview that hits the highlights of your experience.  Anything longer than that will risk losing the listener.  Make sure you introduce yourself, state why you are calling, and share two to three highlights of your experience.  It is important that you write everything down on paper and practice speaking it out loud.  Be prepared for questions regarding your experience as well as have follow up questions to ask those individuals that are interested in speaking with you further.

4. How to tap the Hidden Job Market – Statistics show that up to 80% of all jobs filled are never posted online or in newspapers.  So how do you find these hidden jobs?  You have to be aggressive and go after the hidden jobs by speaking with hiring managers at companies that you would be interested in working for.  Once you have a contact name, call them and give your elevator speech.  These conversations will often lead to other contacts and career opportunities that you would never have otherwise found.

5. Network, Network, Network – Just like real estate is all about location, career searching is all about networking.  You want to make yourself highly visible in a professional manner.  This can be done by utilizing tools such as linkedin, joining professional associations or trade groups, and talking to people in your community.  Make sure you start with your elevator speech and close with some specific instructions on how someone can help you.

6. How to master the interview – Behavioral interviewing or the ‘tell me about a time when’ questions are becoming the most commonly accepted interview method.  The basic premise is that the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in a similar situation.  Break your answer down into the following categories; situation, task, action and result.  A successful behavioral interview involves accurately using ‘I’ and ‘we’ to describe those accomplishments that you were responsible for vs. those that were a group accomplishment.

7. Seeking professional career search assistance – We all seek expert advice from accountants to do our taxes, personal trainers to get in shape, and financial advisers to help manage our stock portfolios.  Why would you trust something as important as your career search to chance?  Career search consultants deal with the issues surrounding the search process all day long.  There is typically nothing they have not seen or dealt with.  You can leverage that experience to help you overcome obstacles in your career search process.

8. Attitude is key – Keeping a positive attitude during your career search is vitally important to your success.  The career search process is filled with rejection on a daily basis, so maintaining a positive attitude can be difficult.  Employers want to hire people that believe in their own skills and abilities and are excited to work for their company.  By joining professional groups, networking in your community, not taking rejection personally, and surrounding yourself with positive people you can maintain a winning attitude.

9. Transferable skills - These are skills that you have acquired during your professional life that are applicable to your next career opportunity.  They include such things as communication, leadership, problem solving/analytical skills, and being a self starter.   When you are tailoring your resume to a specific position, you want to make sure that each skill or accomplishment relates to the position for which you are applying.  If you can’t make an accomplishment relate to the position requirements, leave it out.

10. Treat the career search as a full time job – In this market, finding a job is becoming more and more difficult and as such requires a full-time commitment.  Determine how much time you are willing to devote to your search each day and commit to keeping that schedule, just as if it were a paid job.  Develop a plan, get organized, and set specific achievable goals for yourself.  Being able to see what you accomplished each week will help keep you motivated in your search process.  Other things to consider, take one day a week off, pursue your hobbies, and stay active.

Career Search Strategies is here to help you with all of your career search needs.  We function as a coach to walk you through each step of the process from resume writing/editing, networking, interview preparation, and salary negotiation.  With over 15 years of experience, we have the knowledge to help jump start your search and get you on the road to a new career!

You can find Career Search Strategies on the web at www.careersearchstrategies.net

LinkedIn

Twitter @careersrchstrat.

For more information on Career Search Strategies or to schedule your free 45 minute consultation, contact Steve Gray via email at sgray@careersearchstrategies.net.

After many requests and countless hours trying to help photographers via email, we’ve started offering one on one mentor sessions for photographers.

It’s an all day (8 hour) session in our studio where you learn what you want to learn…whether it’s studio lighting, outdoor shooting, sales, retouching, business structure, or all the above. Those coming from out of town can split it up over 2 days (4 hours each day). The mentoring will also continue via email after the session.

In previous sessions, we’ve had senior clients booked and we’ve also had a sales sessions scheduled so the photographer can shoot with me and sit through a sales appointment to learn techniques to increase profit. Then we’ve done a portfolio and business structure reviews and ended with retouching of the images that we shot that day. Of course, there was a lot of questions and answers going on too.

Although these are designed to be one on one to give you the most personal attention possible, we offer a 25% discount if 2 photographers want to have a session together.

Below is a list of frequently asked questions from our previous clients:

Q. Will you be offering mentor sessions in the spring and summer as well?

A. Yes, but the available dates may be more limited.

Q. Can I bring my husband/wife?

A. Absolutely! They can take some notes for you so you’ll be sure not to forget anything. Plus…we’ll need an assistant for our photo shoot!

Q. Can I come with another mpixer so we can carpool?

A. Yes! If you come with another mpixer, you both get 25% off.

Q. I can’t leave my kids for 8 hours. Can I split it up over 2 days?

A. You can. I like to try to schedule a photo shoot and a sales session for you to participate in and splitting it up over 2 days sometimes makes it easier for me to schedule those sessions.

Q. What do I need to bring with me?

A. Your camera and lenses, a laptop if you have one, your pricing information and a portfolio of images (unless they can be found online).

Q. What is the closest airport to you?

A. Joplin, MO is the closest, but Kansas City, MO or Fayetteville, AR are probably a cheaper option. Both are about 1.5 hour drive.

Q. What if I have questions after I get home from our mentor session?

A. Feel free to email me! This always happens. You always forget something! So email mentoring will continue after your session.

Q. I can’t make the trip to you. Will you come to my home/studio?

A. If you live in a warm, sunny location, YES! All joking aside, yes I can. Regular fees plus travel fees (flight & hotel) are required. The positive to this is that I can see your studio location/town you shoot in and make suggestions. We can schedule a shoot (paid or not) and I can help you with locations, lighting, working with clients, etc. Also, if you don’t do in person sales, this would be a great time to start! I can work as your salesman for you so you can see exactly how it works and how to get maximum profit.

Q. Is what is going to be taught already set or can we focus on the issues that I need the most help?

A. It is customized to each session. While we have time to touch on a little bit of everything, we can focus on what you need the most help with. Options are: studio lighting, outdoor lighting, posing, camera settings, in person sales, pricing, business structure, portfolio review, live photo shoots, live sales sessions, retouching, workflow, and anything else you can think of.

Q. Can I use the pictures that I take during your photo shoot for my portfolio?

A. Yes. I have no problem with that at all.

Feel free to send us an email if you have any questions that is not listed above. You can also contact Kim Kravitz, who was our first student a couple of months ago and ask her about her experience.

Below is an unsolicited testimonial from our most recent mentee, Melissa from Wichita:

I had my mentoring session yesterday with Jessica. I can not even tell you how much I learned/soaked in/asked etc. It was invaluable and I am thrilled that I got the opportunity!!

I was afraid that I was too new to even be eligible, but Jessica made sure to explain things in a way that I totally “got it”. She puts terminology into clear language. She is super skilled with her camera (I swear, it’s an extension of her hand). She has the most amazing ability to pause the conversation during sales session w/ clients, making them comfortable while making choices.

We had a fantastic senior shoot. She showed me some of the amazing products from MpixPro. I could go on and on!! I learned so much that I can now do apply to my business. I’ve typed up some of my chicken scratch notes and already had the camera out this morning working on my new skills. If anyone is even possibly considering this ~ DO NOT WAIT! You will NOT be disappointed!!

Here are just a few of the many subjects we covered: posing, studio lighting, choosing locations, shooting on location, going over subjects clothing choices & matching clothes to locations, using reflector, shooting with family pets, business building, marketing, web design, setting prices, running promotions, sales sessions, Photoshop how-to (must-know basics plus using templates), shooting in RAW, converting to jpeg, further education, must have equipment, future ideas for equipment and so much more.

Magnum and 103 parts go in to Embee (thanks Colby for the referral). The girl there knows her paints.

Peugeot and Magnum parts for powdercoating at Embee

Embee Girl

Deze erkenning gaat over het feit dat internationale rechters met DDDD wel erkend zijn aangezien het beoogte onderzoek; drievoudige beleidskeuze; tweevoudige bedoeling in het aansprakelijkheid-gebeuren hierbij erkend is voor de intellectueel overheid.

Hiermee is het aanzet van een brain trust affiliation afgerond om de mogelijkheid tussen intellectuelen te bevorderen tegenover de participerenden en het omver krijgen en vernietigen van diegenen die het leven misbruiken en ernstige kwaad toerichten zonder wat voor positiviteit achtergrond dan ook, en zelfs met tot verantwoording te brengen en de geldende straffen.

Alle gescreende zaken omtrent het functioneren naast mondiale problemen kunnen nu geparticipeert worden om ze in de sociologie factor DDDD daadwerkelijk ook op te lossen.

• 69, 45-4, 93yellow, 18, 84

Scheduled for November 7, 2009 @ 2pm. Come view our facility during our Open House in Hendersonville, TN.

Enjoy door prizes, hotdogs, promotion items from Jenkins Classic Resto, and chat with Classic Car enthusiasts. Please bring your classic/muscle car for show, as we will be having an award show for “Best in Show”.  This will be a blast!!!!

Panasonic and BEcause are hitting the road this autumn with the UK’s first fully HD 3D roadshow, including a showpiece enormous 103″ screen cinema for visitors to experience the kit for themselves.

The campaign kicked off recently at Grand Designs Live in the NEC and is continuing on to tour 8 of the country’s top shopping centers up until mid December. The super high-tech stand also includes demos on the latest 600hz Freesat HD screens and allows visitors to talk to experts about all of the latest kit. For more info on the event, or to see if it is coming to your area with all the gear have a look at the website here.

Who doesn’t love a good episode of The Office? Okay, I’m sure there are some people who don’t, but in general, the office=love. (Yes, I did just do the lame, thirteen-year-old girl thing, please try not to judge me too harshly at least I’m not, like, using the word like, like, a million times each in all my posts, like, don’t you just, like, think people sound really stupid when they, like, do that?)

Getting to the actual point now: the real song, courtesy of Billy Joel, can be found here:

http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/We-Didn%27t-Start-The-Fire-lyrics-Billy-Joel/C753C82435AC97D148256870001F1100

Specifically, I’d like to focus in on this section:

“Begin, Reagan, Palestine, Terror on the airline
Ayatollah’s in Iran, Russians in Afghanistan

Wheel of Fortune, Sally Ride, heavy metal, suicide
Foreign debts, homeless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Bernie Goetz

Hypodermics on the shores, China’s under martial law
Rock and Roller cola wars, I can’t take it anymore”

At the risk of sounding cliche, history really does repeat itself. Let’s review, shall we?

• Palestine: http://washingtonindependent.com/64267/israelpalestine-peace-process-about-to-relaunch –Palestine and Israel are still at each other’s throats, with tentative grasps at peace. (Although, as an aside I’d really like to point out the fact that Palestine is not a country, but a territory, and hasn’t been a country for about fifty years now. Perhaps its time for them to give up?)
• Terror on the Airline: Um, yeah, September 11th, need I say more? Back then they were dealing with *”Pan Am 103 Bombing, December 21, 1988: Pan American Airlines Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland, by a bomb believed to have been placed on the aircraft in Frankfurt, West Germany, by Libyan terrorists. All 259 people on board were killed.”
• Russians in Afghanistan: **But not for long, we helped the Afghans take back their country–but we didn’t stick around to help them develop it, set up a government, or help in any other way. Now, we are dealing with the consequences of our actions then. I recommend that you all go watch Charlie Wilson’s War for an entertaining overview of the situation and how we royally ^#$%ed it up.
• Foreign Debts: Here’s a great idea–let’s just keep borrowing money from China, its not like we already have a huge deficit or anything.
• China’s Under Martial Law: And speaking of China, this hasn’t really changed either. They may not specifically be under martial law anymore, but they are definitely still communist.
• Ayatollah’s in Iran: ***He’s gone now, but I’m almost wondering if we wouldn’t take him back if it meant getting rid of our dear Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
• Also, just to throw it there we are continuing to deal with homeless Vets, Wheel of Fortune, crack, AIDS, suicide, and heavy metal.

Comments, critiques, fashion tips, book recommendations, and excellent dessert recipes are not only welcome, they are encouraged.

*The link from which I drew the excerpt concerning Pan Am 103 http://www.awesome80s.com/Awesome80s/News/Special-Reports/Terrorism/

**For more information concerning our involvement in Afghanistan, then and now, please choose from the following links (also feel free to comment/contact me if you would like to know more):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Afghanistan

http://www.globalpost.com/taliban (recommend that you read this)

http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB57/us.html

*** Presidential history of Iran http://www.iranchamber.com/history/islamic_revolution/islamic_revolution.php

This is my second post on the nonobviousness standard for patents (35 USC 103).  The earlier post focused on the practical questions that an inventor and his attorney face when negotiating with the Patent Office (PTO).  This post attempts to provide a rational approach to the nonobviousness requirement.

Once it has been determined that a patent claim is novel, step 10 in the flow chart, there are only two things that can make the invention nonobvious.  One is a new result and the other is a new combination that has provides same result in the prior art.  At step 12, we determine if the invention has a new result.  For instance, Edison’s light bulb had a new result of a high resistance filament.  This result is important because it makes it possible to build an economically feasible power system to power Edison’s light bulb.  A new result may be a solution to a problem in the prior art (low resistance light bulb) or new feature that is useful in the art.  If the invention has a new result, then the next step is to determine if the new result is merely aesthetic at step 14.  If the result is merely aesthetic such as changing the color of a car, then the invention is nonobvious, step 16.  If the new result is not just an aesthetic change, then the invention is nonobvious, step 18.  It does not matter how many references or whether the references come from the same art area as the invention, the invention is nonobvious.  In the case of Edison’s light bulb, all the elements were known and Joseph Swan had the same elements in his light bulb, except Swan’s filament was low resistance.  The point of patents is to protect the investment in new technologies.  If an invention is novel and it has a new result, then it is nonobvious and any attempt to combine references to recreate the invention is just hindsight.

If the invention does not have new result, then it is determined if the invention is a legitimate design around at step 20.  A goal of patent law is to diversify the technology base by encouraging alternative designs.  If an invention is novel and a legitimate design around of an enforceable patent then the invention is nonobvious.  For instance, if Edison claimed a light bulb with a carbon filament and another inventor created a light bulb with a metal filament that has essentially the same result he should obtain a patent.  This is true even if the PTO can find two or more references in the same art area that show all the elements.  If the invention is not a legitimate design around, then it is determined if the invention is nonobvious under the teaching, suggestion, motivation test.  For instance, assume Edison claims a light bulb with any material that has high resistance as the filament, but only discusses a carbon filament.  Then another inventor invents a light bulb with a metal filament having essentially the same properties as Edison’s light bulb.  If nothing in Edison’s patent or a combination of patents in related technology teaches, suggests, or motivates a person to use a metal filament, the inventor should obtain a patent.

The obviousness standard has proven elusive to define.  I have attempted to provide a more rational approach to this problem.  I would greatly appreciate your comments.