Cardiologist Wanted, must have strong Cleaning Skills

The effects of “the economy” has hit home with Academic Institutions.  Due to Budget cuts At the University of Iowa, faculty members have been ask to ‘Adapt a space’ in their department’s hallways, bathrooms, common areas.  Seems that the custodial department has been hit with a round of cuts and faculty members are being asked to ‘adapt a space’.

I know a gentleman who received his PhD in Philosophy from the University of Iowa about 20 years ago.  He was unable to successfully land a job in his field, so he became a custodian, also known in Academia as a maintenance engineer.  He liked the pay and the hours so well that he never sought another position.  He told me last year that he was going to retire in 2010. I hope he gets a Golden handshake!

So Your Thinking about Writing a Book..eh?

Here are some interesting book industry statistics:

1. 2% of the 200,000 books published each year become bestsellers.
2. 84% of the bestsellers are published by the 5 largest New York publishers.
3. 2 out of 10 books published make a profit for the publisher.
4. In 2004, 950,000 titles out of the 1.2 million tracked by Nielsen Bookscan sold fewer than 99 copies. Another 200,000 sold fewer than 1,000 copies.
5. Only 25,000 books sold more than 5,000 copies.

6. The average book in America sells about 500 copies.
7. Only 10 books sold more than a million copies in 2004.
8. Fewer than 500 books sold more than 100,000 copies in 2004.
9. The magic number for a book to be considered successful is 10,000.

Taming the Dragon

I cheated…in typing class. Oceanside High School, New York 1970.  The administration felt that every student passing  through high school should be competent in typing.  Being a know- it- all teenager and photographer at heart…destined for National Geographic, I though typing was a waste of time. I so cheated.

How do you cheat in typing class?  You look at the keys!

» read more

10 American Industries That Will Be Destroyed In The Next Decade