Housing Loans, or the academic and the banker

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Doug Neeper

DFN: Can’t understand what’s so difficult, a person bought a house @$500K, took out a loan at $400K. Lost job, couldn’t pay for house, gets another job that pays less so is still faced with losing house (foreclosure), going through loan mitigation, or short sale. In the case of losing a house, or a short sale, both paths lead to a bank getting substantially less than the $400K loan under current market conditions; in each case the bank has to take a loss on the loan. The loan mitigation process, in general, the bank is unwilling to write off the existing loan in an attempt to forestall a loss. Is it so hard to see, that if in loan mitigation the bank gives the same deal to a current customer as it would in either a foreclosure or a short sale, the bank is no worse off, and potentially better off, if only from a public relations standpoint.

Another way out of this might be for banks to reduce the amount of principal, and take an ‘equity kicker’ in the property. By equity kicker, I mean, take a interest in the property such that should housing prices recover, and the owner decides to sell, then the banks gets a cut of the profit.

A tale of two Das: Citi CEO, academic and mortgages
Wed Feb 24, 2010 2:18pm EST
By Al Yoon
http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNN1914305520100224?rpc=44

NEW YORK, Feb 24 (Reuters) – Sanjiv Ranjan Das, a professor at California’s Santa Clara University, last fall attacked the problem of “underwater” mortgages often cited as an Achilles’ heel to the U.S. housing market.

He had a special fan: Sanjiv Das, the top executive at CitiMortgage, the nation’s fourth-largest home loan lender and servicer of $723 billion in mortgages.

Coincidental ties extending back to their mid-1980s attendance at the Indian Institute of Management have resulted in meetings of the academic and banking minds over the biggest conundrum of today’s housing market.

The two men took separate paths for 25 years, but are now grappling with the behavior of borrowers faced with job loss, burdensome mortgages and a slump in home values that has caused many mortgages to exceed the value of their properties.

Stark reminders of the connection surfaced as Professor Das in mid-2008 began receiving e-mail messages meant for CitiMortgage’s Das from borrowers, real estate agents and the mayor of East Cleveland, Ohio. Professor Das has fielded dozens of e-mails seeking help, or to express frustrations.

“I started getting these messages, so people were really tracking things,” he said. “Some were angry.”

For Professor Das the connection was fortuitous for his research, which urges bankers to ramp up the controversial practice of forgiving principal in loan modifications. Banks have found such calls hard to swallow because it speeds up losses, and there is widespread disagreement of how to do it fairly or keep borrowers from assuming it could happen in the future.

Professor Das asserts that principal forgiveness of some kind is the “optimal” loan modification. Even so — after meeting with CitiMortgage’s Das last fall, and with other bankers and regulators — further study is needed, he said.

“The problem is a lot bigger than what I wrote about,” he said. “All the major banks are trying their best to help homeowners out as much as they can, but it’s just too much. They are swamped.”

Underwater loans became a by-product of the housing crisis as falling prices erased already thin layers of equity many Americans held in their homes. Accounts of underwater borrowers walking away from their homes, even if they have jobs, have set off fears that such “strategic defaults” would overwhelm lender efforts to curb foreclosures by only lowering payments.

More than 11.3 million, or 24 percent, of residential properties with mortgages had negative equity at the end of 2009, according to FirstAmerican CoreLogic.

But lenders still resist calls to cut principal. At CitiMortgage, interest rate reductions and term extensions remain the preferred ways to reach affordability, its CEO said.

“I like the way he’s framed his thinking, however, there’s more work to be done to take into account moral hazard and fairness, which are extremely hard to quantify,” Das said.

The two men may now collaborate on research to identify which borrowers are at risk of default due to income loss and those who might not pay only because of eroded net worth. To determine what is “income shock” or “wealth shock” will result in better loan modifications, Professor Das said. (Editing by Leslie Adler)

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Can HR be saved?

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Doug Neeper

DFN: Currently, I think there’s a feeling that employees are ‘stuck’ and not likely to go anywhere. Jobs are too scarce, and companies are laying off left and right. Consequently, companies can hold the line on salaries and benefits. This article talks about the issues companies are potentially faced with an upturn in the economy and the potential impact on the workforce / company. I doubt that ‘things’ will get back to like they were during the dot.com bust, but, I doubt that they will stay the way that they are currently.

The Downfall of HR; Can HR Be Saved?
Posted: 24 Feb 2010 09:34 AM PST
This is a post from: Glassdoor.com Blog

I’ve been a Human Resources person since Cyndi Lauper ruled the airwaves, when HR was just another department. Back then, HR people complained about being assigned to menial things like toting the watermelons to the company picnic. HR folks were the Party People. HR types would get together and groan about all the party planning we had to do. That was about the worst thing we had to worry about in those days.

We didn’t realize that we’d be looking back, twenty-five years later, and calling the early 1980s the Good Old Days for HR.
Now HR people are besieged. They are embattled. Employees hate them, management hates them, and jobseekers hate them most of all. It’s no fun being an HR person with many, many employers today. HR people are the bad guys. They make the rules and enforce them, they’re forced to take away perks and benefits and they lay people off on a regular basis. HR people still talk about Engaging Employees with the Mission, creating cultural Pixie Dust, and making their organizations Employers of Choice, but they don’t say it with as much force as they used to. If they did, their co-workers would laugh out loud or suck their teeth in disgust.

So what went wrong with HR?
Here’s my take. CEOs loved the rhetoric but they pooh-poohed the substance of what their HR leaders had to say. “Employees are our greatest asset” is much more comfortable as a slogan on the wall than it is as an operating principle.

The HR people I know hated outsourcing function after function, cutting salaries and benefits, tossing out skilled workers to make room for temps and newbies, and generally making terms like Employer of Choice and Great Corporate Culture in-house jokes. They hated to become the Policy Police, too. They would much rather have spent their working hours creating change in their organizations, helping empowered employees innovate, collaborate and break down barriers. Those are the fun parts of HR, and the parts where HR people can change organizations for the better. I’m not talking about chair massages and lunchtime yoga classes (not that there’s anything wrong with those things). I’m talking about shifting organizations so that they can compete, by attracting and keeping the most talented people in their industries, opening channels for communication, and then stepping aside and letting those talented people move mountains.

One former HR VP friend of mine launched a recruiting firm when the air went out of the corporate-HR tires. “I got tired of explaining to my leadership team that people require at least as much care as photocopiers,” he said. Another former HR exec bought a franchise, and one more became an executive coach. “I can coach one executive at a time to believe in his people,” she said. “As an in-house HR leader, I felt like the guy pushing a rock up a hill, day after day.”

When fear rules the workplace, only toadies thrive, and there are plenty of those in the HR function. Their large numbers make it that much harder for those talented and dedicated HR leaders looking to build great organizations. When a company is comfortable with an HR chief who’s happy reviewing dental-plan enrollments and administering

Forced Ranking systems, an HR change agent isn’t welcome.

After all, fear-based management has its advantages. It’s expedient. It doesn’t require a CEO to look in the mirror, or to take responsibility for his or her own hiring and leadership decisions. An HR chief who keeps silent about the emperor’s new clothes doesn’t need to worry too much about job security.

Occasionally a management team decides that it’s time to take employee concerns seriously, and a proactive and strategic new HR leader is sought. Six or twelve months later, you can spot the burnt-out change agent by the arrows in his back (or hers). Out s/he goes, and life returns to bureaucratic normal.

I look forward to the economic uptick that will lower unemployment and remind CEOs why they ever hired forward-looking HR people. I can’t wait for the day when employers are fighting over talent, when sharp and human-focused HR leaders don’t despair for their profession. I’m eager to hear how innovative HR managers will spur collaboration, non-linear thinking and team-and-individual greatness in their shops.

That day can’t come soon enough! I just hope it comes soon enough for the exhausted employees who’ve had their fill of the can’t-help-you, fill-out-this-form, sorry-that’s-not-our-policy HR culture so much in evidence today.

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Strategies for Job Seekers Over 40

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Doug Neeper

DFN: Good advice about how to position yourself.

Career Success Strategy for Professionals Over 40
Posted: 23 Feb 2010 09:00 PM PST
By CAREEREALISM-Approved Expert, Abby Locke

Less energy, high health and life insurance costs, higher salary expectations and unwillingness to learn new technology. A recent study released by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College indicated many companies have reservations about hiring older workers because of these preconceived notions.There was a time when age discrimination conjured visual images of men and women nearing the retirement age of 62 and older. However, with the increasing impact of technology advancement, the changing workplace, globalization and economic instability, age discrimination has crept into the lives of working professionals as young as 40. These qualified candidates are finding their job search takes twice as long as their younger counterparts and often they have to settle for a salary decrease or a lower level position.

So if you are over 40 and have been unexpectedly thrust into unemployment, how can you find career success? Overcoming the barriers of age discrimination takes persistence, dedication, a positive attitude and employing this proven strategy.

STRATEGY: DEVELOP AN “AGE-FRIENDLY” RESUME

Your resume plays a vital role in your job search and is one of the primary tools potential employers will use to evaluate your qualifications. While you need to emphasize the breadth of your experience, as an older worker, you want to avoid including information that “ages” you. Here lies the proverbial “catch-22” because if you are targeting senior positions, you need to show an extensive career background, but too much information can make you appear outdated.

Solution A: Encapsulate early experience or positions in a summary paragraph without dates
EARLY CAREER: Commenced industry experience through positions in materials and inventory management for 84 Lumber Company. At pinnacle of early career, managed up to $8 million in materials and supervised staff of eight. Major achievement included the introduction of new shipping practice which increased product delivery time 10% and simultaneously lowered shipping costs more than 25%.

Here’s another example.
EARLY MILITARY: Experience in technical positions requiring expertise and knowledge in systems engineering, broadband networking, and technology planning. Honorable discharge as Lieutenant Colonel from United States Air Force.

Solution B: Remove the dates from your Education section
For degrees completed more than 20 years ago, remove all dates from the Education. Note: If you completed a college degree recently, (within 10 years) you can include the dates; if you have more than one degree completed at different periods of your life, you either exclude all the dates or include all of the dates for sake of consistency.

Solution C: Revise the number of years experience in your profile summary
The following excerpts are from profile summaries for professionals with over 25 years work experience.
1. “Critical-thinking senior manager with true commitment and passion for programs that empower youth and families. Comprehensive leadership and managerial capabilities honed through 15-plus years’ experience in national education and social change organizations.”

2. “Offering 15-plus years’ executive-level leadership and program development expertise in a member-driven, non-profit organization.”
This technique allows you to let reader to know you are experienced without divulging what the “plus” represents.

Enjoying this article? You could get the best career advice daily by subscribing to us via e-mail.

Solution D: Bring older achievements to forefront on resume
If you have relevant career achievements that occurred earlier in your career, create a “Career Milestones” or “Career Achievements” section on the first page of your resume. The obvious benefit is you get to take credit for your past work without having to date the resume too far back. See example below:

CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS
Public Financing. Raised $50+ million from public investors for biotechnology company valued by aggressively marketing to investors nationwide.
Equity Research and Analysis. Devised and implemented financial models and valuation tools to assess biotechnology and healthcare companies.

Mergers and Acquisitions. Orchestrated successful merger of two start-up companies which maximized financial resources and secured lucrative partnership agreement with larger firm.

Cash/Debt Management. Sustained company operations during six-month period of declining cash resources and escalating debt which exceeding $5 million. Prevented imminent company failure by offering stock options and incentives to vendors and sourcing external financing.

Solution E: Include volunteer, community outreach and extracurricular activities
By showing you are active and have additional interests help to subtly diminish concerns about your vitality and energy level.
Solution E: Highlight current training and technical proficiency

As mentioned earlier, a common misconception about older workers is they are behind in their computer skills or lacking technical proficiency.

Abby M. Locke of Premier Writing Solutions [www.premierwriting.com] is a highly credentialed executive career architect and leadership brand coach who partners with executive women MBAs to help them achieve career success through cutting-edge, brand-focused career documents, innovative job search tools, and proactive career management strategies. She has been interviewed and quoted in Essence Magazine, the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, CEO Update, Monster.com, Kiss 105.9, ABCnews.com and SHRM.

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IP Telephone and VoIP explained

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Doug Neeper

DFN: IP Telephony was just over the horizon when I left SBC (2002); good article explaining IP and VoIP.

IP Knowledge is A Must in Telecommunication Operators These Days
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
http://telecommunicationstuff.blogspot.com/2010/02/ip-knowledge-in-telecommunication.html

Yup, IP knowledge is a must in telecommunication operators these days because almost all of the hardware use Internet protocol (IP). It is true – i experienced it by my self. It is true that some of telecommunication service already used IP since beginning such as data service, Intelligent Network (IN), Value Added Service (VAS) and Short Message Service Center (SMSC) – but not for voice service as core service of telecommunication operators around the world. But now the voice service is not in exception from IP anymore. You may think that this IP only use as support system of voice service but i must disappoint you – the IP already become the core of voice service in many operators.

As you may already aware that VoIP technology already introduction in this century as emerging of IP and voice service. This VoIP already provided so many voice service in around the world – especially for long distance and international voice service. There are also some VoIP service that give by free such as yahoo messenger and gtalk voice service – and do not forget about the old and most known cheap VoIP service – skype. There are so many worldwide company that able to save their telecommunication expenses because of these VoIP service. And the companies also can make their own VoIP network as long as they have internet connection to each their world wide office.

OK, You may think that all of these VoIP things do not make IP Knowledge become a must in Telecommunication operators. Yup, you are right. VoIP is a different telecommunication service if compare with old traditional voice telecommunication service . The old traditional telecommunication service which use switch technology is still become the biggest business for telecommunication service even VoIP already use world wide. It is because many people experience the bad quality from VoIP and also that VoIP service do not able service mobile user. Both of it is the biggest factor why that the old traditional switch base voice service still in this world.

And after this – you may become sure that I was wrong when said IP Knowledge is a must in telecommunication operators, right? If you think like that, you will be disappoint again soon. It is because I true that IP Knowledge is a must in telecommunication operators these days. As I said in previous paragraph, it is true that the traditional switch base voice service is still liked by users which make VoIP which is the IP voice service still do not able to replace it. So we can leave about that VoIP things and now we look what currently happen in traditional switch base voice service. If you in telecommunication operators in this two years, you should aware that almost all of the telecommunication hardware already use IP in it – and that also for traditional switch base voice service.

All of traditional switch base voice service hardware already use IP in it – even the SS7 already used over the IP. Therefore, BTS, BSC, and MSC which the core of switch base voice service also already use IP on it. It is because IP technology give the more flexible feature and also give a great saving for hardware resources. I already see some of IP Base MSC and it is really tiny if compare with the switch base MSC. It will make the companies save many resources such as place, power consumption, and others. This IP technology also make that all voice service hardware able to remote and monitor easily. And also the the traditional voice service will be easy to integrate with VoIP service so telecommunication users surly will enjoy all of flexibility trough voice service.

And the consequence of IP using in traditional voice service is that telecommunication operator guy should have IP knowledge. It is a must so all the service can run smoothly and each issue will be handle in short time. And as you know that the old traditional switch base voice service have big different with IP base technology so telecommunication guys need to learn it again from beginning. It is need hard work for telecommunication operators guys to cope up with this evolution of voice service but it is worthy because will bring telecommunication companies to next step. So, if you want to have career as telecommunication guys – especially for voice service engineer – you should learn about IP from now on because IP Knowledge surely a must in telecommunication operator these days

–
Doug

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Brightsource gets $1.4B for Mojave Project

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Doug Neeper

DFN: Seems inevitable that solar will be an increasing influence on our lives, just trying to figure out how best to take advantage of this.

Uncle Sam Backs BrightSource’s Big Desert Solar Project
By Chris Morrison | Feb 23, 2010

http://industry.bnet.com/energy/10003144/brightsource-gets-14-billion-federal-loan-guarantee-for-desert-solar/

Provided BrightSource Energy can secure a few environmental clearances, the company now appears to have a clear path to building a massive solar plant in the deserts of southern California — the first of its kind to be built on such a scale.

The Federal government announced yesterday that it had decided to guarantee $1.37 billion in loans to BrightSource, which is one of several “solar thermal” power companies in the United States. Along with others like Abengoa, Ausra (recently acquired by Areva) and eSolar, BrightSource uses mirrors to direct light, capturing the sun’s heat by boiling water to drive steam turbines.

BrightSource has fought through quite a few challenges to reach this point. The worst of those has been the recession, and a corresponding tightfistedness by investors of all stripes.

But the company has also had to fight for the survival of its projects; last year I wrote about California senator Dianne Feinstein threatening to block several massive solar projects for the safety of a desert tortoise. In December, Feinstein succeeded in getting BrightSource and others to scale back their ambitions in a protected portion of the Mojave Desert.

Today, BrightSource is planning for a 400 megawatt power plant in Ivanpah Valley, which is part of the Mojave. That’s significantly smaller than the initial plan, but the scale is still immense — the design has to be spread out between three distinct generating plants, and the engineering firm Bechtel will supposedly employ 1,000 workers to help build the plant.

When they’re done, each plant will look a bit like a giant flower, with thousands of mirrors surrounding central stamens, or what is called a “power tower” in the industry. At peak hours, the plants will produce enough power for over a hundred thousand homes.

As for the Federal grant, it’s still conditioned on BrightSource getting the last few permits it needs. But at this point the plan has fought through its worst challenges, including re-designing to protect the tortoise and other desert creatures, so it seems like a good bet that it will go ahead.

The bigger story at this point may be the increasingly common loan guarantees that the Fed is doling out for energy, which insure private investors against what they might view as risky energy technologies.

BrightSource is only the most recent cleantech startup to be awarded a guarantee. Solyndra, a solar panel maker (sort of) got a $535 million guarantee to build a manufacturing plant last year, for example, while the electric car startups Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive have both been promised around $500 million.

The Department of Energy’s guarantees aren’t news anymore, and they aren’t unlimited. But so far, the DOE appears to be making good bets, and is assigning the money it has speedily. The upshot will be a cleantech industry with the potential to produce large, successful companies. Before the loans started rolling in, that was in no way guaranteed.

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“Controversy Over King Tut (DNA) Findings

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Doug Neeper

DFN: Just when you thought the controversy surronding King Tut’s death were put to rest, counter points have risen; still looks malarial / bone infection is the general cause. Does it really matter, which came first?

Controversy Arises Over King Tut Findings
By Rossella Lorenzi | Thu Feb 18, 2010 03:05 PM ET

Dr. Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, unveiled new evidence for King Tut’s lineage and cause of death at a packed press conference on Wednesday.

Hawass confirmed the principal conclusions made in a paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. He said that Tutankhamun’s father was most likely the "heretic" king, Akhenaten, whose body is now almost certainly identified with the mummy from KV 55 in the Valley of the Kings.

King Tut’s mother, who still cannot be identified by name, is the "Younger Lady" buried in the tomb of Amenhotep II (KV 35).

The mummy of the "Elder Lady" from the same tomb can now be conclusively identified as Tutankhamun’s grandmother, Queen Tiye.

Hawass added that new light was shed on the cause of death for Tutankhamun with the discovery of DNA from the parasite that causes malaria; it is likely that the boy king died from complications resulting from a severe form of this disease.

"We found evidence from DNA that proves he had very severe malaria. He was ill, weak, walked on a cane," Hawass was reported to say.

"When he was 19 and got malaria, he fell….When he fell, and was weak from malaria, he died," he added.

Study author Ashraf Selim, professor of radiology at Cairo University, told Discovery News that malaria could have been indeed the cause of death for King Tut.

"The type of malaria found is what is sometimes refered to as malignant malaria as being the most viscious of all types and certainly might have lead to his death," Selim said.

However, Selim does not rule out some other interacting causes.

"The fracture of his thigh bone might have had complications like septiceamia (blood stream infection ) and fat embolism (fat in the blood reaching the lungs). Both can lead to the death of an individual," the researcher said.

However, some outside mummy experts contacted by Discovery News are sceptical, and question the claim that malaria and bone necrosis might have caused King Tut’s demise.

Frank Rühli, Head Applied Anatomy and head of the Swiss Mummy Project at the University of Zurich. He participated in the CT scan analysis of Tutankhamun in 2005.

This is a major work in Egyptian mummy studies. It proves the value of modern methods such as CT and molecular testing. Yet, one needs to be cautious in stating any definite medical diagnosis. There is still a range of possible interacting causes for King Tut’s cause of death: bone infection is possible, yet without the internal organs this assessement is always incomplete. The present condition of the mummy will never allow not to medically rule out all possibilities.

Stephen Buckley, University of York. His research projects include the Tomb KV35 in the Valley of the Kings.

It is surprising that DNA should survive in these mummies given the very harsh conditions the bodies have been subjected to over the last 3000 years. I’m referring, for example, to the methods of embalming, the relatively high temperatures and oxidising environments. Hopefully, closer independent scrutiny by ancient DNA experts might help explain these very surprising results.

Gino Fornaciari , director of palaeopathology at the University of Pisa in Italy.

It is a scientifically rigorous study. Indeed, that type of malaria might have caused his death. However, the diagnosis of bone necrosis is not clear from the published images. There is also the possibility that the necrosis was a consequence of malaria, caused by the malaria infection itself.

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Cliff Notes – Sandeep Saxena – 2/19/10

Posted on February 21, 2010 by Doug Neeper

Sandeep Saxena – Selecting companies (you want to work for) – 2/19/10

Are you looking for a job? Why sit in back?

Actions that you take – these are what get you a job.

Intellect – without action – failure

Selecting a company – odd? NO, less likely to be laid off.

What did you enjoy about you last job?

If you love what you do, let that guide your choices, $ will follow.

Happiness is a state of mind, you control your happiness.

If you get upset with someone, whose in control.

Write down what’s important to you in a company / job

(what’s important to me – sf bay area, growing company, FP&A, work for CFO)

Going for job interview – attitude / lack of enthusiasm

Decision made in 30 seconds. Dress well, enthusiastic, smile.

Companies hire people with energy.

What outcome are you looking for? Need to have a clear outcome.

Do homework. In person. Become the Warren Buffet of job search. Find companies congruent with your values.

Decide industry, skills required, company. Transferable skills. If your looking for work, you’re selling your skill set.

Start up vs long term success.

Stability v risk

Good perception of company from public perception.

Ask for contacts at xyz

Selection metrics: Good return on equity, Low debt, like products, company growing

Job Search Process
Research, dress nicely, manage your state, Build rapport, discover the need, sell to the need, close

1 out of 5, sales, have an attitude re not being selected, ie, "1 miss I’m closer to a sale".
Stray thought (DFN): I’m only Available today, once I walk out the door you’ve lost the chance to hire me.

Best. Regards,

Doug

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10 Resume Red Flags

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Doug Neeper

DFN: I found this article on yahoo, thought it explained fairly well, what NOT to do in a resume. I’ve had problems keeping track of these articles (links go bad over time) so, I take a copy of articles I like, put it on my blog, and have an easy way to pull up in the future, articles that remain of interest.

10 Resume Red Flags
by Erin Joyce
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/108853/10-resume-red-flags

Searching for a job is not always easy, no matter what state the economy is in. And when you’re on the hunt, your best weapon is your resume. This document must emphasize the best of your experience, education and skills and sell you to your future employer. It’s a lot to ask, but it is possible to get your CV into fighting shape. Don’t let your effort go to waste by having these glaring red flags on your resume.

1. It’s Covered in Glitter — Literally.

Yes, it has been done. In an effort to make your resume stand out, you may find that it gets thrown out. Less extreme attempts such as including image files or using non-traditional symbols or fonts should also be avoided. While it may be a nice break for a recruiter reading through hundreds of Times New Roman documents, you run the risk of the fonts or images not loading properly. And you can bet that busy recruiter isn’t going to contact you for a simplified copy.

2. There Are References.

Listing your references on the resume is a definite no-no. References should always appear on a separate page, and should only be produced when asked for. Also, be sure to delete the "References: Available Upon Request" line. It’s understood that you will, so save some space and your potential employer’s time.

3. It’s Written in Full Sentences.

The headhunter has likely received dozens if not hundreds of applications — help them out! Your resume should be short and sweet and bulleted. You aren’t writing a novel, you are trying to catch a skimming employer’s eye and prove you are worth a second look — and an interview.

4. There Are No Numbers.

One of the worst things you can do on a resume is be vague. Don’t just list your accomplishments in a general way — have the quantitative data to back it up. If you exceeded a goal, by how much did you exceed it? If you created and distributed company performance reports, how many did you do? Adding numbers concretizes your accomplishments and paints a better picture of what you actually did.

Also, make sure you are answering the "how" question. If you completed five projects this year instead of the expected four, how did you do it?

5. It Includes the Words "Duties" or "Responsibilities."

When you are writing your current or former job description, focus on your accomplishments, not what you had to do. As an alternative to "duties" or "responsibilities," flip your tasks into achievements. For example, instead of being "responsible for the sales team," consider "directed the sales team to beat their repeat client objective by 10%" — remember that number thing!

6. It Lists an Objective.

For the most part, objectives sound insincere and, worse, can limit your options. Let your cover letter do the talking when it comes to why you want that particular job. And remember, each cover letter and resume should be individually tailored to a specific job posting — not just a specific field. Taking an interest in the specifics of the job makes you look professional and focused and not like you are mass-emailing anyone who might hire you. Desperation is no more attractive toan employer than it is to a date.

7. It Contains Spelling or Grammatical Errors.

We all know to avoid this one. It makes you look sloppy and negates the part of your resume that proudly describes you as "detail-oriented." The best thing you can do for a resume is send it to a professional resume service or a professional editor. If you are a student, your career center likely offers free resume counseling or at least free information to help you fine tune your CV before sending it out. At the very least, have a friend look it over and check for basic language errors — spell check just doesn’t cut it.

8. It Lists an Unprofessional Email Address.

In a world where email is free, and most of us have multiple addresses, make the effort to have a professional email address. Keep it simple — using your name is best. Just make sure you leave the sparklebaby for personal use. One more tip? Don’t use your current work email unless you are self-employed.

9. It Includes a Picture.

The ONLY time this is appropriate is if you are applying to be a model or an actor, and in both cases, a separate portfolio is preferable. Including a self-portrait could exclude you for not being serious and may make you appear unprofessional. Let your skills and experience speak for you.

10. It Is Too Personal.

Resumes should demonstrate how professional you are — that means the anecdote about the time you met Britney Spears is not appropriate. That being said, let your personality come through in your resume by including volunteer experience or a (very) short section about your interests.

The Bottom Line

When times are tough, getting a job is a stressful undertaking. Don’t sell yourself short. Instead, make sure your resume is the best example of you as a potential employee and before you know it, you’ll be employed once again.

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WiMax v LTE

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Doug Neeper

DFN: Wimax = wireless facilities backbone versus LTE as traditional interoffice facilities backbone. Internationally, WiMax maybe more appealing internationally than the US. The US has a well established interoffice backbone and it would be a hard sell economically to offer 4G in the US on a totally Wireless basis, its more likely to be an extension of the existing network, thus giving LTE an edge.

The Company That Might Destroy WiMAX
By Tim Beyers
February 17, 2010
http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2010/02/17/the-company-that-might-destroy-wimax.aspx

Each year, at the Mobile World Congress in Spain, executives at leading telecom companies unite to talk about the Next Big Thing on your phone.

For Verizon (NYSE: VZ), that’s LTE, or Long-Term Evolution, a 4G wireless broadband alternative to the WiMAX technology backed by Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), among others, and delivered by Clearwire (Nasdaq: CLWR) and Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S).

Verizon Chief Technology Officer Dick Lynch on Monday said that his company’s LTE deployment is on track to go live this year, News.com reports.

Why this matters
A broadband battle between LTE and WiMAX has been brewing for years, with WiMAX rolling out faster internationally, thanks to global equipment suppliers such as Alvarion (Nasdaq: ALVR). In October, a collaboration of vendors successfully tested WiMAX roaming in Taiwan.

Here in the U.S., it’s a different story. WiMAX hasn’t caught on as fast domestically, because there’s already so much wired broadband infrastructure, unlike the developing world. WiMAX networks also have to be built from the ground up, whereas LTE is being built upon existing carrier networks — Verizon’s, for instance.

The net impact of Verizon deploying LTE first may be negligible. We’ve known its plans for a year.

Meanwhile, AT&T (NYSE: T) is also planning an LTE rollout — in 2011. As my Foolish colleague Anders Bylund points out here, the former Ma Bell is taking her time to ensure a smooth upgrade from her existing 3G network.

Verizon is upgrading first, betting that customers will add equipment to try LTE even as the carrier works on building a bridge to its older 3G EV-DO network, for areas where its fastest connections are unavailable, News.com reports.

In short: The move is an experiment. But if Clearwire and Sprint Nextel can’t do more than rely on combination routers, Verizon’s LTE leap of faith could stunt the growth of WiMAX.

Who will win the broadband war, LTE or WiMAX? Does there need to be a winner?

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Antiquity – King Tut DNA results

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Doug Neeper

DFN: Results of King Tut DNA testing; a sickly child with significant birth defects, with a broke leg / malaria causing a premature death. Hole in skull likely from the mummification process, not result of dastardly deed. Father determined to be Akhenaten, and mother determined to be a sister of Akenaten, but, still not specially identifyed.

Frail boy-king Tut died from malaria, broken leg
By PAUL SCHEMM, Associated Press Writer Paul Schemm, Associated Press Writer
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ml_egypt_king_tut
2/13/2010

CAIRO – Egypt’s famed King Tutankhamun suffered from a cleft palate and club foot, likely forcing him to walk with a cane, and died from complications from a broken leg exacerbated by malaria, according to the most extensive study ever of his more than 3,300-year-old mummy.

The findings were from two years of DNA testing and CT scans on 16 mummies, including those of Tutankhamun and his family, the team that carried out the study said in an article to be published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

It also established the clearest yet family tree for Tut, indicating for the first time that he was the child of a brother-sister union.

The study said his father was most likely Akhenaten, the pharaoh who tried to revolutionize ancient Egyptian religion and force his people to worship one god. The mummy shown by DNA to be that of Tut’s mother also turned out to be a sister of Akhenaten, though she has not yet been identified.

Tut, who became pharaoh at the age of 10 in 1333 B.C., ruled for just nine years at a pivotal time in Egypt’s history. While a comparatively minor king, the 1922 discovery of his tomb filled with stunning artifacts, including the famed golden funeral mask, made him known the world over.

Speculation had long swirled over why the boy king died at such a young age. A hole in his skull long fueled speculation he was murdered, until a 2005 CT scan ruled that out, finding the hole was likely from the mummification process. The scan also uncovered the broken leg.

In contrast to the golden splendor he was buried with, the newest CAT scans and DNA tests revealed a sickly teen pharaoh, weakened by congenital illnesses finally done in by complications from the broken leg aggravated by severe brain malaria.

The team said it isolated DNA of the malaria parasite in several of the family’s mummies, including Tut’s — the oldest such discovery.

"A sudden leg fracture possibly introduced by a fall might have resulted in a life threatening condition when a malaria infection occurred," concluded the article in the Journal of the American Medical Association. "Tutankhamun had multiple disorders… He might be envisioned as a young but frail king who needed canes to walk."

Like his father, Tutankhamun had a cleft palate. He also had a club foot and suffered from Kohler’s disease in which lack of blood flow was slowly destroying the bones of his left foot — an often painful condition, the study said. It noted that 130 walking sticks and canes were discovered in Tut’s tomb, some of them with trace of wear suggested they had been used.

The new study also answered long standing questions over Tutankhamun’s family. His grandfather was the Pharaoh Amenhotep III, and his father was mostly likely the famous Akhenaten, who attempted to change millenia of Egypt’s religious tradition by forcing the country to worship the sun god Aten, instead of usual multiplicity of deities.

Some archaeologists have speculated that Tut’s father was a little-known figure, Smenkhkare, thought to have ruled as a pharoah or co-regent.

Archaeologists have never been certain of the identity of Tut’s mother. DNA tests pinpointed which mummy is that of his mother — and that she was the sister of his father — but her name remains uncertain. Brother-sister marriages were common among ancient Egypt’s pharaohs.

The studies also disproved speculation that Tutankhamun and members of his family suffered from rare disorders that gave them feminine attributes and misshapen bones, including Marfan Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that can result in elongated limbs.

The theories arose from the artistic style and statues of the period, which showed the royal men with prominent breasts, elongated heads and flared hips.

"It is unlikely that either Tutankhamun or Akhenaten actually displayed a significantly bizarre or feminine physique," said the article.

Filed under: Antiquities | Tagged: | Leave a Comment »

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