Monthly Archive for October, 2006

Number Elements

Published on October 30, 2006 in Mathematics. 0 Comments

I recently recognized some financial projections, based upon data originating in several countries, could not possibly be correct. Unfortunately I was right, the data had been entered into a spreadsheet wrongly due to a misunderstanding of how the number elements were formatted.

The following information allowed me to correct this. It was a tedious job to reformat the number elements. I was volunteered for the task because I was first to identify the problem. No good deed goes unpunished. Here’s what I learned: Continue reading ‘Number Elements’

The Thinnest Line

Published on October 19, 2006 in Handwriting. 0 Comments

The Signo Bit makes the thinnest line of any pen at 0.18mm. The tip is so small you can write words on a grain of rice. It comes in 8 colors (orange, light blue, violet, pink, red, black, emerald, and blue).The pen works great for writing in between lines or in tiny margins. The Uniball Signo also comes in a 0.28 mm and 0.38 mm thickness.

The Pilot Hi-Tec-C pens are available in .25mm, 0.3mm, 0.4mm and 0.5mm sizes and in a variety of colors. The only difference between the Hi-Tec-C and the G-Tec-C4 is the ink — the Hi-Tec-C has a superior gel ink that is highly insoluble with most pigments (whereas the G-Tec-C4 has a highly soluble ink).

When We Loose Handwriting…

Published on October 15, 2006 in Handwriting. 0 Comments

The following article is a must-read for anybody who thinks handwriting is not important. It discusses the problems we face when we no longer teach cursive handwriting to our children.

The Handwriting Is on the Wall: Researchers See a Downside as Keyboards Replace Pens in Schools, By Margaret Webb Pressler, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, October 11, 2006; Page A01

The computer keyboard helped kill shorthand, and now it’s threatening to finish off longhand.

When handwritten essays were introduced on the SAT exams for the class of 2006, just 15 percent of the almost 1.5 million students wrote their answers in cursive. The rest? They printed. Block letters….

USGS Maps Released Into The Public Domain

Published on October 12, 2006 in Methods, Sources and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Jared Benedict held 56,000 USGS maps for ransom. Benedict purchased the 56,000 public domain maps on CD-ROM from USGS. He then asked Internet denizens for donations to recoup his cost of $1600. This was met in 24 hours. All the maps are now freely accessable at the Internet Archive!

Does this strategy bring anything to mind?

Eschewing Obfuscation

Published on October 10, 2006 in Report Writing. 0 Comments

I once had a boss who told me that being a good Detective wasn’t enough. He went on to explain that to be successful as an Investigator in almost any field, one had to possess sound business knowledge, and above all, one must be a skilled writer. In essence, he was telling me that the job wasn’t done until the paperwork was finished.

He was right, of course, though it took me some time to realize the magnitude of what he had imparted. I soon learned that preparing an effective presentation of one’s findings offers up many challenges, and unfortunately, my mentor was no longer there to help me. Continue reading ‘Eschewing Obfuscation’

Big Numbers – Big Confusion

Published on October 6, 2006 in Mathematics, Statistics and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

The nomenclature of big numbers varies depending on who writes them.

In the USA, a billion is 109 (a 1 followed by 9 zeroes) and a trillion is 1012. This seems straight-forward until you realize that Americans spell differently than the British and other Commonwealth countries. Some further thought might be in order.

In the UK and Germany, a billion is 1012 and a trillion is 1018. Now this makes more sense to me.

Bi means twice or 1 million squared for a billion, or 1012, as 1 million is 106. Tri is three times, or 1018, or 1 million cubed. The same follows for quadrillion being 1 million to the 4th power, or 1024, rather than the American 1015.

This confusion means having to get clarification on all large numbers unless all the zeroes are present, or they come from a recent article written by a bona fide Economist or Statistician who will use the American interpretation of these large numbers.

Now I’m sure you’ll never be confused by this again!

Fortune 500 and Their Blogs

Published on October 3, 2006 in Methods, Sources and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Here’s a link to Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki, with 32 company Blogs identified. This is a directory of Fortune 500 companies that have active public blogs by company employees about the company and/or its products. It also lists the Fortun 500 companies alphabetically.

Another similar, but smaller Wiki called the Global 1,000 Business Blogging also exists.

Understanding Canadian Securities Regulators

Published on October 2, 2006 in Sources. 0 Comments

If you ever wondered why the Canadian Regulatory environment doesn’t seem to get the job done, you should visit the Investor Voice site.

A particularly damning article titled Canada’s securities law is too lax: As a result, Teachers pension plan invests only in U.S., first published in the National Post on 12 August 2006 appears on this site.