Category Archives: Miscellaneous

Is Your Desk Job Killing You?


Today’s guest post is from Joe Nguyen and originally appeared on “Online University” (Is Your Job Killing You?).

The past 40 years have seen a lot of changes to the American lifestyle, including the way we work. People are sitting more, getting less exercise, engaging with computers on a daily basis, and finding new ways to get stressed out. So how has this shift in the way we work affected Americans? A lack of exercise coupled with sitting down for eight or more hours at a time have contributed to a variety of health issues in America, not the least of these being the obesity epidemic. People sitting at a computer all day are at a heightened risk for packing on pounds, developing heart disease, and dying young — and yet over 80% of Americans report to a desk job every morning. In a nation that extolls working hard and working often, many may be displeased to find that at the end of the day, all that work just might be killing you.

Work Is Murder
Created by: Online University (.net)

And that’s why you should do your own supplier visits!

Thanks, Joe.

Today Is A Historic Day For Extra-Planetary Supply Management

One year ago today, the Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103) made its final landing after 39 flights. Discovery, which flew the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit, performed both research and International Space Station assembly missions.

It was the first operational shuttle to be retired and its decommissioning was a historic event. It’s good that it will soon be on display at the Smithsonian Institution‘s National Air and Space Museum at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Virginia (even though it will replace Enterprise which, hopefully, won’t be lost in the archives) as it’s an important piece of scientific history and supply management history. The official welcoming ceremony will take place next month on April 19th and it will be on public display soon after.

With the creation of the International Space Station, Supply Management, for the first time, became an extra-planetary concern in November of 2000 when the first resident crew, Expedition 1, arrived. Since then, the five cooperating space agencies (NASA, RKA, JAXA, ESA, and CSA) have had to insure not only the capability to continuously supply the crew with the supplies they needed, but have had to insure that the materials necessary for the station’s maintenance and continued instruction arrive in a timely fashion. Discovery was a key component in the station’s maintenance, having delivered modules and supplies over the last twelve years.

The twenty-first century introduced us to the beginnings of Solar Supply Management, and if Space Adventures has its way, the ISS and the Supply Management challenges it created are just the beginning. Space Adventures is proposing a Lunar Mission and the International Lunar Exploration Working Group (ILEWG) is proposing a Lunar Ark. If either of these projects, or a replacement project, come to fruition, we may soon be managing orbital supply chains. It could be a very interesting century for Supply Management indeed!

No Service, No Tax: Haligonians Demand Your Money Back!

My apologies to my global readers, but this is a local issue that is growing more pressing by the day and I feel the need to get the message out any way I can.

HRM residents pay 0.156% of the value of their property on their
property tax bill each year in the form of an area tax for Metro
Transit. Last year, the HRM collected 34 Million dollars to fund Metro
Transit, and this year the HRM expects to collect over 35 Million
dollars for the same purpose. In other words, we are paying almost 3
Million dollars per month for a service we are not getting.

We, the residents of HRM, demand that one twelfth of the are tax be
credited back to us for each month that Metro Transit is not running.

There is no reason that the strike should be prolonged unnecessarily.
We should not be responsible for the failings of management. Almost
100,000 people are affected by the lack of service, and their voice is
not being heard. Students are being forced to drop out of school and
people are losing their jobs. We feel that the only way our collective
voices will be heard is if we unite and demand our money back.
Furthermore, we are tired of all of the in-camera sessions and secret
negotiations. It’s our money, and our service, and we want some
transparency and accountability.

No Service, No Tax, One Voice!

If you agree, please sign our petition at Petition Online Canada.