Office1000 Blog January Archive

How to Get a Name

By Blog Stories at 01/26/2008 13:10

Why do we need tags and other identification cards?

The answer is simple. We don't have the luxury of time to introduce ourselves to the inquiring people. What we need is identification that will, at the sight of an inquirer, will tell you who a person is. You know, the usual "Ah. So he is a visitor of this building" revealed because of the badge pinned to his/her chest.

This was created in good faith. I have no qualms about that. After all, it may also be for security purposes, like how we distinguish a genuine policeman from a poser through the authenticity of his/her badge.

The only thing that bothers me about this is that it quite unnatural. Save for situations wherein instant identification is desperately needed, wouldn't it be nice and exciting if we find some co-worker (or schoolmate) whom we like and personally ask for his/her name? After all, that's where everything starts. That's where business contacts start. That's where lifelong friendships start. That's where romantic love starts--from a mere asking of name. While it is true that it may start from the badge, it isn't as fun as when it started from asking one's name--or I'm probably just being sentimental and romantic. LOL.

Again, I have no qualms against badges. They are just fine. Perfect for those times when we are in urgent need for help from an authority in a crowded room.

As for socialization and other functions, however, I prefer to go traditional. Not that I am a social animal, though.

Whatever the case, I wish you a happy contacts-building. Here are some badges and badge holders for you, courtesy of Office 1000.

Are Libraries Still Relevant? (Part 2)

Yesterday, I asked you if libraries are still relevant. With the Information Revolution and all, do libraries still deserve the funds that they get?

Perhaps, everyone of you who had read this post formulated your own opinions that most likely varied from one another. I will give you my take.

I do believe that the traditional libraries (the physical bookshelves and all) are still relevant. No sort of new technology will ever replace the aroma that books in the library give. Nothing can replace the delicate cloth-like pages that we get to touch when we read these pieces. Nothing will replace the authoritarian aura that these books impose at the turn of each page. Nothing can replace the grandeur they emit as they stand in between bookends. All these traits and all--they cannot be replaced by the pages of the Internet.

No, I am not saying that the Internet is bad. I definitely do not. But there are just some things about the library that can be replaced by the Internet. For one, it is not that easy to get good information from the Internet. With a bit of web design, and a little bit of SEO, an inexpert can be an expert in his chosen field without taking up formal education. Even I can put up my own Wikipedia article on relativistic physics if I wanted to. On the brighter side, however, information uploaded to the Internet are more often updated than those in the library. So we need a compromise. And that is mixing the library with computing facilities, which is done in almost every library on the planet, anyway.

In the end, the Internet will only help the library in giving information to people. It can never replace the libraries that has always been loved by people like me.

Are Libraries Still Relevant?:(Part 1)

Rows and rows of books lined up on countless bookcases. Some of the books appear old and tattered, while some look new and glossy. Some of them, due to a long time of not being used, are already covered in thick spider webs. They consume space. They consume time arranging them--and yet, many of them are unused. The question now arises: are libraries still relevant?

If this question was asked decades ago, the answer would have been a definite 'yes'. Libraries were the sanctuaries of scholars who are into research. They would have to read through mountains upon mountains of books in order to get that line of information that they need. They had no choice, for where else would they get the info? Nowhere else.

Come the Internet and Wikipedia. Students, instead of poring through numerous number of books, would only type the subject of their query in Google and voila! thousand and thousands (probably even millions) of articles related to their subject of interest would appear. Highlight what you need, and copy-paste it. This is well known as the Copy-Paste phenomenon.

Some would argue that the Internet was only abused by students. Instead of helping students by giving them the tidbits they need for their analyses in a few nanoseconds, students end up with substandard papers by copying others' works completely. However, we have to admit that despite these negative effects, more good has been done by the Web to these scholars.

Over time, fewer people are now living in the library. Do libraries still deserve the space that they receive considering that many of the information written on them, especially those related to science and technology, are already obsolete? Do these libraries still deserve the funding that they get? Won't these funds be put into better use if measures are put up to prevent the further propagation of the Copy-Paste phenomenon? Or is there something in the libraries that the Internet can never match?

I will continue this post tomorrow.

Moving Places

Moving places can be a really tough activity. I know this, having moved from home to home for the nth time already in 17 years.

Why do we move? One, we want to have a change of environment. If we stay in a certain place for a few decades, we sometimes can't help but to get bored not only with our place, but with our lives as a whole as well. We need to rejuvenate, and it starts with a change of environment. Two, financial reasons as always. When we get richer and richer, don't we just want to move to a more expensive place? Or if inflation is taking its toll on us, we will be forced to go somewhere cheaper or else die in financial debt. Lastly, there are of course the work-related and personal reasons.

So the next question is, how do we move? Living in a family with so much furnitures at home, I know very much the stress and physical fatigue moving from one place to another incur. From mounting the furnitures,appliances, and other goods up the hand trucks and into the actual truck to the long long travel and into the new home. It's a tiring process. And let us not forget the mess that we will end up with once we're in our new place. We didn't have furniture movers at home so we had to lift everything up. It's really a tiring process.

Together with the physical baggage, there's also the emotional baggage one has when he/she moves to another home. For adults, it's probably less. For the younger ones, however, it's gonna be tough, having established their first friendships in their former home. We've already seen this in numerous movies already.

But then again, nothing is permanent on this planet, and they will have to accept that fact. In time, the physical and emotional fatigue moving places produces will wear off.

Collect, Collect, and Collect

People love to collect stuff. I'm sure we all do. Some of us just do not know it because the interest is lying in our subconscious mind, but they are still collecting nevertheless. Don't you realize that you have probably been collecting garbage all these years?

Arguably the most famous item of collection is the mailing stamp. Why do people collect stamps, anyway? It's probably for commemorative reasons. Stamps represent a phase in a nation's history so enthusiasts might like a stamp for its historical value. It's also probably for economic reasons. After all, with stamp collecting being a widespread hobby, it's relatively easy to get profit out of it. And, of course, it's probably for personal reasons. "Remember when we were kids we used to stick stamps on each other's noses?" or something to that nostalgic effect.

Aside from stamps, virtually everything on this planet can be collected (or, if you are a wealthy fellow, you can even collect stuff located outside this planet), some of the most famous of which are trading cards (Oh, my friends used to collect these; they'd regularly exchange their collections just to brag when they get a certain rare card or something like that), pottery, jewelry, and I do not know what else.

Some would even go further to collect items such as guns (and buy vaults for them, too) and other slightly dangerous items. Some people put so much money into these collections that they cannot part with them whatever price they are offered. I like these kind of people. Money's purpose, after all, was to make its makers (humans) happy, so why would you exchange so much time and effort for something you can earn through other means, anyway? It's a different case, of course, if your sole purpose from the very beginning is to gain profit.

Whatever you collect and whatever reason you have for collecting them, good luck!

On Being Disorganized (Again)

I try to be unmessy but I guess I am naturally messy. I try to organize my stuff, but they just tend to go out of place--or is it just me?

When I go out of the house to some formal gathering, of course I wear my polo, my coat and all. One would seem to think that I am a neat, well-groomed guy (well, I get help dressing up from my aunt; I'm no good at dressing up. Haha) but I just am not.

But once I return home, I forget to put my coat back to the coat rack behind the front door or forget to return my leather shoes to the shoe organizer. Sometimes, I do remember, but I ask myself, "Where is the coat rack (shoe organizer)?". It takes quite some time before I realize that I am actually staring blankly at the object of my search.

Some of you might think that I am not living to my words since, in the past, I have made countless entries about organizing yourself and your office. Well, believe it or not, I put what I have written into practice, but those that I have not written, I do not--most of the time, that is.

It is a difficult job, trying to be organized and all. If you are naturally an organizing freak, then that's good for you. Putting things in the right places is probably like a breeze to you (care to work for me? haha). Nevertheless, we all have to learn. If we can't be responsible for our own places, how can we be responsible for other people? Being organized is a learning experience; and with all the articles I have put up about being organized, I hope that we learn how to do this together.

Speak Up With These Podiums and Lecterns!

Making good speeches is a skill that every company boss should have. For some reason, a boss who is also a good speaker gives us a sense that he is, indeed, a good leader since he does know how to communicate well with his subordinates. It is a skill that should be not neglected. What is a brilliant idea if it cannot be communicated, anyway? Time and again, promising projects were trashed because of poor communication--and this is where good speakers come in.

While having lecterns in a company is nothing necessary, it still gives an air of formality and credibility to a speaker. It somehow tells the audience that the speaker is dead serious about what he is talking and not just some mere blah blah. Of course, there is no scientific evidence to prove that, but you do know what I am talking about, don't you?

That's why Office 1000 is here to help you achieve that sense of credibility by introducing to you our lecterns and podiums. With the help of these, confidence is boosted, thus projects are approved--assuming that there's some impressive content in your project in the first place.

If podiums are what you desire, then do try out Safco's Adjustable Speaker Podiums. The heights of these podiums can be adjusted and they can be tilted to a full 75 degrees, perfect for presentation in large gatherings. It also has a steel base to give it durability when you start pounding the lecterns. haha.

On the other hand, if you are going to speak in small office meetings and conferences, these tabletop lecterns, also from Safco, are just alright. It's highly mobile, due to its light weight, and can hold papers and other important things in the space below the top.

Whatever you use, remember that what is most important is self-confidence. Nothing beats a speaker who has confidence in what he is saying. Good luck!

On Energy

Energy costs are now surging, thanks to the increasing demands of India and China, the tension between Iran and the United States, the turmoil happening in Nigeria, and the low reserves of the US, among many others.

When these costs are on the rise, our purchasing power diminishes. The amount of commodity that we can buy with every unit of currency lessens--we get less for what we work for.

Thus, there is the need to spend wisely. There is the need to be more cautious and creative in consumption, especially energy. I meant 'creative' in a sense that we still consume enough to fulfill our basic needs and reduce the use on the not-so-necessary needs.

We do not have to do magic in order to achieve this. We can always start with the stuff that's always been said. Put out the lights and appliances when not in use; as much a possible use public transportation--we save energy and reduce carbon emission at the same time; and the like. Also, we should also use more efficient appliances. Use memory cards that use less energy, for instance. Reduce phone calls and computer time as much as you can. If you are well-off, use cars that have greater mileage (the Japanese models are widely known to be more efficient, mileage-wise, than their American or European counterparts).

What I have said here is nothing new. Time and again, we have been told about this measures to conserve energy. But do we listen? Do we really have to wait for the day when crude reaches $200 a barrel or, worse, a time when there's no crude at any price? Oil is a non-renewable source of energy, you know.

Food Rants, Random Promotions

For probably lack of anything to do, I decided to browse the Net for the websites of different restaurants here in the Philippines. What I have discovered amazed me (not to mention caused me nausea). Some of the food they sell are so expensive I couldn't imagine that they exist in groups in Metro Manila.

Take T.G.I. Friday's, for example. Their Jack Daniel's Triple-Barrel Salmon, Chicken and Chop ("Flaky moist salmon with tender porkchop and juicy chicken grilled and glazed with Friday's sweet and smoky Jack Daniel's sauce. Served with vegetables and pasta medley, tossed in a light bechamel sauce and buttered corn on a cob") costs 1125 Philippine pesos or approximately $35.

In Bubba Gump, their Mama’s Favorite drink ("Kahlua, Non-Fat Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, Chocolate, and DiSaronno Amaretto. Better than any box of Chocolates!") costs 590 pesos (~$15)

Meanwhile, President Restaurant, a Chinese restaurant located in, well, Chinatown, serves a Menu 7 ("Roasted Crisp Skin Suckling Pig Half, Fried Stuffed Shrimp with Sugar Cane Stick, Sea Asparagus Sauteed with Broccoli Flower, Double Boiled Superior Shark's Fin with Chicken, Roasted Peking Duck, Braised Abalone with Oyster Sauce, Steamed Eel with Black Bean and Chili, Fookien Fried Misua and Sliced Mixed Fresh Fruit in Season")--I dunno if this is good for how many people--for a headache-inducing 13800 pesos (~$350)

You think these are cheap? By Western standards, yes. But, in the Philippines, you can buy a McDonald's Big Mac Combo for only $3--and that is already Super Sized. So you can just imagine how expensive the abovementioned dishes are by Philippine standards.

So where am I driving at? Nowhere exactly. It's understandable since these restaurants' target market are those who belong to the high-income classes. I was just shocked. I would rather spend my money one of these utility carts (Ha! talk about desperate product promotion) to put the food I cook on than spend much of my money on expensive dining...or I'd probably spend it to buy some equipments (such as protractors and right-angle triangle rulers) to use for my projects. I really need some.

Printer Stands for Your Convenience

Printing documents in the office can really become a mess. Excessive unorganized paper is a major cause of terrible office disorganization. In these kinds of offices, it is not unusual to see stacks and stacks of paper lying on one corner of the office, right?

Get your cleaning act together. Purchase one of these printer stands and cabinets so that you can store your paperworks in the right place!

I'll be featuring three different kinds of printer stands in this particular post, all of which are from Safco.

Let's start off with the least voluminous.

Safco's Deluxe Machine Stand is designed for oversized machines, as evidenced by its sturdy metallic design. Aside from the table top, where you can put your printer on, it also has a bottom shelf complete with double doors. Its scratch-resistant laminated top also prevents potential damage that can be incurred to it.

If you need more space to put your stuff into and yet you do not have enough floor space, Safco's Compact Machine Stand might be the right one for you. It occupies less floor space than the stand mentioned above and, yet, it can store more papers/equipments since it's more vertically voluminous. It also has a laminated top so there is no need to worry about damaging it.

Lastly, we have Safco's Rotating Double Stand for the larger, busier offices. Because of its size (it has four layers) , it can accommodate at the most two printers, paper supplies and electronic wirings. For your convenience, it can also be rotated 360 degrees for easy access to the equipments and paper output.

Remember, however, that even you buy a hundred of these stands, your office will be still disorganized if you do not know how to eliminate those that are not needed and put those that are needed in their right containers.