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Close Call

LOOK CLOSELY AT PHOTO 1

(Don't go to photo# 2 until you look at #1 very closely..)

This is an interesting, even breathtaking couple of photos.

Be sure to read the 1st caption below picture before going to the 2nd photo.

Look closely at the first photo take your time…then scroll down very slowly

Look at the picture above and you can see where this driver

Broke through the guardrail, on the right side of the culvert,

Where the people are standing on the road, pointing....

The pick-up was traveling about 75 mph from right to left

When it crashed through the guardrail.

It flipped end-over-end bounced off and across the culvert outlet,

And landed right side up on the left side of the culvert,

Facing the opposite direction from which the driver was traveling..

The 22-year-old driver and his 18-year-old passenger

Were unhurt except for minor cuts and bruises.

Just outside Flagstaff , AZ , on U.S. . Hwy 100.

Now look at the second picture below...

If God isn't done with you, Then God isn't done with you !!

Even if you are trying to hasten the decision along.

-- I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances." ~Martha Washington

Spring Forward

The Dow's Lost Decade Finally Finds Its Way

Today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed its previous all-time intraday high of 14,198.1, set in October 2007. Since that previous high, we've been through a global financial crisis, a sovereign-debt crisis in Europe, a stimulus package in the U.S., the debt ceiling debate, and, most recently, sequestration cuts (just to name a few). The bottom line: It's been a long half-decade for investors.

Click here to read more.

Looks like we may be finally out of the woods. It has been a long tough time. But we must get our unemployment rate down. Hard to have excellent cities with happy people when so many are unemployed or underemployed.

Sequestration

The Federal government will go through a number of cutbacks and layoffs as part of Sequestration. Trust the Feds to have a $100 new word for cutbacks.

Click to see some of the impacts of the Federal cutbacks

These cuts are not the end of the world. They are considerably less than what local governments and the private sector have endured over the past 5 years. But it is a poor way to cut back. Neither the Executive or Legislative branches of the Federal Government have done a good job with these cuts.

And cutting government expenses when our economy is so weak is not good. Hopefully the recovery can shrug this off and get employment back on track again.

APA Conference April 13-17, 2013



Begin with an unrivaled professional development program. Mix in unparalleled networking opportunities. Top it all off with unmatched restaurants, jazz clubs, and sights. Don't miss out; join APA in Chicago April 13-17, 2013. Program, Place, and People Register Find options to meet your needs. What Not to Miss From keynote speakers to special symposia, explore the highlights. Invitation to Forums for Non-Members Allied professionals and officials warmly welcomed. Networking Connect as only you can in a face-to-face conference. NEW APA's Mentor Match Program Creating connections. Serving the next generation of planners. Housing and Travel Discounted room rates for National Planning Conference attendees are now available. About Chicago Chicago is a city of neighborhoods, diverse culture, and a long planning history. Follow us on Twitter Look for the hashtag #APA13 to read the latest news about the 2013 National Planning Conference. APA's UnConference: Intelligent Cities Something for Everyone This conference can be tailored to your specific needs using the scheduling tools. For those of you who are planning directors, emerging professionals, or planning commissioners, here is some guidance to get you started. APA divisions provide a rich opportunity for networking and focused discussions. Planning Directors Emerging Professionals Academic Planners APA Divisions Planning Commissioners and Appointed Officials Non-Members Forums More Information Conference Sessions Short Course Webinars Conference at a Glance Rates and Information Printed Preliminary Program Conference Location Hyatt Regency Chicago 151 East Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601 Virtual Conference Sessions Virtual Conference Sessions are a new way to experience sessions from APA's National Planning Conference and earn Certification Maintenance (CM) credits. Get all the details about Virtual Conference Sessions

Working From Home

Working at home is interesting. From the public view, fewer people travelling at rush hour is a good thing - less congestion and pollution, and less demand for higher capacity roads.

From the workers perspective there are savings in time and cost. The hassle of long commute times and the resultant hassle is eliminated. But it can be a bit lonely. And out of sight can equal out of mind - if you do not have face time with your boss you may lose out on promotions and plum assignments. And there is the concern that your coworkers in the office may be envious of you and gossip about your "shirking from home."

From the employers perspective there may be savings in office expense. Smaller offices and lower utility costs may result.

Our Illinois Home Office

Sales persons and consultants find substantial value in home work. My wife and partner, Beth Ruyle, worked for a consulting firm that was over one hour away. Since she was on the road a great deal it made sense to drive directly to the clients office and complete her day in the home office.

Our Florida Home Office

I have worked as a self employed city planning consultant for many years. My home office has always been my main office. I enjoyed this - my commute time was zero unless I made coffee on the way to work. And I work long and odd hours - having the home office facilitated that. I am writing this at 6:30 am. But it is easy to procrastinate when working from home. And employers will always be concerned about shirking at home.

Working from home works best with people who's output can be measured. The employer knows how effective salespersons are by their volume of sales - if they are matching or outperforming their office based peers, then working from home is a success. But the output of many jobs are much harder to measure.

Technology companies have been leaders in permitting and even encouraging working from home. Computers and high speed internet have made working from home much easier.

But Yahoo famously is cutting back on home offices. The new CEO obviously believes that productivity of employees is less when they do not work in the office.

The question is of course do employees accomplish more or less when working from home? We now have some evidence.

EVIDENCE FROM A CHINESE EXPERIMENT

"The frequency of working from home has been rising rapidly in the US, with over 10% of the workforce now regularly work from home. But there is skepticism over the effectiveness of this, highlighted by phrases like “shirking from home”. We report the results of the first randomized experiment on home-working in a 13,000 employee NASDAQ listed Chinese firm. Call center employees who volunteered to work from home were randomized by even/odd birth-date in a 9-month experiment of working at home or in the office."

"We find a 12% increase in performance from home-working, of which 8.5% is from working more minutes of per shift (fewer breaks and sick-days) and 3.5% from higher performance per minute (quieter working environment). We find no negative spillovers onto workers left in the office. Home workers also reported substantially higher work satisfaction and psychological attitude scores, and their job attrition rates fell by 50%. "

Click to read more

http://www.econ.brown.edu/econ/events/bloom.pdf

http://www.freakonomics.com/2012/08/23/there%E2%80%99s-cake-in-the-breakroom-a-new-marketplace-podcast/

http://www.businessinsider.com/how-marissa-mayer-figured-out-work-at-home-yahoos-were-slacking-off-2013-3

Florida

Mirjana Bartl Siampos shared Siesta Key's photo.

"Mama and baby dolphin snacking on a school of fish lit from the moon." Thanks for the comment and photo Jimmy Scott.

TripAdvisor names Siesta Public Beach to world Top 25 list
TripAdvisor has added Siesta Public Beach to its 2013 Travelers Choice Beaches Awards list, beating out other world-renowned beach destinations across the globe.