The working world: September 2008 Archives

Quick take a peek at the bottom of your plate, bowl or mug. Do you see the Pfaltzgraff marking?

Chances are you might. These dishes seem to be everywhere.

At least that's the case for me and a few of my co-workers.

When we heard the news that the company was closing retail outlet stores and the local distribution center, we all started talking about how all of our dishes were made by that company.

I remember eating off Pfaltzgraff dishes as a kid in my parents house. What do you remember about the company? Leave a message in the comments section and let us know!

Almost every child in America plays video games, according to this study. I wanted to cry when I read it. I didn't play video games, and about half my friends didn't.

But I'm willing to bet the kids who played video games in my high school class now make more money than those who didn't.

Why?

We learned the hard way yesterday that you can't do a whole lot of work in the modern office without a working computer network.

It didn't last long (happens to everybody at some point) but it still sparked a flurry of making backup plans, waiting for updates and other behavior akin to hunkering down during a natural disaster.

And me? I dug out that big, yellow book that's more dust-bunny habitat than directory nowadays. People still make phone books, ya know?

Of course, beyond calling a bunch of people and taking notes, I couldn't have done a whole heck of a lot. What does your office usually do when the computer network, or power for that matter, goes down?

Before you brave the nasty weather on the way to your car to start your weekend, here's some quick headlines you might have missed this week.

Public places are now smoke free.

Fewer homes sold last month.

The newest iPods were revealed this week.

If you want to hear why Sean isn't a fan of the new iPods or why Jess thinks they sound cool, take a listen to this week's podcast.

See that picture? Students are seeing a whole lot less of that for college in central Pennsylvania.

A private student loan agency in Carlisle is limiting student loans it allocates from here on out, and a newspaper to the north of us is reporting the business isn't taking any new loan applications.

No matter what anyone says about race or gender glass ceilings still lingering in America, the 800-pound gorilla remains having the money for a good education. (Financial disparities are part of the race and gender ceilings, and in the end, money talks.) And like everything else in America, the degrees we buy - like hammers to smash through the glass - are bought on credit.

Credit woes aren't just something confined to people who were snookered on a bad mortgage or who ran up credit card bills at the mall, although sadly, that's part of what's caused the problem. And now kids can't afford college.

The situation with CampusDoor, I'm worried, will get worse. Do you know of anyone who is having problems with student loans this year? Are you worried education will become less available to those groups historically locked into class structures, and locked out of social mobility?

The smoking ban goes into effect Thursday, meaning many local businesses will be snuffing out smoke for the first time.

I've got two-part question for you all.

What do you think about the smoking ban? Excited? Angry? Indifferent?

And if you're a business owner going smoke free for the first time, what kinds of changes do you have to make? And what do you plan to do with all of your ashtrays? Seriously, that's so random, but I'm really curious.

Leave a comment and let me know.

Just looking at the AAA fuel gauge report and gas prices are already creeping up in the past few days. Do we thank Gustav?