Cultural Offering mentions my theory on The Man Gene.  CO also posts one of the funniest TV ads Coke has had in a while.

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April 18–whiteboard:  A large white board present in many conference rooms, and often used for brainstorming sessions, that is there chiefly for the purpose of making the person writing on it feel important; the canvas for the chaotic display of information scrawled in illegible handwriting; a word whose most annoying use is in the verb form, e.g., “Let’s whiteboard this out,” which means “Let’s talk about this while writing our ideas down on a whiteboard as we do it”; to make matters worse, whiteboards outnumber the special “dry-erase” markers manufactured to be used with them by about 10:1.

“Let’s drink to the hard working people/Let’s drink to the lowly of birth/Let’s drink to the salt of the earth.” Mick Jagger and Keith Richards gave an emotional performance of the Rolling Stones’ great work song (circa 1968) during the Concert for New York City about a month after 9/11.

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The Vicar of Christ reads my blog?  The Bishop of Rome surfs the Web for advice given to him?  Pope Benedict XVI decides to set an example for CEOs everywhere?  Do miracles still happen?

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I have previously posted about sexual harassment allegations involving a supervisor in the Ohio Attorney General’s office.  The supervisor is also a longtime friend of the Attorney General.  Based on another article from the Columbus Dispatch, it’s clear that The Man Gene has moved from New York to Ohio.

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April 17–Where are you staying?:  An inquiry regarding the hotel where a person is residing while on a business trip that’s used as a way of separating the minor and major players attending an event before people even arrive, e.g., the Best Western vs. some Ian Schrager confection.

At some offices, the summer schedule is a bit more relaxed, as we see in this YouTube clip.

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Boston Globe April 18: Pope meets with abuse victims

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April 16–weird person:  The really strange employee who always stops by your office to chat, wants to do lunch, and seems to want something from you, but you can’t really figure out what that is; never really has much to say, just kind of hangs out; may have a bizarre speech pattern and slightly crazed look in the eyes.

At an early age,  most of us were told that our outlook on life makes a big difference.  It’s sort of the glass half full, half empty thing.

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April 15–wedding:  A ceremony uniting two people in marriage that, like the weather, is discussed ad nauseam if a woman in the office is getting married; a real disservice to all of womankind, especially those who have something to talk about other than the search for a dress, the color of their bridesmaids’ dresses, whether they’re hiring a DJ or a band, etc.; cause of otherwise tolerable women turning into self-absorbed freaks who are extremely annoying to single people who don’t want to get married and disturbing to those who do.

No doubt, many of you are saying, “A lot of things make lawyers dumb.”  In a recent piece in Slate Magazine, the question is raised about whether the blackberry and similar devices do interfere with a lawyer’s ability to practice law.  It also reports on what at least one law firm is doing about it.

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Relations between the U.S. and China are sometimes tense for various reasons.  One of them relates to our jobs going to China because labor costs are cheaper there.  Costs are cheaper because Chinese workers work in sweatshops and have fewer rights.

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I did a post on this earlier.  It’s back in the news, as the lawsuit filed by the employee who was waterboarded during a team-building exercise is proceeding.  It appears the employer intends to mount a vigorous defense.

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