张五常：中国经改的致命伤
2008年01月29日 星期二 于 12:51:33 · 张五常 发表在: 经济随想
很不想用上听来是那么严峻的题目，拿开了几次，最后还是采用了。写文章我不磨斧，喜欢开门见山，有话直说。这样的文字读者多，但捱骂却免不了。无所谓，像我这个年纪的学者，说几句违心话不会有机会向自己交代了。
新劳动法惹来的祸，北京的朋友不可能不知道。虽然我早就知道会有大麻烦，可没有想到麻烦会是那么大。工厂倒闭，老板炒员工，员工炒老板而诉之于法，劳、资双方敌对，手法千奇百怪，极具想象力。这一切，不是我事前没有想到，而是没有想到那么严重。这几年从国内跑到外地——尤其是越南——去设厂的炎黄子孙不少，转移有利阵地也。近来传言四起，说因为新劳动法的推出，问津越南者急升。我不反对国内的厂家投资越南或其它廉价劳力之邦。为了生计，或要多赚钱，无可厚非。我反对的是中国推出法例，把投资者赶到越南等地方去。
为什么新劳动法会有这样庞大的杀伤力呢？不是肤浅的问题。三个月前，我跟阔别了十二年的德姆塞茨进晚膳。提到中国的通胀复苏，他说恐怕北京会推出价格管制。我说：「不会的。」他问：「为什么不会？」我回应：「一言难尽，刚才交给你的长文内有解释。」那是我在去年九月完工的《中国的经济制度》的第二稿，用英语，是为高斯动笔的。该文对中国的地区竞争制度有详尽的分析，其中指出一个要点：在县与县之间的激烈竞争下，对地区不利的政策在中国不容易推行。我说担心的是地区没有话事权的政策，例如关于货币的。
新劳动法显然对地区的竞争不利，非常不利，为什么会闯出大祸呢？读者猜到答案吗？我赌你猜不中。我的答案，有两方面，相关的。其一是新劳动法的第十四条，那任职十年后自动改为无固定期合同的，逼使老板回顾数手指，要在新法推出之前采取行动，或起码要考虑怎样「走位」才对。
其二是新法之前的旧劳动法，一般没有严厉执行。不少机构，尤其是那些看似平凡但其实是劳苦大众的米饭班主、我称之为接单工业的，在国际激烈竞争下，利润甚微，历来对旧法忙顾左右。超时工资不超，假日工资却假，等等，劳、资双方你情我愿，大家有工开工，有饭吃饭。看来有点那个，然而，就是在这种若有若无的旧法处理下，中国的劳苦大众——包括苦了数千年的农民——从二○○○年起其收入出现了近于爆炸性的增长。中国经改的奇迹主要就是这一点：什么高楼大厦、高速公路、跨海大桥，等等，皆次要。新劳动法的推出，逼使大家回顾数手指，漠视旧法的行为，面对可能被炒的员工不难旧「债」重提了！这样一来，新劳动法的大名不胫而走，大家得过且过或忙顾左右的日子是过去了。然而，就是在那些得过且过的日子中，贫苦人家的生活水平升得快，破了人类纪录好几条街。
朋友，你做过生意吗？我做过，为了经济研究需要的深入体会，屈指一算，尝试过的行业达十九项之多。我不怀疑刻薄成家的老板存在，但经验说，懂得赚钱或赚得心安理得的雇主，不可能不知道善待员工是黄金定律。员工作出贡献，公司赚到钱，加薪是鼓励，老板的回报可以预期，皆大欢喜，何乐不为哉？困难是做厂或做生意赚钱，谈何容易？靠投资地产或股票的可以碰巧发达，但要落手落脚的玩意，竞争者无数，不善待员工是死路一条。
说过无数次，我们应该帮助那些真的需要帮助的人，但归根究底，那些可以自力更生的人，政府要做的是鼓励他们自力更生，给他们机会自己打上去。昔日的中国扼杀了这机会，于是一穷二白，而今天的人民币升值、禁止数百种来料加工的产品出口、某些进出口税、知识敎育左管右管，等等，也削弱了自力更生的机会。最严重是新劳动法的推出，不仅本身约束了市场的合约自由，大幅提升产出成本，而又因为有人民币升值等局限转变在前，在新法带动下变得多管齐下，加起来是中国的伟大经济改革的致命伤。
这里我要把一个说过的重点重提。中国人多地少，天然矿物乏善可陈，是没有资格搞什么福利经济、最低工资等奢侈政策的。中国有的是人，脑子聪明而又可以刻苦耐劳的人，是我们经济发展的主要本钱了。给他们所有可以自力更生的机会是唯一的可靠出路。西方的福利政策或乱搞一通的劳工法例，目的是把租值转移，一般用于地大物博或产品名牌及发明专利价值奇高的国家。这次新劳动法的推出，导致无数员工被炒及公司关门，证明着我说过的：地球一体化，参与国际竞争的廉价劳力暴升，在中国养活无数低下阶层的企业，赚取到的租值甚微。
那天访问了一位在广东设厂的朋友。他在国内做厂浮沉了好些年，是接单工业的专家。关于新劳动法，他说可幸的是他目前的工厂是新开的，只开了一年多，困难还不大，未雨绸缪，他们正在考虑多方面的应对。听了个多小时后，我教了他一个法门。你猜是什么？是把他厂内的生产过程的所有部分尽可能改为件工制。三十多年前我在香港跑工厂，调查件工合约，一九八三发表了以件工为重心的《公司的合约本质》，该文今天在国际上还屡被引用，行内的朋友视为经典了。件工这回事，不是产出的全部过程都可以用，但好些部分，通常不用件工的，原则上可以用件工，只是计算与审查质量的费用略升少许而已。如果产出过程全部采用件工合约，新劳动法的九十八条全都废了！
想想吧。我是工厂老板，接到定单，可以对员工说：「我要百分之三十作毛利，是厂房、维修、利息、管理、灯油火蜡等需要的。余下来的百分之七十，扣除原料后，你们按件工摊分吧。接不接这张单你们决定好了。」三十多年前香港的某些厂家这样处理，大家相处安然。那些是件工比较容易采用的行业，但我知道，只要接受交易费用略为提升，大部分的工厂可以把大部分的产出过程通过件工合约处理。同样的思维，是原则上，一家工厂可以把不同部门「斩件」，判给员工，让员工作自己的老板吧。这是我一九八三那篇文章的一个含意，触发了行内的「谁是雇主，谁是被雇」之争，打起官司会是很过瘾的。
以件工处理产出，新劳动法管不着。有一个险处。七十多年前的美国，因为最低工资不低，加上工会的极力反对，件工被定为不合法。如果发明新劳动法的有本领在中国废除件工制，那是神州大地的末日，杀上门来再算吧。
2008年1月23日星期三
Longevity May Run in Your Blood
Larger Lipoprotein Particles Linked to Long Life
By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD
Oct. 14, 2003 -- Size matters when it comes to your blood and the secret to long life.
A new study of people with exceptional longevity and their offspring show they have larger-than-normal high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles in their blood. Lipoproteins are particles composed of a protein and a fat component that carry fats such as cholesterol in the blood.
Researchers say this finding may at least partially explain why longevity runs in families.
In fact, previous research has shown that siblings of centenarians (those who live past 100) are eight to 17 times more likely to live past age 100 themselves. The children of parents who grew to a ripe old age also have about 50% lower rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, and stroke.
Longevity Runs in the Blood
For the study, published in the Oct. 15 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers looked at 213 Ashkenazi Jewish adults with exceptional longevity (average age 98) and their children and compared them with two age-matched control groups of Ashkenazi Jews and participants from the Framingham Offspring Study.
The participants' medical histories were evaluated and blood samples were taken to analyze their lipoprotein levels and composition.
The researchers found that the HDL and LDL particle sizes were significantly larger in the exceptionally old adults compared with both control groups, regardless of their cholesterol levels.
Large lipoprotein particle size was also typical among the children of exceptionally old parents, but not the age-matched controls.
The study showed this trait was also associated with lower rates of high blood pressure, heart disease, and other health problems that account for a large number of deaths among the elderly.
Researcher Nir Barzilai, MD, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues say the findings suggest that lipoprotein particle size is hereditary and may help promote longevity.
SOURCE: Barzilai, N. The Journal of the American Medical Association, Oct. 15, 2003; vol 290: pp 2030-2040.
© 2003 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.
By Jennifer Warner
WebMD Medical News Reviewed by Brunilda Nazario, MD
Oct. 14, 2003 -- Size matters when it comes to your blood and the secret to long life.
A new study of people with exceptional longevity and their offspring show they have larger-than-normal high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particles in their blood. Lipoproteins are particles composed of a protein and a fat component that carry fats such as cholesterol in the blood.
Researchers say this finding may at least partially explain why longevity runs in families.
In fact, previous research has shown that siblings of centenarians (those who live past 100) are eight to 17 times more likely to live past age 100 themselves. The children of parents who grew to a ripe old age also have about 50% lower rates of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack, and stroke.
Longevity Runs in the Blood
For the study, published in the Oct. 15 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers looked at 213 Ashkenazi Jewish adults with exceptional longevity (average age 98) and their children and compared them with two age-matched control groups of Ashkenazi Jews and participants from the Framingham Offspring Study.
The participants' medical histories were evaluated and blood samples were taken to analyze their lipoprotein levels and composition.
The researchers found that the HDL and LDL particle sizes were significantly larger in the exceptionally old adults compared with both control groups, regardless of their cholesterol levels.
Large lipoprotein particle size was also typical among the children of exceptionally old parents, but not the age-matched controls.
The study showed this trait was also associated with lower rates of high blood pressure, heart disease, and other health problems that account for a large number of deaths among the elderly.
Researcher Nir Barzilai, MD, of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, and colleagues say the findings suggest that lipoprotein particle size is hereditary and may help promote longevity.
SOURCE: Barzilai, N. The Journal of the American Medical Association, Oct. 15, 2003; vol 290: pp 2030-2040.
© 2003 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.
Poisoning Prevention in Home
About 80% of poisonings occur in children who are between the ages of 1 and 4 years. Develop poison prevention habits early, before your child is crawling. Babies grow so fast that sometimes they are crawling and walking before you have time to protect them.
General tips
Never leave a poisonous product unattended around children, even for a moment. Many poisonings occur when an adult who is using a poisonous product becomes distracted by the doorbell, a telephone, or some other interruption.
Be aware of common substances that are poisonous, such as houseplants and cosmetics.
Use childproof latches on your cupboards.
Keep products in their original containers. Never store poisonous products in food containers.
Use "Mr. Yuk" stickers and teach your children to recognize them. Mr. Yuk stickers are available from your local health departments or police department.
Never leave alcohol within sight or reach of a child.
Read product labels for caution statements, how to use the product correctly, and first aid instructions.
Keep the number of your local Poison Control Center near your phone.
Talk with your doctor about including activated charcoal in your first aid supplies at home. Activated charcoal reduces the toxic effect of some poisons.
Household poisons
Do not keep poisons such as drain cleaner, oven cleaner, or plant food under your kitchen sink. Keep them out of the sight and reach of children. Dishwasher detergent is especially dangerous.
Have your home tested for levels of lead if any older leaded paints may still be present. For more information, see the topic Lead Poisoning.
Alcohol
Keep alcohol out of the sight and reach of children.
Educate your children about the effects of alcohol and medicines. Encourage your teenager to avoid alcohol and drugs.
Provide nonalcoholic beverages at parties and meals. Don't give your children the impression that adults need to drink alcohol in order to have a good time.
Medicines
Put all medicines and vitamins out of the sight and reach of children. Acetaminophen, such as Tylenol or Panadol, is a common source of childhood poisoning.
Never call medicines "candy."
Keep medicines in their original labeled containers.
Buy nonprescription medicines in child-resistant packages.
Try to take medicines out of the sight of children.
Do not regularly use medicines to sleep, lose weight, or relax. Try to find nondrug solutions. For more information, see the topic Sleep Problems, Age 12 and Older.
Check the label on the bottle each time you take a medicine to make sure you're taking the correct one.
Check the expiration dates on medicines, and discard old medicines by flushing them down the toilet.
General tips
Never leave a poisonous product unattended around children, even for a moment. Many poisonings occur when an adult who is using a poisonous product becomes distracted by the doorbell, a telephone, or some other interruption.
Be aware of common substances that are poisonous, such as houseplants and cosmetics.
Use childproof latches on your cupboards.
Keep products in their original containers. Never store poisonous products in food containers.
Use "Mr. Yuk" stickers and teach your children to recognize them. Mr. Yuk stickers are available from your local health departments or police department.
Never leave alcohol within sight or reach of a child.
Read product labels for caution statements, how to use the product correctly, and first aid instructions.
Keep the number of your local Poison Control Center near your phone.
Talk with your doctor about including activated charcoal in your first aid supplies at home. Activated charcoal reduces the toxic effect of some poisons.
Household poisons
Do not keep poisons such as drain cleaner, oven cleaner, or plant food under your kitchen sink. Keep them out of the sight and reach of children. Dishwasher detergent is especially dangerous.
Have your home tested for levels of lead if any older leaded paints may still be present. For more information, see the topic Lead Poisoning.
Alcohol
Keep alcohol out of the sight and reach of children.
Educate your children about the effects of alcohol and medicines. Encourage your teenager to avoid alcohol and drugs.
Provide nonalcoholic beverages at parties and meals. Don't give your children the impression that adults need to drink alcohol in order to have a good time.
Medicines
Put all medicines and vitamins out of the sight and reach of children. Acetaminophen, such as Tylenol or Panadol, is a common source of childhood poisoning.
Never call medicines "candy."
Keep medicines in their original labeled containers.
Buy nonprescription medicines in child-resistant packages.
Try to take medicines out of the sight of children.
Do not regularly use medicines to sleep, lose weight, or relax. Try to find nondrug solutions. For more information, see the topic Sleep Problems, Age 12 and Older.
Check the label on the bottle each time you take a medicine to make sure you're taking the correct one.
Check the expiration dates on medicines, and discard old medicines by flushing them down the toilet.
Suburban Lawn Warriors Should Exercise Caution
By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Medical News
March 30, 2001 -- Oil up the lawnmower and start planting those pansies. After months of indoor exile, it's time to get back in the yard. But be careful out there because the pursuit of a killer lawn could be ... well, maybe not deadly, but dangerous.
More than 60,000 children and adults end up in hospital emergency rooms each year due to lawnmower accidents, according to figures from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. These injuries are often serious, with one-quarter of hand and foot traumas resulting in amputations.
And dangers may be lurking in places of which you never thought. A study published in the February issue of Pediatric Emergency Care suggests that those metal lawn edgings used to separate grass from flowerbeds pose a big threat to kids. Between January 1995 and October 1997, 126 children in Denver were treated at area hospitals for lacerations caused by stepping or falling on the landscape edgings.
The vast majority of the injuries (89%) -- mostly cuts to the feet or knees -- were serious enough to require suturing. And one of the injured children was hospitalized. The authors conclude that metal lawn edgings pose a serious risk to suburban children, and they advise against using them.
The typical lawn or garden is filled with many other potential hazards. These include electric garden tools, which should not be used in wet or damp conditions; pool chemicals, some of which can spontaneously combust if contaminated; and pesticides and other chemicals. Approximately 2 million people and countless household pets are affected each year by common household pesticides.
"All kinds of dangerous chemicals are available to the public, but few people ever read the warnings on the bottles to learn how to protect themselves," Mark Bates of Bates Garden Center in Nashville, Tenn., tells WebMD. "Chemicals used in gardening can do a lot of damage to the eyes and lungs. Protective goggles are important, and you need a good filtered mask. A painter's mask won't really protect against noxious fumes."
Many gardening injuries occur when people who have been sedentary all winter overdo it, National Safety Council consultant Alton Thygerson, MD, tells WebMD.
"A good friend of mine reached down to pull a weed and ended up having to have a back operation," says Thygerson, a professor of health sciences at Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City. "Back and other muscle strains are common, and they can be serious."
The backyard grill poses another, often ignored, suburban hazard. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a threat when charcoal grills are used in poorly ventilated areas, and burns are common with both gas and charcoal grills.
"One awful injury that I may see once or twice a summer occurs when people take hot charcoal and dump it on the ground, and then barefoot kids run over it," Darien, Ill., pediatrician Garry Gardner, MD, tells WebMD. "These are often second- and third-degree burns. It's such an obvious danger once it happens to you, but not many people think about it ahead of time." Gardner serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics National Committee on Injury and Poison Prevention.
But lawnmower mishaps account for by far the largest number of serious injuries occurring in America's backyards each spring and summer. The best way to protect against such an injury, experts say, is to follow a few simple rules.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says children 12 and under should not be allowed to operate a walk-behind mower, and they should be at least 14 before using riding mowers. Adults should never take children joy riding on a riding mower, and children should not even be in the yard when a mower is in use. Don't mow the lawn when the ground is wet or damp.
Everyone should wear proper clothing while operating a mower or other powered gardening tools. That includes protective eyewear and sturdy shoes -- no sandals or sneakers. And never use hands or feet to remove grass or debris from mower blades or free a jammed blade. Instead, use a stick or broom handle to do the job.
And if an amputation injury does occur, never assume that a severed body part is too small to reattach, Thygerson says.
"It is important to retrieve the amputated body part and get to a hospital quickly," he says. "Even if it is just the tip of a finger or toe, lay people should not be trying to decide what can and can't be reattached. That is for a doctor to decide."
WebMD Medical News
March 30, 2001 -- Oil up the lawnmower and start planting those pansies. After months of indoor exile, it's time to get back in the yard. But be careful out there because the pursuit of a killer lawn could be ... well, maybe not deadly, but dangerous.
More than 60,000 children and adults end up in hospital emergency rooms each year due to lawnmower accidents, according to figures from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. These injuries are often serious, with one-quarter of hand and foot traumas resulting in amputations.
And dangers may be lurking in places of which you never thought. A study published in the February issue of Pediatric Emergency Care suggests that those metal lawn edgings used to separate grass from flowerbeds pose a big threat to kids. Between January 1995 and October 1997, 126 children in Denver were treated at area hospitals for lacerations caused by stepping or falling on the landscape edgings.
The vast majority of the injuries (89%) -- mostly cuts to the feet or knees -- were serious enough to require suturing. And one of the injured children was hospitalized. The authors conclude that metal lawn edgings pose a serious risk to suburban children, and they advise against using them.
The typical lawn or garden is filled with many other potential hazards. These include electric garden tools, which should not be used in wet or damp conditions; pool chemicals, some of which can spontaneously combust if contaminated; and pesticides and other chemicals. Approximately 2 million people and countless household pets are affected each year by common household pesticides.
"All kinds of dangerous chemicals are available to the public, but few people ever read the warnings on the bottles to learn how to protect themselves," Mark Bates of Bates Garden Center in Nashville, Tenn., tells WebMD. "Chemicals used in gardening can do a lot of damage to the eyes and lungs. Protective goggles are important, and you need a good filtered mask. A painter's mask won't really protect against noxious fumes."
Many gardening injuries occur when people who have been sedentary all winter overdo it, National Safety Council consultant Alton Thygerson, MD, tells WebMD.
"A good friend of mine reached down to pull a weed and ended up having to have a back operation," says Thygerson, a professor of health sciences at Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City. "Back and other muscle strains are common, and they can be serious."
The backyard grill poses another, often ignored, suburban hazard. Carbon monoxide poisoning is a threat when charcoal grills are used in poorly ventilated areas, and burns are common with both gas and charcoal grills.
"One awful injury that I may see once or twice a summer occurs when people take hot charcoal and dump it on the ground, and then barefoot kids run over it," Darien, Ill., pediatrician Garry Gardner, MD, tells WebMD. "These are often second- and third-degree burns. It's such an obvious danger once it happens to you, but not many people think about it ahead of time." Gardner serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics National Committee on Injury and Poison Prevention.
But lawnmower mishaps account for by far the largest number of serious injuries occurring in America's backyards each spring and summer. The best way to protect against such an injury, experts say, is to follow a few simple rules.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says children 12 and under should not be allowed to operate a walk-behind mower, and they should be at least 14 before using riding mowers. Adults should never take children joy riding on a riding mower, and children should not even be in the yard when a mower is in use. Don't mow the lawn when the ground is wet or damp.
Everyone should wear proper clothing while operating a mower or other powered gardening tools. That includes protective eyewear and sturdy shoes -- no sandals or sneakers. And never use hands or feet to remove grass or debris from mower blades or free a jammed blade. Instead, use a stick or broom handle to do the job.
And if an amputation injury does occur, never assume that a severed body part is too small to reattach, Thygerson says.
"It is important to retrieve the amputated body part and get to a hospital quickly," he says. "Even if it is just the tip of a finger or toe, lay people should not be trying to decide what can and can't be reattached. That is for a doctor to decide."
10 Tips for Safe Winter Driving
Experts give their advice for preparing yourself and your car for winter's challenges.
By Sarah Albert
WebMD Feature Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Jodi Gilman knows about the perils of winter driving all too well. She got in a very scary accident last winter. "Because it was a sunny day I didn't think there was any black ice," says Gilman, a graduate student in Northampton, Mass.
That all changed when she saw the car in front of her spin out of control. She attempted to step on the brakes, but that didn't work. After a terrifying moment of spinning, she ended up safely in a pit, but not without learning a significant lesson. "There was no distance between our vehicles," she says. Gilman was driving at the speed limit, but given the dangerous conditions the limit was just too high.
For many people, the winter months bring snow, ice, and more darkness than light. All of these factors can translate into more dangerous driving conditions. That's why it's important to take the necessary steps to prepare yourself and your vehicle for winter driving.
Taking those steps are the keys to protecting yourself from injury and accidents, says Sara Weis, a representative from the national American Automobile Association (AAA) offices in Washington, D.C. This involves more than just wearing your seatbelt, although that is a good place to start. Here are expert tips for safely tackling winter roads.
Match Speed to Weather Conditions
A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that the speed limit is always a safe traveling speed in any conditions. "Speed limits are posted for optimal conditions," Weis tells WebMD. "More crashes involving injuries and property damage occur in winter months, and not slowing down is the main concern," she says.
Reducing your speed is the best way to avoid accidents and injuries. This means allowing for extra travel time during your winter workday commute or excursion. You will also need extra time if there is snow and ice to contend with before you step on the gas.
Increase Your Following Distance
Weis says increasing your following distance is also extremely important and a key in preventing collisions. Accidents and injuries often occur because of sudden stops. Leave adequate space between your vehicle and other cars; according to AAA, a following distance of about eight to 10 seconds should suffice.
This will also protect you if the car in front of you is suddenly out of control, as was the case with Gilman. The bottom line: though you should never tailgate, doing so during poor weather is even more dangerous.
Schedule a Checkup for Your Car
You want to make sure your battery has enough juice. Weis says a full battery is required in cold weather. "Battery-related problems are what we see most frequently," says Jason Subocz, the service manager at Pro Lube Oil Change and Tune Up in Northampton, Mass. He recommends that you make sure your battery is fully charged. Also important, says Subocz, is to get your antifreeze checked.
Subocz also recommends that you make sure there is adequate tread on the tires, and check to see that the tires are properly inflated as well. You can have your car checked out at most auto stores and gas stations. You also want to make sure that your headlights and brakes are working properly, says Weis.
Avoid Distractions While Driving
Keep your eyes on the road. Accidents can result from driver distractibility. Studies have found that rubbernecking and cell phone use in cars can put you at greater risk for accidents. During winter months and severe weather, it's even more important that your attention be fully on the road.
Consider Your Age
Your age does matter when it comes to driving because driving-related injuries can spell more serious trouble for older adults. Brittle bones make injuries from accidents more risky for older adults, Weis says. "A younger person can walk away from a crash, but older adults may sustain more serious injuries, so it's important that they are prepared," she says. Both AAA and the American Geriatrics Society have more information about driving safety for older individuals on their web sites, including information that can help you assess whether you should still be driving.
Prepare a Winter Driving Kit for Your Car
Your car should be stocked with certain necessities in case of emergencies -- which may include running out of gas, getting into an accident, getting lost, or having your car break down. Weis says your kit should include blankets, water, a fully charged cell phone, a reflector, kitty litter or salt for ice, and some food.
Get Your Eyes Checked Annually
Annual eye exams are an important part of driving safety. "Fewer hours of daylight means more hours of difficult driving," Perry Binder, MD, an ophthalmologist from San Diego, tells WebMD.
Binder says there is also less contrast on gray days. He warns of the brightness and glare that can appear when driving in snow. "Snow and ice require slower time to react especially because of skidding," says Binder, who agrees with Weis that slowing down and increasing the distance between you and other vehicles is key.
Clear Ice and Snow From Your Vehicle
If there has been a storm, allow the plows to do their job before you head out, Weis says. Have a brush to clear all of the ice and snow from your vehicle before you start driving.
Don't skip the roof of the car, because snow can fall on rear and front windows while you are driving, blocking your vision unexpectedly. Make sure your lights are visible and not covered with snow and ice as well.
You should also warm up your vehicle before you drive, but according to AAA don't do so in an enclosed space like a garage. Car exhaust is a common source of carbon monoxide, and adequate ventilation is necessary to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
Recognize When You Are in No Condition to Drive
The car isn't the only thing that needs to be prepared -- the driver does, too. That's why Weis says you should avoid driving when you don't feel well. If you are tired or have been drinking, steer clear of the wheel.
Share These Tips With Your Teens
Motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of death among teenagers, according to a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health. It's even more important, therefore, that you discuss winter driving safety with your family if you have teenage drivers.
Remember, it's never too late to prepare yourself and your vehicle for the winter months. Gilman says she got lucky. "I drive much slower now during bad weather, and I keep my distance from other vehicles," she says. She learned the hard way. Hopefully you don't have to.
Published Jan. 9, 2006SOURCES: Sara Weis, spokeswoman, AAA, Washington, D.C. Perry Binder, MD, Gordon Weiss Vision Institute, San Diego. Jason Subocz, service manager, Pro Lube Oil Change and Tune Up, Northampton, Mass. Jodi Gilman, Northampton, Mass.
© 2006 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.
By Sarah Albert
WebMD Feature Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD
Jodi Gilman knows about the perils of winter driving all too well. She got in a very scary accident last winter. "Because it was a sunny day I didn't think there was any black ice," says Gilman, a graduate student in Northampton, Mass.
That all changed when she saw the car in front of her spin out of control. She attempted to step on the brakes, but that didn't work. After a terrifying moment of spinning, she ended up safely in a pit, but not without learning a significant lesson. "There was no distance between our vehicles," she says. Gilman was driving at the speed limit, but given the dangerous conditions the limit was just too high.
For many people, the winter months bring snow, ice, and more darkness than light. All of these factors can translate into more dangerous driving conditions. That's why it's important to take the necessary steps to prepare yourself and your vehicle for winter driving.
Taking those steps are the keys to protecting yourself from injury and accidents, says Sara Weis, a representative from the national American Automobile Association (AAA) offices in Washington, D.C. This involves more than just wearing your seatbelt, although that is a good place to start. Here are expert tips for safely tackling winter roads.
Match Speed to Weather Conditions
A lot of people make the mistake of thinking that the speed limit is always a safe traveling speed in any conditions. "Speed limits are posted for optimal conditions," Weis tells WebMD. "More crashes involving injuries and property damage occur in winter months, and not slowing down is the main concern," she says.
Reducing your speed is the best way to avoid accidents and injuries. This means allowing for extra travel time during your winter workday commute or excursion. You will also need extra time if there is snow and ice to contend with before you step on the gas.
Increase Your Following Distance
Weis says increasing your following distance is also extremely important and a key in preventing collisions. Accidents and injuries often occur because of sudden stops. Leave adequate space between your vehicle and other cars; according to AAA, a following distance of about eight to 10 seconds should suffice.
This will also protect you if the car in front of you is suddenly out of control, as was the case with Gilman. The bottom line: though you should never tailgate, doing so during poor weather is even more dangerous.
Schedule a Checkup for Your Car
You want to make sure your battery has enough juice. Weis says a full battery is required in cold weather. "Battery-related problems are what we see most frequently," says Jason Subocz, the service manager at Pro Lube Oil Change and Tune Up in Northampton, Mass. He recommends that you make sure your battery is fully charged. Also important, says Subocz, is to get your antifreeze checked.
Subocz also recommends that you make sure there is adequate tread on the tires, and check to see that the tires are properly inflated as well. You can have your car checked out at most auto stores and gas stations. You also want to make sure that your headlights and brakes are working properly, says Weis.
Avoid Distractions While Driving
Keep your eyes on the road. Accidents can result from driver distractibility. Studies have found that rubbernecking and cell phone use in cars can put you at greater risk for accidents. During winter months and severe weather, it's even more important that your attention be fully on the road.
Consider Your Age
Your age does matter when it comes to driving because driving-related injuries can spell more serious trouble for older adults. Brittle bones make injuries from accidents more risky for older adults, Weis says. "A younger person can walk away from a crash, but older adults may sustain more serious injuries, so it's important that they are prepared," she says. Both AAA and the American Geriatrics Society have more information about driving safety for older individuals on their web sites, including information that can help you assess whether you should still be driving.
Prepare a Winter Driving Kit for Your Car
Your car should be stocked with certain necessities in case of emergencies -- which may include running out of gas, getting into an accident, getting lost, or having your car break down. Weis says your kit should include blankets, water, a fully charged cell phone, a reflector, kitty litter or salt for ice, and some food.
Get Your Eyes Checked Annually
Annual eye exams are an important part of driving safety. "Fewer hours of daylight means more hours of difficult driving," Perry Binder, MD, an ophthalmologist from San Diego, tells WebMD.
Binder says there is also less contrast on gray days. He warns of the brightness and glare that can appear when driving in snow. "Snow and ice require slower time to react especially because of skidding," says Binder, who agrees with Weis that slowing down and increasing the distance between you and other vehicles is key.
Clear Ice and Snow From Your Vehicle
If there has been a storm, allow the plows to do their job before you head out, Weis says. Have a brush to clear all of the ice and snow from your vehicle before you start driving.
Don't skip the roof of the car, because snow can fall on rear and front windows while you are driving, blocking your vision unexpectedly. Make sure your lights are visible and not covered with snow and ice as well.
You should also warm up your vehicle before you drive, but according to AAA don't do so in an enclosed space like a garage. Car exhaust is a common source of carbon monoxide, and adequate ventilation is necessary to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
Recognize When You Are in No Condition to Drive
The car isn't the only thing that needs to be prepared -- the driver does, too. That's why Weis says you should avoid driving when you don't feel well. If you are tired or have been drinking, steer clear of the wheel.
Share These Tips With Your Teens
Motor vehicle accidents are a leading cause of death among teenagers, according to a study conducted by the National Institutes of Health. It's even more important, therefore, that you discuss winter driving safety with your family if you have teenage drivers.
Remember, it's never too late to prepare yourself and your vehicle for the winter months. Gilman says she got lucky. "I drive much slower now during bad weather, and I keep my distance from other vehicles," she says. She learned the hard way. Hopefully you don't have to.
Published Jan. 9, 2006SOURCES: Sara Weis, spokeswoman, AAA, Washington, D.C. Perry Binder, MD, Gordon Weiss Vision Institute, San Diego. Jason Subocz, service manager, Pro Lube Oil Change and Tune Up, Northampton, Mass. Jodi Gilman, Northampton, Mass.
© 2006 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved.
2008年1月20日星期日
美国主流社会的价值取向
早期开拓北美大陆的欧州移民，大致有三种类型：一是在旧大陆遭遇政治和宗教迫害的革新者和以达尔文教派为主的清教徒；二是被开拓新大陆，寻找理想乐园和发财机会诱惑的探险者，理想主义者，包括有新锐意识的商人；三是由于圈地运动和历次欧洲战乱，失地，少地的农民和大批失业的熟练工人。他们或许出身不同，文化水准不同，教养追求不同，但是，飘洋过海，来到北美这块蛮荒的，陌生的，未知的土地时，他们便具有了共同的身分——那就是旧大陆的移民。他们得放下身份架子，忘记自己的出身背景，关系门路，家族历史，为了避免飘洋过海时孤立无助，登上新大陆时孤军奋战，向西部迁徙时身单力孤，无以抵御野兽，土人，自然灾害的侵袭；不得不以平等身份不断地参加一个个组合，民主推举一个个能团结大家，克服困难，以身作则，有助于完成迁徙过程的领导人物，以多数决定的原则制定大家必须遵循的章程和纪律，以有效地实现共同的目的。这些致力于实践，不以先验为主的习惯法则，加上固有国度的文化意识，逐渐决定了美国移民的价值取向。这也就是保持至今的成为一种民族精神，国民传统的美国主流社会的价值取向。
早期登上新英格兰土地的旧大陆移民，在制定法律，组成社会，建立政府的过程中，基本上延续着大英帝国的体制，遵循着英国的习惯法规。再加以新大陆的实际和多数人认可的游戏规则。他们的领袖约翰&S226;温思罗普在登上新大陆时，预言说：“我们将成为整个世界的山巅之城，全世界人民的眼睛都将看着我们，。如果我们在实现这一事业的过程中欺骗了上帝，如果上帝不再象今天那样帮助我们，那么我们终将成为人世的笑柄”。随着约翰登上马萨诸塞海岸的移民，几乎都是遭遇宗教迫害，逃避克伦威尔独裁统治的新教徒，隶属于达尔文教派，亦称清教徒。他们反对偶像崇拜，要求简化繁文缛礼，纯洁教会，实行民主选举的教会共和民主体制，反对教会勒索，也反对专制王权，反对国教，主张宗教信仰独立自由。这样一群具有资产阶级人文主义思想和民主共和意识的移民，在没有王权和专制的北美土地上，开始实践他们的理想。在与大自然，与严酷的环境和形形色色的敌对势力和罪犯与困难的斗争中，逐渐奠定了自己的美国精神，美国生活方式，或者说，美国主流社会的价值取向。
第一，“信仰自救”的动力，和不尚空谈，注重北美实际的务实作风。
` 信仰是一种伟大的精神动力，它可以焕发出人类的巨大潜能和热情，在不可能的环境和条件下创造出人类的奇迹。对于最初登上新英格兰这块土地的清教徒们来说，他们的正教信仰，就是他们战胜一切不可预知的困难，走向未来的精神原动力。清教徒们认为：“我们从不怀疑上帝与我们同在，既然如此，谁能与我们对抗？这一信念使我们得到无比的慰籍，同时帮助我们抵制了所有其他念头”（佛朗西斯&S226;希金斯《新英格兰的种植园》）。为了保证正教的唯一和纯真，最初，新英格兰拒绝接受正教以外的教友登上自己的土地，以免无为地将精力和时间浪费在无休止的教条和教义的论争中。他们所以能超脱神学研究，正是因为他们对清教没有怀疑，也不允许有不同意见，才能一心一意去战胜北美荒野中隐藏的不可预知的危险。在那个年代，他们真正与众不同之处在于他们更感兴趣的不是神学本身，而是神学在日常生活中的应用。他们关心的不是如何有系统地详尽阐明“真理”，而是如何在北美社会体现他们已经懂得的“真理”。
北美是一块疆域模糊，地理真空的蛮荒的土地，有许许多多关于自然的知识，从物候，气象，矿产到人种都需要他们重新去发现，认识，开发。他们没有时间和余力搞什么理论研究，以著书立说，他们需要在实践中去获取真知。寻找机会，开拓创业。这一切，以及北美严酷的生活环境的使然，就造就了美国人不尚空谈的务实作风。
第二，执着地寻求机会，不断地向前赶的拼搏精神。
蛮荒的北美大陆，充满了未知数，也充满了希望和可能的美好前景。十九世纪开始的大规模西部开发，即不是以军队为先导，也不是以政府为主导。而是自发的移民潮。因为那广袤而富饶的大地，充满了机会，使移民有希望通过开发，创业改变自己的命运，侪身于社会上层。这个机会对于每一个白人移民都是对等的。它使旧大陆移民充满了信心。因为对于美国人来说，贫困只应当是通向安适和富裕生活的中间站。按本杰明&S226;富兰克林的说法，是：“对穷人行善的最好办法，不是使他们安于贫困生活，而是引导或驱使他们脱离这种生活”。新大陆充满了各种机会，只要善于抓住机会，立志摆脱贫困，除了最不走运的人，每个移民都有希望获得成功。因此，美国人一生都在拼命向前赶，以最早抓住机会，改变自己的命运和地位。这正是早期西部移民形成的传统。因为十九世纪的“土地热”是以先占为主的原则掀起的。如果，移民们不能抢先到达西部可能的美好土地，好处就可能被别人捞走。虽然路途遥远，危险重重，烈日炎炎，风雨交加，野兽，土人，大自然的灾害随时肆虐着他们的生命。但他们还是义无返顾地向西迁移，把一切都抛在身后，尽可能缩小发生危险的可能性，抓住千载难逢的机会，占有肥沃的土地，开发出美好的未来。美国人的向西迁移，不是直线性的，而是往返流动性的。因为， 他们认为没有什么东西比自由行动更其宝贵。他们总是希望通过自己的流动，来发现他们所要寻找的东西。因此，美国人普遍地重视机会，重视把握时机寻找机会，而并不计较目的本身。这个最富进取精神的民族承认自己总是“会向前闯的”，因为他们不甘愿落在任何民族后面，他们每个人都想赶在别人前头。
第三：他们关于社会，法制的民主理念，是他们摆脱乌托邦式的空想，建设一个新型美国社会的利器。
来自旧大陆的北美移民，要实实在在地在这块陌生的土地上建立自己的理想家园。因为他们是清教徒，他们自然会按照《圣经》上的描绘，来勾画自己未来家园的蓝图。这倒是他们摆脱了任何理想社会的空想，从现实环境和实际利益出发，去维护自己建设中的家园，地契和一切奋斗得来的东西和权益。在北美这块从未开化的土地上生存，即没有经验，又没有任何保障，充满了风险和不可预测的命运。因此，最初，他们乐意遵循来自故乡的现成法律和规章。因为清教民主，平等，不尚空想的教义，促使他们关心的不是如何实现社会的目标，而是如何组织社会；不是如何使社会变得更好，而是如何使社会更有效率。如何确保社会领导者的诚实和自制，以及如何防范政府变得暴虐。他们不厌其烦地制定规则，确定名额和制约方法，在于如何正确地选择领导人和代表；使地方长官，教会，和社会负责人都不能滥用权力，损害自己和人民利益，以确定政治权力的正确范围；在独立以后，他们更关注联邦的体制，职权以至集权的策略方式。诸如此类，是崇信平等，不拘礼仪，信仰自由成了他们大多数人基本的人生准则。
同时，在美国社会萌芽的初期，个人和公众的界限并不明显。组成社会的目的就是为了个人利益，而个人利益唯有通过建立有效的社会组织才能得到保障和维护。在由旧大陆飘洋过海来北美的旅途中，在向西部迁徙的过程中，在开采矿山，建立居民点的实践中，美国移民无时无刻不能离开相应的集体和社会，无时无刻不牵涉到财产利益的划分，保障和各种关系的处理，无时无刻都需要以集体的力量去战胜困难和随时袭来的危险。这一切都都需要建立规章，制定法律，人人遵守，才能衡平和调节。美国刚刚形成的移民社会教育了移民们，不管他们愿意不愿意，法律问题总是逼人而来，似乎无处不在。他们认识到：没有任何东西比永久而适宜的法律，大家都能公认和接受的法律，更能约束人们，共同而有秩序地生活在和平之中。每个人都负有一定的社会责任，每个人都应当对自己所属的社会表现忠诚，法律的神网高悬在每一个人头上。因此，从大英帝国移植来的习惯法则，判例法，就成了美国法律的基础。再辅以移民社团的自警机制，自创法律，以及由此上升的地方法规，最后统一在联邦的判例法里，就形成了美国的法制社会。也即美国人的价值取向，从属于合众国宪法和法规。除非他是无视法规的黑社会分子和罪犯。
第四，笃信，不断的改革进取，是美国社会的活力所在。
改革的活力是一个社会活力所在的源泉之一。如果，一个社会，她的精英和大众都关心她，时刻准备把她改造得更完美，更具有人性，这样的社会，毫无疑问是一个面向未来的不断发展前进的社会。早期新英格兰，以及推之美国大陆的改革运动，可以说是风起云涌，层出不穷，任何一项有益于国计民生的倡议和革新，在新大陆总有热心人为之奔走运作，筹款募捐 ，付诸实施。这表明，在这个国度，总有人不满理想与现实社会的差距，努力想使她更完美。南北战争前三十年，新英格兰就曾发生针砭时弊的革新运动。从倡议建立公立学校，反对关于儿童的恶劣教育条件；到禁毒禁娼，发明和建设城市上下水道，注意公共卫生，反对将触犯法律的少年儿童和成年罪犯同牢关押；以及从善待精神病人，到盲人教育，事无巨细，都有热心者为之关注，服务。到后来，蓄奴主义和废奴主义之间的生死斗争，都是这种改良社会，使之更趋合理的努力。
在美国社会的成型和发展的过程中，改革伴随始终。独立战争使自发的民兵上升成国家供养的军队，是一个国家成熟和自立的标志。把欧洲分工明细，专业具体而微的生产环节变成社会化的大生产，流水线式的作业，建立了现代意义的大工厂，是美国人改革工业体制的结果，建立跨行业，跨国的联营大公司，是美国人的创造（相当一段时间，被我们目为资本垄断，而我们现在欲学习而条件不足） ，从快餐到超市，从电报到无线通讯，从高速公路到信息公路，都是美国锐意革新的结果，且不要说从马汉上校的航空母舰以及制海权理论到如今已在科索沃和阿富汗，第二次海湾战争检验和试验了的军事革命。这就是美国社会保持活力的原因所在，也是社会的价值取向所在。
第五，由发现到发明，创造最大的社会价值和效益
从开发北美大陆，到向西部迁徙的过程中，美国人是发现先于开拓，开拓继以创业。这是美国人注重实践，及时抓住一切机会的能动表现。定居，迁徙，开发，以安身立命的建筑为先，在木材减少，保护森林资源的前提下，聪明的美国商人就从随处可见的山脉身上开发出石材，并将它以机械开采加工，符合建筑需要，开拓出广阔的市场。北美大陆变成肥沃的土地后，由于天气炎热，出产丰厚，就有一个食物保鲜的问题。美国商人为此发明了用天然冰块保鲜的冰箱，并发展了采冰事业，以新机械，整齐划一的裁冰，满足市场需要；由此发明了长途运输，保持恒温的技术。当着新的居民点建立，需要招徕移民以迅速发展新起的城市，美国人就以报纸和广告宣传自己的城市，扩大自己的影响，以至报业极度繁荣。适应不断迁徙的需要，美国人大兴酒店业，发明了轻便便于拆卸的房屋。因为缺少精细工匠，又需要大量工业成品，美国人发明了通用机械，以标准化，格式化解决了自己的这一难题，并使商品得以批量生产。衣著趋向于大众化。这一无时无刻不在发现，发明，创造的社会潮流，导致了美国社会文明的进步，综合国力的增强，国家财富的积累，人民生活水准的持续提高。也是美国富强之本。因此，作为一个美国人更体会到了自己作为这个国度一分子的价值。
美国人重民意，轻权势，重生命价值，轻视物欲和利禄，等等不一而足。本文就不再赘述了。
任何社会都不是十全十美的，美国社会亦然。在主流社会之外，存在着选举黑幕（如水门事件），存在者黑社会，存在着以南方庄园主为代表的坚持传统，等级差别，种族歧视的逆流，并以之成为世界诟病之所在。但本文是学习人家的长处，不是揭示短处，就不再赘笔以为狗尾了。
早期登上新英格兰土地的旧大陆移民，在制定法律，组成社会，建立政府的过程中，基本上延续着大英帝国的体制，遵循着英国的习惯法规。再加以新大陆的实际和多数人认可的游戏规则。他们的领袖约翰&S226;温思罗普在登上新大陆时，预言说：“我们将成为整个世界的山巅之城，全世界人民的眼睛都将看着我们，。如果我们在实现这一事业的过程中欺骗了上帝，如果上帝不再象今天那样帮助我们，那么我们终将成为人世的笑柄”。随着约翰登上马萨诸塞海岸的移民，几乎都是遭遇宗教迫害，逃避克伦威尔独裁统治的新教徒，隶属于达尔文教派，亦称清教徒。他们反对偶像崇拜，要求简化繁文缛礼，纯洁教会，实行民主选举的教会共和民主体制，反对教会勒索，也反对专制王权，反对国教，主张宗教信仰独立自由。这样一群具有资产阶级人文主义思想和民主共和意识的移民，在没有王权和专制的北美土地上，开始实践他们的理想。在与大自然，与严酷的环境和形形色色的敌对势力和罪犯与困难的斗争中，逐渐奠定了自己的美国精神，美国生活方式，或者说，美国主流社会的价值取向。
第一，“信仰自救”的动力，和不尚空谈，注重北美实际的务实作风。
` 信仰是一种伟大的精神动力，它可以焕发出人类的巨大潜能和热情，在不可能的环境和条件下创造出人类的奇迹。对于最初登上新英格兰这块土地的清教徒们来说，他们的正教信仰，就是他们战胜一切不可预知的困难，走向未来的精神原动力。清教徒们认为：“我们从不怀疑上帝与我们同在，既然如此，谁能与我们对抗？这一信念使我们得到无比的慰籍，同时帮助我们抵制了所有其他念头”（佛朗西斯&S226;希金斯《新英格兰的种植园》）。为了保证正教的唯一和纯真，最初，新英格兰拒绝接受正教以外的教友登上自己的土地，以免无为地将精力和时间浪费在无休止的教条和教义的论争中。他们所以能超脱神学研究，正是因为他们对清教没有怀疑，也不允许有不同意见，才能一心一意去战胜北美荒野中隐藏的不可预知的危险。在那个年代，他们真正与众不同之处在于他们更感兴趣的不是神学本身，而是神学在日常生活中的应用。他们关心的不是如何有系统地详尽阐明“真理”，而是如何在北美社会体现他们已经懂得的“真理”。
北美是一块疆域模糊，地理真空的蛮荒的土地，有许许多多关于自然的知识，从物候，气象，矿产到人种都需要他们重新去发现，认识，开发。他们没有时间和余力搞什么理论研究，以著书立说，他们需要在实践中去获取真知。寻找机会，开拓创业。这一切，以及北美严酷的生活环境的使然，就造就了美国人不尚空谈的务实作风。
第二，执着地寻求机会，不断地向前赶的拼搏精神。
蛮荒的北美大陆，充满了未知数，也充满了希望和可能的美好前景。十九世纪开始的大规模西部开发，即不是以军队为先导，也不是以政府为主导。而是自发的移民潮。因为那广袤而富饶的大地，充满了机会，使移民有希望通过开发，创业改变自己的命运，侪身于社会上层。这个机会对于每一个白人移民都是对等的。它使旧大陆移民充满了信心。因为对于美国人来说，贫困只应当是通向安适和富裕生活的中间站。按本杰明&S226;富兰克林的说法，是：“对穷人行善的最好办法，不是使他们安于贫困生活，而是引导或驱使他们脱离这种生活”。新大陆充满了各种机会，只要善于抓住机会，立志摆脱贫困，除了最不走运的人，每个移民都有希望获得成功。因此，美国人一生都在拼命向前赶，以最早抓住机会，改变自己的命运和地位。这正是早期西部移民形成的传统。因为十九世纪的“土地热”是以先占为主的原则掀起的。如果，移民们不能抢先到达西部可能的美好土地，好处就可能被别人捞走。虽然路途遥远，危险重重，烈日炎炎，风雨交加，野兽，土人，大自然的灾害随时肆虐着他们的生命。但他们还是义无返顾地向西迁移，把一切都抛在身后，尽可能缩小发生危险的可能性，抓住千载难逢的机会，占有肥沃的土地，开发出美好的未来。美国人的向西迁移，不是直线性的，而是往返流动性的。因为， 他们认为没有什么东西比自由行动更其宝贵。他们总是希望通过自己的流动，来发现他们所要寻找的东西。因此，美国人普遍地重视机会，重视把握时机寻找机会，而并不计较目的本身。这个最富进取精神的民族承认自己总是“会向前闯的”，因为他们不甘愿落在任何民族后面，他们每个人都想赶在别人前头。
第三：他们关于社会，法制的民主理念，是他们摆脱乌托邦式的空想，建设一个新型美国社会的利器。
来自旧大陆的北美移民，要实实在在地在这块陌生的土地上建立自己的理想家园。因为他们是清教徒，他们自然会按照《圣经》上的描绘，来勾画自己未来家园的蓝图。这倒是他们摆脱了任何理想社会的空想，从现实环境和实际利益出发，去维护自己建设中的家园，地契和一切奋斗得来的东西和权益。在北美这块从未开化的土地上生存，即没有经验，又没有任何保障，充满了风险和不可预测的命运。因此，最初，他们乐意遵循来自故乡的现成法律和规章。因为清教民主，平等，不尚空想的教义，促使他们关心的不是如何实现社会的目标，而是如何组织社会；不是如何使社会变得更好，而是如何使社会更有效率。如何确保社会领导者的诚实和自制，以及如何防范政府变得暴虐。他们不厌其烦地制定规则，确定名额和制约方法，在于如何正确地选择领导人和代表；使地方长官，教会，和社会负责人都不能滥用权力，损害自己和人民利益，以确定政治权力的正确范围；在独立以后，他们更关注联邦的体制，职权以至集权的策略方式。诸如此类，是崇信平等，不拘礼仪，信仰自由成了他们大多数人基本的人生准则。
同时，在美国社会萌芽的初期，个人和公众的界限并不明显。组成社会的目的就是为了个人利益，而个人利益唯有通过建立有效的社会组织才能得到保障和维护。在由旧大陆飘洋过海来北美的旅途中，在向西部迁徙的过程中，在开采矿山，建立居民点的实践中，美国移民无时无刻不能离开相应的集体和社会，无时无刻不牵涉到财产利益的划分，保障和各种关系的处理，无时无刻都需要以集体的力量去战胜困难和随时袭来的危险。这一切都都需要建立规章，制定法律，人人遵守，才能衡平和调节。美国刚刚形成的移民社会教育了移民们，不管他们愿意不愿意，法律问题总是逼人而来，似乎无处不在。他们认识到：没有任何东西比永久而适宜的法律，大家都能公认和接受的法律，更能约束人们，共同而有秩序地生活在和平之中。每个人都负有一定的社会责任，每个人都应当对自己所属的社会表现忠诚，法律的神网高悬在每一个人头上。因此，从大英帝国移植来的习惯法则，判例法，就成了美国法律的基础。再辅以移民社团的自警机制，自创法律，以及由此上升的地方法规，最后统一在联邦的判例法里，就形成了美国的法制社会。也即美国人的价值取向，从属于合众国宪法和法规。除非他是无视法规的黑社会分子和罪犯。
第四，笃信，不断的改革进取，是美国社会的活力所在。
改革的活力是一个社会活力所在的源泉之一。如果，一个社会，她的精英和大众都关心她，时刻准备把她改造得更完美，更具有人性，这样的社会，毫无疑问是一个面向未来的不断发展前进的社会。早期新英格兰，以及推之美国大陆的改革运动，可以说是风起云涌，层出不穷，任何一项有益于国计民生的倡议和革新，在新大陆总有热心人为之奔走运作，筹款募捐 ，付诸实施。这表明，在这个国度，总有人不满理想与现实社会的差距，努力想使她更完美。南北战争前三十年，新英格兰就曾发生针砭时弊的革新运动。从倡议建立公立学校，反对关于儿童的恶劣教育条件；到禁毒禁娼，发明和建设城市上下水道，注意公共卫生，反对将触犯法律的少年儿童和成年罪犯同牢关押；以及从善待精神病人，到盲人教育，事无巨细，都有热心者为之关注，服务。到后来，蓄奴主义和废奴主义之间的生死斗争，都是这种改良社会，使之更趋合理的努力。
在美国社会的成型和发展的过程中，改革伴随始终。独立战争使自发的民兵上升成国家供养的军队，是一个国家成熟和自立的标志。把欧洲分工明细，专业具体而微的生产环节变成社会化的大生产，流水线式的作业，建立了现代意义的大工厂，是美国人改革工业体制的结果，建立跨行业，跨国的联营大公司，是美国人的创造（相当一段时间，被我们目为资本垄断，而我们现在欲学习而条件不足） ，从快餐到超市，从电报到无线通讯，从高速公路到信息公路，都是美国锐意革新的结果，且不要说从马汉上校的航空母舰以及制海权理论到如今已在科索沃和阿富汗，第二次海湾战争检验和试验了的军事革命。这就是美国社会保持活力的原因所在，也是社会的价值取向所在。
第五，由发现到发明，创造最大的社会价值和效益
从开发北美大陆，到向西部迁徙的过程中，美国人是发现先于开拓，开拓继以创业。这是美国人注重实践，及时抓住一切机会的能动表现。定居，迁徙，开发，以安身立命的建筑为先，在木材减少，保护森林资源的前提下，聪明的美国商人就从随处可见的山脉身上开发出石材，并将它以机械开采加工，符合建筑需要，开拓出广阔的市场。北美大陆变成肥沃的土地后，由于天气炎热，出产丰厚，就有一个食物保鲜的问题。美国商人为此发明了用天然冰块保鲜的冰箱，并发展了采冰事业，以新机械，整齐划一的裁冰，满足市场需要；由此发明了长途运输，保持恒温的技术。当着新的居民点建立，需要招徕移民以迅速发展新起的城市，美国人就以报纸和广告宣传自己的城市，扩大自己的影响，以至报业极度繁荣。适应不断迁徙的需要，美国人大兴酒店业，发明了轻便便于拆卸的房屋。因为缺少精细工匠，又需要大量工业成品，美国人发明了通用机械，以标准化，格式化解决了自己的这一难题，并使商品得以批量生产。衣著趋向于大众化。这一无时无刻不在发现，发明，创造的社会潮流，导致了美国社会文明的进步，综合国力的增强，国家财富的积累，人民生活水准的持续提高。也是美国富强之本。因此，作为一个美国人更体会到了自己作为这个国度一分子的价值。
美国人重民意，轻权势，重生命价值，轻视物欲和利禄，等等不一而足。本文就不再赘述了。
任何社会都不是十全十美的，美国社会亦然。在主流社会之外，存在着选举黑幕（如水门事件），存在者黑社会，存在着以南方庄园主为代表的坚持传统，等级差别，种族歧视的逆流，并以之成为世界诟病之所在。但本文是学习人家的长处，不是揭示短处，就不再赘笔以为狗尾了。
《集结号》
不同凡响的军号——评国产战争片
·白 焰·
在人们的印象中，战场上的红旗是飘扬的，军号是嘹亮的。然而在《集结号》影片里，红旗没有飘扬过，军号没有吹响过。尤其那没有吹响过的军号，系结着４７个战士的生命。在１９４８年淮海战役的一个战斗中，九连连长谷子地接受了一项阻击战的任务，他与团长刘泽水约定以集结号作为撤退的号令，集结号不响，连队不撤。预定时间过了，没有号响，战士一个接一个地倒下。谷子地继续率兵奋勇作战。出乎意料的是，勇猛的排长焦大鹏在临死之前说听到了集结号响，劝谷子地带着仅剩的几个弟兄撤退，战士中有人附和有人反对，大家对此产生了分歧。谷子地此时发现友邻部队早已撤退，但坚信没有听到号声。结果，４７名战士终因寡不敌众，全部阵亡。事后，幸存下来的谷子地怀疑是自己忽略了号声，导致战友们枉送性命。进入和平年代，复员的谷子地意外见到当年的司号员小梁子，得知他根本没有吹响集结号，因为团长没有下达命令。
不错，影片的背景是国共内战，内战是民族的最大不幸——兄弟相残、同室操戈。但是，影片没有给谁好谁坏下一个结论、给谁输谁赢作一个交待。其实，影片讲述的不是战争，而是战斗、战士、战友。国民党只是一个敌对符号，内战只是故事的外壳。如果凭此就把影片的主题归纳为同胞间的厮杀，那将是大错特错。
一．战斗
和过去的战争电影相比（比较近的是２００７年的《夜袭》和《强渡大渡河》），《集结号》更为公正地再现了战斗场面的原样。特技效果及其视听冲击把血腥残酷展现在观众眼前，使观众感到震撼。在过去的战争电影里，士兵被打死不过是往地上一躺；军官被打死不过是摔在马下。在《集结号》里，人们看到被打断的手臂、被击穿的脖子、淋漓的鲜血、扭曲的尸体……感官刺激是战争片不可或缺的因素，不然就连大人也跟小孩似的，把打仗看成游戏。
逼真性是影视艺术的基本美学标准。《集结号》对造型、服装、道具、场景、环境等细节的真实以及表演都刻意求真、入微到位。除了战场的逼真，还有时代的逼真，如５０年代解放军的苏式服装和军营里的繁体字。由于这些，影片使观众得到了声色并茂、耳目共悦的视听享受和审美体验。人们常常把逼真性和真实性混同。其实不然——前者是指酷似实际生活，以致以假乱真；后者是指客观上是否发生或存在。影视视听的逼真性并不排斥艺术虚构和创造想象，只要符合生活实质和逻辑。有一处可以挑剔的地方：坚守阵地的战士不知如何保护自己，几乎都是愚蠢地把自己暴露在对方的炮火面前而轻易死去。不知这是虚构，还是真实。《集结号》的来源是杨金远的小说《官司》，编剧是刘恒，导演是冯小刚。
影片的光调适合战斗场面的风格。低调曝光和硬性光影使画面显得阴沉。一反过去战争电影的红色基调，《集结号》的色彩是暗绿的，因而更在情绪上感染观众，更充分地表达了剧情和人物。要知道，战争电影色彩的造型不都在于颜色的绚丽。的确，红色代表旺盛的生命力，常被用来表达革命军队的一往无前。然而，战场上同样充满了晦暗和苦闷。暗绿的色彩适于那样的情绪氛围，也是继《拯救大兵瑞恩》以后，时下战争题材的电影所通用的色彩。
二．战士
血肉横飞的场景是战争片的一个方面，有血有肉的人物是战争片的另一个。《集结号》重笔描述了作战军人的个人内心世界和情感矛盾，比之把军人作为一个整体和概念更能令人沉思、共鸣。再之，影片以士兵为本位，逆反以往的国家领导将领为本位。这是一个很大的突破和进步。这些士兵都是平凡的农民子弟，他们没有闪光的语言，但有朴实传情的台词；他们没有典范英雄的脸谱，但有实实在在的人情味和层次感。也许是头一次，影片告诉大家，人民子弟兵里也有不敢开枪的、尿裤子的、怕死的；解放军正规部队也被打得懵头转向、鬼哭狼嚎。另外，影片也以男人为角度和心理依托。这给女性化的影视媒体多少带来一丝强硬风气。饰演战士的不是电影明星，但他们的表演得体动人，更能让人联想到战争年代。
众知，传统的国产战争片是国家意志的渲染，旨在宣传教育，其主流是爱国主义、遵纪守法、军民鱼水。《集结号》一反常态，毫无畏忌地展现了各种矛盾冲突，如党军冲突（一开头，连长和指导员的争吵），上下级冲突（谷子地对团长没下命令的愤怒），战友之间的冲突（争执是否听到了集结号响），军民冲突（谷子地怒骂地方党员），个人与个人的冲突（谷子地和小梁子在烈士陵园的激撞），个人与集体的冲突（谷子地单挑煤矿工厂）。的确，影片不刻意和谐、团圆，而是着意碰撞、对抗。为此，影片用急促的短镜头和快节奏来凸显碰撞对抗的激烈程度。影片又让人物酣畅地宣泄激情，高声吼叫，有时甚至歇斯底里。也许是军人的特殊气慨，它使人感到痛快，让人获得解气的感觉。
２００７年９月，美国制片人Ｋｅｎ Ｂｕｒｎｓ在电视上公演了他的作品《二战》（Ｔｈｅ Ｗａｒ）。在这部长达１５小时的记录片里，观众是通过士兵的眼界，从里到外、从下向上地观看了那场战争。相反，从外到里、从上到下的历史观显得隔靴搔痒，往往来自高高在上的战略制定部门、指挥将领和统计数字，它不仅抽象而且冷漠。Ｋｅｎ Ｂｕｒｎｓ说得对，战争是当兵的打出来的。《集结号》同样是通过士兵的视野看待战争，它自始至终透露着一股平民气息、平民本色。影片所荟萃的众战士是普通人，说的是普通人的话，想的是普通人的事。有一点不足：所塑造的士兵人物性格（焦大鹏、姜茂才、吕宽沟等）还是不够充分、醒目、鲜明，以致把他们放在一起，很难分出谁是谁。这不关乎演员，而是篇幅有限使然。
三．战友
《集结号》的篇幅有限是因为它讲述两个故事。一是上面讲的阻击战斗，二是谷子地为战友正名。阻击战斗结束后，谷子地受伤并且被解放军当作敌兵俘虏。释放后他又得知，自己原来的部队番号已经被取消；４７名战士被定为“失踪”，而不是烈士。谷子地的后半生就是为死去的战友找回部队、找回应有的荣誉。在影片的结尾，谷子地回到当年发生血战的旧窑场，相信４７具遗骸就在这个窑场下面。他发疯似的挖掘如山的煤矿，无论如何要让真相大白、让尊严复回。最后（时值１９５６年１２月），上级追认他们为烈士并树立了纪念碑。没有飘扬过的红旗终于出现在葬礼，没有吹响过的军号终于由小梁子吹响。
对于为国牺牲的战士，荣誉是待遇，也是一种价值。名不正，言不顺。如果死去的人没有荣誉，那他死不瞑目，因为谁不愿自己的牺牲得到承认和肯定。如果死去的人不仅没有荣誉而且没有名字，那他等于白死，因为世上没有永垂不朽的无名英雄。看着一行行的木制的无名烈士墓牌，谷子地感慨地说：“爹妈都给起了名字，怎么全都成了没名的孩子了？”按此，人们会问，国家征来这些年青人打仗，怎么恢复荣誉全都成了个人的事了？中国军人有“青山处处埋忠骨，何须马革裹尸还”的豪情，但这不等于说，国家没有责任找回他们的忠骨、裹还他们的尸体、为他们正名、让他们有名有姓地安息。《集结号》让观众情不自禁地联想、检讨我们是如何对待自己的烈士、无名英雄和埋葬祭奠场所。毕竟，如何对待在战争死去的人，等于如何对待我们自己。此外，字幕英译有一个错误：无名烈士的无名不是ａｎｏｎｙｍｏｕｓ（匿名），而应该是ｕｎｋｎｏｗｎ。
电影是分门别类的，如喜剧片、恐怖片、西部片等。每一种类型（ｇｅｎｒｅ）的电影都有其固定的程式和惯例。程式和惯例规范着叙事时空和形式技巧。凡是不符合类型片的题材和处理，都被视为具有可能导致失败的风险。类型片又有自己固定的观众，这些观众有其特定兴趣、审美定势、期望趋向。战争电影所界定的叙事情节、人物角色、环境主题、灯光机位、语言对话等，至少具备逼真的武力结构、民族的美学意图、普世的人性导向。这些因素也是衡量创作能力和票房的尺度。如果说大多数中国战争电影仍像战争宣传片，目的是为了激发士气，《集结号》是反省片，目的是让我们找回自己。它并非把战争描写得富有人情，而是用人情描写战争。综合上述，应该说《集结号》迈进了战争类型片这一影界所接受的模式，并且开始培养着一代类型影迷和审视习惯。在这个意义上，先就范，后创新。《集结号》跳出了旧的束缚，走上了新的路子。抑或说，国产战争片更像那么回事了。这是一个伟大的开端，但只是第一步。
·白 焰·
在人们的印象中，战场上的红旗是飘扬的，军号是嘹亮的。然而在《集结号》影片里，红旗没有飘扬过，军号没有吹响过。尤其那没有吹响过的军号，系结着４７个战士的生命。在１９４８年淮海战役的一个战斗中，九连连长谷子地接受了一项阻击战的任务，他与团长刘泽水约定以集结号作为撤退的号令，集结号不响，连队不撤。预定时间过了，没有号响，战士一个接一个地倒下。谷子地继续率兵奋勇作战。出乎意料的是，勇猛的排长焦大鹏在临死之前说听到了集结号响，劝谷子地带着仅剩的几个弟兄撤退，战士中有人附和有人反对，大家对此产生了分歧。谷子地此时发现友邻部队早已撤退，但坚信没有听到号声。结果，４７名战士终因寡不敌众，全部阵亡。事后，幸存下来的谷子地怀疑是自己忽略了号声，导致战友们枉送性命。进入和平年代，复员的谷子地意外见到当年的司号员小梁子，得知他根本没有吹响集结号，因为团长没有下达命令。
不错，影片的背景是国共内战，内战是民族的最大不幸——兄弟相残、同室操戈。但是，影片没有给谁好谁坏下一个结论、给谁输谁赢作一个交待。其实，影片讲述的不是战争，而是战斗、战士、战友。国民党只是一个敌对符号，内战只是故事的外壳。如果凭此就把影片的主题归纳为同胞间的厮杀，那将是大错特错。
一．战斗
和过去的战争电影相比（比较近的是２００７年的《夜袭》和《强渡大渡河》），《集结号》更为公正地再现了战斗场面的原样。特技效果及其视听冲击把血腥残酷展现在观众眼前，使观众感到震撼。在过去的战争电影里，士兵被打死不过是往地上一躺；军官被打死不过是摔在马下。在《集结号》里，人们看到被打断的手臂、被击穿的脖子、淋漓的鲜血、扭曲的尸体……感官刺激是战争片不可或缺的因素，不然就连大人也跟小孩似的，把打仗看成游戏。
逼真性是影视艺术的基本美学标准。《集结号》对造型、服装、道具、场景、环境等细节的真实以及表演都刻意求真、入微到位。除了战场的逼真，还有时代的逼真，如５０年代解放军的苏式服装和军营里的繁体字。由于这些，影片使观众得到了声色并茂、耳目共悦的视听享受和审美体验。人们常常把逼真性和真实性混同。其实不然——前者是指酷似实际生活，以致以假乱真；后者是指客观上是否发生或存在。影视视听的逼真性并不排斥艺术虚构和创造想象，只要符合生活实质和逻辑。有一处可以挑剔的地方：坚守阵地的战士不知如何保护自己，几乎都是愚蠢地把自己暴露在对方的炮火面前而轻易死去。不知这是虚构，还是真实。《集结号》的来源是杨金远的小说《官司》，编剧是刘恒，导演是冯小刚。
影片的光调适合战斗场面的风格。低调曝光和硬性光影使画面显得阴沉。一反过去战争电影的红色基调，《集结号》的色彩是暗绿的，因而更在情绪上感染观众，更充分地表达了剧情和人物。要知道，战争电影色彩的造型不都在于颜色的绚丽。的确，红色代表旺盛的生命力，常被用来表达革命军队的一往无前。然而，战场上同样充满了晦暗和苦闷。暗绿的色彩适于那样的情绪氛围，也是继《拯救大兵瑞恩》以后，时下战争题材的电影所通用的色彩。
二．战士
血肉横飞的场景是战争片的一个方面，有血有肉的人物是战争片的另一个。《集结号》重笔描述了作战军人的个人内心世界和情感矛盾，比之把军人作为一个整体和概念更能令人沉思、共鸣。再之，影片以士兵为本位，逆反以往的国家领导将领为本位。这是一个很大的突破和进步。这些士兵都是平凡的农民子弟，他们没有闪光的语言，但有朴实传情的台词；他们没有典范英雄的脸谱，但有实实在在的人情味和层次感。也许是头一次，影片告诉大家，人民子弟兵里也有不敢开枪的、尿裤子的、怕死的；解放军正规部队也被打得懵头转向、鬼哭狼嚎。另外，影片也以男人为角度和心理依托。这给女性化的影视媒体多少带来一丝强硬风气。饰演战士的不是电影明星，但他们的表演得体动人，更能让人联想到战争年代。
众知，传统的国产战争片是国家意志的渲染，旨在宣传教育，其主流是爱国主义、遵纪守法、军民鱼水。《集结号》一反常态，毫无畏忌地展现了各种矛盾冲突，如党军冲突（一开头，连长和指导员的争吵），上下级冲突（谷子地对团长没下命令的愤怒），战友之间的冲突（争执是否听到了集结号响），军民冲突（谷子地怒骂地方党员），个人与个人的冲突（谷子地和小梁子在烈士陵园的激撞），个人与集体的冲突（谷子地单挑煤矿工厂）。的确，影片不刻意和谐、团圆，而是着意碰撞、对抗。为此，影片用急促的短镜头和快节奏来凸显碰撞对抗的激烈程度。影片又让人物酣畅地宣泄激情，高声吼叫，有时甚至歇斯底里。也许是军人的特殊气慨，它使人感到痛快，让人获得解气的感觉。
２００７年９月，美国制片人Ｋｅｎ Ｂｕｒｎｓ在电视上公演了他的作品《二战》（Ｔｈｅ Ｗａｒ）。在这部长达１５小时的记录片里，观众是通过士兵的眼界，从里到外、从下向上地观看了那场战争。相反，从外到里、从上到下的历史观显得隔靴搔痒，往往来自高高在上的战略制定部门、指挥将领和统计数字，它不仅抽象而且冷漠。Ｋｅｎ Ｂｕｒｎｓ说得对，战争是当兵的打出来的。《集结号》同样是通过士兵的视野看待战争，它自始至终透露着一股平民气息、平民本色。影片所荟萃的众战士是普通人，说的是普通人的话，想的是普通人的事。有一点不足：所塑造的士兵人物性格（焦大鹏、姜茂才、吕宽沟等）还是不够充分、醒目、鲜明，以致把他们放在一起，很难分出谁是谁。这不关乎演员，而是篇幅有限使然。
三．战友
《集结号》的篇幅有限是因为它讲述两个故事。一是上面讲的阻击战斗，二是谷子地为战友正名。阻击战斗结束后，谷子地受伤并且被解放军当作敌兵俘虏。释放后他又得知，自己原来的部队番号已经被取消；４７名战士被定为“失踪”，而不是烈士。谷子地的后半生就是为死去的战友找回部队、找回应有的荣誉。在影片的结尾，谷子地回到当年发生血战的旧窑场，相信４７具遗骸就在这个窑场下面。他发疯似的挖掘如山的煤矿，无论如何要让真相大白、让尊严复回。最后（时值１９５６年１２月），上级追认他们为烈士并树立了纪念碑。没有飘扬过的红旗终于出现在葬礼，没有吹响过的军号终于由小梁子吹响。
对于为国牺牲的战士，荣誉是待遇，也是一种价值。名不正，言不顺。如果死去的人没有荣誉，那他死不瞑目，因为谁不愿自己的牺牲得到承认和肯定。如果死去的人不仅没有荣誉而且没有名字，那他等于白死，因为世上没有永垂不朽的无名英雄。看着一行行的木制的无名烈士墓牌，谷子地感慨地说：“爹妈都给起了名字，怎么全都成了没名的孩子了？”按此，人们会问，国家征来这些年青人打仗，怎么恢复荣誉全都成了个人的事了？中国军人有“青山处处埋忠骨，何须马革裹尸还”的豪情，但这不等于说，国家没有责任找回他们的忠骨、裹还他们的尸体、为他们正名、让他们有名有姓地安息。《集结号》让观众情不自禁地联想、检讨我们是如何对待自己的烈士、无名英雄和埋葬祭奠场所。毕竟，如何对待在战争死去的人，等于如何对待我们自己。此外，字幕英译有一个错误：无名烈士的无名不是ａｎｏｎｙｍｏｕｓ（匿名），而应该是ｕｎｋｎｏｗｎ。
电影是分门别类的，如喜剧片、恐怖片、西部片等。每一种类型（ｇｅｎｒｅ）的电影都有其固定的程式和惯例。程式和惯例规范着叙事时空和形式技巧。凡是不符合类型片的题材和处理，都被视为具有可能导致失败的风险。类型片又有自己固定的观众，这些观众有其特定兴趣、审美定势、期望趋向。战争电影所界定的叙事情节、人物角色、环境主题、灯光机位、语言对话等，至少具备逼真的武力结构、民族的美学意图、普世的人性导向。这些因素也是衡量创作能力和票房的尺度。如果说大多数中国战争电影仍像战争宣传片，目的是为了激发士气，《集结号》是反省片，目的是让我们找回自己。它并非把战争描写得富有人情，而是用人情描写战争。综合上述，应该说《集结号》迈进了战争类型片这一影界所接受的模式，并且开始培养着一代类型影迷和审视习惯。在这个意义上，先就范，后创新。《集结号》跳出了旧的束缚，走上了新的路子。抑或说，国产战争片更像那么回事了。这是一个伟大的开端，但只是第一步。
IBM tops patent list
By Dan McLean
January 19, 2008
Bolstered by employee efforts at IBM's Essex Junction plant, IBM earned the top spot in the U.S. patent rankings for the 15th consecutive year.
Not only does the Essex Junction facility have IBM's most prolific inventor, but the facility ranked third among the 41 states with IBM patents last year, IBM spokesman Jeff Couture said.
The Vermont facility, for example, helped invent a sensor designed to make it easier for digital cameras to take brighter and sharper pictures, he said.
In 2007, the Essex Junction facility was responsible for 357 patents, or more than 11 percent of IBM's total of 3,125 patents for the year.
Edward Nowak, an engineer and technology strategy manager for Essex Junction's semiconductor solutions organization, earned the most invention patents -- 33 -- of any IBM inventor in 2007, Couture said. Nowak, who started working at the Essex Junction facility in 1981, could not be reached for comment Friday.
The Essex Junction facility employs about 5,700 people and is one of IBM's two U.S. sites that designs and manufactures semiconductors, Couture said.
Patents developed throughout all of IBM facilities last year include technologies engineered to allow convenient and secure ATM transactions conducted by cell phone, customizing the same movie for different audiences, enabling portable devices to go longer between battery recharges and faster video game consoles for more realistic action.
Contact Dan McLean at 651-4877 or dmclean@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
January 19, 2008
Bolstered by employee efforts at IBM's Essex Junction plant, IBM earned the top spot in the U.S. patent rankings for the 15th consecutive year.
Not only does the Essex Junction facility have IBM's most prolific inventor, but the facility ranked third among the 41 states with IBM patents last year, IBM spokesman Jeff Couture said.
The Vermont facility, for example, helped invent a sensor designed to make it easier for digital cameras to take brighter and sharper pictures, he said.
In 2007, the Essex Junction facility was responsible for 357 patents, or more than 11 percent of IBM's total of 3,125 patents for the year.
Edward Nowak, an engineer and technology strategy manager for Essex Junction's semiconductor solutions organization, earned the most invention patents -- 33 -- of any IBM inventor in 2007, Couture said. Nowak, who started working at the Essex Junction facility in 1981, could not be reached for comment Friday.
The Essex Junction facility employs about 5,700 people and is one of IBM's two U.S. sites that designs and manufactures semiconductors, Couture said.
Patents developed throughout all of IBM facilities last year include technologies engineered to allow convenient and secure ATM transactions conducted by cell phone, customizing the same movie for different audiences, enabling portable devices to go longer between battery recharges and faster video game consoles for more realistic action.
Contact Dan McLean at 651-4877 or dmclean@bfp.burlingtonfreepress.com
2008年1月17日星期四
IBM论坛2008
1月16日，以“瞰盛世、铸发展、舞新篇”为主题，在北京嘉里中心举行。来自全国千余位企业领军人物、行业专家和学者共聚一堂，从全球化趋势和中国机遇的大局着眼，从前沿科技和创新实践的细节思考，共同探讨如何实现中国企业走持续发展之路，在全球化的挑战下取得成功。IBM亚太区总监Frank Kern先
生，IBM大中华区首席执行总裁钱大群先生代表IBM在论坛上发言，分享了IBM在全球进行整合转型应对全球化挑战的经验，展示了IBM应用全球资源致力于协助中国企业迎接全球化挑战的能力和决心。
与往年IBM论坛邀请一位国际上知名的趋势大师或经济学家进行发展趋势布道不同，今年邀请到论坛上进行演讲的是国内著名经济学家、北京大学中国经济研究中心主任林毅夫先生，和被美国《福布斯》评为“全球最佳小公司”的新奥集团的代表，新奥集团董事、董事局秘书长翟晓勤女士。二位嘉宾与Frank Kern先生和钱大群先生的演讲相互呼应，从经济发展观察的层面和企业发展创新实践的角度，进一步向参会者诠释了中国企业在应对全球化压力和实现可持续发展的双重需求下，如何通过创新和转型走出自己的成功之路。
持续发展，中国经济发展前景看好
林毅夫先生首先介绍了2008年经济发展的态势。他指出，虽然中国经济出现的投资过热、通胀率压力较高等不利情况，但是总体看来今年的经济增长率仍然会保持较高水平。今年是中国的奥运年，奥运前期的投资增加拉动了经济繁荣，而且因为我国的经济规模很大，这一繁荣趋势在奥运会之后也不会萧条。
针对中国经济发展中出现的种种问题，“十七大”报告提出要保持经济的可持续发展，做到又好、又快发展。要实现这一目标，不仅仅需要中国企业和各界练好“内功”，提高自身的能力和竞争力，还需要抬起头来去看全球市场的变化和趋势，将自己融入到全球经济的环境中。
生，IBM大中华区首席执行总裁钱大群先生代表IBM在论坛上发言，分享了IBM在全球进行整合转型应对全球化挑战的经验，展示了IBM应用全球资源致力于协助中国企业迎接全球化挑战的能力和决心。
与往年IBM论坛邀请一位国际上知名的趋势大师或经济学家进行发展趋势布道不同，今年邀请到论坛上进行演讲的是国内著名经济学家、北京大学中国经济研究中心主任林毅夫先生，和被美国《福布斯》评为“全球最佳小公司”的新奥集团的代表，新奥集团董事、董事局秘书长翟晓勤女士。二位嘉宾与Frank Kern先生和钱大群先生的演讲相互呼应，从经济发展观察的层面和企业发展创新实践的角度，进一步向参会者诠释了中国企业在应对全球化压力和实现可持续发展的双重需求下，如何通过创新和转型走出自己的成功之路。
持续发展，中国经济发展前景看好
林毅夫先生首先介绍了2008年经济发展的态势。他指出，虽然中国经济出现的投资过热、通胀率压力较高等不利情况，但是总体看来今年的经济增长率仍然会保持较高水平。今年是中国的奥运年，奥运前期的投资增加拉动了经济繁荣，而且因为我国的经济规模很大，这一繁荣趋势在奥运会之后也不会萧条。
针对中国经济发展中出现的种种问题，“十七大”报告提出要保持经济的可持续发展，做到又好、又快发展。要实现这一目标，不仅仅需要中国企业和各界练好“内功”，提高自身的能力和竞争力，还需要抬起头来去看全球市场的变化和趋势，将自己融入到全球经济的环境中。
2008年1月14日星期一
IBM S/W Group
作为全球最大的企业级软件供应商，IBM 软件集团拥有五大软件产品家族, 能从各方面满足中型企业及机构的各种业务需求，无限的软件组合更将带给企业无限的生命力和业务创新力。
针对中型用户，IBM 量身定制了易捷优势。易捷优势不仅是一系列产品，它更是一种服务中型用户的创新方法。简单和经济是易捷优势构建所有解决方案的指导原则，我们力争使解决方案实现前所未有的简便性和优越性价比。我们的解决方案旨在帮助您提高关键业务和技术的能力，助您轻松实现创新。
用最简单的方式为您解决棘手的问题，让 IBM 业务合作伙伴网络变得触手可及，让沟通变得简单直接。这不是夸夸其谈。这是承诺。就这么简单。
IBM 五大软件产品家族：2006年，IBM 凭借 182亿美元的软件收入成为全球最大的中间件供应商，在中国，IBM 更是从 1999年至今连年蝉联软件市场占有率第一名，在市场份额和增长率两方面遥遥领先。IBM 软件的成功源自于对业务和技术趋势的深刻洞察与实施，从而帮助客户取得业务成长。公司旗下拥有 Lotus 协作办公软件，WebShpere 应用系统和整合软件，Information Management 信息管理软件，Tivoli 基础架构管理软件， Rational 开发软件五大软件产品家族，五种安全、易扩展、且性能卓越的的软件可以随需组合，完全满足中小型企业的各种 IT 需求，大幅度提升企业的 IT 效率，成就企业的核心竞争力和创新力，力助企业真正实现快速成长！
WebSphere 应用系统和整合软件
为企业提供实现随需应变业务所需的整合和应用基础设施。基于对 SOA 方面的优势和领导地位以及对客户业务的充分了解，将针对行业提供更多全面支持 SOA 的解决方案，可以通过企业内部和企业之间进行端到端集成提高业务响应能力。
Tivoli 基础架构管理软件
为企业提供实现随需应变业务所需的智能管理软件。Tivoli 竭力通过持续的创新、卓越的可实施性能来确立其在服务管理领域的领导者地位，帮企业更有效地为其核心业务提供服务，隔离、诊断和修复关键业务交易性能问题，确保 IT 环境的状态和效率，从而更好地实现业务目标。
Lotus 协作办公软件
激活员工动力，提高用户在工作岗位中的效率、响应性和创新能力。Lotus 协作办公软件是 IBM SOA 战略中重要组成，整合通过人员、流程与信息之间的协作，为企业客户提供互动服务(interactive service)，从而帮助企业协作创新。
Rational 开发软件
从设计、构建、流程到产品管理，为企业提供满足他们实际需求的软件开发平台。Empowering “A”in SOA，IBM Rational 帮助客户更好地进行架构设计和构建 SOA 解决方案，提高开发软件的功能、可靠性和性能。
Information Management 信息管理软件
Information On Demand 是一种务实的信息管理理念，倡导将合适的信息在合适的时候、以合适的渠道传递给需要它的人，帮他们抓住瞬息可逝的机会，并及时对竞争威胁做出反应。IOD 主张通过整合、分析和优化生命周期内各种类型的信息资源来创造商业价值，同时降低风险。
针对中型用户，IBM 量身定制了易捷优势。易捷优势不仅是一系列产品，它更是一种服务中型用户的创新方法。简单和经济是易捷优势构建所有解决方案的指导原则，我们力争使解决方案实现前所未有的简便性和优越性价比。我们的解决方案旨在帮助您提高关键业务和技术的能力，助您轻松实现创新。
用最简单的方式为您解决棘手的问题，让 IBM 业务合作伙伴网络变得触手可及，让沟通变得简单直接。这不是夸夸其谈。这是承诺。就这么简单。
IBM 五大软件产品家族：2006年，IBM 凭借 182亿美元的软件收入成为全球最大的中间件供应商，在中国，IBM 更是从 1999年至今连年蝉联软件市场占有率第一名，在市场份额和增长率两方面遥遥领先。IBM 软件的成功源自于对业务和技术趋势的深刻洞察与实施，从而帮助客户取得业务成长。公司旗下拥有 Lotus 协作办公软件，WebShpere 应用系统和整合软件，Information Management 信息管理软件，Tivoli 基础架构管理软件， Rational 开发软件五大软件产品家族，五种安全、易扩展、且性能卓越的的软件可以随需组合，完全满足中小型企业的各种 IT 需求，大幅度提升企业的 IT 效率，成就企业的核心竞争力和创新力，力助企业真正实现快速成长！
WebSphere 应用系统和整合软件
为企业提供实现随需应变业务所需的整合和应用基础设施。基于对 SOA 方面的优势和领导地位以及对客户业务的充分了解，将针对行业提供更多全面支持 SOA 的解决方案，可以通过企业内部和企业之间进行端到端集成提高业务响应能力。
Tivoli 基础架构管理软件
为企业提供实现随需应变业务所需的智能管理软件。Tivoli 竭力通过持续的创新、卓越的可实施性能来确立其在服务管理领域的领导者地位，帮企业更有效地为其核心业务提供服务，隔离、诊断和修复关键业务交易性能问题，确保 IT 环境的状态和效率，从而更好地实现业务目标。
Lotus 协作办公软件
激活员工动力，提高用户在工作岗位中的效率、响应性和创新能力。Lotus 协作办公软件是 IBM SOA 战略中重要组成，整合通过人员、流程与信息之间的协作，为企业客户提供互动服务(interactive service)，从而帮助企业协作创新。
Rational 开发软件
从设计、构建、流程到产品管理，为企业提供满足他们实际需求的软件开发平台。Empowering “A”in SOA，IBM Rational 帮助客户更好地进行架构设计和构建 SOA 解决方案，提高开发软件的功能、可靠性和性能。
Information Management 信息管理软件
Information On Demand 是一种务实的信息管理理念，倡导将合适的信息在合适的时候、以合适的渠道传递给需要它的人，帮他们抓住瞬息可逝的机会，并及时对竞争威胁做出反应。IOD 主张通过整合、分析和优化生命周期内各种类型的信息资源来创造商业价值，同时降低风险。
2008年1月12日星期六
To Roth or not to Roth 401(k)
Money Magazine's Walter Updegrave explains the pros and cons of a Roth 401(k) vs. a regular 401(k).
By Walter Updegrave, Money Magazine senior editor
NEW YORK (Money) -- Question: My employer will begin offering a Roth 401(k) this year, and I'm considering taking advantage of it. As I understand it, the Roth 401(k) is much more advantageous than a regular 401(k) because even though I pay income tax on the dollars I contribute to the Roth, I don't pay tax on withdrawals, which potentially saves me millions of dollars in taxes I would otherwise have to pay on gains. Is my understanding correct, and do you think I should contribute to the Roth? - Danny Pisarcik
Answer: After getting off to a slow start, Roth 401(k)s are beginning to pick up momentum.
Like your employer, more companies have started to offer Roth 401(k)s since they were allowed to start doing so two years ago, and many firms that don't yet provide this option are considering adding it in the future.
To paraphrase Martha Stewart, I think that's a good thing.
But it's important that you - as well as anyone else mulling the Roth 401(k) - have a good understanding of how it works and what its pros and cons are.
So I'm happy to give a quick rundown, as well as offer my thoughts on who ought to consider contributing to this version of the 401(k).
Apples to apples
Let's start with one basic but often misunderstood fact. Although they're effectively mirror images of each other -with a regular 401(k) you invest pre-tax dollars and pay taxes at withdrawal, while with a Roth 401(k) you invest after-tax dollars and pay no tax at the end -in a pure economic sense there's really no difference between the two.
For example, let's suppose you're in the 25 percent tax bracket and you contribute $15,500 - the maximum for 2008 - to a regular 401(k). (People 50 and older can throw in another $5,000, but we'll ignore "catch up" contributions for this example.) And let's further assume that you earn 8 percent a year on your contribution.
At the end of 10 years, your 401(k) account would be worth $33,463. If you withdraw that amount and pay taxes at the 25 percent rate (for simplicity's sake, we'll assume you don't have to pay the 10 percent penalty for premature withdrawals) you would be left with $25,098 after taxes.
One subtle difference
Now let's see what would happen if you instead did the Roth 401(k). Well, since that $15,500 isn't going into a regular 401(k), you'll have to pay tax on it. Assuming a 25 percent tax rate, that would leave you with $11,625 in after-tax dollars to invest in the Roth. Assuming an 8 percent return for 10 years, you would have a balance of $25,098 in your Roth 401(k), tax free - the same as you would have after taxes in your regular 401(k).
In short, you end up at the same place whether you avoid taxes upfront and pay them at the end (i.e., do the regular 401(k)) or you pay the taxes upfront and avoid them at the end (i.e., do the Roth 401(k)).
But there's one little wrinkle about the Roth that gives it an edge. The example above shows that investing $11,625 in after-tax dollars in the Roth 401(k) is the equivalent of making the maximum $15,500 contribution of pre-tax dollars into a regular IRA. But you're not limited to contributing $11,625 in after-tax dollars to the Roth. Congress made the maximum dollar contributions the same for both the regular 401(k) and the Roth 401(k).
The golden years
You can invest up to $15,500 in after-tax dollars to a Roth. Which means that as long as the dollar amount you can contribute to a regular 401(k) and a Roth 401(k) are the same, the Roth 401(k) effectively gives you the chance to sock away more money on a tax-advantaged basis for retirement, assuming you're willing to part with the extra bucks.
Of course, you do reap tax savings from your regular 401(k) contribution. And if you're disciplined enough to invest those tax savings and you're able to duplicate the Roth's tax-free returns on those savings, then the amount you end up with after taxes in a regular 401(k) and the Roth 401(k) would be the same.
But, really, are you going to be meticulous enough to invest the tax savings you get from making a regular 401(k) contribution? I doubt it. So as a practical matter, I see the Roth as a way for people to effectively boost the amount they save for retirement.
Tax rate
I should add that tax rates also play a role in the deciding between a regular 401(k) and a Roth 401(k). The example I've given assumes that you pay the same tax rate at the time you make your contribution as you do when you withdraw the money.
But if that's not the case, then the scales would tip in favor of either the regular or the Roth version.
For example, if you happened to drop from the 25 percent to the 15 percent bracket by the time you withdraw the money from your regular 401(k), then you would deduct less in taxes, leaving you with more than in the Roth.
Conversely, if you climbed into a higher tax bracket - say, 33 percent - then you would owe more in taxes on your regular 401(k), leaving you with less than in the Roth.
So what's all this mean for someone like yourself trying to decide between a regular 401(k) and a Roth 401(k)?
Well, generally the Roth 401(k) is a better deal if you think you'll end up in the same tax bracket or a higher one in retirement, and the regular 401(k) if you think you'll end up in a lower bracket.
Trouble is, it's hard to know what tax rate you'll face once you retire. That will be determined by a variety of factors that are difficult to sort out in advance, including how much money you'll be drawing in retirement from taxable sources like pensions and regular 401(k) and IRA accounts, the amount of interest and capital gains you'll generate in taxable investment accounts after you retire, how much you earn from part-time or other work in retirement and, of course, the extent to which the guys and gals down in D.C. decide to play around with the tax laws after you've retired.
The best of both worlds
That's one reason I think it's a good idea for most people to contribute money to both a regular 401(k) account and, assuming they have the option, in a Roth 401(k). (For more on the benefits of diversifying your tax exposure, or "tax diversification," click here.)
Now, you may want to favor one account over the other depending on your circumstances and your outlook. If you're just starting out in your career and likely to move into a higher tax bracket later on, then you probably want to do more in the Roth.
Ditto, if you're such a diligent saver that withdrawals from retirement accounts are likely to keep you in the same tax bracket as during your career, if not push you into a higher one.
If, on the other hand, for whatever reason you think it's more likely you'll face a lower tax rate in retirement than you do now - perhaps you're at your earnings peak and you expect you'll shift into a lower tax bracket in the final years of your career and during retirement - then you may want to contribute more to a regular 401(k). (Remember, too, that any employer-matching contributions go into a regular 401(k) account, even if you contribute to the Roth.)
Social Security benefits
There are other reasons you'll probably want to have at least some money in both types of accounts. Although Roth 401(k)s have the same withdrawal requirements as regular 401(k)s, by rolling over your Roth 401(k) into a Roth IRA, you can avoid having to make required withdrawals in retirement. And unlike withdrawals from a regular 401(k), withdrawals from a Roth 401(k) don't count when determining whether your Social Security benefits are subject to income taxes.
Bottom line: I don't think of this as a digital decision - do the regular 401(k) or do the Roth 401(k). You can contribute to both (or, if the Roth 401(k) isn't an option, then a Roth IRA, for which the case is similar). The more important issue, as I see it, is that one way or another you accumulate at least some money in both tax-deferred and tax-free accounts. This strategy won't guarantee you the cushiest retirement. But it will allow you to hedge your bets and give you more maneuvering room for managing your tax bill in retirement.
By Walter Updegrave, Money Magazine senior editor
NEW YORK (Money) -- Question: My employer will begin offering a Roth 401(k) this year, and I'm considering taking advantage of it. As I understand it, the Roth 401(k) is much more advantageous than a regular 401(k) because even though I pay income tax on the dollars I contribute to the Roth, I don't pay tax on withdrawals, which potentially saves me millions of dollars in taxes I would otherwise have to pay on gains. Is my understanding correct, and do you think I should contribute to the Roth? - Danny Pisarcik
Answer: After getting off to a slow start, Roth 401(k)s are beginning to pick up momentum.
Like your employer, more companies have started to offer Roth 401(k)s since they were allowed to start doing so two years ago, and many firms that don't yet provide this option are considering adding it in the future.
To paraphrase Martha Stewart, I think that's a good thing.
But it's important that you - as well as anyone else mulling the Roth 401(k) - have a good understanding of how it works and what its pros and cons are.
So I'm happy to give a quick rundown, as well as offer my thoughts on who ought to consider contributing to this version of the 401(k).
Apples to apples
Let's start with one basic but often misunderstood fact. Although they're effectively mirror images of each other -with a regular 401(k) you invest pre-tax dollars and pay taxes at withdrawal, while with a Roth 401(k) you invest after-tax dollars and pay no tax at the end -in a pure economic sense there's really no difference between the two.
For example, let's suppose you're in the 25 percent tax bracket and you contribute $15,500 - the maximum for 2008 - to a regular 401(k). (People 50 and older can throw in another $5,000, but we'll ignore "catch up" contributions for this example.) And let's further assume that you earn 8 percent a year on your contribution.
At the end of 10 years, your 401(k) account would be worth $33,463. If you withdraw that amount and pay taxes at the 25 percent rate (for simplicity's sake, we'll assume you don't have to pay the 10 percent penalty for premature withdrawals) you would be left with $25,098 after taxes.
One subtle difference
Now let's see what would happen if you instead did the Roth 401(k). Well, since that $15,500 isn't going into a regular 401(k), you'll have to pay tax on it. Assuming a 25 percent tax rate, that would leave you with $11,625 in after-tax dollars to invest in the Roth. Assuming an 8 percent return for 10 years, you would have a balance of $25,098 in your Roth 401(k), tax free - the same as you would have after taxes in your regular 401(k).
In short, you end up at the same place whether you avoid taxes upfront and pay them at the end (i.e., do the regular 401(k)) or you pay the taxes upfront and avoid them at the end (i.e., do the Roth 401(k)).
But there's one little wrinkle about the Roth that gives it an edge. The example above shows that investing $11,625 in after-tax dollars in the Roth 401(k) is the equivalent of making the maximum $15,500 contribution of pre-tax dollars into a regular IRA. But you're not limited to contributing $11,625 in after-tax dollars to the Roth. Congress made the maximum dollar contributions the same for both the regular 401(k) and the Roth 401(k).
The golden years
You can invest up to $15,500 in after-tax dollars to a Roth. Which means that as long as the dollar amount you can contribute to a regular 401(k) and a Roth 401(k) are the same, the Roth 401(k) effectively gives you the chance to sock away more money on a tax-advantaged basis for retirement, assuming you're willing to part with the extra bucks.
Of course, you do reap tax savings from your regular 401(k) contribution. And if you're disciplined enough to invest those tax savings and you're able to duplicate the Roth's tax-free returns on those savings, then the amount you end up with after taxes in a regular 401(k) and the Roth 401(k) would be the same.
But, really, are you going to be meticulous enough to invest the tax savings you get from making a regular 401(k) contribution? I doubt it. So as a practical matter, I see the Roth as a way for people to effectively boost the amount they save for retirement.
Tax rate
I should add that tax rates also play a role in the deciding between a regular 401(k) and a Roth 401(k). The example I've given assumes that you pay the same tax rate at the time you make your contribution as you do when you withdraw the money.
But if that's not the case, then the scales would tip in favor of either the regular or the Roth version.
For example, if you happened to drop from the 25 percent to the 15 percent bracket by the time you withdraw the money from your regular 401(k), then you would deduct less in taxes, leaving you with more than in the Roth.
Conversely, if you climbed into a higher tax bracket - say, 33 percent - then you would owe more in taxes on your regular 401(k), leaving you with less than in the Roth.
So what's all this mean for someone like yourself trying to decide between a regular 401(k) and a Roth 401(k)?
Well, generally the Roth 401(k) is a better deal if you think you'll end up in the same tax bracket or a higher one in retirement, and the regular 401(k) if you think you'll end up in a lower bracket.
Trouble is, it's hard to know what tax rate you'll face once you retire. That will be determined by a variety of factors that are difficult to sort out in advance, including how much money you'll be drawing in retirement from taxable sources like pensions and regular 401(k) and IRA accounts, the amount of interest and capital gains you'll generate in taxable investment accounts after you retire, how much you earn from part-time or other work in retirement and, of course, the extent to which the guys and gals down in D.C. decide to play around with the tax laws after you've retired.
The best of both worlds
That's one reason I think it's a good idea for most people to contribute money to both a regular 401(k) account and, assuming they have the option, in a Roth 401(k). (For more on the benefits of diversifying your tax exposure, or "tax diversification," click here.)
Now, you may want to favor one account over the other depending on your circumstances and your outlook. If you're just starting out in your career and likely to move into a higher tax bracket later on, then you probably want to do more in the Roth.
Ditto, if you're such a diligent saver that withdrawals from retirement accounts are likely to keep you in the same tax bracket as during your career, if not push you into a higher one.
If, on the other hand, for whatever reason you think it's more likely you'll face a lower tax rate in retirement than you do now - perhaps you're at your earnings peak and you expect you'll shift into a lower tax bracket in the final years of your career and during retirement - then you may want to contribute more to a regular 401(k). (Remember, too, that any employer-matching contributions go into a regular 401(k) account, even if you contribute to the Roth.)
Social Security benefits
There are other reasons you'll probably want to have at least some money in both types of accounts. Although Roth 401(k)s have the same withdrawal requirements as regular 401(k)s, by rolling over your Roth 401(k) into a Roth IRA, you can avoid having to make required withdrawals in retirement. And unlike withdrawals from a regular 401(k), withdrawals from a Roth 401(k) don't count when determining whether your Social Security benefits are subject to income taxes.
Bottom line: I don't think of this as a digital decision - do the regular 401(k) or do the Roth 401(k). You can contribute to both (or, if the Roth 401(k) isn't an option, then a Roth IRA, for which the case is similar). The more important issue, as I see it, is that one way or another you accumulate at least some money in both tax-deferred and tax-free accounts. This strategy won't guarantee you the cushiest retirement. But it will allow you to hedge your bets and give you more maneuvering room for managing your tax bill in retirement.
2008年1月11日星期五
数字时代无法阻挡
盖茨CES演讲内容：
2008-01-08
导语：在拉斯维加斯举办的2008年度消费电子展(CES)上，微软董事会主席比尔·盖茨做了开幕演讲，这是他第11次在CES展会上发表演讲，同时也可能是最后一次。下面是盖茨讲话的主要内容：
晚上好，很高兴今天来到这里，见证一个个激动人心的时刻。过去几年里，很多梦想和希望都变成了现实。我第一次在CES上发表演讲是在1994年，那是很久以前的事情了。那时，windows 95刚刚推出，互联网还在起步阶段。
几年之后，我们进入了第一个“数字十年”。在这十年里，全球PC数量增至10亿台以上；宽带用户从无到有，目前已经超过2.5亿人；全球手机普及率超过 40%；照片也经历了从胶片到数字格式的转变，开始借助软件的力量；音乐行业面临着同样的转型，现在所有整理、选择和交流工作都可以通过软件完成。所有媒体和娱乐都将由软件驱动，这一趋势非常明显。第一个“数字十年”取得了巨大的成功。
当今的趋势是随时随地获取信息；让网站变得更加丰富，且同时支持消费者和企业活动；充分利用PC，进一步提升用户体验；以及充分实现定制化，帮助人们各取所需。10年之前，我曾经预见到一些发展趋势。我曾谈到过车载PC，现在我们已经拥有了福特SYNC；我曾谈到过掌上PC和基于智能手机，现在它们已经占据了大量的市场份额，而且借助于软件获得了更加丰富的应用；我们还将互联网电视会议的创意变为了现实，现在Media Room连接了超过100万名用户。
由以上事实可以看出，我们已经取得了长足的进步。第一个“数字十年”取得了巨大的成功，这得益于数千家公司的合作，其中包括硬件公司、软件应用公司、平台提供商、以及电影和电视游戏等内容制作公司。现在只是一个开始，没有什么能阻止我们更快、更深入地进入下一个“数字十年”。
在谈及下一个“数字十年”之前，我有一点要告诉大家，这是我最后一次在CES上发表主题演讲。到今年中期，也就是7月份，我将退出微软的日常管理，全心经营比尔及梅林达-盖茨基金会。这将是我17岁创立微软以来，首次退出公司日常管理。我不知道在微软的最后一天将如何渡过，因此，我请一些朋友帮我为此做准备。我们一起制作了一个小视频，请大家欣赏。
我认为这段视频并不能完全准确地表现可能要发生的事情，但它非常有趣。事实上，微软的权力交接工作非常顺利，雷·奥谢(Ray Ozzie)和克莱格·穆迪(Craig Mundie)逐步地承担了我的职责。当然，过渡期结束之后，我仍将选择几个项目，主题是软件的巨大力量，包括软件如何推动教育，以及软件如何推动全球医疗等等。
第二个“数字十年”
我们认为，第二个“数字十年”的重点是将人们联系在一起，是以用户为中心。微软将提供一个平台，帮助用户打造应用。这些应用将不仅能在PC上运行，还能在互联网、手机、汽车和电视上运行。这些应用将充分发挥上述平台和互联网服务的优势。当我们谈到服务时，实际上包含了很多东西，例如地图服务、付费服务、好友列表、以及存储服务等等。这些服务将横跨工作和商业，就像当前的个人计算机一样。
很多重大进展都蕴藏着这些新型应用之中。我们还没有解决的问题，包括电视、阅读、医疗和教育的变革，都可能在这些因素的带动下迎刃而解。在这里，我要重点讨论三个要点，第一个是高清晰体验无处不在。
显示技术正变得越来越好，并不只是高清晰显示器，还包括可以在所有墙上投放图像的投影仪。我们未来可能不会把计算机放在桌子上，而是放在桌子里面。你可能需要在会议室开展协作，需要在起居室看新闻、玩游戏、以及整理照片。不管在哪里，投影仪都是一个不错的选择，它易于操作，容易改变，而且可供多人使用。
图像渲染的质量正变得越来越重要，不管是玩游戏，还是访问虚拟地球软件。3D环境将出现在更多网络体验之中，例如我们可能进入一个3D网络商店，或者在一个3D社交环境中与他人会面。基于这一原因，我们将推动高质量视频和高质量音频在更广的范围内普及。
我所谈论的第二个要点，是所有设备都将同服务连接在一起。受此影响，人们将会把获得最新软件、浏览器应用、以及自己的数据看作是理所当然。设备不同没有关系，地点差异也不将不再是问题。随着云存储的普及，人们连接设备、以及通过设备搜索将变得更加简单，同时信息共享也变得更加普遍。
事实上，当你拿起一个设备，并通过了身份认证，你就可以连接到自己的信息。也就是说，当你购买了一台新手机后，或者要借用他人的设备，都不会遭遇信息丢失或转储方面的麻烦。当你在移动之中时，仍然可以处理很多事情，例如整理自己的想法，回顾孩子成长的经历，以及通过系统查找与自己相关的信息等等。由此看来，数字记忆应用将变得更加普遍和重要。这些设备将了解你的“上下文”，直到你的方位。
我所谈论的最后一个要点，同时也是最容易被人们低估的事物，是自然用户界面的作用。在第一个“数字十年”，用户界面主要是键盘和鼠标。过去两年里，我们开始看到其它交互方式出现。我们开始谈论Windows PC触摸屏和iPhone触摸屏。我们还看到Tellme语音功能集成在手机和福特SYNC之中，帮助用户与媒体或手机交互。
自然用户界面引发了强烈的市场反响，人们对于更加简单的信息导航方式非常感兴趣。因此，数字智能笔、触摸、图像识别等新型交互方式迅速普及，给用户带来了全新的体验。我们的目标是，只需坐在电视机前打几个手势，就可以完成想干的事情。现在距离这一目标还有很远的距离，因此我们只是出于起步阶段。要完成这一工作，首先要由软件行业提供一个平台，从而个人开发者无需从事过于复杂的工作。
微软的发展基础当然是Windows平台。我们将继续开发和创新这一平台，并将它变为真正的核心。对于PC行业来说，过去一年是令人难以置信的一年。 2007年，全球PC销量同比增长13%。考虑到计算机用户群体已经十分庞大，这实在是一个不错的成绩。我们认为，未来一年全球PC销量将继续保持两位数百分比的增长。
一年之前，我们推出的Vista操作系统。到目前为止，全球已经有超过1亿人使用Vista。对于我们自己、以及软件和硬件合作伙伴来说，这是一个非常重要的里程碑。我们的很多合作伙伴都在PC中加入了新元素和新功能，特别是便携设备。很多产品都漂亮地令人难以想象，它们体积小巧，适合新的用途。
我们还拥有网络服务。过去一年里，网络服务取得了突飞猛进的发展。对于我们来说，我们的Windows Live服务已经拥有超过4亿名用户。在手机平台方面，Windows Mobile过去一年的用户人数超过了1000万，预计2008年将增加一倍。(sina tech)
2008-01-08
导语：在拉斯维加斯举办的2008年度消费电子展(CES)上，微软董事会主席比尔·盖茨做了开幕演讲，这是他第11次在CES展会上发表演讲，同时也可能是最后一次。下面是盖茨讲话的主要内容：
晚上好，很高兴今天来到这里，见证一个个激动人心的时刻。过去几年里，很多梦想和希望都变成了现实。我第一次在CES上发表演讲是在1994年，那是很久以前的事情了。那时，windows 95刚刚推出，互联网还在起步阶段。
几年之后，我们进入了第一个“数字十年”。在这十年里，全球PC数量增至10亿台以上；宽带用户从无到有，目前已经超过2.5亿人；全球手机普及率超过 40%；照片也经历了从胶片到数字格式的转变，开始借助软件的力量；音乐行业面临着同样的转型，现在所有整理、选择和交流工作都可以通过软件完成。所有媒体和娱乐都将由软件驱动，这一趋势非常明显。第一个“数字十年”取得了巨大的成功。
当今的趋势是随时随地获取信息；让网站变得更加丰富，且同时支持消费者和企业活动；充分利用PC，进一步提升用户体验；以及充分实现定制化，帮助人们各取所需。10年之前，我曾经预见到一些发展趋势。我曾谈到过车载PC，现在我们已经拥有了福特SYNC；我曾谈到过掌上PC和基于智能手机，现在它们已经占据了大量的市场份额，而且借助于软件获得了更加丰富的应用；我们还将互联网电视会议的创意变为了现实，现在Media Room连接了超过100万名用户。
由以上事实可以看出，我们已经取得了长足的进步。第一个“数字十年”取得了巨大的成功，这得益于数千家公司的合作，其中包括硬件公司、软件应用公司、平台提供商、以及电影和电视游戏等内容制作公司。现在只是一个开始，没有什么能阻止我们更快、更深入地进入下一个“数字十年”。
在谈及下一个“数字十年”之前，我有一点要告诉大家，这是我最后一次在CES上发表主题演讲。到今年中期，也就是7月份，我将退出微软的日常管理，全心经营比尔及梅林达-盖茨基金会。这将是我17岁创立微软以来，首次退出公司日常管理。我不知道在微软的最后一天将如何渡过，因此，我请一些朋友帮我为此做准备。我们一起制作了一个小视频，请大家欣赏。
我认为这段视频并不能完全准确地表现可能要发生的事情，但它非常有趣。事实上，微软的权力交接工作非常顺利，雷·奥谢(Ray Ozzie)和克莱格·穆迪(Craig Mundie)逐步地承担了我的职责。当然，过渡期结束之后，我仍将选择几个项目，主题是软件的巨大力量，包括软件如何推动教育，以及软件如何推动全球医疗等等。
第二个“数字十年”
我们认为，第二个“数字十年”的重点是将人们联系在一起，是以用户为中心。微软将提供一个平台，帮助用户打造应用。这些应用将不仅能在PC上运行，还能在互联网、手机、汽车和电视上运行。这些应用将充分发挥上述平台和互联网服务的优势。当我们谈到服务时，实际上包含了很多东西，例如地图服务、付费服务、好友列表、以及存储服务等等。这些服务将横跨工作和商业，就像当前的个人计算机一样。
很多重大进展都蕴藏着这些新型应用之中。我们还没有解决的问题，包括电视、阅读、医疗和教育的变革，都可能在这些因素的带动下迎刃而解。在这里，我要重点讨论三个要点，第一个是高清晰体验无处不在。
显示技术正变得越来越好，并不只是高清晰显示器，还包括可以在所有墙上投放图像的投影仪。我们未来可能不会把计算机放在桌子上，而是放在桌子里面。你可能需要在会议室开展协作，需要在起居室看新闻、玩游戏、以及整理照片。不管在哪里，投影仪都是一个不错的选择，它易于操作，容易改变，而且可供多人使用。
图像渲染的质量正变得越来越重要，不管是玩游戏，还是访问虚拟地球软件。3D环境将出现在更多网络体验之中，例如我们可能进入一个3D网络商店，或者在一个3D社交环境中与他人会面。基于这一原因，我们将推动高质量视频和高质量音频在更广的范围内普及。
我所谈论的第二个要点，是所有设备都将同服务连接在一起。受此影响，人们将会把获得最新软件、浏览器应用、以及自己的数据看作是理所当然。设备不同没有关系，地点差异也不将不再是问题。随着云存储的普及，人们连接设备、以及通过设备搜索将变得更加简单，同时信息共享也变得更加普遍。
事实上，当你拿起一个设备，并通过了身份认证，你就可以连接到自己的信息。也就是说，当你购买了一台新手机后，或者要借用他人的设备，都不会遭遇信息丢失或转储方面的麻烦。当你在移动之中时，仍然可以处理很多事情，例如整理自己的想法，回顾孩子成长的经历，以及通过系统查找与自己相关的信息等等。由此看来，数字记忆应用将变得更加普遍和重要。这些设备将了解你的“上下文”，直到你的方位。
我所谈论的最后一个要点，同时也是最容易被人们低估的事物，是自然用户界面的作用。在第一个“数字十年”，用户界面主要是键盘和鼠标。过去两年里，我们开始看到其它交互方式出现。我们开始谈论Windows PC触摸屏和iPhone触摸屏。我们还看到Tellme语音功能集成在手机和福特SYNC之中，帮助用户与媒体或手机交互。
自然用户界面引发了强烈的市场反响，人们对于更加简单的信息导航方式非常感兴趣。因此，数字智能笔、触摸、图像识别等新型交互方式迅速普及，给用户带来了全新的体验。我们的目标是，只需坐在电视机前打几个手势，就可以完成想干的事情。现在距离这一目标还有很远的距离，因此我们只是出于起步阶段。要完成这一工作，首先要由软件行业提供一个平台，从而个人开发者无需从事过于复杂的工作。
微软的发展基础当然是Windows平台。我们将继续开发和创新这一平台，并将它变为真正的核心。对于PC行业来说，过去一年是令人难以置信的一年。 2007年，全球PC销量同比增长13%。考虑到计算机用户群体已经十分庞大，这实在是一个不错的成绩。我们认为，未来一年全球PC销量将继续保持两位数百分比的增长。
一年之前，我们推出的Vista操作系统。到目前为止，全球已经有超过1亿人使用Vista。对于我们自己、以及软件和硬件合作伙伴来说，这是一个非常重要的里程碑。我们的很多合作伙伴都在PC中加入了新元素和新功能，特别是便携设备。很多产品都漂亮地令人难以想象，它们体积小巧，适合新的用途。
我们还拥有网络服务。过去一年里，网络服务取得了突飞猛进的发展。对于我们来说，我们的Windows Live服务已经拥有超过4亿名用户。在手机平台方面，Windows Mobile过去一年的用户人数超过了1000万，预计2008年将增加一倍。(sina tech)
汉字中的“品”型结构
酷似“金三角”，音、意、形，都非常有趣。可惜，这些字绝大部分不常用，极为生僻，几乎变成了绝无仅有的“活化石”。先挑拣十个例子，请列位上眼。
（一）最土的汉字——“垚”
这个字读“尧”，山高的意思。并不是意外的巧合，在金、木、水、火、土这“五行”之中，每个字摆成品型结构，都能派生出另外一个绝然不同的汉字。“垚”字不常见，虽说一副土头土脑的模样，核心却是峭拔巍峨、直插云霄。
（二）最色的汉字——“姦”
这个字读“奸”，也好似“奸”的异体字。《说文》里解释为“私”“盗”，《广雅》里说是“伪”的意思。常言道：“三个女人一台戏”，这个字充满了色情与暧昧的情调。
（三）最滑的汉字——“鱻”
三个鱼，味道鲜香。这个字读作“鲜”，同时，也是“鲜”的异体字。原指生鱼；抑或“新鲜、明丽”的意思；也指鲜美、应时的食物。现在，街面上不少饭馆喜欢采用这样生僻的招牌，比如：“羴”、“犇”、“鱻”等等，尽管并不一定清楚它们的读音和本意，却给人大鱼大肉、排场丰盛的感觉。
（四）最闹的汉字——“猋”
这个字读作“标”。字型很明显，三条狗纠缠在一起，表示狗群奔跑的样子；引申一步，便派生出迅速、飙升的意思。
（五）最顶的汉字——“麤”
这个字读“粗”，也是汉字“粗”的异体。从字型上看，一大两小三头鹿，死死地顶在一起，似乎彼此混搅，非常有力气；惜乎，只表达了动粗的意思。《左传》记载：“粮则无矣，麤则有之。”这里的“麤”是粗粝带糠的谷物。
（六）最畜生的汉字——“骉”
《三字经》里说:“马牛羊，鸡犬豕。此六畜，人所饲。”除了鸡和猪之外，马、牛、羊和狗，都可以按品型结构拼成另外一个崭新的汉字。
“骉”，读“标”，字型很清楚，一匹马率领另外两匹，风驰电掣地奔跑。这个字恰恰是众马奔腾的样子。
“羴”，读“山”，也是“膻”的异体字。掉进羊群里还能闻着什么好味儿？臊气！有句成语叫做“趋腥附膻”吗？所谓“膻”，就是羊肉的气味。
“犇”，读“奔”，也是“奔”的异体字。牛，本性温顺，三头牛碰面，也不至于太疯狂，除非蹿进了西班牙斗牛场。这个字反倒是奔跑、急匆匆的意思。
（七）最敏感的汉字——“毳”
这个字读作“崔”。三根毛儿是什么意思呢？还是指毛发，医学上专有“毳毛”一词，指人体表面除头发、阴毛、腋毛外，其他部位生的细毛，俗称“寒毛”。既是“寒毛”，就非常敏感，它替人体传递冷热寒暑的细腻感觉。
（八）最恶毒的汉字——“蠱”
这个字度作“古”。字型赫然在目，一只器皿里装着一群虫子。其实“虫”的繁体，就是一上两下三只“虫”组合而成的。那么，在器皿里装满虫子又是为什么呢？原来，古人把许多有毒的虫子聚敛到一起，让它们彼此吞食，互相残杀，最后剩下的虫子就是“蠱”——这玩意儿性情残忍，毒性最烈，放在食物中，足以致人死命。
（九）最无赖的汉字——“掱”
这个字读作“爬”。还用问吗？典型的“三只手”，从别人身上窃取不义之财。“掱手”一词，变成了“四只手”，仍然脱不了“贼皮”，读作“扒手”。
（十）最昂贵的汉字——“赑”
这个字读作“必”。“贝”就是钱，一上两下三个“贝”字码在一起，表示“用力的样子”。俗话说：肉好吃，钱难挣。金钱、名位所在，必然要削尖脑袋往里钻，怎么能不费劲儿呢？另外，有一个专有名词——“赑屃”，读作“必细”，是传说中一种像龟的动物，“龙生九种”，其中一子。这家伙不但有力气，而且喜欢文字，正好跟石碑打交道。民间所谓“王八驮石碑”，多为“赑屃”。
（一）最土的汉字——“垚”
这个字读“尧”，山高的意思。并不是意外的巧合，在金、木、水、火、土这“五行”之中，每个字摆成品型结构，都能派生出另外一个绝然不同的汉字。“垚”字不常见，虽说一副土头土脑的模样，核心却是峭拔巍峨、直插云霄。
（二）最色的汉字——“姦”
这个字读“奸”，也好似“奸”的异体字。《说文》里解释为“私”“盗”，《广雅》里说是“伪”的意思。常言道：“三个女人一台戏”，这个字充满了色情与暧昧的情调。
（三）最滑的汉字——“鱻”
三个鱼，味道鲜香。这个字读作“鲜”，同时，也是“鲜”的异体字。原指生鱼；抑或“新鲜、明丽”的意思；也指鲜美、应时的食物。现在，街面上不少饭馆喜欢采用这样生僻的招牌，比如：“羴”、“犇”、“鱻”等等，尽管并不一定清楚它们的读音和本意，却给人大鱼大肉、排场丰盛的感觉。
（四）最闹的汉字——“猋”
这个字读作“标”。字型很明显，三条狗纠缠在一起，表示狗群奔跑的样子；引申一步，便派生出迅速、飙升的意思。
（五）最顶的汉字——“麤”
这个字读“粗”，也是汉字“粗”的异体。从字型上看，一大两小三头鹿，死死地顶在一起，似乎彼此混搅，非常有力气；惜乎，只表达了动粗的意思。《左传》记载：“粮则无矣，麤则有之。”这里的“麤”是粗粝带糠的谷物。
（六）最畜生的汉字——“骉”
《三字经》里说:“马牛羊，鸡犬豕。此六畜，人所饲。”除了鸡和猪之外，马、牛、羊和狗，都可以按品型结构拼成另外一个崭新的汉字。
“骉”，读“标”，字型很清楚，一匹马率领另外两匹，风驰电掣地奔跑。这个字恰恰是众马奔腾的样子。
“羴”，读“山”，也是“膻”的异体字。掉进羊群里还能闻着什么好味儿？臊气！有句成语叫做“趋腥附膻”吗？所谓“膻”，就是羊肉的气味。
“犇”，读“奔”，也是“奔”的异体字。牛，本性温顺，三头牛碰面，也不至于太疯狂，除非蹿进了西班牙斗牛场。这个字反倒是奔跑、急匆匆的意思。
（七）最敏感的汉字——“毳”
这个字读作“崔”。三根毛儿是什么意思呢？还是指毛发，医学上专有“毳毛”一词，指人体表面除头发、阴毛、腋毛外，其他部位生的细毛，俗称“寒毛”。既是“寒毛”，就非常敏感，它替人体传递冷热寒暑的细腻感觉。
（八）最恶毒的汉字——“蠱”
这个字度作“古”。字型赫然在目，一只器皿里装着一群虫子。其实“虫”的繁体，就是一上两下三只“虫”组合而成的。那么，在器皿里装满虫子又是为什么呢？原来，古人把许多有毒的虫子聚敛到一起，让它们彼此吞食，互相残杀，最后剩下的虫子就是“蠱”——这玩意儿性情残忍，毒性最烈，放在食物中，足以致人死命。
（九）最无赖的汉字——“掱”
这个字读作“爬”。还用问吗？典型的“三只手”，从别人身上窃取不义之财。“掱手”一词，变成了“四只手”，仍然脱不了“贼皮”，读作“扒手”。
（十）最昂贵的汉字——“赑”
这个字读作“必”。“贝”就是钱，一上两下三个“贝”字码在一起，表示“用力的样子”。俗话说：肉好吃，钱难挣。金钱、名位所在，必然要削尖脑袋往里钻，怎么能不费劲儿呢？另外，有一个专有名词——“赑屃”，读作“必细”，是传说中一种像龟的动物，“龙生九种”，其中一子。这家伙不但有力气，而且喜欢文字，正好跟石碑打交道。民间所谓“王八驮石碑”，多为“赑屃”。
2008年1月9日星期三
County Officials Brought Police to Beijing After Report Critical of Their Party Secretary
By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, January 9, 2008; Page A11
BEIJING, Jan. 8 -- Government officials from a county in northeastern China's Liaoning province were not pleased by a magazine story criticizing their local Communist Party leader. So they traveled nearly 500 miles to Beijing seeking to arrest the author.
On Tuesday, as word of the case filtered out, it prompted national attention, with the news media crying foul and many other Chinese using the Internet to voice their displeasure.
Editorials in the Beijing press said the officials, from Xifeng county, had abused their power. Even the party's official propaganda organ, People's Daily, ran a signed editorial suggesting that the way to deal with libel accusations is to go to court rather than use heavy-handed "administrative power."
The attempt to arrest the reporter was an uncomfortable reminder of the degree to which local Communist Party officials and their police, in the absence of an independent judicial system, routinely exercise power without legal restraints. But the outcry from editorialists and online commentators also showed that the Chinese public's willingness to accept such untrammeled power may be diminishing.
Public expectations in this regard have been heightened recently by repeated pledges from President Hu Jintao to make the party more honest and responsive to people's needs.
"I have always wondered what makes these cadres, even though they are educated and trained by the party for so many years, fail to perform normally, ignoring their superiors and arrogantly challenging the central media," wrote an Internet user who said he was a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing. "Where does their confidence and strength come from? It shows a lack of democracy and rule of law at the grass-roots level."
The controversy began when a Xifeng gasoline station owner, Zhao Junping, accused the county government of failing to pay her adequate compensation when it expropriated and tore down one of her stations in 2006 to make way for a new trading center. Reinforcing her complaint, she sent her friends a number of cellphone messages satirizing the local party secretary, Zhang Zhiguo, for refusing to give in to her demands for more money.
Zhao also traveled to Beijing last year to petition the national government for redress. But Xifeng county police followed her to the capital and took her back, eventually jailing her and putting her on trial in a local court for tax-dodging and libel. She has been behind bars for about nine months, her case still unresolved.
The dispute caught the attention of Zhu Wenna, editorial director of the monthly magazine Faren in Beijing, and she wrote a story about it in the Jan. 1 issue. Three days later, colleagues reported, the Xifeng propaganda director and law committee director showed up in her Beijing office with a document accusing her of inaccuracies about Zhang, the party secretary.
Zhu refused to entertain their complaint. But they returned in the afternoon, her colleagues said, this time accompanied by three Xifeng police officers and armed with an arrest warrant from the Xifeng Public Security Bureau accusing her of libel, which in China can be a criminal as well as a civil offense.
Zhu, meanwhile, had disappeared, and her editor, Wang Fengbin, refused to reveal her whereabouts.
Party leader Zhang, contacted by the Beijing newspaper Xinjing Bao, said he had not issued orders to the Xifeng police to arrest Zhu and had no idea how they came to travel to Beijing. The official New China News Agency later reported that the investigation against Zhu had been called off. But the pullback did nothing to assuage online critics.
"This incident shows fully the defects of our society, in which power is not effectively checked and local so-called judiciaries are actually the tools of local officials," said one of Tuesday's 30,000-plus Internet commentators. "What's the difference with the feudal emperors?"
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, January 9, 2008; Page A11
BEIJING, Jan. 8 -- Government officials from a county in northeastern China's Liaoning province were not pleased by a magazine story criticizing their local Communist Party leader. So they traveled nearly 500 miles to Beijing seeking to arrest the author.
On Tuesday, as word of the case filtered out, it prompted national attention, with the news media crying foul and many other Chinese using the Internet to voice their displeasure.
Editorials in the Beijing press said the officials, from Xifeng county, had abused their power. Even the party's official propaganda organ, People's Daily, ran a signed editorial suggesting that the way to deal with libel accusations is to go to court rather than use heavy-handed "administrative power."
The attempt to arrest the reporter was an uncomfortable reminder of the degree to which local Communist Party officials and their police, in the absence of an independent judicial system, routinely exercise power without legal restraints. But the outcry from editorialists and online commentators also showed that the Chinese public's willingness to accept such untrammeled power may be diminishing.
Public expectations in this regard have been heightened recently by repeated pledges from President Hu Jintao to make the party more honest and responsive to people's needs.
"I have always wondered what makes these cadres, even though they are educated and trained by the party for so many years, fail to perform normally, ignoring their superiors and arrogantly challenging the central media," wrote an Internet user who said he was a professor at the China University of Political Science and Law in Beijing. "Where does their confidence and strength come from? It shows a lack of democracy and rule of law at the grass-roots level."
The controversy began when a Xifeng gasoline station owner, Zhao Junping, accused the county government of failing to pay her adequate compensation when it expropriated and tore down one of her stations in 2006 to make way for a new trading center. Reinforcing her complaint, she sent her friends a number of cellphone messages satirizing the local party secretary, Zhang Zhiguo, for refusing to give in to her demands for more money.
Zhao also traveled to Beijing last year to petition the national government for redress. But Xifeng county police followed her to the capital and took her back, eventually jailing her and putting her on trial in a local court for tax-dodging and libel. She has been behind bars for about nine months, her case still unresolved.
The dispute caught the attention of Zhu Wenna, editorial director of the monthly magazine Faren in Beijing, and she wrote a story about it in the Jan. 1 issue. Three days later, colleagues reported, the Xifeng propaganda director and law committee director showed up in her Beijing office with a document accusing her of inaccuracies about Zhang, the party secretary.
Zhu refused to entertain their complaint. But they returned in the afternoon, her colleagues said, this time accompanied by three Xifeng police officers and armed with an arrest warrant from the Xifeng Public Security Bureau accusing her of libel, which in China can be a criminal as well as a civil offense.
Zhu, meanwhile, had disappeared, and her editor, Wang Fengbin, refused to reveal her whereabouts.
Party leader Zhang, contacted by the Beijing newspaper Xinjing Bao, said he had not issued orders to the Xifeng police to arrest Zhu and had no idea how they came to travel to Beijing. The official New China News Agency later reported that the investigation against Zhu had been called off. But the pullback did nothing to assuage online critics.
"This incident shows fully the defects of our society, in which power is not effectively checked and local so-called judiciaries are actually the tools of local officials," said one of Tuesday's 30,000-plus Internet commentators. "What's the difference with the feudal emperors?"
Mayo Clinic, IBM Establish Medical Imaging Research Center
ROCHESTER, MN and ARMONK, NY, Jan 09, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Today, Mayo Clinic and IBM (NYSE: IBM: 97.59, +0.00, +0.00%) announced the creation of a collaborative research facility aimed at advancing medical imaging technologies to improve the quality of patient care. The Medical Imaging Informatics Innovation Center (MI3C) is an extension of a Mayo-IBM research collaboration announced in 2007, the results of which have given physicians the ability to register medical images up to 50 times quicker and provide critical diagnosis, such as the growth or shrinkage of tumors, in seconds instead of hours.
"This facility will allow us to explore projects in medical imaging and radiology that can help to provide faster and better information for our physicians, and in turn, improved treatments for our patients," said Bradley Erickson, M.D., Ph.D., head of Mayo's Radiology Informatics Lab. "The collaborative potential of the MI3C gives us the opportunity to develop computationally intensive solutions for diagnostic problems we see every day, but that we at Mayo could not attempt to resolve on our own."
Driving these patient-centered projects will be a full-time team of Mayo and IBM researchers and development staff. Together, they will tackle a long list of potential projects, including:
-- Maximum-resolution organ imaging to provide physical (phenotype)
information that parallels the current level of genetic detail available
for the same tissue. This is designed to give physicians a much more
complete impression of a patient's condition.
-- Image-guided tumor ablation to pinpoint and maximize efficiency of
heat transfer probes used to destroy cancer tumors. By guiding physicians,
this innovation can help to improve accuracy and minimize side effects.
-- "Video swallow analysis" to see and compare how stroke patients
swallow in order to better determine the severity of their disability and
help provide proper physical therapy as well as protection against choking.
-- Automated Change Detection and Analysis designed to allow physicians
to compare a new image with a previous one, eliminate what has not changed
and to better assess what change has occurred, helping to improve
diagnostic speed and accuracy.
At the heart of the MI3C will be the latest in high-end imaging platforms and computational hardware, including IBM's breakthrough computing system based on the Cell Broadband Engine(TM: 103.04, +0.00, +0.00%) and blade technology. The MI3C will showcase this capability along with Mayo's leadership in medical imaging research and informatics.
"The MI3C is a physical manifestation of the larger set of skills and resources IBM and Mayo Clinic can collectively apply to the medical imaging space," said Bill Rapp, IBM distinguished engineer and chief technology officer for IBM's Healthcare and Life Sciences team. "IBM has world-class research and development teams focused on the fundamental algorithms that drive medical imaging informatics and hardware, while Mayo Clinic provides its expertise for exploiting these algorithms in applications that support a working, real-life radiology environment."
The MI3C will be housed on the Mayo Clinic campus in Rochester, MN, and will bring together clinicians, researchers and vendors in an environment where they can freely interact. By mutual agreement, third parties also will have future opportunities to collaborate with IBM and Mayo in the facility.
In addition to increasing interest and participation in imaging projects that can help to improve patient care, the MI3C also hopes to attract research grants for future investigations. The work will not only grow assets in imaging informatics at IBM and Mayo, including potential new graphics tools for visualization, but also lead to development of a software library for advanced medical imaging on high-end computer systems.
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic, a not-for-profit medical center, thoroughly diagnoses and treats complex medical problems in every specialty. It also conducts wide-ranging, interdisciplinary medical research with the sole goal of improving patient care. Mayo Clinic has campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.
About IBM
For more information on IBM, visit www.ibm.com.
*Cell Broadband Engine is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both and is used under license therefrom. All other company product or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
IBM VIRTUAL PRESS KIT: http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/23251.wss.
Note to Editors: Images and broadcast-quality b-roll are available for download by registered journalists at http://www.thenewsmarket.com/ibm.
Bloggers: Images and video are available for download by registered bloggers at http://www.thenewsmarket.com/videocafe.
Contact:
Jason Stolarczyk
IBM Media Relations
914.766.4469
jrstolar@us.ibm.com
SOURCE: IBM
mailto:jrstolar@us.ibm.com
Copyright 2008 Market Wire, All rights reserved.
**********************************************************************
As of Saturday, 01-05-2008 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend® Alert,
an automated pattern recognition system, indicated an UPTREND on
12-27-2007 for IBM @ $111.37.
For more information on SmarTrend, contact your market data
provider or go to www.mysmartrend.com
SmarTrend is a registered trademark of Comtex News Network, Inc.
Copyright © 2004-2008 Comtex News Network, Inc. All rights reserved.
"This facility will allow us to explore projects in medical imaging and radiology that can help to provide faster and better information for our physicians, and in turn, improved treatments for our patients," said Bradley Erickson, M.D., Ph.D., head of Mayo's Radiology Informatics Lab. "The collaborative potential of the MI3C gives us the opportunity to develop computationally intensive solutions for diagnostic problems we see every day, but that we at Mayo could not attempt to resolve on our own."
Driving these patient-centered projects will be a full-time team of Mayo and IBM researchers and development staff. Together, they will tackle a long list of potential projects, including:
-- Maximum-resolution organ imaging to provide physical (phenotype)
information that parallels the current level of genetic detail available
for the same tissue. This is designed to give physicians a much more
complete impression of a patient's condition.
-- Image-guided tumor ablation to pinpoint and maximize efficiency of
heat transfer probes used to destroy cancer tumors. By guiding physicians,
this innovation can help to improve accuracy and minimize side effects.
-- "Video swallow analysis" to see and compare how stroke patients
swallow in order to better determine the severity of their disability and
help provide proper physical therapy as well as protection against choking.
-- Automated Change Detection and Analysis designed to allow physicians
to compare a new image with a previous one, eliminate what has not changed
and to better assess what change has occurred, helping to improve
diagnostic speed and accuracy.
At the heart of the MI3C will be the latest in high-end imaging platforms and computational hardware, including IBM's breakthrough computing system based on the Cell Broadband Engine(TM: 103.04, +0.00, +0.00%) and blade technology. The MI3C will showcase this capability along with Mayo's leadership in medical imaging research and informatics.
"The MI3C is a physical manifestation of the larger set of skills and resources IBM and Mayo Clinic can collectively apply to the medical imaging space," said Bill Rapp, IBM distinguished engineer and chief technology officer for IBM's Healthcare and Life Sciences team. "IBM has world-class research and development teams focused on the fundamental algorithms that drive medical imaging informatics and hardware, while Mayo Clinic provides its expertise for exploiting these algorithms in applications that support a working, real-life radiology environment."
The MI3C will be housed on the Mayo Clinic campus in Rochester, MN, and will bring together clinicians, researchers and vendors in an environment where they can freely interact. By mutual agreement, third parties also will have future opportunities to collaborate with IBM and Mayo in the facility.
In addition to increasing interest and participation in imaging projects that can help to improve patient care, the MI3C also hopes to attract research grants for future investigations. The work will not only grow assets in imaging informatics at IBM and Mayo, including potential new graphics tools for visualization, but also lead to development of a software library for advanced medical imaging on high-end computer systems.
About Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic, a not-for-profit medical center, thoroughly diagnoses and treats complex medical problems in every specialty. It also conducts wide-ranging, interdisciplinary medical research with the sole goal of improving patient care. Mayo Clinic has campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.
About IBM
For more information on IBM, visit www.ibm.com.
*Cell Broadband Engine is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. in the United States, other countries, or both and is used under license therefrom. All other company product or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.
IBM VIRTUAL PRESS KIT: http://www.ibm.com/press/us/en/presskit/23251.wss.
Note to Editors: Images and broadcast-quality b-roll are available for download by registered journalists at http://www.thenewsmarket.com/ibm.
Bloggers: Images and video are available for download by registered bloggers at http://www.thenewsmarket.com/videocafe.
Contact:
Jason Stolarczyk
IBM Media Relations
914.766.4469
jrstolar@us.ibm.com
SOURCE: IBM
mailto:jrstolar@us.ibm.com
Copyright 2008 Market Wire, All rights reserved.
**********************************************************************
As of Saturday, 01-05-2008 23:59, the latest Comtex SmarTrend® Alert,
an automated pattern recognition system, indicated an UPTREND on
12-27-2007 for IBM @ $111.37.
For more information on SmarTrend, contact your market data
provider or go to www.mysmartrend.com
SmarTrend is a registered trademark of Comtex News Network, Inc.
Copyright © 2004-2008 Comtex News Network, Inc. All rights reserved.
2008年1月7日星期一
IBM DB2 31技巧
发布时间：2008.01.07 04:56 来源：赛迪网 作者：20363
1.查看本地节点目录
命令窗口中输入：
db2 list node directory
2.编目一个TCP/IP节点
命令窗口：
db2 catalog tcpip node
remote server
ostype
SUN ¦MVS ¦OS400 ¦
VM ¦VSE ¦SCO ¦SGI ¦
LINUX ¦DYNIX>
3.取消节点编目
db2 uncatalog node
4.查看系统数据库目录
db2 list database directory
5.查看本地数据库目录
db2 list database directory on <盘符>
在本地数据库目录中有而系统数据库目录中没有的数据库不能访问，可以在控制中心中选中 <数据库> 右键单击选择添加，然后输入需要添加的数据库名称或者点击刷新按钮选择数据库，加入数据库后即可以访问。
6.编目数据库
db2 catalog database as
at node
7.取消数据库编目
db2 uncatalog database
8.测试远程数据库的连接
db2 connect to user
using
9.任何用户均可通过设置Current Schema专用寄存器为特定的数据库连接设置默认模式，初始默认值为当前会话用户的权限ID。
set schema = 可以由用户交互式的使用，也可在应用程序中使用，如果用Dynamicrules Bind选项绑定包，这个语句就没有作用。此语句不在事务控制之下。
10.代码页的设置
在创建数据库时设置字符集
create database using
codeset territory
例：
create database dbtest using codeset
IBM-437 territory US
也可以设置整个数据库的代码页，在win2000/NT/xp中，在我的电脑--> 属性--> 高级--> 环境变量中添加变量DB2CODEPAGE = ，例：DB2CODEPAGE = 437 或 DB2CODEPAGE = 1386。或者在IBM DB2命令窗口输入 db2set DB2CODEPAGE=1386，设置后需要重新启动DB2生效。
11.DB2低版本数据到高版本的迁移
先将低版本数据备份使用恢复功能导入高版本数据库，然后在命令窗口输入：
db2 migrate database
12. 表名或模式中含有引号时访问表
命令窗口：
db2 select * from \ "tabschema\ ".\ "tabname\ "
命令行处理器：db2=> select * from "tabschema ". "tabname "
13. 导出数据库的表结构生成DDL文件
命令窗口：
db2look -d -e -c -o
14. 执行脚本文件
命令窗口：
db2 -tvf
15. 代码页的转换
16. 获取当前DB2的版本
select * from sysibm.sysversions
17. DB2表的字段的修改限制?
只能修改VARCHAR2类型的并且只能增加不能减少
alter table alter column
set data type varchar(SIZE)
18.如何查看表的结构?
describe table
or
describe select * from .
19. 如何快速清除一个大表?
ALTER TABLE TABLE_NAME ACTIVE NOT
LOGGED INITALLY WITH EMPTY TABLE
20. 如何查看数据库的存储过程?
SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.PROCEDURES
21. 如何查看表的约束?
SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.CHECKS
WHERE TABNAME =
22. 如何查看表的引用完整约束?
SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.REFERENCES
WHERE TABNAME =
23. 如何知道BUFFERPOOLS状况?
select * from SYSCAT.BUFFERPOOLS
24.如何在命令行下查看修改实例和数据库配置参数?
查看实例配置参数:
db2 get dbm cfg
修改实例配置参数:
db2 update dbm cfg using 参数名 新值
修改数据库配置参数:
db2 update db cfg for
using 参数名 新值
25.如何修改缓冲区?
增加缓冲区:
create bufferpool size
[pagesize 4096]
{[not] EXTENDED STORAGE}
修改缓冲区:
alter bufferpool size
{[not] EXTENDED STORAGE}
删除缓冲区:
drop bufferpool
如果缓冲区大小设置为 -1 表示缓冲池的页面数目由数据库配置参数buffpage决定。
注意: 数据库配置参数buffpage仅对缓冲区大小设置为 -1 的缓冲池起作用。
26. 多个字段时如何不通过使用select子句使用in/not in
select * from tabschema.tabname where
(colA, colB, colC) [not] in (values
(valueA1, valueB1, valueC1),
(valueA2, valueB2, valueC2),
...(valueAn, valueBn, valueCn))
27. 查看当前连接到数据库的应用
db2 list application [show detail]
28. 如何确认DB2数据库的一致性
db2dart /DB
/DB表示检查整个数据库的一致性
29. 测试SQL语句的性能
db2batch -d -f
[-a userid/passwd] [-r ]
-r 选项表示将查询结果输出到一个文件中。
30. 导出某个表的数据
export to
如：导出用户表
export to c:\user.ixf of ixf select * from user
31.导入数据
import from
如：导入用户表。导入时可以直接建立新表。如果有该表存在也可以用INSERT 插入，或者用UPDATE更新。
执行导入:
import from c:\user.ixf of ixf
[Create/Insert into / update] tablename
1.查看本地节点目录
命令窗口中输入：
db2 list node directory
2.编目一个TCP/IP节点
命令窗口：
db2 catalog tcpip node
remote
SUN ¦MVS ¦OS400 ¦
VM ¦VSE ¦SCO ¦SGI ¦
LINUX ¦DYNIX>
3.取消节点编目
db2 uncatalog node
4.查看系统数据库目录
db2 list database directory
5.查看本地数据库目录
db2 list database directory on <盘符>
在本地数据库目录中有而系统数据库目录中没有的数据库不能访问，可以在控制中心中选中 <数据库> 右键单击选择添加，然后输入需要添加的数据库名称或者点击刷新按钮选择数据库，加入数据库后即可以访问。
6.编目数据库
db2 catalog database
7.取消数据库编目
db2 uncatalog database
8.测试远程数据库的连接
db2 connect to
9.任何用户均可通过设置Current Schema专用寄存器为特定的数据库连接设置默认模式，初始默认值为当前会话用户的权限ID。
set schema = 可以由用户交互式的使用，也可在应用程序中使用，如果用Dynamicrules Bind选项绑定包，这个语句就没有作用。此语句不在事务控制之下。
10.代码页的设置
在创建数据库时设置字符集
create database
codeset
例：
create database dbtest using codeset
IBM-437 territory US
也可以设置整个数据库的代码页，在win2000/NT/xp中，在我的电脑--> 属性--> 高级--> 环境变量中添加变量DB2CODEPAGE = ，例：DB2CODEPAGE = 437 或 DB2CODEPAGE = 1386。或者在IBM DB2命令窗口输入 db2set DB2CODEPAGE=1386，设置后需要重新启动DB2生效。
11.DB2低版本数据到高版本的迁移
先将低版本数据备份使用恢复功能导入高版本数据库，然后在命令窗口输入：
db2 migrate database
12. 表名或模式中含有引号时访问表
命令窗口：
db2 select * from \ "tabschema\ ".\ "tabname\ "
命令行处理器：db2=> select * from "tabschema ". "tabname "
13. 导出数据库的表结构生成DDL文件
命令窗口：
db2look -d
14. 执行脚本文件
命令窗口：
db2 -tvf
15. 代码页的转换
16. 获取当前DB2的版本
select * from sysibm.sysversions
17. DB2表的字段的修改限制?
只能修改VARCHAR2类型的并且只能增加不能减少
alter table
18.如何查看表的结构?
describe table
or
describe select * from
19. 如何快速清除一个大表?
ALTER TABLE TABLE_NAME ACTIVE NOT
LOGGED INITALLY WITH EMPTY TABLE
20. 如何查看数据库的存储过程?
SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.PROCEDURES
21. 如何查看表的约束?
SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.CHECKS
WHERE TABNAME =
22. 如何查看表的引用完整约束?
SELECT * FROM SYSCAT.REFERENCES
WHERE TABNAME =
23. 如何知道BUFFERPOOLS状况?
select * from SYSCAT.BUFFERPOOLS
24.如何在命令行下查看修改实例和数据库配置参数?
查看实例配置参数:
db2 get dbm cfg
修改实例配置参数:
db2 update dbm cfg using 参数名 新值
修改数据库配置参数:
db2 update db cfg for
25.如何修改缓冲区?
增加缓冲区:
create bufferpool
{[not] EXTENDED STORAGE}
修改缓冲区:
alter bufferpool
删除缓冲区:
drop bufferpool
如果缓冲区大小设置为 -1 表示缓冲池的页面数目由数据库配置参数buffpage决定。
注意: 数据库配置参数buffpage仅对缓冲区大小设置为 -1 的缓冲池起作用。
26. 多个字段时如何不通过使用select子句使用in/not in
select * from tabschema.tabname where
(colA, colB, colC) [not] in (values
(valueA1, valueB1, valueC1),
(valueA2, valueB2, valueC2),
...(valueAn, valueBn, valueCn))
27. 查看当前连接到数据库的应用
db2 list application [show detail]
28. 如何确认DB2数据库的一致性
db2dart
/DB表示检查整个数据库的一致性
29. 测试SQL语句的性能
db2batch -d
[-a userid/passwd] [-r
-r 选项表示将查询结果输出到一个文件中。
30. 导出某个表的数据
export to
如：导出用户表
export to c:\user.ixf of ixf select * from user
31.导入数据
import from
如：导入用户表。导入时可以直接建立新表。如果有该表存在也可以用INSERT 插入，或者用UPDATE更新。
执行导入:
import from c:\user.ixf of ixf
[Create/Insert into / update] tablename
2008年1月6日星期日
IBM硬件部门实施15年来规模最大重组
2008-01-04
［计世网消息］（胡杨 编译） IBM将根据客户的类型而不是单个产品对其硬件部门实施重组。这是IBM硬件部门15年来进行的规模最大的重组。
IBM硬件部门负责人
William Zeitler在本周四发布的内部备忘录中称，这次重组将加强IBM向中小企业销售技术以及专门为中小企业设计产品的能力。
IBM的大多数业务来自于大型企业和政府部门。但是，IBM一直在设法改善向小企业销售服务、软件和服务器的业务，因为中小企业技术采购的增长速度更快。
虽然IBM仍然将按照产品类型报告硬件的销售收入，但是，这次重组将创建四个客户部门。其中，一个部门负责大型企业硬件，第二个部门负责中小企业硬件，第三个部门重点负责零售、电信和健康医疗行业的工业系统，第四个部门重点是微电子产品，为IBM的客户化微处理器买主服务。
Annex Research公司分析师Bob Djurdjevic称，这次调整将使IBM更快地适应中小企业的需求。虽然IBM董事长兼首席执行官彭明盛一直在谈论“降低IBM的重心”，但是，在此之前这些说法仅仅是空谈。
彭明盛在2007年称，向中小企业客户销售将很快将成为IBM最大的客户部门，超过金融服务行业。IBM称，2006年IBM的中小企业销售收入为170亿美元，而向金融服务行业销售的收入为250亿美元。
IBM将于1月17日公布其2007年财务报告。IBM的股票本周四收盘价格为104.90美元，上涨了21美分。
［计世网消息］（胡杨 编译） IBM将根据客户的类型而不是单个产品对其硬件部门实施重组。这是IBM硬件部门15年来进行的规模最大的重组。
IBM硬件部门负责人
William Zeitler在本周四发布的内部备忘录中称，这次重组将加强IBM向中小企业销售技术以及专门为中小企业设计产品的能力。
IBM的大多数业务来自于大型企业和政府部门。但是，IBM一直在设法改善向小企业销售服务、软件和服务器的业务，因为中小企业技术采购的增长速度更快。
虽然IBM仍然将按照产品类型报告硬件的销售收入，但是，这次重组将创建四个客户部门。其中，一个部门负责大型企业硬件，第二个部门负责中小企业硬件，第三个部门重点负责零售、电信和健康医疗行业的工业系统，第四个部门重点是微电子产品，为IBM的客户化微处理器买主服务。
Annex Research公司分析师Bob Djurdjevic称，这次调整将使IBM更快地适应中小企业的需求。虽然IBM董事长兼首席执行官彭明盛一直在谈论“降低IBM的重心”，但是，在此之前这些说法仅仅是空谈。
彭明盛在2007年称，向中小企业客户销售将很快将成为IBM最大的客户部门，超过金融服务行业。IBM称，2006年IBM的中小企业销售收入为170亿美元，而向金融服务行业销售的收入为250亿美元。
IBM将于1月17日公布其2007年财务报告。IBM的股票本周四收盘价格为104.90美元，上涨了21美分。
The home-office life can sometimes be harder than it looks
By Ralph Gardner Jr.
NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE, NEW YORK
Sunday, Jan 06, 2008, Page 9
`You're either working too hard or not hard enough.'
Before they were married in September, Nicci Young and Richard Wiese first had to split up. The problem was not romantic, but spatial: Young Wiese, who organizes community development safaris to Africa, and Wiese, a writer and explorer, found that their Upper East Side one-bedroom was not big enough for the two of them after both decided to work from home.
"He kept talking to me about his work, which is very interesting, but it was really taking time out of my workday," Young Wiese said. "And when I was alone there was a sense of loneliness and procrastination."
Wiese, who is writing a how-to book about exploration for teenagers, acknowledged the problem.
"Nicci tends to be a lot more intense," he said. "Especially with lighter work, I can be watching a ballgame. If I saw a funny e-mail coming through I'd want to share it. I'd get these glances from her, like, `I'm working!'"
Young Wiese is one of many of the millions of Americans now working outside traditional workplaces who have found themselves surprised by how difficult home-office life can be. It requires strict self-discipline and an ability to tune out spouses, children and pets. For the more sociable or emotionally needy, it can feel like house arrest, especially if the phone hasn't rung in a while.
Young Wiese's solution was to rent space in a communal office, an increasingly popular option for those who can afford it. (According to Sara Horowitz, the executive director of the Freelancers Union, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the self-employed, the use of communal work spaces has been on the rise among members for about three years, "and in the last year it's started accelerating.") Those who can't afford a separate space, or who find home too convenient or rewarding a workplace base to give up -- learn to live with the challenges, coming up with smaller-scale solutions over time.
One of the hardest adjustments for those working from home is deciding when to take a break, and when to quit for the day. With the computer always beckoning and the commute measured in the time it takes to cross the living room, there's always a reason to go back to work -- or an excuse to avoid it.
"It's sort of a guilty feeling -- I should be working," said Kathy McHugh, a headhunter for high-tech companies who has worked out of her Manhattan apartment on and off for several years. "My office is 2 feet away."
Children can be a distraction, as Barbara Magnoni, an international development consultant, discovered when she and Magali Montes, a business associate, tried to hold meetings in Magnoni's apartment after picking up their children from school.
"We'd meet at home with our kids running around and they would think it was a play date when it actually wasn't," Magnoni said.
Sid Holt, a media senior vice president whose office is in a barn a few steps from his house in northern Westchester County, described the difficulty of pacing himself.
"There are no cigarette breaks," he said. "You're either working too hard or not hard enough."
Holt said he finds it helpful to schedule his time in a way that mimics the 9-to-5 life of his years spent working in a New York office. He tries to keep to a routine that includes breakfast at a local coffee shop -- reminiscent of his ritual of picking up coffee and a bagel at Grand Central Terminal on the way to his former job -- and a 10am conference call with three other employees of go2Media, a Boston-based mobile Web service for which he oversees editorial content.
The conference call and frequent e-mail exchanges with other employees contribute to a sense of accomplishment that would be harder to achieve if he were working entirely on his own, he said. And they also help him to feel that he has earned the reward that once greeted him on his return from Manhattan, and that he still uses to punctuate the day.
"I say to myself, there's a martini waiting for me down at the house and I'm leaving now," he said.
For home-office workers who aren't in regular touch with colleagues or clients, a frequent complaint -- even among those who say they are distracted by other members of their households -- is of isolation. David Behl, a photographer whose studio is connected to his TriBeCa loft, said he enjoys working at home when the jobs are pouring in and the studio is filled with clients and assistants. But at other times, he added, he misses the studio he used to share with two other photographers.
"You don't see anybody," he said. "You don't go out for lunch. It's easier to get depressed because there's no one to complain to."
McHugh said business lunches can be a lifeline after a couple of weeks working from home, and that she often finds herself glomming onto her daughter when she gets home from high school in the afternoon.
"I'm happy to see somebody who's out in the world," she said.
These issues have been observed at IBM, where a "mobile work force" strategy has led to 30 percent of employees working full time from home (as well as a savings on office space that the company estimates at US$100 million a year).
"We found if you're working from home and do not have an interaction with someone from work, or a client, or a physical meeting, after three days you start to feel isolated," said Dan Pelino, who manages IBM's mobile work force program. Soon after the company introduced the program in 2001, he added, "people have said to me, `IBM stands for `I'm By Myself.'"
The company has tried to mitigate this problem with "mobility centers," communal spaces that it maintains wherever it has offices, offering desks, phone and Internet lines, and office equipment for the periodic use of home-based workers.
It has also promoted "IBM clubs," meant to encourage employee bonding. Club members have taken day trips together to a zoo, traded cookie recipes and "gone to a race track and learned how to be a NASCAR driver," Pelino said.
For those who can't depend on corporate beneficence, it is now possible to rent a desk or office in communal work spaces all over the country.
The Regus Group, a Dallas-based company that rents temporary office space around the world and has 17 locations in Manhattan alone, has been doubling its US business every two years, said Guillermo Rotman, the company's chief executive for the Americas.
In addition to cubicles and individual offices in various configurations, its spaces all have business lounges with sofas, armchairs, Internet ports, coffee machines and companionship for those seeking it. (The company also sells US$300-a-year passes to its business lounges, which number 950 around the world and cater to itinerant laptoppers.)
One Regus client in New York, David Robertson, said he had been looking forward to working at home from his Lower Manhattan apartment when he took a job in 2006 with a startup company that licenses images from college sports events, but that he lasted less than three months.
"There seemed to be a lot of distractions," he said, "whether it was my children, or the refrigerator, or some home improvement project that was just sitting there staring at me."
His company pays slightly less than US$1,000 a month for the cubicle he selected over an office with a closing door because it presented more opportunities to socialize. He now wears a suit and tie to work when he wants to, and enjoys the reassuring cadences of the 9-to-5 world, as well as the camaraderie of his new office mates.
"It's not like they're best friends," he said of his fellow business lounge denizens and the Regus staff members who are there to support them. "But they're adults you can have a conversation with."
Young Wiese, who pays US$650 a month for a desk in a communal office in a private house near her apartment, said she, too, is happy to be surrounded by office mates who are friendly, if less gregarious than Wiese. They share job leads with one another, they go out to lunch.
She added that she prefers these relationships to those in a traditional office.
"You have this collegial atmosphere, but it's not fraught with any work issues or roles or responsibilities," she said.
Several of them are women who, like her, have abandoned their home offices to their work-at-home husbands.
Abby Vaughn, an advertising representative for Canadian newspapers, actually took over her husband's space at the communal office when he was dismissed by the office manager after two weeks because his telephone manner was too loud. He is once again selling market research from home, while Vaughn goes off to the rented cubicle.
"He's worked from his apartment for two years," his wife explained. "He wasn't used to being around people."
This story has been viewed 463 times.
NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE, NEW YORK
Sunday, Jan 06, 2008, Page 9
`You're either working too hard or not hard enough.'
Before they were married in September, Nicci Young and Richard Wiese first had to split up. The problem was not romantic, but spatial: Young Wiese, who organizes community development safaris to Africa, and Wiese, a writer and explorer, found that their Upper East Side one-bedroom was not big enough for the two of them after both decided to work from home.
"He kept talking to me about his work, which is very interesting, but it was really taking time out of my workday," Young Wiese said. "And when I was alone there was a sense of loneliness and procrastination."
Wiese, who is writing a how-to book about exploration for teenagers, acknowledged the problem.
"Nicci tends to be a lot more intense," he said. "Especially with lighter work, I can be watching a ballgame. If I saw a funny e-mail coming through I'd want to share it. I'd get these glances from her, like, `I'm working!'"
Young Wiese is one of many of the millions of Americans now working outside traditional workplaces who have found themselves surprised by how difficult home-office life can be. It requires strict self-discipline and an ability to tune out spouses, children and pets. For the more sociable or emotionally needy, it can feel like house arrest, especially if the phone hasn't rung in a while.
Young Wiese's solution was to rent space in a communal office, an increasingly popular option for those who can afford it. (According to Sara Horowitz, the executive director of the Freelancers Union, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the self-employed, the use of communal work spaces has been on the rise among members for about three years, "and in the last year it's started accelerating.") Those who can't afford a separate space, or who find home too convenient or rewarding a workplace base to give up -- learn to live with the challenges, coming up with smaller-scale solutions over time.
One of the hardest adjustments for those working from home is deciding when to take a break, and when to quit for the day. With the computer always beckoning and the commute measured in the time it takes to cross the living room, there's always a reason to go back to work -- or an excuse to avoid it.
"It's sort of a guilty feeling -- I should be working," said Kathy McHugh, a headhunter for high-tech companies who has worked out of her Manhattan apartment on and off for several years. "My office is 2 feet away."
Children can be a distraction, as Barbara Magnoni, an international development consultant, discovered when she and Magali Montes, a business associate, tried to hold meetings in Magnoni's apartment after picking up their children from school.
"We'd meet at home with our kids running around and they would think it was a play date when it actually wasn't," Magnoni said.
Sid Holt, a media senior vice president whose office is in a barn a few steps from his house in northern Westchester County, described the difficulty of pacing himself.
"There are no cigarette breaks," he said. "You're either working too hard or not hard enough."
Holt said he finds it helpful to schedule his time in a way that mimics the 9-to-5 life of his years spent working in a New York office. He tries to keep to a routine that includes breakfast at a local coffee shop -- reminiscent of his ritual of picking up coffee and a bagel at Grand Central Terminal on the way to his former job -- and a 10am conference call with three other employees of go2Media, a Boston-based mobile Web service for which he oversees editorial content.
The conference call and frequent e-mail exchanges with other employees contribute to a sense of accomplishment that would be harder to achieve if he were working entirely on his own, he said. And they also help him to feel that he has earned the reward that once greeted him on his return from Manhattan, and that he still uses to punctuate the day.
"I say to myself, there's a martini waiting for me down at the house and I'm leaving now," he said.
For home-office workers who aren't in regular touch with colleagues or clients, a frequent complaint -- even among those who say they are distracted by other members of their households -- is of isolation. David Behl, a photographer whose studio is connected to his TriBeCa loft, said he enjoys working at home when the jobs are pouring in and the studio is filled with clients and assistants. But at other times, he added, he misses the studio he used to share with two other photographers.
"You don't see anybody," he said. "You don't go out for lunch. It's easier to get depressed because there's no one to complain to."
McHugh said business lunches can be a lifeline after a couple of weeks working from home, and that she often finds herself glomming onto her daughter when she gets home from high school in the afternoon.
"I'm happy to see somebody who's out in the world," she said.
These issues have been observed at IBM, where a "mobile work force" strategy has led to 30 percent of employees working full time from home (as well as a savings on office space that the company estimates at US$100 million a year).
"We found if you're working from home and do not have an interaction with someone from work, or a client, or a physical meeting, after three days you start to feel isolated," said Dan Pelino, who manages IBM's mobile work force program. Soon after the company introduced the program in 2001, he added, "people have said to me, `IBM stands for `I'm By Myself.'"
The company has tried to mitigate this problem with "mobility centers," communal spaces that it maintains wherever it has offices, offering desks, phone and Internet lines, and office equipment for the periodic use of home-based workers.
It has also promoted "IBM clubs," meant to encourage employee bonding. Club members have taken day trips together to a zoo, traded cookie recipes and "gone to a race track and learned how to be a NASCAR driver," Pelino said.
For those who can't depend on corporate beneficence, it is now possible to rent a desk or office in communal work spaces all over the country.
The Regus Group, a Dallas-based company that rents temporary office space around the world and has 17 locations in Manhattan alone, has been doubling its US business every two years, said Guillermo Rotman, the company's chief executive for the Americas.
In addition to cubicles and individual offices in various configurations, its spaces all have business lounges with sofas, armchairs, Internet ports, coffee machines and companionship for those seeking it. (The company also sells US$300-a-year passes to its business lounges, which number 950 around the world and cater to itinerant laptoppers.)
One Regus client in New York, David Robertson, said he had been looking forward to working at home from his Lower Manhattan apartment when he took a job in 2006 with a startup company that licenses images from college sports events, but that he lasted less than three months.
"There seemed to be a lot of distractions," he said, "whether it was my children, or the refrigerator, or some home improvement project that was just sitting there staring at me."
His company pays slightly less than US$1,000 a month for the cubicle he selected over an office with a closing door because it presented more opportunities to socialize. He now wears a suit and tie to work when he wants to, and enjoys the reassuring cadences of the 9-to-5 world, as well as the camaraderie of his new office mates.
"It's not like they're best friends," he said of his fellow business lounge denizens and the Regus staff members who are there to support them. "But they're adults you can have a conversation with."
Young Wiese, who pays US$650 a month for a desk in a communal office in a private house near her apartment, said she, too, is happy to be surrounded by office mates who are friendly, if less gregarious than Wiese. They share job leads with one another, they go out to lunch.
She added that she prefers these relationships to those in a traditional office.
"You have this collegial atmosphere, but it's not fraught with any work issues or roles or responsibilities," she said.
Several of them are women who, like her, have abandoned their home offices to their work-at-home husbands.
Abby Vaughn, an advertising representative for Canadian newspapers, actually took over her husband's space at the communal office when he was dismissed by the office manager after two weeks because his telephone manner was too loud. He is once again selling market research from home, while Vaughn goes off to the rented cubicle.
"He's worked from his apartment for two years," his wife explained. "He wasn't used to being around people."
This story has been viewed 463 times.
2008年1月2日星期三
IBM Annexes XIV
January 2, 2008
By Paul Shread
IBM started the new year on the acquisition trail, picking up Israel-based storage startup XIV Ltd. for a reported $300 million to $350 million.
XIV makes Nextra, a storage system based on a grid of commodity hardware that includes features such as thin provisioning, snapshots and remote mirroring.
The company, founded by former EMC chief engineer Moshe Yanai, has shipped about 4 petabytes of high-performance storage in the last couple of years. But rather than adding another general storage line, IBM plans to target the company's technology at next-generation digital content.
"IBM is positioning this acquisition and the Nextra solution in the emerging applications space — Web 2.0, video surveillance, rich media, etc., whereas I would guess that XIV has been selling in the more general purpose application space that products like EMC Symmetrix occupy," said John Webster, principal IT advisor at Illuminata. "So right now, there is a positioning wall between Nextra and IBM's established storage lines."
XIV, its technologies and employees will become part of the IBM System Storage business unit of the IBM Systems and Technology Group, and IBM plans to discuss integration plans as they develop over time.
IBM is billing the acquisition as the first major deal for the IBM Systems and Technology Group in nearly a decade.
"The acquisition of XIV will further strengthen the IBM infrastructure portfolio long term and put IBM in the best position to address emerging storage opportunities like Web 2.0 applications, digital archives and digital media," Andy Monshaw, general manager of IBM System Storage, said in a statement.
"The ability for almost anyone to create digital content at any time has accelerated the need for a whole new way of applying infrastructure solutions to the new world of digital information," he said. "IBM’s goal is to provide the leading technologies and solutions at every layer of the data center — storage, servers, software and services — to address these new realities IT customers face."
IBM said it was impressed by Nextra's ability to scale dynamically, heal itself and self-tune while eliminating the management burdens associated with rapid growth environments. The architecture also automatically optimizes resource utilization of all components within the system, allowing for easier management and configuration and improved performance and data availability.
"We believe the level of technological innovation achieved by our development team is unparalleled in the storage industry," boasted Yanai, who is credited with the development of EMC's high-end Symmetrix system. "Combining our storage architectural advancements with IBM’s world-wide research, sales, service, manufacturing and distribution capabilities will provide us with the ability to have these technologies tackle the emerging Web 2.0 technology needs and reach every corner of the world."
IBM isn't the only storage company that spent the holidays making strategic acquisitions. EMC announced that it is buying publicly-held Document Sciences Corp. for $85 million. Document Sciences makes document output management (DOM) software that facilitates personalized, multi-channel communications with customers, partners and suppliers, adding to EMC's position in the transactional content management (TCM) space, the fastest-growing segment of enterprise content management.
And Double-Take Software acquired CDP startup TimeSpring to bolster its data protection and backup capabilities for virtualized and physical server environments.
Back to Enterprise Storage Forum
By Paul Shread
IBM started the new year on the acquisition trail, picking up Israel-based storage startup XIV Ltd. for a reported $300 million to $350 million.
XIV makes Nextra, a storage system based on a grid of commodity hardware that includes features such as thin provisioning, snapshots and remote mirroring.
The company, founded by former EMC chief engineer Moshe Yanai, has shipped about 4 petabytes of high-performance storage in the last couple of years. But rather than adding another general storage line, IBM plans to target the company's technology at next-generation digital content.
"IBM is positioning this acquisition and the Nextra solution in the emerging applications space — Web 2.0, video surveillance, rich media, etc., whereas I would guess that XIV has been selling in the more general purpose application space that products like EMC Symmetrix occupy," said John Webster, principal IT advisor at Illuminata. "So right now, there is a positioning wall between Nextra and IBM's established storage lines."
XIV, its technologies and employees will become part of the IBM System Storage business unit of the IBM Systems and Technology Group, and IBM plans to discuss integration plans as they develop over time.
IBM is billing the acquisition as the first major deal for the IBM Systems and Technology Group in nearly a decade.
"The acquisition of XIV will further strengthen the IBM infrastructure portfolio long term and put IBM in the best position to address emerging storage opportunities like Web 2.0 applications, digital archives and digital media," Andy Monshaw, general manager of IBM System Storage, said in a statement.
"The ability for almost anyone to create digital content at any time has accelerated the need for a whole new way of applying infrastructure solutions to the new world of digital information," he said. "IBM’s goal is to provide the leading technologies and solutions at every layer of the data center — storage, servers, software and services — to address these new realities IT customers face."
IBM said it was impressed by Nextra's ability to scale dynamically, heal itself and self-tune while eliminating the management burdens associated with rapid growth environments. The architecture also automatically optimizes resource utilization of all components within the system, allowing for easier management and configuration and improved performance and data availability.
"We believe the level of technological innovation achieved by our development team is unparalleled in the storage industry," boasted Yanai, who is credited with the development of EMC's high-end Symmetrix system. "Combining our storage architectural advancements with IBM’s world-wide research, sales, service, manufacturing and distribution capabilities will provide us with the ability to have these technologies tackle the emerging Web 2.0 technology needs and reach every corner of the world."
IBM isn't the only storage company that spent the holidays making strategic acquisitions. EMC announced that it is buying publicly-held Document Sciences Corp. for $85 million. Document Sciences makes document output management (DOM) software that facilitates personalized, multi-channel communications with customers, partners and suppliers, adding to EMC's position in the transactional content management (TCM) space, the fastest-growing segment of enterprise content management.
And Double-Take Software acquired CDP startup TimeSpring to bolster its data protection and backup capabilities for virtualized and physical server environments.
Back to Enterprise Storage Forum
2008年1月1日星期二
Times Square marks century of celebrations
NEW YORK (AP) -- More than a million revelers in Times Square cheered as the giant crystal ball made its 100th drop and a ton of confetti rained down on the urban canyon, ushering in the new year.
art.new_year.ap.jpg
Pedestrians started crowding the Times Square area even before the neon-lit crossroads were closed to vehicles.
Organizers said well over a million people attended the festivities. They were treated to an entertainment lineup that included Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest handling the countdown to 2008 and musical performances by Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus and others.
New Year's Eve revelers converged on Times Square to watch the dropping of a new energy-efficient ball, while gay couples in New Hampshire awaited the stroke of midnight to take advantage of a new law allowing civil unions.
In New York, Milwaukee resident Jennelle Joset and her mother, Wanda Bowers, had been standing around since 1 p.m., wearing hats with big plastic wheels of cheese to show their Wisconsin pride.
"I had to do this once, to see it once before I die," Bowers said.
The first ball was an iron-and-wood contraption lit with 100 25-watt incandescent bulbs, but the Waterford crystal-clad star of this year's extravaganza was lit up with 9,576 tiny LEDs that organizers said would draw about as much electricity as 10 toasters.
Philips Lighting, which made the light-emitting diodes, said they would be more than twice as bright as last year's energy-hungry lights and are capable of generating more than 16 million colors. Video Watch CNN's Deborah Feyerick report on preparations at New York's Times Square »
A different sort of light show was set in Brooksville, Florida, where the ball being dropped was a 200-pound fiberglass tangerine, with light bulbs inside. And in downtown Miami, the Big Orange will slowly climb to the top of the Hotel Inter-Continental, followed by a laser and fireworks show.
About 1 million people were expected for the 32nd First Night celebration in Boston. The party lineup included a half-dozen ice sculptures around the city, each weighing 30 to 45 tons, performances by hundreds of artists, and a midnight fireworks display over Boston Harbor.
Don't Miss
* AC 360 Blog: What's your New Year's resolution?
* New Year's in New York
* New Year's Eve around the world
Authorities in several cities including Phoenix, Dallas and Detroit pleaded with residents not to ring in the new year by shooting bullets skyward. Emergency Medical Service technicians in New Orleans even planned to don combat helmets made from the same fiber used in bullet-resistant vests for the second straight year.
The Chicago Transit Authority continued its New Year's Eve tradition of offering penny fares on buses and trains as thousands were expected to head to the city's fireworks shows on Navy Pier. Philadelphia also had a huge fireworks display planned, with 4,000 fireworks shells scheduled to explode over the Delaware River.
More than 300,000 people were expected to crowd the Las Vegas Strip and downtown resorts for the countdown to midnight. They were expected to spend more than $200 million in restaurants, theaters and clubs -- with a big chunk of that going to the hefty door charge, usually around $250, at the Strip's slick nightclubs.
For that much money, patrons could see pop star Avril Lavigne, booked to host the party at the new Prive Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The Luxor's LAX scored both Hilton sisters -- Nicky and Paris -- for its bash.
"It's a party city, it's wild out here!" said Stephanie Smith, 21, of West Covina, California, as her friends polished off yard-long margaritas and walked the sidewalk outside the Wynn Las Vegas resort.
Sleeping bags and folding chairs were already in place Monday in Pasadena, California, at prime viewing spots for the 119th Rose Parade and its New Year's Day floats and marching bands.
"This is my first time at the parade," said Mimi Moore, 18, who had been waiting on a patch of grass near the starting point of the parade since 2 a.m. "I'm only on three hours sleep. We spend the time playing Twister and football."
About 20 couples decided to be the first to take advantage of New Hampshire's new civil-unions law with a midnight ceremony on the Statehouse steps in Concord. Snow and freezing temperatures were forecast.
"I don't have any winter coats with rhinestones and glitter, so I'm just going to dress warmly," said organizer and participant Jennifer Major of Gilmanton, New Hampshire.
advertisement
About 1,000 runners had signed up to greet the New Year with the 10th Annual First Night 5K race at Saratoga Springs, New York. Nearly a foot of snow had fallen since Sunday, but the race has never been canceled, usually because crews start cleaning the course immediately after a snowfall.
"I think what happens on a day like this is that runners are even more motivated and challenged to run," said Ray O'Conor, a bank president who runs it almost every year. "I'm not sure what that says about our mental makeup!" E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend
art.new_year.ap.jpg
Pedestrians started crowding the Times Square area even before the neon-lit crossroads were closed to vehicles.
Organizers said well over a million people attended the festivities. They were treated to an entertainment lineup that included Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest handling the countdown to 2008 and musical performances by Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus and others.
New Year's Eve revelers converged on Times Square to watch the dropping of a new energy-efficient ball, while gay couples in New Hampshire awaited the stroke of midnight to take advantage of a new law allowing civil unions.
In New York, Milwaukee resident Jennelle Joset and her mother, Wanda Bowers, had been standing around since 1 p.m., wearing hats with big plastic wheels of cheese to show their Wisconsin pride.
"I had to do this once, to see it once before I die," Bowers said.
The first ball was an iron-and-wood contraption lit with 100 25-watt incandescent bulbs, but the Waterford crystal-clad star of this year's extravaganza was lit up with 9,576 tiny LEDs that organizers said would draw about as much electricity as 10 toasters.
Philips Lighting, which made the light-emitting diodes, said they would be more than twice as bright as last year's energy-hungry lights and are capable of generating more than 16 million colors. Video Watch CNN's Deborah Feyerick report on preparations at New York's Times Square »
A different sort of light show was set in Brooksville, Florida, where the ball being dropped was a 200-pound fiberglass tangerine, with light bulbs inside. And in downtown Miami, the Big Orange will slowly climb to the top of the Hotel Inter-Continental, followed by a laser and fireworks show.
About 1 million people were expected for the 32nd First Night celebration in Boston. The party lineup included a half-dozen ice sculptures around the city, each weighing 30 to 45 tons, performances by hundreds of artists, and a midnight fireworks display over Boston Harbor.
Don't Miss
* AC 360 Blog: What's your New Year's resolution?
* New Year's in New York
* New Year's Eve around the world
Authorities in several cities including Phoenix, Dallas and Detroit pleaded with residents not to ring in the new year by shooting bullets skyward. Emergency Medical Service technicians in New Orleans even planned to don combat helmets made from the same fiber used in bullet-resistant vests for the second straight year.
The Chicago Transit Authority continued its New Year's Eve tradition of offering penny fares on buses and trains as thousands were expected to head to the city's fireworks shows on Navy Pier. Philadelphia also had a huge fireworks display planned, with 4,000 fireworks shells scheduled to explode over the Delaware River.
More than 300,000 people were expected to crowd the Las Vegas Strip and downtown resorts for the countdown to midnight. They were expected to spend more than $200 million in restaurants, theaters and clubs -- with a big chunk of that going to the hefty door charge, usually around $250, at the Strip's slick nightclubs.
For that much money, patrons could see pop star Avril Lavigne, booked to host the party at the new Prive Las Vegas at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The Luxor's LAX scored both Hilton sisters -- Nicky and Paris -- for its bash.
"It's a party city, it's wild out here!" said Stephanie Smith, 21, of West Covina, California, as her friends polished off yard-long margaritas and walked the sidewalk outside the Wynn Las Vegas resort.
Sleeping bags and folding chairs were already in place Monday in Pasadena, California, at prime viewing spots for the 119th Rose Parade and its New Year's Day floats and marching bands.
"This is my first time at the parade," said Mimi Moore, 18, who had been waiting on a patch of grass near the starting point of the parade since 2 a.m. "I'm only on three hours sleep. We spend the time playing Twister and football."
About 20 couples decided to be the first to take advantage of New Hampshire's new civil-unions law with a midnight ceremony on the Statehouse steps in Concord. Snow and freezing temperatures were forecast.
"I don't have any winter coats with rhinestones and glitter, so I'm just going to dress warmly," said organizer and participant Jennifer Major of Gilmanton, New Hampshire.
advertisement
About 1,000 runners had signed up to greet the New Year with the 10th Annual First Night 5K race at Saratoga Springs, New York. Nearly a foot of snow had fallen since Sunday, but the race has never been canceled, usually because crews start cleaning the course immediately after a snowfall.
"I think what happens on a day like this is that runners are even more motivated and challenged to run," said Ray O'Conor, a bank president who runs it almost every year. "I'm not sure what that says about our mental makeup!" E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend
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