Archive for November, 2009
Turn Off iPhone Auto-Correct
Posted by John Nemec in Technology on November 9th, 2009
The iPhone is such a smart creature that it will help you type your sentence for you. Most of the time it can guess exactly what you are going to say before you say it. But other times, it gets in your way.
When writing an email with a lot of jargon or phrases that may not be in the iPhone dictionary, you can prevent the auto-correct feature from slowing you down too much by typing a “z” after your message. First type a “z”, then go back before the “z” and type what you want. Typing behind the “z” leaves auto-correct unable to guess what word you could possibly be forming.
Don’t forget to erase the “z” after your finished. It wont hurt anything, but you don’t want people thinking your some weird iPhone Zoro tagging everything you do. z
Popularity: 4% [?]
Graybar Commemorates Company Milestones
Posted by John Nemec in Graybar on November 5th, 2009
Graybar, the company I work for, is celebrating 140 years since its founding and 80 years of employee ownership today. What makes this day even more special for this Graybar employee is I had the privilege to help design and develop the Graybar history site.
This year marks two significant milestones in the history of Graybar, a leading distributor of electrical and communications products and related supply chain management and logistics services. First, Graybar celebrates the 140th anniversary of the company’s original founding as Gray & Barton in 1869 by inventor Elisha Gray and entrepreneur Enos Barton. Also, this year is the 80th anniversary of the date when Graybar’s employees purchased their company in 1929 from Western Electric, Graybar’s parent company at that time.
“Everything Graybar stands for as a company – our integrity, customer focus, employee ownership and long-term view – is rooted in our company’s history and serves as the foundation of our business today,” said Robert A. Reynolds, Jr., Graybar’s chairman, president and CEO.
Founded in 1869, Gray & Barton was the predecessor of Western Electric. In 1925, Western Electric spun-off its supply department and renamed it Graybar in honor of the company’s founders. In 1929, Graybar’s employees made headlines across the country as they purchased their company from Western Electric for $3 million in cash and $6 million of Graybar preferred stock. Today, Graybar is a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest employee-owned companies in North America.
To commemorate the company’s 140th anniversary and 80 years of employee ownership, Graybar recently published a company history book for employees and retirees. The book was produced by Greenwich Publishing Group, a leading publisher of corporate history books, and written by author Richard Blodgett. You can read the book and learn more about Graybar’s history online by visiting http://history.graybar.com
“We are incredibly proud of our rich history as well as our long tradition of employee ownership,” Reynolds adds. “We look forward to writing the next chapter in our company’s history as we continue to work to the advantage of our suppliers and customers.”
Graybar, a Fortune 500 corporation and one of the largest employee-owned companies in North America, is a leader in the distribution of high quality electrical, communications and networking products, and specializes in related supply chain management and logistics services. Through its network of more than 240 North American distribution facilities, it stocks and sells products from thousands of manufacturers, serving as the vital link to hundreds of thousands of customers. For more information, visit www.graybar.com or call 1-800-GRAYBAR.
Popularity: 3% [?]
A Trip To The Dentist
Posted by John Nemec in My Boring Life on November 4th, 2009
“Hello Mr. Nemec, how are you doing today?”
“OK, I guess.”
“Well, you don’t sound very excited to be here today.”
“Is anyone ever excited to be here?”
And then the torture began.
I had my first major dental work done on Tuesday, and granted it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, but it still sucked.
Somehow, I’ve never had any major issues with my teeth. I’m sure I could have treated them better, brushed them more, and I’m sure smoking doesn’t help them. But, besides my two fillings from years ago, I’ve never had to have anything more than a cleaning. Until now.
Somehow I chipped a molar while eating. Well, maybe chipped is the wrong word. One of the tips broke off. And while you cringe I’ll add, “Yup, it hurt”. But stupid me, who has always been scared of the dentist, decided that once the pain went away to not think or do anything about it. Well, the time came when the pain came back and I had to do something, but now it was worse than ever.
About three weeks ago my tooth started to hurt, just a little after eating or drinking something cold. Nothing to concern me, because the pain would only last a minute or so, then go away, and it really didn’t hurt that bad. After a week of this it started to get a little worse and I started having to take Tynanol. That’s when I knew it was time to see the dentist.
After having my tooth checked out, the dentist’s assistant told me I need a cap on my tooth. I really didn’t want to know what that meant, but she told me anyway. They were going to chop off the top of my tooth, clean it out, and put a cap on it. Sounds fun doesn’t it. No you say. I was thinking the same thing.
The day finally came where I had to get the work done. Not looking forward to it I tried everything to get out of it, even going so far as to start a fight with my wife and blame it on the extra tension of the dentist. After she was finished laughing she sent me off to my demise.
When I got to the dentist office they informed me that because three of their nurses were pregnant they would not be able to use gas on me. I nearly walked. But I knew the pain of the dentist would be nothing to the wrath of my wife if I came home with nothing done. So I sat in the chair, they shoved needles in my face, and I proceeded to drool on myself.
My dentist offered me wireless headphones for his TV to hopefully distract me, so I wouldn’t notice the drilling that’s going on inside my mouth. Let me tell you, when the headphones don’t work because the dentist’s head, which is in your face, is blocking the signal, the distraction is rather pointless.
All in all, the dental work went well. I didn’t feel anything and the whole thing took less than an hour. Now I have a plastic tooth in the back of my mouth that I cant stop playing with. The moral of the story, or at least the point, well, there really isn’t. It’s just another day in my boring life.
Popularity: 3% [?]
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