Power Use Drops During Super Bowl

"Is there a drop in demand for electricity when the Super Bowl kicks off, as people stop what they’re doing and gather around the TV? Ted Borer, [Princeton] University’s energy plant manager, was curious. 'I’d always heard of this, as an urban legend,' Borer says, “and I thought, ‘I have the tools to confirm this.’

"On Feb. 5, 2006, when the Seattle Seahawks and Pittsburgh Steelers faced off in Super Bowl XL, Borer tracked the power data from the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland grid during the game along with the power demand on Princeton’s campus. The results, seen on the graph below, are striking: Within one minute of the game’s start, power use on campus dropped 6 percent. 'We rarely see that dramatic a change,' Borer says.



"Power use spiked during commercial breaks, as people reheated their nachos, opened the refrigerator to grab another drink, or flushed the toilet (triggering utility company pumps). While the pattern is similar for both the campus and the wider grid, Princeton’s power use showed two notable differences from the community at large. Students seemed more interested in the halftime show (in 2006, the Rolling Stones performed), and after the game, when the rest of the region turned off the lights and headed to bed, power use on campus began to climb. Borer suspects that the postgame jump comes from students returning to their rooms and turning on their computers for a little late-night studying."

from the PAW The Weekly Blog.

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How Do You Measure Up as a CEO?

"(rate performance on a 1-5 scale, 1 being least favorable and 5 being most favorabl...):

"Vision: Creates vision and strategy. Communicates vision and strategy both internally and externally.

"Leadership: Ensures the support and execution of the vision and strategy by:

"Establishment and communication of priorities;

Driving change for improvement throughout the organization;
Team-building; and
Creation of high performance environment.

"Operating Management: Develops and executes sound long-term and annual business plans in support of approved strategy. Manages operations and resources efficiently and effectively.

"Values and Integrity: Maintains consistent values and exemplary conduct. Promotes positive corporate culture to reflect corporate mission statement.

"Shareholder/Investor/Financial Community: Serves as chief spokesperson, communicating effectively with shareholders and stakeholders. Is well regarded and respected by investment and financial community.

"Strategic Partners: Maintains personal rapport with strategic partners through open, ongoing communications

"Human Resources: Ensures the development of effective employee recruitment, training, and plans and programs to provide and motivate the human resources necessary to achieve objectives.

"Public Relations: Ensures that the company and its operating units contribute appropriately to the well being of their communities and industries. Represents the company in community and industry affairs.

"Board Relations: Works effectively with the Board of Directors to keep them fully informed on all important aspects of the status and development of the Company. Facilitates the Board's governance, compositions, and committee structure. Implements Board policies and recommends policies for Board consideration. Supports a relationship characterized by trust, mutual respect, open communication and responsiveness to feedback. Uses Board meetings effectively.

"Financial Results: Financial Results – Establishes appropriate annual and long-term financial objectives and manages to consistently achieve these goals; ensures that appropriate systems are maintained to protect assets and maintain effective control of operations."

From this Seth Levine post.

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the Open Source Infection Myth

"Most people now recognize that it is indeed safe to build commercial products on open source platforms. Regardless of the license, open source software doesn’t reach out to “infect” other software or hardware in ways that destroy the commercial viability of those commercial products, despite early FUD to that effect. Companies can safely write applications that run on top of any operating system, virtual machine, web browser, or other open source platform, without risking their own code. Most companies already do just that.

"Of course, care must be taken to follow the rules of the open source licenses that apply to the platform itself, particularly when copies of the platform are delivered to customers along with the commercial product. Free software doesn’t imply that there can be a free-for-all attitude toward respecting the intellectual property embodied in open source platform software.

"For many purposes, an analysis of the interaction between a commercial product and the open source platform on which it is built must start by understanding the dividing line (if any) between them. It is helpful to begin with an architectural diagram of the commercial product that clearly indicates what functions are performed by the platform and what functions are performed by the unique and perhaps proprietary software or hardware of the commercial product.

"The reason for this software architectural diagram is obvious: As long as the software works are independent in the copyright sense, any product developments on the platform side of the dividing line are subject to its open source copyright license, while the commercial side of the line is yours to license as you wish...

"The old models of commercial software product development are no longer sustainable. No company can afford today to start with a blank slate for its software-based products, and more and more companies are discovering that it is far cheaper to build on top of low-cost open source platforms than on proprietary ones.

"Among the costs of that free open source software, however, are: (1) diligent analysis to understand how your commercial products interact with the open source platform you use; (2) commitment to reciprocate whenever it is ethical or required by license to do so; and (3) effective policies and practices that allow your company to both take from and give back to the open source software commons."

Read more in an article by Jeffrey Rosen for PLI from which the foregoing was quoted.

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a Tax Disclaimer for My Next Life

Please note hereby that, in accordance with archaic and arcane federal and state standards, policies, procedures and regulations, which may or may not be applicable, as the case may be, or not to be, Anthony Cerminaro does not offer any advice on personal or impersonal tax questions, requirements or issues. On sports, relationships and merry making - perhaps - but not on taxes.

Anything resembling useful tax-related information you receive via this website, or otherwise appertaining or pursuant thereto, is accidental, and provided for general, hypothetical and philosophical purposes only, and does not represent tax advice either express, local or implied. And you certainly may not use the said same for any unwholesome purposes.

You are encouraged to seek professional help, er, I mean, tax advice for income tax questions and assistance.

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Why does Toyota Encourage Insurance Fraud?

I am heartened to find that I am not the only person confused by the most recent Toyota ad campaign that encourages consumers to commit insurance fraud by destroying their current rides and using the proceeds of bogus insurance claims to purchase new vehicles.

The ads are inane and not even that funny. Case in point -a wholesome American family bonds by pushing a huge boulder over a cliff onto an unsuspecting road runner, I mean, Four-Runner. What a riot!

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Come Alive in the New Year

Join forces with the dynamic flow of life. The African-American theologian Howard Thurman said: "Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive."

And so, as the old year changes into the New Year, ask what makes you come alive, and then go do it--for your own sake, and in service of the greater good.

One of five ways to welcome change in the new year from this Beliefnet.com piece. Here are the other four together with a relevant quotation from the article

1. Expect Change

Since we live in a changing universe, expect change. Good change, difficult change, destructive change, transformative change.

2. Make Friends With Change

Try not to fight change. Make unconditional friendship with it, in whatever form it arrives.

3. Relax Into the Mystery

There is so much more to this life than we can ever understand through our tiny brains and fearful hearts. So in times of big change, it's good to be gentle and kind and patient with yourself. And to relax. The best peacemakers are those who are at peace with themselves.

4. Receive Change's Message

Be still and listen deeply for the truth that is carried on its winds--information about the past, wisdom about the present, and direction for the future.

"Walking on the turning wheel of the earth, living under the ever-rotating sun, man expects a peaceful life."

--Sufi master, Hazrat Inayat Khan

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