http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2009458359_apustecblockedofficeinternet.html

What are your thoughts?

My father lost more than $74,000 after responding to hundreds of letters in the mail. Investigators spent more than a month looking into this case. My dad took the bait after receiving hundreds of luring letters that offered the promise of prizes.

“They made a very good story. You just thought, well maybe there is something to this. They were saying, ‘You’ve won $1-million, or you’ve won $1.5-million,’ or whatever,”

The father made no mention to the sweepstakes to his son. His son said he made the startling discover while helping his dad move. Each contest said in order to collect the money you have to pay a registration fee. So the dad did. He mailed hundreds of checks to mysterious companies – companies that were identified only by initials.

His dad was receiving the letters by the dozen every day and answered nearly every one, spending more than $74,000. “He was writing four to five check books per month. “It was really incredibly hard to find out who was behind this, because they do everything possible to conceal their identity.

That’s when he called the investigators. After digging through corporate reports, we found all of the sweepstakes companies were linked to the same two men. The BBB handles cases similar to this everyday. They say while the front of the letter looks like it’s for a sweepstakes, there is a fine print paragraph on the back that explains you’re really paying for a list of sweepstakes and contests you can enter.

There are companies out there that are willing to take advantage of people. Be careful out there.

Speaking of Inspector Gadget! This guy is amazing!

I own a retail store that carries kitchen accessories.  One day a man who walked in caught my eye.  I was not sure why, but he gave me the creeps and I felt I needed to keep an eye on him – just as soon as I finished the task at hand…    A few minutes went by and I started to walk around the store to check up on the guy.  I did not see him anywhere.  I did see two women engaged in conversation and focused on merchandise on “the kitchen gadget wall”.   As I walked around a display there he was slithering on his belly right at their feet looking up their dresses!  I yelled for my co worker to call 911 and the man jumped up and ran out the store.  The two women really had no idea what had even happened.  We refer to our friend as Inspector Gadget

So, do you think Letterman was off base when he made the joke about Palin’s teenage daughter?   See what Attorney Deborah King’s reaction is and her thoughts on jokes in the workplace.

http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2009/06/jokes_on_the_job_not_a_laughin.html

Do you agree wt Deborah? Do you have stories of jokes in the workplace gone awry?   Share confidentially on this web site.

When companies are under financial pressure and there is a perceived need to take action quickly, the immediate focus is often on cutting costs, not raising income. Thus , layoffs is the typical response for companies that want to look good in the short run. But what about the less obvious and undesirable long-term effects? Aren’t employers losing the tremendous long-term investment they have made in their employees – key talent may be lost and those left behind most likely suffer from low morale and poor performance.

The next couple of weeks we will be discussing alternatives to layoffs, and hope you will comment on the discussions initiated by Bosse and Casey. Do you think deeper layoffs are productive or counter-productive? Should layoffs be a last resort, not a first choice? Do layoffs truly save money or do they ultimately increase expenses, at least in some situations? AND, what are some other more productive cost-cutting measures –alternatives to layoff? Are companies piecemealing too much! What about income-producing measures? Submit your owns storiees; the good, the bad and the ugly!

I am being piecemealed to death….a few weeks ago they took my free water allowance away. Now it looks like they may take my iphone….it won’t be long until there will be no more free hot dogs for our Friday BBQ. I am telling you man, I won’t stand for this……my motivation is going down the drain.

I think these companies may be better off facing their troubles face on….sharpen those knives, if you know what I mean. I am mad as hell and…….growwwwllllll.