With its small size, lack of natural resources, and proximity to 2 large cities, Connecticut has a lot of disadvantages in today’s modern economy.  Businesses in today’s world that aren’t involved in extractive industries or don’t need to be near a port or other stationary feature can place themselves anywhere they want.  With a technology based business, there is less of a need to be anywhere specific.  With modern technology, businesses and their employees can be connected from anywhere, so it’s easy to pick a new home for your company based on cheaper taxes, lower wages, or whatever else a company is looking for.   This makes it hard for small, highly populated states like Connecticut to keep businesses in the state without offering tax cuts.  These tax cuts may work to preserve jobs, but the state doesn’t generate any revenue from the business.  That puts more tax pressure on[read more]

– Adapted from “Handbook of Technical Writing” (Alred, Brusaw, Oliu, 2012). Here’s a very abbreviated guide I made based on a similar guide in the above-mentioned book.  I summarized some stuff and added some of my own information to it, too.  I tried to condense the information into a brief guide—hopefully you can use it to make your writing as effective as possible. Preparation: Establish your purpose– What do you want your readers to know or do after they read your document?  Be specific, what exactly do you want to tell them? (for example, why you have this policy in place).  What exactly do you want them to do? (fill out a form, sign up for a class, etc.). Identify your audience (readers)- Who are your readers?  How do they feel about your topic? Bored, excited, interested, apprehensive?  What level of expertise in the subject do they have? Consider the[read more]

I was thinking about a minimum wage increase and how it affects the economy long term.  I was wondering if the result would be similar to what happened to the U.S. housing market in the mid 2000’s. In that case, mortgage issuers were qualifying almost everyone for home loans, and it increased demand for entry level housing.  This had a negative effect on middle class wage earners and others who were looking for houses on the lower end of the price range, as there were many more buyers than there were a few years earlier.   So, if the government eventually raises minimum wage (probably not in the next few years), will this have an inadvertent negative effect on middle class wage earners?   I was thinking that, since purchasing power of lower income workers is increased, an increase in demand for certain goods would follow.  Those lower income earners[read more]

[I am not responsible for any injuries resulting from following any of these steps or ideas].  I will keep adding to this list as I think of things, so come back soon!   It’s easier than ever to get the right tool for the job.  You can order them off the internet, or head over to your local Harbor Freight and get a lot of specialty tools that you couldn’t get your hands on 10 or 15 years ago.  It’s worth it to invest in the right tool if you need it.   A welder is a great thing to have—you can make tools, make brackets and parts, fix rust holes, and fix exhausts.  A couple of repairs or fabricated tools will pay for an inexpensive 110-volt welder.  This summer, I used my welder to make a slide hammer that I used to change some axle bearings.  Later, I used[read more]

It’s a waste of everyone’s time to bring someone in to an interview without a little preparation and research on the interviewer’s side. Hiring a new employee is an important decision, bringing in the wrong person can sink a small business or destroy a team’s morale. Therefore, an interview should be planned and prepared for to maximize the time involved –to get to know the candidate as much as possible. So, why “wing it” and ask the same questions to every candidate? Every candidate is unique, and deserves to be treated as such. Often, the pressure is on the candidate when preparing for the interview. They’re supposed to know all about the company and the job’s requirements. Also, they have to give detailed, thought provoking answers after being told to “tell me your biggest achievement” or “tell me a little about yourself.” As the one conducting the interview, put yourself[read more]

The old sales tactics aren’t quite as effective as they used to be. Your customers have access to much more information than they used to, and they can comparison shop and buy from online outlets all over the globe. They can read reviews from customers like them, and they no longer have to rely only on the seller for product information. The last thing a customer wants or needs is an old-fashioned salesman pushing products on them. That’s why building trust, educating customers, and keeping people connected to your business with online content is so important. What is content marketing anyway? According to the Content Marketing Institute, it’s “A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience.” Content marketing is a strategy carefully developed to grow and sustain your business and its customer base. What are the[read more]

“The Census’s 2015 American Community Survey data, released last fall, show that the average American commute crept up to 26.4 minutes in 2015, or about 24 seconds longer than the previous year. Multiply it all out — 24 seconds per commute, twice a day, five days a week, 50 weeks a year — and in 2015 the typical American could expect to spend about three hours and twenty minutes longer getting to and from work than in 2014. The Census data show the longest commutes are also the fastest growing. The total 16-and-over workforce — from which these numbers are derived — grew by roughly 1.7 percent from 2014 to 2015 (148.3 million workers). But the number of workers with 45-minute commutes grew even faster (3.5 percent). The number with hourlong commutes grew even faster than that (5.1 percent). And workers with extreme commutes — 90 minutes or more — grew by the fastest[read more]

Is it time for employers to revamp the way they find candidates? America’s job market is structured so there are many more applicants per job listing. This is because jobs are advertised on multiple massive job networks like monster, linkedin, and indeed that deliver the postings to an unlimited number of people daily. A recent google search for “job search sites” yielded 547,000 results. The current system encourages quantity over quality- applicants can send out as many applications as they have time for, thus adding to the heap of resumes that employers and recruiters have to sort through. How, as an employer, do you trim that pile down to a reasonable number? Spend “six seconds” reviewing each resume. Sure, once we do that, we’ll bring them in for a 12 second interview. I know, you can use a computer program that scans resumes to find key words, targeting the resumes[read more]

I’ve been interested in shellfish aquaculture for years, and lately the industry has grown exponentially in both size and popularity. Most people tout all the benefits that the farms provide. Shellfish get all their food by filtering it out of the water, so you can grow shellfish without having to feed them anything. As filter feeders, they also clean the water while growing. This is very different from finfish aquaculture, which introduces excess food and fish waste into the environment. A shellfish farm seems like a totally positive thing; it provides food while also removing nutrients from the water. This nutrient removal is especially important in places like Long Island Sound, which borders my home state of Connecticut. Long Island Sound is New England’s drainage basin, collecting all the excess nutrients and concentrating them in the western part of the Sound. The nutrients cause algae blooms, and when the algae[read more]

It appears that the biggest weapon in the fight against urban sprawl and homogenization of retail in America might be online shopping. The huge selection that you could find at a place like Wal-Mart isn’t much of a novelty anymore. The appeal of having that much stuff to choose from just isn’t there now, thanks to retailers like Amazon.com. There, you have a huge selection available to shop at your convenience, and a lot of the merchandise can be shipped to you in two days. Anything else that you may need quicker is usually available at those pharmacy-convenience stores, dollar stores, or other smaller retail stores. In 2015, Amazon.com passed Wal-Mart as the biggest retailer in America. Wal-Mart had the largest advantage of the big-box chains with their immense network of warehouses and an efficient supply chain that allowed them to price things lower than most stores. They’ve now lost[read more]

“I took a new job—it pays less but I can work as much overtime as I want to make up the difference.” “I paid a little more for the car than I was comfortable with but I can make it up by working Saturdays.” I know there are times when overtime is necessary. Maybe there are problems at work and you’re behind. Or, maybe you’re short-staffed at work because someone quit or they’re out on vacation. Sometimes, things happen at home and you need to pay some extra bills. What I find disturbing is seeing people choosing careers and lifestyles that force or depend on long hours at work when they have alternatives that offer more free time. I know, everyone has their reasons—I just don’t understand most of them. Those two quotes up there—I’ve heard variants of them a lot lately. I don’t understand why you would choose to[read more]

I sat on the beach one early summer day and watched a young Environmental Protection employee scolding passersby for walking too close to the roped off bird nesting area. I noticed their dismissive “she’s just a crazy treehugger” look and started thinking about some of the environmental advocates I’ve known and their typical approach to issues and conservation. For the record, I studied environmental policy in college, did fisheries research for three years and volunteer on my town’s wetlands commission. I am an advocate of effective environmental policy even though I have a few reservations about how it’s done. I feel like some environmental advocates are disconnected from average citizens. They focus on wildlife only and leave people out of the equation, like we aren’t part of nature and should step aside to let the earth finish what it was doing without our interference. People are as much a part[read more]

I feel like most plans to revitalize our state capital involve lots of demolition and rebuilding. Sure, some crumbling city infrastructure has to go, but there is plenty of vacant space around the city. Why can’t a revitalization plan include some frugality instead of just big budgets and big dreams? Walking around downtown, I look into empty office after office and see “For Rent” or “available” signs. Some see that as a problem– I feel like it could be a big opportunity for our state. I recently read an article from the Hartford Courant about the availability of small office spaces in the city. So, Hartford has plenty of vacant, low rent (compared to nearby Boston and New York) buildings near a nice if somewhat empty downtown area. People need a little encouragement to move in so here’s my unsolicited ideas—feel free to argue against it at any time. I’m[read more]