Ph.D.s of the Stars
(who would have guessed?) | Brian May, guitarist for the rock group Queen, just completed a Ph.D. in astrophysics from the Imperial College, London, where he began studies 40 years ago. His thesis: "Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud." John Cleese, of the Monty Python show and films, earned a law degree from Cambridge.
Bill Cosby earned a Ph.D. in education from UMass Amherst.
"The Man from U.N.C.L.E." star Robert Vaughn holds a Ph.D. in communications from USC.
Actor and former senator Fred Thompson hold a law degree from Vanderbilt.
William Sanderson, aka Larry of "Larry, Darryl and Darryl" fame from the Newhart Show, has a law degree from Memphis State. |
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1-14-2008 2007
The Year in Numbers
source: the Enquirer)
(no, not THAT Enquirer | | 399 Dollars wanted by Amazon.com to buy Kindle e-book reader. | | 271 The total value of semiconductor revenues in billions of dollars this year, according to iSuppli. | | 154 Current Intel market capitalization in billions of dollars. | | 74 Number of days it took Apple to sell one million iPhones. | | 19.6 Current nVIDIA market capitalization in billions of dollars. | | 13 Age at which Nick Ciarelli started ThinkSecret site (closed recently following a legal dispute with Apple). | | 11 Number of companies acquired by Oracle in 2007. | | 1 Rating of AMD's Hector Ruiz in ranks of best-paid semiconductor bosses. |
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1-1-2008 | Perks Received in 2007
(source: Electronic Design) | | Healthcare | 67% | | 401(k) Match | 65% | | Time Off | 39% | | Training | 23% | | Pension | 24% | | Stock Options | 19% | | Stock Purchase | 17% | | Tuition Reimburse | 19% | | Prof. Org. Dues | 16% | | Cellphone | 13% | | Company Car | 6% | | Health Club | 8% | | Sabbatical | 3% | | Daycare | 1% |
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1-8-2008 Considering
Changing Jobs in 2008?
(source: Electronic Design) | Top Reasons for Seeking
New Opportunities in 2007: | Better pay | 69% | | Interesting work | 58% | | Personal fulfillment | 33% | | Want dynamism | 27% | | Stock options | 26% | | Job stability | 24% | | More responsibility | 21% | | Personal/family | 21% | | Poor management | 20% | | Want to relocate | 17% | | Less stress | 18% | | Wrong job | 13% | | Potential layoff | 13% | | Join a startup | 13% |
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1-1-2008 12-20-2007 | Top States for Federal Procurement Spending
(2005, per capita)
(source: U.S. Census Bureau) | | $22,892 | District of Columbia | | $5,104 | Virginia | | $3,908 | Maryland | | $3,637 | Alaska | | $3,324 | New Mexico | | $2,675 | Connecticut | | $1,881 | Alabama | | $1,824 | Hawaii | | $1,807 | Arizona | | $1,621 | Massachusetts |
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12-11-2007 Top Patent Producing
States for 2006
(source: USPTO) | | Total Patents Awarded | | 25,039 | California | | 6,716 | Texas | | 6,406 | New York | | 4,368 | Massachusetts | | 4,178 | Michigan | | 4,053 | Illinois | | 3,627 | New Jersey | | 3,620 | Washington | | 3,291 | Ohio | | 3,268 | Minnesota | | 3,261 | Florida | | 3,186 | Pennsylvania | | 2,536 | Oregon | | 2,349 | Colorado | | 2,232 | North Carolina |
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12-2-2007 | GPS-Enabled
Cellphones Now Required Equipment | Waaaay back in the mid 1980s, colleges started requiring students to buy a PC - usually a model dictated by the school (for compatibility - we did not always have Windows). This caused quite a concern for many who did not want to spend $2k or more for something a $5 slide rule and a $1 pen could do. My alma matter, UVM, mandated an ATT 6300 and an IBM dot matrix printer (cannot recall the model). Total bill - $3,500. Yup, in 1987 dollars. Today, computers are issued at birth and most kids cannot use a pen, never mind a slide rule.
Someday, people will look back and have the same memories of this announcement in today's news about Montclair State University (NJ) requiring all students to carry GPS-enabled cellphones. The cost: $420 a year for a base plan, which is bundled into the tuition bill. |
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11-27-2007 |
Kirt
