New research shows sheep are clever

    People often make jokes about how dull sheep are, but new research shows they may be cleverer than we think. Researchers at the University of Cambridge discovered that Welsh mountain sheep have brainpower that equals rodents (啮齿动物). Tests found that the sheep can map the area they live in, and some may even be able to plan ahead.

    Young fish prefer noisy neighbors

    A new study has shown that young fish like to live on reefs (暗礁) with noisy neighbors! Researchers from the universities of Auckland and Bristol found that young fish looking for a home choose areas where other noisy fish live. The scientists produced all kinds of sounds which had been recorded in different natural environments. The young fish seemed to prefer the sounds of natural reefs, compared with noisy animals! The scientists compared the choice to a music fan wandering around at a music festival, choosing to set up a tent closest to the music they like best!

    Butterflies are disappearing

    A new study has shown that 17 species (物种) of butterfly found in Europe have dropped by 70% in the last 20 years. The information collected from 3,000 sites across 15 countries shows it may be caused by the loss (减少) of grasslands covered with flowers. You can encourage butterflies to come into your garden by planting flowers.

    It was close to midnight and it was unusual to see vehicles on the road. However, several trucks pulled over and workers silently unloaded camera equipment and cardboard boxes, and then carried them inside the Morgenson family home.

    What took place over the next eight weeks was inspired by a Hollywood movie called The Joneses about a family of marketers who move into a local neighborhood to sell their products secretly to their neighbors. The idea was to test the power of word-of-mouth marketing. By filming a 'rear' family in unscripted (无剧本的) situations, my team and I would document how the Morgensons' circle of friends responded to brands and products the Morgensons bought into their lives.

    With the help of 35 video cameras and 25 microphones hidden inside the furniture, the operation done secretly showed something shocking. The most powerful hidden persuader of all isn't in your TV or on the shelves of your supermarket. It's a far more important influence that's around you almost every waking moment: your very own friends and neighbors. There is nothing quite so persuasive as observing someone we respect or admire using a brand or product.

    Our analysis also found that the brands the Morgensons used went faster. About one third of the Morgensons' friends began promoting these same brands to their friends. We also found that the brands their friends were most likely to buy at the Morgensons' suggestion were the bigger and better-known ones. This proved my thoughts that traditional marketing and secret marketing work well together. The most persuasive advertising strategies are strengthened by word-of-mouth advertising.

    Whenever I meet with company managers, I tell them that the people who hold the real marketing power are mouse-clicking consumers and their wide circles of real-life friends. In other words, the people who hold the real power are us.

    We're Hiring Shift Workers For Our Production Plant Looking for a career with a company that values its employees, and promotes from within? Then Black Cat Blades is the company for you!

Cutting Operators

CNC Operators

Heat Treat Operators

    Full training provided, starting at $14.50 per hour, with the potential to move to $18.16 in one year.

    We also require a Skilled Welder (焊接工),to work 12-hour rotating shifts (轮班) in our cutting Department. The successful candidate must be a registered journeyman（熟练工人) within the Province of Alberta or a Red Seal.

    We offer a great benefit package, including health, dental and RRSP's. Numerous motivations: Profit Sharing, Pay for Years of Service, Fitness Program Allowance, and fun social events for you and your family.

    Apply in person, and we'll take you on a tour of our Production equipment or forward your personal information by fax or e-mail.

    Black Cat Blades Ltd.

    HR@ blackcatblades.com

5604-59 St., Edmonton, AB T6B 3C3

Fax: (780) 465-9595

    They had a dozen children, six boys and six girls, in seventeen years. One reason Dad had so many children was that he was confident anything he and Mother teamed upon was sure to be a success.

    Our house at Montclair, New Jersey, was a sort of school for scientific management and the removal of wasted motions — or “motion study,” as Dad and Mother named it.

    Dad took moving pictures of us children washing dishes, so that he could determine how we could reduce our motions and thus hurry through the task. Each child who wanted extra pocket money put forward an offer saying what he would do the job for. The lowest bidder got the contract(合约).

    Dad put process and work charts in the bathrooms. Every child old enough to write — and Dad expected his children to start writing at a young age — was required to sign their names on the charts in the morning after he had brushed his teeth, taken a bath, combed his hair, and made his bed. At night, each child had to weigh himself, mark the figure on a graph, and sign the process charts again after he had done his homework, washed his hands and face, and brushed his teeth. Mother wanted to have a place on the charts for saying prayers, but Dad said as far as he was concerned prayers were voluntary.

    It was strict management, all right. Yes, at home or on the job, Dad was always the efficiency expert. He buttoned his vest from the bottom up, instead of from the top down, because the bottom-to-top process took him only three seconds, while the top-to-bottom took seven. He even used two shaving brushes to make his face smooth enough, because he found that by so doing he could cut seventeen seconds off his shaving time. For a while he tried shaving with two razors, but he finally gave that up.

    “I can save forty-four seconds,” he complained, “but I wasted two minutes this morning putting this bandage on my throat.” It wasn't the injured throat that really bothered him. It was the two minutes.

Dear Mom and Dad,

    I'm afraid I have some very bad news for you. I have been very naughty and the school master is very angry with me. She is going to write to you. You must come and take me away from here. She does not want me in the school any longer. The trouble started last night when I was smoking a cigarette in bed. As I was smoking, I heard footsteps coming towards the room .I did not want a teacher to catch me smoking, so I threw the cigarette away. Unfortunately, the cigarette fell into the waste--paper basket. It caught fire.

    There was a curtain near the waste --paper basket. It caught fire too. Soon the whole room was burning. The master phoned the fire brigade. The school is a long way from the town and before the fire brigade arrived, the whole school was on fire. The master said that the fire was all my fault and I must pay for the damage. She will send you a bill for about a million dollars.

    I'm very sorry for this.

    Much love

Sarah

    When it comes to medical care, many patients and doctors believe “more is better.” But what they do not realize is that overtreatment—too many scans, too many blood tests, too many procedures—may bring harm. Sometimes a test leads you down a path to more and more testing, some of which may be attacking, or to treatment for things that should be left out.

    Terrence Power, for example, complained that after his wife learned she had Wegener's disease, an uncommon disorder of the immune system(免疫系统), they found it difficult to refuse testing recommended by her doctor. The doctor insisted on office visits every three weeks, even when she was feeling well. He frequently ordered blood tests and X-rays, and repeatedly referred her to experts for even minor complaints. Even when tests came back negative, more were ordered, and she was hospitalized as prevention when she developed a cold. She had as many as 25 doctor visits during one six-month period. The couple was spending about $30,000 a year for her care.

    After several years of physical suffering and near financial ruin from the medical costs, the couple began questioning the treatment after discussing with other patients in online support groups. “It's a really hard thing to determine when doctors have crossed the line,” Mr. Power said. “You think she's getting the best care in the world, but after a while you start to wonder: What is the purpose?” Mr. Power then spoke with his own primary care doctor, who advised him to find a new expert to oversee Mrs. Power's care. Under the new doctor's care, the regular testing stopped and Mrs. Power's condition was stable. Now she sees the doctor only four or five times a year.