BenWoods.com

February 02, 2010 - OK, technically speaking, I am a human being. But my friend, co-worker and "Corporate Ties" cover designer, Sean O'Connor, has constructed a robot in my likeness.

  All right, I guess "constructed" isn't the right word, as he hasn't built the robot (at least, not yet), but he has created a fair number of robot friends at the appropriately named site, my robot friends. Most of the mechanical inventions are based on O'Connor's friends, but he occasionally throws in a Santa Claus, Abraham Lincoln and so forth.

January 19, 2010 - When entire countries decide that your browser is a security risk, that's probably not good news for your company. That's the case with Microsoft and Internet Explorer, as French and German governments are recommending their people to use safer alternatives to IE.

January 17, 2010 - In the current state of the U.S. economy, it's pretty difficult to avoid being laid off, fired or, for whatever reason, not having a job for a certain period of time. True, sometimes the employee is entirely to blame for his/her predicament, but more often than that, a company is trying to consolidate, move offices or, in general, save money against the bottom line. Many times, those doing the actual firing and layoffs have to make decisions they would prefer to ignore, yet they have no choice.

  Enter Chester Burger's book "Creative Firing: Why Management Firings Happen - and How to Reduce Them." This book runs through the gamut of upper management decisions and how to maintain some control and honor throughout the endeavor. I've read many a business book, and even though this book was published in 1972, nearly every principle still applies.

January 16, 2010 - As I attempt to find an agency to pitch my new book, I thought it might be a good idea to list some of the agents I have contacted. At this stage, I've run into issues where companies have listed communication methods, but they don't seem to follow through. I hope that my list will save the time of others who are attempting to find representation.

January 07, 2010 - During the past couple of days, I've been taking mini-breaks to read Basketbawful, a blog about the worst of the worst in the NBA. If you know me, you're probably wondering why I would be reading this, considering that I follow college basketball exclusively, not the NBA, the NBA development league, European leagues, Upward basketball, etc. If you don't know me, I'm not sure how you ended up on this site, but feel free to look around and DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING.

  The site author has a running story called "Livin' Large," which, for all intensive purposes, is a coming-of-age story set a few dorm rooms down from where my college experience began. It's a great story, and I will admit that maybe I think it's so great because it's easy for me to relate. Nevertheless, I'd recommend that you check it out.

October 17, 2004 - I'm a big fan of frogs, and the reason is somewhat strange. I used to work at an amusement park, and I always seemed to be working at the game where you hit the rubber frog into a lily pad. The word g ...

November 09, 2002 - I decided to take a break from talking about Web sites and Internet applications for at least one column. Amazingly ...

February 25, 2007 - Most people will agree that trash is piling up everywhere. And most people also agree that we need to decrease the amount of fossil fuels used on a routine basis. Thanks to modern marvels of scienc ...

June 29, 2005 - The Developers can now be found at each Borders location in Louisville. Here are the addresses for the stores: 3024 Bardstown Road, Louisville, KY 40205 2520 S. Hurstbourne Gem Lane, ...

January 24, 2005 - Leading to the belief that even reptiles can spot amazing discount store sales, Fisher, a loggerhead turtle, has trekked over 4,000 miles in since July and should reach west Africa in the near future. ...