BenWoods.com

February 14, 2010 - For those of you who have been following my literary agent list, you know that I've contacted a boatload of agents. Although some of given "Corporate Ties" favorable responses, I have not obtained an agent.

  Well, it's now time to move ahead without one.

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.

September 10, 2008 - Here's a new version of "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" story. And in this true version, United Airline's stock fell quicker than a sumo wrestler on a tight rope.

September 08, 2006 - I just wanted to give a shout out to all of the people who stopped by the Inner Harbor Barnes & Noble in Baltimore on Sept. 1. The rain started Friday morning and didn't stop until sometime Saturday, ...

April 23, 2008 - It's a quick turnaround from the CityLit Festival, but I will be in attendance at the JHU Spring Festival, which takes place April 25-27 at the Hopkins Homewood Campus. The details are a bit sketchy a ...

August 14, 2007 - During the weekend, I began a search to find a suitable agent for my memoir, "Polos to Ties." It's fairly ridiculous how many agents are out there, especially ones that still don't have websites. Howe ...

March 27, 2005 - I've never been much of a snooze bar pusher, but I can't say the same for some of my college roommates. I never understood why they would purposely set their alarms early and then be awakened six or s ...