Seriously? Apparently so - some people have actually broken the cat-leash barrier. Here is the editorial review of the official guide to walking your cat:

Walk Your Cat - The Complete Guide is written for indoor cat owners who want to give their cats access to the outdoors by taking them for walks on a leash. While it is often believed that cats can’t be leash-trained, Walk Your Cat shows that taking your cat for a walk does not have to be a drag. This book is unique in that the authors have developed a thorough, easy-to-follow approach to walking cats that is solidly grounded in the current scientific understanding of feline behavior. Following their approach, you can allow your cats to enjoy a full range of natural behaviors while on walks, making their lives richer and healthier. But, Walk Your Cat is more than just a training guide. Getting to the heart of feline behavior to show you how cats can be leash-trained, the book offers readers a new window into the inner lives of their cats–as well as insights into the important and natural role that walks on a leash have to play in the life of the modern indoor cat.

Swimsuit season is right around the corner and for many people that means one thing: dieting. In an office setting, though, cutting back on calories and finding time to exercise can seem like an impassable hurdle, as a recent CareerBuilder.com survey reports that 45 percent of workers have gained weight at their current jobs, similar to last year’s findings. The survey was conducted from February 11 through March 13, 2008 among 7,688 workers.

Twenty-six percent of employees report they have gained more than ten pounds and 12 percent say they gained more than 20 pounds while in their present positions. Comparing genders, women are more likely (50 percent) than men (42 percent) to say they have gained weight at their current jobs.

Comparing industries, 53 percent of financial services employees and 52 percent of government employees say they have gained weight in their current positions; the highest recorded weight gain among industries surveyed. Retail and leisure and hospitality had the lowest percentage of employees gain weight in their current roles, at 36 percent and 41 percent, respectively.

“Weight gain can be quite common in the workplace, especially when the winter months keep most of us cooped up all day and calorie-laden treats seem to wait around every corner,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of Human Resources for CareerBuilder.com. “As the weather warms up and people are more likely to get in a healthy mindset, it’s a great time of year to be more aware of your health, get active and be more cognizant of your food choices.”

Eating habits can often be a culprit in workplace weight gain. Nearly two-in-five (38 percent) percent of employees surveyed eat out for lunch twice or more per week, making it difficult to control portions and calorie intake. An additional 12 percent buy their lunch out of a vending machine at least once a week.

Snacking can also be a slippery slope for those trying to cut back on calories, as two-thirds (66 percent) of employees surveyed snack at least once a day, while nearly 25 percent snack at least twice a day.

One of the ways employees can cut back on workplace weight gain is by heading to the gym during lunch hour, but according to the survey, only 9 percent of employees work up a sweat in the middle of the day.

More employees may be inclined to take advantage of gym facilities during lunch and outside of work, though, as 28 percent of companies now provide gym passes, workout facilities or wellness benefits.

Haefner recommends the following tips for fending off workplace weight gain:

• Start the day off right - Eating a high-protein and fiber-filled breakfast can provide the energy you need to get you to lunch and avoid the temptation of break room donuts, candy or other high-fat treats.
• Stay hydrated - Sometimes a snack craving can be mistaken for dehydration. Be sure to keep water or another healthy beverage at your desk throughout the day so that you can hydrate freely.
• Write it down - Keeping nutrition and food journal can help you track how your snacks and meals add up during the day, allowing you to notice when you overindulge.
• Mix up your routine - Every little bit of activity helps, so take the stairs to your floor, walk over to co-workers instead of calling or emailing them or try parking your car farther away from the office.
• Keep your cool - Stress can fuel poor eating habits, as you can tend to overeat or make inadequate food choices when you’re feeling overwhelmed. Try to manage stress with regular exercise and speak with a supervisor if you’re workload is drowning you.

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 7,688 U.S. employees (employed full-time; not self-employed) ages 18 and over between February 11, and March 13, 2008, respectively. With a pure probability sample of 7,688 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.1 percentage points. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder.com
CareerBuilder.com is the nation’s largest online job site with more than 23 million unique visitors and over 1.6 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT), the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 1,600 partners, including 140 newspapers and leading portals such as America Online and MSN. More than 300,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com’s easy job postings, 26 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. CareerBuilder.com and its subsidiaries operate in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com.

ISLAND LAKE, IL–(Marketwire) - Having a hard time keeping your desk at the home or office organized to achieve optimum work space? Leather desk sets from LeatherTree.com, a leading online supplier of leather products, can help maintain a hectic workspace while adding classic flair and sophistication.

“More and more executives are purchasing leather desk sets to stay organized while displaying an air of authority in their cubicle or office,” said Jacqueline Berger, president of LeatherTree.com. “We can even deboss your leather desk set with your company logo or initials for an even more influential look.”

Any ordinary desk is instantly transformed into an exquisite workspace with the addition of a leather desk set from LeatherTree.com. Leather desk sets have the ability to add beauty to plain desk surfaces with organization as an added gift. Users can reclaim their desk areas and have all the tools they use within reach, while projecting the utmost image of importance.

LeatherTree.com offers a wide selection of leather desk sets made from the finest-quality materials by craftsmen to give the look of pure elegance to any desk. Desk sets come with a variety of organizational tools, including memo holders, business card holders, pencil/pen cups, letter holders, letter openers, letter trays, pen stands, picture frames and/or desk pads depending on the number of pieces in the desk set.

For additional information, call 800-792-7002 or visit www.LeatherTree.com.

About Leather Tree:

At LeatherTree.com, the philosophy is simple: Customer satisfaction is everything. In business for 11 years, they have been rated “1A” in customer service, ease of ordering, products, pricing and shipping. At LeatherTree.com their leather lines are chosen very carefully. In order to qualify, each manufacturer must meet a stringent code of customer satisfaction. Excellent quality products, fair pricing, quick shipping and a liberal return policy are a few of the qualifications necessary to become a LeatherTree.com supplier.

Picture a petit woodland glen on your coffee table with moss, ferns and ivy nestled around a pine cone. Or a tiny beach retreat in your office cubicle featuring sand, shells, a sliver of driftwood and an air plant. For those who don’t have the time or space for a garden outdoors, a terrarium is a way to enjoy nature with minimal work.

Original post:

Terrariums - indoor gardening on a small scale - Baltimore Sun

Chris Hinkle knows first-hand how easy it is to kill someone in the workplace without even going postal.

The deadly character assassination usually starts with catty comments and malicious gossip from a boss or co-worker and escalates into a team sport that divides workplaces along loyalty lines and costs employers big time by destroying morale, productivity and often lives.

See more here: 
Odd man out is recipe for a toxic office - Toronto Star

I’ve been told I’m paranoid, but only by those determined to destroy me. Still, I tend to notice and catalogue incidents of aggression in the office workplace, and there are three basic degrees: passive aggression, naked aggression, and scantily clad aggression. To illustrate my point, let’s go over some typical scenarios.

Read the original:
Frank Mulligan: An office guide to anger mismanagement - Enterprise

Katie Krueger dreamed for years of starting her own grant writing business. She loved the idea of being her own boss, choosing her own projects and scheduling her own time. “I wished I could be courageous enough to do it, but at the end of every school year I’d say to myself, ‘Oh, I’ll stay another year,’” she says.

Original post:
It May Be Time Now To Start Your Own Business - Forbes

More Than Three-in-Ten End Up Marrying Co-Workers They Dated

CHICAGO, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ — With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, cupid’s arrows have started to fly — and may be landing in a cubicle or office near you. Four-in-ten (40 percent) workers reveal they have dated a co-worker at some time during their careers, with 18 percent admitting to doing it twice or more, according to CareerBuilder.com’s annual office romance survey of more than 8,000 workers. More than three-in-ten (31 percent) said they went on to marry the person they dated at work.

Office courtships may be stemming from current workplace crushes. Ten percent of workers currently work with someone who they would like to date, with more men (14 percent) than women (5 percent) reporting they would like to do so.

Workers aren’t just interested in dating their peers. Among workers who dated a co-worker in the last year, thirty-four percent admit they have dated someone with a higher position in their company. Of those who have dated a higher up in the last year, 42 percent have dated their boss; female workers more so than males, at 47 percent and 38 percent, respectively.

“Employees spend many hours interacting with co-workers, so it’s not unusual for romances to spark,” said Rosemary Haefner, Vice President of Human Resources at CareerBuilder.com. “While workplace relationships may be more accepted these days, with 72 percent of workers saying they didn’t have to keep their romance a secret, it’s still important for workers to keep it professional and not let their relationship impact their work.”

Twelve percent of workers reported that their relationships started when they ran into each other outside of work. Some other situations where office romances found their spark included:

– Working late at the office (11 percent)
– Happy hour (10 percent)
– At lunch (10 percent)

Workers provided the following top five examples of the most romantic things they have done in the office:

1.) Had a drink together up on the roof.
2.) Danced to the elevator music in the hallway.
3.) Ate a late night picnic with candles after everyone had left.
4.) After a meeting, picked up my girlfriend in a limo and proposed toher.
5.) Left each other love post-it notes.

The survey also showed the repercussions of workplace romance, with 7 percent of workers saying they have left a job due to an office romance.

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder.com among 8,038 employees (employed full-time; not self-employed; non-government) ages 18 and over between November 12 and December 1, 2008 (percentages for some questions are based on a subset of U.S. employees, based on their responses to certain questions). With a pure probability sample of 8,038 one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 1.09 percentage points, respectively. Sampling error for data from sub-samples is higher and varies.

About CareerBuilder.com

CareerBuilder.com is the nation’s largest online job site with more than 23 million unique visitors and over 1.6 million jobs. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) , Tribune Company, The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI) and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) , the company offers a vast online and print network to help job seekers connect with employers. CareerBuilder.com powers the career centers for more than 1,600 partners, including 140 newspapers and leading portals such as AOL and MSN. More than 300,000 employers take advantage of CareerBuilder.com’s easy job postings, 28 million-plus resumes, Diversity Channel and more. CareerBuilder.com and its subsidiaries operate in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia.

For more information, visit http://www.careerbuilder.com.

I know everyone swears that office dating is a recipe for disaster, but according to recent studies cited in Fortune and GQ magazines, somewhere between 22 and 50 percent of office romances lead to marriage. So someone’s doing something right. Possibly in the cubicle right next to yours!

Read more here:
How not to date a coworker - CNN

Cows that are given names produce more milk than those that are not, says a new study out of England.

The study, conducted by Catherine Douglas and Peter Rowlinson at Newcastle University in Newcastle upon Tyne, discovered that more affectionate treatment of cattle — including giving cows names — can increase milk production by more than 68 gallons annually. An average cow produces about 2,000 gallons of milk a year.

Go here to see the original:
Naming cows isn’t udder nonsense