News & Views
	July/Aug 2006,

The rudest thing you can do at work is to use profanity.
That’s the word from a Harris Interactive survey of 2,318 employed adults conducted for Randstad USA, a leading workforce solutions company, about behaviors that interfere with work performance. Fully 91 percent of those surveyed cited profane language as the rudest workplace behavior.
Top 9 office etiquette pet peeves:
• Using profanity: 91 percent
• Being spoken to in a condescending tone: 44 percent
• Public reprimand: 37 percent
• Micromanaging: 34 percent
• Loud talkers: 32 percent
• Cell phones ringing at work: 30 percent
• Using speakerphones in public areas: 22 percent
• Personal conversations in the workplace: 11 percent
• Using PDAs during meetings: 9 percent

Flatirons Elementary Third Grade Junior Philanthropy Program Presents Two Area Non-profits with Donations Collected from Students’ Penny Collection Third graders at Flatirons Elementary School have been working with the Culture of Giving Junior Philanthropy Team since October 2005. Students have learned about the meaning and opportunity of philanthropy and about why it’s important to give back to their community. Through classroom debate, the class chose two local non-profit organizations to support with fundraising and volunteer activities. At the ceremony in June, these proud Jr. Philanthropists presented the money they’ve raised to their chosen non-profits – Humane Society of Boulder Valley and the Greenwood Wildlife Rehabilitation Sanctuary.

About the Culture of Giving: Conceived over five years ago by a handful of community members, the Culture of Giving’s mission is to create a more connected and stronger community by providing information, resources and tools to grow Boulder County’s philanthropic culture. The Culture of Giving campaign is centered around its website, a resource for learning about Boulder County non-profits, www.cultureofgiving.org. The symbol of Culture of Giving is a yellow ball, a never-ending circle. Giving is a ball, so pass it on.
About The Community Foundation: Established in 1991, The Community Foundation Serving Boulder County is a foundation established by the community to serve the community. The Community Foundation is one of about 650 foundations across the country dedicated to improving the quality of life for local communities. Its assets, which total over $30 million, represent 100-plus funds established by local families, individuals and corporations. From those assets, the foundation makes grants to nonprofit groups working in the arts, civic engagement, education, the environment, and health and human services. Since the inception of its grant program in 1992, The Community Foundation has distributed nearly $16 million to local nonprofits. In addition to financial support, the foundation fosters the health and viability of Boulder County’s nonprofit sector by offering a variety of programs to build capacity and the organizational structure of charitable organizations. For more information, visit www.commfound.org.

With a cache of choice titles and first-to-market status, HD-DVD drew first blood in the battle for high-def DVD supremacy. Round two, however, may give the edge to Blu-ray—not necessarily because the format is better (though some say it is), but because Sony’s newest laptop is so well equipped. The AR Premium 190G comes with the top-shelf tech wizardry you’d expect from a high-end Vaio—ultraclear 17-inch screen, dual-core Intel processor, 200-gig hard drive, gamer-friendly NVIDIA GeForce Go 7 graphics—plus one feature you wouldn’t: the ability to burn and edit in high definition. That’s a first for a consumer laptop and, with prices for HD camcorders now under $1,500, something you may use soon. A feature you’ll definitely use is the Vaio’s HDMI output, which sends a full-on, 1080p-resolution signal to your TV. Obviously, you’ll need a set that can handle all those zeros and ones, but if you’re covered in that department, consider this a high-def player that also doubles as a kick-ass laptop. And take a look at that sleek design. Tech skills aside, it’s all but guaranteed to make you the coolest guy in business class.
Sony Vaio AR Premium 190G, $3,500, available next month at www.sonystyle.com.

VoIP phones
Style Statement: Xact XBV7150 Slide Network: Skype, Gizmo, AOL, Yahoo!, Google Talk Size: 4.1 x 2 x 1.1 inches; 13.4 ounces Price: $249; available for preorder, ships in July Web: www.getxact.com
This soon-to-debut newcomer from New York-based company Xact brings a sorely needed dose of style to a plain-vanilla market. With a black-and-nickel-trimmed case, two-inch, 65K color display, blue-backlit and chrome-adorned keypad, and upward-sliding face, it’s a phone you can display without embarrassment. The stuff inside is pretty impressive, too. Features include the ability to expand into multiple handsets, an intercom, digital answering machine, and caller ID, plus a 200-number phone book that can be sent to and from your mobile phone via Bluetooth. Another cool Bluetooth-enabled function allows you to route outgoing calls directly through your cell—after all, VoIP may be cheap, but those nights and weekends are free.

Money may make your world go around but how much do you really know about it? Forbes searched all over the world and found some strange, interesting and even mind-boggling facts about coins, bills and other legal tender. Uncovering 25 little known facts about money, a few interesting bits are listed below. For the complete story visit www.forbes.com.

Dollars and Cents
It cost about 5.7 cents to produce each of the 8.6 billion U.S. paper notes printed in 2005. The cost is the same regardless of the bill’s denomination.

Pound of Flesh
Dollars are printed on 25% linen and 75% cotton, not paper. And they’re actually pressed, not printed. Each bill weighs exactly 1 gram, so it takes 454 bills to make a pound of money.

Martha, Martha, Martha
Martha Washington is the only woman ever depicted on an American bill, appearing on $1 silver certificates in 1886, 1891 and 1896. Only two real women have had the honor in recent years: suffragette Susan B. Anthony and Shoshone guide Sacagawea, both of whom were featured on dollar coins.

One in a Million
The most valuable currency in the world is the 1933 Double Eagle $20 gold coin. That same year, President Roosevelt decided to take the country off the gold standard and ordered all Double Eagles to be destroyed. A sole survivor surfaced in 1996, and six years later it was sold at auction for $7.95 million.

Cutting Corners
Back when coins were made out of precious metal, cunning thieves used to shave off tiny bits, saving them up to melt into bouillon. This practice, called “coin clipping,” was such a widespread problem that coins would often be removed from circulation at half their weight. In order to combat the problem, coins worth 10 cents or more are produced with “reeded,” or grooved, edges.

God Save the Queen
Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II has been featured on the face of more coin denominations than any other person.

Pork Barrels
16th-century Western Europe, artisans used an orange clay called “pygg” to fashion receptacles for spare change. The name “pygg bank” stuck, and it wasn’t long before the containers were made in the shape of pigs. They were otherwise known as “piggy banks.”