2008 – Page 13 – Subzero Blue

The IKEA Product Naming System

Ever wondered about where IKEA gets their product names from? What they mean? What language they’re in?

Well most of the names are usually either Swedish, Danish, Finnish or Norwegian in origin, and there’s a whole naming system that they’re using for their product ranges, and it goes as follows:

Upholstered furniture, coffee tables, rattan furniture, bookshelves, media storage, doorknobs: Swedish place names

Beds, wardrobes, hall furniture: Norwegian place names

Dining tables and chairs: Finnish place names

Bookcase ranges: Occupations

Bathroom articles: Scandinavian lakes, rivers and bays

Kitchens: grammatical terms, sometimes also other names

Chairs, desks: men’s names

Materials, curtains: women’s names

Garden furniture: Swedish islands

Carpets: Danish place names

Lighting: terms from music, chemistry, meteorology, measures, weights, seasons, months, days, boats, nautical terms

Bedlinen, bed covers, pillows/cushions: flowers, plants, precious stones; words related to sleep, comfort, and cuddling

Children’s items: mammals, birds, adjectives

Curtain accessories: mathematical and geometrical terms

Kitchen utensils: foreign words, spices, herbs, fish, mushrooms, fruits or berries, functional descriptions

Boxes, wall decoration, pictures and frames, clocks: colloquial expressions, also Swedish place names

[Source: Wikipedia]

Happy New Hijri Year 1429

I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Hijri Year 1429. Today is the first day of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar.

May it be a blessed, happy and joyful new year for you all bringing you prosperity, success and great health.

Most households in Tunisia cook either Mloukhia or Couscous on this day; Mloukhia, because it’s green as a way of hoping it will be a green and fruitful new year ahead, or Couscous, Tunisia’s national dish using meat that was specially dried and salted for the occasion from the previous Eid Al-Adha (Kaddeedit Ras El Am).

It’s a national holiday in most Islamic countries, and most people are probably at home relaxing now, with nothing on their minds but the delicious lunches that awaits them; As for me, well I’m at work, waiting for meetings and going through endless streams of emails and documents.

Happy new Hijri year everyone.

8 Simple Rules to Attain Work/Life Balance

Work/Life balance is a very important subject and really big challenge for a lot of people nowadays; I just came across an interesting post on Slacker Manager where David Zinger shares his 8 simple rules to solve work/life balance.

Here’s a quick overview of his ideas in my own words:

1. Make sure you really want to and can change to achieve this balance
2. Put life before work.
3. Create a dynamic balance not a static one.
4. Set your limits; Know when to say no to work and yes to family.
5. Don’t lie to yourself about who you are working for.
6. Be understanding of your family’s needs and try to find instant solutions and make changes right away.
7. Quality time with your family is important, but quantity counts even more.
8. Talk your way out of teetering at work.Read the full post here: 8 Simple Rules to Solve Work/Life Balance

Olga Kurylenko is New Bond Girl

Olga Kurylenko Production begins today in London on Bond 22, with Daniel Craig reprising the role of Agent 007.

Ukrainian bombshell Olga Kurylenko will be the Bond girl in this movie, according to a press release issued today by the film studios.

Early reports had actress Gemma Arterton as the new Bond girl, but even though Arterton has a role in the new film it is not as large as Kurylenko’s.

A former model, Kurylenko was most recently seen alongside Timothy Olyphant in last November’s “Hitman.”

The film, which is the 22nd in the series, is due in theaters in November.

French actor Mathieu Amalric will star as the film’s sinister villain Dominic Greene, a leading member of the villainous organization introduced in Casino Royale.

[Source: Reuters, Geeks of doom].

What Makes Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurial?

I just came across a really interesting study by Saras D. Sarasvathy from University of Washington’s School of Business on “What Makes Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurial?”.

She examined the reasoning of 30 founders of companies, ranging in size from $200 Million to $6.5 Billion. What Sarasvathy found was that these founders shared a distinct form of rationality that we have all long recognized intuitively as “Entrepreneurial”. She termed this type of rationality “Effectual Reasoning”.

Here is a bit from her study that basically explains this “Effectual Reasoning”:

“Effectual reasoning […] does not begin with a specific goal. Instead, it begins with a given set of means and allows goals to emerge contingently over time from the varied imagination and diverse aspirations of the founders and the people they interact with. While causal thinkers are like great generals seeking to conquer fertile lands (Genghis Khan conquering two thirds of the known world), effectual thinkers are like explorers setting out on voyages into uncharted waters (Columbus discovering the new world).”

And on the process entrepreneurs follow:

“All entrepreneurs begin with three categories of means: (1) Who they are – their traits, tastes and abilities; (2) What they know – their education, training, expertise, and experience; and, (3) Whom they know – their social and professional networks. Using these means, the entrepreneurs begin to imagine and implement possible effects that can be created with them.”

It’s a very interesting study that I really recommend reading: What Makes Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurial? (Saras D. Sarasvathy)

Fly Chicken, The Closest Thing To KFC In Tunisia

People who know me personally or who have followed this blog for a while know that I love my good tasty fast food, and that I don’t miss a chance whenever I’m abroad to head to the nearest Burger King, McDonald’s, KFC, Pizza Hut…etc.
I know a lot of it is unhealthy and that it’s fattening, etc etc etc, but I just love it, despite all the lectures I’ve gotten about it.

Unfortunately, here in Tunisia we don’t have any of my favorite fast food chains, so I can only enjoy their meals when I travel abroad.
Still, I do try my best to look for alternatives here in Tunisia.

And well I thought I’d share one of the places I found here, maybe it’ll ease some other person’s cravings as well.

The place I’m talking about is called “Fly Chicken”, it’s a little fast food place in the TunisCity-Geant food court, it’s the closest thing I’ve found in Tunisia to KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), with a close enough menu too, and best of all it’s really delicious; quite cheap too.

My favorite menu consists of three pieces of chicken, french fries, rice, salad and soda. By the end of the meal, I’m both full and totally satisfied.

It beats the chicken sold at Baguette & Baguette, as well as the expensive but less delicious Chickos.

There you go; maybe next time you’re in TunisCity and you feel like grabbing something to eat, you can try it out for yourself.
Oh and by the way, there’s nothing in it for me; This is a genuine recommendation.

The Air Car Coming Soon

Air Car Apparently, the world’s first Air Cars, vehicles using the power of compressed air technology (CAT) are currently under production, with the possibility of being on sale in Europe and India later this year.

The Air Car, developed by ex-Formula One engineer Guy Nègre, will be built by India’s largest automaker, Tata Motors.

The Air Car uses compressed air to push its engine’s pistons. It is anticipated that approximately 6000 Air Cars will be cruising the streets of India by 2008. If the manufacturers have no surprises up their exhaust pipes the car will be practical and reasonably priced. The CityCat model will clock out at 68 mph with a driving range of 125 miles (200 km) and the cost of the vehicle as low as $7000.

Refueling can be simply and quickly done at a gas station with custom air compressor units; with the fill up costing nearly $2.00. Another option is to plug it into the electrical grid and use the car’s built-in compressor to refill the tank in about 4 hours.

Sounds really good and a lot better and cleaner than the gas guzzling cars we have running around nowadays; Good luck to them with it.

[More: MDI Air Car (Official Website), Air Vehicle (Wikipedia), Air Car (Mahalo), Air Car Ready for Mass Production (Yahoo! Green), Revolutionary air car runs on compressed air (The Raw Story)]

You Are What You Believe Yourself To Be

Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.

— Mahatma Gandhi

10 Signs You Aren’t Cut Out To Be An IT Manager

I just came across a great article on TechRepublic listing the ten signs that show if you’re not cut out to be an IT manager.

The list goes as follows, I’ll keep the writer’s phrasing because it’s straight to the point and effective:

1. You have a real desire to be liked
2. You prefer to avoid the spotlight and just be a part of the gang
3. Every time you are called on to comment about the topic being discussed, you experience short-term memory loss
4. Having a tough conversation with an employee causes you a great deal of duress
5. You don’t like to make tough decisions
6. Being stuck in the middle between the leaders and the team makes your stomach churn
7. You prefer to keep a low profile, just doing your job; when people look at you, it reminds you how many flaws you have
8. Having a verbal duel in a meeting isn’t your idea of fun and you feel uncomfortable standing up to communicate in a meeting
9. You dislike having to work hours beyond the “regular” schedule
10. You could never fire someone because after all, everyone needs a job

I couldn’t agree more. This list englobes all the points an IT manager, or any manager actually, should be careful of and know how to deal with.

For more details, read the full article: 10 signs that you aren’t cut out to be an IT manager (TechRepublic)

Another great article along the same lines is here: 10 signs that you aren’t cut out to be a systems analyst (TechRepublic).