Using Cheese to De-ice Roads

According to the report, officials in America's largest cheese-producing state have taken to mixing cheese brine -- typically of the provolone or mozzarella variety -- with traditional rock salt to create a cheaper, more durable road de-icer.

One of the early adopters of the cheese-salt mix, Minnesota-bordering Polk County, has saved $40,000 since it started using it back in 2009, the Times reports. Milwaukee is testing out a pilot program this year.

One concern is that coating roadways with cheese could make Wisconsin smell more like, well, cheese. But really, would anyone in the Land of Cheese mind? And as anybody who has driven recently in St. Paul can tell you, an ambient aroma of mozzarella would be a small price to pay for drivable roads.

"We're just trying to make every possible use of cheese," Milwaukee alderman Tony Zielinski told the Times. "If this takes off, if this proves to be a success here, I'm sure that it will be used in cities all over the country."

An added bonus: If you're in Wisconsin and can't make it to the grocery store before the Packers game, just dredge up some crackers and head to your nearest icy roadway for an easy salty snack.

Source: http://blogs.citypages.com

5 Things to Know Today

Here are some interesting and important things to know for the coming week.

From a record-breaking lotto jackpot to how to avoid the flu this season, here are five things you need to know for the coming week:

1. Feeling lucky? Go buy a lotto ticket today—or five. The Mega Millions jackpot jumped to $550 million (the fourth biggest prize ever) on Saturday after no winning ticket was sold. The next drawing is on Tuesday.

2. Even though flu season is well underway, it’s not too late to get a flu shot, NBC News reports. Taking a few minutes to stop by the pharmacy or doctor's office for a shot or nose spray could keep you out of the hospital or even save your life. The vaccine prevented 6.6 million cases of flu and 80,000 hospitalizations last year, according to the CDC.

3. The Chronicle of Higher Education has released its annual study on compensation for presidents at private colleges. The study, which uses data from federal tax documents, ranks compensation for the 2011 fiscal year (the most recent time period the data was available). So who are among the highest paid university presidents? The University of Chicago's Robert J. Zimmer and Northeastern University's Joseph E. Aoun, who made about $3.6 million and $3.1 million, respectively.

4. Mailing your Christmas gifts this week? This article gives great tips on how to save on shipping. Refer to this handy shipping cost comparison chart for more info.

5. Americans are spending more on mental health. But it's not enough, says a new report timed to the one-year anniversary of the school shootings in Newtown, Conn. The White House promised another $100 million to help communities provide services.

Source: http://hopkins.patch.com

Pope Attacks Mega-salaries and Wealth Gap in Peace Message

Pope Francis said in the first peace message of his pontificate that huge salaries and bonuses are symptoms of an economy based on greed and inequality and called again for nations to narrow the wealth gap.
In his message for the Roman Catholic Church's World Day of Peace, marked around the world on January 1, he also called for sharing of wealth and for nations to shrink the gap between rich and poor, more of whom are getting only "crumbs".
"The grave financial and economic crises of the present time ... have pushed man to seek satisfaction, happiness and security in consumption and earnings out of all proportion to the principles of a sound economy," he said.
"The succession of economic crises should lead to a timely rethinking of our models of economic development and to a change in lifestyles," he said.
Francis, who was named Time magazine's Person of the Year on Wednesday, has urged his own Church to be more fair, frugal and less pompous and to be closer to the poor and suffering.
His message will be sent to national leaders, international organizations such as the United Nations, and NGO's.
Titled "Fraternity, the Foundation and Pathway to Peace", the message also attacked injustice, human trafficking, organized crime and the weapons trade as obstacles to peace.
Anger at multi-million payouts for executives has swept across the globe as the economic crisis has deepened and the gap between the super-rich and the poor has widened.
But last month, Swiss voters rejected a proposal to cap the salaries of top executives at 12 times that of a company's lowest wage, heeding warnings from industry leaders that the measure could harm the country's economy.
CRUMBS
Francis said many places in the world were seeing a "serious rise" in inequality between people living side by side.
He attacked the "widening gap between those who have more and those who must be content with the crumbs", calling on governments to implement "effective policies" to guarantee people's fundamental rights, including access to capital, services, educational resources, healthcare and technology.
The new pope's style is characterized by frugality. He shunned the spacious papal apartment in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace to live in a small suite in a Vatican guest house, and he prefers a Ford Focus to the traditional pope's Mercedes.
A champion of the downtrodden, he visited the island of Lampedusa in southern Italy in July to pay tribute to hundreds of migrants who had died crossing the sea from North Africa.
Last month, in a document seen as a manifesto of his papacy, he attacked unfettered capitalism as "a new tyranny".
Since his election in March as the first non-European pope in 1,300 years, the Argentinian has several times condemned the "idolatry of money" and said it was a depressing sign of the times that a homeless person dying of exposure on the street was no longer news but a slight fall in the stock market is.

Source: http://www.reuters.com

The case for a six-hour workday

Today, workers are putting in increasingly more hours—so much so that the 40-hour week has become a relic of the past. But pushing employees to clock up those extra hours is bad for their well-being and detrimental to your company.

When you sleep is more important than the number of hours you sleep, a recent study found. What’s more, getting too little sleep might not be ideal, but waking up while it’s still dark is worse. (As we’ve pointed out before, turning up to the office feeling sleepy is like showing up to work drunk.)

In a recent article for the New Yorker, neuroscientist Kenneth Wright said that “cognition is best several hours prior to habitual sleep time, and worst near habitual wake time”—which suggests that you do your best work later in the day, not first thing in the morning. Your consciousness kicks in almost immediately after waking up, but it can take up to four hours for your mind to crank itself up to full awareness and alertness—and in that time, you won’t make good decisions.

So how do employers accommodate this?

A shorter workday works particularly well for knowledge workers—people in creative or professional jobs—who can work productively for about six hours a day, compared to the eight hours manual laborers can churn out, according to Salon. Unlike machines, humans operate on a cyclical basis, which means our energy and motivation fluctuate in peaks and troughs. Cognitive workers tend to be more focused in the late morning, getting another energy boost in the late afternoon when lung efficiency peaks.


It’s been about a century since the economist John Maynard Keynes first touted the six-hour workday, predicting that by 2030 only extreme workaholics would work more than 15 hours a week. It was around the same time that Ford cemented the 40-hour workweek as a labor norm, but in 1930, Kellogg’s introduced the six-hour workday, which proved to be immensely popular with staff members and lasted until 1985.


Another benefit of the shorter workday, Kellogg’s discovered, was that employees were happy to work less when they were paid 12.5% more per hour, meaning the company was able to offer more jobs. Maybe the six-hour workday could be a solution to the US’s current minimum wage debate.

Source: http://qz.com

Justin Bieber brings cheer and hope to typhoon Haiyan survivors

One month after typhoon Haiyan ravaged the city of Tacloban Philippines, the residents experienced another unexpected visitor. This time, the guest was a pleasant and most welcomed one as it was none other than international singing sensation, Justin Bieber.

According to UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), Justin himself volunteered to visit Tacloban City today, December 10, to personally sympathize with and raise funds for the typhoon survivors. During his two-hour stay, he was able to visit City Central School and San Jose Elementary school to serenade and play basketball with the residents.

Also in a series of posts on his Instagram account, Justin shared that this trip was his “most touching” one and has “changed his life.” 

The locals, as well as the whole country, appreciated the miles that Justin flew just to give cheer and hope to the Filipinos. #MaramingSalamatBieber and Justin Bieber in Tacloban trended on Twitter as netizens acknowledged his altruistic act.

Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com

Promote Your Product 24/7

Warning: Take #1, not very polished!
A goal for businesses, big and small, is often brand recognition. How can you make your brand not only stand out from the competition, but also remain in the minds of customers, both current and potential? One way is to get creative with your marketing. Promotional products are a simple tool that can help increase brand awareness for your small business; by customizing an item that a customer can use in his or her everyday life with your logo, for instance, you’re able to keep your small business top of mind.


0:52s  Promotional products that are useful so that your clients hold on to them forever
1:14s  Brand your products, but don’t overdo it and make them look great!
1:27s  Be consistent with your branding
2: 21s Some great examples and case studies with everyone showing off products! Marketing that keeps on giving.

Source: http://basicbananas.com

Outdoor Ice Rinks Open Dec. 21 in Minnetonka and Hopkins

Outdoor skating rinks in Minnetonka and Hopkins open Saturday, Dec. 21
Weather permitting, rinks will remain open until Monday, Feb. 17.
Call the weather hotline number at 952-939-8355 for conditions, closings and updates.

Locations
Skating rinks with warming houses are located at eight Minnetonka locations and six Hopkins park locations.

Warming houses and rinks are located in Minnetonka at Boulder Creek, Covington, Gro Tonka, McKenzie, Meadow and Spring Hill parks and at Gatewood and Glen Lake schools.

Hopkins warming houses and rinks are located at Burnes, Central, Harley Hopkins, Interlachen, Oakes and Valley parks. Visit the Parks page for street addresses.

In Minnetonka:
• Rinks are open from 12-5 p.m. on Christmas Eve and all sites are closed Christmas Day.

In Hopkins:
• Due to adult broomball, only the general skating rink is available for public use at Valley Park on Sundays and Thursdays, from 6–9 p.m.

• Only the general skating rink is available for public use at Central Park on Fridays and Sundays at variable times. Schedule will be posted at Central.

Reservations
The Hopkins and Minnetonka Youth Hockey associations and adult broomball leagues have reserved various hockey rinks for organized practices Monday through Thursday after 6 p.m. A schedule is posted at each rink.

Source: http://hopkins.patch.com

Hopkins rated as one of America's friendliest towns

The Minnesota Nicest place is Hopkins, according to Forbes. The suburb made Forbes' list of "America's Friendliest Towns."

Forbes cites the town's relatively low crime rate, which is reflected by the relative dearth of Hopkins-related crime stories in City Pages archives.

First, here's the methodology Forbes used in putting together its rankings:

    We teamed up with Nextdoor.com, a San Francisco, Calif.-based social network for neighborhoods, to assess 500 small metro areas with populations between 5,500 and 150,000. Using data from the U.S. Census, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, and City-Data.com, we ranked the towns based on four data points: percentage of owner-occupied homes (studies have shown a direct correlation between homeownership and neighborhood stability); the crime rate; charitable giving; and the percentage of college graduates (research has found that college-educated folks typically display more civic engagement, with higher rates of voting and volunteering). Nextdoor then conducted qualitative surveys among its membership in the towns that rated the highest to help finalize the ranking of the top 15.

And here's what Forbes had to say about 13th-ranked Hopkins, population 17,837:

    Situated west of the Twin Cities, this historic small surburban city hosts an array of festivals and throughout the year including Hopkins Mainstreet Days and the annual Raspberry Festival, which offers sporting events, live music and a parade. Despite a low rate of homeownership, Hopkins has a low crime rate compared to the rest of the country.

Source: http://citypages.com