Three Skills For Better Negotiation

Negotiating is a make-or-break skill, whether you're a CEO in charge of a merger or a parent trying to sort out a sibling squabble.  Follow these tips to negotiate agreements productively:

Keep an open mind.  Brainstorm ideas.  Listen to outlandish proposals.  Entertain unusual possibilities.  This will expand opportunities for agreement.

Treat people fairly.  When people feel you're being fair with them, they're more likely to make real commitments.  If they think you're trying to mislead them, they'll walk away in a huff.  You won't get commitment unless the other party feels you're sincerely trying to do what's right.

Listen actively.  Don't plan what you're going to say while the other side is talking.  Pay attention to what they're saying so you know where they're coming from and what they really want.  When your response makes it clear that you've really been listening, they'll be more willing to listen to your suggestions.

A Short History Of The Lobster

Mmmmm - lobster.  That pricey crustacean that's coupled with expensive wines and for many of us means good eating and celebrating.  But it hasn't always been so.

In fact, up until sometime in the 1800s, lobster was eaten only by the lowest of the lower classes - the poor and the institutionalized.  Even in the puritanical and penal environment of colonial America, there were laws against feeding lobster to inmates more than once a week.  It was considered cruel.

One reason that lobsters were not a highly prized food was because of the almost unbelievable abundance that could be found on the East Coast.  There are tales of Plymouth pilgrims wading into the water and capturing more lobsters by hand than they could use.  After great storms on the East Coast, so much lobster washed ashore that it was ground up and used as fertilizer.

The word "lobster" is thought to be a corruption of the Latin word for "locust" and Old English word for spider (loppe).  The native mid-coasters' term for lobster actually meant "bugs," probably because lobsters are pretty much a form of giant sea insects.  A lobster is a crustacean, and crustaceans are arthropods - part of the category Arthropoda, which includes insects, spiders, millipedes and centipedes.  What these creatures have in common is a segmented exoskeleton with appendages that are articulated in pairs.

Our Great Great Lakes

        CAN YOU NAME OUR FIVE GREAT LAKES??

The Great Lakes cover more than 94,000 square miles and contain six quadrillion gallons of fresh water, one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water.  The lakes are so big, they have small tides, especially Lakes Superior and Erie.  And when the wind pushes down on one part of a lake, the water surface rises in another part, creating waves.  It's rare, but the lakes can freeze over, although not solidly.

Hundreds of lighthouses are situated around the Great Lakes; Lake Michigan boasts the most, many of which are still operational.  Even so, experts estimate that the lakes hold as many as 5,000 shipwrecks.

The five Great Lakes are Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario.  Lake Erie was named for the Indian tribe, the Eries; Lake Huron for the Huron Indians.  An Indian name for Lake Michigan was "michi gami," meaning "the great water."  Lake Ontario got its name from the Iroquois; their word for "beautiful" was "ontara," and "ontario" meant "beautiful lake."  Superior was named by the French and it means "Upper Lake," referring to its position above Lake Huron.