GMAT question Part 5

Five years ago, Jim’s mom was three times as old as Jim was. Now their combined ages are 50. 

How old is Jim’s mom today?

What Sells More: Naked man or Naked Harry?

 

A naked man is a naked man until he is royalty than he's called naked Harry.

I have seen the entire hassle made by the press over the “compromising” pictures of Prince Harry taken in Vegas this week. What exactly is the problem? I mean the guy went there to have some fun and ended up in Adam’s suit protecting a wannabe Eve and bam the next day he’s all over the news. 

The televisions are flashing; newspapers are throwing their former headlines to make room for the “unbelievable pictures of price Harry” and as a consequence the entire planet wants to see HIM naked. Why??? Why seeing a man without clothes is soooo important, soooo necessary as to shift everyone’s attention even for a couple of minutes from what is really necessary to report and debate. Apparently adding Prince after naked makes money pour regardless of the context.

Ever since the ink hit the paper the aftermath reactions have been flooding everyone’s ears and I guess will continue for a long time. Like always tabloids started making assumptions: “The photos have potential implications for the Prince's image representing Britain around the world”; “There are questions over his security during the Las Vegas holiday. Questions as to whether his position in the army might be affected. Further, we believe Harry has compromised his own privacy." 

WHAT??? His image will never be affected. His security is probably stronger than ever and his privacy will again be breached when he consents it. My opinion is that Harry got together with some guys and girls in Vegas, probably people he met there and wanted to spend an ordinary night like a normal human been. Unfortunately for him among the crowd there was a he or a she who sold the quality time he/she had for a couple of bucks. Shame on them! 

Apparently the saying what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas doesn’t apply to all. Look at the bright side Harry, at least you didn't end up with a herpes :D!

New discovery released by Vatican's official newspaper

On June 2012, Vatican's official newspaper' L'Osservatore Romano, announced the discovery of some original Christian documents in the Library of Munich (Germany). The discovery, made by philology professor Marina Molin Pradel at Munich's Bayerische Staatbibliothek consists of 29 original sermons belonging to the great thinker and Christian theologian Origen, dating back to the early third century AD. 

"It is, according to all probability, the discovery of the century", said the Vatican newspaper.

Origen is considered to be the "father of biblical exegesis," as he was one of the first great Christian philosophers to interpret the books of the Old and New Testament.

When studying a Byzantine codex from eleventh century, "Monacensis" Greek 314, Marina Molin Pradel noted that some sermons there matched those of Origen from the first half of the third century  translated in Latin in the fifth century. "Researcher concluded that all 29 of sermons contained in Codex, considered until then unpublished belonged to the great Christian intellectual," says L'Osservatore Romano.

Origen, born in Egypt around AD 185, was succeeded at the head of the theological school of Alexandria in 215 by Clement of Alexandria. He then founded a theological school in Caesarea, in Palestine. He died in 253, the city of Tyre in Phoenicia.
 
As a curiosity the "lectio divina," a practice of prayer, relaunched by Pope Benedict XVI is attributed to Origen.

Bombing in Turkey

A car bomb went off this Monday in the center of Gaziantep, a major industrial hub in southeastern Turkey. 8 people were killed in the blast and 66 were wounded. Government representatives refused to make any statements as police still tries to find the culprits. 

The attack was not claimed by any cell.

www.cnn.com

How to write a mission statement for a business

Defining your business’s purpose is not an easy task. Every business has its own brand, so in setting your mission statement, you should identify the attributes of your product or service that define the brand and its long-term positioning.

When delineating your mission statement you should answer 3 important questions:

1. What is the exact reason of your existence (what is the market opportunity you have identified)?

Identifying the set of favorable circumstances that create a need or an opening for a new business is not easy. To make sure that as many as possible favorable circumstance are present when identifying an opportunity you must investigate whether there is really a market need and whether the solution you have for this need is feasible. To do that you should see if you can answer the following questions:

• Is there really a market? Can you frame and visualize your target market as specific as possible? 
•  Is the market large enough? Can you recover your investment in a decent amount of time?
• Is the market sufficiently unhappy with existing products? Is the competition tough?
• Are the economic conditions favorable? Will the market be able to patronize your product/service long enough?

 

2. What are you doing to solve the problem (what is your business core activity)?

The solution you believe best capitalizes the opportunity you have identified must be clearly stated. Avoid metaphors or fancy wording and make sure everyone understands exactly what are you doing. A common mistake here is not to distinguish the business concept from the opportunity. In general when you define your business concept you must think what makes your product or service stand out. By describing its uniqueness and perks you will make sure that your business will remain in the market long enough to guarantee you the reward required. 

3. What are the principals that you follow in your day to day business?

Letting customers know how you are going to go about your business will improve their confidence in the product or services you are offering. The values that you stand for are like the tools that you use to accomplish your mission. Hence believing in them it’s essential. They should not be simple words but a reflection of your credence in achieving the sought success.

To exemplify the three points mentioned above here is an analysis of a mission statement.

Kraft Foods

Mission: “Anywhere, anytime, everyday. No matter what the occasion, we take food to heart. Our higher purpose, make today delicious, is about much more than the products we make. It defines us, unites us, and inspires us to make a delicious difference in our company, in our communities, and in our world.”

The reason: to make food available “anywhere, anytime, everyday”

The business: to make delicious food

The values: creativity, union, care for others

Two new pyramids discovered in Egypt

Google Earth

Google Earth has revealed two bizarre formations showing on the Egypt's map. Scientists say that these formations are two new pyramids.

The unusual constructions are located 130 kilometers away from each other. According to archaeologist Michal Angela, one of the sites is located in northern Egypt, only 18 kilometers from the city of Abu Sidhum on the banks of the river Nile and the other one is near the Fayoum oasis.

The sites contain configurations with structures similar to that of the Giza pyramids.

Michal Angela said on an interview given to Google Earth Anomalies website , that she is almost convinced that the formations discovered are two new pyramids. "The images speak for themselves. It is obvious that these sites contain something. Nevertheless, scientists need to go on the field and  confirm our suspicions " said the archeologist.

Bronze Medal at Women's Gymnastics Beam Taken from Romania

The London Olympics seems to be filled with controversy and bad judgements. I think they like to play with peoples nerves and make the competitors suffer. I see no other  explanation. To confirm this would like to point out what happened today at women's gymnastics beam final. Catalin Ponor from Romania was declared the bronze medalist winner after all 8 contestnats performed.

The last girl to perform was Alexandra Raisman from USA. After she finished her exercise she was given a 14.966 points 100 hundredths below Catalin Ponor. Raisman's coach appealed the judges' decision and as a consequence she received a new score of 15.066.  The difficulty of her exercise was changed allowing her to step on the podium. 

I'm no expert but it seems to me that most Olympics games so far have been judged by people who labeled performance as they pleased.

South Korea wins men's Olympics fencing

South Korea team has won the Olympics final at fencing beating the Romanian team with 45 at 25.
Congratulations to all the players!!!

Special medal for Shim A Lam at 2012 Olympics

The International Fencing Federation announced that Shim A Lam will receive a special medal during the Olympics as a  token for her controversial elimination from the Olympic fencing semi-final.

The medal will bear the following engraving "For aspiration to win and respect of the rules".
What does this suppose to mean? Respect the rules and you will never win ... you can only aspire to win. Couldn't the judges admit their mistake then? Why are they trying to put more salt on an open wound?

Shim A Lam's reaction was obvious "It does not make me feel better. It's not an Olympic medal," she said.