Dont Be These 5 People at Your Holiday Office Party

Dont Be These 5 People at Your Holiday Office Party The annual office holiday party. Yearly bacchanal of the professionals. Wild, lavish Christmas parties may not be as common in the workplace as they were yesteryear, especially as many companies cut costs. However, odds are good that your employer will do something to acknowledge the season of Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/solstice/New Year before everyone leaves for their respective plans. It may seem like an easy event (paaaartay, woo!), but the office party can be a minefield. Here are five cautionary people to keep in mind as you put on that reindeer sweater, sip on some eggnog and get ready to spread some holiday cheer with your colleagues.1. The Drinkervia [giphy.com]Not every holiday party has booze, but if yours does, this is the top area where things can go wrong- especially if there’s an open bar. Never, never forget that you’re at a work event with your colleagues, whether the party is happening in your office or at that cool bar down the street. Try to limit yo urself to one or two drinks. If you end up drinking too much and saying or doing something regrettable, you could find yourself branded for the next year in the office. You should definitely be having fun, but don’t let down your guard so much that you’re reliving your old-school partying days at the office gathering.2. The Food Snobvia [giphy.com]If you have caviar tastes but find yourself at a chips-and-dip party, don’t be the one complaining about the spread- especially if someone else is footing the bill. For many companies, economic realities make a holiday party entirely optional. There just might not be a budget for champagne and fois gras appetizers, so it’s better to embrace that you’re being fed on the company’s dime. This advice goes double if your office shindig is a potluck. Debbie’s festive Jell-O monstrosity might not be to your liking, but making fun of it on Facebook is not going to win you many fans.3. The Dancervia [giphy.com]The office party dance floor is not the time to debut the lambada you taught yourself by watching YouTube videos. It’s also another chance to be wary of how much you’re, uh, enjoying yourself (see #1), keeping in mind that everyone can see you. Also, they likely have smartphones and the wifi connection to put your killer dance moves on the internet. So keep it G-rated, and don’t treat it like an audition for So You Think You Can Dance.  4. The Inappropriate Fashionistavia [giphy.com]Sorry, but office dress code still applies at the office holiday party. I once had a colleague who would disappear into the ladies’ room for an hour before the holiday party, and emerge looking like she was ready for a night at the city’s best clubs- complete with invisibly short skirt and a very low-cut top. Everyone else was wearing the same business-casual outfits they normally wore, so it was definitely†¦ awkward. When choosing an outfit for the ho liday party, stick to clothes you would feel comfortable wearing any other day at work.5. The Monopolizervia [giphy.com]The holiday party is a great chance to talk to colleagues you don’t see often or strike up conversations with people who could be good additions to your network for next year. Try not to spend all your time with the same person. Even if you’re an introvert, the holiday party is a great excuse to be a little extra social- with food and drink to get you relaxed and chatting. So circulate! There’s no need to lock down one person for two hours’ worth of conversation.So yes, there are rules, but the most important one is still this one: have fun! You’ve had a long and productive year, and this is a chance to blow off steam with your coworkers. By paying a little extra attention to how you approach this social-professional hybrid event, you can celebrate with good cheer and go home knowing your name will be gossip-free when you all retu rn after the holidays.

How to Use Pickle to Save Objects in Python

How to Use Pickle to Save Objects in Python Pickle, which is part of the Python library by default, is an important module whenever you need persistence between user sessions. As a module, pickle provides for the saving of Python objects between processes. Whether you  are programming for a database, game, forum, or some other application that must save information between sessions, pickle is useful for saving identifiers and settings. The pickle module can store things such as data types such as booleans, strings, and byte arrays, lists, dictionaries, functions, and more. Note:  The concept of pickling is also known as serialization, marshaling, and  flattening. However, the point is always the same- to save an object to a file for later retrieval. Pickling accomplishes this by writing the object as one long stream of bytes.   Pickle Example Code in Python To write an object to a file, you  use a code in the following syntax: import pickle object Object() filehandler open(filename, w) pickle.dump(object, filehandler) Heres how a real-world example  looks: import pickle import math object_pi math.pi file_pi open(filename_pi.obj, w) pickle.dump(object_pi, file_pi) This snippet writes the contents of object_pi to the file handler file_pi, which in turn is bound to the file filename_pi.obj in the directory of execution. To restore the value of the object to memory, load the object from the file. Assuming that pickle has not yet been imported for use, start by importing it: import pickle filehandler open(filename, r) object pickle.load(filehandler) The following code restores the value of pi: import pickle file_pi2 open(filename_pi.obj, r) object_pi2 pickle.load(file_pi2) The object is then ready for use once again, this time as object_pi2. You can, of course, reuse the original names, if you prefer. This example uses distinct names for clarity. Things to Remember About Pickle Keep these things in mind when using the pickle module: The pickle protocol is specific to Python – its not guaranteed to be cross-language compatible. You most likely cannot transfer the information to make it useful in Perl, PHP, Java, or other languages.There is also no guarantee of compatibility between different versions of Python. IThe incompatibility exists because not every Python data structure can be serialized by the module.By default, the latest version of the pickle protocol is used. It remains that way unless you manually change it. Tip:  Also find out  how to use shelve to save objects in Python  for another method of maintaining object continuity.

5 Year E-Mini Bundle Futures of Eurodollar Contracts Essay - 1

5 Year E-Mini Bundle Futures of Eurodollar Contracts - Essay Example This pack allows transaction of the monetary equivalent of 20 quarterly Euro Dollar terminations in a single contract. Through Eurodollar contract, organizations can get the following benefits: Â  Limits of arbitrage are usually seen as one of two building blocks needed to clarify irregularities. The presence of price limits and margin necessities on a futures contract are usually disregarded in the assessment and arbitrage settings. There are several limitations in the price of futures contracts and it is ensured by future arbitrage. The existence of price limits helps to minimize the instability of prices by defending organizations against market overreaction. However, price limit can also make future contracts less liquid. Future arbitrage makes future contracts more valuable. Arbitrage generates a strong connection among the futures and commercial values (New York University, n.d.). Â  Limit of arbitrage is significant for behavioral descriptions of irregularities and wider revision of asset valuation. Limit of future arbitrage is a portion of finance plan to clarify variances based on investors’ emotional prejudices. Arbitrageurs can face the following price limitations: Â  The interest rate swap is a derivative to interchange interest rate for accomplishing lesser borrowing rates. Swap players can change interest rate from static to floating and vice versa. Swapping is beneficial when one player desires to get an amount with a floating interest rate while other player wishes for preventing future risks by getting a static interest rate in its place. In swapping, both players have their own primaries.

Comparative paper examining some aspect of the legal regime governing Essay

Comparative paper examining some aspect of the legal regime governing media in Hong Kong and in the United States - Essay Example Under this principle, the media are the voice of the ruling Party and play by its rules and policies. Apart from that, the Party controls all activities of the media that pertains to news production and delivery to the public. Thus, the media only delivers what is authorized by the Party to the public. On the contrary, in America, the media operates freely with minimal interference from the government. Additionally, the media functions as a â€Å"watchdog,† which evaluates and monitors the actions and activities of the government. Defamation laws in these two countries clearly bring out the differences and similarities in media activities and regulations in America and China. Defamation in law is the act of making statements about a person, which damages the reputation of the individual in question. When in written format, defamation is referred to as â€Å"libel† and â€Å"slander† when in spoken form. In order to understand how defamation law works in China, it is essential to explore the structure and function of the legal system in China as it pertains to matters of the media. Thus, the first section of this paper will explore the legal system in China while drawing on any similarities and differences with the United States legal system. The second section will look at the background of defamation law in the United States and Chinese, and finally, the last section will draw on comparison between defamation law in China and the United States. This provision is similar to what is found in the United States Constitution, and at first, one may think that the Chinese media enjoys the same rights as that in America. However, application of the Chinese Constitution is different from that of the United States constitution. Unlike the Americans, citizens of China enjoy neither economic nor civil rights enjoyed by their American counterparts. This ineffectiveness in the application of the Constitution in China is because of the

Bruises on Lillian-Jean Essay Example for Free

Bruises on Lillian-Jean Essay Hans it like a strategic carefully manoeuvred battle, getting advice from her father. She also gets Big Ma, her grandmother to braid her hair so Lillian-Jean could not pull it in the fight. For a 9 year old she is very bright and discerning, as she leaves no marks or bruises on Lillian-Jean, so there is no evidence for anyone to accuse her of the beating. Cassie gets full satisfaction as she gets Lillian-Jean to give her a full apology; excusing her and her family for all the ill treatment they had given her family. I also feel that Cassie learns to be prudent in order to protect her family and her community. Harsh experience such as the incidents in Strawberry, have taught her to defend herself with intelligence and skill. A whole train of events led up to the exciting climax: the family were having financial difficulties because of Mr Logans injury, so they are entirely dependent on their crop. However, in order to deflect attention from TJ, Mr Logan sets fire to the crops. Soon after the fire, Cassie realised that Papa had set fire to the crops, sacrificing a quarter of the Logan cotton crop to save TJ. At this point, Cassie gains awareness of how vital it is that she keeps such information to herself. Had she been her former, outspoken self, her whole family would have suffered greatly as a result. Despite Cassies more obvious traits of thoughtlessness and outspokenness, she can also be extremely sympathetic and understanding. This is evident in her relationship with TJ whom she really does not like. Cassie dislikes his attitude of believing he is superior to his fellow citizens. Like Cassie, he fails to comprehend at that point in life where his status lies. Over time, TJ constantly betrays the Logan family. He is deceitful and he causes Stacey to fail his class test. Also, he instigates the loss of Mrs Logans teaching job and finally requires the familys help in the end, in his time of need. Although Cassie imagines all of the bad things that she would like to happen to him because of the hurt he had caused her family, she sympathises with the agony that he and his family were to encounter after his stupidity. As well as being outspoken, Cassie is a sensitive character who shows great consideration for others. This is evident in her relationship with Jeremy. Jeremy is a local white boy who wants to befriend the Logan children. However, relationships between Black and White children are strongly frowned upon, and so great awkwardness surrounds this situation. At one pint in the novel, Jeremy delivers some Christmas gifts, but is quickly dismissed by Mr Logan. As he dejectedly slides out of the door Cassie shouts, Merry Christmas, which makes Jeremy smile. Instinctively she knew how to make him feel better. As we progress through the novel Cassie begins to grow up, becoming wiser and realising that she has to take risks in order to defend things that are important to her. However, she is most careful in her risk taking and tries to reduce the danger to herself. Cassie learns the value of not telling everybody, everything she knows. Her mature attitude comes across effectively in the TJ incident. Once, Cassie would have wanted to know the whole story about TJ Averys run in with the law. At that point she knows that it was something her brothers did not need to know, as it would only frighten them. Cassie realises that if the boys need to know, her Mother and Father would inform them of the details, as it is not her place to frighten them. Cassie demonstrates that, despite her earlier outspokenness, she has learned to accept her status in society. Throughout the novel, Cassie goes through the same experiences as many adolescents, such as parental conflict and the desire for independence. However, as a young Black girl growing up in the prejudiced Deep South of America during the 1930s, she also experiences unwarranted hardships due to her colour. During the course of this novel, Cassie learns to deal with these hardships, and as a result she matures very quickly. This maturity comes at a price, for Cassie she learned that she must sacrifice honesty and dignity in order for her and her family to survive. Gemma-Louise Nicol 5R1 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mildred Taylor section.

Technology or Liberal Arts? :: Personal Reflection

I have always had two interesting, but opposite loves. I have always found myself referring back to computers and philosophy in my everyday routine. I would usually spend hours reading and analyzing Plato’s doctrines or tinkering with the insides of my custom made PC, sometimes both at the same time. However, if ever asked which one I would like to pursue as a career, I would have to stop and think about it. Both computer science and philosophy have a lot to offer, but at the same time, a lot to dislike. There are advantages and disadvantages for getting a computer science degree. Computer science is a growing field that isn’t slowing down. Companies are constantly looking for young bright gurus who know how to understand and handle the amount of new information being created every day. Even in this current economic situation, people who work with computers have very stable jobs. We as a society are at a point where we rely too heavily on computers to accomplish tasks for us, and cannot just simply stop using them. Financially, computer science also looks promising. Since computers are alien to most people, the fact that there are a small percentage of people that actually understand computers, people who know are considered to have a â€Å"unique† set of skills. So employers are ready to give fat paychecks to anyone that has proven that they are experts in the field. Since I have had previous jobs in this field, I can confirm that there is good money in it. For exampl e, being a junior in a high school I was given a part time job (which later became full time) which started me off at $9.25 an hour. This later increased as they saw how skilled I was. On the other hand, despite all of these positive reasons, computer science has a very promising outlook as a job for it is quite boring and dull. I would find myself hating my job and myself as I type away at a keyboard inside of a cubical. It does not stimulate the body or the mind and I would find myself looking forward to simple things, such as being first to get to the fresh pot of coffee, as a source of excitement. As well as not enjoying my job, my degree would be outdated within a few years. Which means though I may have been working for a company for multiple years, a young naive college graduate could easily take my place.

War Is Peace, Freedom Is Slavery, Ignorance Is Strength

1984 For as long as governments have existed, the people they ruled feared them. This fear and the desire to improve these governments have let to countless different attempts to perfect government. From the most liberal democracy to the most crushing dictatorship, governments have all faced some shortcomings. Because of the faults inherent in all governments, various types of governance have been the topic for many authors. The late novelist Ayn Rand wrote many books on the trouble that a socialist government could bring and espoused the virtue of individualism. She felt that by allowing government to limit our individual freedoms, we were sentencing ourselves to a certain death. She wrote that â€Å"We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force† (Rand). Rand realized that a government with too much control would not be able to help but overreach. Although George Orwell died seven years prior to the publication of Ayn Rand’s most well known novel Atlas Shrugged, he held the same fear of an all-powerful government. Orwell felt that with the new technology appearing during his life and the ever-increasing power of government, the politicians could choose to rule every facet of the citizens’ lives. The novel 1984 is a depiction of what Orwell thought would happen if a totalitarian regime were left unchecked by the people. He paints a stark picture of this dystopia in 1984 by the masterful use of both symbolism and irony. Orwell lets almost no time pass before he introduces symbolism and irony into his story. He begins his novel by saying that â€Å"it was a bright, cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen† (Orwell 1). By saying that it was a bright day in April, Orwell gives the reader a sense that there is hope. April, a month in the spring, is a symbol of a new beginning and is a classic literary tool for showing the beginning of a novel. Orwell’s mention of a bright day is another reference to the hope still present in the lives of the characters. Had Orwell stated that the day was dark or dim, it could have given the reader an entirely different outlook on how the characters lives might turn out. Despite these two optimistic symbols, Orwell also throws in two very ominous symbols in the same sentence. The reason for doing this is to set a tone of irony that carries through the rest of the book. In addition to describing the day as bright, Orwell also portrays it to be cold. This is his subtle way of informing the reader that not everything is well in the characters’ lives. Orwell also found it important to tell the readers that the clocks were striking thirteen, an ominous number for many cultural civilizations. An example of this is in Christianity where Judas, the thirteenth person to be seated at the last supper, later betrayed Jesus. (Mark 14. 10-11) The development of the plot of 1984 is riddled with examples of irony. Orwell practically spells out the irony for the reader when he writes, â€Å"Even the names of the four Ministries by which we are governed exhibit a sort of impudence in their deliberate reversal of the facts. The Ministry of Peace concerns itself with war, The Ministry of Truth with lies, The Ministry of Love with torture, and the Ministry of Plenty with starvation† (Orwell 178). This is an important example of irony because it is used to show the complete disconnect from the morals and principles of a free society. The main character, Winston Smith, is somewhat of an ironic character himself. He is not the typical protagonist. Most protagonists are strong, burly and brave, while Winston is slight and has an ulcer on his leg. Winston is employed in the â€Å"records† department of the Ministry of Truth. Despite its noble name, The Ministry of Truth is actually the branch of government that revises the past to make the lies of the present true. In fact, Winston’s job is to rewrite history to meet current priorities. Another dominant example of irony is the Party’s slogan: â€Å"WAR IS PEACE, FREEDOM IS SLAVERY, IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH† (Orwell 17). The slogan is an example of superficial verbal irony. However, upon closer examination, it sheds more light on Orwell’s intent. By stating that â€Å"war is peace†, Orwell sends distinct messages to two vastly different groups. To the proles, the commoners, â€Å"war is peace† can be read at its most literal meaning, that there can one day be peace by defeating the enemy and securing victory. Despite the simple understanding the proles have of the slogan, those in the Inner Party, the group of people in charge of Oceania, have a much more devious understanding of it. To them, the slogan represents the shell game that they play with the common citizen. Much like the street gambler taking bets on which shell the rock is under, the Inner Party assures that the citizenry is focused on whatever country Oceania is fighting, rather than on the leaders of the country. This claim is further supported on page 161 where Orwell describes the futility of the wars that are being fought. â€Å"None of the three superstates ever attempts any maneuver which involves the risk of serious defeat† (Orwell 161). Rather than try to end the wars, they continue fighting to keep the minds of the working class occupied with hate. The leaders in 1984 saw that it was not advantageous to advocate a strict moral code because it limited their ability to control the populace. Saul Alinsky shows a later example of this type of thinking in the book Rules for Radicals. Alinsky, a community organizer, outlined a set of rules for people to follow as a deceptive means of gaining and maintaining power. He saw that in order to maintain power, things such as morals and ethics needed to be flexible. One of his most important rules was that â€Å"generally, success or failure is a mighty determinant of ethics† (Alinsky 15). It is a safe assumption that if Alinsky’s rules were available to the Inner Party, they would know exactly how to use them. Some of the strongest examples of irony in 1984 are the characters in the Junior Anti-Sex League. The name is typical of an organization in a dystopian society that seeks to demonize anything that makes one group seem above another. Much like the Ministry of Love that handles the prisons and discipline, the Junior Anti-Sex League is a paradox as well. Actually, the members of the league are very promiscuous. One of the main characters involved in the Junior Anti-Sex league is Julia. It is ironic that while on an excursion with the Junior Anti-Sex League, she discovers the place where she and Winston first begin their affair. When Orwell describes her, he talks about â€Å"her sweet supple waist, which seemed to ask you to encircle it with your arm† (Orwell 17) and describes the scarlet sash around it. It is ironic that Orwell would go to such great lengths to describe Julia as an attractive feminine character, since she is a member of the Junior Anti-Sex League. Typically, those associated with groups that espouse feminism try to downplay their ladylike characteristics. It is also ironic that the sash around her waist is scarlet. Scarlet is a color most associated with passion and love, concepts that the Junior Anti-Sex League did not agree with. One of the key tenants of the Junior Anti-Sex League is chastity. When using symbolism, most authors choose the color blue in order to convey a sense of â€Å"loyalty, fidelity, constancy, and chastity† (Jaffe). This is why The Virgin Mary is typically painted wearing blue. An example of symbolism, prolific throughout the story, is that the lives of the characters are in â€Å"telescreens†. A telescreen is a device that â€Å"received and transmitted simultaneously† (Orwell 6), and allowed Big Brother to keep an eye on the people. The telescreens directly symbolized the pervasive nature of a totalitarian government’s desire to control the populace. Throughout his life, Orwell had experiences that helped shape his view of these government types. As a young man, Orwell worked as a peace officer in Burma. There, he saw the way the British government treated the native Burmese people. Orwell became outraged with the inhumanity that pervaded the British Imperial and eventually published two of his most famous essays, â€Å"A Hanging† and â€Å"Shooting an Elephant† (Brunsdale 7). Orwell was also able to see the horrors committed by the Soviet Union, â€Å"where an estimated seven million perished in 1940 alone† (Tolstoy 283). Because of his life experiences, Orwell used the telescreens as a metaphor for how governments abuse their power, and to shed light on his distaste for totalitarianism. As the story progresses, Winston finds an antique shop. Among other things, Winston purchases a glass paperweight. Inside the glass is a piece of coral. Orwell describes the paperweight as a â€Å"heavy lump of glass, curved on one side, flat on the other† with a â€Å"strange, pink, convoluted object that recalled a rose or a sea anemone† (Orwell 80). Winston is impressed by how large the coral appears to him and feels that it has a sense of permanence and importance. â€Å"Winston’s [paperweight] has a piece of coral embedded in it, and he examines it intently, surprised that anything so delicate could survive in a brutal age† (Shelden 431). The paperweight is important for two reasons. One is to show how little the people know of how old something is. The paperweight is the cheap type of nick-nack that would be found in a gift shop at a hospital or a truck stop. However, the man at the antique store estimates that it â€Å"wasn’t made less han a hundred years ago† and how he â€Å"can remember when a thing like that would have fetched eight pounds† (Orwell 81). The other indicates that the paperweight represents the spirit inside of Winston Smith. When Smith is finally captured (ironically at the antique store where he felt he was safest from The Party and their telescreens), the agents of the Party shatter the glass and reveal how small and insignificant the coral inside the glass actually is. This truly upsets Winston and signals the beginning of the crushing of his spirit and the inevitability of a Party victory. The game of chess is also used by Orwell to show the plight of the characters in 1984. Chess, in its simplest form, is a strategy game where the object is to capture the king. The pieces are typically black and white. In literature, this is considered a metaphor for good (white) versus evil (black). Chess is also used as a metaphor in William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, along with many other pieces of classic literature. In The Tempest, Shakespeare uses the chess game to show how Prospero’s daughter has cunningly built alliances and manipulated people with the skill of a great chess player. She exclaims, â€Å"the strongest piece is the queen; and the combat always ends with the cry, ‘Checkmate! ‘† (Frans van Dijkhuizen). This signifies her triumph over Prospero. In 1984, Orwell complicates things by using his unique style to give the reader a better understanding of Winston’s life. Orwell tells the reader that the citizens of Oceania receive chess problems daily in their newspapers. In these problems, the citizen is assigned the black chess piece. Rather than use white as the color attached to the protagonist, he assigns white to the Party. This symbolizes the irony that, although the reader knows the Party is evil, the lines have been skewed for the characters in 1984 by the indoctrination into their society. This uncommon twist shows that in the eyes of the Party, they hold the moral high ground. As the game plays out, Winston ends up losing the problem to the party and recalls, â€Å"in no chess problem since the beginning of the world has black ever won†(Orwell 238). This symbolizes the â€Å"fragility of life and the imminence of death† that permeates all of the characters’ lives. Bowker 370) George Orwell’s novel 1984 has left an indelible mark on pop culture and will probably be studied for years to come. It is uncanny to see how some of his predictions have come true. It is also telling of the impact that 1984 has had on society; words and phrases like â€Å"Newspeak† and â€Å"Orwellian† are now part of the English language. â€Å"His very particular perspective on the world, his ability to see how whole systems function and the threat they pose, and to portray them in the most limpid of prose in all their comedy and horror – that vision is instantly recognized as ‘Orwellian’† (Bowker 434). [Orwell] revealed in the starkest way the threat which not only totalitarianism offers to individual freedom and thought, but also science unconstrained by morality† (Bowker 434). While many authors have used symbolism and irony in their works, perhaps none have used them as masterfully as George Orwell did in 1984. Works Cited Alinsky, Saul. Rules for Radicals. Vintage ed. New York, NY: Random House, Inc. , 1989. Print. Bowker, Gordon. Inside George Orwell: A Biography. 1st ed. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003. Print. Brunsdale, Mitzi. Student Companion to George Orwell. 1st. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000. Print. Frans van Dijkhuizen, Jan. â€Å"Prospero's Dream. † The Tempest and the Court Masque Inverted. Web. 17 Nov 2009. . Jaffe, Eric. Dictionary of Symbolism. 2001. University of Michigan, Web. 19 Nov 2009. . Orwell, George. 1984. New York, NY: Penguin Putnam Inc. , 1950. Print. pagename=arc_ayn_rand_the_nature_of_government>. Rand, Ayn. â€Å"The Nature of Government. † Ayn Rand Center for Individual Rights. Web. 16 Nov 2009.