Erieversible

The domain name ‘Erieversible’ was something of a flash of genius.  I admit it.  Of course.  :-)  But now I have accepted a job in Buffalo (East Aurora to be precise) there’s a question as to whether the name is still appropriate.

So, the question becomes what name should the blog operate under?  Clearly ‘Erieversible’ would no longer be quite so appropriate, though it doesn’t actually become a ‘lie’ unless we were to return to the Isle of Man or the UK?  Should the new title reflect a move from the Isle of Man to Buffalo?  Or from Erie to elsewhere?

The family still have close ties to Erie and will be returning here quite often - we’ll have to get a frequent flyer deal with Homewood Suites (the 5-year old just loves the pool there).

So maybe we just keep the domain name and simply keep typing.  Decisions, decisions

Having made one move this year I hope the move to Buffalo region will be easier.  After all, it’s 100 miles rather than 3,500 miles - but moving states seems to be almost as much hassle as moving countries.

Following on from toe-dipping back into equities (stocks, shares, whatever), yesterday the US shares of the Royal Bank of Scotland underwent a reverse split.  Each share on the US New York exchange is now worth 20 of the UK shares.  Why?  I see that to be listed on the NYSE they expect a company’s share price to be above $2 and there was no chance of RBS recovering to those levels in a reasonable time.  From Monday the shares are worth nearly $20 so they are okay.  For now.

So, what about all those other companies who have suffered a large drop in share price?  Either the NYSE can change the rules, perhaps only temporarily, so that organizations do not have to undertake reverse splits like this, or the rule stands and more of these reverse splits take place.  The problem I have with the latter is that reverse splits involve costs to the companies in trouble, with money going to brokers and various elements involved in the equities business.  It also costs shareholders money - it cost me $20 in fees.  Seems to me that these sorts of costs do nothing to help the economy get back on its feet, but simply provide an extra income stream for the middle-men who add absolutely no benefit to the economic recovery in this way.  Time for the NYSE to face up to today’s situation.

Just my 2 pence worth.  (Now worth only 3.2 cents).

Tell me, is it normal for organizations in the US to hold telephone interviews as the first round of the hiring process?  Even when the organization and candidate are local?  All the first interviews I’ve had so far (both of them!) have been telephone interviews.  In each case I’ve progressed through to an on-site interview.  However, both those were distant (Cleveland, Buffalo).  I have an interview at the end of today with a local organization, just a handful of miles away, but they want a telephone interview.  I suspect there’s a standard process, but it does seem a little strange to someone who, when hiring, would much rather sit down and look a candidate in the eyes!

Meanwhile the leaves continue to fall in a thick blanket.  As and when we buy a ‘proper’ house our shopping list now has a new entry -no massive maple trees, unless someone else offers to collect them every Fall.