Several people reported getting multiple copies of yesterday’s muse and I’ve removed your names, then added them again. Hope this issue comes but once. It is probably not connected, but a reader sent me a forwarded mass message as I readied the muse. Remember to delete humorous, political, inspirational “send this to everyone you know” messages.

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Technology Tools for Information Management Roger V. Skalbeck and Barbara Fullerton's share a fast paced presentation of 19 practical, low cost and innovative tech tools they respectively use on a regular basis. Here are ideas to improve your use of Outlook, RSS, Adobe, and enhance your presentations and collaborative goals.

Investors Achieve Major Company Commitments on Climate Change
News release: "Investors engaging with U.S. companies on the financial risks and opportunities from climate change achieved breakthrough results during the 2008 proxy season. A record 57 climate-related shareholder resolutions were filed with U.S. companies, of which nearly half were withdrawn after the companies agreed to positive climate-related commitments. Remaining resolutions that went to a vote received record high average voting support of 23.5 percent, including 39.6 percent support for a resolution filed with coal company CONSOL Energy, the highest vote ever on a global warming shareholder resolution.
The ’08 proxy season was marked by several major victories, including Ford Motor Co.’s detailed plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from its vehicles by 30 percent. Two major homebuilders, Centex and KB Home, also announced major commitments to increase the energy efficiency of the homes they build beginning in 2009. These actions will dramatically reduce direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the millions of vehicles and homes that the three companies make each year."
Related postings on climate change

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit revived a class action brought against it by consumers who say they were never warned that excessive consumption could lead to mercury poisoning. The appeals court found that a lower court improperly dismissed the suit on the grounds that it was pre-empted by FDA regulations. Here’s a report from the Legal Intelligencer, and here’s the 38-page opinion.
WSJ Law Blog August 20, 2008

‘Thermopylae,’ means ‘hot gates’: ‘hot’ because of the sulfur springs there and ‘gates’ rather than ‘gate’ because of the three separate places where the land narrows.
http://www.historynet.com/battle-of-thermopylae-leonidas-the-hero.htm

Greek for hot: thermo-, therm-, thermi-, -thermia, -therm, -thermal, -thermic, -thermias, -thermies, -thermous, -thermy +
http://www.wordinfo.info/words/index.php?v=info&a=view_unit&s=thermal&page=4&u=4265&spage=1

Latin for cold: frigo-, frig- +
http://wordinfo.info/words/index/info/view_unit/857/?letter=F&spage=5

The United States is one of the richest countries in the world when it comes to natural language resources, with an estimated 311 languages spoken within our borders--162 of these are indigenous languages, and 149 come from other countries. The third president, Thomas Jefferson, spoke between five and seven languages. Herbert Hoover and his wife were fluent in Mandarin, and they translated a book from Latin into English.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/08/11/caught_in_the_grips_of_linguistic_paranoia/

Q. What is contorno?
A. A platter of vegetables usually accompanying the main course in an Italian meal. The word contorno loosely translates as "contours" and refers to the fact that the vegetable course helps shape and define the meal.
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/Mangia-Traditional-Italian-Dining.id-2331.html

August 22 is the birthday of writer Annie Proulx or E. Annie Proulx, (books by this author) born Edna Annie Proulx in Norwich, Connecticut, in 1935. Proulx wrote her first short story at age 10 when she had the chicken pox and was bedridden, and she published her first story in Gourmet magazine at age 20. She wrote magazine articles on topics that included canoeing and mice, and how-to books like Sweet and Hard Cider: Making It, Using It and Enjoying It (1980). She only had time to write a few stories a year, but all of them got published. She didn't want to write anything but short stories — she said, "I find it satisfying and intellectually stimulating to work with the intensity, brevity, balance, and word play of the short story." But her first collection of short stories, Heart Songs (1988), got such good reviews that her editor suggested she write a novel. She decided to give it a try, and "within a half-hour, the whole of Postcards was in my head." Postcards (1992) was followed by more novels, including The Shipping News (1996). She is the author of the short story "Brokeback Mountain" (The New Yorker 1997), which inspired the film.
The Writer’s Almanac