We're riding out the tail-end of what seems like a particularly long week. Anyone else dragging this Friday morning?

It's Light Friday time, folks. Wake up:

(via TechEBlog)

Unlikely Co-worker Complaints
Remember that time you thought your coworker tried to poison you?

CareerBuilder.com recently surveyed 2,600 hiring managers nationwide about the oddest complaints they received from employees. Our favorites:

• Employee is trying to poison me.
• Employee breathes too loudly.
• Employee eats all the good cookies.
• Employee suspected co-worker is a pimp.
• Employee's body is magnetic and keeps de-activating my magnetic access card.
• Employee has bells on her shoes and it's not the holidays.
• Employee is personally responsible for a federally mandated tax increase.
• Employee smells like road ramps.

A few things: First of all, eating all the good cookies is not cool. Second: Maybe the purple-silk-robed co-worker moonlights. Third: Are bells on shoes OK during the holidays?

Lastly: Smells like road ramps? Smells like road ramps? What does that even mean? Also, do you have to prove this? Is it grounds for dismissal? So many questions...

Robot Hands Displaying Dexterity and Skillful Manipulation
Pretty self-explanatory, pretty cool:

"Green" Rocket Propellant Tested
Earlier this month, NASA and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research successfully launched a small rocket using an environmentally friendly propellant of fine-grained aluminum and water, or ALICE, Scientific American's 60-Second Science Blog says.

Using ALICE as fuel, the team from NASA, the military and academia launched the 9 ft. rocket a quarter of a mile into the Indiana sky. According to researchers, ALICE could provide a cleaner alternative to some liquid or solid energetic propellants. When optimized, it could have a higher performance than conventional propellants.

"This collaboration has been an opportunity for graduate students to work on an environmentally-friendly propellant that can be used for flight on Earth and used in long distance space missions," NASA Chief Engineer Mike Ryschkewitsch said in a statement from the U.S. space agency. "These sorts of university-led experimental projects encourage a new generation of aerospace engineers to think outside of the box and look at new ways for NASA to meet our exploration goals."

Speaking of "outside of the box"...

Most Overused Workplace Phrases
Based on a recent survey of 150 senior executives, Accountemps yesterday released the results of the most annoying or overused workplace phrases and buzzwords.

Among the highlights:

• Leverage — As in, "We intend to leverage our investment in IT infrastructure across multiple business units to drive profits."
• Game changer — As in, "Transitioning from products to solutions was a game changer for our company."
• Value-add — As in, "We have to evaluate the value-add of this activity before we spend more on it."
• Interface — As in, "My job requires me to interface with all levels of the organization."
• Cutting edge — As in, "Our cutting-edge technology gives us a competitive advantage."

Accountemps conducted a similar survey in 2004. The following "Hall-of-Fame" buzzwords were cited in both surveys:

• At the end of the day;
• Synergy;
• Solution;
• Think outside the box;
• On the same page; and
• Customer-centric.

We'd love to hear your input here. What workplace phrase or buzzword are you fed up with?

Cheers.