Figuratively Speaking
BY JOHN MACINTYRE Special To Florida Weekly

Rank of "slacker" and "kiss-up" among the most irritating and annoying people to work with, according to a survey conducted by SnagAJob.com: 1 (tie -- 32.6 percent)

Ranks of "gossip hound" (18.4 percent), "loud talker" (11.8 percent) and "hypochondriac" (4.6 percent): 2, 3, 4

Percentage of respondents who nevertheless said they were satisfied with their jobs: 61

Source: SnagAJob.com

Percentage of U.S. workers who call in sick at the last minute who do so for reasons other than physical illness, according to a survey conducted by CCH: 66

Ranks of family issues (22 percent), personal needs (18 percent), entitlement mentality (13 percent) and stress/burnout (13 percent) among reasons that workers call in sick: 1, 2, 3 (tie)

Source: CCH

Percentage of Americans who cannot name all 10 commandments, according to a poll conducted by Kelton Research on behalf of The Ten Commandments Commission: 86

Percentage who cannot name five of the 10 commandments: 60

Percentage of Americans who were able to recall the names of all six kids from "The Brady Bunch": 35

Percentage who could name all seven ingredients of the Big Mac: 25

Source: Promenade Pictures

Percentage of baby boomers who claim they feel an average of 11 years younger than their actual age, according to the "Boomers Get Moving" survey conducted by Kelton Research: 64

Percentage who say they are more adventurous and willing to experiment now than when they were in their 20s: 48

Percentage of boomers surveyed who said they are living healthier and are more physically fit than they were in their 20s: 40

Source: Procter and Gamble Co.

Having purchased a pre-written speech from the Web, percentage of "fathers of the groom" who made any substantive alteration to the speech, according to research carried out by global online speech provider Speechforyou.com and covering speakers at weddings across the United States, Canada, the U.K. and Australia: 26

Percentage of "best men" who took the time to personalize the pre-written speech: 51

Percentage of "fathers of the bride" who took the time to personalize the pre-written speech: 52

Source: Speechforyou Pty. Ltd.

For every $1 that Microsoft earns in 2007, the amount of money that companies working with Microsoft will earn, according to IDC's independent research in 82 countries, which was sponsored by Microsoft Corp.: $7.79

Estimated number of vendors in the Microsoft ecosystem: 640,000

Estimated amount these vendors will make

in revenues: $425 billion

Source: IDC