Percentage of Americans who say they would definitely sign a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement if their spouse or partner asked them to, according to a survey by Thomson West: 14

Percentage who said they might sign one: 27

Percentage who said probably not: 21

Percentage who said definitely not: 20

Source: Ipsos.

Date when old analog TVs that receive "over the airwaves" signals will go dark unless consumers get connected to a special set-top converter box, according to the Texas Campaign for the Environment: Feb. 17, 2009

Estimated number of American households that could wake up on that day to find that there's literally nothing on TV: 21 million

Estimated number of new digital TVs that Americans are expected to purchase in 2008, according to the electronics industry: 32 million

Source: Texas Campaign for the Environment.

Percentage of U.S. workers who say drama is the type of movie genre that best describes their workplace, according to a CareerBuilder.com survey: 32

Percentage of workers who said comedy: 28

Percentge of workers who said a horror or a war movie: 6

Source: CareerBuilder.com.

Percentage of people who would consider participating in an office betting pool, according to a Spherion Workplace survey: 44

Percentage of respondents who named office camaraderie as the main reason for participation: 49

Source: Spherion.

Percentage of students in first through eighth grades from across the country who say that they would not want to be president of the United States, according to an election year poll by Scholastic News: 55

Percentage of boy respondents who said yes to being president: 66

Percentage of girl respondents who said yes to being president: 19

Source: Scholastic News.

Percentage of wealthy business owners who say they enjoy their work so much that they want to work until age 70 or later, according to a survey conducted by PNC Wealth Management: 43

Percentage who say they have written succession plans in place that would ease the transition of their business to family or other business associates: 33

Percentage who strongly or somewhat agree with the statement, "I will continue to work, no matter how much money I have": 61

Source: PNC Wealth Management.

Combined projected spending on cosmetic surgery in Europe and the U.S. by 2011, according to a report by Datamonitor, an independent market analyst: $28 billion

Percentage of women in Europe and the U.S. who have considered cosmetic surgery: 20 to 30

Percentage who cited body shape as a major concern: 73

Percentage of consumers in Europe and the U.S. who are concerned about the signs of aging: 50

Source: Datamonitor.

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they made at least one New Year's resolution for 2008, according to a Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll: 39

Ranks of exercising more frequently (23 percent), losing weight (22 percent), eating a healthier diet or less food (21 percent), getting more sleep (12 percent), stopping smoking (5 percent) and participating in stress-relief activities as the most popular resolutions of 2008: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 (tie)

Source: Harris Interactive.

Percentage of business travelers who say they take more than one cell phone, laptop or electronic device with them on business trips, according to a survey conducted by In-Stat: 31

Percentage of business travelers who say they take more than one cell phone on business trips: 15

Source: In-Stat/MDR.

Percentage of chief information officers who consider finding skilled technology professionals to be their greatest challenge, according to a survey by Robert Half Technology: 24

Percentage who say providing staff with adequate professional development resources to keep skills current is the greatest challenge: 23

Source: Robert Half Technology.

Idle Thought

"Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." -- William James, psychologist and philosopher

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Percentage of executives who said Tuesday is the most productive day of the week for employees, according to the findings of an Accountemps survey: 57

Percentage who said Wednesday: 11

Percentage who said Monday: 12

Percentage who said Friday: 3

Source: Robert Half International.

If current trends continue, projected population of the United States in 2050, according to new projections developed by the Pew Research Center: 438 million

Population in 2005: 296 million

Percentage of the increase that will be due to immigrants arriving from 2005 to 2050 and their U.S.-born descendants: 82

Source: Pew Hispanic Center.

Ranks of rap, hip-hop and country music as the best selling record sale categories, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1, 2, 3

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Of dangerous Web sites analyzed (that is sites that cause major damage both to personal finances and to computers), the percentage that contained adult content, according to findings by Web of Trust (WOT) and based on the analysis of 17 million Web sites: 28

Percentage that were sites offering free and/or licensed software downloads over the Internet: 27

Percentage that were entertainment sites (movies, games, music, screen savers, smileys): 16

Source: Against Intuition Inc.

Rank of the U.S. among top telecommunications countries, according to a survey conducted by the London Business School measuring telecommunications quality and how it is used by consumers, business and government in 16 countries: 1

Ranks of Sweden and Japan: 2, 3

Rank of the U.S. among 30 countries in percentage of homes that have broadband access, according to a survey conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development: 15

Source: London Business School. See also http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=4216582.

Average audience in the U.S. for Super Bowl XLII, according to the Nielson Co.: 97.5 million

Number of people who saw the Victoria Secret commercial, the most viewed commercial during the Super Bowl: 103.7 million

Source: Nielsen/NetRatings.

Gross revenue from goods and services sold at live auctions, according to the annual report compiled by Morpace Inc. on behalf of the National Auctioneers Association: $270.7 billion

Amount generated by the real estate auction market, one of the fastest growing auction sectors in 2007: $58.4 billion

Source: National Auctioneers Association.

Percentage of senior executives who ranked "improving energy efficiency across global operations" as a major priority addressed primarily or solely through real estate strategies, according to a survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and co-sponsored by global real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle: 33

Percentage who ranked it as the leading priority: 19

Percentage who expect minimal benefit to profitability, but believe sustainable practices can reduce costs (particularly energy expenditure), open up new markets and improve their company's reputation: 80

Source: Jones Lang LaSalle.

Percentage of U.S. workers who now consider work-life balance and flexibility to be the most important factor in considering job offers, according to a Hudson Survey: 29

Percentage who said compensation when asked to name the primary reason they accepted their current positions: 23

Source: Hudson.

Idle Thought

"Like cars in amusement parks, our direction is often determined through collisions." -- Yahia Lababidi, writer (b. 1973)

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600

Percentage of baby boomers who said they are doing financial planning and that their goals are set and on track, according to a survey by KeyBank and Zogby International: 51

Percentage who believe they will or could run out of money in their lifetime: 67

Source: Keycorp.

Percentage of Americans who believe U.S. foreign policy is driving dissatisfaction with America abroad, according to a poll by the non-profit organizations World Learning and the Aspen Institute: 75

Percentage of Americans who are very or somewhat worried that the U.S. is losing the trust and friendship of other countries: 73

Percentage who worry that Americans will be less welcome in other parts of the world: 63

Source: World Learning.

Rank of Asia among the regions with the highest salary increases forecast for 2008, according to a survey conducted by ECA International, the world's largest membership organization for international human resources: 1

Ranks of India, Argentina, Indonesia and Russia among the countries in the world with the highest predicted salary increases for 2008: 1, 2, 3, 4

Ranks of Switzerland, Japan, France and Austria, and Germany among the countries in the world with the lowest predicted salary increases for 2008: 1, 2, 3 (tie), 4

Source: ECA International.

Year Robert Royce of Woodstock, Vt., used several hundred feet of rope, the engine out of an old Model T Ford and some ingenuity to make the first ski tow in the U.S. at Gilbert's Hill, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: 1934

Estimated number of ski resorts across the U.S.: 500

Estimated number of times per year these resorts are visited by winter sports enthusiasts: 57 million

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Average salary for technology professionals in 2007, according to Dice Salary Survey: $74,570

Rank of Silicon Valley as the tech pros' highest paying metro area: 1

Average salary for tech pros in Silicon Valley: $93,876

Ranks of Boston ($83,465), Baltimore/Washington, D.C. ($81,750), Los Angeles ($81,039) and New York ($80,770) on the list of highest paying metro areas: 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: Dice Holdings Inc.

Percentage of workers who say they have either accepted or left a job due to the condition of the building and/or the amenities offered, according to a national survey by Blumberg Capital Partners: 33

Percentage of workers who described their office buildings and office environments as either "bland," "dumpy" or "stodgy": 47

Ranks of covered parking, subsidized cafeteria or restaurant, fitness or workout center, and on-site day care on the list of the most important office building amenities: 1, 2, 3, 4

Source: Blumberg Capital.

Minimum statutory employee notice period in the U.S. and Mexico between resignation and departure (for white-collar employees with one year's service), according to data from Mercer's Global HR Factbook: None

Minimum statutory employee notice period in Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore and the U.K.: 1 week

Minimum statutory employee notice period in Cyprus, Finland, Malta, Russia, Ukraine, Bolivia and Spain: 2 weeks

Minimum statutory employee notice period in Czech Republic, Slovakia and Switzerland: 2 months

Source: Mercer.

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they are very or somewhat likely to reduce their overall debt level in 2008, according to an Experian/Gallup poll: 73

Percentage who say they plan to cut back on entertainment outlays: 49

Percentage of U.S. adults who say they are not likely to read a book or take a course on personal finance: 58

Percentage who say they are not likely to reduce the number of credit cards they have: 56

Source: Experian Consumer Direct.

Percentage of companies that have made policy changes to better accommodate working parents, according to a survey of senior executives developed by Office Team: 62

Source: OfficeTeam.

Ranks of the Dominican Republic, Hawaii, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Aruba as the top island getaways for U.S. travelers, based on recent traffic for these destinations on tripadvisor.com: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Source: TripAdvisor.

Percentage of Boomers who said they are doing financial planning, and their goals are set and on track, according to a survey by KeyBank and Zogby International: 51�Percentage who believe they will or could run out of money in their lifetime: 67� ��Source: Keycorp-Consumer. Contact Cindy Spitz at 216-689-5640 or email cindy_l_spitz@keybank.com.�•••

Percentage of Americans who believe U.S. foreign policy is driving dissatisfaction with America abroad, according to a poll by the non-profit organizations World Learning and the Aspen Institute: 75�Percentage of Americans who are very or somewhat worried that the US is losing the trust and friendship of other countries: 73�Percentage who worry that Americans will be less welcome in other parts of the world: 63��Source: World Learning. Contact Sir/Madam at (802) 257-7751 or email info@worldlearning.org.�•••

Idle Thought

"I've made an odd discovery. Every time I talk to a savant I feel quite sure that happiness is no longer a possibility. Yet when I talk with my gardener, I'm convinced of the opposite." -- Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician

(Readers can contact John MacIntyre at johnmacintyre(at)bwr.eastlink.ca.)

4520 Main St., Kansas City, Mo. 64111; (816) 932-6600