BY SANDRA GUY

Tech B2B marketplace G2 is launching a product to help finance and operations leaders navigate the new complexities of the coronavirus pandemic business landscape.

The product — G2 Track — is free for 90 days, and is aimed at eliminating a budget-squeezed company’s unused or underused software while integrating software best suited to compete in today’s remote workforce reality and its sprawling SaaS environment.

G2Track syncs with accounting and financial systems to show all software applications in use. It analyzes SaaS products, licenses and provisions. G2 Track then pinpoints opportunities to save money on unused software and to optimize an organization’s software stack.

“These are unprecedented times for all organizations – shifting priorities, remote workforces, and shrinking budgets are pushing businesses to analyze what software tools they’ll need the most to stay competitive,” said Tim Handorf, G2’s co-founder and president. “Due to the complexity of enterprise software, businesses historically make poor software purchasing decisions, have unused licenses, and duplicate software across different teams – with no easy way to manage and optimize their spend. 

G2’s data, collected from more than 1,000 organizations, pinpointed these software-stack issues:
• 30 percent of software tools are idle or underused – productivity and time management software lead the pack.
• 10 to 15 percent of a company’s software stack has no clear owner, contract or approval (Shadow IT).
• 25 percent of software spend is on products with similar or overlapping functionality.
• 18 percent of products that a company uses have a user satisfaction rating lower than 4. 
• The majority of software contracts (69 percent) have an auto-renew clause and a notice period for cancellation (between 30 and 90 days).
• Fewer than 10 percent of SaaS contracts are under a money-saving, multi-year contract. 



Seven rounds of this year’s NFL Draft passed without James Robinson hearing his name called. Thus, the star Illinois State running back signed as an undrafted free agent with Jacksonville. Teammate Luther Kirk and Western Illinois’ LaCale London also went the free agent route.

While the trio and FCS fans may have been disappointed, they can take heart in the history of success by undrafted players who have tasted professional success.

After perusing http://pro-football-reference.com Prairie State Pigskin presents this capsule of players from the four Illinois FCS programs that have tasted the most NFL success. Each school is represented by its top performers in terms of pro games played.

Southern Illinois

Jim Hart, quarterback

(photo courtesy of Associated Press)

After setting several SIU records that stood for nearly two decades, Hart signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1966. The Evanston native spent 19 years in the NFL, all but one with St. Louis. Hart played in 201 games, 180 of which he started, and threw for 34,665 yards and 209 touchdowns. He blossomed under head coach Don Coryell, appearing in four Pro Bowls and three playoff games. He is credited with 23 game-winning drives and 20 comebacks.

Bart Scott, linebacker

Given a second chance by new SIU head coach Jerry Kill after being dismissed by Jan Quarless, the Detroit native thrived in Carbondale. He eventually played 11 years in the NFL, first with the Baltimore Ravens and then with the New York Jets. Scott played in 172 games, making 118 starts. A one-time Pro Bowler, Scott recorded 747 tackles, 75 for loss. He had 25 sacks, nine fumble recoveries and four interceptions. Scott played in 11 playoff games.

Marion Rushing, linebacker

The Pickneyville native defines the term all-around athlete at SIU. Rushing, who passed away in 2013, played four sports for the Salukis from 1954 to ’57 (football, basketball, track and wrestling), earning a school-record 13 letters. After first playing with the Chicago Cardinals in 1959, Rushing had his best success when the franchise moved to St. Louis a year later. He enjoyed an eight-year NFL career; he also played for Atlanta and Houston. In all, Rushing appeared in 105 games, 63 of which were starts. He recovered nine fumbles and intercepted four passes.

Sam Silas, defensive tackle

The Homeland, Fla. native was actually drafted by the American Football League in 1963, but choose to sign with St. Louis of the NFL. He played in 100 games, mostly with the Cardinals. Silas earned Pro Bowl honors in 1965. He finished his career with the New York Giants and San Francisco. Silas made 59 NFL starts.

Western Illinois

Aaron Stecker, running back and return specialist

Aaron Stecker

Born in Green Bay, Stecker made his name playing professionally for teams in the South. Stecker played 10 seasons, appearing in 129 games with 16 starts. He played with Tampa Bay, New Orleans and Atlanta. Stecker returned one kickoff for a TD in his career. He played in six playoff games and won a Super Bowl ring with the Buccaneers.

Booker Edgerson, defensive back

The Baxter, Ark. native reunited with former WIU coach Lou Saban in Buffalo in 1962. Edgerson wound up playing eight years with the Bills before finishing his last season in Denver. Edgerson played in three AFL Championships, including winning back-to-back titles in 1964 and ’65. Edgerson played 106 games, starting 27 times. He recorded 23 career interceptions and returned two for touchdowns in 1968.

Rich Seubert, offensive lineman

A Rozeellville, Wisc. native, Seubert played nine seasons with the New York Giants. The 6-foot-3, 310-pounder played 104 games (88 starts), mostly at left guard. Seubert appeared in eight playoff games and won a Super Bowl when his Giants ruined New England’s bid for a perfect season in 2008.

Larry Garron, running back

Like Edgerson, Garron starred in the AFL. The Marks, Miss. native appeared in 99 games for the Boston Patriots. A three-time Pro Bowler, Garron averaged 3.9 yard per carry and 13.5 yards per reception in his career. Garron scored 40 touchdowns, 26 of which came on catches. He averaged 25.8 yards on kickoffs and returned two for touchdowns.

Eastern Illinois

Jeff Gossett, punter

Jeff Gossett

Gossett grew up in Charleston where his parents both worked at EIU. After giving up on a minor league baseball career, Gossett spent his first two NFL seasons in Kansas City. He spent three of the next four years with the Cleveland Browns (interrupted by a 1984 stint with the Chicago Blitz of the USFL). He split time in 1987 between Cleveland and Houston before making a permanent home with the Raiders from 1988-96. Gossett punted in 212 games and saw action in 10 playoff contests. A one-time Pro Bowler, Gossett posted a 41.3 yard average for his career.

Tony Romo, quarterback

Most likely the most well-known of the Illinois FCS undrafted free agents, Romo waited three seasons before becoming the starting QB in Dallas. The winner of the 2002 Walter Payton Award as the top I-AA player played in 156 NFL games (127 starts). Romo appeared in six playoff games and four Pro Bowls. His 34,183 passing yards places him 32nd on the NFL leader board, four slots behind Hart. Romo’s 248 TD passes puts him at No. 23 on the career list; Hart is 39th. Romo is credited with 24 comebacks and 29 game-winning drives.

John Jurkovic, defensive lineman

Born in Germany, Jurkovic prepped at Thornton Fractional High School prior to coming to Eastern. After spending time on the Miami practice squad, Jurkovic played five seasons in Green Bay. He followed that with three seasons in Jacksonville before finishing his career in Cleveland. Playing both nose tackle and defensive tackle, Jurkovic appeared in 114 NFL games. He started 95 times. Jurkovic recorded 245 tackles, nine sacks, three tackles-for-loss, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble.

Illinois State

Mark Rodenhauser, center

(Photo by George Rose/Getty Images)

The Elmhurst native played 168 games in the NFL for seven teams. His three pro starts came with Chicago Bears in the strike season of 1987. Rodenhauser proved to be remarkably durable, appearing in all 16 games eight times. He ended his career with Seattle in 1999 never having made the playoffs.

Aveion Cason, running back and kick returner

Born in St. Petersburg, Fla., Cason saw action in 56 NFL games. His nine-year career was mostly divided between Detroit and St. Louis. Cason started five games; he saw playing time mainly as a specialty running back and kick returner. Cason averaged 4.5 yards per carry and 10.2 per catch. He returned both kickoffs (23.4) and punts (9.0). Cason appeared in two playoff games.

Cameron Meredith, wide receiver

The former St. Joseph (Westchester) High School quarterback developed into a productive receiver at ISU before signing with his hometown Chicago Bears. Meredith caught 66 passes for 888 yards and four touchdowns in 2016. He also threw a touchdown pass for Chicago. After signing a two-year contract with New Orleans, Meredith’s 2017 season ended with an injury six games into the schedule. His three-year career stats show 86 receptions for 1,122 yards and five touchdowns.

If you listen to music long enough you might make certain connections like, Galaxie 500’s song “Ceremony,” is actually a New Order cover.

I know, I know, I’m behind the times. I had only heard of Galaxie 500 because I was a Luna fan. That’s where the rabbit hole opened.

Once I started to appreciate Dean Wareham, I became aware that he was in a groundbreaking band called Galaxie 500. I had read many articles saying that On Fire was one of the best albums ever written. After that tidbit of info I had to hear the album, and for the longest time, until yesterday actually, I thought “Ceremony” was their song.

It took me years of picking apart New Order’s catalog to find “Ceremony” and then it took me going back to Galaxy’s On Fire to figure out the mystery, putting 2 and 2 together. Don’t hate on me, it really does sound original. Give Galaxy 500 credit where credit is due. The band didn’t just do a straight-up cover, they put their own stamp on it.

This makes me appreciate both bands, and both versions even more.

There are 8 million stories in the naked city, darling, let’s be one of them.

Subscribe to my blog.

The big challenge for me as the weeks of sheltering in place pile up, is to see the idle time as an opportunity to try new things, to stay busy and engaged rather than submit to the lure of the couch and skipped shower and growing a mustache as my ‘big project’ for the shut-in.

I have the propensity to picture time as an hourglass in the hands of the Grim Reaper. It is a frightening image; my life slowly siphoned dry, only so many years, months and hours remaining before I die. Conversely, when I work through the negativity and accept time as inescapable – and life as finite – the amount of sand that flows top to bottom does not change, but I’m exhorted not to waste it. I regard the hours remaining as time left to live.

That is the theme, even as I whistle in the dark to keep up my courage: I am helpless to stop time; all I can do is make the most of it.

Be assured, holier than thou is not the theme of the tale. We make our own choices about how to face the future. But for me it’s clear, how we look at time makes an enormous difference in how we age.

I may have written a version of these bromides in previous posts, but I think they are worth repeating.

The single most important lesson I have learned in the course of my journey is that the past is conclusive, and the future is conjecture. Only the present is ours to create, and the moment is fleeting. It behooves us to take advantage of each moment.

When I have difficulty answering the existential question, “Why am I here?” it’s because I’m not. I am stuck in the past or imagining the future.

Feeling young at heart is a state of mind, regardless of the stent. I still have ambition; I still have desire; I still have dreams. The knack is to be in rhythm with our age, recognizing and accepting the tempo appropriate to the stage of our life.

I have closed the “What if…” file. I am content with the “This is it” file. The focus is not on the man I used to be, but the man I am. The failures of the past are transformed into a reservoir of invaluable experience. I forgive myself for the blunders of the past that hurt others, and myself. For the remaining impasses that cannot be resolved I turn to the Reinhold Niebuhr serenity prayer.

I am a better listener. At the same time, I am better at trusting my own opinions and instincts.

I have come to the conclusion, even when the wound is deep, too long as a spectator watching the world go by is missing the fun. Even grief has a time frame.

Closing words about time. Perhaps sheltering in place is a gift. Let us make the most of the time.

Time flies like an arrow.
Fruit flies like a banana.
Groucho Marx

Each morning we are born again.
What we do today is what matters most.
Buddha

Asher Keddie of ‘Offspring’ faces off against Laura Linney and Jason Bateman of ‘Ozark’.

Like most of you, our Netflix account has been getting a workout. After our home-cooked dinner is enjoyed, after our dishes are put away and the kitchen is gleaming, and after our Sudoku-Crossword hour has come and gone, it is binge time. Our usual pattern is to watch a pair of shows, something dramatic followed by something a little lighter to get us relaxed for bed. And lately, both of our shows have been sagas about families on the edge–but oh how different those families are!

Lots of you watch ‘Ozark’. The Byrde family starts out innocent, or at least innocent enough. Marty is a Chicago financial manager, a real numbers whiz. Wendy uses her public relations skills for various politicians. But through the passage of 3 seasons, Marty and Wendy descend into the pit of Middle America hell, dragging daughter Charlotte and son Jonah down with them. Money laundering? Got it. Drug cartels and murders-for-hire? Lots of those. FBI agents with secrets of their own? Of course.

And if you think being someone’s husband or someone’s brother is enough to save you down in the Ozarks, as Tony Soprano once said, “Fuggedaboutit.” Jersey mobsters have nothing on this batch of criminal masterminds and family f*ck-ups. And just for the fun of it the cinematography, especially on Season 2, is so dark that half of the time you can’t tell what is going–you just have to guess that it is something nasty.

In contrast, I bet none of you watch ‘Offspring.” You probably have never heard of it…I’m not even sure how we discovered it, but we are in the middle of season 2. It’s an Australian dramedy, also streaming on Netflix. Once again we meet a family, the Proudmans, a family with issues. Our protagonist is Nina a perky, thirty-something obstetrician who is as romantically incompetent as she is professionally efficient. Recently out of a literally explosive marriage she struggles with casual sex, love-hate relationships, and off-the-wall fantasies. And about her family…

Mom Geraldine and Dad Darcy have been on the verge of divorce for ages. They care deeply for each other but can’t survive together. Sister Billie has a dark past, but we love her so much we want to see her have a brighter future with partner Mick. Younger brother Jimmy falls for every flaky girl he meets, pedaling through the Melbourne streets as the Proudman’s gofer. Assorted hangers-on and baby mamas fill out the episodes. It gets so laughingly traumatic that our dear Nina flees from Melbourne to Baltimore for a few months. You really have to want to get away from it all to do that!

No one gets shot, no one gets poisoned, and the bombs explode harmlessly while paths get tangled and hearts get broken. And through it all, I know I would feel safer with the wacky Melburinians than the wicked Missourians. Nina, you can always bring your hips to me.

Like what you read here? Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!
___

———————————–

The coronavirus pandemic has caused many businesses around the globe to close their doors and send their employees home. Many have transitioned to remote work, leaving offices and workspaces empty. For business owners, this is the perfect time to make improvements to the office space that you might not have had time for previously. Here are a few ideas to help you enhance your office while your employees are busy working from home, so they have a new and comfortable space to come back to:

1. Go Green — Literally

We’re all looking for ways to make our businesses a little more eco-friendly, but in this case, we’re not talking about sustainability or recycling. We’re talking about adding literal greenery to your office. Researchers have found that having plants in the workplace can increase staff wellbeing by up to 47%, with some plants even removing contaminants from the air. 

If you don’t have a lot of windows or natural light, make sure you’re choosing plants that thrive indoors. Water them often, and they’ll do the rest.

2. Add More Natural Lighting

If you have the option, add more natural light to your office. Doing this can reduce your utility bills by lowering your need for artificial light, and it can also keep your team more focused. A study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found natural light helps employees stay on task 15% longer than those who only work among artificial lighting.

This suggestion goes hand-in-hand with the previous advice of adding greenery to the office. If you have more natural light, you have more plants to choose from.

3. Improve the Flooring

If your office usually gets a lot of traffic, now is the perfect time to improve or even replace the flooring. First, take a look at the kind of flooring you currently have. Then figure out what the most cost-effective option will be. Hardwood floors, for example, could easily be refinished and sealed rather than replaced, where old laminate flooring might be better off torn out and completely redone. 

The exact steps you take here will depend on what your office looks like and what your budget is for repairs and replacements.

4. Use Color Theory

Color theory is more than just figuring out which primary colors you can mix to make the rest of the color wheel. It explores the effect that color has on our psyche when we’re exposed to it. Green, for example, is a calming color, which is why so many hospitals and medical facilities paint their walls a pastel green. The relaxing hue encourages patients and visitors to remain calm.

Bright or oversaturated colors tend to stimulate and inspire, while pastel hues calm and soothe. Consider giving your office a makeover by following color theory to see how you can help your team be more productive and inspired when they return to the office.

Enjoy Your New Space

There is no telling how long we’ll need to work from home as the coronavirus runs its course, but once you return to your job site, you’ll have a refreshed and comfortable space to indulge in. Enjoy it! You never know how much you miss working in an office until you have to work from home.

Ludwig van Beethoven’s getting all the noise ahead of the 250th anniversary of his birth, and that’s not even until Dec. 16 (as any long reader of “Peanuts” comics knows). Meanwhile, today is the 18oth anniversary of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s birth (in 1840 — I did the arithmetic so you don’t have to.)

He never wrote a cello concerto, but he’s still my favorite composer, or at least in the top three. Getting handed Tchaikovsky music in the school or university orchestra always made a happy morning — we cellists knew there would be something good for us.

Even if you don’t think you know Tchaikovsky’s music, you may know of it. Who gets through December without hearing at least part of “The Nutcracker”? That’s his, even though it’s been reported (in Disney’s “Fantasia,” no less) that it wasn’t a work he liked. Another piece I loved learning in high school and still enjoy hearing is “Serenade for Strings,” which has a waltz that, to me, is a close second to “Waltz of the Flowers” as his best. “Waltz of the Flowers” has a cello melody in it which is what I play to limber up, or when I don’t know what else to play.

When I was in the high school orchestra, Tchaikovsky won my admiration for making even playing scales beautiful. We’ve had a bit on our minds since Christmastime, so at the end of the post is a reminder of how he did that — the pas de deux from “The Nutcracker.”

My copy of the New Harvard Dictionary of Music reminds me that pas de deux is a dance for two dancers. (“Pas” is a dance step; “faux pas” isn’t just a false step, it’s a false dance step. Ow, my toes.)

I will be celebrating  by listening to plenty of Tchaikovsky on my CD player, my record player, and, yes, my cello. Tchaikovsky didn’t write a concerto among the lovely things he wrote for cello, but he did write “Variations on a Rococo Theme” — which might as well be his concerto; it’s difficult enough. I keep trying to add to the parts of it I can play, but the ones I already know are great comforts, especially the next-to-last variation. (The link is to a YouTube version of my favorite CD recording of the piece.)

So happy Tchaikovsky’s birthday, and happy exploring his music.

Margaret Serious has a page on Facebook.