The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 43

Newsmakers What is it that makes movie veteran Tim Roth nervous to the cori? F2. Section The sunny side of egg substitutes. F2. Ann Landers F2 At the Office F3 Comics F4 Consumer Reports F2 Kids' Talk F2 Peopletalk F2 Tuesday, May 30, 1995 WbrtdHe 'i; Mii few L-M "We live in one of the worst acid rain belts in the country, Solmssen says. It's spring-cleaning time for the city's grand outdoor works of art.

(And what birds drop isn't the worst of it.) The Philadelphia Inquirer MICHAEL S. WIRTZ Art conservator Kurt Solmssen cleans one of the antlers on the elk that is a part of Philadelphia's Washington Monument at Eakins Oval. monumental task irds," says the man cleaning one of Phila- JJ delphia's most famous outdoor statues, as pvv he squints skyward toward the feathered Jj friend perched atop George Washing- ton's tricornered hat 44 feet above street level on Eakins Oval. He does not say "birds" the way the man who sweeps up after the circus parade might say "elephants." He likes birds. Birds are not the problem.

People are the problem. "I used to remove the bird's nests but then I figured, why bother? I put a screen in that one, but they just moved upstairs," says Kurt Solmssen, professional artist and part-time public art conservator, pointing to one of the sites of six birds' nests in various crevices and hollows where the bronze scrollwork meets the marble pedestal anchoring the equestrian statue of Washington in front of the Art Museum. "Bird stuff! isn't good for the The Working Life By Clark DeLeon VV 'x' 1 tf, 'ill i.iM I 1 3 1 sculptures, but it's insignificant compared to the car exhaust and acid rain," says Solmssen who often assisted by Doug Martinson has been working six-day weeks this month to complete the annual spring cleaning of 25 important statues maintained by the Fairmount Park Art Association. "We live in one of the worst acid rain belts in the country because of the prevailing winds that carry the smoke from Midwestern power plants. The rainwater here has more acidity than vinegar," says Solmssen, who was one of the original members of the team of art conservators who first restored and now maintain the statues along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the river drives and elsewhere.

i A UK The big toe of the male Indian figure on the monument has been rubbed so often it's golden. "I think it looks good when people handle them," Solmssen says. "They're almost oiled by people's hands." Solmssen buffs up the "Lion Crushing a oose oof on one of the massive Serpent" in Rittenhouse Square. See statues on F3 Cybersisters who order men to buzz off their network Personal Briefing By Marc Schogol Men at work Having said that, we should note that a study by the Philadelphia Geriatric Center's Polisher Research Institute finds that men tend to find meaning in life through their work, while women do so through connections to family, friends and neighbors. Eating into expenses Who says there's no such thing as a free lunch? The Wall Street Journal says that New York fashion house Nicole Miller gives its workers a choice leave the showroom for a 45-minute lunch break or stay for a free meal.

Most stay and eat in about 15 minutes. "We give them free lunch because we make money on it," says owner Bud Konheim. The company, which first offered the lunches because its sales force was too busy to leave, spent $23,000 upgrading its kitchen. Escaping the rat race You say you're not the dress-for-success type? Well, how doqs working for a comic-book publisher sound? Or leading an archaeological trek through the desert? Those and other possibilities are explored by Alex Hiam and Susan Angle in their book Adventure Careers a guide to nontraditional jobs and study programs. Hiam tells the Akron Beacon Journal that the proverbial corporate ladder is being and should be replaced by what he calls the career jungle gym, which allows people to make lateral as well as vertical moves.

Greening of corporate America Adding plants to office space can help improve employee health. So says the Associated Landscape Contractors of America. The trade group cites a Washington State University study that found plants placed inside of offices helped raise the relative humidity level, making workers less vulnerable to colds and other illnesses fostered by dry air. The landscapers say greenery helps in the workplace in other ways, improving morale and making workers feel more like working. By Lini S.

Kadaba INQUIRER STAFF WRITER In this corner of cyberspace as safe as a mother's embrace, women gather to query, to confide, to advise. It is called Systers. Systers. The name evokes the camaraderie of a sorority, the wisdom of a big sister and the solidarity of a sisterhood. Its name is a twist on operating systems (the oxygen of computer heads) and sisters.

Systers is a mailing list on the Internet exclusively for women studying or working in computer science. Outsiders, who i' include men and those women not in-evolved in computer science, cannot fortable place for people to ask questions or post ideas. The appropriate subject to be discussed has to have relevance to our status as women and our status as computing professionals," said Anita Borg, a California researcher who formed Systers in 1987 after a ladies'-room conversation during a mostly male technical conference. Here, women in computer science, a minority, ask questions, personal questions: What should I wear to an academic conference? wear a cocktail dress," responded one woman, who had done just that, to her mortification.) Or they ask technical questions: What tools do you use to navigate the Internet? Here, women in computer science ask See SYSTERS on F6 Having to do it all For you women with children, it's no longer work versus family, it's work plus family. "If you have children, there is no way you can live on one paycheck," Ana Maria Monte Flores, a communications officer with a 20-year career in South Florida, tells the Miami Herald.

"I don't think that in today's day and age, there is a choice." The nonprofit Families and Work Institute has released a comprehensive study of women's views that shows that the roles of homemaker and breadwinner have merged. is supposed to be a safe and com- 4.