Every meeting planner knows that Murphy’s Law–whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, and usually in the most exasperating way–is alive and kicking. But for those among us who are better at math than I, there’s actually a formula that can help you beat Mr. Murphy at his game:

((U+C+I) x (10-S))/20 x A x 1/(1-sin(F/10))
Where U=urgency, C=complexity, I=importance, S=skill, F=frequency, and A=aggravation (set at 0.7 by experts after a poll)

Project psychologist Dr David Lewis said: “The lesson from this is that, to cut the seemingly unbeatable Murphy’s Law gremlins down to size, you need to change one of the elements in the equation.

“So, if you haven’t got the skill to do something important, leave it alone. If something is urgent or complex, find a simple way to do it. If something going wrong will particularly aggravate you, make certain you know how to do it.”

But he added a note of caution: “There is, of course, a Sod’s Law factor to the equation. If you judge your ratings wrongly, you might become too optimistic - and calamity will strike.”

Now can they come up with a way to do away with the phenomenon where the second I say, “Gee, I can’t believe I haven’t seen a single mosquito today,” a bloodthirsty, whining cloud descends on my head, or as soon as I comment on how light the traffic is, it comes to a screeching halt?

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I may not say it often, but I thought today would be a good time to tell you all just how much I appreciate your stopping by at face2face. Here’s a valentine from me to you.

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Yet another article about the add-on fees that planners and attendees alike hate, yet hotels just can’t seem to stay away from. That lovely lei greeting at the Hawaiian hotel, along with a complementary non-alcoholic mai tai isn’t really free–it’s covered in the $18-per-room daily fee. To avoid having your attendees go nuts when hit with a fee or surcharge as they check out, make sure what your hotel’s policies are, then ask them to roll the fees into the room rate so your folks don’t feel nickel-and-dimed to death at checkout. Any other solutions? I’d love to hear them!

This article from Meeting Professionals International is a good look at how the Sarbannes-Oxley legislation is affecting the meetings business. Just think: You have to justify fam trips and site inspections, in writing; relationships that used to be a good thing now may be suspect; and hospitality partners now may think twice about serving on organizational boards and committees, since that might look a little hinky to auditors.

It’s a must-read for everyone involved in the meetings business.

According to this article from hotelbusiness.com, union workers are planning to escalate their actions in the ongoing battle between Unite Here members and 14 San Francisco hotels by holding a picket this afternoon outside the Westin St. Francis hoetl in Union Square. If you have a meeting there, be forewarned that they plan to ask guests to honor their picket.