Add cereal to the list of things you buy that will now cost more.

General Mills Inc. said on Tuesday it would raise cereal prices to match increases by competitors.

General Mills spokesman Tom Forsythe said customers should actually see lower prices per box, but the boxes will be smaller, so the effect is a price increase of a few percent.

The maker of Wheaties and Lucky Charms has been looking for a way to boost profits on its cereals. It sold as much cereal during its most recent quarter as it did in the same period a year ago, but at lower prices because of promotions.

Profits have been squeezed by higher prices for fuel and ingredients such as oats.

Forsythe said General Mills cereals often appeared more expensive on the shelf because of their larger box sizes, and the switch to smaller boxes will make them appear more competitive, even with the increased price per ounce.

This week marks the second annual National Business Etiquette Week as proclaimed and celebrated by the Protocol School of Washington (D.C.). And in our own way, we'd like to celebrate by offering a week's worth of basic business etiquette advice.

Today: Business cards

It’s best to use both hands, thumbs up, to present your card. When receiving a card, use both hands and take a moment to study it. Show sincere interest. Make the other person feel important.

“You should not write on it. You read it, and you thank the other person graciously,” says Tacoma etiquette consultant Judie Guthrie.

“You should study the one you receive very carefully before you put it away,” says Beth Willis, director of corporate development at World Trade Center Tacoma.

If you have received several cards at a meeting, it is appropriate to line them vertically on the table before you, so that you might refer to them.

The worst thing to do: There’s a South Sound executive who, on a business trip to Asia, was seen midway through a meal picking his teeth with the card he had just received from a potential client.

Tomorrow: Fundamental table manners

Tacoma's Topia Technologies today rolled out a version of its newly developed "Skoot" technology designed to help troops deployed overseas communicate more easily with their families at home.

Topia is donating thousands of USB thumb drives preloaded with its Skoot software to troops being deployed to war zones.

That software, coupled with Topia's electronic infrastructure, will allow soldiers to send nearly unlimited amounts of data to friends and family via what Topia calls "Private Family Networks."

Those networks meet Defense Department rules regarding electronic communications security while allowing troops and their families to share files too large for conventional e-mail networks.

"We've successfully tested Skoot with files as large as 65 gigabites," said Janine Terrano, Topia founder and CEO. "That's the size of 10 full-length feature movies," she said.

Skoot avoids security issues that have caused the Defense Department to restrict troops' access to such public sites such as MySpace and YouTube.

Only persons specifically invited to view the files by the sender will be able to do so under Topia's Private Family Network plan.

Topia is beginning its "Operation TroopSkoot" with soldiers deploying from Fort Lewis though the company expects to expand the program to include other posts throughout the country. The company needs local partners such as military related civic organizations that can distribute the thumb drives to the troops and their families and provide training for their use. The company held an inaugural training session today for military families at the Sheraton Tacoma Hotel

Candidate filing week started Monday in Pierce County. The first day yielded a new (to me at least) candidate for the Port of Tacoma commission.

Bernard Tuma, 47, filed to run against incumbent Clare Petrich, who is campaigning for her fourth term. Tuma is the only person yet who has filed to challenge Petrich.

In a quick phone interview this morning, Tuma said he doesn't have a particular issue with Petrich, but that he does believe that incumbents need to be challenged.

"I believe voters should have choices for every race and incumbents shouldn’t be given a free ride," he said.

The owner of the Aroma Cafe in downtown Tacoma, Tuma has also served on the Metro Parks Tacoma commission, the Tacoma Arts Commission and the North End Neighborhood Council.

Three others announced their candidacy earlier this spring for the seat being vacated by long-time commissioner Jack Fabulich.

You can check in on whose filed to run for elected positions on the Pierce County Auditor's Web site. It's updated twice a day. Filing week ends Friday.

That plus-sized Boeing 747 you may have seen lately at Boeing Field or at Everett's Paine Field is now legal.

The Federal Aviation Administration granted the enlarged 747, called the Dreamlifter by Boeing, its final certification this week.

The Dreamlifter, created by removing the top of the fuselage from a Boeing 747-400 and substituting one with a larger diameter, was designed to carry large subassemblies - wings and large parts of the fuselage - of Boeing's 787 Dreamliner from factories in Italy, Japan, South Carolina and Kansas to Everett for final assembly.

The planes are being modified in Taiwan. Ultimately, Boeing will have four in its fleet, shuttling around the world.

Boeing had operated the Dreamlifter under a temporary certificate while it was completing testing and working out some issues with the design, including a reported problem with flutter at certain speeds and configurations.

The Dreamlifter has a cargo capacity of 65,000 cubic feet, more than twice the volume of Boeing's ordinary 747-400 freighter.

An Oregon company, Evergreen International, is operating the Dreamlifters for Boeing.

Machinists Union workers have reached a tentative agreement in Spokane that could end a short strike at a former Boeing plant there.

Workers at Triumph Composite Systems struck Friday after they and the company failed to reach agreement on a new contract. Monday, the company and the union reached a tentative settlement that only needs worker approval to go into effect.

The workers in Spokane are members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers District Local 751, the same outfit that represents some 20,000 Boeing workers in Western Washington.

The Triumph plant supplies Boeing and Airbus with composite parts such as air ducts and floor panels for their commercial airliners.

With Boeing winning record orders and making record profits, it seems the Machinists may drive a hard bargain this summer as they negotiate for a new contract at the big B.

Their militancy at Triumph may be a clear sign to Boeing that they're willing to spoil Boeing's party this year with a strike if they don't get a generous deal.