+ Dangers and Remedies for Multitasking

We were having a discussion the other day in the office about the real dangers of multitasking. We were all kind of drawing a blank. So, I went back and found some information to share with you. I’ll tell you why it is bad for you, and I know this will get your attention; it wastes time and money. Two things that I'm willing to bet are important to you. It wouldn’t be fair of me to make that statement without following it up with some remedies. Please check out this excellent article by Jeffrey Strain of TheStreet.com, Why Multitasking Wastes Time and Money, and get back to work you slacker.

+ Got Nature?

"Bone specialists say possibly millions of seemingly healthy children aren't building as much strong bone as they should _ a gap that may leave them more vulnerable to bone-cracking osteoporosis later in life than their grandparents are".

Evidence is mounting that considerably more children are breaking bones now than their counterparts were 40 years ago. What is the cause of all of this? Often the first thought is lack of Calcium. With so many products having "added Calcium", not to mention the Got Milk campaign it stands to reason that there is not a shortage of Calcium in our children's lives.

A more unfamiliar fact is that the body does not properly process the Calcium it has if there is a lack of Vitamin D.

"By some estimates, 30 percent of teens get too little".

Without diving too far into the chemistry, a primary source of Vitamin D is sunlight. It is generated by the skins exposure to UV light. Furthermore, the Vitamin D generated by the human body is more effective, and easier for the body to use than the supplemental counterpart. So, many experts are beginning to agree that the indoor sedimentary lifestyle has more than a psychological effect on developing children, it may be producing a whole generation of people with weaker bones.

To read more on this subject, click here and check it out. Or better yet, lets make sure that our kids actually get out and see the sun occasionally.

+ Multitasking is it expected?

It is impossible to escape multitasking in our daily lives. Is it good for you? Is it good for your employer? The answer is still up for debate.
This article we came across in Inc. magazine, What's Next: Taskus Interrupts, presents the notion that it might not be so bad especially when it comes to employee profitability.

Is it good, bad, or here to stay? Please share your thoughts with us.

+ where u at?

A few years ago I got my first text message, “where u at?”. I was expecting to hear from my husband for a lunch date that day, when I got the message I knew it was definitely not James.
I was surprised to find out my cheap mobile phone had text messaging, and that proper grammar and punctuation had hit an all time low.
Fast forward a few years and I am also guilty of the same sins. My husband, a college graduate sent me the text you see below. I have also sent similar text messages.

In my defense, I probably only send a single text message a week. I am a Graphic Designer sans an iPhone. (You can let out a big gasp now.) I sometimes charge my phone, I sometimes forget it at home. It drives my family and friends crazy. I just don’t like to talk on the phone and I spend a lot of hours in front of a computer. I often find the most rewarding parts of my day are real conversions at work, reading a book, or just hanging out with my husband and my pooch.

The question we need to ask is if email and text messaging is impacting our grammar, punctuation, and speech in negative ways. I would argue that for my generation, it has lost a little formality. I frequently get emails from friends that are written completely in under case letters. I’d never send a client such a message but for making plans outside of work I feel it is completely acceptable.

Has the way we communicate lost all class? Has the English language has evolved or regressed? In this article, Wired Words, by Constance Hale provides a nice synopsis of the how current technology is influencing our communication. The article explores the changes our communication has undergone. In contrast to that article I also found this article by Fahmida Rashid, The Wired Are A Rude Bunch which explores the etiquette, or lack there of, when using our electronic gadgets. I believe both make some strong points.

I’m asking you the reader and viewer, what are your thoughts on this topic? You may just see your idea, comment, or observation evolve into a real concept.
We encourage your comments. (However, please do not grade me on my grammar.)

+ Technology and Civic Engagement

“Why don’t we just vote through the ATM’s?”, my friend asked last week while listening to another depressing NPR story about our current state of civic disengagement and low voter turnout. To most of us that have come of age in the internet society this question seems legitimate. Why is it so hard to engage citizens in their government, when we have all of these powerful communication systems at our finger tips?

There are great examples of groups using this technology to engage citizens. In fact, politicians have become incredibly adept at using the internet to raise money and mobilize volunteers. However, it is a rarity to find an organization that attempts to engage citizens simply for the betterment of society in general. That is why the mission of AmericaSpeaks struck us so strongly.

AmericaSpeaks is Washington DC based organization that uses communication technologies to engage citizens in governmental policy making. The technology allows them to reach large numbers of citizens, then collect and disseminate their opinions in real time to lawmakers. This approach enabled them to engage 45,000 Americans in a discussion on Social Security. The discussion had the attention of several senators and had documented impact on the policy that our government created.

It is inspiring to see what the creative application of communication technology can do to engage citizens in communities, and the power of this technology to make our government more democratic. It would be interesting to explore other possibilities for wide spread citizen influence of government; even voting every time you withdrew money from an ATM.

+ How we communicate and live - Untethered Technology

As we explore the topic of family and community we cannot ignore the 'untethered technology' otherwise known as mobile computing. I don't know a single person today that does not have a cell phone and a computer. While both items have made our lives easier in many ways they are also leaving us multitasked to the max.

In this very informative article here (by Richard Seven of the Seattle Times) Professor David Levy, Ph.D of the University of Washington's School of Information explores our "lives inter rupted":

In fact, multitasking — a computing term that involves doing, or trying to do, more than one thing at once — has cemented itself into our daily lives and is intensely studied. Research has shown it to be consistently counterproductive, often foolish, unhealthy in the long run, and in the case of gabbing on the cell phone while driving, relatively dangerous. Yet it is also expected, encouraged and basically essential.
Do you have never-ending deadlines? Job uncertainty? A dual-income family life with kids? A do-more-with-less workplace? Then you multitask.

So what can we do to avoid falling victim to multitasking? Well, a growing number of computer scientists and psychologists are studying the technologies that divert our attention. The full article is here - Imagine if you could have a filter in your email that only sends you pertinent information.
Some tools have been developed that help you monitor your time online. Here is a link to a few. While it may come as a surprise to many of you - you might just be able to steal some time back some precious time.

+ Energy and Meat

We're supposed to be wrapping up our energy research, but I had to point energy-conscious readers to a great article from last Sunday's NY Times: Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler, by Mark Bittman. As Mark notes:

A SEA change in the consumption of a resource that Americans take for granted may be in store — something cheap, plentiful, widely enjoyed and a part of daily life. And it isn’t oil. It's meat.

Noting that Americans eat nearly 200 pounds of meat a year, Bittman cites data from several academic sources that each of those pounds of meat requires about 16 times as much fossil fuel to produce as the same caloric amount of vegetables. On top of that, it is estimated that 900 million tons of manure are produced each year. Whew!

In interesting side note from the article is that on an energy basis, it turns out that pigs and chickens are far more efficient at converting feed into meat. Mr. Bittman did his homework, and there's a lot more interesting information in this story. Not to mention the usual fine visual charts and diagrams. Check it out before you're next trip to the supermarket.

+ Power to the Flat-Screen TVs

MSNBC posted a video regarding the increase in power consumption among the ever popular flat screen televisions, which are quickly replacing the CRT completely. So even though we may be replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, that soft glow from the not so "small screen" may be devouring the gains. And Christopher Null from Yahoo! TECH wrote an article about the problem earlier this year:

Of course, you can't find CRTs beyond this size any more, but Philips' 47-inch LCD consumes a whopping 290 watts and its 50-inch plasma eats up a mind-bending 400 watts! If you replaced a 26-inch CRT with that 50-inch plasma, you more than tripled your power bill on that outlet.