Every struggle with the anxiety of taking a technology break? I like this helpful post from Whitney Johnson on her Harvard Business Review blog.

http://blogs.hbr.org/johnson/2011/07/go-ahead-take-that-break.html http://amplify.com/u/a1a7ws

Great sound! Great story!

<iframe frameborder="0" height="410px" src="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jessicaketola/sea-of-tears-jessica-ketolas-debut-album/widget/video.html" width="480px"><iframe> http://amplify.com/u/a19yds

In the recent New York Times magazine Marc Andreessen talked about a preferred future with self-driving cars, but it's the cigarette smoking comment that got my attention.



"Ten to 20 years out, driving your car will be viewed as equivalently immoral as smoking cigarettes around other people is today."



Huh? What!?!



Cigarette smoking immoral?



Look, I'm happy to concede that firing up in the middle of a bunch of non-smokers is rude and thoughtless, but immoral? No. What's the criteria for immorality? (and be careful how you define it)



Let's just hope Marc isn't head of the secret police in 10-20 years. http://amplify.com/u/a17kw3

“Last year, 75 percent of the $2.6 trillion the U.S. spent on health care was for treating chronic diseases that, to a large degree, can be prevented or reversed through lifestyle change,” says Dean Ornish of UCSF. Who (besides patients) has an incentive to make changes that would remove that money from the system?



If we all started demanding a model of health care that would help us change our lifestyles, it would take some time before the economics of that demand resulted in a change to the system, but it would come. As long as money and elections drive this conversation, we’re going to keep getting the same thing. And in that case, we probably deserve it.



http://whatbillthinks.com/do-we-deserve-the-health-care-were-getting/ http://amplify.com/u/a162bk

Recently, Bloomberg Business week featured an article, "The End of Mail." Postmaster General, Patrick Donahoe, took exception. Not a surprise. What else could he do?



I did find a couple of his quotes quite interesting, but not convincing.



"...advertising mail [aka junk mail] is what helps make the Postal Service core to a trillion-dollar mailing industry that employs more than 8 million people and drives our nation's commerce."



"With the right legislation, the Postal Service can return to profitability and continue to deliver value, convenience, and innovation to American businesses and residences for generations to come." http://amplify.com/u/a1618s

Will we pocket the extra $$ from lower gas prices or simply drive more? http://amplify.com/u/a15ydj

American Express has partnered with 4Square, just in case social media isn't a fad.



On one level it's interesting, but is the AMEX crowd using 4Square? Apparently, there was enough data showing there was, but I'm skeptical.



http://www.fastcompany.com/1762726/with-amex-partnership-foursquare-may-prove-social-media-roi?partner=homepage_newsletter http://amplify.com/u/a15uks

One of the Top 10 Phrases I Don't Want To Hear Again: Expect the unexpected. http://amplify.com/u/apd9p

Thanks to the NLRB it is now alright* to criticize your employer via social media. (http://amplify.com/u/bpcn3) So, with that in mind, here's to freedom of speech: My boss is a dork half the time and an idiot the other half, the rest of the time he's merely a hindrance to getting things done.*btw-if you think it's alright to blast your boss/employer/co-worker via Facebook, Twitter, et al....you're the idiot. Good luck finding your next job. http://amplify.com/u/apcnr

for-profit colleges just another economic predator? People taking out student loans to attend these colleges believe the marketing hype that the degree will change the course of their life and fix their financial problems. These schools take advantage of the same people who got snowed by the subprime mortgage industry. Yes, every individual should know better. They aren't exactly victims. Nevertheless, shame on schools like Kaplan, IvyTech, Phoenix, and others. It borders on unethical. Read the whole article: http://amplify.com/u/am7bp http://amplify.com/u/bmcpt

According to Business Week mag, some of the largest U.S cities still haven't spent half or more of the fed stimulus funds meant for job creation almost 2 yrs ago. Some spending was intentionally deferred but much is because of business as usual with the govt. Good thing they rammed that thing through as fast as they did, otherwise we'd still be sitting around waiting for it to take effect. (Hey, wait a minute.) http://amplify.com/u/bm96z

#1 Weight Loss Tip = Focus On The Deficit

Tom Venuto seems to be one of the sane voices in the weight loss/diet/nutrition world. I'm going with what he says in this post.

Amplify’d from www.burnthefatblog.com

Therefore, “focus on the deficit” more accurately states the most important key to weight loss than “exercise more and eat less.” Make sure you understand this distinction and then follow this advice. Don’t let the simplicity of this idea fool you. This is the #1 key to your successful weight loss in 2011… and forever… Focus on the deficit Read more at www.burnthefatblog.com

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bktyb

A Benevolent Monopoly?

Love this line from Jeff Atwood at Stack Overflow.

Amplify’d from www.codinghorror.com

I've been told many times that Google isn't a monopoly, but they apparently play one on the internet. You are perfectly free to switch to whichever non-viable alternative web search engine you want at any time. Just breathe in that sweet freedom, folks. Read more at www.codinghorror.com

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bkncb