Friday, March 10, 2006

Cubicle designer admits, "They may have been a mistake"


Here's an interesting article I found on Fortune Magazine. Apparently the designer of the "cubicle" concept admits that they (the cubicle) may have been a mistake. Not meant as a way to cram more people into smaller spaces and "institutionalize" the workplace, the cubicle has sadly become a part of the working society. While we may wish to escape the confines of the cube and the rat-race that is so synonymous with it's design, they have become such a fixture of the workplace, that I doubt we'll be free of them anytime soon.

For a gallery of cubicle design over the past 30 years, click here.

(Via Fortune on CNNMoney.com)

The Forbes billionaires list


Ah, the rich seem to get richer...

Just when you were comfortable in your job (or maybe not, depending on your situation) we're reminded how much money the rich actually have, courtesy of the Forbes billionaires list.

The combined net worth of the 114 billionaires on the is totals $2.6 trillion. Wow. That is a lot of money!

According to Forbes Associate Editor Luisa Kroll, "A billion just isn't what it used to be." While that may be true, I find that massive sum of cash to be mind-boggling. I can fathom a million dollars, but a billion, now that's pretty crazy! Soaring stock, oil and commodities prices helped make the billionaires on the list even more wealthy.

For a record 12th year in a row, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates earned the number one spot, with a net worth estimated at $50 billion. The second spot was taken by Warren Buffett, the famed investor of Berkshire Hathaway, whose worth was $42 billion.

This is the 20th year the Forbes billionaire list has been complied, through the efforts of 30 reporters in seven countries.

For a complete story, visit Forbes.com.

(Via Reuters)

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Microsoft "Word"

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Project Runway Winner: Chloe Dao


The season finale of Project Runway 2 aired tonight. The 16 designers had been narrowed down to the final three: Daniel Vosovic, Santino Rice, and Chloe Dao. This final episode was a culmination of the season and each designer's efforts, they each presented a 13 piece collection at New York's Olympus Fashion Week.

There were pieces in each designer's collection that I liked and others that I didn't. Thankfully, most of the pieces I liked. :) It's amazing to watch them create clothes, fashion, out of little more than their inspiration. It is surely a talent that I don't posses.

Throughout the season, Santino Rice is the designer you love to hate. He's loud, cocky, somewhat obnoxious, and has an "over the top" sense of fashion and style. His garments are always over-designed and just too much. I found it interesting that his final collection lacked the Santino that we'd all grown to love (and hate.) His garments were all very refined and stylish. Beautiful too, I may add. But as Michael Kors pointed out, the dresses didn't fit right, especially in the bust. Quite unfortunate.

The clips of Daniel's collection that we'd seen during last week's episode had me worried. I think he's a very gifted designer and have loved pretty much everything he's crafted this season. His collection was no exception. The only thing I didn't like about his collection were the handbags he designed. They were just awful! But they fit his "vision", which apparently was military with a Japanese influence. I didn't see that in his collection, and neither did the judges.

The winner of Project Runway 2, Chole Dao had a good collection. I wasn't a huge fan of her "wraps", but they worked. I know that's not what you call them, but I don't know the fashion word for them. Oh well. Chole is an excellent seamstress. Her garments always look impeccably finished and complete. And she was the only established designer out of the final three, so she knows what's she's doing. The one outfit of hers that I didn't like was the pinkish "mushroom" thing that was her first piece on the runway. It looked terrible and didn't flatter a woman's figure. I found that piece rather strange, especially considering that all of her previous designs have been so flattering and well-designed.

So Chloe won. I'm happy for her. I thought the winner would be Santino because he's so out there, but he didn't win. I really wanted Daniel to win. I've admired his designs throughout the show and thought he'd be a shoe in to capture the winning title. But Chloe is a good choice, I like her too. Daniel is so young. At 24, he's got a great eye and designs, but there's so much to experience in the world of fashion. Ha! I say that like I really know and understand the world of fashion. :) I know what I like and what I'd want. But that's about it.

Season 2 of Project Runway was certainly an enjoyable one. You bet I'll be watching Season 3!

For great pictures of Chloe's collection, click here.

Google Calendar Screenshots Leaked



Here are screenshots from Google's anticipated online calendar application, CL2. Pictures courtesy of TechCrunch via Search Engine Journal. Unfortunately the TechCrunch site is currently down, so enjoy the above shots and the related article here.

Update: I found a collection of all the screenshots on Digg. You can check them out here.

TechCrunch article available here.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

New Kelly Clarkson Video - Walk Away



Here's the new video for what must be the latest Kelly Clarkson single, "Walk Away."

Her latest album, "Breakaway" has been a great showcase to her talented song writers and voice. She's been able to distance herself from "American Idol" and really establish herself as a solo artist. This was apparent at the 2006 Grammy Awards, where Kelly walked away with two awards, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

But back to her new video. I really like "Walk Away", its kinda rock edgy, yet still poppy. :) However, I'm not a big fan of Kelly's outfit. It just looks strange, doesn't it? I do enjoy how this video incorporates different people, all singing her song in different situations.

But enough of my opinion. You be the judge.

Origami Preview


For the past couple of weeks, the buzz in mobile devices has been about Origami, the new mobile computing device from Microsoft. There has been vague ads and marketing seen around the internet, all making us ponder, "what is this Origami?"

Wonder no more. Today, CNBC's Jim Goldman gave us a first look at Microsoft's Origami, live from the Intel Developers Forum in San Francisco. A fully functioning mini-computer under $1000, keep your eyes peeled for more information and buzz about Origami.

News.com is saying that the Origami devices run a "variant" of Windows XP (and can run other x86-compatible operating systems) and are small enough to fit in a "large pocket."

Related story here.

(via The Wall Street Journal Online & News.com)

Lala.com - New CD trading website

Still have, buy, or want to expand your music collection the "old fashioned" way? Although I haven't purchased a CD in probably 4 years, I like the concept behind Lala.com. You list your CD collection on their site, browse other members collections, and then request the CDs that you'd like. Each user has complete control over their collection. You decide if you'd like to send your CDs to the requestor, there's no obligation!

La La users get charged $1 for each CD they receive. You have to send a CD to get a CD, which is supposed to prevent anyone from abusing the system by only receiving CDs.

Sounds like a cool idea, I'm gonna sign up. I'll keep you all posted!

(Via USA Today)

The Mitsubishi Jet Towel



It may look a little strange, but the new Mitsubishi Jet Towel dries your hands (both front and back) in 5 to 6 seconds! Quick, yes! The manufacture claims that this 5 to 6 second drying time is up to 8 times quicker than comparable hand dryers currently available.

Not only is it a quicker way to dry your hands, but it eliminates the paper towel mess and is quieter than current hand dryers. So you're saving the environment while getting your hands dried quickly.

For more information, check out The Mitsubishi Jet Towel.

(via Gizmodo)

Monday, March 06, 2006

"Buddy" finds dead people with his nose


"Buddy" a six-year-old German shepherd is trained to find dead people. Working in New Orleans, he's providing a valuable service in the areas hard hit by Hurricane Katrina.

From Anderson Cooper 360°'s Blog:

"Buddy went into a house in the Lakeview section of New Orleans Sunday, hit the brakes and immediately looked toward the ceiling. A short while later, a grim find in the attic -- the mummified remains of a man in a crawl space.

This man probably died more than six months ago during Hurricane Katrina. While it's not easy to say, the state medical examiner believes he died a terrible death.

Just two days earlier, on Friday, the city police checked the same house and found nothing. Without Buddy's keen nose following up on Sunday, the house would have been torn down, the remains of this man likely swept away with the debris."


Related story here

Via Anderson Cooper 360° Blog