Hello, Office 2010

I just installed Office 2010 and I'm loving it! It looks like Outlook has received the ribbon treatment, which I'm a big fan of. There is some new sizzle in a couple of the other apps as well. If you're a Lynda.com subscriber, you can check out the videos that they have up giving a quick overview of the new features.

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Sitting or Standing at Work

I've read some stuff about the negative effects of sitting for prolonged periods of time. As a consequence, I've been experimenting with standing more at work when the task will permit it. I've been enjoying it. I think the next step to make that work even better would be to get a desk that can quickly raise or lower. (The glacial speed movements of some electric raise/lower desks would discourage much use.) Here are some resources I've found interesting.

NY Times article is a good summary This piece from Exercise and Sport Science Reviews is co-sponsored by Steelcase, the furniture makers, so I must take it with a grain of salt, but it recommends standing as an activity that should be categorized as superior to sitting, whereas they have been both lumped together as "sedentary" in previous literature. An abstract with says standing or sitting on a therapy ball are about the same, and both more active than sitting in a chair. This survey of papers says the resu…

Mike Rowe Says Don't Follow Your Passion

With a zingy catch line, Mike Rowe explodes some myths about "working people" in this talk on Fora.tv, "Mike Rowe on Discovery, Realization and Lamb Castration." Some surprising insights.
Lamb castration the way the Humane Society recommends (with rubber bands) is more painful for the lamb than the way the shepherds actually do it (with a knife)."Following your passion" is not a mandatory ingredient for a happy work life.People with "dirty jobs" are very well balanced and happy.Safety first is a slogan that doesn't always make sense for the people doing the job. His example about the crab fishing rig was a good example. The captain said, "OSHA? We've got Ocean. I'm not here to make you safe. I'm here you make you rich. If you want to get home alive, that's your job."

How much will you remember?

There is a commonly passed around "stat" that, according to a blog post I recently read, isn't true. You've probably seen it or heard it.

It is said that people remember:10% of what they read20% of what they hear30% of what they see50% of what they see and hear70% of what they write and say90% of what they say as they do
The blog author says:
Quite where these numbers come from is a mystery to many, and indeed it is difficult to understand what 90% retention actually means… 90% of what for how long? As a model it looks and on first thought appears to be credible, however as many of us will know some people have almost 100% retention for a considerable period of time if they read something, others teach others from a structure or procedure which they themselves do not understand!Thanks, RapidBI, for pointing out this common misconception!

Bradley at Work

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