Women Better At Hand Hygiene Habits, Hands Down

Shouldn’t we all? The headline should actually be “At least 8 percent of American Adults Lie about Washing Hands.” But I bet it’s more.

Did you know it was National Clean Hands Week? Me neither!

I was fascinated by this article in Knowledge@Wharton — The Upgraded Digital Divide: Are We Developing New Technologies Faster than Consumers Can Use Them?

There are highlights – about how and why people buy. About early adoption. And trading up.

A few low-lights: Many buy gadgets because we delude ourselves that we’ll actually learn how to use all the features, but really don’t. (I find that really easy to believe!) and….

People get envious if their TV is obsolete but when updated washing machines don’t make them lose sleep. Gee.

And experts such as Walter Mossberg have tremendous influence over what we buy.

Alright — aside from these “no duhs” this article is really interesting. So give it a shot if you have a few minutes to spare.

I’ve been to lots of conferences. But I’ve never shared a hotel room. Well, I am now. She’s probably reading over my shoulder now. Actually, it’s going very well. I like her. (Truth be told, we drove here together. But a car ride is not the same!) I saved my organization some money by sharing a room. Was it worth it? I think so. But changing in the little bathroom is a little challenging!

And I think (at least I hope) our friendship will survive.

Note to NCJW readers: I hope you fared as well.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary, an errand (rnd)n. is:

A short trip taken to perform a specified task, usually for another.

Well, it seems my friend & I have taken this to a new level. One day, weeks back, she called me from Dick’s Sporting Goods. “Ugh, I have to buy all this lacrosse equipment,” she said. I was having a particularly tough day. Didn’t think I’d ever get out of my office. So, feeling gutsy, I asked, “while you’re there, could you pick up a pair of size 3 baseball cleats?” And she did. That same day, it turned out, was the day to buy textbooks for religious school. So on my way there, I called her and asked if she wanted me to pick her kids’ books up, too.

Now, it’s a regular thing. She picked up a shirt for me at Old Navy. I picked up snacks for the baseball team. I picked up a birthday present for Noah from her kid and mine. She dropped off something from the farmer’s market. It’s like having a clone. I can do double the errands in half the time.

This isn’t a new concept. Babysitting co-ops have been around forever – though I admit I don’t know anyone who does it. Nursery school co-ops are commonplace around here, too.

I don’ t know anyone who thinks there is enough time in the day to do everything. If we work together, in our personal lives and even in business, maybe we can all be a teeny bit more productive and have an extra hour to spend doing something fun.

What a concept.

I finished The Big Moo this morning. (I have an advance copy — you can order it for October delivery — or you can borrow mine.)

The description from Amazon: 33 of the world’s best business minds tackle one urgent question: What does it really take to make your organization remarkable?

This book gave me some ideas. Made me think. Made me turn my head sideways. I highly recommend it.

I’m reading a book, Confessions of a Slacker Mom. I thought it would be funny. The back of the book told me it would be funny. Now I’m not saying it’s not entertaining, but it’s not funny. It’s true. It tells the story of all those parents who are busy making their little prodigies into star athletes, concert pianists, and Rhodes Scholars. The publisher calls the book “witty and insightful” and I suppose it is. I guess the good news is, the book offers a choice to be another way — to let your kids motivate themselves, do their own work, make their own lives — with a bit of parental guidance. Sound familiar? That’s probably how you grew up. It is certainly how I did.

Two of my boys play baseball in a league. They like it. We let them play. This year, Reed is in the older league. The difference in the competition is shocking. It’s intense. Almost like going to a AAA game. Some parents are hardcore. Not us. If the kids are having fun, we’ll take them. (Of course, once they commit, the teams depend on them and then they have to go…) But it is hard to accept that kind of pressure for an 8 year old. It was just the first game. Maybe they’ll lighten up. Or not.

How quickly we forget. No, we don’t forget — we allow our memories to dull so the pain isn’t so raw. Yesterday, Andrew and his gang went to Shankville, PA to the Flight 93 memorial site. It’s a temporary memorial at this point.

Thoughts and prayers to all.

Hiroshi Ishiguro, a professor at Osaka University created Repliee Q1, an android designed to look and move like “an average Japanese woman.” Check it out.

Last night, my third grader had to interview someone about his/her job. (A market researcher in the making — I’m so proud!) So, since I was the only one around who actually has a job, he asked me. What is my background? What are my job responsiblities? What is the best part of my job? The worst part? And more. Mostly, he wanted short answers since he hates to write. So whatever I answered, he shortened it. I’m sure the teacher now thinks I have attention problems. But I digress.

The answer I gave him regarding the best part of my job was learning new things. But that wasn’t enough for him. So I told him that I love my commute. (I primarily work in a home office.)

But today, I came across an article, The Most Dangerous Hour of Your Life: Ten tips to transform your stressful commute into an oasis of serenity, from World WIT (Women in Technology) about how to make your commute better. Worth a read if you really DO have a long commute. The ten main points:

Turn your car into a counseling center.
Listen to stress reducing music on your commute.
Take a cue from the birds and sing your way to work.
Transform your commute into a classroom.
Build your temple in a car, train, bus or airplane.
Make your commute a comedy club.
Bond with your fellow commuters.
Meditate on the positive.
Observe fundamental virtues on your commute.
Practice being peaceful and centered.

I think I’m going out there now to bond with some commuters. More later.

Today, I got a link from a friend. To Gas Price Watch….. I admit that gas prices are part of our daily conversation here. It’s remarkable to see them change so quickly. I remember the 70′s when my dad sold his big American car and got a VW Rabbit. But the gas crisis was quickly forgotten by most (or you are too young to remember!) and, I don’t know about where you live… but around here — there are Hummers and Suburbans and Tahoes (oh, my!)….

So, I was interested to read the article in Business Week, Scooters: The Perfect Second Car?