Thinkcage

The linked article shows actual screens of the upcoming DS game based on SimCity 3000. Oh man as if I didn’t love my Nintendo DS enough already… I can’t wait!

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Just like when your mom and dad started saying “bling”, the recent announcement that the upcoming Microsoft Office 2007 would include the ubiquitous web 2.0 trend of of reflected graphics as a built-in effect should effectively remove any cool factor that remains. A recent post on the The PowerPoint & OfficeArt Team Blog showcased that Office 2007 would allow anyone to include this “nice looking and also very trendy” effect in their Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and *sigh* Outlook email messages.

For those firmly stuck in Web 1.0 the reflections graphical gimmick as a fad is in full-effect. This simple graphical effect gives text and images the appearance of sitting on a shiny surface as often seen in high-end studio product photography (see Apple). The treatment is so common that is has become a stereotypical part of the “Web 2.0″ look as hundreds of websites feature reflected logos, headlines, and graphics.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve used it myself. But I think many of us feel this effect is over-used and as a trend has more or less run its course. I suspect that when our bosses and the guys in HR start whipping-out PowerPoint presentations littered with this effect, we can pretty much take it out of our designer’s toolboxes and send it to the bin along with past favorites such as bevel, drop-shadow, 45-degree corners and lines, comic sans, and of course the amazing lens flare. RIP.

For anyone interested, over at Element Fusion we’re looking for a Web Designer to join our creative team.

We’d like to see:

• Clean design style, intuitive user interfaces, innovative concepts
• Excellent Photoshop/HTML/CSS skills
• Technical expertise balanced by creative thinking
• Ability to work on multiple projects and meet frequent deadlines
• Attention to detail
• Unique and creative portfolio

The web designer should be adept in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.) and capable of taking a website from design concept to fully functional HTML. We’re especially interested in standards-based designers with strong XHTML/CSS skills. Experience with Macromedia Flash, ActionScript, JavaScript/EMCA script, or other dynamic scripting (such as ASP or PHP) a plus.

Element Fusion is a great place to work and we get to work with some of the top clients in the region. To apply drop me a line (jason at thinkcage dot com)or send your resume and portfolio URL to jobs@elementfusion.com.

More than half of Americans using sugar free products, but our waistlines keep growing. Some studies have suggested that artificial sweeteners interfere with our ability to gauge calories from foods containing real food. That wouldn’t be good considering even foods like peanut butter and soup come loaded with sugar these days.

This seemed to be rather appropriate today in light of my previous post. Personally, I have long -avoided artificial sweeteners. Party, because I appear of be one of a percentage of the population that can readily taste them and their foul after-taste; but also because I really believe that they are a poor solution. Instead of training ourselves to eat less sweet things, we instead consume more on the pretense that they aren’t detrimental. But the behavior is what is important – the only way to stay healthy is to eat right. Sugar isn’t bad for you in moderation -virtually no food is, and at least sugar is bad for you in a way that is natural and completely predictable. Nobody knows what our nation of Diet Coke drinkers is going to experience in thirty years.

To me, substituting artificial sugar makes people feel like they can have all they want because it isn’t bad for them now, but the behavior continues to be eat, eat, eat; consume, consume, consume; more, more, more. This is akin to letting your dog pee on the tile floor in your house but scolding him for peeing on the carpet. The behavior is set and the distinction between the two is confusing.

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Research by Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick has found that sleep deprivation is associated with an almost a two-fold increased risk of being obese for both children and adults.

I am always fascinated by studies that show how our modern lifestyle seems to directly disrupt the natural bio-rhythms of our bodies and minds. Our technological culture seems to continually increase the separation between humans and our environment. We don’t go outside as much as our ancestors; have decreased physical activity, cheat the sun with interior illumination, sleep too little on sporadic schedules, and eat foods that are wholly man-made. While these advances certainly make us more productive, I often wonder if they come at the expense of our overall health, happiness, and well-being.

I like to compare our lifestyles to that of people that lived one hundred years ago. Certainly I am generalizing, but it is safe to say most people worked out doors from morning until dusk; lack of transportation and other sophisticated machinery meant that much of their work was manual labor; they ate fresh foods often cultivated by their own hands; woke with the sun and slept by the moon.

As for me I typically get up by 6:30 am regardless of the time of year – in the winter it is dark, in the summers rather light. I sit in an air conditioned room at a computer for 8-12 hours per day, then sit some more in my car as I commute and only see the light of day filtered through glass. I try to eat right, but like anyone else consume too much refined sugar, bleached flour, salt, and caffeine – more of it coming from a box than the produce isle. I end the day with leisure activities that are more likely to include video games and movies (more sedentary time) than sports and exercise. The day ends around midnight – long past sundown.

While I consider myself to be blessed with good health, I suspect it could be better. Would I be more productive, creative, happy, and relaxed if my day was more like the guy one hundred years ago? Would I be less prone to cancer if I spent my days in the warm sunshine growing a garden for my family, fully experiencing the solar cycle? I have to think that we are more tied to the biology of this planet than we admit as a species and our constant struggles to best mother nature may ultimately be in vain.

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All Messed Up

This is a really great look into the agony Yorke seems to feel about the crisis of our global environment and the powerlessness that many of us feel. In particular he weighs in on what many consider the hypocrisy of the band being extremely environmentally conscious but then staging huge stadium rock shows which use tons of energy.

Personally, I can really identify with much of this:

When Yorke feels things, he really feels them. He’s vigorous and passionate, and far from the dour grump he’s often portrayed as. It’s just that he gets ultra-stressed by things that many of us choose to ignore, and melodrama can ensue.

I often feel the same way despairing over issues that I feel so sad, so strongly about. I can be so emotionally overwhelmed by the oppressive weight of these issues and feeling so alone as I watch my fellow man zip through life apathetically. Really I think apathy is the worst of the world’s evil right now – if more people cared about eachother and our world and our future, I’m certain things would be so much better.

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