Standing desks may be the latest trend (with some solid health benefits!), but now there’s a new trend emerging – fetal position desks! Check out the very informative 😉 video below. Just some Friday humor for you from The Onion…
Tesla releasing patents
Tesla made a pretty odd announcement today…Elon Musk announced that, “Tesla will not initiate patent lawsuits against anyone who, in good faith, wants to use our technology.” This essentially opens the door to competitors wishing to copy them. In his blog post, he goes on to say that the market is ‘enormous’ and that their true competition is gasoline cars. It’s a pretty cool marketing gimmick…make that a REALLY cool gimmick…they’re getting publicity and helping to build a brand image, while recognizing the futility of pursuing patent legislation against other large companies (case in point: Apple and Samsung’s never-ending feud). Nice move.10 health tests guys should be getting
I came across a neat article at Care2 called “10 Health Tests Every Father Should Get.” (most of those tests would apply to women, too!). It’s a nice little reminder that I need to start going to a doctor more regularly for checkups! I’ve become more focused on monitoring my health with an activity tracker and wifi scale…these will be further data points to keep track of.
The 10 tests they recommend are (read the link above for details):
- Blood Pressure
- Diabetes
- Cholesterol
- Colorectal Cancer
- Prostate Cancer
- Vaccines
- Audiogram
- Eye Exam
- Lipid Profile
- Electrocardiogram
Which has me wondering about Apple’s forthcoming Health App. In iOS8 (due this fall), they’ll be offering a way to track all sorts of health metrics, and share that information with your doctor. It has the potential to be a great place to keep track of results from the tests mentioned above…I can’t wait to try it!
Comcast turning homes into public wifi hotspots
Comcast seems to be intent on solidifying their position as Worst Company in America (a title they somehow managed to beat Monsanto and Sea World for!). Not only is there a public uproar over their attempt to take over Time-Warner cable, but now, as TechCruch reports, Comcast plans to turn their customers’ homes into public wifi hotspots, by turning on that feature in their cable modems. It’s an ‘opt-out’ feature too, so many customers may not even be aware that this is happening.
Why does this matter? Maybe it doesn’t. I use a ‘guest network’ feature in my own wireless router, and I have no concerns about this providing a backdoor into my personal network. However, there are two things to consider. First, the electricity being used to provide this feature is being paid for by the homeowner (though it’s probably pretty minimal). Second, and more troubling, is what happens if someone on your public wifi hotspot uses that connection for illegal activity? It’ll be traced back to your IP address, and will be your mess to deal with. Your best case scenario there is that Comcast would have tracked the hotspot user’s MAC address and would be willing to provide you with an exceptional level of communication and support to help you defend yourself in court (good luck with that…).
I’m fortunate to live in a town not ‘serviced’ by Comcast…though with the way they’re growing, I fear it’s only a matter of time before they arrive.
How to be more productive
Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek, offers these six tips to increase your productivity. I think it’s good advice…and while I have a hard time sticking to them, I do try to focus on these!
- Manage Your Mood
- Don’t Check Email in The Morning
- Before You Try To Do It Faster, Ask Whether It Should Be Done At All
- Focus Is Nothing More Than Eliminating Distractions
- Have A Personal System
- Define Your Goals The Night Before
You can read more at Business Insider.