Big bonus, bad thinking?

Link above goes to: The New York Times

Quote from the page:

Op-Ed Contributor
What’s the Value of a Big Bonus?
By DAN ARIELY
Published: November 20, 2008
If our tests mimic the real world, then higher bonuses may not only cost employers more but also discourage executives from working to the best of their ability.

Interesting research indicating that big bonuses actually impair cognitive function despite the motivation they provide. People want to do well for the big bonus but just having it out there, if I'm interpreting this article correctly, can impair mental function which is a counter-intuitive result which if true could explain a lot.

So remarkably, companies handing out big bonuses may be paying their people to do worse.

Fewer women developers

Link above goes to: The New York Times

Digital Domain
What Has Driven Women Out of Computer Science?
By RANDALL STROSS
Published: November 16, 2008
Many computer science departments report that women now make up less than 10 percent of the newest undergraduates.

I think it's an excellent subject to ponder as it seems clear that something is driving down the rate of participation in the field by women.

The question is then, what is that something?

Easy open packaging

Link above goes to: The New York Times

Quote from the source:

Packages You Won’t Need a Saw to Open
By BRAD STONE and MATT RICHTEL
Published: November 15, 2008
Retailers are creating alternatives to infuriating “clamshell” packages and cruelly complex twist ties.

Yeah!!! It has amazed me how hard it is to get packages for electronic items open, and now I see how much I was not alone. Here's another quote from the article:

Impregnable packaging has incited such frustration among consumers that an industry term has been coined for it — “wrap rage.”

Glad to know that the problem is being worked on and I'm serious. It feels kind of strange to spend several minutes trying to get to something you just bought as you fight it out of its packaging.

"Eww, Saratoga", drunken Web 2.0

Link above goes to: The New York Times

Quote:

Fashion & Style
Drunk, and Dangerous, at the Keyboard
By ALEX WILLIAMS
Published: October 19, 2008
Mail Goggles, a new feature on Google’s Gmail program, is intended to help stamp out a scourge that few knew existed: late-night drunken e-mailing.

To understand the title of my post read the article through to the end and have a laugh.

Clover Machine

Source: Wired

The Coffee Fix: Can the $11,000 Clover Machine Save Starbucks?
By Mathew Honan 07.21.08

...The Clover coffeemaker debuted in a handful of cafés in 2006 and was promptly hailed as the best thing to happen to coffee lovers since the car cup holder. With an $11,000 asking price, the Clover has become a fetish object among the coffee-obsessed. Long queues signal its arrival in new cities, and self-described "Cloveristas" post videos on YouTube demonstrating the machine's flashy brewing process. There are more photos on Flickr paying homage to this shiny gadget (700 and counting) than actual Clovers in existence (roughly 250 worldwide)....

Good coffee. They have them at my local Starbucks.


James