…your connecting flight pull out five gates down as your flight pulls in five minutes late.

Dan Pink linked to this article on Alternet titled 10 Things Science Says Will Make You Happy.

The piece is really good but Dan’s provided a more interesting set of headers:

1. Stop and enjoy the present.
2. Don’t compare yourself to the Joneses.
3. Don’t obsess over money.
4. Aspire to leave an imprint.
5. Be intrinsically motivated on the job.
6. Build a supportive network of family and friends
7. Act optimistic even if you have to fake it.
8. Gratitude, baby, gratitude.
9. Exercise is all good.
10. Givers gain.

Great things to think about as we head into the New Year.

Happy New Year, everybody!

Today will be considered a watershed event.

IBM announces they will cancel their pension program in 2008.

The company will increase its 401(k) plan and match employees’ contributions dollar-for-dollar to up to 6 percent of their salary. Even if employees don’t contribute to their plans, IBM will still place 1 percent to 4 percent of an employee’s pay into a 401(k) account.

Many companies will follow this lead. Pensions have been become a drag on earnings and a nightmare to administrate. They also don’t reflect the reality of today’s workplace.

Healthcare is next. Employers will only offer high deductible policies and all employees will have health savings accounts to cover years with high expenses.

More and more people are going to be required to take personal responsibility for their future.

Here are the winning entries from a local contest for photos of Milwaukee.

[via OnMilwaukee.com]

I had the rare opportunity to see two movies in the theatres in less than a week (the little guy slows us down a little).

Our first flick was The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. The entire cast is brilliant. Some people are saying that it doesn’t live up to the Wes Anderson standard. It was great. How can you not love Seu Jorge’s renditions of David Bowie tunes in Portuguese?

The second flick was Primer. This is the indie sci-fi film that got some buzz from Wired:

The year’s most effective science fiction film was also the cheapest to produce. With a $10,000 budget – a mere blink of Gollum’s eye – director Shane Carruth tells the tale of two inventors who build a get-rich-quick gadget in a garage. They’re not mad scientists, they’re levelheaded yuppies – at least until their time machine proves too powerful to handle. With its twisted narrative, the f/x-free Primer is a reminder that the best sci-fi action requires you to think. – Jason Silverman

The movie is a little over an hour and we think we need to see it two more times before we are going to get the whole thing. We have been talking about it since Saturday. My wife has diagrams on the chalkboard in the kitchen to try and keep the whole thing straight. Did I mention it was only an hour long?

I highly recommend both films. I think I am just going to give up on the mainstream stuff. The great storytelling is happening in the small films.

Of course you could go watch the latest JibJab cartoon, but if you wanted a slightly deeper experience consider Negotiation at the North Pole by ExperiencePoint. I think it s a clever game that helps teach negotiation. You get three tries to distribute the right items between Santa, Paul the Elf, and Blitzen. They tell you want they think about what they have and you have to figure out if there is a better combination. You get three tries to find the right mix. If you don’t make it, there is a tutorial to help explain the basics of negotiation and details important to the North Pole problem. Check it out.

Bob Carlton of The Corner has started the Top 5 in 2004. These are not business related blogs, but I thought it was cool to see the meme adjusting itself for what works best. I wondered if 24 posts were too many for people to have the patience to pull together.

[via Get Religion]

I am still fighting this cold a got a week ago which partially explains why it has been so quiet around here lately.

The other part of the silence has been boredom. I haven’t found any of the conversations going on lately very interesting. I don’t know what else to say about how business should be using blogs. I don’t know what else to say about how ‘blog’ was the most looked up word this year (except that it means that people don’t have a clue what blog(s) are; it is a step on the path to understanding; it is not a success I would celebrate). Can we start some new conversations in the new year?

So you can see I am a little cranky. I am going to crawl back under a blanket and take a nap. Maybe I will wakeup in a better mood.

There are two new television shows that are partially based on the premise “People Lie”.

The first is Fox’s House M.D. The main character Dr. Gregory House is an expert in infectious disease. He believes talking to patients is a waste of time and any information they give will only mislead a proper diagnosis.

The second series is the yet to be released NUMB3RS from CBS. The crime drama boasts big-name actors (Rob Morrow) and directors (Ridley Scott and Tony Scott). The tagline in the ads is “People Lie. Numbers Don’t.”

This idea that “People Lie” is going get more attention as people read Malcolm Gladwell’s new book Blink.

I think last night was the worst of it and I am now on the mend. I slept most of the day and night. I am trying to take it easy today and make sure my son is busy with things to do.

More soon…

Remember to put together your Top24 and send them to me. We have 13 people thus far. The more, the merrier.