The Four Day Work Week: Has Its Time Come? The Four Day Work Week: Has Its Time Come?

The Four Day Work Week: Has Its Time Come?

For decades now, the standard model for working hours has been 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, for a total of 40 hours per week. The typical business hours are 9 to 5, and consequently, many people find themselves working these exact hours. Monday to Friday, 9 to 5. This system is in place throughout much of the world, and has been for some time, replacing various other models, such as the 6 and 7 day work week, 12-16 hour shifts, etc. Clearly, the 40 hour a week schedule was preferable, and in many countries, was fought for by labour unions, who refused to remain fixed on such rigorous schedules as 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, which many people worked before the shift in thinking that preceded the onset of the 40 hour week.

Work to Live, or Live to Work

A story I read on a message board (of course this is either embellished or straight up b.s., but I like the message):

An American tourist was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked.

Inside the small boat were several large yellowfin tuna. The tourist complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.

The Mexican replied, "Only a little while."

The tourist then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?"

The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs."

The tourist then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life."

The tourist scoffed, " I can help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you could run your ever-expanding enterprise."

The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?"

The tourist replied, "15 to 20 years."

"But what then?" asked the Mexican.

The tourist laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions."

"Millions?...Then what?"

The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Gaming Conventions That Need to Go! Pt. 3

1) Hey, you made it!! It's been 12 hours, you finally get to fight the boss that has been eluding and tormenting you the whole time (likely after killing or kidnapping someone close to you). This should be AWESOME! You have all those fancy skills now..............oh wait. No no no. The boss is impervious to all but one of your attacks. Figure out which one it is and then spam it for 2 minutes to win. GOOD LUCK!

2) That mysterious voice that tells you where to go/what to do.......I don't see a headset or earpiece anywhere on my character....so how the hell am I hearing you exactly?

3) Unskippable dialogue. Man, when a game has bad dialogue, or you have already played through it and just want to get to the game, not being able to skip lengthy dialogue sucks, especailly if it's text and it displays slowly. Really bad when you die and reolad and have to sit through it all again.

4) Unskippable cutscenes. Same concept as unskippable dialogue. They suck when you just don't care about the story, or if you have seen it already and just want to get to the game. This, just like with the unskippable dialogue, is especially bad when you die and relad and have to sit through it all again.

5) AI temmates in shooters being able to do things I cannot; this even happens when I am supposed to be the leader of the sqaud and they are my subordinates. An example of what I mean is in some games , the AI can take cover, but the player cannot. This makes no sense, unless there's an explanation for it in the story....which there never is.

6) Escort missions. Enough said.

7) Timed missions. See above.

The End

Thanks for reading part 3 of this series.

Nostalgia: 80's and 90's Fads

Remember these 80's/90's fads? Oh, the nostalgia!

Beanie Babies

Hackey Sacks/Footbags

Helicopter Hats and Denim Shorts on Guys

Jolt Cola

Mullets!

Parachute Pants (remember the sound these made when you walked?)

Payphones

Rolled Up Jeans

Pogo Disc Ball....Things

POGS!!

Pop Rocks (remember the myth about exploding stomachs?)

Pump Up Sneakers

The Jheri Curl!

Warheads

Crysis Console (Xbox 360) Screenshots

Here are a few screens from the console (xbox 360) (game is also available on the Playstation 3) version of Crysis:

Worst Video Game Sequels Of All Time

Worst Video Game Sequels Of All Time

There's nothing quite like the anticipation for a sequel to a truly remarkable game. Likewise, there's nothing quite like the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach that occurs when one realizes that said sequel fucking sucks. This has happened to all gamers at some point in their gaming life, and to most of us, it has happened on multiple occasions over the years. The incidence rates of this horrific plague have likely decreased, and significantly at that, due to the rise to prominence of the internet and the boom of the video game journalism trade. Now, we're inundated with previews, footage, interviews, demos, and reviews, so it's a lot harder to get bitch slapped with a shit sequel. Not that it doesn't happen. Somehow, despite all of it, it's still possible to get rooked. Science knows I have, several times over.

Art By Keeks

Art By Keeks

My friend Kiana is a (starving) artist who is starting to sell some of her work to make a little bit of much needed coin. Here are pics of two of her paintings:

More Nostalgia:80's Radio Shack Ads

Best Buy Flyer from 1996

Best Buy Flyer 1996

Gamers: Check out the bottom right!

Through the Eyes of a Fighter

The theme of this story is:

Persistence and Sacrifice

To get in the mood for this, please watch the following 24 second video clip:



Now THAT'S exactly what this is going to be about. This blog is going to take you on a journey. A journey through the mind of an MMA (mixed martial arts) fighter during an MMA bout. I will be using fictionalized characters, but the Persistence and Sacrifice will be anything but fiction....if I do my job right, that is.

I apologize to anyone out there who knows MMA (or competes in it) if I don't do my job as a writer, and fail to capture the true essence of the qualities needed to compete in the gruelling sport that is mixed martial arts.

And so, all of the preamble now behind us, let's join our two fighters in the cage. The referee, 'Big' John McCarthy, is about to signal the start of the bout with his famous line:

Gentlemen! Are You Ready? Are You Ready? Let's Get It On, Guys!

MMA Being Ruined By Fans and Refs?

Anyone who has been watching mixed martial arts over the last decade and a half or so will undoubtedly be able to attest to the fact that the sport has grown by leaps and bounds, both in terms of popularity and the level of competition seen amongst the athletes. An MMA fight from 1995 looks a hell of a lot different than an MMA fight from 2011. MMA fights from 1995 looked a lot different than MMA fights in 1999, even. The evolution of the sport has been nothing short of explosive. Rapid advances in training methods and the calibre of fighter/athlete have led to an absolute metamorphosis in the sport. And all of this has taken place alongside an explosion in the number of people taking interest in the sport.

In short, MMA is on fire, and the world is taking notice. Which is great, right?

Er...sort of. 

Ninja Gaiden Sigma Announced for the PSP Vita

http://www.gamefront.com/ps-vita-gets-ninja-gaiden-sigma/

I really, really wish it was Ninja Gaiden Black (the definitive version of NG), but hey, this is still awesome news!

Screens:

New Ninja Gaiden 3 Screenshots

New Ninja Gaiden 3 Screens:

Saving Lives With Biomedical Engineering

When biomedical engineering scientist Erin Lavik received the prestigious New Innovator Award last year from the National Institutes of Health for her work in advancing the development of synthetic (artificial) blood platelets, she was already becoming known in biomedical circles as a rising researcher.

Erin's laboratory at Case Western Reserve University, where she is currently an associate professor of Biomedical Engineering, was attracting attention for its focus on developing new approaches to understand and treat hemorrhaging, spinal cord injury, glaucoma, and diseases of the retina and optic nerve.

Recently (as noted by the New Innovator Award), she and her team at Case Western have received recognition for using nanotechnology -- an emerging scientific field that manipulates material on very small scales -- to build synthetic platelets of biodegradable polymers which are designed to link with the body's natural platelets to slow or stop bleeding faster after injury.

Says Erin: "We were looking for ways to control internal bleeding in our experiments, and we were stunned at how limited the options are, so we built our own system." Synthetic blood platelets made with nanoparticles may help slow internal bleeding, saving lives on the battlefield and following other traumatic injuries such as those sustained in auto accidents.

Can you think of some other applications for synthetic blood platelets?

Read more about AT&T sponsored Nifty Fifty program speaker Erin Lavik here.

And watch Erin's speech on tissue engineering and treatment of spinal cord injury:

Achievements: Earned or Entitled?

Often you'll come across the following type of comments in a discussion about a particular game's achievements/trophies (I'm primarily a 360 gamer, so forgive me if/when I fail to mention trophies when I mention achievements):

Gamer A: “WHAT?!? Beat the game on the hardest difficulty without dying (or any other difficult feat)? What kind of stupid achievement is THAT? How do they expect me to earn that? That's fucking STUPID! Most people won't get that! Why would they make an achievement that's so hard to unlock?"

Gamer B: “Well, shouldn't the people who do that get rewarded for it? I mean, if someone develops the skills/takes the time to do it, why shouldn't they be rewarded? They did something awesome! They actually achieved something.”