I have fat fingers and can’t type on a QWERTY with my thumbs. I hate the the teeny tiny QWERTY keyboards anyway. I’m deadly with my left thumb texting on a regular phone keyboard so I can’t see a need for the other. What I really would like to know is what are all of these people texting about anyway and who on earth are they texting to? I’m with you, if it comes down to it my phone is history. Long live the desktop!

Later I transferred to the university library and never have I worked with a more unique collection of individuals. While creativity was not encouraged as openly there, we all had our little quirks that made us unique and once again, until my supervisor left we were highly productive. The next supervisor demanded conformity and strict rules about conduct and how out work spaces should look. Productivity in our department as well as morale plummeted. I left soon after that and while I miss the people I worked with I now enjoy the freedom freelancing gives me. And you should see my desk….whew…my old boss would have a stroke.

I shun any company tatics that try to force propriety down my throat.
That is why I don’t do apple and why I chose the nook over the kindle.

Also the page swipe feature was one of my liking. Instead of the click-click-click late night reading.

Ohhh thanks for using my image in your article.
As my other passion is photography.
.

There was so much I liked about this, but especially:

“The moleskine is very netbook like, as a paper object. It says ‘write in me’, not ‘play games on me, set me to vibrate, play with me on a subway’.”

and

“A moleskine says fill me, I can save these ideas for you as long as you like. I’ll be here. You might even enjoy flipping through me and reading me, even before you’re ready to use some of them. It’s OK, you can open up. Tell me. I’m a moleskine.”

Very well done, my friend. I’m glad to have found you!

Great article! I agree with you that the phone is a time killer. No way am I ever going to get a Blackberry, not only do I not want to become its slave but I find them annoying. When I started freelancing full-time I had to firmly remind my family that although it looks like I’m not busy on the computer that it is just like I’ve left the house to work. Mom “playing” on the computer is putting food on the table and gas in the truck. I’ve become quite spoiled and I doubt if I could ever go back to the traditional workplace again. My favorite thing about working at home is the 50 foot commute from my bedroom to my desk.

“We’ve had psychologists who specialize in organizational development tell us that Patagonia has a far above average number of very independent-minded employees. In fact our employees are so independent, we’re told, that they would be considered unemployable in a typical company.”

Anyways, another link I thought you might like is http://www.storyofstuff.com/
It talks about what goes into the “product” and the whole life cycle of it.

Emily’s point is a good one too. Labels aren’t enough. They’ll put what ever they want on there if they can.

Another step to take is to look at going local.
Supporting local shops, farms, etc. is another step towards freeing ourselves from these corporate giants that don’t care about us or their employees.

Anyways, keep up the good work.

If you are heading towards “free-range” or ethical reasons, I would advise you to look further into the label before basing your purchases on that claim alone. Free-range is not a regulated label and has no official meaning. Birds labeled “free-range” are not necessarily raised on pasture, and can spend their entire lives in a building with occasional “access” to the outdoors.

If you aren’t able to visit the farm yourself, look for “pasture-raised” or “Animal Welfare Approved.” Pasture-raised is not regulated, but Animal Welfare Approved is. In fact it is the only pasture-based welfare certification available. For more information and some great resources, visit (www.AnimalWelfareApproved.org). Thanks for writing.

Also I know the main area 20% time is considered ineffective is in call centers. Don’t know what to do about that one. I’m also delightfully imperfect.