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Lest we get too full of ourselves here at the Middle Zone, I hereby declare today to be “OOB Day” (That’s “Out Of the Box”, for those of you who are acronym-challenged. But why, you ask, is it not called “OOTB”? Because saying “OOB” is more fun than saying “OOTB”, of course! Just let it go.) Here’s our chance to throw out a few odds and ends that don’t necessarily have anything to do with anything.

But then again, they might. You never know…

Diamonds From the Dust

(Thanks to Dennis McMullin for tipping us off to some good information.)

Ever wonder how to tell when a good idea is really worth your time and effort? Bob Sutton, a professor of Management Science and Engineering at Stanford Engineering School has written a “manifesto” I would consider worth reading with the wonderfully self-explanatory title of “Management Advice: Which 90% is Crap?” His theme is that many of today’s business ideas being presented as “new” or “breakthrough”, are in fact simply old ideas repackaged.

In the discussion of one of his five guidelines, “Be Suspicious of Breakthrough Ideas and Studies” (a reference to the Harvard Business Review’s annual ‘Breakthrough Ideas’ list), Bob relates the following anecdote about a breakthrough idea credited to him on the HBR 2004 list:

Reach Out and Touch Someone

If you’re one of those people who just HAVE to have the last word, you’re going to love this one! It seems someone has developed a genuine, bona fide way for the – ahem – deceased to speak from beyond the grave: a talking tombstone! Check out the story here.

Imagine the possibilities…

Incredible Images

One of my favorite time-wasters is visiting Worth1000, a website dedicated to photoshop users. Along with some serious stuff (but who cares about that?) there are about a bazillion photos retouched using Photoshop, all prompted by theme contests set up by the site. For instance, a few of the most recent contests were: Mission Impossible 7, Vacation Bloopers 6, or Super Stunts 8. (Warning: a few contests contain material that is not suitable for all ages, although to their credit they warn you ahead of time). Lots of fun and truly amazing stuff!

Still Got It!

Of course, it’s nice to know some things don’t change. According to Scotsman.com news under the category of Weird, odd, and quirky stories (now why would they file this story there, I wonder?), they reassure us all that David Hasselhoff’s still got it! I can sleep better for sure.

The Last Word

And finally, from a sign spotted on a co-worker’s cubicle wall: “I’m on a 30-day diet. So far I’ve lost 15 days!”

You know, it would just be absolutely finer than a frogs hair if you would subscribe to my RSS feed!