We will be closed December 23rd, 2010 at 5:00pm – January 4th, 2011 at 9:00am. Enjoy the Holiday!
Merry Christmas
Engine Staff on TV tonight
Check out the Engine staff on Eat Local Challenge! Eat Local Challenge is a documentary series that follows Eastern Ontario families and individuals as they challenge themselves to 7 days of eating only foods grown and raised locally.
Episode #1 will air in Belleville tonight, Thursday Nov 11th, at 8:00pm on TVCOGECO Cable Channel 4!
Creative Office Interiors
Does creativity inspire creative interiors or do creative interiors inspire creativity?
Have you ever noticed that often the most creative companies have the most interesting corporate interiors? I have often wondered if the inspiring interior space is reflective of the innovative, artistic people who work there or if that type of interior design fosters creativity. 
Perhaps it is a little bit of both! Think about offices like Pixar, Google and facebook, there has got to be a reason why these companies spend so much on the look and feel of their offices, besides the fact that they are billion dollar companies. When I need creative inspiration I often spend some time looking through a books of corporate interiors. It seems to help spark my creativity. I think by creating an environment that employees feel relaxed and comfortable it does foster creativity. The more you go outside of the box to create a pleasant work environment the more employees will develop outside of the box ideas for your company.
It has been suggested that the more appealing an office is, the more likely employees are to live at the office, and volunteer overtime. Some companies strategically plan their offices in this way, offering services to staff so that they do not need to do as much running around and can maintain focus on projects, and creative brainstorming. Happy, relaxed people love their jobs!
What are your thoughts? What does your workspace look like? Does it inspire you?
– Sandra
GAP Logo Controversy
This holiday weekend while online I saw an article about the new GAP logo that was revealed on October 4th and the criticism the popular retailer is receiving for it. Now that I’ve had a chance to compare the two logos, I think that I am partial to the old one, only because it is what I grew up with. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling of happy days and buying cool clothes…..it brings me back to my University days. I guess I’m not the only one feeling this way. According to the Yahoo article this morning, this comment from a Facebook user is typical of the online response: “By changing it, you’ve completely destroyed what it took 20-plus years to build.” I wonder what is the average age of those who dislike the new logo. I’m curious…which one do you prefer?
– Kathy
Hungary Disaster
First thing this morning my full attention was on Hungary and the toxic sludge disaster that happened yesterday. My relatives live in Budapest. My Aunt said that the Magyar Aluminum factory’s residue reservoir burst 160 km Southwest of Budapest and millions of cubic feet of toxic sludge spilled into the streets of the town of Devescer, and two neighboring towns. The sludge contains lye, which eats through everything. Six people are missing and another eight are in critical condition suffering from chemical burns, with more to be expected. According to the Daily Telegraph this morning in some places the torrent, which swept cars off roads and damaged bridges, was eight feet deep. With contamination this extensive, everything will need to be scraped up and shipped away once neutralized.
The biggest danger is the sludge seeping into the water supply. My Aunt said that one river is already pink and if it gets into Raba, Tisza and at the end Duna (Danube) then it would be disastrous, effecting many countries. Business week says that following the Marcal, the contamination would reach the Danube at Gyor (my sister taught English there for two years…it’s a beautiful little town), about halfway between Vienna and Budapest. The river reaches Croatia about 250 kilometers (155 miles) south of the Hungarian capital, then travels through Serbia, Bulgaria, Moldova, Ukraine and Romania before reaching the Black Sea.
The country has declared a state of emergency and could take up to 12 months and tens of millions of dollars to clean up and is considered to be “an ecological disaster” that is “unprecedented” in the world. My heart is with Hungary today.
– Kathy
Pay with your phone
In some cites you no longer need to purchase tokens or a metro pass for public transportation. Visa has teamed up with Apple and Blackberry to create an application that will charge transit fares to your Visa by simply waving the enabled smart phone in front of a reader. The idea behind this is to creates faster movement through some of the worlds busiest transit terminals, and also be more convenient for the customer. This means no more line ups to buy tokens or tickets. Currently in North America it is being tested in New York City. I have no doubt that this trial will be a success. It really only takes one visit to New York’s Port Authority during rush hour to see that anything that could possibly speed up the process would be a welcomed change.
For more details check out this article.
– Sandra
The 3D TV Phenomenon
By now just about everyone has seen a 3D movie in the theatre, it’s pretty hard to avoid seeing one anymore. We’ve been hearing about 3D television for over a decade now, but finally it is available in nearly every store you walk into. I was recently out looking at televisions and was amazed at how well these TVs, with the flick of a switch, create a 3D cinema-like effect. As I was looking I began to wonder what it would be like to watch a 3D television every day — would my eyes adjust to them? Perhaps I am just not used to it yet, I feel a little off balance after watching a 3D movie. I got to wondering what kind of strain it would put on my eyes long-term. I considered all of these things, even though a 3D TV is far from being in my budget.
I decided to head to trusty Google and see what people were saying about it. I was shocked to find quite a lot of controversy over the issue. Apparently there have even been warnings issued by the manufacturers to avoid use if you are in poor health, tired, or drinking alcohol, under the age of 6 or over the age of 65. I’m sorry but that is just not cool, the only time I watch TV is when I am tired or not feeling well.
Customers are also cautioned to immediately stop watching 3D pictures and consult a medical specialist if they experience any of the following symptoms: (1) altered vision; (2) light-headedness; (3) dizziness; (4) involuntary movements such as eye or muscle twitching; (5) confusion; (6) nausea; (7) loss of awareness; (8) convulsions; (9) cramps; and/or (10) disorientation. Parents should monitor and ask their children about the above symptoms as children and teenagers may be more likely to experience these symptoms than adults.
Groups considered to be at high-risk for these side effects are; pregnant women, young children, teens, the elderly, people prone to seizures or stroke, people prone to dizziness or motion sickness, people with eye problems, people who are out of shape, and people who have been drinking. It has also been attributed to damaging people’s depth perception.
At this point I got to thinking, am I talking about television or the side effects of medication?! Cool as 3D is, and as much as I enjoy it in the theatre every now and then, maybe its best to wait a little while longer with my HDTV and let this technology develop. In the mean time, perhaps we should pass a law about driving under the influence of TV.
– Sandra
TIFF – Lights, Camera, Action!
I seem to have a movie theme this week. The big news for avid movie-goers is that the 35th Toronto International Film Festival is under way. It opened September 9th and runs to the 19th. The Festival showcases more than 300 films from across the globe, with a diverse selection of titles for you to explore. Festival programming is divided into programmes this year to help guide your choices. Visit www.tiff.net to get the latest news from the festival along with daily film schedules and ticket and package information if you are thinking about attending the festival. You can also join their Facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/TIFF, and follow them on Twitter http://www.tiff.net/twitter for everything TIFF – enjoy the shows!
– Kathy
The Social Network Movie
While watching television last night I saw the movie trailer for The Social Network movie in theaters October 1st, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Justin Timberlake, and directed by David Fincher. It’s a story of the conception of Facebook – two friends – one a computer genius and the other a business expert – who began the wildly popular website that now has millions of followers, including myself. I actually don’t know anyone who is not on Facebook these days, do you? I am really looking forward to seeing the movie. I can’t even comprehend how one could go from being a student to being a billionaire in less than one year, at the age of 22. I think that’s simply amazing. Here is the movie trailer and the official website for you to view:
The Social Network – Movie Trailer
http://thesocialnetwork-movie.com/
– Kathy
Facebook – An Outlet For Narcissists?
While on lunch today I was reading an interesting article on Yahoo about Facebook. According to an article by Andy Blatchford of The Canadian Press, a new study of Canadian University students suggests that Facebook is a magnet for narcissists and people with low self-esteem.
The article states that people who have a low self-esteem or who are narcissistic spend more time on the popular social networking site than those people who have adequate levels of self-worth. Apparently, the surveys were conducted two years ago, and the findings were published last month in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. An interesting comparison was also made between male and female Facebook users and how they promote themselves differently.
With Facebook having an estimated 500 million users, 16 million of those being Canadians I find the results of this study very interesting. The article ends with this question: “Is it that narcissists are more likely to use Facebook, or people who use Facebook are more likely to become narcissists?”
I’m curious – what are your thoughts? Here is the link to view the article:
While on lunch today I was reading an interesting article on Yahoo about Facebook. According to an article by Andy Blatchford of The Canadian Press, a new study of Canadian University students suggests that Facebook is a magnet for narcissists and people with low self-esteem. The article goes on to state that people who are low on self esteem or who are narcissistic spend more time on the popular social networking site than those people who have adequate levels of self worth. Apparently, the surveys were conducted two years ago, and the findings were published last month in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. An interesting comparison was also made between male and female Facebook users and how they promote themselves differently. With Facebook having an estimated 500 million users, 16 million of those being Candians I find the results of this study very interesting. The article ends with this question: “Is it that narcissists are more likely to use Facebook, or people who use Facebook are more likely to become narcissists?” I’m curious – what are your thoughts? Here is the link to view the article:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100907/national/facebook_narcissists_insecure
