Modularity

Do you know what company had a genius idea related to modularity?  Gillette.  That's right, the company that makes shaving razors.  I was in that aisle at Target the other day and was struck again with how well they created that business model.  First of all, you can buy several different handles.  A "manly" one or a "womanly" one or a travel size one depending on your need.  But all the handles have the same interface to the disposable blade heads, and you can easily snap them on and off to change them.  That way you can be environmentally friendly by throwing less of the shaver away.  And, customers can try different types of shaving heads.  3 blades!  5 blades!  Sensitive skin!  With aloe and vitamin E!  The possibilities are endless.  And I'm sure they charge more for the blade heads that are "new" styles while using minimal raw materials.  Genius, I tell you.  Maybe other razor companies have a similar model, I haven't really done much research.  I don't even know if Gillette was the first.  But still, it's a good illustration of modularity.

Oh, and while I was at Target (and TJ Maxx), I bought another matching bedside table and matching lamp so everything matches and stuff now.  See below.

High Class.  Right there.

Ignore the state of the closet still.

The summer is crazy, so that's all I have for now.

Big News

Today in our sleepy little town there was a shooting.  A prison inmate was in the courthouse and apparently took a gun away from a deputy, and when the deputy tried to get it back, the guy opened fire and killed two bailiffs.  The shooter also died - it's suspected he was trying to escape and not that this was related to the other recent shootings going on in the country.

Because the courthouse is relatively close to the beach and apparently some thought it would be crass to play beach volleyball, beach volleyball was cancelled for the evening.   So I worked late and then went for an enjoyable kayak paddle this evening instead.

But I was wondering.....is it considered lack of respect to go on with your life when you don't know the people who were killed?  I mean yeah, I feel sad in a vague way like I feel sorry for the starving children in Africa.  But what else do I do?  Maybe stop and reflect on life and say a prayer or something.  I don't know - maybe it's my borderline Asperberger's showing up or something.

The news reports also had one government representative's statements about how we need to make sure the proper procedures are in place to keep everybody safe in the courthouse.  And how we need to do better to prevent these tragedies.  How much more security and procedures do you need?  It wasn't like the guy brought his own gun in - it seems like he took a law enforcement person's gun.  The metal detectors can't stop that.  It seems like you call it what it is - a tragedy - and move on.  And maybe you train deputies on procedures to use to make sure an inmate doesn't take your gun.

I thought I had something else as well,but it escapes me at the moment.  This amused me on facebook this evening:

Have a good week!

The Science of Stuff and Things

As I was sorting through some of my work e-mail, I found a link to this video on the science of happiness.  It's a video that's less than 10 minutes, is fairly entertaining, and has a few interesting statistics.  So if that's your kind of thing, I suggest you watch it.

As I was looking through my old bookmarks, I found this article on the 5 biggest worker shortages.  The article is from 2012 so it's a bit outdated, but I think engineers are probably still on the list.

We're trying to hire several people at work, and it's slow going to find good talent.  I'm not the official hiring manager, but I've been on the interview panel.  Sometimes interview candidates say some really surprising things.  And sometimes the calibration between all the interviewers afterward can turn on a dime.  People can be somewhat positive about a candidate, and then if one interviewer is kind of down on the interviewee about one thing, it can turn the whole conversation in a different direction.  It's a very interesting study in human nature and the power of persuasion and group think.

I'm feeling too lazy to actually post real stuff like my trip to China and how my 4th of July went.  I'm like Goose Goofs Off.  Not today.  I'll do it tomorrow.