Ethisphere's list of the world's most ethical companies in 2008.

Does this mean if we had all read The Official Slacker Handbook everything would be OK?

Nice article by Jeffrey Sachs at Scientific American on how we need to quit freaking out.

How Long Until Someone Kluges Together The Young Lady's Illustrated Primer Alpha?

I recently saw a video that showed mobile phones being used to teach children in remote villages. In contrast, my wife, who is a high school art teacher, is constantly having to get on to her students for using their phones. These two things, along with the fact that our phones are getting smarter and more media-rich, have me wondering how are we going to incorporate this technology into the classroom? Or will the classroom as we know even continue to exist?

If we can browse the web with our phone, shouldn't we then be able to "attend" our online courses from wherever our phone gets a signal? Why aren't there online courses for middle- and high-schoolers? Could they be (should they be) designed like The Institute For The Future's games Ruby's Bequest and Signtific? With their emphasis on creative thinking and collaboration, they certainly seem a better education model than continuing on with rote memorization and teaching to the test.

As far as smart phones go, I'm surprised that no one, that I'm aware of, has thought of donating them to developing countries as a way to advance education opportunities. I can imagine that a smart phone with an open source development platform, such as Android, would be a good thing, since it would allow localities to create the things they need.

I really meant this to be more of an essay, but I guess these questions are a good way to start.

Why Autopilot Won't Be The Only Pilot...

at least not any time soon. The crash earlier this week got me to thinking about when, if ever, commercial air travel will be entirely automated. Regardless of knowing that a plane is on autopilot most of the time, there is something emotionally reassuring to have another human at the controls. Maybe once people get used to robotic cars, they will be willing to trust a robot to fly them. I say this because, despite statistics, most people are more afraid of flying than driving.

Signs of Things To Come, or Just a Few Asshats?

While rude customers have been around as long as retail, I'm beginning to wonder if customer service associates are becoming customer servants. Over the past few months, there have been more people snapping their fingers demanding to be helped right now, and talking down to those from whom they are requiring assistance. My two favorite instances have been when young couples have made big purchases and then had the sales associates carry their stuff out to their vehicles, while neither member of the couple bothered lifting anything more than their finger to point to their vehicle. With a growing income gap in this country, I can't help but wonder if this type of behavior is going to become more frequent.

"People assume continuity where there is none."

Juan Enriquez talking about the future of the United States.