You don't know what a recession is. NBER does.

The news sensationalizes things.  I get that.  Even so, I've become tired of the talking heads sarcastically referring to the National Bureau of Economic Research's recent announcement of the "end of the Great Recession."  Here's a great FAQ detailing what how the NBER defines a recession.  Some highlights:

Q: Isn't a recession a period of diminished economic activity?


A: It's more accurate to say that a recession–the way we use the word–is a period of diminishing activity rather than diminished activity. We identify a month when the economy reached a peak of activity and a later month when the economy reached a trough. The time in between is a recession, a period when economic activity is contracting. The following period is an expansion. As of September 2010, when we decided that a trough had occurred in June 2009, the economy was still weak, with lingering high unemployment, but had expanded considerably from its trough 15 months earlier.

43,000 lbs. of bananas slows down US-23

Reasons not to get up in the morning, Episode 2

• Facebook down, productivity up 1.5%
• Weezer's Blue/Pinkerton tour is coming to Columbus, OH but not Michigan (yet).
• 43,000 pounds of bananas spilled onto US-23 

Sanity or Fear?

Rally to restore sanity? Or march to keep fear alive?

Google Instant taught me how to Dougie

Reasons not to get up in the morning, Episode 1

• I no longer know what constitues a touchdown catch.
• Justin Bieber sings over a Wu-Tang track.
• Entourage is almost done sucking.
• American's want to be taught "how to dougie" more than anything else:

100 cats running around an IKEA store

I don't know if I would want credit on the "creative team" for coming up with this idea.  A British IKEA store let loose 100 cats overnight to apparently "see what would happen."

Seems like an extreme waste of time to me until around the three minute mark of the video.  The slow motion images of cats getting comfortable and exploring IKEA furnishings could be turned into an incredibly popular and heartwarming commercial.  Or you could just throw it on icanhascheezburger.com.

Analytics of the New Meadowlands Stadium

Woody Johnson, owner of the New York Jets, has a useful toy in his new $1.6 billion stadium.  The digital research firm Roundarch developed a system to view real time analytics of everything from women's apparel sales to how full the parking lot is.

A heat-map of the stadium tells officials if concession lines are too long.  Mobile vendors can then be sent to the area to reduce lines.

"You might realize, hey, this part of the stadium has more sun in the fans' eyes, and is selling more hats." George Cubitt, Roundarch Cheif Technology Officer

If resources are running low on one side of the stadium, inventory and personal can be reallocated to keep up with demand.  There will even be an "app for it."  Versions of the command center dashboard are being developed for the iPhone and iPad.  Stadium officials will then be able to view the data from anywhere in the stadium.

My love for data and sports suggests this would be my dream job.  In the end, I cannot think of a faster way to ruin my Sunday afternoon than pouring of data instead of enjoying the game.  Fantasy football already does a pretty good job of that.

Full article at Fast Company.com

Student? How to use it to your advantage.

I relate being a student to being in the marching band at a game.  You're not going to be able to play, but you can get much closer to the game than the spectators.  Picture the game as the job or professional you're interested in engaging.  People applying for the job, or calling on the person, may have tickets, but no special access.

As a student, people are more inclined to give you information and guidance.  You can ask questions and get an answer from a professional without them feeling like they're giving knowledge to a competitor.  From my experience, people enjoy talking about themselves or their work.  Using this common personality trait can help you create and grow your personal network.

1. Find someone
Look for someone that is already working in your industry.  The more connected they are, the better.

2. Find out what they do
Follow them on Twitter, read their blog, find out what they're interested in and what they do best.

3. Ask them about what they do
This especially works with people that own their own business.  If someone is passionate about what they do, they often are more than willing to talk about it.  Engage them.

4. Keep in contact
Stay in touch with people.  Every few months, ask your contacts a question or two or engage them on Twitter/Buzz etc.