What Caught My Eye This Week - Magazine Edition

Newsweek

Undergarments - One of the more unusual questions raised in the sory of the astronaut turned accused stalker was the deal with the diaper. To avoid time-wasting rest stops during the 900 mile drive from Houston to Orlando, Lisa Nowak wore a diaper. Here is the 'poop' on the diaper. To better accomodate astronauts work in space (like 7 or 8 hour spacewalks), NASA inventing Disposable Absorption Containment Trunks, or 'space diapers'. Astronauts are generally issued 3 diapers for an given mission. Given the tight controls on said devices, it is unlikely, though not impossible, that Nowak wore the NASA grade garments on her drive. It is more likely that she used a commercial product, like Depends. Thank goodness, we got that straightened out. Still one has to wonder why NASA imposes such strict controls on its diapers.

Federal Budget - Here's an interesting breakdown on how federal budget expeditures have shifted over the past 50 years:

1956
Defense: 60%
Interest on National Debt: 7%
Social Security: 22%
All Other: 11%

2006
Defense: 20%
Interest on National Debt: 8.5%
Social Security: 60%
All Other: 11.5%

The deal here is that when it comes to federal budget discussions, the government is really only talking about 11% of expenditures, since the other categories are currently seen as politically untouchable. Pretty hard to affect significant change when you have such a small piece of pie to work with.

Business Week

U.S. Trade Deficit - 2006's $764 billion trade defict was a recordbreaker, but there was some good news. The U.S. actually posted smaller deficits with most of its major trading partners (excluding China) than it did in 2005. The trade deficit in 2006 represented just 1.6% of GDP versus 2.6% in 2005 due largely to global demand for U.S. goods. So as far as I can tell, the good news is that the bad news isn't as bad as it used to be.

Internet Networking - LinkedIn, the online professional site that is partly a social network and partly a virtual business card reports that members employed by salesforce.com and Google have the highest average number of connections (48). By job title, founders and CEOs have the highest number of connections (76), followed by board members (74), and a bit further down the list MBA students (44). By graduate school, Stanford leads the pack (60), followed by MIT (58) and Harvard (57). I've only got 20 connections myself, so I guess I'm below average.

Health in the Workplace - Employers have long been searching for ways to cut medical costs that are largely viewed by employees as entitlements. However, providing healthcare coverage has been an increasing burden for companies which has led businesses to force employees to shoulder more of the cost. Some theorized that higher co-payments and pricier premiums would get people to take better care of themselves. That didn't work, so now many companies (sucha s IBM, Microsoft and Harrah's Entertainment) have turned to wellness programs. Employees who voluntarily sign up of such programs (ranging from weight-loss and smoking cessation programs to mental health counseling) are received discounts on healthcare premiums. While early indicators show that wellness programs are working, there are privacy and discrimation considerations related to how far managers should intrude into employees' lives.

Stuff

Kazakhstan - In a feat that would make Borat proud, the nation's president has commissed a 500-foot tall temperature-controlled tent over the capital city that will includ golf courses, shopping centers and cafes. Sure, that's get tourists lining up at their local travel agencies.

Cardiac Arrest Alert - The Heart Attack Grill in Tempe, Arizona features girls that give the Hooters girls a run for their money. Sexy fetish nurses bring out the Quadruple Bypass Burger ($13) featuring two pounds of ground beef. Assuming you survive the meal, you get rolled out to your car in a wheelchair. I don't make this stuff up, I just report it.

Joke of the Week - 3 guys are selected by a secret government organization and are all brought in for a final test of loyalty. The applicants are told, "Your wife is in the next room. Take this gun and kill her." The first guy goes in but comes out a few seconds later in tears, saying, "I can't do it." The next guy does the same thing. The third guy goes into the room. A couple seconds later ther are 6 gunshots followed by a lot of scuffling. He exits the room out of breath and covered in blood saying, "Some idiot but blanks in the gun! I had to strangle her."