Exercise While You Speak

"Scientists have found intriguing evidence that one major reason so many people are overweight these days may be as close as the seat of their pants. Literally," reports Lee Dye for ABC News. "According to the researchers, most of us sit too much."

"In most cases, exercise alone, according to a team of scientists at the University of Missouri, isn't enough to take off those added pounds. The problem, they say, is that all the stuff we've heard the last few years about weight control left one key factor out of the equation. When we sit, the researchers found, the enzymes that are responsible for burning fat just shut down."


Jeff's take: I knew it! I've always felt energetic standing in front of audience. I even I switched to a stand up desk in January 2006. Anthropologically speaking how could it be any other way?

Super Speed, Greater Learning

Don Clark writing in the Wall Street Journal reports that Intel Corporation has reached "a new milestone on the way to developing computers that use inexpensive optical components to
achieve massive increases in communication speeds. The company said it has fabricated the first modulator made from silicon that can encode data onto a beam of light at a rate of 40 billion bits per second, or gigabits. Modulators are key components in using lasers to send data down fiber-optic cable."

"Such speeds -- roughly 40 times faster than the most sophisticated corporate data networks -- now require expensive materials, a factor that helps push the cost of existing 40-gigabit modulators into the thousands of dollars. "

As technology breakthroughs continue to come at a furious pace, the need for trainers, teachers, and instructors to explain it all will only broaden.

The State of the Meeting Industry

The 2005 State of the Industry Report a 22 page .pdf report produced by Successful Meetings offer “an in-depth look at where the industry is today and where it's likely to go in the future,” based on responses “from more than 1,500 corporate, association, and independent planners.”

Rising Air Travel Costs

Air Travel Costs Take a Jump: MeetingsNet reports that the Air Travel Price Index, released last week by the U.S. Department of Transportation, rose 10.3 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year – the biggest year-to-year jump since the index numbers were first published in 1995.

US Airways for Your Attendees?

This appeared in today’s news and is either an indication of capitalism run amok or simply the inability of management to contribute to passengers’ sense of breathing space.:

“US Airways to place ads on barf bags”

PHOENIX, Arizona (AP) -- US Airways wants to make the most out of a nauseating situation. The Tempe, Arizona-based airline plans to sell advertisements on its air-sickness bags -- those pint-sized expandable envelopes tucked between the in-flight magazines and safety cards.

"They're in every back seat pocket," said spokesman Phil Gee. "We figure while it's there, why don't we make it multipurpose?

– what’s next? Toilet paper rolls with ads on each sheet?