Common Paradox Tech Blog

BubbaDoom writes “In our cubicle-ville, we have programmers intermixed with accounting, customer support and marketing. As programmers, it is our habit to put on our headphones and listen to our portable music players to drown out all of the noise from everyone else. The boss recently sent an email just to the programmers demanding that we do not use our music players at work because he thinks it distracts us from our jobs and causes us to make mistakes. Of course, we’ve explained to him that prattle from the other people is much, much more distracting, but he insists his policy is the right one. What is the Slashdot community’s experience with music at work for programmers?”

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Think about your workspace and imagine if your furniture or your desk or cubicle could automatically reconfigure for different applications with a simple wave of the hand. Now check out the reality of Clemson’s Animated Work Environment (AWE).

Essentially, AWE is a programmable wall with varied displays that can switch between six configurations just by activating a proximity sensor. For example, when the wall is hanging overhead like a ceiling, the act of standing up triggers the sensor and instructs the wall to move out of the way. The project is in it’s infancy, but it is easy to see how future applications could lead to a whole range of dynamic, multi-functional furniture that automatically reacts to its environment. [AWE Project via IEEE Spectrum via BotJunkie]

Stuck in a cubicle all day? Hit a brick wall on that project? Not sure what to do next with your life? You need some inspiration, and you’re in luck because the web is full of inspiring stories captured on video. Video is the perfect vehicle for an inspiring story because it can make the story come alive like no other medium.

Below is a list of 7 of the most of the inspiring videos on the web, embedded so you can watch them here. Each video, which range in length from 3 to 20 minutes, has an inspirational message to impart. If you know of any other inspiring videos, please share them in the comments.

1. William Kamkwamba: Harnessing the Wind

William Kamkwamba was 14 when he built a windmill from scrap parts in order to provide enough electricity to power 4 lightbulbs and 2 radios in his home in his tiny village in Malawi. Kamkwamba’s story first came into the global spotlight when he spoke at the TED conference. He recently did a followup TED talk.

Kwakwamba’s inspiring story teaches us to dream big.

2. Jason McElwain: Autistic Basketball Player

Autistic basketball player Jason McElwain spent most of his high school career cheering his team on from the bench as team manager — until the final 4 minutes of his final game as a senior. McElwain didn’t waste any of his opportunity to get in the game, pouring in 7 shots and finishing the game as high scorer.

McElwain, who never complained about being left off the roster, shows us that attitude is everything.

3. Cat Lainé: Empowering Local Communities

Cat Lainé, who is the Deputy Director at the Appropriate Infrastructure Development Group, talked at the BIF-4 conference last year about how she and her colleagues empower communities in developing nations to change from within. Lainé believes in using human capital already within local economies to solve problems and develop solutions that work locally.

Lainé teaches that solutions are often right in front of your nose.

4. Blake Mycoski: Creating Sustainable Charity

Blake Mycoski didn’t just want to start a charity to put shoes on the feet of children who needed them — he wanted to do something more sustainable, something that didn’t rely on asking for donations. So Mycoski started TOMS Shoes, a for-profit company that gives one pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair they sell.

Mycoski’s inspiring message is about the necessity of innovative thinking.

5. Geoffrey Canada: Closing the Achievement Gap

According to Geoffrey Canada the American school system is broken when it comes to teaching children in inner-city schools, and most people wouldn’t disagree with him. But Canada’s inspiring approach to fixing the problem is something that no one before him had tried — a complete overhaul of the social infrastructure. Canada created a “conveyor belt” in a Harlem neighborhood that touches the lives of children and their families from birth through college.

Canada shows us that sometimes you have to take a radical approach.

6. Ben Underwood: Seeing While Blind

Ben Underwood was blind, but while he was alive, he got around almost as well as people who can see, and even played video games with his friends. That’s because he had done something that’s very unusual: Ben Underwood taught himself how to echolocate. Underwood trained his ears to listen for the echoes that tongue-clicking sounds that he produced made as they bounced back off of objects. He then processed that information to figure out where physical objects lie around him.

Though Underwood sadly passed away earlier this year, his inspirational story proves that no obstacle is insurmountable.

7. Lewis Gordon Pugh: Utilizing Extremes

Lewis Gordon Pugh has swum in every ocean in the world, and was the first person to swim at the North Pole, where the waters are below zero degrees centigrade (which is the freezing point for fresh water). Pugh uses his extreme swimming feats to shed light on issues of worldwide importance such as global warming.

Pugh teaches us that you should strive to push yourself to your limits.

See also: Top 7 Places to Watch Great Minds in Action

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, cmisje.

Reviews: iStockphoto

Tags: inspiration, List, Lists, video

Don’t get me wrong, I think the 1980s were fantastic, great music and all, but I’m not so sure that I’d want to be put into a truly old-school cubicle like this on my first day on the job.

I’m told that a fellow was led into this retro cubicle the day he started work at a new company. No ideas about which company it was and whether they ever brought him back into this decade. [Imgur —Thanks, Matt!]

Friends, it’s been a long, hard weekend. You’re back in your cubicle – or maybe you’re just really, really hungry – but you guys have come out of the wringer and are ready for a breath of fresh air. And so we present a small man in glasses rapping about MacBooks and, more importantly, ladies.

This is honestly surprisingly catchy and I like how they cut up the Mac boot-up tone. The band, FattySpins filmed live in the 5th Avenue Apple Store (here’s them recording it to prove it wasn’t green-screened) and it was written and mixed by Ray William Johnson.