No to No Network (noun) - A crazy cool program that allows you and your awesome friends to share music, videos and other mind blowing stuff at work or at home using your work computer.

Otherwise known as: A Peer to Peer Network, or one of the quickest ways to the back of the unemployment line.

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Unfortunately for many of us, this summer is shaping up to be tremendously hot and uncomfortable. Even worse, many offices don’t offer much better protection from the heat than just being outside. Maybe the air conditioner is on the fritz, or maybe you have a ton of glass windows with little shading. Whatever it is, working in an 80 degree office is nobody’s idea of a good time. To alleviate some of these problems, here are three tactics you can try to keep comfortable:

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*Note: The previous two articles in this series can be found here:

3 Reasons I Don’t Like Outsourcing
3 Reasons I Do Like Outsourcing

After evaluating both the pros and cons of Outsourcing, the final verdict is in: I’m more against it than I am for it. I think the biggest factor in my decision was the loss of jobs at home issue. There are many companies out there that could be using local talent to accomplish their goals but instead outsource many of their positions because of the cost. While I can certainly understand the business aspect of this, I just can’t support it 100%.

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This is the second article in my series on Outsourcing. You can find the first article via this link: 3 Reasons I Don’t Like Outsourcing.

In this article, I’m going to discuss what I think are the pros of outsourcing. Without further ado, here they are:

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Outsourcing. The sheer mention of it can divide a room into multiple camps, each passionate about their own point of view. It’s good for companies, it’s bad for companies. It hurts the economy, it helps the economy. For every positive viewpoint somebody always seems to have a negative one. The question is: Who’s right? With so much information attached to this topic, it can be hard to come up with a consolidated opinion. Because of this, I’ve decided it deserves three articles: One listing three reasons why I don’t like it, one in which I list three reasons I do like it, and then an overall conclusion.

This is the first of these articles: Three reasons I don’t like it.

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Here are three things that can cause stress on a project:

1.) Tight deadlines
2.) Long hours
3.) A struggling team member

While individually these can all lead to stress on a project team, combined they can be deadly. The first two problems mentioned above are hard to mitigate, especially when they are both occurring at the same time. However, the third one seems like an easy solution on the surface: Cut the team member loose. Unfortunately, this is a tactic that is taken much too quickly in many situations. Instead, I would counsel the following: Take the extra time to try and develop the team member. Here are a few situations in which this especially a good idea:

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As I was riding the elevator down from my apartment this morning, a girl got on carrying her lunch with her. While this is pretty mundane, what wasn’t so normal about it were the contents: Two cans of lite Red Bull and a Lean Cuisine. I can honestly say that this is the first time that I’ve ever seen this combination, and it got me to thinking about an interesting workplace subject: How we seemingly work against ourselves on a daily basis.

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The Trip Hangover - The tired and exhausted state that you find yourself in after a long and or busy trip. Be it for business or pleasure, we’ve all been there before. You don’t feel like working or even watching television, you just don’t feel like doing anything. Unfortunately, this doesn’t stop you from having responsibilities when you get back. This is why I suggest using the following three tips to get over your hangover as quickly and painlessly as possible:

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Here’s some interesting reading as you wake up with your morning coffee (or soda, whatever your poison of choice might be): How the Colossal Squid Was Caught. You’ve probably heard of this by now, but I found this story particularly interesting.

Interesting fact: The squid is 33 feet long and 990 pounds. I can’t even imagine seeing something that large come up near a boat, it must have seemed like something out of a monster movie. Also, I’m sure it couldn’t have smelled that great. Anyways, it’s a fantastic scientific specimen that is in demand by multiple parties, making the fisherman who found it one lucky man.

On a side note, the patent is pending on Squidtacular, so don’t get any ideas.

We’ve all been there: It’s 2:00 AM and the presentation to your clients is due in five hours. Red bull cans, coffee cups, and candy wrappers adorn your desk as you painstakingly move that slide title 0.000001 inches to the left. Finally done, you trudge back to your car, hoping to get at least a few hours sleep before the big presentation tomorrow. Somewhere, somebody is getting a full nights sleep.

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