In this issue:

  THREE DEGREES OF HAPPINESS
  ROBO-THESPIANS
  BEARDS ARE BACK 
  DIY GENETIC TESTING

And much, much more...

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     / __ )/ __ \/   |  /  _/ | / /  |/  /   |  /  _/ / 
    / __  / /_/ / /| |  / //  |/ / /|_/ / /| |  / // / 
   / /_/ / _  _/ ___ |_/ // /|  / /  / / ___ |_/ // /___ 
  /_____/_/ |_/_/  |_/___/_/ |_/_/  /_/_/  |_/___/_____/ 

                      *Feeding hungry minds since 2004 

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  Brainmail email issue 48 - February 2009
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  Brainmail is a free snack-sized newsletter dedicated to
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  > Haves and Have Nots
  According to Larry Summers, a Harvard economist, the
  recent economic boom differed from previous booms in one
  fundamental way. Employees usually receive around 75% of
  corporate income, but since 2001 this has fallen to 25%.
  What this means a huge disparity between the fortunes of
  labour and capital over recent years. Corporations have
  prospered thanks to cost-saving technology and outsourced
  labour but prosperity for ordinary households has been an
  illusion based on cheap borrowing.
  Ref: The Observer (UK)

  > Safe Streets
  Last year, Brick Lane, in London's East End, became
  Britain's first safe texting street. The problem was that
  people were bumping into lampposts whilst reading
  messages, so lampposts have been wrapped with the soft
  material used on rugby goal posts. A survey of 1,000
  people found that 10% of people had injured themselves
  walking and texting at the same time.
  Ref: Time (US)
  
  > Playgrounds for Older People
  In a turnaround of events, playgrounds are being
  transformed into outdoor gyms for older people in Japan. A
  recent survey by the Ministry of land has found that
  almost 14% of visitors to playgrounds were aged 65 plus,
  up from 6% in 1966. In contrast, the number of children
  aged under 5 using parks has declined from 22% to 12.6%.
  Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan)
  
  > Three Degrees of Happiness
  A BMJ survey of 1,700 Facebook users has found that people
  who are smiling in their photographs have more Facebook
  friends than people that aren't. Meanwhile, other research
  from Nicholas Christakis at the Harvard Medical School has
  found that your level of happiness depends upon how happy
  your friends' friends' friends are. For example, a happy
  neighbour has more direct influence on positive mood than
  your spouse or children. Can this really be true?
  Ref: New York Times (US)
  
  > Let the Bad Times Roll
  Does the economy affect an individual's health? According
  to assistant Professor Grant Miller at Stanford the answer
  is yes. During boom times the value of time is higher so
  people tend to spend more time at work and less time doing
  things that are good for their health.
  Ref: New York Times (US)
  
  > Robo-thespians
  Osaka University in Japan recently produced 20-minute play
  featuring two 1-metre tall robots, a real actress and a
  real actor. The aim of the play was to demonstrate the
  potential of robotic theatre. I think we can already
  guess.
  Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan)
  
  > Street Delivery of Newspapers
  A project initiated by the Salvation Army in Canada has
  distributed 3,000 jackets to homeless people in Ottawa.
  The jackets are intended to keep homeless people warm
  during Canadian winters and contain shredded newspapers as
  a core ingredient.
  Ref: New York Times (US)
  
  > Beards are Back 
  According to hirsute sources, beards are back - allegedly.
  Beards, which symbolise freedom and independence for some,
  are perhaps also a marker between the creative industries
  and the more formal corporate world. Disney, Ikea and
  Waitrose are among corporations that express a strong
  preference for employees to be clean-shaven.
  Ref: Financial Times (UK)
  
  > Global trends 2025
  If you're stuck for something to read this weekend
  download a copy of a report called Global Trends 2025: A
  Transformed World from the United States National
  Intelligence Council. Some of the forecasts within the
  report include Muslim States taking on expanded
  international roles, uneven climate change impacts, the US
  Dollar falling to parity with other first world currencies
  and an increased likelihood of the use of nuclear weapons.
  Ref: Herman Trend Alert (US)
  
  > A Self-Service Life
  News that IBM has outfitted a chain of sushi restaurants
  in Malaysia with ordering screens that allow customers to
  communicate directly with the kitchen will not surprise
  anyone familiar with checking themselves into airports.
  DIY is a significant trend, especially within retail.
  Customers are being given the responsibility of serving
  themselves but do the cost savings really get passed back
  to the customer? In theory customers save time and money.
  But at what cost?  Hospitals are now using self-check in
  kiosks for emergency rooms. Why should customers be forced
  to do this unpaid work and why won't adding extra tasks
  like these add to the already long list of daily
  anxieties?
  Ref: Time (US) 
  
  > Japanese Powder Rooms
  One interesting trend that's emerging in Japan is a new
  form of powder room. Traditionally women have done their
  make-up in private, usually in restrooms, but the new
  trend is towards doing it in groups in free or paid-for
  rooms reminiscent of hotel or club restrooms. An example
  is the Cos-Pa dressing room that opened in Tokyo last
  year. Customers can either use a one-person cubicle at a
  cost of 500-700 Yen or a two-person room (the most popular
  option) for 500 Yen each. These powder rooms generally
  feature free hair driers, curling irons, tissue and
  cosmetics. Other powder rooms include SBY in the Shibuya
  Fashion Building in Tokyo.
  Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan)
  
  > Obesity Trends
  A US study claims that obesity among 6-11 year-olds may
  have levelled off at around 32% of kids within the age
  group. The reason cited is not diet or exercise but the
  fact that the number of kids that are genetically
  susceptible may have hit a ceiling.
  Ref: Time (US)
  
  > Nuclear Batteries
  A company called Hyperion Power Generation is developing a
  nuclear battery the size of a bathtub that can generate
  power for up to 25,000 homes. These batteries aren't
  actually new. NASA's voyager spacecraft have been using
  grapefruit sized lumps of plutonium to power spacecraft
  for a quarter of a century and pacemakers also used
  speck-sized bits of the stuff to keep pacemakers working
  too.
  Ref: Business week (US)
  
  > 40-Hour Batteries
  Scientists at Stanford's Department of Materials Science
  and Engineering have come up with a way to make ion
  batteries last for 40-hours (enough to power a laptop on
  an aeroplane all the way from London to Sydney and back
  again. The technique, which uses something called
  nanowires as anodes instead of graphite, extends battery
  life about tenfold.
  Ref: YahooTech (US)
  
  > Fiction Influencing Fact
  A study by the RAND Corporation in the US says that kids
  aged 12-17 that are exposed to sexual content on
  television are more likely to be involved in a teen
  pregnancy than kids that are not. Meanwhile, another study
  has found that overweight girls that read books about
  obese girls losing weight are more likely to loose weight
  themselves.
  Ref: Time (US) 
  
  > Money 2.0
  Here's a good idea. The healthcare gift card is a plastic
  card that can be loaded with anything from US $25 - US
  $5,000 to pay for medical bills, prescriptions, dental
  work and even eyecare. Meanwhile, another interesting new
  card is the Revolution card. This card is primarily
  intended for internet purchases and is unusual in that it
  does not feature a user name or account number. The card
  is backed by Citibank, Deutsche Bank and others.
  Ref: Springwise.com (Neth)
  
  > US Population Trends
  Data published by the US Census Bureau suggests that
  whites will make up less than half the US population by
  the year 2042 if present trends continue. Whites currently
  represent 66% of the US population. The shift is primarily
  caused by the number of babies being born to Hispanic,
  Black and Asian groups and the declining fertility rates
  amongst whites. The US workforce is expected to be
  predominantly non-white by 2039 and by 2050 non-whites be
  54% of the US population versus 34% today.
  Ref: The Times (UK)
  
  > Body Scent Scanners
  Researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Centre are
  predicting that one day it may be possible to develop
  machines that can identify individual odour prints,
  thereby confirming the identity of specific individuals.
  Ref: The Times (UK)
  
  > Word detective: Bifurication.
  Bifurcation is a fork or division into two branches and is
  generally used in the context of a polarisation whereby
  the strong are getting stronger and the weak are growing
  weaker. For example, in retail banking there is an
  increasingly bifurcation between a handful of global
  brands and everyone else.
  Ref: The Economist (UK)
  
  > Shift to Services
  Two trends that appear to be growing in mobile
  communications are the desire to make devices that connect
  to other devices and the emergence of subscription-based
  services in a box. The later is a reaction to saturated
  markets and declining margins on hardware. A good example
  of such services is Nokia's Comes With Music (CWM). If
  Nokia manages to sell 1 million handsets with CWM globally
  this will translate into US$ 338 million in music
  royalties - about 1% of the worldwide recorded music
  market in 2007 or about 12% of the global digital music
  business.
  Ref: The Economist (UK)
  
  > On-Line Music 
  Music games such as Guitar Hero III are proving to be an
  expected source of revenue for the beleaguered music
  industry according to industry sources. For example, the
  American band Aerosmith has made more money from royalties
  from Guitar Hero than it has from any of their actual
  albums. Bands that have their music featured in such games
  can generally expect an uplift of around 300% on music
  downloads.
  Ref: Economist (UK)
  
  > DIY Genetic Testing
  Navigenetics is a US-based company that offers individuals
  the ability to screen themselves for diseases that might
  be linked to specific genetic variations. After paying a
  join up fee of USD $2,500 users receive containers into
  which they place saliva samples. These are then mailed
  back to the company and tested for diseases such as
  Alzheimer's and colon cancer.
  Ref" Technology Review (US)
  
  > Packaged Good Trends
  What's hot in FMCG? According to Datamonitor Product
  Launch Analytics the answer includes; Nuts, concentrated
  cleaners, beauty products you can eat, beauty products you
  can drink, relaxation products, steam cooking, detox
  products, Stevia, eco-anything, flower power and brain
  boosters.
  Ref: Convenience Store News (US)
  
  > Beam Me Down Scotty.
  In 1941, Isaac Asimov wrote a short story called 'Reason'
  in which solar energy was collected and beamed back to
  earth using microwaves. Guess what? The technology, now
  known as Space Solar Power (or SSP) is technically
  possible. Light from the sun is the most common source of
  energy in our solar system and its totally clean. All you
  have to do is focus the sunlight using mirrors, capture it
  using photovoltaic panels (both attached to satellites in
  geostationary orbit above the earth) and send the energy
  back home using microwave transmitters and receivers. The
  only issue is cost (rather big) and issues about who owns
  the space in which the satellite are moored.
  Ref: Economist technology (UK)
  
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: FAST FACTS
  
  30% of the US maize crop is used for ethanol refining
  compared to 10% in 2002.
  Ref: The End of Food by Paul Roberts.
  
  In 2007, the richest 1% of Americans received 23% of US
  national income. In 1980 the figure was 8%.
  Ref: Prospect (UK)
  
  Just 13% of primary school teachers in Britain are male.
  Ref: Independent (UK)
  
  1 in 4 adults in New York City have Herpes.
  Ref: USA Today (US)
  
  70% of Japanese convenience stores now offer some form of
  e-money or digital cash payments. As of June 2008, there
  were 51 million mobile phones in Japan that had e-money
  functionality.
  Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan)
  
  China and India are expected to account for 40% of the
  global labour market by the year 2030. Meanwhile, the
  working age population is expected to decline by 23% by
  2050 within developed countries.
  Ref: World Migration Report 2008 (thanks Jim)
  
  A survey of 10,000 married couples found that 19% met
  online, 17% met at work and 17% hooked up via friends.
  Ref: Daily Mirror (UK)
  
  The average US household uses 127,400 gallons of water
  every year.
  Ref: Entrepreneur (US)
  
  In 2008, 5% of the Egyptian government's budget was spent
  on bread subsidies.
  Ref: Prospect (UK)
  
  23% of Germans think that the US government was behind the
  9/11 attacks.
  Ref: Worldpublicopinion.org 
  
  In Europe, 195,000 people are killed by alcohol every year
  and in the UK there are 20,000+ alcohol related deaths
  each year
  Ref: Sunday Times
  
  75% of British Prime Ministers lost their fathers before
  the age of ten.
  Ref: Sunday Telegraph (UK)
  
  Only 20% of paper clips are used to clip paper.
  Ref: Daily Mail (UK)
  
  In 2005, 54 billionaires in Britain paid £14.7 million in
  income tax. Of this £9 million was paid by James Dyson.
  Ref: Daily Mail (UK)
  
  In 2007, 87, 200 women were arrested in the UK for violent
  behaviour. This figure represents a 100% increase in 2002.
  Ref: Daily Mail (UK)
  
  A survey conducted for the charity Barnardo's has found
  that 53% of adults in the UK believe that children are
  starting to behave like animals.
  Ref: The Times (UK).
  
  There are 10,000 trillion ants on earth - 1.6 million for
  every person.
  Ref: Prospect (UK)
  
  42% of American dogs sleep with their owner.
  Ref: New York Times (US)
  
  The New Yorker magazine has become a larger generator of
  management fads than the Harvard Business Review.
  Ref: Intelligent Life (UK)
  
  66% of British employers monitor internet use during
  office hours.
  Ref: Chartered Management Institute (UK)
  
  55% of 11-16 years olds in the poorest areas of Britain
  have never visited a gallery.
  Ref: Ipsos/Mori (UK)
  
  60% of women in the UK claim that their mother-in-law
  causes unhappiness. Only 15% of men suffer from the same
  problem.
  Ref: Observer (UK)
  
  There are 130,000 manufacturing companies in the UK. These
  firms employ 3m people and generate 50% of UK exports. A
  manufacturing company is defined as a firm that receives
  more than 50% of revenue from making things.
  Ref: Prospect (UK)
  
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: WEB SIGHT OF THE MONTH
	
  Two options this month. If you are feeling serious look at this:
  http://kotare.typepad.com/ 
	
  If you are not look at this (it also helps if you are female)
  http://www.exboyfriendjewelry.com/
	
------------------------------------------------------------ 
  
: BOOK OF THE MONTH

  The Next 100 Years by George Friedman
  http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=7-9780385517058-1 

------------------------------------------------------------ 

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  substantial at www.nowandnext.com (and yes, that's free too).

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: LOOKING FOR AN INSIGHTFUL AND ENTERTAINING SPEAKER?

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  event ask your speaker agency about Richard Watson or
  contact him direct via http://nowandnext.com Recent
  speaker clients have included IBM, McDonald's, Virgin,
  Commonwealth Bank and Disney.

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: SMALL PRINT

  The stories, statistics and 'facts' appearing in brainmail
  are sourced from a variety of reliable publications
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  truthfulness of stories and a degree of commonsense should
  be applied before quoting or using any of this material in
  a commercial context.