Why We Can't Solve Big Problems. On July 21, 1969, Buzz Aldrin climbed gingerly out of Eagle, Apollo 11’s lunar module, and joined Neil Armstrong on the Sea of Tranquility. Looking up, he said, “Beautiful, beautiful, magnificent desolation.” They were alone; but their presence on the moon’s silent, gray surface was the culmination of a convulsive collective effort. Eight years before, President John F. Kennedy had asked the United States Congress to “commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” His challenge disturbed the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s original plan for a stepped, multi-generational strategy: Wernher von Braun, NASA’s chief of rocketry, had thought the agency would first send men into Earth’s orbit, then build a space station, then fly to the moon, then build a lunar colony.
This required the greatest peacetime mobilization in the nation’s history. Why did they go? “But why, some say, the moon? Please, Can We All Just Stop "Innovating"? - Bill Taylor. By Bill Taylor | 11:33 AM May 30, 2012 There’s something about the culture of business that tends toward excess — in financial markets, to be sure, but also in the “market” for new ideas and management techniques. The dynamic is always the same, whether the idea in question is reengineering, six-sigma quality, or lean production systems: A genuinely original strategy is born in one company or industry, consultants discover the practice and turn it into a marketable commodity, executives in all sorts of other companies race to “buy” the product — and then they wonder why the technique didn’t work nearly as well in their organization as it did in the place that created it in the first place.
I fear that very dynamic is unfolding today with respect to a piece of language and a leadership aspiration that has become the Holy Grail for business thinkers like me. That piece of language, that aspiration, is innovation. Ouch, that’s gonna leave a mark! Tech breakthroughs are reshaping retail shopping in the USA. SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Nola Donato has seen the future of retail, and it is in a Magic Mirror. The Intel scientist has designed a high-tech mirror that shows how clothes look on a consumer who simply stands in front of an LCD monitor. Parametric technology simulates body type and how fabrics fit — based on weight, height and measurements. Think of it as a digital fitting room. The concept is three to five years from fruition but could open the door for Intel in the retail market. The convergence of smartphone technology, social-media data and futuristic technology such as 3-D printers is changing the face of retail in a way that experts across the industry say will upend the bricks-and-mortar model in a matter of a few years.
"The next five years will bring more change to retail than the last 100 years," says Cyriac Roeding, CEO of Shopkick, a location-based shopping app available at Macy's, Target and other top retailers. And almost all of it will be paid with … your phone. •Smartphones. Skateboarding Past a Midlife Crisis. Cooperative Quadrocopter Ball Throwing and Catching - IDSC - ETH Zurich. Billy Corgan is opening his very own tea shop | Music. Billy Corgan has officially entered the Moby phase of his career: No, he’s not dating Natalie Portman or earning millions of dollars with a ubiquitous electro record.
Instead, he’s taking a page from his bald compatriot and opening a tea shop. Madame ZuZu’s teashop opens Thursday in Highland Park, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. And besides being a self-described “tea guy,” Corgan wanted to open Madame ZuZu’s to blend his many interests: music from the ‘30s, Chinoise inspired design, and people who probably won’t make fun of him to his face. Corgan also boasts that the shop has “no age boundaries” and will feature “a gentle atmosphere,” including “teas from around the globe” and “light vegan pastries from all spheres” (whatever that means). Corgan will personally be on hand at Madame ZuZu’s opening Thursday, Sept. 13, playing acoustic sessions throughout the day.
Starbucks to Open an All Tazo Tea Store in Seattle. The Starbucks beverage monopoly is about to get even bigger. The cafe giant, known for providing the masses with expensive coffee on every block, announced this week that it plans to open its first all tea store by the end of 2012. The new shop will open in October and sell 80 different varieties of the company’s already beloved Tazo tea. The store aims to be more interactive than the average coffee shop, giving customers the chance to work with employees to make their own new tea taste and to buy their own personal blend by the cup or ounce. (Just when you thought Starbucks orders couldn’t get more confusing!) “This store is really a tea playground with a more interactive and engaging community,” Seattle-based Starbucks spokeswoman, Holly Hart said. Hart compared the store to a wine tasting, saying that fans of tea would be able to walk around and talk about different brands and flavors.
We suspect tea fans are more than ready to seep. Secret Bars in London | Secret London Bars | designmynight. Please Don't Tell - East Village - New York, NY. Hush hush. The Hideout aka Trisha's - Soho, West End, London - Clubs.