Jay Yoo

I am getting ready to launch a new brand and trade name and put it to the test with friends, business colleagues and my kids.  On the surface one might come to the conclusion that it is something, umm inappropriate. It could be if you leave it up to other people’s imagination, but is everyday language in general industry.  Here is how people react.

1. When they hear it, they instantly laugh.
2. They immediately ask whether or not it is what they think it is (kinda sexual or taboo).
3. After I explain that it is general industry terminology, they laugh.
4. They say the trade name in response and again laugh.
5. They can’t stop saying it now that they have permission (and are laughing).

It’s easy to spell, sparks an emotion and immediate response (in the form of a question).

I am tired of playing things down and going along with boring, but really do care what people think.  

We shall see how it is received, but so far, I could not be more pleased with people’s reaction!

I love irony.  Why?  Still pondering this one, but I think because it exposes the truth of what is both positive and negative; it fits squally in-between and is always changing hands.  Irony is never ending, nor is it an absolute. Okay, so I love irony.  Here you go:

Apple, takes matters in their own hands when it comes to sustainability. This is straight from a recent Apple patent application:

“Our country’s continuing reliance on fossil fuels has forced our government to maintain complicated political and military relationships with unstable governments in the Middle East, and has also exposed our coastlines and our citizens to the associated hazards of offshore drilling,” the filings state. “These problems have led to an increasing awareness and desire on the part of consumers to promote and use renewable energy sources.”

Apple is a publicly traded company and, while they make bold claims like the above, they must answer to their shareholders and analysts; they must make money or else.  If the very companies they are railing against in this patent application want Apple product, then Apple product they get.  

In yet another blow to troubled Research in Motion, one of the world’s largest energy  (oil & gas) service corporations — Halliburton — plans to phase out thousands of employee BlackBerrys in favor of advancing its business via the iPhone and Apple’s iOS platform

Holy Irony! Halliburton can theoretically become more efficient in Oil & Gas exploration by integrating and deploying the very technology of a company that, in spirit, seems to want to put them out of business.  It is true that “Money doesn’t sleep.”

Via Apple Insider

This WSJ opinion-editorial by Lenore Skenazy titled “The Importance of Child’s Play” got me thinking.  Is this really true?  What is the appropriate percentage of play a kid should have?

“In striving to make our kids super safe and super smart we have turned them into bored blobs.”

It is hard for me to believe that kids, on average, spend only 2%-3% of their day on “vigorous activities.”  I assume that the author means 2%-3% of their awake time which comes out to about 20 minutes. This definitely would not be the case with our kids, who spend at least 1 hour a day playing.

Perhaps what is more interesting is how much parents are engaged in vigorous activities.  This I believe is the real problem; if kids are not active it’s because their parents are “bored blobs” themselves!

The Mayo Clinic recommends that adults get 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity. My guess is that, at best, 1/3 of adults get this much exercise, so kids who are “bored blobs” most likely do not have role models to show them how to lead an active life.

I workout at least 5 days a week (45 minutes each workout). I think this is about all a kid should have, as well, unless they become serious athletes.  Most of the time when I workout I bring my kids along whether going to the fitness center, where they play basketball, tag, dodgeball, etc. in a kids room, or on a run where they ride a bike.  We also have them in a sport in the fall, winter and spring.

Additionally, we emphasize healthy eating for ourselves and our kids mostly follow our lead.  Of course we don’t go overboard and let them snack on junk food (no candy) on the weekends.

Overall, all of our kids are healthy.

Play is important for kids, but I also think it is vitally important for adults to be active, as well.  The goal I have for my kids is for them to be active their entire life and not just in childhood.  If your kid is a “bored blob,” the first place I would look is in the mirror. 

Tonight Mitch Daniels insisted we need to create an environment for more “Steve Jobs.” I am impressed he and Republicans seem to agree art and the intersection of technology and humanities are important!