Happiness is contagious

This just in from medical study -- surround yourself with happy friends!

Happy people tended to be at the center of social networks and had many friends who were also happy. Having friends or siblings nearby increased people's chances of being upbeat. Happiness spread outward by three degrees, to the friends of friends of friends.

Happy spouses helped, too, but not as much as happy friends of the same gender. Experts think people, particularly woman, take emotional cues from people who look like them.

Christakis and Fowler estimate that each happy friend boosts your own chances of being happy by 9 percent. Having grumpy friends decreases it by about 7 percent.

Don't Micromanage Employees

I have had several excellent bosses and the best show "tough love" for business results but don't micromanage the details. A Wall Street Journal entitled Micromanagers Miss Bull's-Eye by Cari Tuna calls out the problem -- "dealing With every detail robs subordinates of the freedom to solve problems" and prevents their development.

The article suggests that managers:

1) Clearly articulate expectations
2) Offer constructive feedback
3) Give employees decision-making power
4) Focus on hiring and placement of subordinates

Find out about new career opportunities

The economic challenges have forced many people to think about new careers. A new book out, No Job? No Prob! has many recommendations, but two interesting websites include:

www.LiveCareer.com
www.CareerTest.com

Atheists more likely to believe in Bigfoot?

A new book, "What Americans Really Believe", reviewed in the WSJ, says that traditional Christian religion decreases belief in such things as palm reading and astrology. The irreligious, on the other hand, tend to be more likely to believe in the paranormal and pseudoscience.

Beats me, but the "conspiracy" shows are running amok in Hollywood (Fringe, Lost, X-Files) suggesting that we all need to believe in something out of the ordinary!

Do private house rental sites work?

My family has been hit-and-miss with VRBO.com (vacation rentals by owner), a site which has bought us both gems and scams.

This is not uncommmon, says Michelle Higgins in a story in today's The New York Times. She says the professionally managed rentals, like zonder.com, forGetaway.com, and PickPackGO.com, offer a certain quality control since management companies run the facilities and the sites accept credit cards.

The owner-rented sites, such as Homeaway.com and VRBO offer you cost-savings, but beg for more interaction with owner for verification of quality. A new site, call FlipKey.com, will allow past renters to offer reviews.

CrossLoop gets techie help to friends

CrossLoop allows the tech-savvy (you, or an expert) to help out the non-savvy (you or friend and often older family member) via direct control of their computers. 

To use, both you and the person you are helping must go to www.crossloop.com and download the software. The sessions require both parties to be in attendance (to avoid renegade remote control of a computer).

This seems like an intriguing way to connect the 1-in-100 techie with the other 99.

Parents can fix education

This wsj article offered findings that, instead of bad teachers and budget cuts, that "parent expectations" is number one determinant of student success.

The 2007 Michigan Dept of Education findings:

"The most consistent predictor of children's academic achievement and social adjustment are parent expectations of the child's academic attainment and satisfaction with their child's education at school. Parents of high-achieving students set higher standards for their children's eduational activities."

The article says that

"All you have to do is start insisting that your children fully appply themselves to their studies -- and commit yourself to doing your part. That means making sure they do all of their work as their abilities allow. It also means making sure everything at home stands behind these principles and supports the idea of learning."