What's With This WORLD CUP Thing?

login: gooooal

Bom dia. Dormiu bem?
> what was that?

Portugese :)
> open console // set diary -tag coffeechat

Opening....

I didn't know it was FIFA World Cup season... I am aware that it happens only every few years so it's a big thing for the rest of the football following world... I grew up thinking football was something about helmets, tackling and shoulder pads.

> where is WORLD CUP?

Searching...
Found.

> show results

...search output: 2014 world cup soccer host

Ah, BRAZIL... must be exciting over there right now.  Brazil is known for their energetic spectator-ship.  Must be really crazy out there now that they have the chance to be hosts.

When the Cat's Away...

A colleague pointed out today's Google doodle.  If you catch this post in time, check it out yourself on the main Google search page because it's animated in a subtle and cute way.  I'm sure you can search it out later in the Google Doodles Archive.  Here's a screen-cap to share the humor of the moment:

A Google Doodle for the World Cup Excitement (2014)

Boss Mode[1] is actually a real concept coined by personal computer game designers in the mid 1980's.  I can only imagine it was just a tongue-in-cheek concept meant to make fun of the Dickensian "Bob Cratchit's"[2] of their time... who were probably not afforded a chance to let loose and take a break.

The Fake Screen[3] When the Boss Hot0Key is Pressed

This example was a feature of the DOS game Chessmaster 2100.  Pretty blah boring, but you get the idea.  I forget what the hot key was, but it toggles between views of the game screen and something work-ish like this.

I uncovered the boss screen by accident when playing chess on this game with my sister.  It's purpose was completely lost on us as kids... now that we're in the working world, how exquisitely humorous this is!  Corporate climates are changing these days.  Some exceptionally successful organizations actually adopt environments where employees can "play" and experiment a little during their day.

These silly little indulgences keep our minds sharp, don't you think?

Managers take note:  your staff will be pre-eminently more creative and productive if you give them some room to breathe.  After all, if everyone meets their objectives and stuff gets done, where's the harm?

Some Humor From Long Ago
at the "Far Side"

 
Excellence, by far is the life you operate with above the time-clock paradigm.  We are more than just warm-body accumulating billable hours.  Ruminate.  Create.  Be excellent.

References and Citations:

[1]: http://www.giantbomb.com/boss-button/3015-7856/games/

 Some old DOS games used to have a "boss key" or "boss button" players could hit that would display a fake image of a graph or spreadsheet to make it look like players were working instead of playing a video game...

[2]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Cratchit

 Robert "Bob" Cratchit is a fictional character in the Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol. The abused, underpaid clerk of Ebenezer Scrooge, Cratchit has come to symbolise poor working conditions, especially long working hours.

[3]: Screen capture originally posted on mobygames-dot-com by:

POMAH@mobygames
http://www.mobygames.com/user/sheet/userSheetId,14630/