floccinaucinihilipilificate

It's my favourite new hat -- out with the Goofy, in with the Pook Toque . Got it for Christmas this morning, and haven't really taken it off. I'll be going to bed shortly, and I'm still debating whether to take it off or not. My wife has a preference, I'm sure, but she was the one who also purchased it for me. What will I do with the pair of socks on my head?

Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo, has done something unique to get attention in a world of very short attention spans. It has created Uniqlock -- a catchy multimedia presentation on the web that blends music, dance and data visualization. It's hard to explain the experience. You'll have to take a look at it yourself. There's something compelling in the presentation that makes it difficult to just navigate away from the site. When you've had enough of the experience, click over to the Uniqlock's archives to find other presentations created by Uniqlo.

The UK's Office of Government Commerce (OGC), responsible for government procurement, recently underwent a branding exercise, the culmination of which has resulted in the creation of a logo. Everyone loves a logo, and one that is memorable, capable of surviving the changes in strategy and messaging. An OGC spokesman commented to the Register on their new logo: "The proposed version, which you have sent over, has been shared with staff, and is now going through final technical stages. It is true that it caused a few titters among some staff when viewed on its side, but on consideration we concluded that the effect was generic to the particular combination of the letters 'OGC' - and is not inappropriate to an organization that's looking to have a firm grip on government spend!" The logo will indeed be memorable, firm grip and all. Just rotate it 90-degrees clockwise to see why.

Helix Wind has created a unique, and absolutely cool, wind power generation system for homes and small businesses. The Helix system works in low wind conditions, capturing wind from any direction and funneling it into the turbine. Helix Wind has more details on their site, including techincal drawings that architects and engineers can use to easily integrate Helix systems into their work. From an architectural perspective, the Helix system could be used to compliment a design. You can be the envy of your neighbours in more than one way.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) symbol -- now universally known as the Peace symbol -- turns 50 this year. The symbol was designed for the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC), by designer Gerald Holtom in 1958, to be used in a 50-mile Easter march from Trafalgar Square, London, to atomic weapons factory at Aldermaston. The symbol combines the semaphoric signals for the letters "N" and "D" -- representing "Nuclear Disarmament." From its adoption by CND, the symbol spread to the US, then around the world -- with CND never trademarking the symbol -- leaving it free for the world to use. 50 years ago, the symbol was created to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Today the symbol is universally recognized, though its power to provoke has diminished with the loss of the baby boomers idealism. Nuclear weapons has proliferated, and the world is now threatened by rogue states with nuclear enrichment programs; a new found inter...

Limited thinking would view the poor as a burden to society, but if you buy C.K. Prahalad's bottom-of-the-pyramid theory, the 4-plus billion impoverished people in the world are a vast untapped market. If you're motivated solely by profits, you may limit your understanding of Prahalad's theory to bringing consumerism to the poor -- but if your aspirations are to close the inequalities that exist between those that have, and those that have don't, then this vast untapped market represents an opportunity to make a difference, even while eking out profits. The poster child for tapping into those at the bottom is Grameen Bank , with their micro-financing to aid those in developing nations towards self-sustainment. Helping the poor help themselves is a novel idea that is taking off in philanthropy. It's not just about throwing endless sums of money at the vacuum of need -- but about wisely investing in the poor, so they can create an economic environment where the c...