It seems today that the grainier, shakier, more unintelligible your post on YouTube, the more authentic it is and the larger the audience. With HD TV and razor sharp screen quality on our laptops, it is almost a contradiction – it’s a new world alright!

Just back from Orlando. Two weeks of Disney, Seaworld, Kennedy Space Centre, shopping, swimming pool, rest and Olympic-style eating. Met some new friends, including (awesome) 65-inch plasma TVs, new line of wafer thin laptops and the Chumby. Check it out, what a cool gadget – timepiece, RSS feed reader, photo frame, music player and more – http://www.chumby.com/.

PS. Never would wear a bluetooth headset, hated the things, and learnt this week they are now a fashion faux pas – phew!

Utah, whose motto is “industry” and whose official symbol is the beehive, is about to become the first US state to switch to a four-day workweek for thousands of government employees, in a year-long experiment aimed at reducing the state’s energy costs and commuters’ fuel expenses. Staff will put in 10-hour days, Monday to Thursday, and have Fridays off – I like the sound of that.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25518225/

I spent last week in the USA and Mexico, where I was privileged to help facilitate a meeting with leaders and key business partners in the skills and certification arena. What a powerful session – I was impressed by the content and scale of ideas being put forward to help engage more people in assessment and certification around the world.

Had a great conversation with a chap who is not fond of the impact of technology on the family unit. He asked me how many times a week we sit down as a family for dinner – I was embarassed with my answer. He believes technology is contributing to youngsters’ poor social skills, keeping them glued to a computer screen and away from outdoor pursuits and exercise. He is right, but some contest it is safer in the house where you can see them, than on the street.

Either way, as I type I am eating octopus in a red wine sauce, and I need to go for a run!

Our kids today are master jugglers, 5 chat rooms, multigame playing, and some homework on the side, all at once! They can do it – can we? Should we? Is this the way forward? For them, the computer is not a box, but a doorway to a connected world.

Met up with some old friends too, like Anneleen Vaandrager, 20 years in the industry – great to get together with such good people every so often. Also saw a breathtaking demo of Silverlight from Microsoft – what a cool product. I especially love Deep Zoom! The Hard Rock photo demo was outstanding, Andy (Sithers), great job.