David Lidsky's Blog, page 196

How St. Patrick’s Day celebrations originally featured the color blue

With nationalism ascendant and Catholics outnumbering Protestants, green was widely embraced, particularly since it had been worn by the United Irish.

St. Patrick’s Day usually conjures images of partying, Catholicism, Irish nationalism and, perhaps most famously, the color green: green clothes, green shamrocks, green beer and green rivers.

M4 MacBook Air 2025 review: The perfect laptop for most consumers

Apple’s new M4 MacBook Air has a lot going for it, starting with the M4 chip itself. A full look at the new release plus one thing I wish Apple had fixed.

Apple’s new MacBook Air laptops, which the company unveiled alongside a new iPad Air and a disappointing 11th-generation iPad earlier this month, are now on sale. They feature the M4 chip and some additional upgrades that remote workers and desk jockeys, in particular, may appreciate.

It’s time to hit the reset button on GMOs

GMO 2.0 is happening whether we want it or not—let’s make sure it’s a power for good.

With genetically modified organisms (GMOs), there’s no putting the genie back in the bottle. Since their commercial introduction in 1996, bioengineered crops have become a commercial juggernaut, utterly dominating the marketplace in the U.S. and around the world. Even the European Union—long a hotbed of anti-GMO sentiment and regulatory activity—is warming to biotech, and significantly expanding the number of GMO crops accepted for import.

How do brands really stand the test of time?

By not standing (still) at all, brands can keep pace with customers and their needs.

Futureproofing your business requires an ability to embrace change, not just to react to it.

The value of designing memorable experiences

Memorable experiences transcend the past, present, and curiosity of the future.

Memorable experiences guide us to value the present moment before it becomes only a memory. As the context around us continuously evolves at a rapid pace, the formation of memories comes to life through spatial awareness of the physical environment. The importance of human interaction and shared engagement in the design of immersive entertainment and sports venues, workplaces, and even homes is fundamental to making memories of a lifetime.

At SXSW, Michelle Obama tackles despair and loneliness in a podcast with her brother, Craig Robinson

“I worry about folks being out of work, and I worry about how we think about diversity and inclusion,” the former first lady said.

Trying to find authentic, consistent joy in the midst of a reality that is relentlessly delivering devastating blows feels akin to finding a needle in an impossibly large haystack. But according to Michelle Obama, it is possible—and the power lies in acknowledging the depth of despair and apathy while still finding reasons for hope.  

Office workers are now clocking out at 4:39 p.m. on average

A new report by ActivTrak suggests that corporate employees are ending their workdays earlier—but also logging more time on weekends.

As we enter spring, the days may be getting longer, but the average workday seems to be contracting. Corporate employees in the U.S. now seem to be ending their day at 4:39 p.m., according to a new report by the workforce analytics platform ActivTrak. That’s more than 40 minutes earlier than when workers clocked out just two years prior. While employees still start their day on average just before 8 a.m., the average length of the workday has dropped to about eight hours and 44 minutes.

USPS to slash 10,000 jobs under new deal with Musk’s DOGE

DeJoy calls the deal with DOGE a move toward “efficiency,” but lawmakers warn of potential job losses and service disruptions.

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will begin working with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut costs. On Thursday, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy signed an agreement with the Trump-era organization, welcoming the agency’s infiltration, something many other federal organizations have railed against in recent weeks.

Glassdoor: Employee morale just hit an all-time low, and government workers are the most unhappy

In February, employees were more pessimistic about the future than ever, according to the career-insights platform.

Between rising tariffs, an increased cost of living, and extensive federal layoffs, February felt pretty abysmal for many American workers. Now, there’s data to show that it might have been one of the worst months in recent history for employee sentiment.

‘I caught a baby wombat’: U.S. influencer Sam Jones was roundly condemned for her wildlife stunt in Australia

The self-described wildlife biologist filmed herself taking the distressed animal from its mother. She has since left Australia amid calls for her deportation.

A U.S. influencer has united Australia—and much of the world—in outrage after filming herself snatching a baby wombat from its mother and posting the clip online.