Changing Batteries

The battery has not changed since the 1960s and it is really a technological feat that RadioShack took so long to go out of business. We have such impressive technologies and software development in the 21st century and yet we still use lithium ion batteries. This thought might all change soon. Researchers at Stanford published their discovery of aluminum ion batteries in Nature recently. They said that the new aluminum-ion battery has the potential to replace lithium-ion batteries, used in millions of laptops and mobile phones. The new battery is safe and does not have the fire hazard of lithium batteries. It is also durable and flexible, and lasts seven times as long as the other ones. The best part might be that it can be charged in under a minute. This will open doors with so many other gadgets and devices. It also means that the larger batteries could be used as part of a renewable energy system on an electrical grid. It is going to be really exciting to see where it will go from here.

Way to Have a Work Life Balance

In this hectic world, it is sometimes hard to find that wonderful balance where you feel like you actually have a life and are able to maintain a job that can support that life. There are several ways to go about this problem. You can separate, integrate, or cycle. If separating your life into compartments can work for you, you could choose specific hours for work and specific hours for home, and make an agreement with both your boss and family to adhere to the schedule. This way everyone knows what to expect and everyone will be taken care of. If that does not work for you, you could blend work and life but you have to make sure that everyones needs are taken care of. For some jobs such as software development or web development, it will work. If neither of those work for you, you could follow a more traditional model: work hard and play hard. You might cycle through phases of intense work but then you on vacation and completely unplug. Some of the problems come into play when your style of work clashes with your bosses style even though they achieve the same ends. This is something to be discussed and agreed upon beforehand.