Ok, this product seems a little strange to me, but if you desire to flash back to the Barbie & GI Joe days, there is an “adult” office play set out there for you! The Cubes: Office Settings must be going mainstream because the product is offered through Target, and includes a variety of office figurines and settings including the Copy Center, the Break Room Set, and an Expansion set of office friends. This item is sure to be a conversation piece, just don’t let your boss catch you playing with your “office figurines” too often!
Even if your cube mates are a bunch of idiots and your boss rides you like a pony , cube nirvana is still possible. I found the following quote from Angela Holton, a communications administrator and resident of Cubeland for 11 years, who says existing happily in a cube requires a “bloom where you’re planted” philosophy.
“I keep lots of framed photographs on my desk of friends and favorite places I’ve visited,” she says. “I also am referred to as the ‘Plant Lady’ because of all the greenery at my desk. I’m even considering a small Persian-type rug to place at the entrance of my cube to cozy things up a bit. The way I see it is, if you have to live in a cube, you might as well make it comfortable.”
That’s the kind of spirit we love at SMC, way to go Angela!
Pet Animal Rubberbands! Made from silicone, these unique and colorful rubberbands are shaped like animals. Now when your coworker asks to borrow a rubberband give them the option between a blue turtle or a yellow duck…
The Staple-Free Stapler? This ingenious and space saving piece of equipment leaves your papers metal free! This has to be somewhat environmentally responsible, right?
These fun & unique products are now available at a Container Store near you (or online of course): www.containerstore.com
Is your dreary office cubicle in need of some spice? If so, a new book, Eccentric Cubicle, has your much-needed remedies. Featuring zany and interesting ways to pump some fun into your workspace, Eccentric Cubicle will improve your building and creative skills, while quickly turning your cubicle into an office hot spot. Author Kaden Harris — the unconventional mind behind Eccentric Genius — takes aspiring and die-hard do-it-yourselfers through a highly entertaining gamut of workplace-oriented projects. From destop guillotines and crossbows to mood-enhancing effects and music makers, these interesting builds combine a wide spectrum of basic shop techniques, alternative materials and designs that are guaranteed to bring some fun into any office environment.Specific projects include:
Active Desktop: Over-engineered and cunningly executed, this postmillennial version of the classic French revolutionary guillotine is the last word in cigar accessories. Or desktop snack choppers.
BallistaMail: This Greco-Roman missile (good for launching spears, javelins, and the occasional boulder) scales down to an intimidatingly powerful interoffice mail delivery system. Your memos will never be ignored again!
Maple Mike: Because golfing is a stepping stone to boardroom success, make your own desktop simulation of the perfect golf swing in one easy-to-use/easy-to-build project.
Haze-o-Matic 3000: Bring the “fog of war” to your contract negotiations. Build a mechanism that’s as inherently cool as a fog machine and mystify your co-workers!
The Gysin Device: Harness your subconscious for enhanced creativity with this lucid dream induction device — all from the comfort of your own cubicle! Sitar not included.
Eccentric Cubicle offers far more than a collection of project “how-tos.” Filled with oblique industrial design, fabrication philosophies and sardonic social commentary, Eccentric Cubicle offers the reader encouragement to adapt, modify, and hack their way through their builds. “The book’s overall intent is to infuse the new-school Do-It-Yourself community with a therapeutic dose of slightly non-Euclidean engineering, classic shop techniques and surreally interpreted physics,” explains Harris. “The projects are intended to make people say, ‘It does WHAT?!’”
As fellow Cube enthusiasts, we’re writing to promote Lifehacker’s Coolest Cubicle Contest, where users can send in pictures of their cubes to be voted on by the public. For the number of people working in a cube these days, this contest is WAY overdue and should should become annual. So here are the details from Lifehacker
We’re looking for the coolest cubicle on the block, and over the next few weeks we’ll feature our favorite submissions every Thursday on Lifehacker. Once the submissions are exhausted, your fellow readers will vote for the cubicle they think is the coolest, and the winner will take home a $500 Amazon Gift Card
While we’re a little bummed we didn’t launch the contest ourselves, we’re in full support of promoting stylish cublicles and commend them for initiating this contest. So bring your camera to work, snap a pic of your cube and submit it. Heck, while you’re at it, send it to us at info@stylemycube.com as well
Also for all you lucky remoties out there, check out their Coolest Workspace Contest results here.
Let’s face it… every now and again work can get a little monotonous or tedious or annoying or downright painfully boring! Here are some online games that will hopefully help you through some rough patches:
Spin the Black Circle reminds me of those wooden marble labyrinth mazes, except this game has fiery torches, spikes, and spinning walls. Lots of fun!
Sprout, a hand-drawn game by Jeff Nusz, features a magical seed that travels the world by morphing between an apple tree, coconut, and dandelion. Very unique!
The Impossible Quiz is the second (and probably not final) impossible quiz that will delight riddle and puzzler lovers. Guaranteed to prompt a few groans and ooooh’s!
Warbears showcases Polar Bears trying to solve missions around Bedtime City including rescuing gas platforms from attack and stopping bank robberies.
Tower Bloxx challenges you to build tall skyscrapers for your new city and to attract more residents by building straighter, taller skyscrapers.
Peggle is probably one of my all-time favorite online games just for its sheer silliness. If you like pinball, you’ll love Peggle. Go Zen Ball!
Last week Crunch stopped by my work in hopes of signing up new members - smart move on their part as people are still reeling in New Year’s guilt. Part of their visit was a mini-yoga class as well as a chair yoga demonstration. Although I planned on attending, unfortunately I got caught up into something urgent (these words come out of my mouth way too often). Regardless, I was really intrigued by the idea of doing yoga while stuck in the cube, so I started looking online about this intriguing form of exercise.
Chair yoga (a.k.a. sitting yoga or office yoga) as it implies, is a gentle form of yoga that is practiced sitting in a chair, or standing using a chair for support. This form of yoga is really low-impact and is tremendously popular within seniors and those with disabilities. Just think if you try this out, maybe you’ll have something to rap to grandma about next Thanksgiving!
For those that have seen the mat before, standing postures, such as Triangle and Warrior variations, and flowing postures such as Salutations or Vinyasa, all can be practiced while sitting in a chair.
I researched this topic online for awhile and here are some of the best resources I found for anyone interested in getting a quick stretch without leaving the office
A nicely categorized link to a bunch of short .gifs displaying each stretch.
Nice instructions for some of the real basics chair exercises.
While chair yoga is a great concept, it must be practiced cautiously. Cubes by definition don’t have much privacy, so try to practice when you know you wont get caught, or you’ll end up like this guy -
All of us need to relax a little bit more. I just heard a stat that males with significant workplace stress during their career are 68% more likely of getting heart disease. Wow that is scary. So the question is how can we chill out a bit more at work? Well there is no easy answer, however one thing I know that works pretty well is hanging some nature pictures. Whenever you need a little break from the monotony of cube life, just stare and the pic and loose yourself in calmness. Whether its a scenic landscape of mountains, a calming pond of water or a close up of a sunflower, pictures of our amazing planet hung in the cube are a surefire way to reduce workplace stress.
If you really want to get fancy, couple the nature picture with an matching air freshener and to get the most authenticity
If you’re stuck in Cubicle Nation, then you’ve probably discovered the value of a good pair of headphones by now. Whether they are for blasting techno while working that insanely boring project or sneaking in a youtube video, headphones have become a must-have in the office place. For those allowed to use headphones at work, being able to escape from the numerous annoying sounds produced by a common workspace to either quiet bliss or streaming music has literally become part or our focusing process. Without headphones pumping sick 80’s tunes in my ears half the day, my mind would easily wander another 10-15 times during the workday. Furthermore, headphones are great because they offer a little bit of privacy in the otherwise very public cubicle landscape. People are less likely to come over to your cube when they see you with headphones on. For these reasons and others, headphones have truly become a cube necessity - the question is are the expensive headphones really worth their price tag? Read the rest of this entry »
It’s officially time to think about your New Year’s Resolution for 2008! You may want to consider making a resolution to eat healthier at the office. The office place is filled with diet breaking temptations such as vending machines, snack drawers, and department lunches. Here are a few simple tips to eating healthier at work:
*Bring fresh fruit & vegetables to the office, such as apples, bananas, oranges (clementines are especially work friendly because they are easy to peel!), cherry tomatoes, broccoli florets, and baby carrots, to snack on instead of reaching for a candy bar
*Drink water at your desk, rather than a sugary soft drink
*Coordinate a snack committee to lobby for healthful food for department meetings
*If you go out for a work lunch ask the waiter to box 1/2 of your lunch for you to eat later for dinner or for lunch the next day
Pet Animal Rubberbands! Made from silicone, these unique and colorful rubberbands are shaped like animals. Now when your coworker asks to borrow a rubberband give them the option between a blue turtle or a yellow duck… 
The Staple-Free Stapler? This ingenious and space saving piece of equipment leaves your papers metal free! This has to be somewhat environmentally responsible, right? 
Let’s face it… every now and again work can get a little monotonous or tedious or annoying or downright painfully boring! Here are some online games that will hopefully help you through some rough patches:
It’s officially time to think about your New Year’s Resolution for 2008! You may want to consider making a resolution to eat healthier at the office. The office place is filled with diet breaking temptations such as vending machines, snack drawers, and department lunches. Here are a few simple tips to eating healthier at work:
