In the field of art and design, we are pushed daily to think of wittier, bigger and better concept solutions to aid in knocking marketing initiatives out of the ballpark. It's like being a deep well – one dips a bucket into the well in hopes of bringing up water – but what happens when the well runs dry?

Below, I have compiled 10 simple steps to boost your creativity, which will give your brain a jumpstart when your creative juices are running low.

Step 1: Relax. Listen to soothing music. Whether it's jazz, classical, R&B or country, choose music that truly allows your mind to wander and unwind.

Step 2: Turn the TV Off! Studies show that people, once believed to be intelligent, yet watched more than two hours of television per day, lost the ability to complete whole sentences without stuttering, and developed "brain-al" leakage. But, don't quote me on that.

Step 3: Just Say NO to Drugs! People on drugs think they are creative. To everyone else, they just seem like people on drugs.

Step 4: Keep a Notebook, Pen or Pencil Handy. As random ideas come into your head, jot them down. After reading through your notes, 90% will look like gibberish. No worries. What's important is the 10% that will be brilliant.

Step 5: Read Anything You Can Get Your Hands On. Books exercise your brain, provide inspiration and fill you with information that allows you to make creative connections easily. You'll be surprised at how often you'll employ all of this "useless" information.

Step 6: Use a Dictionary or Thesaurus. Randomly select words and try to formulate ideas incorporating these words. It really works. There's nothing like restrictions to get you thinking about how to break beyond those boundaries.

Step 7: Outline and Define Your Problem. Write down all the details. Once you're able to see the problem on paper, you'll probably find ideas spewing out of your brain. Your brain should remain safely intact, however.

Step 8: If You Can't Think, Go for a Walk. Sometimes a change of scenery or atmosphere can shake loose uncooperative brain cells.

Step 9: Brainstorm. This will help you come up with a pool of ideas, and also help compare ideas and decide which is best.

Step 10: Exercise Your Brain. Like your body, your brain will get a little stiff and not function to its full capacity from lack of use. Get it warmed up. Start with step 5.

I hope these creative tips are useful. If they don't make you more creative, you should probably see your doctor – the head kind, that is. The latter is also strongly recommended if you are experiencing headaches, hallucinations or strange urges in the middle of the night.

While surfing the Web, making a call on your cell phone or watching a DVD on your 60" flat screen plasma television, have you ever stopped to think about how these amazing, and seemingly necessary, technologies came to be? I will list 10 technologies that, if not for their existence, you would not be reading this blog at this very moment.

Technology 1: Unicode
We have become dependent on computers for everyday communication. The problem is that computers do not speak our language. Fortunately, along came Unicode, a unique number for every letter, symbol, or glyph in more than 30+ written languages. It's incredibly complex, however it has gained traction ever since Microsoft adopted it as the internal encoding for the Windows NT family of operating system.

Technology 2: Digital Signal Processing
Digital music, photos and videos would not be possible if not for this application of highly complex mathematics better known as, Digital Signal Processing (DSP).

DSP is to digital media as gears and springs are to a pocket watch. It's hard at work behind the scenes – invisible, yet totally essential. If you use DVDs, mobile phones, ink jet printers or DSL broadband, give props to the technology that makes it all possible. Thanks DSP!

Technology 3: Managed Code
For those of you who have used computers for more than 15 years, you will be thankful for this piece of technology. Bugs and unnoticed security flaws that may have once seemed trivial have become serious threats in the Net-connected era. A growing number of developers have chosen to use platforms designed to relieve some of the burden that modern operating systems now run on. Programs written for managed-code environments such as Java and Microsoft's .NET don't run on the bare hardware the way traditional programs do. Instead, a virtual machine acts as an intermediary between the software and the system. It works behind the scenes, silently taking care of memory management and other housekeeping drudgery, while keeping an eye out for potential security violations before they happen.

For the end-user, a managed-code program may seem no different than a traditional one, but the software that runs in a virtual machine makes for a more reliable, stable and secure user experience. So, if you've noticed fewer crashes over the last few years, now you know why.

Technology 4: Transistors
The transistor may be the most humble, yet most powerful invention of the 20th century. Linked together in various ways, transistors can form circuits that are the basis of every type of digital logic, including the CPUs that power modern PCs and servers. The next time you boot up your PC, think about this often ignored technology that has served us for the last 50 years and counting.

Technology 5: XML
Though you may never have encountered it directly, XML is everywhere and has become the common language of data exchange.

XML stand for Extensible Markup Language. The fact that developers can add to it, to suit the needs of a particular application, makes it extensible. What makes it even more valuable is, much like HTML, it's a language and can be comprehended by machines, as well as humans. A developer who "speaks XML" can look at a document written in an unfamiliar XML dialect and still understand what it's trying to say.

Microsoft made the decision to switch to XML-based file formats for Office 2007. Without even realizing it, you may have XML documents sitting on your desktop right now.

Technology 6: Non-volatile RAM
In 1956, IBM's first hard drives used disks that were 2 feet wide. With the advancement of technology, hard drives have become smaller; however, the technology is essentially the same. Even with improvements in technology, hard drives hit a wall when it came to portability. They were still too big and fragile for many devices.

Then came solid-state drives, based on non-volatile RAM. The technology has been used for storage since the 1970s, but remained too expensive for the average person until manufacturing processes caught up with the demand. Now its used all over the world – in MP3 players, digital cameras, cell phones and laptops, and smaller, faster and more reliable technologies are being developed every year.

Technology 7: Lithium Ion Batteries
As kids, toys came with "batteries not included", in small print on the packages. Nowadays, the battery is usually the most important part of our high-tech toys. As essential as mobility has become to how we use technology, AA, D, and C batteries no longer cut the mustard.

The invention of the lithium battery was key. Because lithium is the lightest metal, lithium-based batteries can store more energy at a given weight than any other variety. The batteries in turn have allowed for smaller, lighter devices, such as a cell phone that could actually fit in your pocket in the early 1990's. While running times remain an on-going challenge, researchers have no shortage of solutions.

Technology 8: Voice over IP (VoIP)
While you may think that the closest you've gotten to VoIP is looking into digital phone service from your broadband provider, the truth is, VoIP is revolutionizing the telecom industry, blurring the lines between voice calls and digital networks.

Digital calls are easier to direct and manage, which makes them attractive to traditional telephone companies. They also limit taxes, fees and other traditional telephone company charges. Those prepaid calling cards that offer rock-bottom international rates would not be possible with\out VoIP. Don't be surprised if soon your landlines are replaced by an all-digital alternative – but you'll likely be none-the-wiser.

Technology 9: Graphics Acceleration
A Graphics Processing Unit or GPU (also occasionally called visual processing unit or VPU) is a dedicated graphics rendering device for a personal computer, workstation, or game console. Modern GPUs are very efficient at manipulating and displaying computer graphics, and their highly parallel structure makes them more effective than general-purpose CPUs for a range of complex algorithms. If you thought your video card was only good for gaming – think again. Its GPU is really like a second, highly specialized CPU. When it comes to certain kinds of complex math, its performance puts your desktop CPU to shame.

Technology 10: High-speed Net Access
Remember the days when we thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread to connect to the Internet after a series of dial tones followed by momentary static and beeps? Now, it's all we can do to maintain our composure if we have to wait the 3 seconds it takes for the home page to appear in our Web browsers after clicking on the browser icon. Where would we be without fast Internet access?

It's easy to forget that just 10 years ago, most of us were still using ordinary dial-up modems. The broadband revolution brought us streaming video, MP3 downloads, Internet phone calls and multi-player online gaming. This is certainly one technology I would not want to be without.

Excerpts for this blog taken from "The 10 Most Important Technologies You Never Think About" by Neil McAllister of PC World

"Need to talk 2 U", "Where R U?", "Looking 4 U", "C U later", "TTYL". To many over the age of 40, this may seem like strange code that only a teenager could understand. I suppose if this were the only way text messaging could be used, it could be categorized as a waste of time. If used efficiently, however, it could be another great tool in your productivity arsenal, along with email and IM.

Texting serves as a basic form of email for even the simplest of cell phones. It relies on a decade-old technology called SMS, or Short Message Service, which is used to relay brief messages – typically, no more than two average-length sentences.

Savvy travelers can leverage SMS for more than just the trivial cell-to-cell communication between teenagers. With a little thumb action, you can check flight status, update your calendar, track a package, check your bank balance and get driving directions to almost anywhere.

Killer Texting Trick 1: Remember Your Appointments
If you are a Google Calendar user, you can find out what's on your agenda in a flash. Simply send a message with the word "next" to GVENT (or dial 48368), and you'll get back the time and details of your next scheduled event. Text "day" for a full list of today’s appointments and "nday" for tomorrow’s appointments.

Killer Texting Trick 2: Track Packages
A number of Web services now offer alerting and information options via SMS to help keep you in the loop. For example, are you dying to know when your newly ordered MacBook Air will arrive? Forward your delivery-confirmation e-mail to TrackMyShipments.com, and you'll subsequently receive SMS updates on your package's status, location, and delays, if any. You can also monitor your own shipments by sending its tracking number to a special e-mail address.

Killer Texting Trick 3: Compose Text Messages with Your Voice
Does the hassle of having to use a cell phone keypad leave you feeling “all thumbs”? Let your voice do the finger-work for you with a free service called Jott.

Jott will transcribe your spoken message into text and deliver it via SMS to anyone in your contact list. You'll need to set your contacts up on Jott's site. Speed dial Jott from your cell phone, say the name of the person you want to contact and then start talking. Remember, this is a text message, so the rules for SMS messages still apply – keep it brief. For those of you who have a bad habit of texting while driving (or TWD), this would be a safer option for you – that is until cell phone use behind the wheel is outlawed altogether.

Killer Texting Trick 4: Get Driving Directions
If your phone has GPS and you are away from your PC and need to get from point A to point B, tap Google SMS for on-the-fly navigation. Create a new message with your starting point and destination. Then send it to Google (dial 466453). You’ll receive Google Maps directions in one or more text messages, depending on the length of the route. You can also get an actual map by texting "map" and your location.

Killer Texting Trick 5: Search Google from the Road
Want stock quotes, movie show times, currency conversions and more? Simply text the word "Define" + the keyword for your search to Google (dial 466453).

Killer Texting Trick 6: Keep Tabs on Flights
Text your airline and flight number to receive up-to-the-minute arrival and departure times. If you'd rather have flight updates pushed to your phone, head to FlightStats, sign up for a free account, and then set up some Flight Alerts. The site will send you a status report up to three hours before departure, notifications of any flight delays or cancellations, and a notification when the flight lands.

Killer Texting Trick 7: Keep Tabs on Friends
Fans of Twitter , the micro-blogging service that lets others know what you're doing at this very minute, will find SMS virtually indispensable for sending and receiving updates. Start by configuring your Twitter account to support text messaging: Click the Settings link and then click Phone & IM. Follow the instructions to enable your phone. Then set Device Updates to "on." While you're at it, click the Notices option and set "sleep" hours so you're not bothered by new messages all through the night.

To receive text-message updates from your friends and family, click the Follow link in your profile and set Device Updates to "on" for each person. To broadcast your own updates straight from your phone, text your messages to 40404.

Killer Texting Trick 8: Transfer Files to Your Phone
Savvy users know that the easiest way to move a file between PCs is to e-mail it to yourself. So why not take the same approach for transferring a file to your phone? Unfortunately, it's not always that easy: Many phones balk at e-mail file attachments due to size or format. And what if your phone isn't set up to fetch e-mail anyway? Your only option is a traditional PC-to-phone connection, which usually requires a special cable or a complicated Bluetooth configuration.

Enter Beam It Up Scotty, a free Web-based service that leverages SMS to send just about any kind of file to your phone. Just browse your hard drive for the desired file – document, photo, MP3, movie, etc – then choose a compression setting. Beam It Up Scotty can automatically optimize video and audio files for mobile-phone playback and can compress other kinds of files for speedier transfer.

Finally, enter your cell-phone number. Within a few minutes you'll receive a text message containing a link to download the file straight to your phone.

Killer Texting Trick 9: Send Text Messages to Your PC
If you are sitting at your PC and receive a text message on your cell phone, do you really want to peck out a reply on the tiny keypad of your phone? If you know your recipient’s cell phone number and carrier all you’ll need to do is use an email application, such as Outlook, type your message and send it to your recipient in the required mail address format for that carrier. For example, if you are sending a message to a recipient using Sprint, the email address must be formatted: phonenumber@messeging,sprintpcs.com. You can find a full list of carriers and the text message address formats at SMS 411.

If you don't know the recipient's carrier or can't remember all the different suffixes, take a shortcut. Send your e-mail to phonenumber@teleflip.com. The free Teleflip service does the legwork for you, routing your message to the appropriate carrier. Whatever method you use, keep in mind that replies will come to your e-mail inbox, not to your cell phone – which can be a good thing if you're spending the day at your desk anyway.

Killer Texting Trick 10: Archive Your Messages
To preserve only a select few messages, and avoid the hassles of software and cables, check out Treasuremytext. This free Web service archives and manages all messages forwarded from your phone. Later, you can visit the Treasuremytext site to review your messages, add notes, and organize them in custom folders.

Excerpts for this blog taken from "10 Killer Texting Tricks'  by Rick Broida of PC World. A Michigan-based writer Rick has been covering the tech world for nearly 20 years. In addition to his contributions to PC World, he is author of The Cheapskate Blog.

It seems that in the month of April there is a raised awareness of being environmentally friendly since Earth Day is observed on April 22nd. “Green” is the buzzword of the month, you hear phrases such as Going Green, Be Green, Think Green, and Become Greener!

But what does green really mean?

Green is about making conscious decisions about anything we do in our lives that will have a minimal, negative impact to the environment and making greener choices to improve our health.

When it comes to selecting a greener lifestyle, you may feel that “It’s not easy being Green,” because you have to make drastic changes in your life or spend your entire savings on Green products in order to make a difference.

The fact is that we all can take simple steps to become greener that will significantly contribute to improving the environment, the communities we live in and our health. Incorporating eco-friendly practices can also save you money (and who doesn’t want to save money)!

It's Easy Being Green!

The Goods team knows first hand how easy it is being green. After taking a few simple steps, we have been able to reduce our ecological footprint while providing a healthier and more productive place of work as mentioned in previous blogs.

There are so many little things that we can do that would have a considerable impact on the environment. Buy from your local farmers market – you are not only getting healthier foods but also supporting the folks that live in your community. You don’t have to buy a new hybrid car (although that would be cool!) but perhaps make fewer trips or carpool, this way you are saving the earth while saving money on gas!

Below are some resources to help you Go Green, Become Green, Be Greener or whatever Green you prefer!

Resources:
Tips on Going Green
Check out USA Today’s cool "Going Green" interactive that will provide you with tips on what you can do at home to live a "greener" life. 

Tree Hugger's How to Go Green Guides
Features a plethora of handy guides to help you green your lives with ease, while understanding why.  

Simple Ways to Reduce Energy Use and Save Money
Sources: Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund

• Replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.
• Replace outdoor lighting with a bulb or fixture equipped with a motion detector.
• Buy appliances that have the ENERGY STAR label from the Environmental Protection Agency, because they use less energy and water than standard models.
• Add insulation to the water heater.
• Install low-flow shower heads and toilets.
• Check for and seal any cracks or gaps in walls particularly common in older homes with caulking and weather stripping.
• Lower home thermostat.

At Goods we are excited to work with clients and vendors who have implemented their own Green Initiatives. Our Green Client spotlight features three of our clients that have implemented a Green program: InterfaceFLOR; Sanctuary Real Estate and Standard Press.

InterfaceFLOR started Mission Zero, a promise to eliminate any negative impact their company may have on the environment by the year 2020. As described by InterfaceFLOR:

"To InterfaceFLOR, Mission Zero means taking the time to understand the natural world and all of its species and to understand how everything we do, take, make and waste affects nature's balance and, ultimately, our children and the children of all species. From this knowledge, we can build processes throughout our business that mimic nature and support the environment. Processes that:

• Sustain the environment by taking nothing from the earth that we cannot easily and rapidly replace.
• Sustain society by educating our employees and associates on our impact on the environment and helping them create solutions that reduce our footprint.
• Sustain our economic health by creating products and solutions that are not only environmentally-friendly, but profitable as well.

We strive to achieve success in all of these areas, while consistently providing beautiful, high performing products delivered with integrity and responsibility. We’re not at zero yet, but since the ecological epiphany of our Founder Ray Anderson in 1994, we've had a lot of time to work on it, resulting in environmental advances in all areas of our business - people, process, product, place and profits. "

InterfaceFLOR’s contribution to improving our environment has been recognized worldwide. InterfaceFLOR Chairman and founder Ray Anderson was named Hero of the Environment by Time Magazine. Ray commented, "To be recognized alongside such notable people is a testament to the pioneering spirit of Interface. If a single, $1 billion company can make a difference, imagine the impact if everyone did it."

The Goods team congratulates Ray Anderson and InterfaceFLOR for winning such a prestigious accolade and for their commitment to the environment.

Sanctuary Real Estate sees being environmentally conscious a way of life and not just a trend. Sanctuary has incorporated eco-friendly best practices into their company operations along with making a commitment to assist clients make their homes more environmentally sound.

Sanctuary started the Green Life 2008 Initiative - its mission is to "offer resources on creating a healthy, fulfilling environment in your own Sanctuary by providing advice and resources to help reduce your ecological footprint." Learn more about Sanctuary's Green Life 2008 Initiative.

Rita Bacot Scott, Principal and Broker of Sanctuary, believes, "Green living is about improving the environment and providing a healthier setting in which to live in. Sanctuary strongly believes in providing green strategies to our clients to help them live a greener life."

As one of the GreenLife 2008 initiatives, Sanctuary designed an environmentally-friendly downloadable 2008 calendar, which you can print out the calendar pages only as needed. The calendar is filled with terrific tips and resources to help you live as green as possible. View the Green calendar designed by Goods For You. Download now >>

Sanctuary Real Estate has opened a second office located in Inman Park, Atlanta and continues their commitment to the Green Life Initiative by incorporating eco-friendly practices into their new office location.

Leslie Zweben, Associate Broker of Sanctuary Inman Park explains:

Minimizing the impact on the environment is important to all of us, whether at home or in our place of business. In building out our new office space, Sanctuary Inman Park, we wanted to incorporate "green" tips whenever possible, not only to address energy efficiency or water conservation, but to use as a basis for educating our agents and clients in hopes that they will also "pay it forward!" As an added resource, our partner and managing broker, Carlson Collier, has earned an EcoBroker Designation which offers innovative energy, environmental, and green tools for real estate professionals. Our goal is that each Principal of Sanctuary Inman Park as well as other agents will participate in the program and earn the EcoBroker designation by the end of 2008! One of the most important things to remember is that each of us in an effort to think and act green, even on the smallest scale, really do make a difference!

In the words of Lady Bird Johnson, "The environment, after all, is where we all meet, where we all have a mutual interest. It is the one thing that all of us share. It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become."

Sanctuary Inman Park will have their grand opening celebration during the Inman Park Festival, one of Atlanta's most spirited and eclectic neighborhood festivals. If you are in the Inman Park area, please join the Sanctuary team to celebrate their grand opening! View Open House details>>

Grand Opening Open House
Saturday, April 26th from 11am to 7pm
Sunday, April 27th from 11am to 7pm.

Below are some of the things Sanctuary Inman Park is doing to reduce their footprint on this amazing planet!

PARTNERSHIP WITH ALTERNACORP

• Installation of a high efficiency/dual flush Caroma toilet and matching sink for water conservation
• Installation of Plyboo (bamboo plywood) for interior office walls
• Sanctuary Inman Park and AlternaCorp will be distributing up to 300 discount coupons to our guests during the grand opening weekend ($100.00 applied towards a new, high efficiency Caroma toilet) 

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

• Energy Star rated appliances and equipment
• Low Voltage primary lighting with supplemental task lamps (all using energy saving bulbs)
• Heat Pump system-13 SEER with programmable thermostat 

INDOOR POLLUTANT CONTROL

• Low and/or reduced VOC paints and sealants 

RECYCLING/RECYCLED PRODUCTS

• Commitment to recycling (paper, plastic, and aluminum) on a daily basis with recycling bins located throughout the office
• Necessary paper goods (toilet paper, paper towels, copy paper, business cards) all made from recycled materials
• GreenPrint installed on office computers to save wasted print pages 

MISCELLANEOUS

• Using, washing and reusing drinking glasses and coffee mugs for everyday office usage instead of disposable cups
• Purchased (some) used and/or refurbished office equipment in the spirit of recycling
• Supporting local artists and vendors. Primary furniture pieces in reception area purchased from vintage dealer or made from recycled/reclaimed materials; Conference table design and crafted by Robert Witherspoon.
• Sanctuary Inman Park will be distributing up to 300 reusable, cotton/canvas grocery bags during the grand opening weekend

Standard Press, founded in 1932, is Atlanta’s oldest, independently owned full service printer has started their own Green initiative program.

Standard Press has also made a concerted effort to partner with vendors who share this same perspective to further facilitate their green initiatives.

Detailed below are a few of many initiatives that Standard Press has put in place:

• Dual certification for both FSC(Forest Stewardship Council) and SFI(Sustainable Forestry Initiative).
• Continuing education of customers and staff on aspects of green printing.
• Quarterly audits to ensure we are introducing and testing the safest materials in our facility.
• Official Sponsor of earthhour.org event.
• Soft proofing in pre-press which not only eliminates substrates for proofing but eliminates energy usage transporting proofs back and forth from customers.
• Elimination of all hazardous materials in pressroom.
• Converted one press to blanket wash cloths with the solvent already in them which reduces VOC’s reduces waste handling by employees.

 Account Executive for Standard Press, Steve McCart commented, "At Standard Press, as a dual certified printer with both Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (FSI), basically ensures responsible and verifiable forestry practices are followed through a chain-of custody. We are committed to helping our customers in their efforts to protect the health and well being of our forest and being an environmentally friendly print user."