Quick Hits: Trusting an online bank. What “organic” means. Legos are impressive.

• I’ve been trying to figure out where I should stick our Emergency Fund to get a little bit better return. I know it isn’t supposed to be an investment, but it is a sizable chuck of change, and I don’t want it to sit an languish at the lowest interest rate possible while we wait for the next crisis. Maybe an online bank is a possibility. Their interest rates tend to be higher, they’re FDIC insured, and you don’t sacrifice accessibility…but my inner Luddite is having trouble with a bank that you can’t physically walk into. Am I being foolish?

• The trend towards food labeled “organic” is interesting, especially if you actually take time to learn anything about what “organic” means. For example, when a food is labeled “organic,” it doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been treated with pesticides. In fact, it doesn’t even mean that it’s been treated with less pesticides than non-“organic” food, or even less toxic pesticides than non-“organic” food. The truth is, an “organic” label has nothing to do with being healthy, it just means that the grower jumped through all the hoops that are required to be certified as “organic” by the governing bureaucracies, which doesn’t always result in what you’re thinking when you read “organic.” So, maybe you want to research and rethink your decision. You can eat organic (AKA ‘carbon-based’) food without paying the “organic” (AKA ‘bulls**t-based’) prices.

• I think almost everyone saw the massive X-Wing fighter from Star Wars made out of over 5 million Legos. If you haven’t, go check it out, because it’s really impressive stuff. When it comes to Legos, though, impressive is a pretty common occurrence. Take a look at this massive work of art by Mike Doyle. only 200,000 pieces, but completely crafted out of his own creativity. Better yet, check out this guy trying to build a functional Lego Segway (he’s already done a Lego wheelchair).

Get Yourself Some “Why Not?”

Quick Hits: Saving money online. Doing more with less is stupid. Laser cut paper sculptures.

• Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money on the Interwebs, but not everyone has a solid platform to sell from. There are still ways you can benefit from it, though. One of the many financial gurus I read, Joseph Sangl, suggests BigCrumbs.com which offers you an affiliate link whenever you shop online, and shares a cut of their profits with you from whatever you buy. He’s made back hundreds of dollars. If you do a lot of online shopping, you might want to consider how affiliate marketing can help you.

• Any leader in business wants their employees to be motivated and productive. When a leader allows a poor worker to remain on the job too long, it hurts the performance of everyone on his team, because sanctioned incompetence demoralizes everyone. According to Dan Rockwell, over at Leadership Freak, telling your employees to “do more with less” isn’t any better, because it actually encourages those who are already doing more to do less.

• I love it when someone does something amazingly artistic in a new way.  Like turning shipping crates into homes. Or last week’s crayon carvings. So, when I find something that makes me go “Wow!” I want to share it here. These paper sculptures definitely qualify. You can find more incredible work by the artist, Eric Standley, at his website.

Quick Hits of the Week

• LaRae Quy guests posts over at Michael Hyatt’s blog, sharing about spies and three ways to find the truth about life’s meaning. Her first point, about life assessment, is a great one that I’ve seen before.  It’s important to identify the areas of our lives where we’ve settled, and recognize that any area that we’re not completely satisfied with isn’t good enough. Her third point, about keeping a journal is also good. It’s part of the reason why I’m forcing myself to write here once a week.

• Boredom is good for you. It’s a signal that you’re fighting to create. Mark McGuinness reminds us that facing our boredom head on is better than seeking out distractions.

• I would love to say I’m above politics, but I’m not. There’s always a temptation to get controversial when I write here, because drumming out one of those posts is comparatively easy, and it tends to get more attention. That’s not what I’m trying to do here, though. I’m seeking growth, not division. Thom Rainer shared some really good thoughts regarding this, listing five reasons he avoids negative and controversial posts. I think number four is especially true. So, while I like the added attention, on balance I’d rather stay positive.

• Don’t cry over spilled milk, and marvel over spilled wine. Amelia Harnas creates amazing art with a very unconventional medium. Bravo.

• I’m not a big survivalist. I don’t even like hiking. Driving out among the pine trees and setting up a tent next to a campfire is about at close to “roughing it” as I like to get. The chances of me getting trapped in the wilderness are pretty slim. Should it happen, though, and my cell phone is damaged beyond repair, it’s good to know that I can use what remains as a signal mirror, compass, spear point, and fire starter.