Little things

For most of the last year and a half that I've been in my current office building, we've had the same receptionist at the front desk every morning. She knew who got in early in the morning, who came in late in the mid-morning, and who took extra-long lunches... and made sure to do no more than flash a smile and a knowing glance in our direction as we made our way up the stairs to our cubes. Last week, she found a new job. When I came into the office this morning, the new person behind the counter called out in a rather obligatory "Good morning. How are you?" fashion, while keeping her eyes glued to her monitor. Something seemed like it was missing.

Sometimes, it's the little things, like eye contact and a smile, that can make a surprising difference in someone's day.

Time-wasters
I think I'm a naturally curious kind of guy, and the internet provides a wealth of information to dabble in. Be forewarned, however - the following news/info links can be strangely addictive, so consider reading them on your breaks only!

Both Digg.com and the New York Times Most Emailed Articles make use of a pretty recent phenomenon on the internet, that of utilizing the common user to essentially vote for and distinguish the more interesting news from the more mundane.

HowStuffWorks.com is a personal favorite.

Finally, Slashdot is an old standby for all the geeks out there.

Anyone have any other favorite resources for interesting stuff on the web?