The oddity of the human animal (including myself) never ceases to make me scratch my head. I thought I’d share some examples with you so you, too, could marvel at the human thought process.

Art does not imitate life—just ask any newly minted lawyer what real life is like in comparison to ABC’s new series, The Deep End. Although I can empathize with any new grad in this economy, I can’t say I’m sorry that law firms are shrinking and attitudes are changing—it’s about time.

“What has come to pass is that a law degree is not a ticket to a six-figure salary and a six-figure bonus,” said Matthew A. Feldman, a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York.

Distracted driving is a hot topic with many states weighing in with new laws—but those on foot are no different.

Examples of such visits [to the emergency room] include a 16-year-old boy who walked into a telephone pole while texting and suffered a concussion; a 28-year-old man who tripped and fractured a finger on the hand gripping his cellphone; and a 68-year-old man who fell off the porch while talking on a cellphone, spraining a thumb and an ankle and causing dizziness.

The best way to sell your product and company these days is to go green—or at least be perceived as such. People seem to embrace any suggestion of green and this apparently extends to churches, which is good. Our poor planet needs all the help it can get.

A study released in December by the Barna Group, which more typically studies trends among evangelicals, said that older, mainline churches faced many challenges but that their approach to environmental issues was among several areas that “position those churches well for attracting younger Americans.”

In a lighter vein is the subject of passwords. In spite of every horror story of identity theft and trashed computers people cling to their simple passwords. And I do mean simple!

According to a new analysis, one out of five Web users still decides to leave the digital equivalent of a key under the doormat: they choose a simple, easily guessed password like “abc123,” “iloveyou” or even “password” to protect their data.

Finally, if you’re in LA some Saturday and want to something a bit out of the ordinary, you can spend $65 for a 12-stop, two-hour journey learning about “the history and origin of high-profile gang areas and the top crime-scene locations” in South LA, but book early because it sells out quickly.

Alfred Lomas, 45, a former gang member and the creator of the tour ($65, lunch included), said this drive-by was about educating people on city life, while turning any profits into microloans and other initiatives aimed at providing gang members jobs.

Image credit: pedroCarvalho on flickr

I’ll bet you don’t know as much as you think about what’s really happening when someone screws up. This article from the archives of The New Yorker about implicit and explicit learning and the difference between choking and panic. It’s the kind of information that isn’t used constantly, but will help you understand and solve the really sticky people problems that flare up when someone fails.

“Choking is about thinking too much. Panic is about thinking too little. Choking is about loss of instinct. Panic is reversion to instinct.”

Surprise! It’s the shaping up to be a very tough year; one in which you have the choice between hunkering down, laying off, wimping out and whining about it or grabbing opportunity, taking calculated risks and going for the brass ring. Newspapers are facing a double whammy. They were already under siege before the crash, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have a choice—and if they do we all do.

“In truth, all our staff losses are in part an inability of management to identify and pursue new product opportunities, and in part an internal aversion to change.”

Finally, an interview with Marissa Mayer, vice-president of search products and user experience at Google, about innovation, downturns and healthy internal competition.

“The other groups at Google aren’t willing to accept that the only people who get to have fun and be innovative are the product managers and the engineers. It’s innovation envy. So what happens is, the Human Relations department wants to be innovative. They want to build HR policies like no one’s ever had before. Some of these people want to build facilities like no one’s ever had before. The finance team wants to bring the company public in a way that no one ever has before.”

I hope this information helps you lose the fear,  sets your eyes on that brass ring, and sparks your own innovative ideas.

The worst thing that can happen is that you’ll miss, but you’ll still be miles ahead of the folks hiding down in their bunker.

Image credit: flickr

Just two links for your pleasure, today, but each hold more than two goodies.

First we have The Best of BNET 2008. It includes links to their best stories, as well as videos and podcasts. Dig around; I think you’ll enjoy it.

Next, for my tech-oriented readers, are The Hottest Tech Developments of 2009 from Business Week. Yes, I’m sure there are more detailed lists, but you don’t need a tech education to enjoy this quick look at OS software.

That’s it for Odd Bits this year. Don’t forget to share any interesting odd bit links you have in comments or send them to me and I’ll use them to the next Odd Bits post. (You’ll find contact information in the right column.)

Image credit: flickr