In case you ever need to know how to make a black hole vanish into space for some reason (and who doesn't, right?), check this video out.  

In this issue, we dive deeper into the world of motivation, explore the deep economic impact of burnout, sprinkle in some cosmic wonders, and offer DIY crafts to soothe those tired brain folds. Here's to finding the motivation to finish the week strong!

Greetings, fellow visionaries and dreamers--  It's with a heart full of anticipation and excitement that I iwelcome you to The Hourglass Times, a BRAND NEW weekly dispatch from Hourglass Collaborative that aims to explore, dissect, and present the worlds of creativity, innovation, and the ever-evolving future.  If I were you, I would be...

“It looks like it was photoshopped in,” homeowner Trip Millikin said of the house, which stands in such contrast to the surrounding ruins that images of the home have gone viral in recent days.- via The Honolulu Civil Beat  In a stunning turn of events, the raging Maui wildfires left...

Did you know that the rise of electric vehicles (EVs) could have a surprising impact on corn farmers and the heartland? Currently, a whopping 40% of the corn crop in the United States is used to fuel our gas tanks, because of to a federal mandate requiring 10% ethanol in gasoline. General...

Phew: The stock market breathed a sigh of relief following Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech this week in Jackson Hole. His words sent stock prices upwards and put an end to the three-week losing streaks for both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

Could we be entering a new creative Renaissance?  Picture this: a world emerging from a global pandemic that's transformed the way we live and work, forcing us to challenge everything we knew. Sounds familiar, right? We could be talking about 2023--or we could be talking about 1523. Yes, that's right...

If you (like me) occasionally miss those golden days of word processing with the guidance of a helpful cartoon paperclip, you may enjoy this website solely dedicated to Clippy, Merlin, and the entire crew of Microsoft Office Assistants (complete with the original animations and sound effects!). 

...because they could become valuable in the near future. Yes, the intellectual property rights to this cuddly franchise have been acquired by marketing and licensing expert George Jones. You've probably never heard of him.  But you definitely have encountered his work--he was the architect of Warner Bros' 1997 deal to acquire exclusive licensing...

Creativity is intelligence having fun.- Albert Einstein Running between your office, home, and various other commitments, you might often feel like there's barely any room to breathe, let alone explore your creative side. You're a busy adult, and that can mean your childhood passions and creative pursuits get left in...

AI professionals are cashing in on jaw-dropping salaries as companies scramble to attract qualified talent and embrace the tech. According to CNBC, the freelancing platform Upwork witnessed a whopping 9x surge in AI-related job postings last quarter compared to the same period in 2022. The Wall Street Journal states that...

It's no secret that there is a growing trend of freelancing: 73% of U.S. workers say they are already freelancing or will start to do so by 2023.

Personally, I don't trust absolutes—and "prosperity depends on productivity" sounds pretty absolute to me. Let's closer look at this claim and see if it stands up to scrutiny.

I have worked in “urbanism” for a long time, but i’ve never really thought about the word itself, what it means, what it carries.

The office has come a long way since the days of merchants working out of storefronts and storerooms. In fact, the office has undergone a number of dramatic changes in recent years.