Check out this editorial in the New York Times. It made me smile, I’m not sure why. A snip:

“Short days,” said Randy J. Nelson, a professor of psychology at the Ohio State University Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, whose studies of depression and anxiety in hamsters lend insight into how seasonal changes affect humans. “Here in Ohio, we’re at about the same latitude as you, and the shortest day is about eight hours of light,” Dr. Nelson said. “Anywhere less than 11 hours is a short day.”

Short days lead to winter blues. Short days cause hamsters’ brains to shrink. Short days impair their ability to remember and to learn.

“Do hamsters ever get too listless to shop?” I asked.

“It’s tricky to measure mood in animals because they aren’t verbal,” Dr. Nelson said. “Most rodents tend to stay out of an open area during short days, and to stay on the periphery. If you gave a hamster Valium, it might venture out into the open.”

“Or white wine?” I asked.

“We haven’t tried that,” he said.

At least, ASAE and the Center’s Prometheus Leadership program, which sounds incredible from what I’ve been hearing about it, is going away, and some people are none too happy about it. Ben at Certified Association Executive gives a good accounting of the dust-up that’s been going on around this program. I didn’t know anything about it until I started hearing that it was ending, but it appears it was a well-loved type of unconference, where whoever comes are the right people to be there, and whatever happens is what’s meant to happen. It was a small, intense, intimate, and very effective learning program, from what I’m hearing.

In fact, I hear that some are so upset that they’re thinking about doing it on their own, totally separate from ASAE and the Center. I think that’s cool. I’m involved in something similar, and it’s, well, almost magical in the connections that are made, and the learning that is done on site and continues throughout the year.

I’ve been e-talking with some folks about this phenomenon of why associations are always pushing “bigger is better” when it comes to their meetings, while they often ignore the power of small, intense programs, even when they can charge a premium for them. If I had a penny for every press release I’ve gotten touting the record attendance of this or that meeting, I wouldn’t be driving a Subaru, let me tell you. I know the basic math: More attendees=more money for the organization. But I can’t believe it’s all about the money—I honestly do believe that associations care about the educational benefits of what they’re offering.

But maybe associations aren’t the right people to be taking on these smaller unconferences. As Ben suggests, maybe it should be more of a grassroots effort: “ASAE rids itself of a program that is highly valued by a few, but doesn’t deliver an acceptable ROI. The program continues for those that are willing to support it.” The problem is, as we all know, not everyone can plan a meeting, and putting it in non-planner hands could be a disaster.

I don’t have any answers, but I sure would love to see more of these small unconferences in the meeting planner/hospitality space. I know that these are where I learn best, and I don’t think I’m the only one.

With Denver’s heavy snowstorm wreaking havok throughout the U.S. air travel system, today might be a good day to point out this article: 21 Rules of Stress-Free Travel. There are some great tips in there, though nothing that can counteract Mother Nature.

Forbes’ list of top business hotels is a good one. It talks about hotels that offer e-concierges, world-class spas, personal butlers, great restaurants, and lots of other perks. Service isn’t mentioned, though I would hazard a guess that these hotels also are stars when it comes to handling guests. Seemed like a funny omission, though.

If anyone cares about how I feel about business networking, which I posted about a bit earlier this week, check out my interview with Josh over at Business Networking Advice. Here’s my main point:

I guess I’d define it kind of sideways to how we usually think of networking: as trying to find ways to benefit others we meet, rather than than meeting others with the thought that they can benefit us in some way.

It’s interesting to think about how we define business networking, isn’t it? I really hadn’t given it a lot of thought until Josh asked, but it’s so much a part of how this industry in particular gets things done. How would you define it?