Tabitha Green writes:

My parents were firm believers in honoring the Sabbath. Coming from the Christian tradition, this meant that we observed a day of rest on Sundays. On this day, no household chores (aside from cooking and washing the dishes) could take place. No knitting or mowing the lawn. And absolutely no shopping.

Now, the shopping part was not much of a choice during my childhood, because I lived in Sweden, where the stores were closed on Sundays.

However, as I grew older – and stores started being open on Sundays – these rules started to annoy me a bit. What’s so bad about going shopping on a Sunday? What if I need to do homework?

When I left for college, I rebelled against the day of rest. I sat in the library every Sunday from the time it opened until it closed at midnight (yes, I was a really fun college student…).

While I supported my husband through graduate school, I would often babysit on Sundays. It was a great way to get some extra cash, but not very restful.

And when I entered the management level in the corporate world, weekends didn’t really exist anymore. I used to joke about the fact that “it doesn’t really matter what day it is, because I’m always working.” Get the rest here: Claim Your Day of Rest for Improved Health and Productivity.

The military has a major pixelation problem, and it doesn’t involve computers. New reports suggest that the U.S. Army’s pixelated camo uniform, introduced in 2004, is actually a monumental $5 billion blunder. Industry insiders are calling this a “fiasco,” and many are enraged that the Army took eight years to address the issue. (See the uniforms at right and below.) Here’s what you should know:

What’s wrong with the uniforms? The pattern is too easy to spot. Though the camouflage is supposed to help mask soldiers’ presence in the desert and more moderate terrain, soldiers everywhere are criticizing the pixelated gray-green Universal Camouflage Pattern, or UPC, “for standing out almost anywhere it’s been worn,” says Erik German at The Daily. The mixture of the Army’s gray-green color scheme with the pixel pattern turns out to be quite eye-catching — not a good quality in camouflage.

What kind of problems did these uniforms cause? It’s an “epic mistake that cost billions of dollars,” says Molly Oswaks at Gizmodo, “and, ostensibly, many lives.” Think about it, says Ubergizmo. Not only are the pixelated camouflage uniforms highly visible in their own right, but because the U.S. was bogged down fighting two wars, supply lines dragged, and many Army soldiers had the new pixelated gray-green fatigues, but old-school gear. So “soldiers were running around with desert-colored clothing, but their backpacks, vests, and body-armor would be colored differently with black or green,” essentially telling enemies where to shoot.” Full story at The Week. via How pixelated uniforms turned soldiers into walking targets.

As we enter the first week of July, it’s been 6 months since we made our 2012 New Year’s Resolutions. How many have you nailed? And how many have fell [sic] by the wayside?

Now is a good time to review what you’ve achieved so far and what needs more work. Effective people understand the need to constantly ‘review’ themselves to improve and refine their level of productivity and achievement. Instead of focusing on what to achieve, sometimes it can be good to look at things to cut out from your life.

What bad habits do you currently have that are hindering your progress or productivity? Remember the saying:

“We are what we repeatedly do.”

What ‘thing’s do you do that you wish you didn’t?

It’s a good idea to put together a list of bad habits to remove from your life this year. And the good news is – we still have 6 months to get rid of them!” Get the answer here: 10 Bad Habits Worth Losing.

Get more here: Does Your Relationship Have a 5 to 1 Nice To Nasty Ratio?.