This week I am on PTO….and I’ve readied this post in advance as a challenge to myself, to see if I can stay at least somewhat disconnected…except for emergencies. The question is…what is an emergency, when you are an addict?

The funny thing is, I resisted getting a Blackberry. When our then head of IT arrived in my office with it, I reminded him I hadn’t ordered one, and didn’t want one. I told our CEO that I didn’t need to be efficient in the morning car pool line, because I am multitasking all day long, and maybe five minutes of simply listening to the radio each day would be good for my psyche, my stress level or both. I was ahead of my time…today Oprah would hail me as a hero for not wanting to text and drive. (Note to clients desperately trying to get on Oprah’s last season….Think long and hard. Because she is going to make you take this pledge.)

Today, I am a Crackberry addict. When it doesn’t work, I panic. I check it at red lights (Oprah, if the car isn’t moving, is that OK?) If I forget my headset at home, I worry about calls I need to make from my car. Every minute of the day is scheduled…OK overscheduled. And being disconnected makes me anxious. I was fascinated by the story about people (including a PR person!) who lived without Blackberries for 72 hours. Being disconnected adds to my long list of complaints about business travel….no e-mail in the air.

So my heart leapt when I saw this headline:

Making Connections at 35,000 Feet.

Finally, someone was going to stop requiring me from turning off my non-approved electronic devices.

Except this story isn’t about Wi-Fi in the air. It’s about the joy of an unexpected connection made by conversing with people you meet while traveling.

cwinters General Corporate Blackberry, Oprah

And now, for a break from our usual commentary about CEO resignations….

They say that things happen in three’s – and the resignation of GM’s CEO makes the third this week – HP, Sara Lee and now GM. And in the words of Forest Gump, that’s all I am going to say about that – because I feel like I’ve written enough about the role of CEO’s in building trust this week.

Instead, I thought I’d share this really interesting item on the MSNBC video “Top Tens.”

• 4 out of our last 5 President’s have this in common…
• It is what ties Bill Gates to Michaelangelo; Oprah Winfrey to Fidel Castro….
• It is more likely to happen if your mother is over 40 when you are born…
• And more likely to come with an IQ of 140 or higher…
• And it only occurs in 10% of the population.

Left handedness.

According to this piece, lefties are also more likely to use counterintuitive solutions to problems – making them trailblazers, leaders and game changers.

I’ve also heard that lefties were often twins at conception – which means I would have two of my 10-year son, Jack…..which is too mind boggling to even consider.

They say that people in PR make great dinner party guests because they are always full of interesting or unusual factoids. And they have something to say about just about everything.

Call me the queen of useless information…but I think I just lived up to that reputation.

cwinters General Corporate Bill Gates, GM, HP, Lefties, Oprah, Sara Lee

TIVO Alert! The Duchess of York’s interview with Oprah Winfrey will air today. An hour with Oprah has long been considered the silver bullet for getting your message out there, and securing “equal time” for your side of the story. Presumably, Sarah Ferguson thinks that this will be a great way to repair her tarnished image and mitigate any damage to the Royal Family.

Not sure this strategy worked for Tom Cruise during his famous couch-jumping episode. And I am not sure the “I was drunk” explanation she reportedly provided will do much to restore confidence in her character or her judgment.

But really, does anyone care about Sarah Ferguson’s judgment or character?

To me, the question is less about whether the original Fergie can restore her reputation, and more about whether Prince Andrew or the royal family will suffer any collateral damage. Luckily, while standing in line at the supermarket last night I learned they have a royal wedding coming up, complete with Princess Diana’s tiara, to change the conversation.

Carreen Winters can be reached at cwinters@mww.com.

cwinters General Corporate Oprah, Sarah Ferguson, Tom Cruise