Now it looks like the similarly-named company is about as much fun.

My apologies to ChaCha.com if this is just some disgruntled former (current?) employees stink bombing the company.

People are driving less. Nearly 30 billion miles less in 2008 to-date. Work from home and you get to feel greener-than-thou at the same time.

Freelance contractor oDesk is spying... I mean monitoring the productivity of some of their 90,000 contractors. Recording time spent, keystrokes etc., was once the province of creepy, paranoid employers. Now you can work from home without missing out on the nasty feeling that someone is watching you.

The system takes random snapshots of workers' computer screens six times an hour, records keystrokes and mouse clicks and takes optional Web cam photos of freelancers at work. Clients can log into the system anytime and see whether contractors are working, what they're doing and how long it's taking them

oDesk competitor eLance is taking a lighter approach:

...installing "spyware," as one Elance executive calls it, is going too far. Elance recently unveiled a monitoring system of its own that allows freelancers to document their work electronically, but leaves control entirely in freelancers' hands. "We don't believe in having a camera on your computer, taking pictures and tracing every move," says Elance Chief Executive Fabio Rosati.

See Pajamas Media for more.

Emily Bazelon writes about the "importance" of family dinners together, including this little snippet: "Another new study by Tammy Allen , a psychology professor at the University of Florida, finds that telecommuting is associated with fewer family dinners that consist of fast food. If you can work at home, you can cook."

 Which, suggests the moldy old joke: "Man breaks his arm. Goes to Doctor, says "Dr., will I be able to play the piano when my arm heals?. Dr., says "I don't see why not". "Fantastic," the man says, "I could never play before!".

I don't know that my cooking has improved, but it has gotten much more efficient as everyone in the family seems to have special dietary requirements.

An oldie from Glenn Reynolds, but more relevant than ever.