Be honest here: Do you turn off your computer when you leave work for the day? Most of you probably don’t. It’s not your energy bill, right? I have a few coworkers who seem to think shutting down their system is an annual occasion.

Well, now’s the time to start doing it regularly: as companies cut costs and staff, the state faces rolling blackouts and the world works – in varying degrees of diligence – to go green.

Shutting down our systems at night could save companies billions in cash while saving the environment.

There are 108 million PCs in the United States, and about half of them aren’t shut down at COB, according to 1E, an energy-management software company that’s released a report on the issue. Leaving computers on emits 20 million tons of carbon dioxide – about four million vehicles’ worth.

1E projects that a company with 10,000 PCs can save $260,000+ each year simply by shutting the machines off at night. Maybe they could save a few jobs, too.

“PCs can be a tremendous drain on electricity,” Doug Washburn, an analyst at Forrester Research, told Jon Swartz of USA Today. “During a nine-hour workday, [they aren't] always in use because of lunch, meetings and other things.”

So if you’re looking for a way to save your company money – and save your job – look at your power strip.

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…and the other half is filled with sour milk. The Conference Board‘s latest consumer confidence ratings were released Tuesday, and the future for many Americans is far from bright.

The index remained relatively flat in March at 26, up from 25.3 in February. (In 1985, the rating was 100.) The Present Situation Index declined to 21.5 from 22.3 last month while the Expectations Index increased to 28.9 from 27.3 in February.

“The Present Situation Index suggests that the overall state of the economy remains weak and that more job losses are on the horizon,” said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “Apprehension about the outlook for the economy, the labor market and earnings continues to weigh heavily on consumers’ attitudes. Looking ahead, consumers remain extremely pessimistic about the short-term future and do not foresee a turnaround in economic conditions over the coming six months.”

I’ve been wondering if these super-pessimistic numbers and indicators are somewhat inflated from the era of over-consumption we enjoyed before 2008. Compared to a time of surplus, of course people are staying pessimistic now. I liken it to when I start complaining about a 55-degree day in April when I would have been ecstatic with that weather three months before.

And another thing to note is that while people still have a negative outlook about the economy, it hasn’t seemed to gotten any worse in recent months. Have we hit our bottom?

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I don’t know if you caught Lesley Stahl’s 60 Minutes report on Conficker last night, but I did – and I wonder how it is impacting offices in Maryland.

Conficker – for those who don’t know – is a worm that’s been infecting computer networks for months. It’s laid dormant until now, but its newest mutation is expected to “strike” on April 1 and cause infected machines to download something. Here’s the twist: No one‘s been able to figure out yet what will happen.

The good news for us Mac users is that Apple computers are immune to Conficker; the virus infects computers using a “hole” in Windows operating system. Windows released a “patch” for the hole in October – so if your Windows PC is regularly updated, you should be safe.

Conficker can infect personal computers as well as office networks, but it spreads within corporations quickly as multiple machines are on a centralized network.

The bugger also disables Windows Automatic Updates and Windows Security Center, which is its (admirable) way of defending itself against detection.

What can you do to protect yourself from the big, bad virus?

Not much (unless you’re a network administrator). But, you should back up your files before Wednesday (just in case) and make sure the auto-update mechanisms on your machine are actually working, since Conficker turns them off. 

Then when you come into work Wednesday, turn on your system and pray.

Watch CBS Videos Online

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While researching my story for today on banks that want to give back their TARP money, I had an interesting conversation with Lewis Sosnowik, vice president of securities at Koonce Securities in Bethesda, that did not make it into my piece.

Sosnowik, always an entertaining interview, was attempting to explain why relatively healthy community banks decided to take the money when they really didn’t need it, and he said:

  “It’s like that story where an actor on stage collapses and an old woman yells out from the audience ‘Get him some chicken soup.’

Another actor on stage replies ‘Chicken soup, what’s that going to do?’

And the woman says ‘Well, it can’t hurt!’”

Sosnowik said that’s exactly how the banks felt at the time — a little extra money from the government couldn’t hurt. Some even felt pressure to take the money when it seemed like a sure way to show that they were strong enough to be accepted into the program.

Times have changed. Now that the government has attached all kinds of strings to the money and some are eager to return it, others may feel the pressure to show their strength once again, because really strong banks will be able to return the money without any problem.

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In Thursday’s filing by PNC bank that asks for Pimlico Race Course to be sold by its bankrupt owner before the Preakness Stakes, the creditor had this to say:

“If the Pimlico/Preakness Assets were sold prior to the Preakness Race, the assets would yield a significantly higher purchase price than if the assets are offered for sale after the Preakness Race since the bulk of the revenues that Pimlico Race Course generates result from the Preakness Race itself.”

OK, I understand an angry creditor being annoyed at Magna Entertainment Corp. for dragging its feet in setting up the procedures in which it will sell its assets. (Magna, the largest track owner in North America, filed for bankruptcy on Mar. 5 and doesn’t plan to auction most its assets until July 30.) I think PNC does have a point when it later states that providing Magna sole discretion over which bids it will or won’t accept as qualified could lead to collusion between the company and its stalking horse bidder.

But asking Magna to hurry up and sell Pimlico and its rights to the Preakness Stakes now is like asking poor Charlie to give up his golden ticket and miss out on Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. Preakness won’t solve all of Magna’s problems but they sure could use the money this one last time. And do we really want the most important horse race in Maryland scrambling under brand-spanking-new ownership?

The objection sounds a little mean-spirited and unrealistic to me…

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Maybe this is new to me because I’m not a “Director/CEO,” but I do get letters like this all the time in my email.

My wife (who actually is a “Director/CEO”) got this letter by snail mail on Friday.

Is this a new phenomenon? Are scammers/spammers going back to the future?

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Cal Ripken Jr. is now my softball mentor.

And he can be yours too for as little as $9.95 (or for free if you just want a few pointers). In partnership with MLB.com, Ripken Baseball has launched GetGreat.com,  an online softball clinic with videos for kids looking to up their game.

The videos are based on Ripken’s baseball mentoring program for kids that has taken him around the world, most recently to Nicaragua.

With my softball season just around the corner, I thought I’d check out what Cal and Bill Ripken have to say about hitting. I admit I was skeptical about how much watching something on my computer would help me with my swing, but I was pleasantly surprised (so far). The descriptions, reasoning for technique and the demos were explained so clearly it was all I could do not to hop out of my office chair and take a few practice swings right here at my desk.

Can’t wait to hit the batting cages this weekend to put the pointers to the real test…

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Anybody got a really big truck?

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is offering (.pdf) a 5,000-square-foot house outside of Cambridge for free, to the first shmoe who comes along willing and able to move it from the site. Known as the Linthicum House for its builders and owners (full disclosure: Daily Record editor Tom Linthicum says he does not think he’s related, but that you never know…), it was erected in 1914 and looks like your typical Eastern Shore plantation mansion.

The house, it seems, is in the way of a 17-acre Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park, now being designed by the state. The project, which is scheduled to be started in summer 2010, will include a visitor’s center, a memorial garden, trails and picnic pavilions.

Jordan Loran, director of engineering and construction for the DNR, said Wednesday that since his agency posted the offering Tuesday, they’ve received one call from an interested buyer.

“You can’t move it too far,” he said. “If you can’t get it on a barge and move it by water, you’re limited to a small radius.”

So how in the heck do you move a house this big, anyway?

Loran explained that for about $35,000, you can separate the structure from its foundations, jack it up on steel beams, and put it on the back of a really big truck, which then can drive it a few miles an hour somewhere close-by.

If no one shows interest, he said, the state will offer what’s left inside of it to a nonprofit salvage company, and consider knocking it down.

“The house is old, and it’s locally significant, but it’s not eligible for the historic register,” he said. “It is a fairly substantial structure. We don’t consider it to have a lot of dollar value at this time, but instead of tearing it down, if someone local or non-profit could take care of it, perhaps.”

So there you have it. Who wants a wraparound porch?

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Towson University’s public radio station is using a friendly competition to boost its membership this spring by hosting a battle of 11 local bands at nearby Recher Theatre.

In its first online fundraiser, WTMD-FM/HD is asking fans to “stand by your band” and pledge for membership to the nonprofit station via their favorite band. Even a $15 contribution can make a difference, the station’s news release says.

WTMD is trying reach 5,000 active members by June 30, the Web site says. Its member count as of Wednesday morning was 3,674.

The band that convinces the most fans to make a membership contribution to WTMD will win an album production package, including recording studio time and a Paul Reed Smith Special Edition guitar (valued at $700). All contributors will receive two tickets to the May 9 Baltimore Band Block Party in Towson, where the winner of the challenge will be announced.

Sounds like a win-win to me…the only question is what happens if the station doesn’t reach its goal?

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This time it’s the Ann Arbor News, a 174-year-old publication, that will cease production this year. Publisher Laurel Champion, “visibly emotional,” according to the story on the Web site, broke the news to employees this morning, saying that the paper’s last issue will be some time in July.

The News will be replaced by AnnArbor.com, described as a “community news and information service.” AnnArbor.com also will produce a newspaper on Thursdays and Sundays (the big advertising insert days).

I have noticed that my reaction to these stories has changed from one of “What?!? You’re kidding!” to “Oh man, there goes another one.”

Reader reactions to the story published online by The News ranged from the trite (“RIP AAnews. The ship finally sunk.”) to condolences for the reporters and editors to the surprised/upset (“How are you supposed to take a computer into the bathroom????”)

This marks the third major newspaper this year to announce it’s ceasing operations. The Rocky Mountain News closed  in February after 150 years, and last week the 146-year-old Seattle Post-Intelligencer went Web-only. Not to mention all the smaller dailies and weeklies that have closed or had to severely adjust their business models in this swiftly changing media environment.

When — and where — will this roller coaster end? It seems clear that online communications is swallowing the industry whole…what form of mass media will be spit out remains to be seen. But what is clear is, if you’re not online, you’ll be left in the dust. And when you think about who that then leaves out, are we tacitly admitting we’re OK with that?

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