August 26, 2006

Good Deed is Good Business

It must have been the euphoria of feeling the tropical sun and breezes on a family vacation (Christmas 2004) in Belize. A charismatic guide and president of TIDE Belize (an environmental conservation group), Wil Mahea steered our boat through the coastal mangroves in a remote section of Belize and talked of the progress his group was making in restoring fish, bird, Howler monkey, and even panther habitat. My 2-year old daughter (at the time) was taking in all the sites and sounds and she wanted to get closer to see the monkeys. When we did, she clung to me like white on rice and motioned to back away as the booming sounds of the Howlers scared her. By the end of the day, I was sold on Belize, on Wil Mahea, and on the good things that TIDE Belize was doing. I offered to help build them a website. I didn't think they'd take me up on it, but 3 months later, Wil gave me a call and we re-designed their non-functioning site.

A few minutes ago, I got an email from a past client and it goes to show that charitable acts are good for business and good for the soul. It also goes to show that THE WORLD IS FLAT!

Her email below:
"I have a funny small world connection for you. On our recent honeymoon to St. Lucia (Sandals Grand Resort) we struck a conversation with a fly fisherman guide from Costa Rica. We mentioned we were from Portland and he told us that EROI and Ryan Buchanan had done his website after he guided your family on a trip. He said that his website is amazing, and that his business has increased immensely because of it. Just thought I’d share the small world connection and let you know how happy he is with his site and the success that you helped to create."

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 1:18 PM | Permalink

May 11, 2006

Sam Rides a Pony

Sam is a designer at eROI. He really likes ponies. Since he was a boy, he always dreamed of riding a tiny, shaggy pony. On a client trip to the Oregon Coast, he got his chance. He sent this photo to me in an email today. We are so proud of you Sam.

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 8:56 PM | Permalink

April 8, 2006

What would you do if you saw another kid in trouble?

If you have young kids, this video will be frightening. What is it about the human psyche that most of us don't step up to help a distressing situation in a public area. In this case, it's a stranger forcibly kidnapping a 7 year old girl. In suburban New York, this male adult TV actor and girl actress went through dozens of "kidnapping" scenarios and no one helped until finally a couple young men came to her rescue. Hopefully, we can learn to be a little bit more aware and willing to step up to come to someone else's aid. It's easy to say, but what would you do? Honestly.

Watch the video: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/default.cdnx/id/11925653/displaymode/1157

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 10:27 AM | Permalink

March 3, 2006

Alaskan Adventures of a Co-Worker

I got this email from a co-worker who is stuck in Alaska. If the email wasn't so elaborate, I might not have believed him and thought he was trying to make excuses for missing work, but the story is just so good. The best line is: "Sorry this meessage is so messed up, it's missing half it's keys."

"Just wanted to give you all a little update. I'm currently stuck in Russian Mission calling every airline in western Alaska trying to get to Anchorage. We've been waiting for a plan for well over 24 hours now, but due to a serious of blizzards and freezing fog the planes have remained on the ground. So the rest of this trip might be an attemp to get back to work on Monday with no time in anchorage at all. Hopefully that won't happen though. So far this trip I have caught two 2' pike from whole in the Yukon. (we fish with a stick and lower a rope into a hole in the ice). We've gone on some long snowmobile rides up the yukon which can be little scary when the water sits on top of the ice you can't tellif you are going to go through or not. At one point we saw a bunch of moose and tried to get closer but got stuck in a snow drift and had to spend a half an hour digging them out of the snow, with the moose staring us down, and stuck in 5 ft. of snow which made it virtually impossiblle to walk.

Hung out with the natives in their sweat lodges and helped pull up a fish trap which is the point at which i fell partially into the frozen Yukon river. It's cold. We'll there is a slight chance we will be leaving now so i 'll let you go. Sorry this meessage is so messed up, it's missing half it's keys."

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 4:32 PM | Permalink

February 25, 2006

6.5 Billion People in the World TODAY!

I got an email from a co-worker who explained that on his birthday, which is today, the world's population will reach exactly 6.5 billion people. Check it out - http://www.tranquileye.com/clock/:

"How are the numbers calculated?
World population data are extrapolated from statistics obtained from the United Nations Population Division. The clock indicates an increase of about three people a second by tracking both births and deaths.

Data on productive land are extrapolated from statistics produced by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The clock shows that one hectare is lost every 7.67 seconds. Productive land is made up of arable land, pasture land, and forest.

World Population
From now until the middle of the 21st century, in only fifty years, the world's population will increase by 50% from 6 billion at the end of 1999 to close to 9 billion in 2050. "

I can remember when I was born in the early 70's, the world had less than 4 billion. I'm all for growth of the human race, but is it really smart growth?

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 3:37 PM | Permalink