May 3, 2008

Heading Back to Costa Rica

Not sure there is much biz there, but that's really the point. My wife and I are going to a pretty remote area of the country and we're looking forward to some good outdoor adventure there.

I'll share some appropriate pics and video upon my return and try to make it somewhat relevant to the online marketing world, but for now, I'm going to enjoy a well-deserved week off blog posts, among others. Did a little research on YouTube, and thought I'd share this one:

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 2:15 PM | Permalink

July 29, 2007

Internet Rage: Guy loses online fight and drives 1300 miles to burn other guy's trailer

This Boing Boing article was so outrageous that I had to post it on my blog. To read the full article, go to http://www.boingboing.net/2007/07/27/guy_who_lost_online_.html.

A dude on the internet referred to Navy Fire Controlman 2nd Class Petty Officer Russell Tavares as "a nerd" in an online trollfight. In one of the more dramatic tales of internet rage we've seen lately, the 27-year-old Tavares, who believed himself to not be a nerd, hopped in his car and sped off 1,300 miles from Virginia to Texas, where the name-caller lived.
Tavares photographed road snapshots along his route, and posted the images online, as if to prove to his internet peers that he was not a luzer. When he got to there, he burned the dude's trailer down. Tavares has been sentenced to 7 years in prison for arson. Snip:

The feud started when Anderson, who runs a haunted house near Waco, joined a picture-sharing Web site and posted his artwork and political views. After he blocked some people from his page because of insults and foul language, they retaliated by making obscene digitally altered pictures of him, he said.
Anderson, who went by the screen name "Johnny Darkness," traded barbs with Tavares, aka "PyroDice." Investigators say Tavares boiled over when Anderson called him a nerd and posted a digitally altered photo making Tavares look like a skinny boy in high-water pants, holding a gun and a laptop under a "Revenge of the Nerds" sign.

To read the full article, go to http://www.boingboing.net/2007/07/27/guy_who_lost_online_.html.

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 6:54 AM | Permalink

December 31, 2006

Conquering My Email Addiction over the Holidays

"Back away from the laptop," the voice inside my head pleaded with my irrational 'addicted to email' self. It was a snowy, clear morning in Central Oregon and I had at least a 1/2 hour before my kids or the rest of my family woke up. It was prime email-checking time. But this time, I fought the urge. I was on vacation and I needed to unplug after a hectic, insanely busy December at work.

An amazing thing happened. I succeeded in NOT checking my email. Here's how I did it:
1) I kept my laptop closed. An open laptop screen is like the gateway drug to email addiction. Keep it closed. Period.
2) I found a distraction, otherwise known as a healthy activity. A brisk walk accross the meadow with my dog, a lovable but goofy yellow lab.
3) I found another distraction - finishing up a great entrepreneurial book called "Small Giants" by Bo Burlingham.
4) Have an awesome plan for the day - went skiing at Mt. Bachelor with a friend. We happened to have a bluebird day with 11 inches of dry powder.
5) Stretch, relax, find a hot tub and submerge for an hour, then eat well with friends and family that night.
6) Check email the next morning - don't kid yourself into thinking that you can avoid email forever - this just causes more anxiety of returning to an overwhelming and urgent stack of emails in your inbox.

Email addiction is reaching epidemic levels in America today. Learn more about this issue by Downloading the In-Depth Email Addiction Survey Results here >>

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 10:47 AM | Permalink

February 8, 2006

Open Office Layout - Sometimes it gets a little Loud

What do you do when it gets a little loud in an open office environment? One eROI employee, who was on an important client call, created a sound barrier under his desk. Yep, we're pretty creative here at eROI.
Cheers.

Comments (0) | Posted by ryan at 10:40 AM | Permalink