Move over Betty Crocker, there’s a new Sara Lee in town.

Today, ArcStonian Pamela Schott brought in a batch of what she calls Oh! Henry bars. They should be called Be-Still-My-Beating-Heart bars because I’m in love.

I want to be locked in a prison made out of Pam’s Oh! Henry bars so I can eat my way to freedom.

I want to collect them like baseball cards, only to eat my whole collection and start all over again.

I want a device hooked up to my desk that rewards me with a bar every time I click my mouse.

I want Steve Nash to practice his free throws with them, shooting at my mouth.

I want to travel back in time so I have more time to eat them.

I don’t want to write anymore because it means I’m not eating.

If you like art, and you like people, you’ll love Craftstravaganza - a rogue art and craft fair for handmade art. My wife and I attended last year and were really impressed with the talent and variety of artists – some really great stuff. Great gift buying opportunities at affordable prices.

At that time our baby clothing project was still in the design phase, so one of our goals for this year was to apply to become a vendor - and am pleased to announce we were accepted. Vendors are judged and a limited number are accepted so we were very excited. Come and say hi, and support our local artists. In fact, I will even offer $5 off any onesie or t-shirt if you mention this post! Preview our wares, http://orangerhinokids.etsy.com

Craftstravaganza takes place this weekend, complete information on the website: http://www.craftstravaganza.com/2008/home.html

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Saturday April 26th, 9am - 6pm
Minnesota State Fairgrounds - Fine Arts Building
Complete directions here

Our booth will be directly across from the band (yes there is music too!), our business name is Orange Rhino
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On February 16th, 6 ArcStonians raced in the Minneapolis Valentine’s Day 5k around Lake Harriet. We survived, and I have the pic to prove it:

From left to right: Me, Ryan, Bart, Jess, Jess (friend of Tim), Tim, Nik. Don’t ask me what kind of face Tim is making.

Go ArcStone!!!

OK - this is a little off topic, but I’ve been having a lot of very vivid dreams lately.

Last night I dreamt that I was praying with Mark Johnson (Mark works with me as part of the executive management team at ArcStone and is the managing partner in charge of our association CRMs AMO and CMO).

In the dream we were saying the prayer together in the morning before we started work.

When I got up, I wrote down the prayer. It has a ring of authenticity (being made of dream stuff and all), and I like it - so I thought I’d share it here….

“Geek Industry Insights” is my series of posts exploring the inner workings of a technology company. I will discuss the unique culture, politics, and challenges that permeate the industry.

In this installment we will explore the lighter side of ArcStone’s company culture, and how humor can bring a boost of morale and productivity when it’s needed most.

Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by Alicia Cermak

Technology can be a harsh mistress, a sultry siren wooing you into total electronic nirvana. That’s why in the information age it’s increasingly more important to unplug for a while and reconnect with the real world.

Here are some tips to get you started:

1) Office Yoga - even with a highly ergonomic keyboard sitting in front of a computer all day can take its toll. Give office yoga a try.

2) Go On A Hike - with Everytrail you can look up some seriously serene locations for hiking, biking, and other activities. Its integration with Google maps will make computer geeks feel at home planning a trip.

3) Learn An Instrument - with all the free resources out there it can be fun and easy to pick up an instrument. I recommend the guitar. Also, learning the guitar has the dual benefit of also making you better at Guitar Hero.

4) Start A Book Club - before the Internet, people used to get information on a thin flexible medium called “paper.” Paper is actually made from trees, and is sometimes bound into a square package called a “book.” You can find resources here for starting and running book clubs.

5) Take In A Sporting Event - getting out of the house and socializing with fellow fans is the best way to enjoy a game and make new friends. I recommend ComedySportz. It’s the only sport that combines the athleticism of chess with the thrill of bowling.

Now get out there and enjoy the real world before its too late!

Finally. The New York Times Online will no longer require readers to subscribe to most of its content.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve googled for some news story and clicked on a promising result from the NYT Online, only to have to have my way barred by “you must be registered to view this article” or some such similar nonsense.

Under the old system, readers had to pay roughly 50 bucks a year to get their dose of the NYT online. Now they will only charge for a selection of archives between 1923 and 1986.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just stumbled upon Blends for Friends which allows you to create your favorite blends for yourself or a gift. Pretty slick. With all the tea-heads in this office I will not be surprised if I see one of those gift boxes in our office within a week or two.

Ran across this quote this AM….

The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labor and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he’s working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.

- James Michener

To me it seems pretty close to one of the keys to happiness - if you can be totally engaged in the present, doing the best you can do at the time (pursuing excellence), you lose the baggage of the past and are freed from fear / fantasies of the future.

During those moments when we are engaged and doing our best - aren’t we happy?