Random Act of Good

Something somebody/group has done that is an unexpected good deed.

Who’s Green: Google or Microsoft?

- Adam Clare

CNet has a fun article looking at which big tech company is greener – Microsoft or Google. I actually had no idea that Microsoft has so many environmentally friendly policies.

“In 2005, Microsoft was recognised as one of the top five best workplaces for commuters by the US Environmental Protection Agency, said Joan Krajewski, chief environmental counsel for the company. More than 11,000 workers at the Redmond, Washington, main campus commute, she said.
…
Microsoft has a silver certification level for the US Green Building Council’s LEED program for environmental design. Microsoft also works with the Carbon Disclosure Project to track kilowatts of usage.
Microsoft also had taken steps to reduce waste from the packaging of its software products and eliminated from its packaging PVC (polyvinyl chloride), which releases dioxins that can cause cancer and harm the immune and reproductive systems.”

Drink it Black

- Adam Clare

Coffee makes you more open minded. The New Scientist is reporting that a study has found that coffee actually makes you think clearer.

“Moderate doses of caffeine can also make you more easily convinced by arguments that go against your beliefs, say Pearl Martin of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and her colleagues.

In 2005, her team published a paper suggesting that the compound primes people to agree with statements that go against their typical views because it improves their ability to understand the reasoning behind the statements.”

I think that politicians should be required to drink coffee before any debate.

Amnesty International Invites Webmasters to Defeat Censorship

- Benny Powers 5 Comments

Worldwide human rights group, Amnesty International has begun a project called irrepressable.info to monitor and circumvent internet censorship.

The website gives visitors the opportunity to place a small box on their own sites which contains a snippet of censored information.

Operation Photo Rescue

- Adam Clare

Operation Photo Rescue is a group of people who are helping those who had their photos damaged in natural disasters recover their pictures. They are looking for people with Photoshop and image restoration skills. A very easy way to make someone’s day better and help keep history recorded visually.

OPR has a blog:
“In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, photojournalist Becky Sell and photo editor Dave Ellis have embarked on a mission to recover the photos and memories that would be lost to the storm.”

Feathers Fly In Vancouver!

- Vanessa King 1 Comment


Yesturday a giant pillowfight broke out in Vancouver at Robson Square. Over a hundred people gathered as feathers flew and folks beat the living daylights out of each other with pillows. People were laughing hysterically, pummeling strangers and pillows were exploding all over the place causing white fluff to fly absolutely everywhere. By the end of about a 30 minute fiasco there were nearly 2 inches of feathers covering the sidewalk. I heard a bystander ask “Who’s gunna clean up this mess?” to which someone shouted back “thats what we pay taxes for!!” Obviously no-one was taking themselves too seriously at this event.

The details were posted days earlier on a site called flashmob.com which has events like these posted for various locations in North America and beyond. As a spectator of the giant pillowfight I have to declare that random acts of FUN such as these are really quite spectacular. A great way for a city to lighten up a little and just have some ridiculous good times.

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