Get Rewarded for Recycling

I love it when people translate awesome ideas into positive action. Naturally, I was stoked to learn about RecycleBank — a Philadelphia-based company dedicated to creating incentives for recycling. Here's how it works:

Step 1: Recycle. You're probably doing this part already (right...?). The only difference with RecycleBank is that it's easier than ever thanks to their uber-smart single stream recycling process. In plain English: you can dump your paper, plastic, and aluminum recyclables all in the same bin. Brilliant.

Step 2: Record. OK, so this isn't just any ordinary bin. It's a big blue bin with an RFID chip embedded in it that links to your family's (or community's) RecycleBank account. They call them "smart carts". So, every week when your recycling is collected, your cart gets weighed and scanned right at the curb. The system records the weight, converts it to points, and immediately credits your account.

Step 3: Reward. You'll earn 2.5 RecycleBank points for every pound of recyclable materials in your bin, and you can redeem these points at hundreds of local and national retailers, from Target and IKEA to the pottery shop down the street. Plus, you get tons of warm green fuzzies for diverting trash from landfills to save trees and gallons of oil.

Interested in learning more? Click here to watch The Cycle — a animated, interactive look at the process of single stream recycling. Already sold? Just request service. If RecycleBank is already operating in your community, they'll hook you up right away; if not, they'll let you know when the program becomes available in your area. So far, they have no plans to expand to Slovakia, but for all you back in the states, hop to it! Enjoy the rewards.

A Cool New Way to Learn

Picture this: I'm working in various applications on my computer — writing an email, browsing my iTunes library, reading RSS feeds, stalking people on Facebook — and, every few minutes, a little notification appears to teach me Spanish...or the periodic table of elements. It's learning without studying, and they call it Popling — "a website + desktop app for people who want to learn, but lack motivation." I call it awesome. I'm totally going to learn Japanese. (Slovak isn't available...yet.)

Watch the screencast below to see Popling in action:

The Hamster's New Home

And so the saga has a happy ending. You may recall from my earlier post back in December that, for awhile, Heather and I didn't know what to do with our dear hamster, Pisco. Not long after I considered the ill-conceived plan of taking him on an international flight and smuggling him through customs, our friend Lauren agreed to adopt him. She sent us a few pictures the other day and the little fellow seems to be doing quite well in his new home. Apparently, he's getting lots of attention from his new family. He's even befriended their dog, Bandit (at least from within the relative safety of his ball).

You Can't Judge a Life by Its Blog

You'd think, judging by the recent inactivity on my blog, that my life has been extremely dull the past few weeks. Nothing could be further from the truth. Behold:

December 25 – 26: Heather and I spent Christmas morning with my brother and parents, Christmas afternoon/evening with my Granddaddy and my aunt and uncle, and Christmas night with Heather's family (including my new niece, Anabelle!) in Moorestown, NJ. The next morning and early afternoon was spent with Heather's family, and after saying goodbyes, we drove to my Grandmommy's (yes, I still call her that) house for more time with my family. We spent that night packing the car...

December 27 – 30: Early Saturday morning we bid farewell to my family and started our road trip to Omaha via Ohio! We got to spend two days with a handful of our college friends in the Cedarville area: Josh & Abbie Cobb, Daron & Ashley Day, Aimee Auclair, and Robert & Rebecca Reid. Then we spent a night with Ryan & Bethany Dunlap in Cincinnati (and stopped at the vacant house of John & Kim Patton in Iowa) before continuing to Omaha.

December 31 – January 1: Shortly after arriving at Heather's parents' house in Nebraska, we got back in the car for yet another road trip. Heather and I spent New Year's Eve at the Hotel Phillips in Kansas City, MO with Heather's best friend Brittany and her husband, Andrew. We ate at Bristols (best. salmon. ever.) in the new downtown area and dropped in on the local new year's party/club scene before retiring to our rooms to play card games like the unashamed old married couples we are.January 2 – 3: Heather and Brittany were bridesmaids in their childhood friend Morgan's wedding. Good times were had by all.
January 5: January 5 marked our first anniversary! We spent the night in downtown Omaha at the Magnolia hotel (highly recommended, btw) — when we returned to our room after dinner at Vivace's, we found a bottle of sparkling wine and a plate of chocolate covered strawberries! A fabulous end to a fabulous first year of marriage.January 7 – 11: On January 7, Heather and I packed our bags, bid farewell to her parents, and boarded a plane to Vienna, Austria (by way of Chicago and Washington Dulles)...finally arriving 30 hours later at 9 a.m. Central European Time. Our new boss, Barb, and her executive assistant, Anne, met us (and, thankfully, all our bags) at the airport and drove us to our office in Bratislava, Slovakia for a welcome party. Most of the next few days were spent recovering from jet lag, but our new coworkers arranged a few activities for us as well...from a jazz concert at a local pub to a brief tour of the city. The picture below was taken from the top of St. Michael's Tower looking toward Bratislava Castle.
January 12 – present: Heather and I officially began work at Trans World Radio on Monday, January 12! With nearly two weeks down, working for TWR and living in Eastern Europe is already starting to feel...well, surprisingly normal. Granted, we can't speak the local language, our ceiling comes to a point, and quality coffee is nowhere to be found, but life is undeniably good. For more on our adventures in Slovakia, click here. Until next time...