When you have a MacBook Pro delivered, the nice shiny white Apple box comes inside a less shiny brown shipping box. In fact, the Apple box is suspended inside that shipping box by paper corner pads. While I’m stoked that these packaging pieces are recyclable (Apple does pay attention to the impact of its products), turns out they’re reusable too!

I noticed the spacing between the edges was the same width as Thomas the Tank Engine tracks, which are everywhere in my house. When I put the two together, they fit perfectly…then I thought about how I could use them. Sure enough, they are nearly the perfect height to work with the standard Thomas riser tracks. Very cool, and something new for the little ones to be creative with!

Last Friday I spoke on the social networking panel at the Charleston Green Business Expo. It was part of the Charleston Green Fair, where I also exhibited for Go Green Charleston. I always love having a chance to talk social media with excited people. I like to remind everyone that listening to an audience is probably more important than broadcasting to them. Listening really works, and can help you make smarter decisions.

I used these slides for an eight minute into on listening. I’m not sure how well they hold up without me ranting, but here they are nevertheless:

Five weeks on crutches changes the way you see things. Everything from architectural accessibility to time management becomes an issue.

Other things are just annoying, like the sore armpits and the loud crutches. My family and coworkers quickly noticed my click-clack as I hobbled around, and I soon found the adjustable bars of my ubiquitous gray crutches were the source.

After some thinking, I realized a quick application of masking tape could solve the problem. Once around at the base, and again at the locking button – then repeat on the other crutch. It worked better than I thought, and remained in use for the duration of my need. A better look could be achieved with duct tape, or perhaps go festive with colored electrical tape.

The important thing is to be creative, and enjoy using your crutches in silence.

Happy modding!