Want to do something Green, be one with nature, and have quiet time to think of new ideas?

The Savannah Morning News says ‘You deserve a paddling.’ Oh really?

Kayaking & Canoeing is the focus on a recent articles about the outdoors, and I can speak from recent experience that paddling in the local waters here is fantastic! From beginners to advanced, the coastal area offers all sorts of paddling opportunities.

A few resources: Sea Kayak Georgia, 1102 U.S. 80 on Tybee Island, sells kayaks and offers courses in kayaking. See their website or call 912-786-8732 (or 888-KAYAKGA).

Ogeechee Outposts is at Morgan’s Bridge (the intersection of Ga. 204 and the Ogeechee River, about 10-15 minutes west of Interstate 95). Connie Shreve leads trips down the river and will be conducting a canoe camp for children in late June and late July. Call 748-6716 or go to their website.

Savannah Canoe & Kayak offers canoeing and kayaking instruction, guided tours, and camping adventures to Georgia’s barrier islands.

South Carolina’s filled with scenic rivers, too. The Swamp Girls in Hardeeville offer local tours. Call 843-784-2249 or go to www.swampgirls.com.

More information here about the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge.

This Saturday at the below locations, electronics will be accepted for recycling. It’s the third collection Chatham County has helped organize in about a year.

The collection will have guaranteed security so that personal data won’t also be recycled. David Nash, environmental program coordinator for the county, recognized the need when residents called him, asking how to dispose of electronics. “They were educated and knew they didn’t want to put lead magnesium and mercury into landfills,” he said.

So come on down to these locations and bring your old recyclables! Kudos to Savannah for the ‘Green’ initiatives!

When: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday

Where:

Lake Mayer, 1850 E. Montgomery Crossroad

Garden City Public Works Parking Lot, 100 Main St.

Fort Stewart Recycling Center, Building 957, McFarland Avenue

Tybee Recycling Center, 76 Polk St.

Pooler Recycling Center, 1095 S. Rogers St.

Hunter Army Airfield Recycling Center, Building 726, Wesley Avenue

Items accepted free: computers printers, monitors, laptops, servers, keyboards, tape drives, hard drives, modems, electric motors, transformers, cell phones, telephones, calculators, power supplies, surge protectors, switch boxes, mice, cables, sound equipment, AC adapters, fax machines, network, equipment, UPS, VCRs, tape players, cash registers, office shredders, copy machines, scanners, overhead projectors, test equipment, circuit cards, wires and docking stations

Anyone who knows me knows that I am obsessed with anything ‘Google’. So is Fitz. I own Google pens, Google work-out socks, Google work-out towels and more! So when I came across some local Google news, I decided to let my nerd show and write about it!

Google is investing $600 million at a Berkeley County, SC site. The 520 acre industrial site northwest of Charleston is part of a $600 million investment that will create 200 jobs. The data center/server farm will be housed in two buildings with dozens of computers that will be part of the company’s worldwide network to handle internet traffic. You can read the whole article on BizJournal.

It will be great for the Lowcountry region to be part of something as huge as Google!

So, who’s in for a drive-by when the site gets established? I wonder if they hand out free stickers. I love free stickers.

Nerd Word Alert!

Have you ever been stuck trying to brainstorm something; a new marketing slogan, a clever company name, a synonym for a common word or a fun catchphrase? Well I came across the program the other day and I’m fascinated by it! It’s called Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus. What?! A visual thesaurus? How can that be?

Well, Thinkmap has come up with a way for you to enter a word and have a flow chart type map created with various alternative word options. Try it out! You’re allowed several free tries before having to purchase the program for either $40 (Desktop) or $20 (Online).

Beware, this can be addicting, and informative!

Thinkmap says, “Copywriters use it as an idea generator. Writers use it to get unblocked. Students use it to improve how they read, write and think (not to mention prepping for the SAT). Marketers use it to come up with names. Teachers use it to energize their classrooms. Professionals use it to spiff up their PowerPoints. You can use it for all these reasons or just to waste a little time. But productively, of course.”

Check it out!