Notes from Electric Pulp

We moved into our non-downtown space in April ‘06. We put up some walls, we put up some lights, we plugged in some computers. And all was well.

And then the bus got busier.

So we added this guy named Jason Hummel. He helps us do geek things. In terms of geek, he’s the tops. Hummel spews code. When he goes to sleep at night his last words are “yes, I validated.”

All was well again. But then the bus got busier.

So we added Scott Ramert and Nic Couillard.

The former spews a bit of everything. See, Scott’s a programmer, and that makes him a dork. But it also makes him capable of great things. And that’s “endearing.”  (So says Brienne.)
The latter spews design and code. But don’t let his name fool you, Nic (Couillard) didn’t come from France. He came from Omaha, working as the Red Cross goto guy for everything online. Nic wanted to give more to the needy, though, so he came to work for us.

Since both of these guys do what they do with gale force, we needed to make room for them to do it. That hole in the wall you see over there? We’re tearing down walls to make room for progress.

Stop by any time to see it (progress.)

We got turned on to a great idea by Marshall K who’s filling in at techcrunch this week. A new community website, Tree-Nation, allows visitors to give a donation that goes towards planting a tree and fighting desertification in the poorest nation on Earth, Niger (not to be confused with Nigeria.)

The [for profit] organization hopes to plant 8 million trees in the middle of the Saharan desert forming a park in the shape of a heart that would be visible by satellite imagery.

Some might think this sounds a bit left of center. Some might think it sounds fishy. We think it sounds pretty noble. So we donated.

And now we need a name for our tree (Tree-Nation lets you locate and name your tree,) so we’re soliciting your help. Any ideas for a Baobab tree that lives 2,000 years and helps fight desertification, poverty and global warming all along the way?

Read more about the program via the United Nations Environment Programme site and more about desertification in Niger at NYTimes.

Alright, we know our readers are stand-up. This post isn’t for you. But there are others, those who struggle to keep their inner jerk inner. And for them, we offer the ARSE, a 24-question self-exam by Bob Sutton and Guy Kawasaki (and, yes, Electric Pulp.)

Now, we should come clean. We’ve been dancing around using the word asshole in this post – ARSE stands for Asshole Rating Self-Exam. You might be exclaiming “oh my!” right now, and for that, we apologize. But the word was selected very carefully by a Stanford professor, and we expect that makes it right.

The survey corresponds with Bob’s book, The No Asshole Rule. We offer it to the world in hopes of making it a better place.

Guy’s post here.

One of the largest gifts to a medical center ever was just announced in our fair city. T. Denny Sanford of First PREMIER Bank and PREMIER Bankcard Inc is donating $400M to Sioux Valley Hospitals & Health System.

The gift will further propel Sioux Falls as a key player in health care and medical research. Early commentary compares the new initiatives to those of renowned institutions like the Mayo Clinic.

This announcement promises to have a huge impact on the area’s economy, culture, and health.

In the spirit of full disclosure, both PREMIER and Sioux Valley, now Sanford Health, are Electric Pulp clients. We would have been excited all the same were they not – healthiness is good.

Update: Paul Ten Haken, former pulpster and current Director of Marketing (Regional system) for Sanford Health, writes about the gift here.

I wonder who’s working with these guys on their site.

 

We’ve decided it’s too cold up in the northern latitudes, so we’re heading down south to balmy Austin, TX this year to check out the SXSW Interactive. Don’t worry, the office will still be open and staffed as always – a few of us will just be mobile.

Drop us a line if you’re also going to be there and would like to partake in some drinks and ubergeek conversation.