Posts in the "personal" category - Chris Hardie

Discouraged I installed compact fluorescent bulbs throughout my house, and the big box stores lit up their parking lots day and night. I decided to drive my car less, and the oil companies spilled millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. I installed a rain barrel to water my organic garden, and the big agriculture companies shipped genetically engineered, highly processed food around the world for me to enjoy at a moment's notice. I made a living running a business that tried...

In May, Kelly and I took an amazing two and a half week trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands in South America.  We spent a little time in the capital city of Quito, but otherwise we were off enjoying the jungle lodge in the cloud forest of Mindo, exploring the Galapagos on a small boat that was our home for seven nights, enjoying whitewater rafting, volcano-heated hot baths and great food in the mountain town of Banos, and checking out the sprawling and lively markets of Otavalo. The photos...

My blogging has obviously been a bit scarce lately, certainly a long ways off from the target frequency I'd set at the beginning of the year.  I continue to compose blog entries in my head and the list of topics I'd like to cover grows weekly, but I've not made the time to do the most important part, actually sitting down to write. It will make me feel better to acknowledge that here, so: my blogging is paused right now. I plan to resume a regular schedule later this summer.   I'm still...

For over a year now, I've lived less than a mile away from my company's office in downtown Richmond, Indiana.  And for the first time in my life, on most days I get to and from the office by walking instead of driving.  It's been a really enjoyable shift, and one that I hope I never take for granted, given how much of the rest of the country commutes to work every day. Some observations on walking to work: Since walking has become my usual mode of commuting, I've found myself noticing even...

Recently I've heard some people make the all-too-common assertion that they don't have enough time in the day to get done all of the things they want or need to get done.  I was reminded of an exercise I went through about a year ago, during a period when I was making similar statements, sometimes out loud, sometimes just to myself.  I wanted to do the math to see how the hours really did add up - did I have enough time in the day to do what I wanted to do, or was I actually overbooked and trying...

For over a year now, I've been living well without cable or broadcast television in my life.  I thought I would share some thoughts on how that transition has gone, and some pointers to tools and technologies you might be interested in if you're on a similar path. (Disclaimer: I'm not here to tell you how to live, but my general sense is that the world would be a better place if people didn't spend their time watching television.  Period.  That said, and the reality of TV watching as a cultural...

Welcome to my first blog post of 2010.  I didn't expect that my hiatus would be over a month long, but here I am in mid-January. Thanks to those of you who took the time to complete my blog feedback survey at the end of 2009 - it was really helpful in understanding how my regular readers see the blog.  From the responses I received, here are the highlights: 60% of you read most of the posts here, and 40% always read the full posts. Most of you find out about blog updates from Twitter...

I've been walking to and from work via the Main Street business district here in Richmond, Indiana, and as I take in with fresh eyes the businesses and product/service offerings located there, I can't help but argue a bit with the folks who would say it's a struggling area.  We have several great local restaurants, a wide variety of local banks, a place devoted entirely to the art of knitting and crocheting, a cloud computing specialist, a local sporting goods store, massage therapists and acupuncturists,...

I'm doing some planning for the future of this blog, and I'd like your feedback.  Of course, you're always welcome to leave your comments in the comments section below, but I've also created a survey with some specific questions that I would appreciate your candid responses to. It's only 10 questions, most are multiple choice, and if you do take it by the end of the year, I'll put you in a drawing to win $25, either for any business in the Center City business district in Richmond, Indiana or for Amazon.com....

I have a few upcoming speaking events that you might be interested in: Capitalism vs. The Environment: A small business perspective on doing well AND doing good. This coming Thursday September 24th at 4 PM at Indiana University East in Whitewater Hall Room 132 the Community Room, free and open to the public, no registration required.  I'll be talking about our experiences at Summersault as we've tried to do the "right thing" when it comes to the environment and nurturing sustainable lifestyles,...