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Things to turn off before going away for the long weekend

June 29, 2011 by 1 Comment

If you’re like me every long weekend brings either a trip up to the cottage or to visit relatives out of town. As a homeowner you make sure your house is all locked up and secure. But what we forget to think about are the items that we leave plugged in. Most people think because an appliance is turned off it does not draw any energy.

The truth is they still do draw power, and in some cases they can draw up to 10 to 15 watts per device. Recent studies indicate that in the US alone, appliances left plugged in or on standby add $3 Billion in annual energy costs to US households.

You might think its appliances like coffee makers or toasters that are the biggest offenders for this, but in reality it is your home entertainment systems that are sucking the most energy when off. On average, a home entertainment center will use anywhere from 50 to 80 watts in just standby mode.

The worst piece of equipment is [Read more...]

Filed Under: Reducing Energy Tagged With: , , , ,

Change has Shaken the Bucolic World of the Yard Sale

June 21, 2011 by Leave a Comment

It was once considered the mildest of activities. You’ve seen it before: Early morning sunshine. Tree-lined side streets parked with cars. Bargain hunters picking quietly through the flotsam of other people’s lives. A moment or two of haggling then buyer and seller parting ways, perhaps until the next spring to repeat the process once again.

But isn’t it all just a little too quaint? Hasn’t the sport of rummaging been long overdue for a good dose of spectacle? Couldn’t it use a little more edge – a smidge of Dana White? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture, Softchoice Cares Tagged With: ,

Clean Air Commute Challenge Day 5: Adventures on the TTC

June 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Congratulations Softchoice! We have reached the fifth and final day of the Clean Air Commute Challenge and we have done very well! Today we’re going to go over the most infamous yet the most popular way of  commuting in the city of Toronto: The TTC. 

It’s rough and tough, all over the media, and people complain about it more than anything in this city. However, the TTC gets us from point A to point B and back seven days a week. It moves millions. Drivers work to ensure passenger safety and work as a team to keep passengers fully aware of any delays and problems. With an operation so large, it’s no doubt that there will be problems.  Today we talked to Adam Wolfson, Jay Lee, and Heather Reilly about their adventures on TTC.

Adam takes the TTC everyday for approximately 30 minutes to work each way which comes to about 300 minutes a week!  “I don’t really enjoy much about the TTC to be honest, but the fact that it’s an environmentally friendly way to travel around the city makes it well worth it.”

Heather takes the TTC daily as well and thinks it carries some benefits for it’s riders. “The expense of a monthly TTC metropass is much less than the total cost I would have had with a car: parking costs at my apartment, car lease payment, insurance, gas and maintenance costs for a car,” she says. “If you’re able to commit to public transit or carpooling to get to and from work, it’s an easy way to make an environmental impact and help lower the amount of pollution a single car can emit.”

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Reducing Carbon Tagged With: , , , ,

Clean Air Commute Challenge Day 4: Let’s Carpool it

June 16, 2011 by 1 Comment

Alright Softchoice, today is day four of the Clean Air Commute Challenge and we are simply rockin’ it! Everyday this week we have been featuring a radical new way to get to work and save the environment at the same time. So far we’ve covered walking, biking and taking the GO train. Today we’re going to tell you about the option of carpooling, featuring some of our very own carpooling superstars: Ben Ball, Jeff Parmenter, Sonya Vasdev, and Esha Kumar.

Since the gas prices have gone up dramatically in the past few years, carpooling has become a much cheaper and environment sustaining option for many people. Ben and Jeff carpool together everyday and will continue this fabulous method of transport during the challenge. ” The distance is not bad at all. It depends on traffic, but between 25-45 minutes, compared to an hour plus commute through transit,” says Ben.

Ben and Jeff both prefer the carpooling to any other method due to some interesting experiences [Read more...]

Filed Under: Reducing Carbon Tagged With: , ,

President’s Club 2011 – Costa Rica

June 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

It’s no easy feat to find a breathtaking country that can cater to 80 of our employees from all across North America! But, never fail – we found it in Costa Rica. The  country’s beautiful town of Tamarindo welcomed all of us in May for President’s Club 2011! The annual trip is an exclusive opportunity for the top performers of the previous year to connect with each other and the Softchoice Leadership team.

As a corporate events specialist, I’m lucky to be involved in different facets of the Company – including many of the fun and exciting trips abroad! For those lucky 80 that headed south, I wanted to provide them with a memorable experience they’ll be talking about for a lifetime. Executing overseas corporate events can be tough thanks to time differences, language barriers and more. Behind the scenes, it’s not so glamorous but the feedback I received from attendees was fantastic!  Guests told us how much fun they had and how much they loved the resort.

The trip had tons of really radical highlights including an Afternoon Snorkel Sail. When guests weren’t diving into snorkel and check out the tropical sea life, they enjoyed the Costa Rican waters aboard a spacious boat. One guest commented, “Nice boat, great crew and service – made a very nice Guara Sour! Seeing the octopus was a treat.”

From water to land, our  other adventurous guests had the opportunity to [Read more...]

Filed Under: Culture, Recognition Tagged With: , , , ,

Reliving The Excitement of Prom!

June 15, 2011 by 2 Comments

“There’s a big world out there. Bigger than prom, bigger than high school, and it won’t matter if you were the prom queen or the quarterback of the football team or the biggest nerd. Find out who you are and try not to be afraid of it.” – The Breakfast Club

If you remember these words from that famous 80s movie – we know it’s true. Our employees are in the big world now but  for just one day, wouldn’t it be fun for them to kick it up a notch and tap into the excitement of what prom was all about all those years ago?

Our Toronto Telesales Team sure thought so! Today, all showing up to work in their finest prom-wear. It was all part of our monthly theme days at our Toronto location to boost the excitement and energy on the Telesales floor! Our Customer Service Reps, Inside Sales Account Managers and Territory Sales Reps all joined in on the fun to get dressed up, have a laugh and enjoy a team lunch. Past themes have also included “baseball day” and “everyone’s birthday day”.

Do you have some ideas or sure fire ways to add fun and energy in your office? If yes, then share your ideas with us – we may just use them!

Filed Under: Culture, Fun, Work/Life Balance Tagged With: , , , ,