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From The Onion: “Flustered Bush Misses Air Force One Flight”

In my trip to Europe last week I was struck by the ease at which you can get around with only English as a language. With the EU increasing the traffic among the countries, English seems to have taken on a stronger role as the default language for interactions among folks who aren’t from the same country. This was especially true in the political melting pot of Brussels, where everyone you meet is from somewhere different.

Spent the middle of last week’s trip in Brussels. Since becoming the home for the EU government Brussels has taken on an interesting feel. The best way I can describe it is that its a new kind of melting pot. Not the traditional kind that attracts the hungry, tired, etc, but a new kind that attracts political professionals from all walks of life. Discussions on energy and the environment were incredibly easy to come by in Brussels.

Check out the paper that MTV and GE are using for the college eco challenge (see the end of this article):

Today I’m taking the EuroStar from London to Brussels through the Chunnel. Cool! No WiFi on the train, but good cell reception and an outlet for my laptop. Update: The Chunnel is quickly dark and boring, and the EuroStar broke down in Lille, then limped into Brussels 1.5 hours late. Yikes!

In the middle of a quick tour through the EU, visiting customers, government officials, and various environmental NGOs and meetings. Enjoyed a lively dinner hosted by Richard Barrington, our point man in the UK on sustainability. The group included executives from utilities, government infrastructure, various energy-related startups, other high tech companies, Forum for the Future, and academia. Many of the folks, including Richard on behalf of Sun, participate in the Corporate Leaders Group which represents industry in the overall policy debate.

Having a work blog is making me rethink my blog strategy. When I rejoined Sun I followed in Hal Stern’s footsteps and separated my home and work blogs (Hal’s home, work). My sense at the time was that no one reading my Sun blog wanted to hear what I thought of the new coach of the Bruins, and I didn’t want any political comments to reflect (directly) on the company. I also didn’t have the personal/professional brand of Sun uber-blogger Tim Bray, so didn’t think that it made sense to declare NearWalden as my all purpose blog.

Mark Fontecchio at SearchDataCenter.com reports that the “PG&E; and Sun rebate program gets mixed reaction”. Well, the EPA sounds intrigued, other utilities sounds interested, and customers are viewing it positively. Seems like the only folks on the other side are competitors. Cool! Lin Nease of HP makes an important point: “If you look at the lifecycle, the rebate is a miniscule part of the equation”. We agree. Based on the study we did with PG&E; the annual energy savings for each year were more than the rebate, so we’re trying to get the word out that there’s lots of savings to be had here even if you aren’t in the PG&E; area.

I got my first issue of Good Magazine the other day I’ve enjoyed reading it. First off its got a good sense of humor. But I also appreciated the optimistic, action oriented tone of the work. One piece that particularly caught my attention was “Doublespeak: Do companies really give a damn?" by Jonathan Greenblatt, founder of Ethos water. It’s an editorial about authenticity, and how sometimes corporate communications has it and sometimes it doesn’t.

Me and Kid Rock have something in common. One of the nice things since I returned to Sun is the new Four Seasons in Palo Alto (SUNW shareholders don’t worry - the Sun rate is similar to the other hotels in the area). I’ve probably stayed here a half dozen times by now, and really enjoy the environment and, of course, service. Last night they did an awesome thing for me that will keep me coming back (I was going to anyway, but now I’m also blogging about it!