When the agency is Mudbug Media… plenty.

In case you haven’t already noticed, it’s really hot outside right now. Since we have officially entered the annual Air Conditioning Awareness Days, I thought it would be appropriate to focus on this essential bit of technology that we all depend on a bit more than is strictly necessary.

Beat the Heat

Although our nationwide and smaller out-of-state clients are sharing a bit of our outrageous summer heat this year, New Orleanians are a people deeply devoted to our air conditioning. Unfortunately, our high ceilings, hardwood floors, raised houses and ceiling fans can’t quite do it all to keep us cool without air conditioning.

Even before the Gulf oil spill reinvigorated the topic of energy conservation, monthly utilities had us talking about ways to chill out without too much of an increase in our carbon footprint or power bills.

Each year, Americans spend more than $22 billion on air conditioning alone, all in an effort to stay a little more comfortable at home or in the office.  While it may not be glamorous to be a little warm sitting on your sofa or at your desk, paying attention to air conditioning can save a lot of money and energy.

Green is Good

At Mudbug Media, we talk a lot about our community service, but are much quieter about our commitment to going as green as possible … which isn’t always easy.

Although we haven’t quite succeeded at going entirely paperless, we are as close as any office I’ve seen. We don’t have filing cabinets.  Important data is stored in our server room – and on backup servers off-site. The server room does have to stay cool, but each of us moderates our own office temperature.

You’d be surprised how many of us resist the standard temptation to refrigerate ourselves all day. Personally, I consider it a dual benefit – less energy consumption at work and less water consumption at home. (You’d be amazed at the summer laundry reduction if you don’t wear sweaters at work when there’s a heat index of 104 degrees.)

One Step at a Time

As you read this at home at work, try to think of a few ways that you – yes, you! – can reduce your reliance on air conditioning.  It could be a small step.  Add one degree to the setting on your thermostat. Drink something cold or indulge your ice cream craving to chill from the inside out. If your home or office has ceiling fans, use them.  If not, discover how easy it is to install one or track down an energy efficient fan that doesn’t require a ladder or overhead work.

Little changes go a long way. We can all do our part … even the poor souls who wear full suits to work during July in New Orleans.

Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to.

Lions and Tigers and Bears

On Friday, April 30th, a group of Mudbug Media graphic designers, marketers and programmers went on down to the Audubon Zoo to put our painting skills to the test at the kids section of this year’s Zoo-To-Do.

Zoo-To-Do for Kids is a spectacular event, and I would recommend it to anyone with children. There’s so much for the kids to see and do, and there’s a lot for the parents as well. The Audubon Zoo sure knows how to throw a party. It was so much fun our SEO and analytics specialist Antonio got in on the action as a tiger…with a mustache.

When I contacted Anne Heslin, Coordinator of Zoo-to-Do Events, to see about volunteering, she suggested that we take the face-painting booth, seeing as we were a bunch of designers and creative people. We gathered pictures of children with their faces painted like animals, and made a board of choices for the kids to see a “menu” of options.

Everything worked out great. We had children gathered around our table almost all night long, and while it was hard work, it was so much fun. I even got to paint Ron Forman’s face. He’s a good sport!  The only random request we got was Spiderman, which we delivered!

Walking for a Cure

Members of our marketing team made it out to Audubon Park on May 15^th to take part in the 2010 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s Great Strides fundraising walk.  While the weather didn’t exactly cooperate, we still made it around the track twice, and the event raised over $80,000 to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis.

The best part about the whole event was the number of survivors participating in the three-mile walk.  According to signs posted along the track, a Cystic Fibrosis patient in the 1950s wasn’t expected to live past kindergarten, but dozens of adult survivors were out at Audubon Park dodging thunderstorms with the other supporters.

It’s amazing to think how much progress has been made so far with this devastating disease, and how much more good can come from helping support research through events like this.

Mudbugs eating Mudbugs

After all that hard work on Saturday morning, the Mudbug Media team gathered at managing director Rachel Haffner’s house for our annual crawfish boil. It rained pretty much all day, almost washing us all away, but we all hung in and had a blast.

Our resident beer experts Vasu and Brad were in charge of the beer, and they did an absolutely magnificent job. We had three beers on tap, each of which was chosen to compliment the taste of spicy crawfish, potatoes and corn.

This year was really fun because some of the new employees are also new to Louisiana, so it was really a treat watching them figure out how to peel and eat crawfish, especially since the whole process was a lot messier than they expected.

Click here to check out more pictures from the crawfish boil.

The summer has only just begun and we’ve already painted, walked and peeled.  This weekend we will be participating in the JCC New Orleans Kicking for Kids kickball tournament to raise money for children’s programs at the JCC, so things aren’t going to slow down anytime soon.

Keep an eye out for more Tweets, pictures and Facebook posts about our adventures in the community this summer.  We’re going to be busy!

The build was sponsored by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, which is holding a citywide conference in New Orleans this week.  Eight Mudbug Media programmers, designers and coordinators braved driving rain and scary power tools to help construct a playground from scratch at Jefferson Playground.

Hard at Work

The day started out fun with an aerobics instructor warming everyone up for a day of hard work with some dance and aerobics moves.

We had so much fun!

After that warm up session, we split into groups and each group was assigned a different portion of the playground to build.  My group worked on a ladder first before moving on to building gardens.The playground was just an empty field with some trees scattered around before the Kaboom! folks moved in.  They poured a slab for the playground a couple days before we got out there and laid out the landscaping scheme, which we brought to life after a slight rain delay/bingo marathon.

The landscaping is just beautiful.  We turned this empty field into all these gardens with a path running through the middle and orange trees and rose bushes everywhere.

I had no idea we would be using big drills and shovels and wheelbarrows and all these tools when we got out there.  By the end of the day we were all experts in landscaping and playground building.

Good Cause

The AAOS doctors were very excited about the playground for a really sweet reason.  Lots of children get hurt at playgrounds every year, and Kaboom! specializes in building the safest playgrounds possible, so the doctors were very excited to help prevent injuries that might require their services.

The new playground also has workout stations for adults, helping promote exercise and a healthy lifestyle for all ages.  The entire community will be able to use this playground in some way, all thanks to the AAOS and all the hard work of all the volunteers.

The entire project turned out to be really fun for everyone involved.  I can’t wait to build another playground!

We teamed up with our friends at Bayou Rebirth to help plant palmetto and cypress trees in the Bonnet Carré Spillway on March 6^th in a park that the Wetland Warriors are building to help save the wetlands.

We took to the latest volunteer activity like a fish to water, or in our case like mudbugs to mud.

Saturday morning’s weather was perfect – bright and sunny without a cloud in the sky. Emily and I piled into my car, and set out on a journey to the spillway, just past the New Orleans airport. After missing a couple of highway exits, asking for directions, and passing a refinery, we turned onto a dirt road that would lead us to the coastline we would be restoring.

I couldn’t help but think while I was guiding my ancient Volvo down what was little more than a footpath that the ride was surprisingly smoother than any drive down St. Charles Avenue. Could filling potholes be our next community service activity please?

Four miles down the road, and 20 minutes later, the road opened up to a magnificent view of Lake Pontchartrain. As one of our volunteers remarked later in the day, “It’s the best view from a port o’ potty I’ve ever seen!”

The wetland park is sort of the brainchild of Wetland Warrior Milton Cambre, who in the 1950’s had the foresight to begin conservation work on the coastline. Milton explained the merit of preserving the wetlands, not just for aesthetics but because they act as a natural barrier against storms and hurricanes.

After our orientation, we rolled up our sleeves and put on what I lovingly and incorrectly referred to as “shrimpin boots.” We spent much of the morning and afternoon planting cypress and palmetto trees. Some of us were even lucky enough to be assigned the task of moving mud, which, believe it or not, was awesome!

Check out some more pictures of Mudbugs hard at work.

A good time was had by all, and when we finally collapsed into the car, sunburned and sore, we felt as if we really did do something to help save the wetlands.  Every tree counts, and we must have planted dozens of them.

To learn more about how you can volunteer, click here.

Keeping in mind that many of our clients don’t live in New Orleans and aren’t lucky enough to be here right now, I thought it would be a good idea to let you know that we’ll be closed on Lundi Gras and Fat Tuesday.

For most people outside of New Orleans, Lundi Gras and Fat Tuesday are simply February 15th and 16th.  For all of us in New Orleans, Mardi Gras one of our most cherished holidays and one of the many reasons why most New Orleanians choose to live here.  In addition to being the day the big Fat Tuesday celebration starts early, Lundi Gras is also President’s Day this year, and both are excellent reasons for a day off.

So while you’re at your desk trying to meet the next deadline or planning your next meeting, we will be on St. Charles Avenue catching some beads and having some fun with our families and friends.

If you have an emergency, and you really need to speak to somebody, I’m always available by cell phone.  I’m not going to post my number here – after all, I’m a Web developer and know how foolish that would be.  But my cell phone number is in the signature of every e-mail I send, so feel free to give me a call if you need me.

Just be prepared for a lot of background noise.

On February 7, 2010, we’re hoping and praying (and knocking wood and …) that the Saints will be winning another game in Miami.

The Indianapolis chapter of the Susan G. Komen Foundation has challenged the New Orleans chapter to a fundraising competition to see which city can raise more money for breast cancer research before the big game. You can read more about it – and the 2009 Honorary Race Chair, Rita Benson LeBlanc – at the Komen website.

It’s short notice, but the call has gone out for enough local donations to knock Indianapolis out of this game too.  If we can top their donation total by February 7, the New Orleans chapter will send a Saints jersey and a king cake to Indianapolis for taunting and consoling purposes.

In the spirit of superstitious sports behavior and a dedication to Good Deeds, we’re asking every member of the Who Dat Nation to donate whatever they can.

Please go to this site to make your donation today.

Not only will it help establish our dominance over Indianapolis as a city, but every dollar raised will go to advancing breast cancer research.

Everyone wins…except the Colts.

(Apologies to Archie Manning. I’ve cheered those nice Manning boys through some Super Sundays – one of them during the Bacchus ball. It’s our turn, honey. You understand.)

The Saints mean a lot to our city for so many different reasons.  Here’s what last night meant to some of the Mudbug faithful.

Vasu Tummala, Interactive Media Specialist

I watched the game at Ryan’s Irish Pub on Decatur and Iberville.  My hair became something of a celebratory thing.  There was this one rabid, vocal fan who’d run over to me and give my hair a good tussle every time the Saints did anything positive…at all.  By the end of the game, my hair had doubled in size.

Since I was already in the Quarter, as soon as the hugging and high-fiving with strangers was over with at Ryan’s, we ran down Iberville to Bourbon and hopped into the second line.

Vanessa Hebert, Graphic Designer

I was in the warehouse district at the Rusty Nail, started at about 1:00 in the afternoon and went to bed at about 12:15 a.m.  My throat hurts from screaming and my hand is sore from all the high-fiving complete strangers.  One thing that stood out to me is that, during the game, no matter what neighborhood you are from, everyone got along.  Very cool.

Clovis Mello, Programming Manager

Watched it from home.  When Brett Favre threw his first interception, I said a few things I’m not proud of, and I was glad my 3 year old was in bed asleep.  I figured earlier in the game if we won, I was going to go running out in the street yelling and screaming.  When Hartley hit the field goal, however, all I could do was to kind of flop down and stay there for a minute or two in stunned silence. Been a fan since ’88 and never really thought we’d get there.    Just soaking it in right now.

Chris Cook, Media Strategist

After the game I went outside and listened to all the horns honking down North Broad.   I might have called a few people.   Then I cried like a baby.   In the end, I think it all frightened my dog.

Theresa Fischbach, Graphic Designer

I am a Saints season ticket holder and I have known the ups and downs (mostly downs) of being a Saints fan.  I have NEVER heard the dome as loud as it was last night.  There were no petty squabbles between fans.  No one was upset that people were standing up and yelling and cursing and crying and taking shots, every reaction was accepted. There was a sense of camaraderie that I really can’t explain or put into words.

My section is a tight section.  We know and love each other.  We have our group cheers and chants.  For the four hours we are inside the dome, these people are my family. That is my favorite part of being a Saints fan, along with the electric feeling in the city when we win.  Even the days before the games, the excitement is tangible.  I am just glad that I can say I was there, that I saw it, felt it, heard it, tasted it.  I will never forget that feeling.

Ashley Segari, Senior Designer

I was at my Dad’s house in Kenner and everyone was huddled around the TV.  When the kick was good everyone screamed in disbelief that the Saints actually did it after all of these years.  I immediately went outside and heard people celebrating in the streets, fireworks and car horn honking.

I was happy for my Dad and my uncle for finally witnessing the Saints on their way to the Super Bowl for the first time.  My dad went to the first ever Saints game at Tulane stadium in 1967 when he was 15 years old.  He took the bus by himself and paid $5 to see the Saints play the Los Angeles Rams.  He was very excited to finally see this happen.

Valerie Boulmay, Senior Designer

I was at my house watching the game with family. Towards the end I was on my knees praying. I knew that the City of New Orleans needed this win – that it was for all the people who needed some hope. My husband had given up hope and I kept saying, “have a little faith,” while my 2 year old sang, “Farve’s on the ground, Farve’s on the ground!” Sure enough they won and seeing and hearing the crowd and all the confetti was the most memorable moment for me.

Connecting

We decided to turn our day off for Martin Luther King Day into a day of service.  When I started looking around for ways we could give back to the New Orleans community, I turned to a great organization called HandsOn New Orleans, which has connected over 17,000 volunteers to recovery and restoration efforts across the Gulf Coast since 2005.

I chose the Save Our Cemeteries cleanup event since I knew we were going to have a large group and the event seemed tailor made for our needs.  I also know how important cemeteries are to the identity and history of New Orleans.

Digging in

Despite a lingering fear of zombies and the prospect of getting dirty, 28 Mudbug Media employees answered the call for volunteers on Martin Luther King Day.  We spent the morning pulling weeds, raking up leaves from between the graves, hauling trash bags full of debris to the dumpsters and trimming branches from the cemetery’s many oak trees.

Check out some pictures of our employees hard at work.

Giving Back

While the work was hard and the day was unusually warm, it felt really good to be able to lend a hand.  The cemetery was swarming with fellow volunteers from local universities and groups of tourists from across the country and I think everyone had a good time.

By lunchtime, the historic cemetery was in much better shape than we found it.  Graves were clean and tidy, we all got a little sun, no zombies had escaped and we all felt a little bit better for helping preserve a bit of New Orleans on our day off.

All politics aside, anyone who has ever known and loved New Orleans knows how heartbreaking it was to watch hours turn into days and days into weeks as we waited for much needed help and supplies to arrive in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

We also know how unbelievably great the global response to our own natural disaster was and how much every little effort helped.

Now, as Haitians the world over do their best to help the impoverished country get through this tragedy, we can pitch in to lend a helping hand.  If you would like to donate to the relief effort, Google has a great crisis response page that can link you to a number of relief agencies.

You can also find out how to donate via text message, which a number of us here at Mudbug Media have already done.

While our hearts go out to Haitians everywhere, the Mudbug Media family also has a direct connection to the island nation.  Annick Mégie worked as a graphic designer at Mudbug Media last year after coming over from an internship with our friends at Beuerman Miller Fitzgerald.

A truly gifted designer, Annick also brought a shining personality and unfailing kindness and generosity to our team.  Annick made the tough decision in mid-December to return to Haiti to be with her family.  While we were sad to see her go, we have kept in close contact with Annick.

The most important e-mail of the week arrived yesterday letting us know that Annick and her family survived the quake and are doing well despite the conditions.

Millions more are in desperate need of our help and support right now.

Please take some time out of your day to donate to the ongoing relief effort.

Every dollar helps.