One of the wonderful things about blogging is the opportunities that come out of nowhere to meet people from all over the world, from all walks of life...for reasons you never dreamed of!

Because of a post I wrote in January about the new learning center at Tucson's Reid Park Zoo, a professor of Urban Engineering at Osaka City University contacted me.  Dr. Masaki Nakao was going to be in the United States at the end of September, and wanted to tour this building because of its LEED Platinum Certification.

Honored to help with such a request, I contacted the zoo, and was put in touch with Ruston (Rusty) Agte, the Director of Education for Reid Park Zoo.  He probably knows this building better than anyone else except for the architect in charge of the project.

Dr. Nakao, his wife & his assistant, Dr. Minako Nabeshima were very enjoyable people - and I hope to visit them when I visit Japan someday.

Sure, those of us blogging on ActiveRain do it to help our business - but there's also the benefit of connecting with people for reasons outside of business cannot be discounted...plus you might just get to do something nifty like pet rhinos too!

Here's a link to see how much energy the building gets from its solar panels:  SunnyPortal To see all of the photos I shot that day, check out the web album on Picasa.

If you're visiting Tucson - I can't guarantee you that we'll get to do something like this, but I do love showing off our beloved "Old Pueblo."