Travel Perks to complain about

Here are the few of the perks the company I work for provides:

Paid for travel time including time getting to and from the airport
Paid mileage and parking, or paid taxi to airport
$35-75 day for food
Stay at some of the world’s best hotels, many in the $300-$500/night range
Never have to share a hotel room with a coworker
Very rarely travel and work on the same day
Paid 8 hours minimum while on business travel whether one actually works or not
Paid travel pushing overtime pay when travel takes place during the work day
$80-$100/month for cell phone
Air ravel on world’s top airlines

The list goes on but those are the main travel perks. Yet you would not believe all the moaning and complaining I still hear most of which comes from people who are in their first job out of tech school or college. They complain about the long hours, the crappy food, flight delays and the jet lag.

I can’t wait till these same coworkers take a job elsewhere and go on their first business trip only to find out they must take a crowded shuttle to the airport, share a room at the Holiday Inn and receive $25/day for food. They seriously have no clue how dang spoiled they really are right now.

Technorati Tags: Business Travel, Prima Donna

TWIT crew still bashing Vista

I listened to This Week in Tech on the way into work today and Leo and the gang were still trashing Windows Vista. Leo called it “this generation’s ME” in reference to the ill-fated Windows ME release just over eight years ago. When Vista first came out, I believe liked it quite a bit. Patrick Norton and taken shots at Vista for months though. But now it seems like the entire TWIT crew hates Vista.

Tonight I came across Todd Bishop’s Microsoft Blog which displays the sales pitch one computer shop is using to pull in business.

Several friends have mentioned that installing Vista SP1 has fixed a few problems, but I’m happy with my XP Pro install. I can’t think of a single reason to move to Vista while I can think of many reasons not to including speed and stability. Since when is a slower machine an “upgrade”?

When was the last time a major software release was met with so much disdain? Are you running Vista or have you decided to stick with XP? Or did you bail on Windows and move to the Mac or Linux?

Technorati Tags: Windows Vista, Windows ME, Windows XP, Microsoft, TWIT

Calling the Starburst Candy Helpline

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved Starburst candies. When my mom was brave enough to take me along to the grocery store, she’d let me choose a treat if I behaved. At those rare times I’d select a pack of Starburst. As a kid, it felt like I was getting a lot of bang for the buck because each “fruit chew” was individually wrapped. I could eat a few now, stash the rest in my pocket where they’d stay warm until I needed my next sugar high.

Fast forward a few decades to a time where my mother no longer takes me shopping and I have to secure my own stash of Starburst. These days, the only time I see Starburst are at Halloween and occasionally in the candy bowl at work. So today, while I was opening a “twin pack” of individually wrapped chewy goodness, I noticed these words on the back of the wrapper:

Questions or Comments? Call 1-800-551-0683

Since I wasn’t busy at the time I figured I’d give them a call and see if someone could answer several Starburst related questions I’ve had for years. I dialed the number and made my way through the maze of options including one to learn more about “the Mars policy concerning animal research”. Do they really test new candy on animals? I don’t plan to dig too deep there.

I eventually found myself on hold, waiting for the next available Mars consumer candy representative. After a few minutes, a polite guy named Cameron came on the line and was more than willing to field a few questions. Here’s how it went down:

Cameron: Thank you for calling the consumer division of Mars candy. How can I help you today?

Me: I’m looking for someone to answer a few Starburst related questions. Are you the guy?

Cameron: Yes, I can help you. What questions do you have?

Me: I love Starburst candies but my favorite flavor is strawberry. Is there a way to determine if a package is loaded with mostly strawberry chews? I’ve tried holding a pack up to the light, but that hasn’t worked well and I always feel a little cheated when a pack is mostly filled with yellow and oranges.

Cameron: There’s really no way to tell. Each pack or bag is filled based on a ratio of flavors. Would you like me to find out what that ratio to flavor is?

Me: Yes, if it’s not too much trouble. (I’m put on hold for about 45 seconds)

Cameron: The current flavor ratio is 25% per flavor. The original packs contain orange, lemon, strawberry and cherry flavors. But some packs or bags may contain more or less than 25% because they are placed in a large vat and mixed together before packaging.

Me: That’s really cool. Do you know if there are any plans to discontinue the yellow ones. They are my least favorite.

Cameron: At this time, I’m not aware of any plans to discontinue the lemon flavored chews.

Me: Is there a way I could buy a bag full of only the strawberry?

Cameron: No, not at this time, but you’re not the first to ask. I will pass that suggestion on to our marketing group who values the input from loyal customers like yourself.

Me: Thank you. How would I go about suggesting a new flavor?

Cameron: You can tell me and I’ll pass it on for you.

Me: Cool. I’d like to suggest a lime flavored Starburst.

Cameron: We do have a lemon-lime in the “Baja pack”, but not lime only. I’ll pass that on to our marketing department.

Me: Do you have a lot of people call up asking about Starburst?

Cameron: I wouldn’t say a lot but we have a few who call us with questions.

Me: You’ve been very kind. Thank you for your help. That’s it for now.

Cameron: Thank you for calling the consumer division of Mars Candy and I hope you continue to enjoy Starburst candies.

Technorati Tags: Starburst, Mars Candy

Chris Botti

Since I started using Slacker internet radio at work and home I’ve discovered a number of great musicians. One of my very favorite is Chris Botti. He’s been around a while but I’d never heard of him until a few months ago and I can’t stop listening to his music.

I can’t say I’ve listened to all his albums, but of those I’ve heard, my favorite is called “A Thousand Kisses Deep“. My two favorite songs on the album are Indian Summer and She Comes From Somewhere.

He creates great music to drive to. Sometimes I’ll put on his CD and take a drive up HWY 18 past Covington just to listen to his music.

Here’s Indian Summer on YouTube

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Technorati Tags: Chris Botti, Jazz, Music

Tolstoy Quote

I started reading a book called “Made to Stick” today. The tag line to the book is Why Some Ideas Survive While Others Die, and based on the first 75 pages, it’s a worthy read. In fact, I wish every Microsoft employee who gives Powerpoint presentations would pick it up before creating another bullet filled abomination.

The authors discuss why highly creative ads are more predictable than uncreative ones. In doing so, they employ a great Tolstoy quote:

All Happy Families resemble each other, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way

I plan to review the book when I’m finished.

–Link to the authors blog

Technorati Tags: Made to Stick, Chip Heath, Dan Heath, Tolstoy

Nothing to Do

Growing up in Ogden, Utah a family vacation consisted of loading the five of us kids into a “champagne colored” station wagon and driving three hours south to a tiny town called Gunnison to visit our cousins. If we were lucky, dad would let us listen to the pop station on the radio. If we acted up, he’d flip it to the oldies station.

But the choice of station didn’t really matter because the broadcast signal wasn’t strong enough to last more than about an hour into the trip. It wasn’t long before Blondie turned to buzzzzzz.

When I wasn’t pestering my sisters, I’d read books, pepper my parents with questions or play games like “Slug Bug” where the goal was to be the first to spot a VW Beatle. I remember several times my dad would be driving up a hill and we’d egg him on to “floor it” coming down. Sometimes we could get him to push the wagon to 75 or even 80 MPH before my mom had had enough and would make him back off the gas. Even as a kid, it just felt cool to break the law. Cue the Clash.

I don’t ever recall a time where there wasn’t something to do, some game to play or some sister to tease. We didn’t have Nintendo or DVD players or iPods. We made up games, sang goofy songs or stared ahead at the scenery while our AC Delco pumped out the tunes.

Things are different today. Now we take vacation drives in a comfortable 7 passenger Honda Odyssey with AC controls three rows deep. Our three oldest kids each have a Nintendo DS and dozens of games to choose from. We have a portable DVD player, kids books, coloring books and sippy cups up the wazoo. We have “travel kits”, and blankets, and pillows and kids CDs. We have more items in the car geared toward kids than what I had in OUR HOME growing up.

One would assume our kids would never get bored, even on the longest trips, given the abundance of stuff they have at their disposal. One would think.

On the drive home from Seattle last week, our five year old son, said, “There’s nothing to do. What can I do?”. He says this surrounded while surrounded by every version of Donkey Kong, Mario and Zelda available for his DS.

This experienced has made me wonder if all this stuff just gets in the way of our kid’s creativity. Maybe the kids get used to all this sensory input in the form of movies and games, and they don’t think of making up games on the fly like we did as kids. My sisters and I may have asked my dad how long till we arrived at our destination but I can’t recall ever telling him we had nothing to do. There was always something to do back then. We just had to USE OUR MINDS.

Maybe the problems isn’t that our kids have nothing to do. Maybe the problem is they have TOO MUCH to do.

Technorati Tags: Kids, vacation, station wagon

Kindness goes a long way

We have three grocery stores all within about the same distance from our home. I usually head to Fred Meyer first because I know its store layout the best. I also like that I can fill the car up with gas without leaving the parking lot.

But this last week, Kim asked me to pickup a few items on my way home and I was around the corner from Albertsons when she called so I stopped there. As I entered the store I realized I had no idea where anything was situated. I grabbed a cart and started making my way through the store. As I did this I noticed a few things that impressed me:

The shelves were fully stocked at 10 pm.
I didn’t feel like a rat in a maze like I do at Wal-Mart when they clutter the aisles with pallets full of boxes.
The store was well lit. The floors and shelves were clean.
I was able to quickly find the baby food aisle because the aisle signs were big and clear.
All the aisles went the same direction making it easy to see down.

Those were just a few things I noticed while I traversed my way thorough Albertsons. I didn’t pay much attention to the prices but they seemed about the same a Fred Meyer. A 24-pack of Diet Coke was a few dollars less expensive while some of the produce seemed to cost a bit more.

As I approached the check out line, a woman gestured to me that she was opening another line so I walked over to her area and began placing my items on the conveyor belt. I noticed that she stopped the belt twice to take the time to peal off coupons that were stuck to a couple of medications I was purchasing. I hadn’t noticed they were attached, but I was impressed that she took the time to peal them off for me. Before I pulled the 24-pack of Diet Coke off the cart, she kneeled down and scanned it although she was clearly in the latter stages of pregnancy. She was kind and efficient. She had a big smile on her face too which made me feel good.

I left the store in a better mood than when I arrived which usually isn’t the case. Because of the kind service this women provided, I will be returning to Albertsons soon. Eventually, maybe I’ll learn my way around the store.

Technorati Tags: Albertsons, Fred Meyer

Juno

I finally got around to watching Juno tonight and I really enjoyed it. Ellen Page is fantastic in the role of a teen who isn’t quite sure how to handle a pregnancy.

The opening credits are so cool and matched to a great song that fits the mood of the film. The song is called “All I Want is You” from Barry Louis Polisar. See it below.

Technorati Tags: Juno

How to improve iTunes sound quality

Ever since I purchased an iPod and started using iTunes, I’ve been very disappointed with iTunes sound quality. I don’t know if iTunes just flat out sounds bad or that I’ve become accustomed to the great sounding Quintessential Player with iZotope DSP plugin. Of all the audio players an DSP plugins I’ve tried, this combination sounds head and tails above anything else I’ve tried.

I’m surprised how few audio enhancement plugins have been created for iTunes which seems to be the dominant MP3 playback software given the ubiquity of the iPod. Having said that, there are times when I’ll use iTunes in spite of its crappy audio quality. But I’ve found a $20 product called Volume Logic that makes iTunes sound pretty good. The only drawback I’ve come across is that it’s basically a dead product, meaning it works today on iTunes 7.6 but it’s creator, Plantronics, is no longer releasing updates for it.

But if you spend a fair amount of time in iTunes and care about sound quality, I still feel it’s worth the $20 to register Volume Logic. You can download it here and try it free for 30 days.

Technorati Tags: iTunes, Volume Logic, Quintessential player, iZotope DSP

TurboTax Home and Business

Each year I wonder if I’d be better off gathering all my tax related document and dumping them at the door of a tax professional. Yet for the past ten years I’ve eventually just purchased TurboTax and completed my taxes on my own.

This year was no different as I contemplated the idea of getting help since I received income from several side jobs that totaled more than a few thousand dollars. I figured it was better to play it safe and report that income and the Home and Business edition of TurboTax made it all quite painless. I spent about two hours going through the entire process and running through different scenarios.

My favorite part of the product is the interview process which asks a number of questions upfront and then tailors the walk-through based on my answers. It’s easy to switch back and forth to view different scenarios. This is the first time I’ve purchased the Home and Business edition and I found it to be very comprehensive and polished. This edition costs about $90.

Technorati Tags: TurboTax