Colin Powell Interesting Tidbit

"I think the party has to take a hard look at itself," Powell said in the interview, which was taped Wednesday. "There is nothing wrong with being conservative. There is nothing wrong with having socially conservative views — I don't object to that. But if the party wants to have a future in this country, it has to face some realities. In another 20 years, the majority inthis country will be the minority."

"Can we continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh?" Powell asked. "Is this really the kind of party that we want to be when these kinds of spokespersons seem to appeal to our lesser instincts rather than our better instincts?"

Twitter (!?)

So I got a Twitter account, but I have no idea what it is or how to use it. Please advise?

MINDFULNESS

Tribute to the Adidas Samba

Since this blog has degenerated into things that I mostly like and find useful, I would be remiss if I failed to mention one of my longest running (no pun intended) favorite things: The Adidas Samba
I have been wearing this shoe (or the somewhat comparable but for me more short-lived Adidas Gazelle*) since I first took up indoor soccer at age 11 or 12. The shoe style has stayed with me ever since. It's very comfortable to wear around, athletic looking, slightly preppy, and universally recognizable. Right now I have three different pairs in my closet. One is strictly relegated to yard work status, one is for everyday wear, and one is my "dress" indoor soccer pair.








I cannot think of a single article of clothing that I would most closely associate with myself than these shoes.




*although the Adidas gazelle was a comfortable shoe and very practical for playing indoor soccer, it just never caught on as one of my favorite things. However, the Gazelle is much more universally beloved than the Adidas Zissou shoe featured in the movie Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.

Hind Sight 20/20?

From the archives... Jan '07:

Two Other Computer-related Tools I like

My last laptop we had a lot of problems with it getting too hot sitting in your lap, so last May when we patriotically spent our stimulus check to help heat up the economy, we got a laptop chill pad to help cool down our technology. It is a Targus chill pad with 4-port usb hub. It has been great for us.


We also decided to get a Microsoft wireless optical laptop mouse, because it got irritating to have the cord in the way, and it also cramped one's fingers to use the touchpad. I can't imagine working without it. And yes, we usually plug in the wireless part to the usb hub chill mat.

Kudos to Leth Bong

We recently received a British comedy series called Yes Minister which is a very amusing take on the strife between political/Schedule C types working in government and the civil service. It's very realistic, and reminds me of what it was like working in the US DOL during my summer stint there.

Check it out if you get a chance.

Some Humor from Moel Joughon

We--managers and supervisors--have to complete a daily manager-on-duty report so that the next shift is prepared to deal with the more notable incidents. Here are a few of my favorites (all for real):


“We had a guest that slipped in vomit that [associate] dealt with. Had to drain the fountain again tonight because some others couldn't make it from the bar to the elevator without a barf stop."

"[Top-tier loyalty club guest] a little miffed because a baby crawled over to his balcony from the neighboring room and pooped on his balcony."

"[Top-tier loyalty club guest] was checked into a handicap-accessible room by [associate] without being notified. He was not happy about that, especially since he is a [frequent-traveler club] member. So [associate] moved him to a room close to the old one. Well, he still was not happy about that room, and he waited over 15min for his luggage and new keys to be delivered which did not make him happy (his blood pressure went up very high)."

“Room 1111 was Mr. and Mrs. Xxxx. Mrs. Xxxxx claims a cockroach ran across her arm last night and scared her like you would not believe. I room-moved the Xxxxx party to room 0000. Mrs. Xxxxx would like us to pay for her and her child to return home due to the trauma and discomfort that this has caused. Both I and [associate] from Loss Prevention informed Mrs. Xxxxx that we could not do that for her but that we would be happy to buy her breakfast, comp a movie, or something, but the flight home was out of our ability—just in case she comes to the desk.”

“Valet – Had a few complaints about the valet at 11:45 pm. Vehicle owner said the [one] driver was speeding. [Associate] and I went to investigate, and he was driving fast, and to make matters worse, the car we observed him speeding in had a flat tire. The owner, however, was drunk and did not get upset. [Valet driver] assisted our staff in putting the spare on the vehicle.”

“Ms. Xxxxx is disputing some of the pool bar charges her brother billed to the room. The brother wrote both the room number and last name on the tickets after they finished drinking together, but Ms. Xxxxx claims she did not authorize her brother’s charges, and she feels we are now responsible. She has even offered to give us her brother’s contact info so we can collect from him.”

“We also had Mrs. Xxxxx in room 0000 come to the desk very upset wanting to see a manager, because her room key had to be re-programmed & she didn’t have a picture ID with her so security had to meet her by her room. She said how great [associate] was yesterday helping her fix her reservation so she could stay here. If [associate] had been so great, I could not really see what she was so mad about. She kept saying having to get a second key ruined her whole experience here. I apologized and offered her a pay-per-view movie, but she was still unhappy, I really didn’t offer more because if we gave out something every time we had to re-make keys we would be out of business.”

“4th wing poolfront suite – Someone tossed a large circular, amber-colored thick glass vase with a painted white interior from the balcony onto the [restaurant] patio, and, of course, it shattered. HSKP, please call security if a vase is missing from any 4th wing poolfront room or suite so they can note in their records. No guests were injured, fortunately.”

“0000/ Xxxxx - Has a jazz band and party in his suite. Several complaints from nearby rooms; had to comp room night for Xxxxx in neighboring rm 0000 (upper-tier loyalty club guest)."

“Complained of karaoke party in room 0000; security was dispatched. Guests in 0000 were blaring their music and told security they were going to party all night and didn't care what they said. Soon after, neighboring room called the police. (Incidentally, both of these rooms are with the same group.)”

“However Mr. Xxxxx in 0000 (res 00000) had an amazing time last night. He got a little intoxicated and decided to throw pancakes off of his balcony on to passing cars. Believe it or not we had no guest complaints due to this.”

“Mr. Xxxxx was golfing with his son on 8/13 on the [primary] course. On the first hole, Mr. Xxxxx 's son hit an errant tee shot which broke a window at [neighbor's] residence. Mr. [neighbor] was home at the time and he came out and spoke with Mr. [guest]. Mr. [neighbor] gave him his phone number and they parted ways. After 9 holes, Mr. [guest's] son came into the golf shop and gave us his father's name and phone number and explained what happened. Mr. [guest] called me this morning and asked for advice. I told him that the resort is protected from liability, and we do not get involved. After speaking for several minutes, Mr. [guest] said the resort should pay for it since he spends a lot of time at [chain name] properties.”

“I got a call today from Mr. Xxxxx (top-tier loyalty club guest); he was trying to speak with the manager on duty or the resort manager. He tried to call reservations yesterday at 07:00 pm to make a booking for a room on Aug 30th & check the chances of getting an upgrade. He complained that the lady who spoke to him was “rude & snoopy.”

“Wife saw rodent by pool which made her jump off her lounge chair, and she claims—ruined the pedicure she got at our spa."

Manic Pixie Dream Girls...

This was an interesting discussion on NPR...

"The Manic Pixie is, in his words, 'that bubbly, shallow cinematic creature that exists solely in the fevered imaginations of sensitive writer-directors to teach broodingly soulful young men to embrace life and its infinite mysteries and adventures.'"

What do y'all think, especially Wileyman?

USB Closure (James Fallows)

http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/10/i_dont_quite_believe_this_but.php

WALL-E

It's a little bit late to be seing it for the first time, but we're cheapskates. So we went to go see WALL-E tonight and A. really loved it. She has been talking about the robot for months now and she is really glad to have seen it.

James Fallows Continued USB Drama

Here's and update on the little USB Drive he brought back from the grave - twice. It feels as though the fate of my Bluetooth earpiece hangs in the balance.

Hipster PDA

I was at a meeting today, and I noticed that one of the facilitators had a Hipster PDA, which consists of a few 3x5 index cards binder clipped together. I can't tell you how valuable a thing that this is, and how it has helped me remember things that otherwise would have fallen through the cracks. It is one of those dumb (dorky) ideas that just work and that I am absolutely sold on.

An Existential Dilema

A man engaged me in some brief conversation on Aisle 10, as I was walking through the store. After a little bit of chit-chat he asked me, "Do you ever think about the hereafter?"

Taken a little aback by the question, but remembering that I was South of the Gnat Line where you tend to have more evangelical believers, I answered hesitantly... "Yes. I think about it."

"So do I," he replied, "at my age by the time you get down the grocery aisle, you have to think 'what is it that I'm here after!?'"

Two Other Helpful Tools

There are two tools that we use on a daily basis at our house that have been invaluable to us.

First, our Roomba. For those of you unfamiliar with a Roomba, it is a little vacuum cleaner robot that goes around the house and cleans your floors for you. Ours isn't a very high-end model (it only sweeps and does not return to its docking station to recharge) but does a surprisingly wonderful job of keeping your floors clean. We originally got one second hand (for free) and got to try it out for about a month before it died. We were so impressed with the test drive that we saved up to buy one when it went on sale at Target. I always thought that this type of thing was something you would buy at Sharper Image or Sky Mall magazine, but it actually works!

The other cool thing we use is the Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner by SC Johnson. While it doesn't completely replace the occasional scrub down, it does a good job of applying daily maintenance and smells great! You just press the button and after 15 seconds it shoots out cleaner, covering your entire shower. Works especially well if, like us, you use body wash and self-contained HBAs in your shower.

An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Gallon of WD-40

Here's another product that has become absolutely invaluable! It's an online backup service called Carbonite. if you're like us, we have a lot of digital photos, music, etc that are one hard drive crash away from destruction. Just this week, I woke up and tried to turn my laptop on and it would not load. I had to do a factory restore, which ordinarily would scare me to death, but this handy little service works in the background all the time, so I didn't worry at all about losing anything.

The only downside is that the initial backup takes about a week, and can make some of your online activities slow down. After that though, Carbonite just works. At a price of only $50 a year, I would recommend it to anyone. Let me know if you want to try it and I can refer you (it gets me free months added to my subscription).

Two Important Podcasts about the Economy

I recently listened to two podcasts from This American Life that did a great job explaining all the mayhem about the economy.

Here's the most recent, and this is the initial one that describes the housing market.it's worth a listen if you get a chance.

What Ross Douthat said...

"McCain is almost certainly going to lose this election. He can go down trying to talk about the issues that voters actually care about, and trying to make some headway in the debates that are going to dominate our politics for the next few years, or he can go down trying to change the subject. I really don't see any percentage in the latter."

Amen.

I'm looking for the pine tar...

My new assignment has put me further south of the gnat line here in Georgia, and it can present its own challenges. Just the other day I had an older gentleman stop me to ask "where do you keep pine tar?"

"Pine tar?"

"yes."

"Pine tar? hmmm... let me see if I can find out for you."

So I went and grabbed the nearest manager and asked "have you ever heard of us carrying pine tar?"

"PINE TAR??? no, we've never had pine tar."

"Hmmmm..."

(finding someone else in the store to ask...)

"Hey, you've got to help me. There's a gentleman out here and he is insisting that we have pine tar and he wants me to show him where it is, and I have no idea why he would expect us to have pine tar!"

She goes out with me and asks the guy again...

"Sir, can I help you?"

The gentleman answers, indicating what he is looking for...

"Oh," she says, "yes sir, pint jars are right over here on aisle 10."

And Ira Glass found my missing CD...

This summer we returned to the beach house we went to last year for a week of much needed vacation. I was chilling in my room after getting too much sun outside, and decided to fire up a This American Life podcast while kicking back. For those of you who may not be familiar with TAL, the show takes a subject and typically breaks it up into three parts, which are three different stories about people touched by the topic.

This time the theme was "Break-ups," and the first story focused on a woman who had recently broken up with her boyfriend. Their relationship was heavy on listening to the venerated Phil Collins, the former lead singer of Genesis who now tours solo. Phil even made an appearance on that edition of TAL.

Well, I finished listening to the story and walked into the main room of the house, where, strangely enough, there was Phil Collins cd jewel case sitting on top of the entertainment center that I had failed to notice before. Curious now about listening to some more Phil Collins, I flipped open the case and found a CD on the inside that read Life Aquatic Studio Sessions (Seu Jorge). It was the CD that I had unwittingly left in that house one year ago, never to be reunited, except that Ira Glass wanted to discuss breaking up.

James Fallows saved my Earpiece

A few months ago I bought a Motorola Bluetooth headset for my phone. I had it a couple of weeks before I absent-mindedly put it through an entire wash cycle in the pocket of my blue jeans. For a few months, I set it aside in its original packaging as I thought it was hopelessly defunct.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when James Fallows, a writer for the Atlantic Magazine, and renowned technophile, wrote an web article about sending his USB Drive through a complete wash and dry cycle. After some advice from a friend, he procured some WD-40 and bathed the drive in the liquid. The result -- the drive came back to life!

So I thought it would be worth a try myself. I pulled the earpiece out and sprayed it in WD-40 and left it to air dry for a day while I was at work. The next day I came in and plugged it in and -voila - it started to charge! (after months of not working!!!) After it charged I turned it on, and bing, it connected to my phone, and I am now happily using my earpiece. Just goes to show that reading the Atlantic will not only make you more cultured, better informed, but also a safer driver.