An article crossed my inbox about the latest Virtual Earth application so I went to the site to try it out. Upon installation, it also prompted me to download the Outlook add-in which adds the following features:
The new interface it pretty impressive:
Then I started playing with the map. If you have not tried it, you have to. Moving around the world, zipping in to see an island up close then zipping out and flying across the world to see the north pole. Not as a map point, but as an image. Amazing. I know this has been around a while, but the new interface makes it much more fun.
Then I started to play with to the full 3D view, Toronto is below. Makes the globes and maps that I used to use as a kid completely useless and the future options very interesting (think of ad sales). You can zoom right down to street level.
Then I tried out context. I typed in ‘Apple Fanatic Headquarters’ and it took me to the below, even circling a building. Odd, but intriguing?
Interested, I carried on. Next, I added some infrared imaging and what do you know? Interesting stuff ….. (wink)
On a positive note, below is a picture from the terrace of our new home. Yes, it backs onto a stable.
The last one alone has been months of work. Imagine going through you house and having to decide what stays and goes, then inventory everything (We took a full day, laptop and Excel in hand and inventoried the entire house. It was painful, and surprising).
At this point with the movers coming Monday, it is down to three categories:
1. Store: Put it in an offsite storage in Canada with very little access to it for some future date. It costs $150 every time you want to access the container.
2. Air shipment: Send a small amount via air to be with us in the first week. The essentials and not very much. Looks like the bikes, a computer and a few other things are going to make it into this pile.
3. Ship: Over ground, to a ship, across the ocean, through customs and on to our new abode in 4 to 10 weeks. It is interesting to watch the guy come into the house to figure this one out. He walks around with a pocket pc itemizing things (takes 2-3 hours) and then tells you if it will all fit. He said we are on the edge, about 95% of the container full so we better be careful. Luckily, we have eliminated 4 big items since then, so we should be good (fingers crossed).
That being said, it has been great to purge. I never knew how many old video cables I had …
The concept of old is an interesting one. In Canada, we live in what is considered an ‘old‘ house, built in the late 1800s. When you go to Europe, your perception of old changes dramatically.
We will be moving to a town called Virginia Water and everywhere you go there is history. Even the pubs have history. I was in The Bull in Sonning this week (A pub) that can be traced back to the 1400’s and that is old hat. There is so much history.
I had the good fortune to add to the pubs verbal history by providing a humorous story. While sitting with a work colleague, I had a really tough time with the lamb and my dull knife. In a fit of clumsiness, I pulled on the lamb, a piece came loose and sent a wave of mint sauce up and over the plate onto my light blue golf shirt and dress pants. To which my friend turned to the person next to us and said ‘He is Canadian’ with a shrug.
If you go to the Virginia Water web site and browse the history tab, they provide the option of going back to the 1st century. From Wikipedia:
Virginia Water is a large village, a lake and, originally, a stream, the village being in the borough of Runnymede in Surrey and the bodies of water stretching over the borders of Runnymede, Old Windsor and Sunninghill and Ascot, all in England.
The village takes its name from the lake which is in the nearby Windsor Great Park. The lake’s name was transferred from a previous stream which was probably named after the ‘Virgin Queen’, Elizabeth I.
Pasted from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Water>
I love listening to the British, Irish, Welsh and others who live in jolly old England. One of the things I learned from sales is the concept of being an anthropologist, as said by Peter Drucker:
"Be maniacal about managing relationships – you are the business anthropologist. Brilliant network relationship management is not an accident. It is not catch it as it comes. Football analogies are cute, but deep relationships and understanding of the politics pay for private school"
So every conversation is a new one, full of nuance and learning. But, there are two common phrases I cannot use (so far):
I am sure there will be more. As an aside, they drink their beer cold. I have yet to drink a warm beer. I have acquired a taste for Guinness, more of a meal than a drink.
An interesting Middle East quote shared with me today:
‘Success has 1000 fathers, but failure is an orphan’.
So true. Everyone flocks to the win and shuns the failure. Which is why I always say ‘Good news should travel fast, bad news faster’. If you are a sales rep and facing failure (i.e. A lost deal, missing quota), then you need to ensure you do not become that orphan. How do you do that?
We all face tough times. It is the nature of sales and business. Good years. Bad years. But it is in the bad times that the true test of character happens and the greatness is seen in people. Something that applies to business and personal life.
I found this article in Forbes interesting, where they discuss the benefits of being married with children:
The one important note ‘Just having kids won’t make you a better manager, but being actively involved in raising them will, according to the study’
Interesting. It also makes you wonder ‘What did I use to do with my Saturdays? I must have had so much free time .. What did I do with it?’ (smile)
In a recent discussion with a colleague about relationship building in sales, he shared a great story. He was on a train to see a client and was reading a book on snooker. His colleague (A technical sales person) noticed and asked ‘You like snooker?’. He replied with a resounding no. ‘Then why are you reading that book’ was the perplexed follow-up question. ‘Because my client loves snooker’
He went on to relate how the sales meeting, with a customer who had always been cold toward him went, they spent the first 20 minutes talking about the snooker championship on the weekend and he spent the time learning more about the game and why his client was passionate about the sport.
It seems so obvious, but so many salespeople just don’t understand how to build relationships that are meaningful.
As an aside, I told that with my new UK team and found out afterward that as I was walking through the story half the people were saying ‘who is snooker?’. It would appear that the UK pronounce it ‘snooooooker’, not ‘snooker’. Separated by a common language.
I have not been blogging for a while for a simple reason; I am in the process of an international move, to the United Kingdom (Outside London).
When people find out, they have one of two reactions:
For us, it was a journey that started 3 years ago. I still remember those initial conversations which centred around the question of ‘Is this it?’ We discussed that life was pretty good. Nice house, lots of friends, close to family, great job with career options and close to lots of great activities. But was this it?
I will openly admit, it is a question I probably never would have asked if left to my own devices. But the more we talked about it, the more we realized that we were up for something else.
And so, I decided to change jobs. I have a few friends who remember when I made that mental change. It was pretty cut and dry, I simply changed my goal from reducing my handicap (It was approaching single digit after much hard work) and pursued a new role.
I had to fight hard to get that role (Long story, corporate memory is an interesting thing) but got it. Over the last 2 1/2 years, thanks to a great team and hard work meeting opportunity, it all paid off and we did very well. Because of that, I began pursuing the next stage of the plan, getting the word out that I was interested in a move and voila, a year earlier than I planned, we are moving.
Never estimate the power of goals.
The adventure begins.
It is an exciting time for the family and something that we have wanted to pursue for quite a while. On a personal level, going international is something that we set as a family goal 3 years ago.
It is a testament to the power of goals, set your mind and focus on achieving a goal and it can be attained.
That being said, the next 6 weeks will be very crazy for us (As the last 6 weeks have) as we transition between continents. Expect me to be back around the July time frame.
Cheers
Have you ever sent an email and then wanted to rewrite something seconds later or maybe make a quick change? I have and it ALWAYS happens 2 seconds after as you watch the Outbox move from (1) to (0) – too late.
Well, not anymore. Just follow this simple process (copied from Outlook Help).
1. In the main Outlook window, on the Tools menu, click Rules and Alerts.
2. In the Rules and Alerts dialog box, on the E-mail Rules tab, click New Rule.
3. Under Step 1: Select a template, under Start from a blank rule, click Check messages after sending, and then click Next.
4. Click Next again, and when you see the message This rule will be applied to every message you send, click Yes.
5. Under Step 1: Select action(s), select the defer delivery by a number of minutes check box.
6. Under Step 2: Edit the rule description (click an underlined value), click a number of.
7. Enter a number between 1 and 120, and then click OK.
8. Click Finish, and when you see the message This rule is a client-side rule, and will process only when Outlook is running, click OK.
I had a little run in with Canada Customs the other day. Maybe I should have just shut up, maybe I did the right thing. Who knows. Enjoy my letter of complaint:
Attention Manager, Canada Border Services;
On April 27th around 630pm I was passing through the final check point at Pearson and approached the exit. A girl, of approximate age 9, was struggling with a large push car that was over filled with bags. It had to weigh twice her. Peace Officer XX was sitting at his post with a perturbed look and began berating the girl. While I cannot remember the exact words, it was along the line of hurry up, hurry up, even though she was struggling. I passed her and stated ‘give her a break, she is having trouble with the bags’.
He took my card, put it in the pile and waved me through. I got about 15 feet up and he yelled the following to me (I remember it clearly):
‘Hey buddy stop, I was going to give you a free pass but not now’. Shocked, I returned and stated ‘you are going to drag me back because I told you to lay off the little girl’. He responded with ‘You should not have said anything. No more talk off you go’. Irate, I turned and said ‘jerk’ (Which I should not have). The Peace Officer beside me heard and in no uncertain terms said ‘keep it to yourself and file a complaint inside if you want’.
I moved inside. About 3 or 4 minutes went by and 3 other officers walked by. I asked to see a supervisor and they advised me to get through the line and ask at check in.
Moments later, Peace Office XX came down the line and started confronting me. This was fully witnessed by the supervisor.
He stuck his finger in my face and stared yelling at me that I cannot call him that. He was very angry. At this point, I did not respond to his confrontation but clearly stated the following ‘After an 8 hour flight you dragged me in here after letting me by because I caught you being rude to a 9 year old girl. Shame on you’
The supervisor pushed him back gently, he did not move, and asked him to go back to his post. He did not. The supervisor did it again, asking him to return to his post. Finally, he turned around and began leaving.
I said to the supervisor that I wanted to file a complaint about that man and restated the above. Peace Officer xxx turned around and started coming back again. The supervisor turned and told him to return to his post in a firm tone. He did.
This represents a blatant abuse of authority and behaviour that was unfitting a Canadian government employee. If I had wagged my finger and come into his face in as menacing a manner, I would be writing this from a cell.
I recognize that I should not have gotten frustrated and used the aforementioned word. That being said, shame on him for picking on an overloaded girl and shame on our system if his rude behaviour and abuse of authority is not reprimanded.
I was in the Future Shop looking at TVs and found it very interesting. The prices of LCD and Plasma TV’s keeps dropping but Plasma, for me, remains a challenge due to potential burn in (As I use Media Center and the XBOX 360).
Then I came across this 2nd generation LED DLP. The history is the first generation had a ton of issues, but this 2nd generation is pretty spectacular at a very low cost. The Samsung 57” is $2700 and the reviews are pretty amazing.
Done.
“Remember, the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it”
What a great quote from Business 2.0 this month via Henry Ford. So true. In today’s world, it is so easy to just follow the crowd, ‘go with the wind’. In life and in business .. the road less travelled …
I have been travelling to Europe frequently over the last month and I have been fascinated by the disparity in standards. One cannot help if this is an extension of the Bible story of ‘Babel’ where humans were scattered to the wind due to a simple language change.
For instance, consider these two offshoots:
· Power standards: What a nightmare. Different plugs. Different voltages. Different standards. Don’t plug your 110 V appliance into a 220V appliance or ‘BOOM’. Just think of the additional costs that this adds for manufacturers. They cannot churn out millions of an item, they need to forecast each region and modify accordingly. How many billions does that add to our cost? Check out this map on different standards.
· Driving: Part of the world drives on the right. Part of the world drives on the left. I was recently corrected that the UK style of driving (right side driver) is now not that unusual thanks to .. China and India. It was pointed out that there are now more people driving on the left side than the right. Again, imagine the impact on manufacturing. Every single car out there has 2 designs – a left model and a right model. Again .. billions.
And so, we remain apart, slowing our advancement as a race and our reaching the heavens. Mission accomplished big guy.
I was recently at a meeting in Wales, UK. When I first was told that I was going to Wales, I responded ‘Where is Wales?’.
The response was ‘cheeky git’ and this link. To which I responded ‘Isn’t this Greenland?’ (No response).
It would appear that the Welsh are very independent (Seems to be common on that island) and that there is tension between the English and those from the Wales area. In fact, one gent told me that years ago he walked into a Welsh pub and they refused to serve him.
The English also find it ironic that you have to pay a toll to get into Wales but get out free.
These pictures were taken, in the rain and wind, on my HTC Windows Mobile phone. Not bad.
“We judge ourselves by our intentions, but we judge others by their actions”
An interesting statement (I think it came from Ken Blanchard). Personally, I work to ask questions to understand people’s intentions before making a judgment on their actions.
It changes things, especially in the world of email and IM where 95% of what is communicated is lost, as the majority of communication is non-verbal, and therefore not available when communicating electronically.
In the March 2007 issue of Men’s Health they have an interesting article called WORRY YOUR WAY TO THE TOP: How insecurity and paranoia can accelerate your career (I find the articles in Men’s Health often more interesting than Fortune).
The author, Gil Schwartz, suggest that if you are not sufficiently paranoid, the following can happen:
Bad people can stab you in the back: His point being that there are not so nice people out there that love to victimize people. Unfortunately, true. Heck, I know a few people who consider themselves morally outstanding or ethically superior and I have watched them stab, stab, stab away.
Less-bad people can stab you in the front: You see these people coming, swords flailing. A sunny attitude won’t help you to survive their attack. True. Of course, if you have built a good team around you, you can face them down through the strength of your team and network. Work doesn’t need to be a battle.
You won’t be allowed to hang around vicious predators, which means you wont be allowed to hang around with senior management. I laughed at this one. Sure, there are predators at the top – but there are also some who are just real tough and good business people. Business is not war .. sorry Gil.
People won’t bother to move your cheese, they will just steal it: Gil suggests that your smile is great, but many collegues will rob you blind if you give them a change. Gee Gil .. starting to lose faith in you. The first 2 made sense, these last 2 are a little too paranoid. I would suggest that if you are working there, seek new employment where the leader fosters a spirit of team and trust.
You won’t know what is going on most of the time: He has a point here, for the overly optimistic when the world is not perfect, they tilt. The world is not perfect, people do odd things, but if you take the time to know what is going on around you, then you can anticipate issues. I also know a lot of people who thrive on this stuff – they love to be in the ‘know’. That being said, every minute getting into the ‘know’ is a minute spent away from actually DOING SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE.
I look at this article and see what is wrong in business. Too much conniving. How about doing a good job, making sure you have a strong network and building a great team with a foundation of trust?
I think I would rather be known as competent, tough but fair and a team builder over what the above suggests you become … ‘political’. No thanks.
Read an interesting article on Firefly and how there is this group of people out there that call themselves browncoats, still working to resurrect the show.
If you have not seen the show and like sci-fi, it is a great show. Worth buying the DVD. Whatever you do, don’t want the Serenity movie before watching the show. It ruins it – as the movie is ‘the ending’.
Which brings me to my point. I loved the show. Would love to see it go on. But guys, the movie answered everything. It is over …. Sorry guys.
A few family quotes from an article that made me think:
“one of the most glories messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day, don’t clean it up too quickly” Andy Rooney
“You know what this family needs, a mute” Dennis Leary in THE REF (great movie)
“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you might as well make it dance” George Bernard Shaw
And the one that I want to always remember:
“The best way to give advice to children is to find out what they want and advice them to do it” Harry Truman
I have been travelling quite a bit and one of my frustrations remains laptop battery life. Not all Air Canada planes are retrofitted yet, so it is hit and miss if you get power.
Well, this week a teammate lent me his Toshiba Thin Slice Battery. It attaches to the bottom of the laptop adding about an inch in depth and runs forever!
On a 3 hour plane ride, I walked off with 50% battery left. He said he flew Toronto to London and still had juice at the end in power saver mode. Maybe there is hope yet.
It has been a while since I travelled to Europe. Upon landing in Frankfurt recently I noticed 3 things;
I was only there for an hour. Stop on the way to Prague. Interesting, these are the points I will remember.
This website was forwarded to me and I could not help but laugh out loud. Enjoy the Top 10 Chuck Norris facts:
A few others that did not make the top 10, but made me laugh:
A picture from the taxi of Prague Castle.
A random beautiful building as we entered Prague downtown.
From the top of the hotel. Beautiful.
I had a whirlwind week and had the opportunity to visit Prague, Czechoslovakia and London, England last week. Two nations, 4 days.
Prague is a fascinating city, I wish I had more time (actually, any time would have been good) to walk about and experience the city. My impressions of this very old city:
1. As we drove from the airport, I was wondering what it would be like as the entire area near the airport is filled with cold war buildings. Very Russian looking – lots of concrete, bland colours (with a smattering of brighter colors). Dreary looking. Then you drive past Prague Castle, and everything changes. You drive around a bend and the below you are buildings that are 800, 900 years old in bold colours with beautiful architecture. Spectacular. North America does not have this type of history.
2. Graffiti is very prevalent, everywhere. Some of the graffiti is art; other graffiti is just silly names. A shame.
3. As we drove, we stopped at a light and two men were bent over repairing the cobblestone on the walkway. Old craftsmanship still lives.
4. It is expensive. 690 koruna for 1 hour of 256KB high speed in the hotel. Something like 1600 koruna for 24 hours of the high speed that we expect. It is approximately $6 CDN for every $100 koruna. In the hotel where we stayed, it was 330 euros per night.
5. English was everywhere. The airports had signs that were in CZ and in English. I found that interesting, that they would cater to the English. All of the people interacted with spoke English.
Too bad I was in the hotel in meetings from 8AM to 8PM every day. The glory of business travel. I then popped over to London for 2 days for meetings. Boy, it was a long week.
A recent study reported in Decima Reports covered the viewing habits of children aged 7-12. It would appear that TV remains a prevalent form of entertainment – with 92% of children watching TV.
TV is interesting in our family. The boys go it spurts. But one thing is for sure, when they are forced to watch a show ‘live’, they get very frustrated with their inability to skip commercials. While kids still watch TV, their viewing patterns have changed.
A cool picture that was sent to me of Niagara Falls the last time it froze over. COMPLETELY. 1911. Now that is COLD.
You can find a few more fascinating photos and the history here.
The Globe & Mail had a good article called ‘No. 1 employee not always your No. 1 manager’. In the article, they list the following reasons why new managers fail:
Source: DDI Canada
It so happens that this Friday I am doing a roundtable with people who want to understand what it means to pursue a management career. To ‘prep’ for the event, they have provided working documents to spark discussion. One of the documents highlights issues that can limit success, including:
At the roundtable, my best piece of advice will be: Read 2 books before becoming a manager and take them to heart:
Apple fanboys crack me up. For some reason, they just can’t get enough of talking about how great Apple is and how bad Microsoft is.
It is like a joke I heard about a place in Toronto called ‘the beaches’. A cool little community where people who live there cannot stop talking about how great it is compared to the rest of Toronto. The joke:
What is the most annoying thing about people who live in the beaches?
They won’t shut up about how great it is to live in the beaches.
Apple fanboys .. we get it. You love the platform. You think it is so much better than Microsoft. You think that everything that Microsoft does is just copying Apple. When Apple has a problem, you don’t care or acknowledge it, because to acknowledge a flaw is to desecrate nirvana. When Apple brings out a product, it is deemed revolutionary just because it is Apple – regardless of whether or not there are some really odd things about it that have been tried before and failed. But, because Apple is doing it .. it will succeed!
And, when someone comments on the Apple? They must not be enlightened.
Apple has done many things to be admired, their marketing is brilliant, iPOD? Great product. Creation of a rabid fan base, amazing. That same Apple fanboy group .. tired. Get over yourself – you are not unique because you use an Apple no matter how much you want to be. You are just annoying.
My favorite Apple parody video. Sorry!
My mother-in-law once explained to me how to get tickets for hot events – join their fan club. She does this with Cirque. Interesting, I join the fan club and I get access to ‘pre-public’ release tickets… interesting.
Yesterday, I joined the Police Fan Club. $100 USD. THE POLICE ARE COMING TO TORONTO!
It worked. I received my invite to early seating.
Mediocre seats. But I got seats!
I am getting some REALLY weird SPAM in the corporate email box these days. What is really odd is that I have not gotten SPAM for 5 years and all of a sudden it started getting through (Even though it is ending up in my junk mail box).
What I find very perplexing about the latest SPAM is the point? I can understand if they are marketing a product – but these make no sense.
To illustrate, the subject of this blog was the title of the email and the content of the mail was as follows:
Get Human BIOSYSTEMS INC. (HBSC.OB) share today.
THE CLOCK IS ACTIVATED! AND IT IS GOING TO BURST.
Millions people will know about this share right now and most of them will buy and will make money on it.
Monday will be the day when your gains will be really SOAR.
It’s getting growth almost every hour! So you can triple your balance any time.
We are sure thet you had not moment like that before.
Friday price: JAN 18 – $0.08
On monday 22 January it will – 0.13$ at least and 0.20$ at most (not bad for a day)
Inform your brokers in order they buy it immediately.
Do not lose your moment.MORE THAN 95% EVERY DAY!
BUY THIS INCREDIBLE HBSC.OB right now.
I don’t get it. Do they really thing that I will go out and buy this stock? Do they think I will inform my broker so ‘they buy it immediately’? Just odd and candidly, pointless.
SPAMers, this decade’s degenerate.
Change This is a site where people post their views or manifestos for others to consider. In the words of the Change This creators, it is a site for optimists.
There are many interesting ideas on the site, it is worth a look. One that caught my eye was by Tom Peters, one of the most prestigious business speakers and writers of our time. In his manifesto ‘111 Ridiculously Obvious Thoughts on Selling’ , Tom provides quick nuggets to digest and consider.
The fundamental tenet which comes through loud and clear is relationships, that you must be maniacal about managing contacts AND out there on the lunatic fringe. Slow and steady is for 5th place. A few choice points that really captured my eye:
“Everyone lives by selling something” Robert Lewis Stevenson
“You can’t behave in a calm, rational manner. You’ve got to be out there on the lunatic fringe” Jack Welch
(8) IT’S RELATIONSHIPS, STUPID—DEEP AND FROM MULTIPLE FUNCTIONS.
(1) “Strategy” overrated, simply “doin’ stuff” underrated.
(21) Good listeners are good sales people.
“If you don’t listen, you don’t sell anything.” Carolyn Marland, Managing Director, Guardian Group
(27) Are you a great (not merely “good”) presenter? Mastering presentation skills is a life’s work—with stupendous payoff.
(29) Are you good at flowers? Think: FLOWER POWER! (See Harvey Mackay’s “Mackay 66”— what you should know about a Client; e.g., birthdays & anniversaries.)
(34) Never stop growing-broadening-deepening the relationship. The key to “indispensability” is to get the Client more and more … and more … and then more … imbedded in “our” web. Hence the so-called “selling process” is only the first step!
(59) Work hard beats work smart. (Mostly.)
(66) Be hyper-organized about relationship management—you are in the anthropology business. Study the great pols! Brilliant NRM (network relationship management) is not accidental! It is not catch as catch can. (Football analogies are cute—but deep political understanding pays the private-school tuition.)
(77) It’s never over: While there may be an excellent service activity in your company, the “relationship” belongs to You! Hence the “aftersales” “moments of truth” are at least as—if not more than*—important to the Continuing Relationship as the sale “transaction” itself. (*I vote for “more than.”) You’ll get your biggest “points” with the Client for being an effective after-the-fact go-between with your company.
(95) YOU MUST LOVE THE PRODUCT!
(105) Become a student! Yes, you can study Relationship Building. So, study …
(107) The smartest guy in the room rarely wins—alas, he usually is aware he’s the smartest guy. (And needn’t waste his time on that “soft relationship crap.”
Media preferences continue to change rapidly. A few nights ago I had a few free moments and instead of watching a TV show, I went online to watch Superbowl ads – and laughed.
My favorites:
1. This cracks me up, the Bud hitchhiker.
2. The fist is dead – Bud Light.
3. K-Fed for National – if you don’t know who this guy is, he is Brittany’s ex who launched a record that sold 6000 copies in the first week.
4. Taco Bell lions.
A few previous favorites:
1. Terry Tate – office linebacker and productivity enhancer.
2. Bud’s yelling like a ref.
On the topic of out of office messages, here are a few that will never get published:
“I am not in the office today as season 5 of 24 came out on DVD today. I started watching it around 7PM last night and around 4 a.m. realized that I needed to be up in 2 hours. Instead of going to bed and coming back grumpy, I decided to pull an all-nighter. Only 10 episodes to go! See you tomorrow”
“It is sunny out. I don’t get paid enough. I am going to sit at a public pool and get a tan. I will respond if I care. Don’t hold your breath”
“Thanks for the email but I cannot respond because I am out on the golf course and the only thing that is important to me is breaking 80. I will email you a token 1 line response in between holes, but if you want action, you will have to wait until tomorrow”
“Tequila. Shots. Head hurts much. Go Away. Tomorrow me respond. Stop jackhammer. Aspirin.”
“Child sick. Surrounded by Tylenol Cold, cough medicine, orange juice, an overworked humidifier and a house that reminds me of a petri dish. Someone help me. Get me out of here”
“I am on vacation. If I win the lottery on Wednesday, I am not coming back – EVER. If I don’t, I will respond Monday”
I will be blogging intermittently over the month. Busy time! Cheers
Over the last weeks I have noticed a wide range of out of office messages in email. They range from:
“I am travelling on business this week with limited access to voicemail and email. If this is urgent, please call my cell phone at …”
.. to …
“I am out of the office today in customer meetings. I will return emails at the end of the day. If this is urgent, please call me at ….”
I only use the out of office feature in Exchange/Outlook when I am on vacation for a few reasons:
1. For my family’s sake, I don’t want people to know that I am travelling and not at home. Many serious crimes are committed by people who are close to you, so why arm others with the knowledge that I am not home?
2. I carry a Windows Mobile 5 phone, so I am always on. I get email pushed to me, my office phone is forwarded to my cell (even when I am in the office I will simply forward it to my cell) and my cell is always on. So why bother? I may be out of the office, but in today’s all ways on work environment remain accessible.
3. When I go on vacation, I go on vacation. I turn everything off. I remember telling someone last year that if they reach me on my vacation, it better similar Sudden Impact in magnitude or I did not want to hear about it until I was back. I unplug.
That being said, I do like to have fun with those message. A few that I have used and received comment on:
“I will be on vacation from July X to July X. If this is an urgent issue, please feel free to contact (insert appropriate names). Thanks for your note, have a wonderful Christmas and New Years!”
“I will be on vacation from X to X. If this is an urgent issue, please feel free to contact (insert appropriate names). If you are feeling disgruntled or need someone to yell at, please contact (I inserted the name of the guy covering my business at the time). He is a good listener, generally optimistic and strong problem solver, he awaits your call. Have a great day!”
If nothing else, they made me laugh.
I realized the other day that I often do not wear a seatbelt during cab rides. When I reflect, I am not sure why that is. I wear one in the car at all times at home. Why not?
Well, my view changed a few weeks ago when speaking to a driver on the way to the hotel. When I asked him how his morning was going, he said well but that he was still shaken up from his last ride. He went on to explain that on his last drive to the airport the guy beside him was on his phone not paying attention to the road ahead of him and all of a sudden the traffic stopped ahead of him. He slammed on the brakes and, recognizing that he was not going to stop in time, swung into the lane beside him to avoid the car in front (missing by no more than an inch but putting the next lane in peril).
The driver ‘stood’ on his breaks and was able to stop a hair from the guy’s bumper and avoiding an accident (luckily, no one was close behind him).
An accident can happen anywhere. I have started wearing my seat belt in cabs.
I wish I was in Vegas, CES is on and the cool stories are coming out. Gadget nirvana.
· Check out the new Windows Home Server here. Finally, a central simple server to manage files and back-ups. Engadget had their hands on it here.
· Interesting articles on the new XBOX 360V2 here (With HDMI support! Time for a new TV).
· Microsoft announced the XBOX 360 as a set top box for IPTV here. Engadget did a great job of grabbing pictures of the interface here.
· Apple’s iPhone is quite the device. Good work Apple. Interesting write-up on the iPhone versus the LG phone which looks very similar. The Cisco lawsuit is amusing. But I wonder about the keyboard. I have had the touchscreen on a Pocket PC forever, and if you are older than 9, your fingers are too big. From Gizmodo:
Keyboard: The softkey, on screen buttons are small. Think index finger, not thumb. Maybe I wasn’t doing it right. The keys pop up when I put my finger down on the keys, but do you think the proximity sensor knows when I get close (but before I touch), and if I hover with my digit, it’ll blow up the keys so they’re easier to hit? (Am I making sense?)
· Warner has brought out a hybrid HD-DVD/Blu-Ray DVD. This is one way to deal with the ridiculous HD-DVD / Blue-Ray fiasco which is a repeat of the VHS – Betamax ways of decades ago but while the consumer gets both versions, it will come at a premium as royalties will be paid to both parties. Hybrid players were also announced like this one from LiteOn. Personally, I am holding off the whole thing.
A few random health notes …
· Men’s Healthy, November 2006: A study in the journal Stroke reports that researches have found that coated aspirin is not as effective as plain aspirin in preventing heart disease. In a test with 71 patients, after two weeks those that those who took uncoated aspirin had level of thromboxane (which contributes to blood clots) that were 87% lower than those who swallowed coated pills. I take an aspirin a day, and have switched from coated 80mg a day to uncoated (but could only find it in a children’s bottle).
· In the October Men’s Healthy, October 2006: The Omega-3 fats found in fish oil reduce chronic pain as we as ibuprofen and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. When neck and back pain sufferes replaced their daily NSAID with 1.2 grams of fish oil for 10 weeks, 60 percent reported feeling better. They like Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega. I have been trying less exotic names from the local store. A combination of Flax Oil and Omega 3 oils (And trying to eat more sushi! I love sushi). It has almost been a year since I stopped taking inhibitors, limiting my pill intake to the odd Ibuprofen. The arthritis pain is bad sometimes, but for the most part manageable although I am not sure if it is these types of vitamins or the regiment of exercise, constant hydration and trying to reduce processed sugars (Which is the toughest of the three. I am Dutch. I love sweets).
1. A depreciating asset. It is not something that goes up in value; it is constantly dropping in value. So, it should be treated as such.
2. A tool. I drive it to and from work. Nothing more. Nothing less.
So, I want something that is reliable and comfortable.
Over the last year our 1998 BMW 328i has been on a death watch. We have been waiting for that next bill to come along were we look at the price and say ‘not worth fixing, buy a new car’.
That time almost came in the summer/fall a few times:
But about 2 weeks ago, the time came. I was driving into Toronto and a light came on. I laughed and thought ‘That is a new light. Never seen that one before’. When I got to the office, I looked in the manual and it was the brake lights. The manual said something like this:
You are toast. You have not bothered to have the brakes checked in a really long time. They are about to fail and you could go crashing over a bridge in a ball of flames if you don’t get them fixed right now. Do not pass go. Go straight to a mechanic.
Well, I had a Christmas lunch to go to so I went to that first, figuring I would drop it straight off after the lunch. Bad idea.
I started driving and a funny thing happened … the brakes started to make an awful grinding noise. Now, I am no mechanic but I know that is bad because I have been around machinery all my life. After all, I have the scars to prove it in the form of a long burn on my shoulder from where a piece of hot metal fell while I was welding the muffler back onto my Hyundai Pony with my new girlfriend watching (She is now my wife, who wouldn’t marry a University guy who knows how to weld?)
Anyhow, it starts grinding really bad. Every stop is a terrible noise. People are looking at me funny. Parents are moving their kids away from the edge of the sidewalk as who knows when this thing will blow. I limp to the lunch and during the conversation, bring up my current car grinding situation. A brilliant compatriot suggest ‘use the parking brake’. BRILLIANT! Well, good enough. It gets me to the mechanic.
I drop off the keys; they say they will call me with an estimate. I get a call 2 hours, later: $1300. Oh no. This is too close to call. It is December. Do I really want to buy a car when entering the winter or wait for the summer? We may move, how does that factor in? Is that large enough to do it? I decide to do the work. I will get through the winter (After all I just bought new winter tires) and buy in the spring.
The next day they call (Saturday). Sorry, could not get the parts. Will have it done end of day Monday. Shoot, that is inconvenient but ok.
They call Monday. Sorry, wrong estimate. It is actually $2000.
Three hours later, I had a new car.
But I did not trade in the BMW. I wanted to get some money for it. That story is for the next blog.
I wanted to expand on the losing weight comment and how it relates to business (See yesterdays blog). In business, we are always going to lunches and dinners which are killers to the waist line. For a few key reasons:
1. Most people don’t know how much they are eating: In the January issue of Men’s Health they did a survey of people to determine if they were aware of how many calories are in what they eat (With an eye to the average of 2000 calories per day for a male). I was a bit shocked by the number of calories in some dishes:
a. Hamburger and Fries: Average guess was 777 calories. Actual number: 1,240.
b. Fettuccine Alfredo (One of my favourite dishes): Average guess was 704 calories. Actual number: 1,500 … YIKES.
c. Chicken Fajitas (A Jack Astors favourite of mine): Average guess was 704 calories. Actual number: 1,660 calories.
A friend of mine recently told me about his Maynards Wine Gums experience. He was gaining weight and changing his diet to fix it. One of his vices were 1lb bags of Wine Gums from Costco. At Christmas he had a shock, 12 wine gums have 165 calories. Imagine how many calories are in a 1lb bag!
2. Most people clear their plate: It is the depression era, right thing to do! Be thankful that you are not a child in the 3rd world who is starving is what they would say! Clean you plate to show thanks for the blessings we have been provided they would say!
Now apply that logic to a business meal. Appetizer. Entree. Dessert. Drinks. 2000 calories? In a single sitting. It all adds up.
For me, I have implemented the pant waist size warning system to ensure that I am on the right track (I have worn the same pant size for 10 years and it will never change), I exercise a few times a week (It varies, 2, 3 or even 5 times a week depending on life’s schedule) and don’t clean your plate!
We were out at a New Year’s party and a few people asked ‘What are your New Year resolutions?’ Without much thought I was able to answer ‘I don’t have any new years resolutions’
Nope.
Not one.
Why? I don’t know. Could I use the change of the year as a catalyst for some personal change? Possibly. But, I don’t want to be one of those people who needs a date as a catalyst (only to break it). I prefer a set of goals that remain core to my daily life, providing a consistent and guiding theme over time. Those themes are:
1. My wife, boys, family and faith
2. Continual improvement (both skills and career)
3. Fitness and health
4. Have fun
The most common New Year resolutions from the US government web site:
Happy New Year, BACK TO WORK!
· BLAMESTORMING: Sitting in a group, discussing why a deadline was missed or a project failed and who was responsible.
· SEAGULL MANAGEMENT: A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, leaves droppings all over the place then leaves.
· CUBE FARM: Office filled with cubicles.
· PRARIE DOGGING: When someone yells or drops something loudly in a cube farm resulting in heads popping over the walls to see what is going on. Also applies when a spontaneous celebration breaks out like a promotion or extra lucky chain letter.
· SITCOM: Single Income Two Children Oppressive Mortgage. When a couple starts having children and one decides to stay home to take care of the children or ‘start a home business’.
· PERCUSSIVE MAINTENANCE: The fine art of whacking the crap out of an electronic device to get it working again. (PERCUSSIVE: Like impact. Having the impact or effect of a blow.)
He is a Major in the Canadian Forces and near the end of the exchange; he mentioned that he is off to Afghanistan in January. He will leave his family and non-military friends behind for 9-12 months and face a wide range of dangers.
I am sure that through 2007 I will think about what he is going through over there. An enemy that is disguised within the general population; snipers, random suicide bombings and many other things. What was interesting was his perspective on the Afghan people (one that I have heard before). These people do not know normal, it is not part of their history. They spent a decade with the Russians, then it was the Taliban and now it is random chaos where the things that we take for granted are luxuries (like electricity and running water).
Prayers are with him and his comrades, doing the work that our government has set in motion while we enjoy the benefits of freedom and an evolved civilization in North America.
The finale was refreshing. After a show filled with Santa and holiday fun, the nativity story was told in a very solemn manner with all of the trappings (Live camels, sheep … every facet was complete). Very powerful. It is nice to see that in our culture where the word Christmas is becoming verboten, that one show retains the true meaning. As a funny aside, I can remember when my son was in Grade 1 and the teacher asked ‘What is the true meaning of Christmas?’. She was surprised when he said ‘It is when Jesus was born’.
A great family show. Worth waiting a year for (LOL).
Spamalot: We went with friends and our expectations of this show were as follows ‘I expect to laugh my a$$ off for the next 2 hours”. We were not disappointed. There are two types of people in this world, people who love Monty Python and people who hate Monty Python. I have never met someone who said ‘I kind of like it’. It is not that type of humour. Well, if you love Python, then you will love this show. The play is adapted from Monty Python and the Holy Grail(Which my brother and I watched at least 50 times) but has a range of great adaptations (The Finland opening had me cheering from the start and make sure you read the program (Moose trainers and all!)). Expect to see all your favourite scenes: The black knight, Lancelot storming the castle to save the ‘Damsel’, the dialogue between Arthur and the peasant who wants to understand how Arthur became king when he ‘did not vote for him’ and of course .. the killer bunny.
Raving praises for this show. I would see it again, in a heartbeat.
Wicked: I will admit, I grow weary when watching a musical .. and by the end, I was done with the signing. But, it is a great play. It is the story of the wicked witch of the west, from her perspective. I will not ruin the story, which is an adaptation of the book Wickedwhich takes the Wizard of Oz and turns it on it’s head. The play is full of social commentary, the most powerful being how the perception of evil can twist what is really evil. I always knew that the Wizard was a fascist!
In the end, I would suggest that it is a must see. A great story, with just a little too much singing (smile).
Lucky for me .. 3 shows, all excellent in very different ways.
Michael Weening: a few pictures 
