Aug
25
2010
Horiscope for the Week
Author: Lyle
Wise advice, indeed. I feel better already.
Aug
17
2010
Deep Surplus
Author: LyleFound this thanks to my RSS feed from “Cool Tools”. Nice replacement for Radio Shack, now that it doesn’t sell parts any more.
Aug
8
2010
Dulles Aero Train
Author: LyleThe real excitement is that this is my first YouTube video. Shot with the trusty Canon PowerShot SD400.
This is the replacement for the famous Dulles “Mobile Lounge” trucks. I was previously against this improvement, as it took away that glorious 1960′s vibe that went along with the distinctive Dulles architecture. However, while it seems to have lengthened the security time at Dulles, the new trains retain their 1960′s vibe with the new 2001 A Space Oddessey styling queues.
Video below shows the ride. The interiors of the tunnels could have been better done, although I’m guessing that they were thinking most people aren’t in the front of the train and wouldn’t see the tunnels. They nailed the stations, however, including the awesome glowing light bridge.
Jul
22
2010
Charged Up
Author: Lyle
Jumper cables from woot, July 21, 2010
Wooted today. Jumper cables. Nice, new, clean ones, one for each car. And, can’t hook them up wrong, they automatically adjust polarity using magic.
Plus, they are blue. Blue is always good.
Jul
5
2010
jasonrobertbrown.com on Music Copyright
Author: Lylejasonrobertbrown.com – weblog – archives.
Really great commentary on copyright from a composer who finds his sheet music regularly traded online. He posts an exchange with someone on the other side, but there is a tremendous, articulate writing of the creator’s view.
There is also the heated, normal full spectrum from the idiotic to the thoughtful on Slashdot.
Jul
1
2010
Joke’s On Me
Author: Lyle
Bazinga T-Shirt from ThinkGeek
The first T-Shirt I’ve felt like buying in 20 years!
In truth, there are a ton of great T-shirts on the ThinkGeek web site, as well as lots of other cool things. I work at a place where some of there products are used. Well, at least by a small handful of people looking for distractions in the day from time to time.
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Jun
6
2010
Neville Bros. at the Birchmere
Author: Lyle
The Neville Brothers were at the Birchmere, this was the second time we saw them there and the third time overall. They always have put on a very fun, high energy performance, and its always great to see someone as iconic as Aaron Neville perform just a few tables away. They played about 2 hours, and we were really impressed with the solo work Aaron did at the end; he was well warmed up and knocked a few songs out of the park.
Their version of Iko Iko was fun as always.
Jun
6
2010
Reducing Satisfaction, One Customer At A Time
Author: LyleI spent the week traveling. Six flights from Tuesday to Friday. Because of all the clothing needed I ended up carrying a suitcase I couldn’t carry on, but had to check it. These days, of course, this is to be avoided since the airlines have added fees for bags (except Southwest) and at many airports the delays between getting off the plane and getting your bag can be huge. But, I had no choice, and got to experience again the joys of checked bags on American, Delta, and United, through 4 different airports.
The background is that airlines are hurting for revenue, and have added fees for all kinds of things. There are fees for checking bags (around $25 for one bag), fees for food ($5 and $8 for “airline quality” food, credit card only), fees for changing flights, fees for comfortable seats, fees for preferred seats, and in the case of United there are now fees for cashing in earned miles. I’ll focus on the $25 checked bag fee.
We already have a mechanism for avoiding checked bags; the delays associated with waiting for your bag after the flight. This isn’t an issue universally, some airports seem to have an ability to get the bag to baggage claim by the time you walk to it from the plane (DCA is a standout in this way). Others seem to send the bag to baggage claim “within 30 minutes or less”, leaning toward the 30 minute edge (BWI, unfortunately, is in this category). Now, we’ve added a $25 hit for this service, even more for more than one bag. Since this can add $50 to the cost of a round trip ticket, more and more people are avoiding the checked bag process.
Which leads to more and more people showing up at the gate with large bags to carry on. There are always passengers showing up with bags that are too large to fit into overhead bins. The typical business traveler has a laptop bag attached to a roll-aboard suitcase, the latter of which has to go overhead. This setup guarantees that by the time half the passengers have boarded all the overhead storage space is full and there is chaos in the aisle as people look for space above and plead with the cabin staff about how their bag cannot go in the cargo space below. It’s pretty clear air travel is an essential service, as no one would put up with a process this prone to disappointment, discourtesy, and delays for the pleasure of the experience.
The solution seems impossible to implement; have the bags predictably in baggage claim areas in the time it takes passengers to walk from the gate. Then, reduce the fees to $10 or $15 a bag, where it will seem like a reasonable fee for the service and not a penalty imposed on customers that have no alternative.
Side issue: Southwest seems to win again by advertising no bag fees. Their ticket prices have crept up and their planes are completely full as far as I can tell.
Business Opportunity: Use FedEx or someone for a service to send you bag from home to your hotel overnight. I’m sure they could beat the $25 price point in some ways.
May
20
2010
iPad Has Arrived
Author: LyleIt’s here, and as cleverly packaged as their other products. However, we’re not using it yet. The first time you turn it on it wants to sync with iTunes, which was unexpected. I would have thought it could do this over the cell network, so we haven’t really used it yet. We’ll see if we get some time to do this over the weekend.
Other obvious gripe: the little manual is printed in a font so small that a magnifying glass is needed to read it. I thought this document might just be the legal stuff which no one ever reads. But, it was the real instructions.
May
17
2010
iPad on its Way
Author: LyleDirectly from the factory. Sitting at FedEx in Hong Kong right now. I think it would have been faster to get put on the waiting list at the Apple Store.
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