Category Archives: Travel
This was the least gay photo I could find
Kris Krug is a fashion and editorial photographer based in Vancouver, British Columbia. His photographs have appeared in JPG Magazine, ION Magazine, Business Week, Wired Magazine, and others. I think he’s kind of a big deal but I’m sure he’s a terrific photographer. His Gnomedex pix are some of the best I’ve seen so far.
Seattle alley
14 hours, 900 miles
That’s a lot of windshield time for smays.com. But the company was good (Barb) and the distance still within my 1,000 mile drive-rather-than-fly range. Did I mention how much I hate the hassle of flying. You know what? I can’t wait for the current batch of American carriers to go belly-up. Sooner that happens, the sooner we’ll see alternatives. I’m serious as a depressurized cabin. But hey, I’m on vacation. Happy thoughts only.
The Miltenberger Clan has gathered here in beautiful Destin for a week of sun and fun. The nearby Starbucks (sorry, Taisir) has free wifi and I have some good books I’ve been stockpiling. Gotta run, it’s time for my post-drive bottom massage.
The TSA Show
I recently asked a friend, who travels frequently, about airport check-in security. He laughed and pulled out his Swiss Army knife. Not one of the tiny pin knives, but a knife with a four-inch blade.
“I forgot I had this in my pocket and went right through security.”
Isolated incident? Maybe. But does any reasonable person honestly believe we’re any safer on a plane than we were on September 10th? Do you think a terrorist group couldn’t smuggle a Stinger shoulder-fired missile into this country, park near a major U.S. airport, and knock down a plane? Remember, he’s not trying to get away.
So what’s all the TSA frenzy about. Show. A highly visible charade that accomplishes two things: 1. Persuade the American public their government is doing something to keep them safe. 2. Remind them they must be fearful and trust the government… to keep them safe.
American Airlines: Boarding of the Fittest
How bad has air travel in the U. S. become? We all know about the delays, canceled flights, germ-laden air, 12-hours-on-the-tarmac and all the rest. But the story my friend George shared this weekend is, I fear, a chilling portent of what’s ahead.
He and a colleague were flying back from a business trip (Baltimore to St. Louis) on American Airlines. Of course the flight was over-booked (by three people) and the gate agent offered vouchers for anyone willing to give up their seat (I think he said it was $200).
A little while later they made the announcement again, including some reference to not being able to depart until the oversold problem (now down to two) was resolved. Still no takers.
A few minutes later the agent came back on the PA and made an announcement that George recalls as:
"Ladies and gentlemen. We are still oversold and we can’t delay departure any longer. Please line up for boarding… the last two people in line will not get on this flight."
George couldn’t believe his ears. Everyone in the departure area looked at each other for a second and then stampeded, pushing and elbowing trying to insure they wouldn’t be at the end of the line.
This might just be the most chicken-shit thing yet from an airline. The gate agent could determine the last two passengers to book the the flight and break the bad news. Instead, they made the other passengers fight and claw like animals to get on the plane.
What about the infirm or women with babies, I asked. "No pre-boarding of any kind."
Yes, maybe this was an isolated incident. One gutless gate agent. But
can you imagine if this is –or becomes– standard procedure?
“Waning Days of the Road Warrior”
I hate air travel. Not “white knuckle” hate, but “hassle hate.” Fortunately I don’t have to do much of it any more. But lots of people in our company do and I feel for them. I also wonder how much of it is really necessary. Usually while playing with iChat and live video streaming.
Latest issue of Business Week has an article titled, The Waning Days of the Road Warrior (Why the current slowdown in business travel may not end when the economy recovers).
“For years, Irv Rothman, CEO of Hewlett-Packard’s Financial Services division, traveled at least once a quarter—top three lieutenants in tow—from his New Jersey base to HP’s Silicon Valley headquarters. After enduring Newark airport hell and six-and-a-half hours of stale, germy air, the team would arrive, strung out, to meet with their boss. For one hour. Then they would turn around and do the whole thing all over again.
The super surge in oil prices and resulting spike in airfares is just one reason companies are ordering their road warriors home. Factor in, too, the misery of modern air travel, which has de-glamorized the business junket. HR types also have a new appreciation for how the frequent-flier lifestyle can wreck executives’ health and family lives. And they have come to realize that jetting off for a one-hour meeting, while instinctual for corporate strivers, is rarely productive.
So, if managers aren’t flying to meetings, what are they doing? Using newfangled technology that is finally delivering the kind of Star Trek-y, space- and time-shifting experiences that tech executives have blabbered on about forever. Videoconferencing, Web-enabled meetings, online collaboration tools—all are giving workers the ability to dart around the globe from their desk chairs.”
The article reminded me of driving from Jefferson City, MO, to Dubuque, IA (9 hours?) to call on a station manager who really didn’t want to see me. To get the appointment I said something like, “All I need is a minute of your time.”
When I walked into his office and started take a seat, he reminded me that I had said I only needed one minute and that’s all that I had. So I stood there with my little briefcase in hand and told him what our network could do for his station. (I didn’t sign him up) Today I might have just sent him a Quicktime file or made my “pitch” via iChat. No less effective and a lot less costly.
Videoconferencing and related technologies really only work when both parties want to hear what the other has to say. How many meetings take place because it was the only way the “prospect” could get the sales rep to leave her the fuck alone? (Wonder if there’s any data on that)
These days, most of the people I deal with in remote locations want to talk to me and I want to talk to them. And, increasingly, they have the tech skills to do a quick face-to-face.
And if I need to send them a url or an image or any other kind of file for that matter, it’s easy to do.
Old Schoolers will talk about body language and non-verbal communication and “pressing the flesh” and all the other arguments for being in the same room.
We’ll talk again when that airline ticket to the coast is $2,000.
How far would you drive to avoid flying?
This morning at 5:05, Seth Godin left his home outside of New York City. At 7:25 am, he was at the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue (for a meeting next door).
“No hassles, no affronts, no work stoppages, no FAA inspections, no surly overworked attendants, no lost items or near arrests or runway tie ups or traffic jams.”
I think he’s making a point about flying. I HATE everything about flying and will drive a long distance to avoid it. How far would you drive. I stuck a little poll thingy on the right side of the page.
Vacations not for everyone
Reply
I don’t much care for what most people would call a “vacation.” And –once upon a time– felt a bit of guilt about it. Barb likes to travel so she and her sister frequently vacation together, so it works.
I discovered last week that I am not alone. The story (Yahoo! News) quoted a couple of people who share my lack of enthusiasm for The Vacation.
Nancy Kirk doesn’t consider them worth the effort. So instead of taking vacations, Kirk, 60, who owns an antique quilt and fabric business in Omaha, Neb., works down time into her everyday life — from taking an afternoon nap if she feels like it to occasionally tacking a day onto a business trip for sightseeing.
Jared Wadley, a senior public relations specialist at the University of Michigan news service in Ann Arbor, said he wasn’t interested in vacations even as a child. He not a workaholic, he says, but instead paces himself so that leisure is part of his day-to-day life.
“You have to look at why people take vacations. They want to get away from the office, but I enjoy my work so I don’t want to get away from it.”
There you go. I have three weeks of paid vacation but struggle to take it all. I think I would much prefer stretching those 21 days out into long weekends. If you add in the naturally occurring three-day-weekends… almost every other week would be a short one. Sound good?
Smile
Barb always gets better pix than I and brought back some nice ones from her recent trip to Destin. This is my favorite. Somewhere out on the web there’s a photo of Barb taking this picture of the man taking the photo of the family on the beach.