On the day that the rest of the world was mourning Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, our family was mourning the passing of our hamster, Rocky.
Rocky was young - only about 8 months old - but had very recently exhibited signs of illness, including lethargy, bloating and constipation. We believe he did not suffer long.
Nine-year old Molly clearly was the most devastated as Rocky belonged to her and although she knows people who have died, this was her first experience with death on a more personal level. I give her a lot of credit. Initially she did not want to see Rocky's body, but she eventually changed her mind and actually petted him one last time. As one might imagine, there has been a lot of crying in our home the last couple of days.
He died on Thursday and that evening I wrapped him in white Bounty paper towels and he lay in state overnight in a Kenneth Cole shoe box. On Friday afternoon, we held a brief service in which we all spoke about how much we loved Rocky and what he meant to us. I read a poem we had found on the web written by another young girl who had lost her hamster. Rocky then had a burial at sea (or at least, at Hudson River).
We were all affected by this cute little fellow whom everyone that met him adored. As much as a hamster can have a personality, he certainly had one, and even though all the books we read said that they don't like to be handled closely, he was most comfortable in Molly's cupped hands and sometimes even fell asleep in her lap while she watched TV.
Molly asked if we could get another hamster in the fall. My first question was, "Do we name him Rocky 2?" And will the next ones be 3, 4 and 5 - or should we start calling them Rambo?
Rest in Peace Rocky. We will miss you.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
When Did I Become a Follower?
I noticed it some time within the last year, when one person said it to me. Then it happened a few more times. Now, I seem to be hearing it an awful lot, including twice today before 11AM.
When standing in line waiting - for a cashier at the store, at Starbucks, to check-in at a hotel - I used to be called up, hearing "Next customer," or "Next guest." Now, all I seem to hear is "Following customer."
I am sure that some marketing guru published a paper on this since it seems to have become a trend. The problem is that I really don't like it.
Being "next" has a connotation that you are now going to be taken care of. You waited for your turn and now you are the next one who will be served. It has a sense of achievement, a sense of finality. You have made it to the head of the line. You have won something - even if it's only the right to have your purchases rung up.
Do people (not you - other people) watch "America's Following Top Model" or "Star Trek: The Following Generation"? Does the teaser at 10:59PM say "Coming up following on Eyewitness News?" Does the announcer say, "Caitlin Bree, come on down! You're the following contestant on The Price Is Right?" Do you ship things "Following Day Air?"
No. Of course not. You're not the following customer, you're the next customer. Let's suppose you approach the panel of tellers at an otherwise empty bank, but the two that are open are busy and looking down. You wait until one of them is ready and usually, they say "Next." If they say "I can help the following customer," who are you following? There's no one else there.
To make matters worse, I'm more of a leader rather than a follower. I don't follow. I don't want to follow. I want to be next.
So to all the stores, hotels, restaurants, banks, etc - just cut it out. No more following. In your best Johnny Olsen or Don Pardo voice just say "Matthew Grob, come on down. You're the next customer to order a latte!" And sound like you mean it.
When standing in line waiting - for a cashier at the store, at Starbucks, to check-in at a hotel - I used to be called up, hearing "Next customer," or "Next guest." Now, all I seem to hear is "Following customer."
I am sure that some marketing guru published a paper on this since it seems to have become a trend. The problem is that I really don't like it.
Being "next" has a connotation that you are now going to be taken care of. You waited for your turn and now you are the next one who will be served. It has a sense of achievement, a sense of finality. You have made it to the head of the line. You have won something - even if it's only the right to have your purchases rung up.
Do people (not you - other people) watch "America's Following Top Model" or "Star Trek: The Following Generation"? Does the teaser at 10:59PM say "Coming up following on Eyewitness News?" Does the announcer say, "Caitlin Bree, come on down! You're the following contestant on The Price Is Right?" Do you ship things "Following Day Air?"
No. Of course not. You're not the following customer, you're the next customer. Let's suppose you approach the panel of tellers at an otherwise empty bank, but the two that are open are busy and looking down. You wait until one of them is ready and usually, they say "Next." If they say "I can help the following customer," who are you following? There's no one else there.
To make matters worse, I'm more of a leader rather than a follower. I don't follow. I don't want to follow. I want to be next.
So to all the stores, hotels, restaurants, banks, etc - just cut it out. No more following. In your best Johnny Olsen or Don Pardo voice just say "Matthew Grob, come on down. You're the next customer to order a latte!" And sound like you mean it.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Cellular Abroad
I was ordering an unlocked GSM phone and SIM card for France from Cellular Abroad for my wife and daughter who will be there next month. It’s a pretty neat concept and all told, a good value – especially since we can use the phone back here in the US once they return as it is unlocked.
I placed my order on their website and after providing all the required demographic and payment information and hitting “Submit”, I received an error message that there was a problem with my order and to please call them, which I did. I spoke with a nice young man who looked at the order and initially said that everything looked okay, but then said “Uh-oh. Here’s the problem. You’re not accessing our website from the same area where the phone is being shipped.”
I was doing this from my work laptop through a VPN connection and our corporate data center is located in the Midwest, so the IP address that was read by their website showed that I was in Minnesota, and not New York where the phone was being shipped.
I was told that since there is big business in fraud related to no-contract phones, their website has numerous fraud prevention methods built in, including matching IP address and shipping location.
The geek in me thought this was the coolest thing ever, and I told him so. This elicited an interesting response – he was very thankful. Apparently, others who get caught by these and other fraud prevention tactics are often annoyed and angry, and he has to deal with these folks. It was an apparent ray of sunshine for him to speak with someone who not only appreciated their efforts, but found them to be cool.
I really am a geek at heart.
So if you’re traveling abroad and need a local cell phone with great rates for calling back to the US, check out Cellular Abroad.
I placed my order on their website and after providing all the required demographic and payment information and hitting “Submit”, I received an error message that there was a problem with my order and to please call them, which I did. I spoke with a nice young man who looked at the order and initially said that everything looked okay, but then said “Uh-oh. Here’s the problem. You’re not accessing our website from the same area where the phone is being shipped.”
I was doing this from my work laptop through a VPN connection and our corporate data center is located in the Midwest, so the IP address that was read by their website showed that I was in Minnesota, and not New York where the phone was being shipped.
I was told that since there is big business in fraud related to no-contract phones, their website has numerous fraud prevention methods built in, including matching IP address and shipping location.
The geek in me thought this was the coolest thing ever, and I told him so. This elicited an interesting response – he was very thankful. Apparently, others who get caught by these and other fraud prevention tactics are often annoyed and angry, and he has to deal with these folks. It was an apparent ray of sunshine for him to speak with someone who not only appreciated their efforts, but found them to be cool.
I really am a geek at heart.
So if you’re traveling abroad and need a local cell phone with great rates for calling back to the US, check out Cellular Abroad.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Do We Really Still Need to Be Taught How to Operate Seat Belts?
I fly a lot and usually ignore the safety demos. That’s not to say I’m not conscientious about safety. I always note where the nearest exits are – both in front and behind me – and when I’m in an exit row, I review what maneuvers are required to open the emergency exit should I be called upon to do so.
On a flight this week, the flight attendant made a particular point of asking everyone to please put down their books, open their eyes, and pay attention to the safety demo. And that’s when I realized that they still teach us how to buckle and un-buckle a seat belt.
Okay, I understand that there are people in this world who have never seen a seat belt, and so I can understand why such instruction might be necessary. I imagine, however, that such people live in third world countries and consequently I don’t understand why we still do this on domestic flights. If they took a plane to get here, they’ve already been instructed how to operate the belt in question. And of course, this also presumes that people who don’t know how to use a seat belt also speak English since that’s the only language in which the safety demo is conducted.
Seat belts were first used in aircraft in the 1930s. The engineer that invented them for Ford did so based on his experience as a military flight instructor and they weren’t standard in the front seats of cars until 1964 – rear seat belts became standard in 1968 – and the first seat belt law was passed in 1970 in Australia.
So I started thinking if there is any other technology that has been in common usage since the 1960’s for which instructions are still provided. The first one that came to mind was the touch-tone phone. When you pick one up today, do you hear a voice instructing you to “Depress keys with the numbers corresponding to the telephone number which you wish to reach, in the same sequence as the telephone number itself. After depressing the key with the last number, wait a brief moment until your call is connected. Once you have finished with your call, replace the handset in the cradle. This will terminate the connection.”
When you pick up the remote control for the TV, is there a reminder that you press the “Power” button to turn the device on and off, and how to use the Channel and Volume buttons?
And have you recently picked up a can of soda or beer and been stymied by the pop-top device, wishing instead that you still lived in the days when you needed a pointy can-opener to do the job?
Let me know if you can think of others. I just wish flight attendants would give us detailed instructions in how to open those tiny bags of pretzels or peanuts without either spilling them all over or elbowing our seat neighbor when trying to pull the seams on the bag apart and they suddenly give way. Now that would be helpful safety information.
On a flight this week, the flight attendant made a particular point of asking everyone to please put down their books, open their eyes, and pay attention to the safety demo. And that’s when I realized that they still teach us how to buckle and un-buckle a seat belt.
Okay, I understand that there are people in this world who have never seen a seat belt, and so I can understand why such instruction might be necessary. I imagine, however, that such people live in third world countries and consequently I don’t understand why we still do this on domestic flights. If they took a plane to get here, they’ve already been instructed how to operate the belt in question. And of course, this also presumes that people who don’t know how to use a seat belt also speak English since that’s the only language in which the safety demo is conducted.
Seat belts were first used in aircraft in the 1930s. The engineer that invented them for Ford did so based on his experience as a military flight instructor and they weren’t standard in the front seats of cars until 1964 – rear seat belts became standard in 1968 – and the first seat belt law was passed in 1970 in Australia.
So I started thinking if there is any other technology that has been in common usage since the 1960’s for which instructions are still provided. The first one that came to mind was the touch-tone phone. When you pick one up today, do you hear a voice instructing you to “Depress keys with the numbers corresponding to the telephone number which you wish to reach, in the same sequence as the telephone number itself. After depressing the key with the last number, wait a brief moment until your call is connected. Once you have finished with your call, replace the handset in the cradle. This will terminate the connection.”
When you pick up the remote control for the TV, is there a reminder that you press the “Power” button to turn the device on and off, and how to use the Channel and Volume buttons?
And have you recently picked up a can of soda or beer and been stymied by the pop-top device, wishing instead that you still lived in the days when you needed a pointy can-opener to do the job?
Let me know if you can think of others. I just wish flight attendants would give us detailed instructions in how to open those tiny bags of pretzels or peanuts without either spilling them all over or elbowing our seat neighbor when trying to pull the seams on the bag apart and they suddenly give way. Now that would be helpful safety information.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Okay, I Admit It. I Like Justin Timberlake.
Although I do try to stay on top of what’s going on in popular culture, with the exception of Entourage I don’t necessarily get very excited about many things going on in the media. Up until recently, that went for Justin Timberlake as well. I’m not a huge fan of his music, though I do like some songs
His appearances on Saturday Night Live, however, have begun to convert me to a fan. Aside from the fact that he seems to be genuinely funny and very creative – especially when paired with Andy Samberg – when I have seen him in interviews over the past year, it would appear that he has a brain too. It’s a sad statement that I find that the exception rather than the rule when it comes to celebrities.
And I guess that’s my point. Just because someone is a celebrity, does not automatically confer upon them the attributes of being smart, articulate, or having a point of view I am even remotely interested hearing about. It would seem, however, that Justin does have all those attributes, and for that I respect and admire him.
His appearance on the May 9, 2009 SNL was what made me think about this. Aside from the fact that he is so much more comfortable doing live TV than other guest hosts and that he is perfectly comfortable parodying himself for the sake of a laugh, he really seems to bring the rest of the cast along with him. There is a palpable sense that they are happy to be working with him and it showed in the output – one of the best episodes in a long time from start to finish.
No, it’s not a man-crush, and he’s not even in the top 10 of the list of people I’d like to sit next to on an airplane. I just think the guy’s got talent on many fronts and a good head on his shoulders.
One request, though. Please don’t refer to him as “JT.” There is and will only ever be one “JT” and that’s James Taylor.
His appearances on Saturday Night Live, however, have begun to convert me to a fan. Aside from the fact that he seems to be genuinely funny and very creative – especially when paired with Andy Samberg – when I have seen him in interviews over the past year, it would appear that he has a brain too. It’s a sad statement that I find that the exception rather than the rule when it comes to celebrities.
And I guess that’s my point. Just because someone is a celebrity, does not automatically confer upon them the attributes of being smart, articulate, or having a point of view I am even remotely interested hearing about. It would seem, however, that Justin does have all those attributes, and for that I respect and admire him.
His appearance on the May 9, 2009 SNL was what made me think about this. Aside from the fact that he is so much more comfortable doing live TV than other guest hosts and that he is perfectly comfortable parodying himself for the sake of a laugh, he really seems to bring the rest of the cast along with him. There is a palpable sense that they are happy to be working with him and it showed in the output – one of the best episodes in a long time from start to finish.
No, it’s not a man-crush, and he’s not even in the top 10 of the list of people I’d like to sit next to on an airplane. I just think the guy’s got talent on many fronts and a good head on his shoulders.
One request, though. Please don’t refer to him as “JT.” There is and will only ever be one “JT” and that’s James Taylor.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
New Calendar Entries
My 2008 George W. Bushisms calendar (which many of you read excerpts from here on my blog) was replaced by a 2009 “365 Stupidest Things Ever Said” calendar. Though not quite as entertaining as the previous one, it certainly has it’s funny moments. Here are two of my more recent faves:
Actual Domain Names (read them carefully!)
Who Represents – A site to find agents of celebrities
www.whorepresents.com
Experts Exchange – A programmers site, though they’ve recently changed the domain name
www.expertsexchange.com
Sign at a Hotel Buffet in Mexico
Pene con Pollo y Curry
Penis with Chicken and Curry
Actual Domain Names (read them carefully!)
Who Represents – A site to find agents of celebrities
www.whorepresents.com
Experts Exchange – A programmers site, though they’ve recently changed the domain name
www.expertsexchange.com
Sign at a Hotel Buffet in Mexico
Pene con Pollo y Curry
Penis with Chicken and Curry
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Death Is Nothing At All
I had seen this poem before and always liked it. As someone who lost his father too early, I have often been somewhat philosophical about death - both that of others and when pondering my own fate.
I finally got around to getting the full version and looking into its history. Written by Henry Scott-Holland (1847-1918) who was the Canon of St Paul's Cathedral in England, it was apparently read as part of the sermon while the body of King Edward VII was lying in state at Westminster in 1910.
I don't mean to sound morbid, but when my time comes, I hope that those around me will heed these words. And for those who have experienced the death of a loved one, I hope that it brings some comfort as well.
Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other
That we are still
Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way you always used
Put no difference into your tone
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed
At the little jokes we always enjoyed together
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was
Let it be spoken without effort
Without the ghost of a shadow in it
Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolute unbroken continuity
What is death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind
Because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you for an interval
Somewhere very near
Just around the corner
All is well.
Nothing is past; nothing is lost
One brief moment and all will be as it was before
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!
I finally got around to getting the full version and looking into its history. Written by Henry Scott-Holland (1847-1918) who was the Canon of St Paul's Cathedral in England, it was apparently read as part of the sermon while the body of King Edward VII was lying in state at Westminster in 1910.
I don't mean to sound morbid, but when my time comes, I hope that those around me will heed these words. And for those who have experienced the death of a loved one, I hope that it brings some comfort as well.
Death is nothing at all
I have only slipped away into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other
That we are still
Call me by my old familiar name
Speak to me in the easy way you always used
Put no difference into your tone
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed
At the little jokes we always enjoyed together
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was
Let it be spoken without effort
Without the ghost of a shadow in it
Life means all that it ever meant
It is the same as it ever was
There is absolute unbroken continuity
What is death but a negligible accident?
Why should I be out of mind
Because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you for an interval
Somewhere very near
Just around the corner
All is well.
Nothing is past; nothing is lost
One brief moment and all will be as it was before
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting when we meet again!
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