Random Quote I Remember Too Often

Wyatt Earp:

What makes a man like Ringo, Doc? What makes him do the things he does?

Doc Holliday:

A man like Ringo has got a great big hole, right in the middle of himself.

And he can never kill enough... or steal enough... or inflict enough pain to ever fill it.

Wyatt Earp:

What does he want?

Doc Holliday:

Revenge.

Wyatt Earp:

For what?

Doc Holliday:

Bein' born.

(I don’t know why I remembered this dialogue from Tombstone as I started pecking away at the keyboard.) Actually... yeah, I do.

Die, you fake Irish Pubs!

While the pure-tech quotient in Slashdot has been inching lower these days, it's still an amusing place to troll around for some real nuggets:

From http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/06/04/0218221&from=rss:

"However, there is an odd shot in the newly released "How- To" iPhone ad, where the screen goes from the traditional 11 icon view, to a new 12 icon view. (See below).

It's a pet peeve of mine that people use the word "traditional" for things which were invented very very recently. Traditional things are generational things, handed down from one generation to another. You can't make it artificially, and you can't make it quickly.

Reminds me of this brand new Irish Pub that just opened up down the road from me. As I am an alcoholic, I was right there belly to the bar on the SECOND day they were open. I was amazed to see that all the walls of the brand new bar were full of photographs of customers having good times with their friends, in this friendly neighborhood establishment. Amusingly, for a neighborhood bar, it was surprisingly inaccessible. You couldn't really walk to it, as there were no sidewalks, just rows and rows of parking spots. I wouldn't want to walk there anyway, because the traffic from the Bed Bath and Beyond next door is crazy.

So, these photos were all over the walls of this pub, showing hundreds of people having an amazingly good time. I was really jealous of those people who showed up at this brand new bar, on the first day it was open. They were the lucky ones, having had the opportunity to both create tradition, and have a good time doing it too. But still, it was a good feeling to see that my neighborhood bar had created in just one day what some pubs in Ireland are apparently still working on after 300 years or more.

I think that the new Irish bar next door really captured the tradition which my neighborhood strip mall holds in such high regard. I'm not sure that these little icons on a phone can measure up to that."

(I hate those fake Irish Pubs where they pour your Guinness into plastic cups and they come served while the foam is still avalanching in a cascade before the proper head forms. And they charge you $6 for it.)

Zoom Zoom...

I assume that those who work on a 8-to-5 jobs fill the remaining hours of their days with some productive activity in pursuit of life’s happiness… whether it be a second job or some self-study to accumulate more wealth, exercise and sports, spending time with family or friends, or fueling one’s passion with a new hobby or a language. Perhaps the reality for most is not as feature-packed as I tend to idealize, but as a consultant who finds himself most often in unfamiliar hotel rooms at the end of the evenings, I often look at others’ lives with a rose-y glass.

Turning the focus on moi once again, one of the expertise that one amasses on the road is travel-related stuff like lodging, dining and flights/rental cars. Practical stuff, though. If you drive a rental car more than your own, or sleep in a hotel room more nights than your own bed, you tend to chortle at the “expert” advices on travel shows or opinions in various forums or magazine columns, because you know which ones were written by people who “researched” a topic for the sake of authoring something, versus the real nugget of wisdom from years of experience.

Here are a few things that I’ve picked up over the years…

Lodging

• There are always cheaper rate than what you’ve paid for. You just don’t have access to it. Often times, the most aggressively bargained corporate rates or desperate weekend rates in business-travel destination tend to be the cheapest, but you can’t get the first one unless you work at the said company, and you have to spend a LOT of time researching.
• Opinions shared in travel websites such as travel.yahoo or tripadvisor.com should be taken with a grain of salt – like most opinions shared on any forum. A common complaint or praise is reliable; one person’s rant or rave is never the “norm.”
• For multiple night stays, leave a small tip for housekeeping the first night, then adjust the tip depending on quality of housekeeping service for the rest of the stay. Admittedly, most of the housekeeping staff are underpaid and they do a lot (especially for me, who tend to “spread out” a little), but some go the extra miles while others do the bare minimum – reward the first, but there’s no reason why the latter deserves a common quota
• Tipping overly-generously at the bar is a common advice to those who wish to establish a good rapport with the bar staff. This is especially valuable for the road warriors – the only person with whom you interact that is not work-related might be the bar staff.
• They can ALWAYS put you in a different room, as long as you didn’t show up at midnight when the hotel is fully booked. This is a cinch if you’re an elite member in their frequent-stay program, but it also applies to the average Joe (requires more persistence). If you find your room to be anywhere near the ice machine or the high school group on a field trip, march straight back to the front desk.
• (Personal rant) The aromatherapy line of products at Marriott hotels is abominable! It’s something like orange-ginger, and it’s way too strong/harsh.
• (Personal rave) Make efforts to get to know the hotel staff if you’re staying there at length. A warm greeting by name at the end of a hard day at the office is priceless.

Dining

• Eating alone at the bar of a restaurant always leads to more opportunity to meet new people (fellow road warriors) or get to know the bartender. Eating alone at a table is probably the worst thing; these people are usually found poring intensely at trashy paperback novel, never taking their gaze off the pages as they eat.
• Only ask “what’s good here” if your server seems has an extroverted, bubbly demeanor. Otherwise, you’ll get, “well, everything is good” or you’ll be advised on whatever their manager asked them to push that particular night. Beware of ones who are too glib – they’ll also push manager’s special.
• Manager’s Special = high-margin or about to expire
• Do not trust the concierge on dining advices – they’ll be happy to make reservations for you at the popular touristy places or chain restaurants. If you do have to resort to them, be specific about your budget (cheap) and what you’re looking for (casual, local watering hole) and you might get somewhere.
• Zagat sucks. Yelp.com is a better source of the low-downs on local restaurants.

Flights

• Seatguru.com. Even if you don’t qualify as elite fliers, you will know which seats offer unexpectedly pleasant experiences. This is especially true in larger aircrafts that tend to have more variance in seating arrangements than smaller (uniform) planes.
• Flight delays is a fact of life. It’s not the gate agent’s fault. It’s either “the man” or God. Think of it as a free time away from work or social/family obligations – it’s a good time to make some major progress in that book you’ve been toting around for months.
• Fact: air quality in flights is about twice better than air quality in a typical household! You just think it’s horrible because its crowded and the air tends to be dry.
• Take off your shoes discreetly. But do take them off.
• Most airlines leave the can with you as they serve beverages, but if they don’t ask that they do, and if not, order three cups. Water, especially.

Rental Cars

• (Personal rave) I love driving Mazdas on the road. They’re fun as heck to drive in just about any model, and I tend to abuse my rental cars. Squealing tires when you take ‘em on a highway ramp at 50 mph doesn’t mean it’ll spin out of control… at least not yet.
• Hyundais are better than you think. I'll take one over a GM car any day
• There are always other cars. Especially if you say you’re willing to wait if an alternate is not immediately available.
• My order of maker preference in mid-price range: Mazda/Toyota, Subaru, Nissan, Hyundai, Ford (recent models), Mitzubishi, Chrysler, GM (recent models), Ford (older models, especially the Taurus!), GM (older models, especially Chevy Malibu Classic). Hondas are a rare find – I’ve only seen a few in Hertz lots.
• If you’re a Hertz Gold Member (you need to pay annual dues), it’s a lot more convenient, and you’ll often find upgrade cars in your name (because they often run out of mid-size cars, especially in busy business-travel locations).
• Excuses to ask for another car if you just plain hate the model/make: (1) It smells bad or smells like cigarette smoke, (2) Some engine check light is on (better if it’s really true), (3) It’s dirty, (4) It doesn’t fit you (better if you’re tall/big or petite). Sound irritated but fair and they’ll often find an alternate.