Tag Archives: Business

All roads lead home

We all know it’s a small world.  The song says so.

But sometimes the universe puts a big ol’ exclamation point on it.

I flew home to New York City late Saturday after a trip to Chicago and got in the cab, prepared to doze during the drive home.

My cabbie had a different idea.

You see, he was a talker.  He asked about my trip, what I did for a living, where my hometown was.  Since I’m a talker, I reluctantly abandoned the nap and chatted with him instead.

(He had a French accent, so it wasn’t a hardship.)

Turns out my NYC cab driver, who hails from a French colony in Africa, attended Southern Illinois University and had a roommate from Paducah, Kentucky — a stone’s throw from my own hometown.

Coincidence?  Sure…but what a fun one!

Closing the deal

I am self-employed. I’m my own boss.

So do I complain to me that my company doesn’t offer outrageous perks to keep me on the payroll?

Even in these tough times, employers are getting more and more creative in the perks they offer to attract — and keep — top talent.

Remember when we used to get excited about free soda in the break room?  Child’s play.

Take a look at some of the fun stuff that CNN & Forbes report is out there now:

  • Abercrombie & Fitch offers employees electric scooters to travel around the corporate campus.
  • Google offers employees free breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks at 16 gourmet cafes on its campus.
  • American Century Investments covers employee adoption expenses and fertility treatments up to $10,000 per year.
  • Cliff Bar has a 40-foot bouldering wall, fitness center, dance studio, two massage rooms and a staff of certified trainers and nutritionists.
  • S.C. Johnson gives retired employees lifetime memberships in its fitness center.
  • Smucker grants employees a 100 percent college tuition reimbursement, with no ceiling.
  • Genentech sends ergonomics specialists to examine employees’ work desk and gear.

Wow.

Well…there’s always Diet Snapple in my frig!

Get the message

I love watching movies on the big screen. Many of my friends prefer to stay at home.

Price is only one factor.

They hate having their movie ruined by chattering, texting, rude people in the theatre.

Let’s face it — it happens more often than not.

And it might be getting a lot worse.

At a recent CinemaCon panel in Las Vegas, movie executives from Regal and IMAX chains said they both had discussed allowing texting during movie screenings to make the experience more interactive for younger viewers.

NO.

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO.

It’s bad enough already, with cellphones randomly lighting up the theatre and distracting your eye from the screen.  Imagine what it would look like if they were on throughout the film.  The incessant clicking.  The chatter as people shared text messages.

If movie executives want to lose customers, it’s the perfect business model.

Text them that.

Limitless

Dear Time Warner Cable:  Two is not enough.

(As in the number of HD shows I can record concurrently per DVR.)

I have always been aware of this restriction.  But there will come a night — like tonight, Sunday night — when I have three shows in one given time slot that I want to watch and/or record.

And I’m forced to make Sophie’s Choice.

Yes, I know some or all of these programs may be available online. But call me old-fashioned — I like watching my favorite shows on my big ol’ LCD TV.

Not on my laptop or iPad.  Unless forced.

And this ‘two program limit per DVR’ is forcing me to not watch television in the comfort of my own living room.

Harumph.

Sticky art

What have you done with push pins lately?

Rob Surette created a portrait of Jesus.  It’s 5.5 x 4 feet in size.  It took him six months and 24,790 push pins to finish. The price tag for his creation?

$250,000

As we say in the country, good lord.  Wanna see it?

You gotta admit, that’s pretty cool. But what’s really surprising is all the push pin artists that are out there. Rob isn’t the only one sticking it to the canvas (and the buyers).

Take at look at these other fine examples.

Here’s a display made of push pins:

 

 

 

 

 

…and here’s another portrait:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, stick me with a pin and call me impressed.

4 out of 5 doctors

I’m winging my way to Atlanta today, and will be occupying my usual aisle seat.

Only this time, it will be doctor recommended.

The American College of Chest Physicians released new guidelines that suggest sitting in a window seat is a risk factor for DVT (deep vein thrombosis), dangerous blood clots that can develop in your legs on long plane flights.

People who sit in window seats have the potential to move less than those who sit in the aisle.  And it’s really the lack of movement that raises your risk factor for DVT, not your seat.

Now, I sit in aisle seats whenever I can simply because I don’t like to be closed in.  And in my experience, passengers in the window seat have no problem asking me to get up and let them out. Repeatedly.  Several times a flight.  It’s like the people with bladder issues choose the window seat.

On purpose.

So I think they’ll be fine.  And I will, too.  Because they’re there to keep me on the move.

Thanks loads.

Please. Stand. Still.

I spent a lot of my childhood motion sick.  Cars, boats, planes, you name it — we just didn’t get along.

But what if the very floor could give you vertigo?

Don’t laugh.  It’s happening.

Researchers in Jersey City, New Jersey have found that high contrast black-and-white carpeting is making people sick.

We’re talking headaches.  Visual distress.  Even seizures in epileptics.

Man…that boat trip is sounding better all the time.

They aren’t exactly sure why a high contrast repeating pattern can give the illusion of motion and make viewers sick.  But based on their findings, researchers do recommend that you give carpet more than a quick glance before you make any purchase for your home.

Your home?  I think this information is even more important for all the planes, trains, and automobiles out there.

Talk about a double whammy!

Snooze button

Prudential’s current television campaign, entitled “Day One,” features men and women enjoying their first day of retirement. Having enough money to do so comfortably may be the underlying message, but Prudential is smart enough to focus on why it’s so desirable.

More time to spend with family. Travel. Enjoy your hobbies. Volunteer. And the image that made me smile and shake my head in ready agreement…

No more alarm clocks.

Since today is Sunday, many of us — retired or not — got to skip the alarm. Now, close your eyes and imagine….

One day you can take a sledge hammer to that thing.

For realsies.

Eating dots

Quick — wanna look busy?

THINK BIG.

Play the World’s Biggest Pac-Man game right on your computer!

It’s going on now online, and is being played by people around the world.

The mazes are interconnected and go on and on and on.  You can start wherever you want and play as long and as far as your skill will take you.  You can also play alone or challenge competitors online, and check your stats against…

THE WORLD

There now.  Doesn’t that sound like a whole lot more fun than work??

Gift guide

To all travelers, business or pleasure:

I got a peek behind the curtain yesterday during my flight to Dallas.  Discovered something that can turn a cold, distant flight attendant into a friendly and engaged conversationalist.

Cookies

It’s as simple as that.

Two pilots were deadheading on my flight from New York City, and they were in the row in front of me.  After we achieved a ‘comfortable cruising altitude,’ the flight attendants started coming.  One by one.  Big smiles on their faces.  Gratitude on their lips.

All because one of the pilots brought the crew cookies when he boarded the plane.

With the rest of the passengers, the flight attendants were polite, but we didn’t get those genuine grins.  Or the frequent check-ins to see if we needed anything else.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.  I’ve received a less effusive version of this treatment when I’ve given a flight attendant a magazine when I’m finished with it.  But yesterday I learned an important nuance:

Do it at the start of the flight.