You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ category.
“Time to get back to the lab,” she says.
The lab. The first thing I hear when I get up. The last thing I hear before I fall asleep.
“Dr. Faulseit will be expecting you,” she says in a voice too sleepy to sound sexy. “You know what will happen if you’re late.” Or threatening.
But, yes, I know what she means. And I haven’t stopped regretting my association with Herr Doktor Faulseit since the day I found out. The contract seemed so innocent when I signed it. I shudder a bit and am fully awake.
And hungry.
I step out of the sixth floor single where I sleep when I sleep with her and make my way to the elevator. The vomit inside reminds me that someone had a more eventful night than me. So I take the stairs, two at a time.
The cold air hits me like a brick wall. It snowed again last night. Shit.
I trudge across campus, the first footprints in six inches of new, wet snow. Making the journey in the usual 15 minutes means I’m working hard, my head full of sweat and my heart racing. The door is difficult to open against the drift, but once inside I know I’ll make it.
I catch my breath. No sense in letting the bastard see me this way.
With fifteen seconds to spare I enter. Faulseit is there looking at his watch. Something like regret shows in his face. He glances first at me and then to his left.
Next to him, a steaming bowl. Of oatmeal.
Dear Chrysler / Jeep / Fiat,
First, Happy New Year! I wanted to let you know something: despite anything I filled out today, I’m not in the market for a new car. Why would I go out of my way to tell you this?
Well it has to do with that little red star you require on my son’s hand to participate in a Winter Wonder Fest event we already paid $14 a person to enter (as shown by that blue band).
That red star is evidence of a pretty simple transaction. I give you my personalized information, you stamp my son’s hand so he can play with the cars.
And that’s the problem: although you are spending a large amount of money to make contact with me and a positive impression, you’re actually generating resentment instead of goodwill. How? Why? This little quid pro quo you’ve set up.
Let me describe the transaction differently: you leveraged my son’s intrinsic interest in the battery operated cars to pry my contact information away from me.
See what I mean?
Yes, yes — there was an opt out box on the form. No, I don’t believe it will help me remain more free of advertising messages.
There’s a better way to do this. How about just letting the kid drive the toy cars you’re parading in front of them? How about building a positive relationship of trust?
The vast majority of people who came through that door and filled out their paperwork so their kid could get a red star are exactly like me. They are not interested in buying a new car today, and they won’t be for some years to come. Your long term goal is to build enough trust with them that they consider your brand when they’re ready.
This is the new reality. Marketing is different. People see the world through clearer lenses today than even just a few years ago. Brands that want to lead must concentrate on building trust first.
Ask yourself: does using my kid this way build my trust in your brands?
Nope.
And I thought you might want to know.
Best wishes for a great 2012,
Reid
This experiment seems to be ok. Sweet. Used brown rice settings.
I’m not big on resolutions, but I love tweaks.
Two minor tweaks I’d like to make in 2012:
1) Do my morning reading of the Internets at the gym instead of while drinking coffee at home.
2) Drink coffee second or third thing in the morning instead of first.
These couple of tweaks will likely have some longer term benefits and should be relatively easy. Yes, BTW, I did this this morning and it was great.
You might be aware that I’ve been messing around with model trains for the last few months. This has led me to a few train shows and a lot of train stores. I’ve been surprised to see that many hobby shops have marginalized their train sections in favor of RC cars. Also, I’ve heard that one of the great Chicago train shows is moving to Cleveland next year. In other words, interest in the hobby is declining. (Maybe–my evidence is anecdotal, not statistical.)
I’ve been wondering why.
My theory boils down to this: in a world that looks forward to each new whiz-bang techno gizmo, model trains harken back to a less sophisticated, less technical world. In other words, while everyone else is seeking the future now, model train enthusiasts are, by and large, looking toward the past.
What makes me think this?
The idealized state for a model railroad is a completed layout of some location at some point in time, clearly representing the real world as it was. Now, there are quite a few excellent models that spice things up by adding aliens and spaceships to their layouts, using toy trains (Thomas), etc. This is all well and good, but the majority use case is not taking that kind of leap. I do not mean to suggest these realistic models don’t have value and aren’t quite the accomplishment — doing it right is difficult.
Another example, Con-Cor, who creates some beautiful trains, has as their slogan, “Famous Trains From Your Childhood.” For sure they do a nice job on their models, but is that their market? The trains they’re targeting are the romantic passenger beauties of the 40s and 50s. The GM Aerotrain. The Zephyrs. Great stuff for sure, but not exactly the future. I suspect that’s by design–the model railroader population is graying. Significantly.
I’d love to see a different approach. I’d love trains that helped model the near future. Or even the possible present. For example: help me model Chicago with a Shinkansen. Help me create a high-speed freight train, something that would rival the fastest passenger trains. Bring out something like the Unitram system from Kato. Bring out something that uses the awesome technology that trains have perfected — small motors, DCC — and reapply it to vertical travel or space models. The sky truly is the limit.
This might just be a mirror of reality. Trains in the US have certainly been a mixed bag. Take Chicago, for example. The CTA trains are pretty useful (and heavily used), but there’s no easy connection to the Metra, no common station, which alienates a huge body of potential passengers. Take Seattle, where it took forever to get train service from the airport to downtown–crazy. Look at LaGuardia – no train to Manhattan, which is ridiculous. Most Amtrack service just needs to be put out of its misery.
Does any of this mean I won’t continue messing around with trains? Nope. In fact, I have recently acquired three new engines — all Japanese, all present day — and some killer Kato double track.
But I’m not interested in modeling the mid twentieth century, and I don’t think I’m alone.

This is the inside of a Tomix JR E231-500 (as used on the Yamanote line). Where am I going to put the DCC decoder??
Great speed on this BTW. Love it.
A friend of mine died this week. He was 85. Now, you might think, well that’s a pretty good run. And for sure it was. But he was the kind of guy who took life by the horns and lived it. If the body was willing, he had enough soul to live double that.
I met him when he was … around 70? Hard to believe that as I type it. Some people at 70 are done. He gave the impression of just getting started. He was energetic. Had purpose. Clearly loved life.
We met through business, and, as sometimes happens, our lives started to mix. I met his wife. They came to my wedding. They met The Critter pretty early. How many Christmas parties did they join us for? Too many to count.
A lot of great memories. He took me to Fogo de Chao the first time, a meal that put me in a meat coma for two days. He used to tell me off color jokes while I fixed his network. He was always dressed to impress. And that crazy south american / pan european / touch of hawaii / chicago tough guy accent — unforgettable!
Simon Trachtenberg. I will miss you.

Digging the new WordPress for Android. From Starbucks.
Over the last couple of months I’ve been reminded of a favorite truth: the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
For example:
It turns out that, when buying my house last year, they didn’t do everything required to clear the title. Who “they” are in this case is certainly a bit ambiguous, but it should definitely include a few lawyers and title companies to whom I paid a lot of money. Its now taken care of without additional charge to me, but not without one person telling me he was pissed off I was implying he didn’t do his job. Oh well.
I discovered this title issue during a refi. With that refi, there was a 45 day lock on the rate. 45 days came and went and the refi company wanted to charge me $1000+ to extend the rate. Why did the date pass? Well, a variety of reasons none of which relate to me. I agreed to pay it–I didn’t want to start over–with the caveat I would never recommend them and would rate them poorly. And, just as suddenly as it popped up, the fee was gone. Was the delay their fault? Probably. Although I believe hope is the thing with wings (or whatever) it is not a particularly good management strategy, a fact I pointed out several times.
Finally, you might have noticed my ceiling fell down. The insurance company originally said they didn’t cover collapse. Well, they exclude collapse except in six circumstances. So I made an argument for two of those six. Now its covered. Side note: how on earth is collapse not covered?
All this drives me crazy, but is just part of the world. Alls well that ends well, right? My advice to anyone faced with similar circumstances is simple: complain.
Complain early and often. Don’t feel confined to “reasonable”. Make an argument. Leverage c-sat and referrals to your advantage. You have nothing to lose.
Sorry to hear about the bankruptcy filing this morning. It happens (well, not so much with the hoi palloi anymore but that’s another story).
Why do I feel terrible? I’m a platinum flier with you, but I won’t be next year. 2011 has been a year of airline experimentation for me. Its true! I’ve flown Virgin (Atlantic and America), Southwest and coming up my first flight on JAL.
This at a time when you have treated me quite well. The frequent flier mile funded first class forays this year have been fun. And just this morning I walked up and asked to get on an earlier flight–and you let me. No hassle, no charge. Really, really nice.
Why have I started to take other airlines?
Well, first and foremost, I wanted predictable internet on my domestic flights. Yes, you have it sometimes, but it was impossible for me to ferret out when. Once Virgin started flying to SFO, I switched.
Second, while you still have a lot of great flights from O’Hare, you have been cutting back. For example, why no PDX? I had to jump over to Southwest. I’m looking around for next spring too and can’t help but notice evrything is going through Dallas. Boo.
Third, add a fourth class to your international flights. I know it seems weird, but premium economy is very decent. Since you don’t have it, I fly somone who does.
Finally, some newer planes would be nice. Your newer 737s are great but these MD80s have got to go.
Well, those are my thoughts as I land at LGA. You’ll come out of bankruptcy just fine but what then? Will you lead? Will you innovate? Will you transform American into the platinum airline everyone will love?
I hope so.
