Enhance Your Calm

Auto-playing Sound on the iPad and iPhone

2011-08-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a project that involves JavaScript polling a server to check for new messages. One feature request was to have an audible alert if a new message comes in. Easy enough with HTML5 hottness:

// Declare the sound resource

var alert_sound = new Audio('path/to/alert.mp3');



// Play the sound on int he polling function

function message_load() {

    if(new_message) {

        alert_sound.play();

    }

    // Whatever else needs to be done

}

Great! We're done. Except that doesn't work on iOS because:

Warning: To prevent unsolicited downloads over cellular networks at the user’s expense, embedded media cannot be played automatically in Safari on iOS—the user always initiates playback. A controller is automatically supplied on iPhone or iPod touch once playback in initiated, but for iPad you must either set the controls attribute or provide a controller using JavaScript. (from Apple)

Well great, but I don't think a 28.3k file is going to use that much data. In order for the sound to play with an asynchronous update, the user first needs to 'initiate' the sound:

// Continuing from the code above



// Assumes you have jQuery loaded



// Check to see if the device is an iPad

function is_ipad(){

    return (navigator.platform.indexOf("iPad") != -1);

}



// The function to bind to the link above

function alert_sound_load() {

    // Loads the sound

    alert_sound.load();

    // Plays the sound so the user can hear what it will sound like

    alert_sound.play();

    // Changes the text to show the user the sound alert is enabled

    $(this).text('Sound Alert Enabled').css("font-size","80%");

}





$(document).ready(function(){

    if(is_ipad()) {

        // If its an iPad, ask the user if they want to enable the new message alert

        $('#alert_sound_container').html('Click to Enable the New Message Alert');



        $('#alert_sound_load').click(alert_sound_load);

    }

});

When the user clicks to enable the sound alert, they will hear the sound play once. Anytime the .play() method is called, even on an asynchronous update, it will play since the user initiated it.

Of course this is only good for the current session. If the page is closed or refreshed, the user will have to click to enable the sound alert again, but it has been working well thus far.

I welcome your feedback, comments and suggestions below.

How To Handle Incoming Twilio Texts Larger Than 160 Characters

2011-06-25T16:22:00.000-07:00

I've been working with Twilio for a few projects since the API is really easy to use. However, one issue that started coming up was incoming messages that were larger than 160 characters. Because of the way carriers handle multiple messages, Twilio has to break up and POST each message in 160 character limits.

For most applications, I store each incoming message in a MySQL database, and I wanted to store messages that are larger than 160 characters as one single message in the database. I work exclusively with PHP on the backend, and came across the sleep function, which pauses the execution of the script for the given number of seconds.

I create conversations based on the combination of the sender's phone number and the Twilio number the message was sent to, giving each a conversation id.

// Get the most recent message (if there is one)
$last = $this->convo->get_newest_msg($convoID);

First, I get the newest message available based on the conversation id. If this is the first message of the conversation, the get_newest_msg() method returns false.

// Calculate the how new the message is
$seconds = time() - $last['timestamp'];

Then I calculate the time between now and when the last message was received.

// See if there's a new message with in 10 seconds
if($seconds > 10) {
    $this->incoming->insert_message($convoID, $Body, $From);
    sleep(10);
    $newest = $this->convo->get_newest_msg($convoID);
    $Body = stripslashes($newest['text']);

    // Do anything else you need with the message
}
else {
    $this->incoming->add_to_message($last['msgID'], $last['text'].' '.$Body);
}

If the difference between the current message and the most recent message is greater than 10 seconds, I assume it's a text message that's longer than 160 characters. So I insert the message into the database, pause the execution for 10 seconds using 'sleep(10)'.

If there are multiple messages, each message is POST'd to my server every few seconds, but I've found 10 seconds to be a good length of time to wait for other potential messages.

If there is another message POST'd within 10 seconds that belongs to the same conversation (based on the sender's number and the Twilio number the message was sent to), the message is concatenated into one large message, and the database record is updated.

As a side note, I limit the 'text' field of the message table to 800 characters. If the text message is bigger than 800 characters, so be it. Text messages shouldn't be that long.

After 10 seconds, the script continues execution by getting the newest message once again. If there had been other messages POST'd within that 10 second time frame, I now have the full message text to do whatever I want with, such as forwarding as an email or triggering something else.

I'd welcome any questions, feedback or suggestions.

Customer feedback in the physical world is broken

2011-03-21T10:34:00.000-07:00

Warning: this is going to be a self-serving post. (Who am I kidding? All my posts are self-serving.)

One of the most straight forward ways to improve your business is simply asking your customers what they want, or at least making it clear you are always open for new suggestions. On the internet, there are many technologies that make it easy to do so, even something simple like a web form, or just an email. That's all fine and dandy, but the problem is that we (well most of us) live in the physical world. We still eat food and/or do stuff at physical establishments or businesses.

So how do you collect feedback in this case? Here are your options today:

Either you or your employees talk with your customers
Have comment cards available
Incent customers to fill out a survey online after they get home
Display a phone number that your customers can call

All of these options are less than ideal. Here's why:

Talking with your customers
This is probably the best option, but it's not always practical, and there will always be a social filter censoring what information is passed on to the managers, or you as the owner. Sure, if you are talking to customers yourself, you know exactly what the customer said. What happens if it is one of your employees, who (perhaps unconsciously) doesn't tell the full story or leaves out important details of what a customer said? Plus, there's no good way to review all your feedback later on to actually make some changes, which is the whole point of talking with customers in the first place.

Have comment cards available
Okay, let's be honest with ourselves: no one fills out comment cards, especially the younger (my) generation. Then there's the logistics behind managing comment cards, making sure the necessary tools are available (a pen, the comment card itself, a box to deposit them). Once again, there's a layer between the customer and you or your managers. We all know employees have been known to "misplace" certain (read: negative) comment cards. Also, if it's something time sensitive like "Your bathrooms were dirty", what good is that a few days or weeks later when you read it? Once again though, no one fills them out anyway.

Incent customers to fill out a survey online after they get home
Once again, very few people do this. Ever since I started my most recent company, I have been participating in some of these, but have yet to actually finish a whole survey because I find that the survey is too structured. While structure produces nice data to generate reports from later, it's a pain in the ass for your customers, especially the ones who have one simple thing to tell you--they don't want to rate the appearance of your employees' dress or some irrelevant (to them) attribute of your business. Finally, the fact that you have to incent your customer to get feedback is a problem in and of itself. If I have something to tell you, I shouldn't expect to get something in return. Oh, and, not to mention, when I get home, I'm not going to remember what I'm thinking. Wouldn't you rather hear what I was thinking about the experience as I'm experiencing it?

Display a phone number that your customers can call
At a high level, this seems perfectly reasonable, but think about how involved this is for both you and your customers. Going back to the behavioral changes between generations, I, and many of my peers, prefer to email or text rather than call, granted there are times when a phone call is necessary. If I want to compliment your employee for exceptional service, a phone call isn't necessary.

So what are businesses to do? The answer lies in text messaging. Everyone (93% of Americans to be exact) has a cell phone and it's safe to assume that all cell phones are capable of texting.

The benefits of text messaging:

Low involvement for both you and your customers
Instant, real-time and two-way communication
Easy to archive for later review
Mass acceptance--in June 2010, 173 billion texts were sent

Even with companies embracing social media as a way to engage customers (which I'm not against), text messaging easily wins out:

90 percent of smartphone users send at least one text message per day, compared to only 40 percent of smartphone users who utilize social networks like Twitter and Facebook at least once per day. Source

Ready to realize the potential text messaging has to offer? Contact me or Email me.

How to Cold Call without Cold Calling

2010-09-22T13:28:00.000-07:00

I'm going to try to write a blog post on my BlackBerry in class; we'll see how this goes. I'd like to start by thanking Sam Richter (Take The Cold Out of Cold Calling) for tips on finding information using the internet.

Cold calling: does that make you cringe? Especially for people starting out, cold calling can be on the same level (well for males, I don't have a comparison for females, so feel free to chime in!) as approaching women--only I wouldn't recommend using liquid courage for cold calling. Luckily for me, I have supreme confidence and the utmost charisma, so both cold calling and meeting girls is easy as pie. I'm basically the Don Draper of our generation.

Except not. I don't like cold calling. So, I create my own reason for calling with pre-emptive research.

First things first, find your prospect. I've learned you should try to sell as high as possible. (Thanks Dan Grigsby!) Don't be afraid to contact the CEO. He or she will delegate as he or she sees fit. And remember, if you truly believe your product or service will be beneficial, you are not wasting their time.

How do you find the name? Google. Or Reference USA, Million Dollar Directory (huge subscription fees though...unelss you're a student at a university). Try things like:

[title] + [company name] -- CEO Target -- The first link is to an article with his name, Gregg Steinhafel
Check Google Finance (also a good place to find the company's main phone number)
Check LinkedIn to see if you can find a specific employee or at least a title

Now you have a name, it's time to find their email address. Once again, Google. Try things like, "*@*acmewidgets.com" to figure out the email format. Then you can use http://www.coveryourasp.com/ValidateEmail.asp to validate the format. For example, I searched "gregg *@*target.com" and instantly got his email.

Now create your email. The three key elements are:

Subject -- it has to be compelling enough to open. Don't use standard, vague subjects like, "Product X", or "Feedback on an idea". Be specific: "Hear from your customers via text message".
Keep it brief (but not too brief) -- You have to get the person excited somehow. Is this a new product concept? Be up front and tell them you're looking for their feedback as you think they could benefit from the product in X, Y, Z ways. Also, make this as personalized as possible. Don't copy/paste and mass email--that's treading on SPAM, and SPAM sucks. I generally keep it to about 3-4 paragraphs with a 2-3 sentences per, but experiment with this.
Tell them you'll follow up with them in 2 days -- 2 days means business days. I wouldn't even bother mentioning anything about them getting back to you. If you really strike interest, they'll do that on their own.

The nice thing about this approach is you can do this outside of normal business hours, so you can focus on meetings and phone calls during normal business hours.

Make a simple spreadsheet with the 'contact name', 'title', 'company', 'email address', 'phone number', 'email date', 'follow-up date', 'meeting set?', and 'notes'. This will be your daily "CRM" system.

In regards to the phone number, once again, Google. I've even used Google Finance to find the companies main number, and then sometimes you'll get an automated company directory, which, if you know the persons name, you can at least get through to their assistant.

Now the fun part: making the call. Have a list of questions you want answered, and if you think it'll help, jot down some notes of what you want to say. On the follow up date, re-read the introduction email as a refresher of what you said, and then make the call. What do you say? "Hi. This is Geoff from Profit Increaser, Inc. I was wondering if you had a chance to read the email I sent you a few days ago?"

Then you'll get "Yes...blah blah blah." Or, "No I don't think so..."

If its the former, give them your one sentence pitch, and then immediately start asking questions, prefacing it with something like "just a few really quick questions" to assure them this won't take long. Don't bother asking if they have a few minutes. If they didn't, they wouldn't have answered. (I don't mean to be rude here, but asking the person if they have a few minutes gives them a perfect opportunity to end the conversation, which is bad.)

Now be sure to keep everything brief and high level. The goal is to get a meeting.

If you get the person's voicemail, leave them a quick message and tell them you'll follow-up in a few days. Also, I will generally send a follow up email referencing the original email and the voicemail you just left.

So, hopefully you'll get a few meetings. Once you got your sales meeting, now its time to push the sale and hopefully close it. How do you do that? No idea.

But seriously, every meeting is on a case-by-case situation. Just remember to sell the benefits (Thanks Lief Larson!), and more importantly, have a list of questions to get them talking about their business. Then offer your solution.

As a last resort, use this gem of a closing line: Go with your gut instinct, unless it's a 'no', in which case keep thinking about it until you rationalize a 'yes'.

Have anything to add? Please comment below!

Dude, Wells Fargo, Come On, Bro

2010-07-23T15:26:00.000-07:00

I am not meaning to make a complaint or anything; I'd just like to point a pretty obvious flaw in one of Wells Fargo's processes. I used to use my WF credit card that came with the account, but since I switched primarily to Schwab (which has been phenomenal) a few months ago. I paid the final balance, and since you have to round to the nearest dollar for some reason when paying the balance by way of account transfer (aka. transfer from checking to the credit card to pay it), I was left with a negative balance of $0.66.

I didn't really think much of it until I got this in the mail a few weeks ago:

That's right, a check for 66 cents. So, instead of just transferring 66 cents back into my checking account, you (Wells Fargo) spent the money to mail out a paper check. Absolute best case scenario they broke even on that transaction.

Or, better yet, how about allowing me to transfer the exact dollar amount like literally every other single bank/financial institution does. I would imagine it is some kind of ridiculous banking regulation thing, and it's not as simple as I'm laying it out, but still.

And yes, I cashed it. In fact, I deposited it into my Wells Fargo checking.

My Landlord Expects Me to Pay Rent Every Single Month?!

2010-07-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

Let me first start off by saying that I thought this was America. Clearly, I am gravely mistaken. In the America I know and love, extortion is illegal. I am not sure what changed, but I guess there are forms of legal extortion now.

I just got off the phone with my landlord because he was asking where last month's rent is. Needless to say, I had no idea what he was talking about. I told him I've already paid him a few times over the last year since I moved in. Then he made the most preposterous, ridiculous statement I have ever heard:

You have to pay rent every month.

What the hell?! The unmitigated audacity to say such a thing...I am shocked. I was quite taken back, so I asked him, "Just how many months are you expecting me to pay you?"

"Uh, every month until your lease is up and you move out," he said in a tone I didn't much appreciate. He's acting like this is a normal thing to give some random person money every month for no reason. I mean, the apartment is already built, and it's not like he's doing anything to make it better.

So, like any other normal, rational human being with a lick of common sense, I asked him, "What happens if I refuse to pay you your 'rent fee' or whatever it is called?"

I hope your sitting down for this one...

I'll have you evicted.

Wow, my mistake. I can't believe extortion like this exists. What, is he in the Mafia? Do I have to pay him every month for protection too? Plus, is 'evicted' even politically correct? My goodness.

I asked a few of my neighbors who all said they have to pay every single month as well. What I want to know is where exactly is all this 'rent' money going? I need to get in on this whole 'letting people live in an apartment you own and then extorting money from them every single month by threatening eviction.'

Did You Bootstrap as a Child? No Money and Plenty of Time

2010-06-09T11:23:00.000-07:00

I had a game-changing revelation the other day. I was thinking about my childhood among a million other things, and I realized there's a pretty solid analogy between bootstrapping as an entrepreneur and building crap when I was in my younger days.

To give a quick background, I grew up in Rochester, Minnesota. My father was a home builder for most of my younger life, so I always had access to tools and scrap wood. I basically grew up with a hammer in my hand (granted I would usually set it down when I went to bed). My family was by no means poor, but, as much as I would of liked at times, I wasn't able to buy anything and everything my heart desired. (Don't worry, I was not deprived as a child either. My parents bought me plenty of crap that I probably either took apart or broke, or both.)

This was back when I used to actually smile for pictures

Anyway, I had limited resources, but I still built some pretty cool stuff. One of the first forts I remember building was in the woods near one of our houses. It was pretty sick; it was raised off the ground and kept the rain out. Plus, I contracted my dad to help me build some roof trusses since at the time I couldn't use the circular saw. I guess my parents didn't want me to cut my hand off or something. At one point I drew up some pretty elaborate plans along with the material lists of what would have been an ultimate club house, but it ended up costing like $1500, and I sure didn't have that. This was the next best thing.

When we moved to our next house, I built a free standing clubhouse (meaning not attached to any trees). It was an L-shaped clubhouse (girls were allowed) that was pretty damn sturdy. I even put a lock on it to keep the bad guys out. I invested about $9 into this one in order to buy a 4x8 sheet of plywood for the roof, but otherwise it was made out of old pallets and some metal sheeting from an old shelf. My neighbor friend and I used to do strength tests on it by rolling a big wooden spool (like those huge spools for telephone cable) down a hill and letting it smash into the clubhouse. It held up no problem.

I remember wanting a go-kart growing up, which were expensive as hell, like in the thousands of dollars. So I decided to build one out of wood. Sure, metal has obvious advantages to wood, but I didn't have scrap metal and had no idea how to weld considering I was probably about 11 or 12 at this point. I hired (aka. forced) my little brother to help me carry materials back from a Menard's store next to our house. I think I ended up investing about $30 into this as I needed some metal rods for the axles, and a throttle control, which was just a lawn mower throttle control. I also needed a nice, thick piece of plywood for the base. It turned out to be pretty cool and I would zip around our cul de sac with it. Then some big dude took it for a spin and bent the axle. I'm still waiting for him to replace that.

Drill baby, drill.

I guess I'll try to get to a point now: when you think of bootstrapping a startup company, get in the mindset of a kid with no money and a lot of time.

What from your environment can you "borrow"?
What are the things you simply need to buy?
Who around you can you convince to work for free?
What's a simple and cheap/free way to test your product?
What resources do you have access to already?

How Else Can AT&T Ruin the iPhone?

2010-06-08T11:13:00.000-07:00

Apparently there's a new iPhone coming out dubbed the iPhone 4. (I wonder how long it took to come up with that name?) Steve Borsch of Minnov8 gives a solid overview of it. As you might know, I am not an Apple fanboy at all, but even I am tempted by the iPhone 4. The thing just looks badass.

A nice chunk of steel (maybe this will put Pittsburgh back on the map--lol just kidding.), two cameras to boot, HD recording (uh oh, sorry FlipCam) and all the 3G awesomeness you could ever dream of. Especially with the release of the iPad 3G, surely AT&T wouldn't do something stupid like come out with a new cap on data plans. Oh wait, that's exactly what they did. Not to mention, they have historically struggled in the past to keep up with demand of data usage due to the iPhone.

Why would I ever buy this amazing piece of engineering that was specifically designed to leverage mobile internet when half of the time I would be checking how much data I have used. How come ripping us off on text messaging plans can't subsidize this?

Do you think the other cell phone service providers will follow suit?

And AT&T giving us access to all of their hotspots is a bunch of garbage. The point of mobile internet is that it is mobile. What sucks for iPad 3G users is that there is now basically no point in having the 3G chip because you'll be constantly looking for WiFi so you don't go over 2 GBs.

Oh well, I may be jumping the gun here. After checking my data usage since November of 2009, I only average about 175 megabytes per month. But I have a BlackBerry Bold with 3G disabled to save battery life. I'll admit it, the internet experience on the BlackBerry simply doesn't compare to the likes of the iPhone or another Android based handset.

For the time being, while I still have unlimited data, I think I'm going to try to set up a web server on my phone, and while at work or home when it's plugged in, I'll leave it on 3G and see how much data I can use. I'm sure this isn't against AT&T's terms of service. Come January, I'm thinking about switching to Verizon, considering their network is better anyway.

Okay Seriously, Twitter is Useful - My Tour of the WCCO Studio

2010-05-24T17:32:00.000-07:00

This is going to be somewhat of a follow-up post to my other rant about Twitter (or maybe I just secretly want you to read another one of my posts).

I had the chance to tour the WCCO studio, and while I'm not necessarily interested in working in the news broadcasting industry, it was still cool as hell to see the behind-the-scenes. How did I come about this opportunity? Simply put, because of Twitter.

I followed Gregg Litman after seeing a few other people reference him in their tweets. I didn't even notice it, nor was I trying to, but I randomly was his 1000th follower on Twitter, and a real person from the Minneapolis area. Someone suggested that I should "win" a tour of the studio, and Gregg happily agreed. A few weeks later, I found myself here:

Frank Vascellaro and Amelia Santaniello, although she's behind the camera.

Chris Shaffer standing in front of the other Green Monster.

A few notes:

The behind-the-scenes team is very efficient. To run the actual news broadcast, it only takes five people plus the anchors.
The cameras are all remotely controlled from the control room (I forgot to get a picture of this).
The teleprompter is still manually controlled, since a human is reading it.
Gregg Litman is a baller. You should follow him. If you are his 2000th follower, you'll win a free tour.

I found it to be somewhat similar to the movie Anchorman, just that everyone wasn't smoking and drinking, or wearing clothes from the '70s.

In the end, if you don't use Twitter because you think it's only so you can tell people you're eating a sandwich, you're wrong.

Step 1: Good Idea, Step 2: ???, Step 3: Funding - Minnesota Needs Fundable Startups, Not More Funding

2010-05-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

I attended Minnebar at the Best Buy World Headquarters yesterday, and it was awesome in many ways. I met some really interesting people, and had a chance to catch up with past acquaintances. Plus, I had never been to the Best Buy World Headquarters, so that was cool too.

However, I attended the "How Can Minnesota Be Better?" sesh, and I didn't realize how big of problem people perceived there was for startup funding in Minnesota. Everyone uses The Valley as a benchmark, but unfortunately Minnesota isn't The Valley. I think people should stop complaining about the funding issue, and start creating businesses that are fundable. And by fundable I mean:

Generating revenue
Having actual customers
Showing growth
Proving the business model

Granted, I'm sort of talking out of my ass here, considering I'm only 22 and I really only have one startup under my belt, which was pre-revenue...far from being fundable. Regardless, this is the internet and I can say whatever I want, so I will go on.

One of the panelists at the sesh was Chris Smith, a local partner in Coral Group, a venture capital firm. I've gotten to know him recently, and I agree with a lot of his view points. We talked after, and like he said, people tend to be a little shocked when he tells startups they probably shouldn't be looking for funding, but rather they should be focusing on creating a fundable company.

There's the notion of "failing fast", which Minnesota entrepreneurs should be embracing more. The idea is to test a business idea as quickly and cheaply as possible, in the simplest form possible. If the business model doesn't work under those conditions, chances are throwing a bunch of money at it isn't going to change a whole lot. Case in point: I'm working on an idea that involves SMS. Part of the business requires someone to receive a text message from a user to their email. I could pay a bunch of money to set up an SMS gateway, pay a developer a bunch of money to create the backend, and maybe even a cool web interface and then go find customers.

The problem with this is that if the system ends up not being used, then that was a big waste of time and money. So instead of doing that, I simply setup a Google Voice account that forwards text messages to an email, and then I have that email set up with the ability to forward to any other number of emails of my choice. This took me all of 30 minutes to setup and cost me nothing. Now I can go to potential customers with a minimum viable product to test my hypothesis. If it doesn't end up working, who cares? If it does, then I will iterate and build exactly what my potential customers say they want/need. Even though I am basically a genius, there's no way in hell I'd ever guess right without testing and talking to my customers first.

So, go create a fundable company and see how far you can get without looking for outside funding.

Target Buys Naming Rights to Minneapolis

2010-05-12T18:52:00.000-07:00

MINNEAPOLIS, MN-- After tense negotiations between city officials and Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) executives, a deal has been reached to license the naming rights of Minneapolis to Target Corporation for an undisclosed amount.

"Since we already have Target Field, the Target Center and another building with that red target on it, we think the citizens of Minneapolis will embrace this deal," said Council Vice President Robert Lilligren. "We now have to agree on a name."

The deal is speculated to be worth about $5-$10 billion, part of which state law makers are hoping to use to shrink the state budget deficit.

When asked about the name, Tina Schiel, Senior Vice President of New Business Development said, "We aren't sure yet, we just wanted to secure the deal before some other company did. We've tossed around possibilities like Target City, Targetapolis, Target Greatla--er I guess we already use that."

When asked about his opinion, one local Minneapolis resident who preferred to not be named said, "I don't like this, I don't like this one bit. As soon as I get home I'm going to complain about it on the internet." We have yet to find his complaint, but we will keep you updated as news flows in.

Using BusinessCard2 Chat Without Installing a Local Client - Keep it in the Cloud

2010-05-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

Recently, BusinessCard2 released a feature that allows you to chat with potential clients through your BusinessCard2.You can read my other post on BusinessCard2 here.

I hate having to install local software for many reasons, so I prefer to have everything on the web, or as much as possible. Part of the reason is because I regularly use three different computers, but also, I can access all of my stuff from any computer with an internet connection. I also do not have to worry about backing things up.

Thanks to Trillian you can use a web-based chat client to enable chat on your BusinessCard2.

[Click on the screenshots to see the full size if you are unable to read something.]

Step 1: Go to http://www.trillian.im and you’ll see this:

Step 2: Click on ‘Register’ in order to create an Astra login, which is basically an account for Trillian.

Enter in a username (this can be anything you want) and an email. Check the box and then click ‘Next’.

Enter a password and security question, then click ‘Start’. The system will then sign you in and you’ll receive a confirmation email. Be sure to click on the ‘Confirmation link’ contained in this email. Here is what you will see when you first sign in:

Step 3: To add BusinessCard2 Chat, click on the button that is circled in red. I don’t know how to describe the button, but I know you should click it. You will then see a screen like so:

Click ‘Add Connection’ and you will see this:

Select ‘JABBER’ in the drop-down menu. The login username and password are as follows:

Login: [BC2 URL NAME]@chat.businesscard2.com

Password: [Your BusinessCard2 Password]

In my case, I use ‘geoff@chat.businesscard2.com’ since my BusinessCard2 url is http://geoff.businesscard2.com/.

Finally, click ‘Connect’ to log in. Boom! You’re done!

But wait, if you have made it this far, you should give it a try. While staying logged in to Trillian, open a new browser tab (ctrl + t) and go to your BusinessCard2 url. This is what you should see:

If you see that little green pop up, ‘[YOUR NAME] is available for Chat!’, then crack open a beer, you have done everything right!

Next, try chatting with yourself. Click on the ‘Contact’ tab and select ‘Chat’. You will see this:

Enter any name you desire and click ‘Connect’. Then you can try entering a message:

To confirm, tab over to Trillian and you should be greeted with a message from yourself:

Type something back, and then go back to your BusinessCard2 windows:

That’s it. If you would like, you can chat with yourself for hours. Just make sure no one finds out that you are chatting with yourself over the internet.

Lastly, if something in this guide is not clear, please feel free to contact me via some form of electronic communication (such as my BusinessCard2) and I will do my best to help you out.

Google Earth Plugin For Google Maps - Holy Crap!

2010-04-28T17:17:00.000-07:00

I never tire of Google's products, but I got a surprise today when I went to Google Maps. I was advised to download the Google Earth plugin for Google Maps. I would recommend you download this immediately as well. It reminds me of that crappy movie Jumpers (granted I never saw it, but I feel pretty confident it sucks).

Here's a motion pictures of what it looks like:

Here's some screen shots I made (click for full size):

(If you happened to live on the roof of my apartment, this is what'd you see looking out onto the U of M campus.)

(Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. I've been on it--it's decent, I guess.)

The controls take a little getting used to, but you can't win 'em all as the saying goes. Now, go jump around the world.

Can You Ping Me When You Have Extra Bandwidth?

2010-04-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

Hey, the fourth quarter numbers are in. Can you ping me when you have some extra bandwidth? I think it would be good to rope you in and leverage your skillset. Let's take this offline though. I'll give you a high-level, 50,000 foot view, as I'm not really a "details" kind of guy, but I want to make sure you're proactively up to speed. You really are a key player on this global solution.

Also, I wanted to talk to you about going after the new, low-hanging fruit. We really need you to step up to the plate and go to bat for us. I'm planning on pulling in the other departments to leverage them and create a synergy. This is really mission critical in order to hit the ground running. You'd really be able to make an impact on the bottom line. Let's make sure to streamline this process, because it'll be a win-win.

Have you had a chance to review the Johnson/Smith project that's in the pipeline? How scalable will their IT infrastructure be? Let's make sure to strategise some solid milestones that can facilitate their growth. We definitely need real-time cross-platform collaboration on this project. Can you put together a framework by the EOTD in order to really hit the ground running. We need to make sure we can walk them through the paradigm shift of the new economy.

Thank you for being a team player and taking ownership in these projects. Just remember to utilize all your resources as we build this world class, robust enterprise.

Efficiency Tip #2: Use your Email as a To-Do List

2010-04-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am surprised I actually have another installment in the 'Efficiency Tips' series. Check out Efficiency Tip #1.

(I couldn't think of a good image, so I figured a crushed soda can would suffice.)

I hate to-do lists. A lot. Especially when I start making one in a certain form-like say on my phone-and then I'll be at work and I'll start writing one out in another form, like sticky notes. Then I get home and I start writing out a new one since I forgot the one at work. Then I will lose some of them and before you know it there will be 30 to-do lists scattered throughout my life with nothing checked off.

I finally figured out a solution: email. As I said before, I'm in Gmail all the time. When I'm going about my day and I think of something I need to do, I'll send myself a quick email from my phone (I have myself in my phone as 'me'; pretty clever, I know.) and when I get to a computer and log in to Gmail, I will naturally have a list of stuff to do.

Update: You may say, "Geoff, you are a genius! Thank you so much for giving this advice away for free. However, I don't have a phone with email on it." I would respond with, "Well thank you for the kind words, I am pretty smart, huh? And to counter your point, you can MMS your email address. Give it a shot and prepared to be wow'd."

I have not found a solution on how to actually get the things done, but at least it is all in one place now.

Target Field is Nothing Short of Phenomenal (And I Mean that Sincerely)

2010-04-17T12:15:00.000-07:00

I was there for the first ever night game at Target Field and got to see the Twins beat up on the Royals, 10 to 3. I was blown away by Target Field, it is simply amazing.

It was one of my good friend's birthday, Luke Goetting, so we went to the Twins game. Luke managed to get four tickets through his school for some of us, and he and two others already had tickets at the club level.

One of the guys that was sitting with me was a cripple, so that made things quite interesting since we were in literally the last row on the third level. (The first picture is a few from our seats.) Now, sure, we were way the hell up there, but to be honest, it was still a gorgeous view. I loved the energy of the crowd as well. One of my favorite moments was when Delmon Young Gun threw out a KC player at home plate from left field. The crowd went nuts and, even in the absolute nose bleed section, you definitely felt like you were right in the action.

(Poor Aaron.)

We planned to meet in the plaza area right outside the field (Gate 29). One of the first things I noticed was everyone on the Target Field staff was extremely helpful and provided great customer service. I don't remember that at the Metrodome.

One tip for future goers: be sure to bring a coat. Last night got a little chilly, especially when we were a mile up in the air with the wind. (If you are associated with Target Field, I would suggest putting heating lamps on the overhang for early spring games and late fall games.) Because of this, my group eventually left our seats and found our way down to the club level. On the club level concourse, you still have a great view of the game and plenty of standing room. Plus, there is the Town Ball Tavern which is open to anyone with a ticket. It's a full fledged bar and grill with a bunch of flat panel TVs, and you can still see out on to the field.

Finally, as we were standing on the club level concourse, we were able to take a load off on some nice cushioned seats. (See the picture to the left. ~~I never figured out if the seats were ticketed seats or not.~~ See the first comment for an explanation.)

There really isn't a whole more that can be said about it. It is a wonderful experience and I cannot wait to get back for another game, especially since I did not see a Twins home run. I'm not a full fledged, hardcore baseball fan, so in the Dome I remember after awhile I would start losing interest in the game. At no point did that happen at Target Field. Before I knew it, it was the top of the 9th, two down and the crowd roaring for the last out.

Here are a few more pictures (pictures worth a thousand words, yada yada, standard cliché saying, etc.):

View from our seats. Section 310, row 14.

And that's the ball game, folks!

Club level concourse view.

Another club level view.

Nose bleed section.

I don't know, it's Target Field nonetheless.

If you haven't been to Target Field yet, you should be extremely jealous.

Open Letter to Google: Please Add a 'Thumbs Up' Emoticon

2010-04-09T11:44:00.000-07:00

To Whom it May Concern at Google:

My name is Geoff Dutton and I am an avid user of Google products. I've been with Gmail since August 29, 2004, and I cannot imagine what it would take for me to switch to a different email provider.

Whenever I'm at a computer, I'm generally logged in to Gmail, and I take advantage of the integrated chat. I have but one small request: please add a 'thumbs up' emoticon. I have many use-cases for this, and it could replace many of responses to people who message me. For example:

Thank you for your consideration. Also, thank you for your awesome products. Continue not being evil.

Sincerely,
Geoff Dutton

Stuff You Don't Need to Know about the iPad (Because these are Just My Opinions)

2010-04-09T11:08:00.000-07:00

(Click for full size...it's 720p!)

Ah yes, the iPad. Where to even start... I guess I should start by saying that I am not an Apple fanboy and that I probably won't be buying an iPad anytime soon. However, I do have an iPod Touch, and I've used Macs before, so I'm basically an expert, therefore my opinions are extremely valid.

I went to a local Best Buy to finally lay my hands on Steve Jobs' newest child. To be honest, I was a bit let down. After reading what others have said, I was honestly afraid I might make a large impulse buy. The iPad seemed pretty amazing despite the broken record of down falls (aka. no Flash, no USB, doesn't allow you to fly, can't make you invisible, etc).

The first thing that annoyed me was all the finger smudges of the great looking screen. The Minnov8 Gang was right on with its suggestion to go into the microfiber cloth business. (Listen to the latest podcast, it quite entertaining.)

When I finally stepped up to the plate, I froze up and didn't know what to do first. It was like when a speaker forgets what to say in front of a crowd. I couldn't remember what I wanted to try first. Eventually I opened up YouTube and searched for an HD video. I watched the 2012 tailor (I think, I can't remember, is that bad?), and I'll admit, it looked gorgeous.

One indirect feature I found the iPad to possess is the "make-people-argue-and-defend-their-opinion-to-anyone-that-happens-to-be-in-the-area" feature. Seriously, this one guy just started going off about how stupid the iPad is, it was distracting and annoying.

Best Buy Employee: Hey guys, can I answer any questions for you?
Annoying Bro: Yeah, why'd they make this? *snicker*
Me (thinking in my head...I think...maybe that's why he left): HOLY SHIT YOU ARE SO HILARIOUS WHEN IS YOUR NEXT COMEDY SHOW DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER GEMS?!?!?!?!

I then logged into Twitter to make a post to prove to the world that I actually have touched an iPad:

The web browser did look really nice, I have to admit. However, I still don't like a pure touch screen device. I like having hard buttons, and especially actual keyboards. I like my BlackBerry because I can just press the spacebar to scroll down. On the iPad (and iPod), I always seem to scroll sideways, but I might just suck at iPods. I attempted to type a paragraph I saw in the store, but I eventually gave up. (Chime in with your opinion on typing, please.)

I'm having a hard time coming to a conclusion because I don't want to just sound like every other negative review. I see use cases for the iPad, but for me, the use cases I'm imagining are not that too important, so it would be hard to justify the $500+ price tag.

Also, I just can't get passed the idea of how it is locked down. The only way to install other programs is through one single distribution channel, and as you probably know, that particular distribution channel likes to deny applications. I understand the benefit of making sure everything works together, but for me that's not a huge benefit because I've always been able to figure out how to get things to work, especially using Windows. Recently, one of the most popular (I believe the most popular) iPhone development blogs and podcasts, Mobile Orchard, is shutting down because of this. The site was co-founded by Dan Grigsby, who is an amazing entrepreneur and whom I'm extremely fortunate to know.

In general, I think the device is pretty slick. However, as I've learned in entrepreneurship, making something cool doesn't necessarily solve a problem. I guess I'm just not in the target market...my mother did always tell me I'm special. :)

Oh and this was the biggest deal breaker for me:

Seriously, it can't even stand up to being smashed with a baseball bat? Come on!

Fake IDs to be Legalized, Regulated in Minnesota

2010-04-01T14:25:00.000-07:00

SAINT PAUL, MN-- After many years of lobbying and debating, Minnesota will become the first state to legalize and regulate the sale of fake identification cards, or fake IDs. Starting January 1, 2011, fake IDs will be able to be purchased at your local retailer.

Governor Pawlenty has been a big supporter of the bill, citing the tax benefits and the safety measures that come with regulation. "We need to keep the profits created by the black market out of the hands of those little, punk college students running fake ID operations from their dorm rooms," said Pawlenty.

The fake ID industry in Minnesota alone is estimated to be upwards of $20,000, which will now be taxed and regulated. Economists estimate this bill will generate nearly $3,000 in extra tax revenue annually for the state. "The extra money will be great to help shrink our state deficit," said Pawlenty. Some of the money will fund educational programs on safe fake ID use targeted at high school students across the state.

Some of the regulation measures will include a minimum age limit of 18 years old, or a signature from a parent or guardian, as well as minimum quality measures. One local retailer, who preferred not to be mentioned at this time, said it will offer a money back success guarantee for up to one year after a purchase.

Other states have looked to Minnesota and begun to debate fake ID legalization, especially Nevada. Governor Jim Gibbons, a big supporter of the bill, said, "We might as well legalize it. Hell, everything else is legal in Nevada."

One of the biggest lobbyist of the bill was the liquor industry. However, none of them could be reached for comments.

The "cost" of receiving emails, or Why Michael Arrington should stop complaining

2010-03-31T09:53:00.000-07:00

The other day as I was zoning out in a class, I started thinking about the progression of communication in the past hundred or so years. Before the telephone, the cost of communicating a message, especially long range was extremely high in both time and money costs. Because of this, only the ideas of the most capable people were spread around. The only way to collaborate was with people in your local town while sitting in the same room or area. The messenger boy industry was thriving at this point.

Even writing a letter was expensive in the sense that you had to be extremely clear and think through what questions the receiver might have. And it took a long time to go back and forth. (Not that being extremely clear in your message is important, but you can easily ask for input on your half-baked ideas in a cost efficient manner.) Overall, mailing a letter sucks hardcore, which in turn is why DirecTV sucks hardcore, but that's for another blog post.

Then the telephone came out, despite the protests of the messenger boy industry lobbyists, and we had instant communication around the world (that is, once the telephone network was developed). Yet, it still was expensive to communicate using this mean. Plus, in the early years you may have had to physically travel a ways to use a telephone. The idea flow was opened up a bit more than before, but collaboration was still fairly limited. Plus, it cost the receiver time, because he or she had to stop working and answer the phone.

Now we have emails, texts, social networks and such that have lowered the cost of communication immensely and have opened the flood gates for the flow of ideas. Once the physical internet infrastructure is in place, the possibility of communication and collaboration is endless. Inc. Magazine actually published an entire issue collaborating exclusively using the internet.

I have no problem posting my email for anyone to see, especially thanks to Gmail's spam filter and other filtering capabilities, my email inbox is automatically organized. Plus, I can easily pick out important senders quickly, and I can go through unknown emails when I have time later.

Which brings me to my next point about email and other text based communication: you can reply when you have time, which lowers the cost even further (the cost of time) because you don't have to stop what you're doing when you receive an email.

Michael Arrington wrote a blog post complaining about receiving too many emails. I admit he obviously receives way more emails than me, but I still think it shouldn't be a big deal. To confirm my suspicion, I emailed Mark Cuban asking him his thoughts and agreed with me that receiving emails "costs" basically nothing. If the owner of the Dallas Mavericks can somehow manage to personally respond to emails, I'm going to put forth the claim that anyone can.

I think it only benefits society to have worldwide instant communication at extremely low cost because it drives innovation. Do you agree?

Also, Mr. Arrington, you should look up the definition of "ignore" and implement that when checking your email.

Oh and my email is g [dot] dutton [at] gmail [dot] com; go hog wild.

Efficiency Tip #1: Read While Walking Places

2010-03-24T09:36:00.000-07:00

This is the first installment in a series called 'Efficiency Tips'. However, it may be the only installment, so don't get too excited.

I've found I have a problem when reading articles at my computer. The problem is I start reading, but then I think of something else and click over to another tab in my browser. Then I look at my second monitor and see an interesting article someone tweeted, so I open that up. Once I start reading that, I'll remember that I need to send an email, and so on and so fourth.

Eventually I find 14 tabs open in Firefox of half read articles. I've found a solution though, and lucky for you I'm going to share it! *Thumbs Up*

I estimate I walk about an hour per day going to work then to class then back to work then back to class and then home. That adds up to a lot of time that I could be doing something more productive then just transporting my body places. So, I recently brought an article with me to read on the way to class and I actually made it through the entire thing with pretty good comprehension as well.

The beauty is that there are no other tabs or monitors to distract me. Plus, now that I've read through some articles or blog posts, and when I get home I'll have more time to catch up on those Family Guy re-runs.

I'll leave you with two recommendations:

Look up every so often so you don't run into a tree or a person or what have you.
If you drive to your destinations, you probably shouldn't read. Just focus on texting, eating, shaving and talking on the phone.

Is this something you could fit into your daily routine?

Why I should have just driven to Syracuse - Part 3 (conclusion)

2010-03-11T06:48:00.000-08:00

If you haven't yet, read part 1 first, then part 2.

As a foreshadow to the day ahead, when I checked out of my hotel room, I reconfirmed when the shuttle service to the airport would run. The night before I was told it ran every half hour; turns out it actually ran every hour. Not a huge deal, but sort of annoying considering I would have to kill an hour in the lobby now rather than in the ridiculous suite.

While waiting in the lobby, I chatted with a guy who was wearing a Syracuse sweatshirt, asking the obvious, "So, you headed to Syracuse as well?" I found out that he was in a similar situation as I was, having his flight canceled. However, he had a confirmed flight to Boston at something like 2:30 PM EST. I told him I was going to play the standby game for a direct flight to Syracuse, and he came along with me.

Once again, having never done this before, the first thing I did was go up to the US Airways desk to reconfirm that I was on standby, and to make sure I knew the standby process. Naturally, the US Airways lady I spoke with was an asshole. It's probably my fault though as I was obviously inconveniencing her; I could tell because it took her two minutes to look up from her computer.

Once again US Airways, I apologize for mistaking myself for the customer. I really dropped the ball on that one during my travel. If you could email me an address, I would like to send a formal apology letter to you.

The Syracuse guy and I waited patiently by the gate for about an hour, since the 1:30 PM flight was delayed, only to find out there was no standby seating at all. He then ran off to try to catch his 2:30 PM flight to Boston, and I stood around and twiddled my thumbs like a moron waiting for the 3:30 PM chance of a lifetime. Turns out US Airways changed the gate on Syracuse guy, so he got screwed over royally. As 3:30 PM rolled around, once again there was no standby seating. Damn.

I never saw Syracuse guy again.

Now I was stuck waiting at the DC airport until 9 PM EST. So naturally I went to find a bar. The particular bar I found was jammed packed-- I mean people uncomfortably close, as you would get weird looks anywhere else in public. As I was squeezing into my wonderful bar space with a nice view of a blank wall, I had my laptop out of my briefcase sitting on the chair. A waitress moved my chair and subsequently dumped my laptop onto the tile floor. I, along with everyone around me, heard the crack of doom. The other patrons froze for a moment as they waited for me to explode in fury.

At this point, I was so out of it that it just didn't bother me. In the most cynical, sarcastic voice I could muster, I turned to the waitress and said, "Oh, awesome! :)" Needless to say, people around me were a little shocked with my reaction, as was the waitress. As I picked up my laptop (a Thinkpad T400, no quite as solidly built as my T40, but still pretty good), the gentleman next to me commented on my calmness. As I started dispassionately ripping out loose parts from the battery housing in an attempt to force it back in [that's what she said], I explained all I had went through up and to this point and how this just didn't bother me. Much to everyone's dismay, I managed to get the battery back in, albeit not latched in. I pressed the power button and it fired up!

Lesson learned: use cynicism in order to stay calm when bad things happen; getting pissed won't fix the problem.

I talked with the guy to my right and the woman on my left for a bit longer, and the guy ended up buying me a beer. Eventually they both left and along came a Michigan State graduate, around 45 years of age, who was traveling for business. This guy was awesome and we had a good two hour conversation. After hearing each other's pressing life issues, he advised me to stay in school as long as possible; I advised him to spend more money. (He had been frugal all his life and was wondering if he should've indulged a bit more. I'm quite wise. Feel free to come to me with any problems life throws at you.)

Eventually the waitress started to kick us out because we weren't buying enough and she claimed we were wasting space. We both laughed it off and ignored her for a bit, but then realized she was serious. Whoops. So, we each got a beer to go. (Yes, at this place, you could get a beer in a plastic sippy cup to go.)

At this point it was probably about 6:30 PM EST (my flight was at 9:00 PM EST). I wandered the small terminal which I knew like the back of my hand at this point. My eyes were dying because my contacts had been in for so long. I didn't bring my glasses because I thought I would've had my contact solution by now; it was in my checked bag since I couldn't carry it on because it might be a liquid bomb or whatever excuse TSA uses these days. To continue the theme of my travels thus far, the one convenience store that the terminal had just so happened to be out of contact solution. I ended up using my eye drops (the bottle that wasn't a liquid bomb) as a substitute, but I stood in the restroom for a half an hour with my contacts out just to aerate my eyes most likely looking quite suspicious.

It was a little after 7 PM EST when I decided to wait it out by the gate. I remember because of this:

(That's 6:22 PM CST. I was in that crazy EST timezone.)

I overheard two ladies wondering about standby for the 9 PM flight. I shed some light on their situation, but when they asked me about my travels, I had trouble remembering where I had gone and what airport I was in. They probably thought I was making a joke; joke's on them I guess.

As one final "F you Geoff", the 9 PM flight was delayed because they had to wait for a flight attendant on a different incoming flight to get in. [Good god US Airways, you seriously must be run by manatees or something.] Turns out this particular flight attendant had the magical pixie dust that would allow us to take off, so I guess in the end it was worth it. (Oh and come to find out she was top-notch asshole during the flight. That's probably why they waited for her.)

The flight to Syracuse went pretty well and I had another nice conversation with a local Syracuse resident. She happened to be coming from Sun City, AZ and I mentioned that my Grandpa lives there. When we landed, the fun started up again.

If you remember part one, I told the United employee that I didn't want to check my bag because I knew it wouldn't be in Syracuse when I got there. If only I could use my power to see the future for more productive things. I think it was a good thing I was extremely exhausted at this point, because the baggage claim lady (US Airways employee) was a dick. (What else could you expect?) When I told her I had been traveling for 32+ hours, a police officer overheard me and made a comment about the storms. I thought he asked me, "Oh yeah, was it because of the storms?" which would've been a pretty stupid question, but I figured he was trying to make small talk. What he actually said was, "Yeah, there were a lot of cancellations because of the storms here."

I looked at the police officer and blurted out, "Oh yeah! Wisconsin!" He understandably gave me a confused look and then walked away. [Side note: "Wisconsin!" is what my friends and I say to each other when someone states something painfully obvious. Don't worry about it.] It turns out that my bag was at the LaGuardia Airport in NYC. That made sense.

I collected another "essentials kit" and headed to my friend's apartment. Boy, what a relief!

Brian Regan sums up the whole airline travel adventure perfectly:

I ended up getting my checked bag the next day (48 hours after I checked it) after being hung up on a few more times by US Airways employees. At one point I asked the US Airways lady if anyone knew where my bag was physically. She responded that, in fact, no one knew that information. Wow, that's reassuring. In order to actually get it, I Google'd the delivery company that was bringing it to me (since the baggage claim lady refused to give me their number) and called them.

US Airways is the worst airline ever. I would say worst company ever, but I think Amway holds that title (the scam multi-level marketing conglomerate). And just so you don't think I simply complain about everything, United is a very good airline. The flight home went very smooth (since I was flying United the whole way home), and they managed to actually get my luggage to me. I also requested that both my checked baggage fees be refunded after I got home, and they did so promptly without any hassle. Plus, the flight attendant on one of the flights home was hilarious:

As we were leaving the gate in Syracuse, he goes, "Well folks, we're headed to Chicago now. If you weren't planning on going to Chicago, I'd suggest you exit the plane immediately."
When doing the standard takeoff prep, he goes, "Please make sure your trays are up and your chair is upright in the most uncomfortable position possible."
When we arrived in Chicago he goes, "Well ladies and gentlemen, conveniently enough our captain was paying attention and didn't overshoot the airport. Welcome to Chicago!"

He should immediately be promoted to head of training for all United flight attendants.

Why I should have just driven to Syracuse - Part 2

2010-03-04T08:51:00.000-08:00

Read part 1 first

I got into DC at about 7 PM and my first thought was to call United's 1-800 number. I couldn't get through to a real person, so that was no help. I then tried using United's phone it provides at the self-check-in kiosk. I did actually get a real person, but within 20 seconds she passed the buck to US Airways, since that is the airline I would be flying on my final flight. I tried to explain to her that I booked my ticket through United and that my itinerary had changed, but she just hung up. I swear they must hold a competition to see who can get off the phone faster. I think she would've been in the running for first place that night.

I wandered around the airport like a moron not knowing what to do until I decided to go to the ticketing check-in desk. Obviously, United's desk was closed. I headed over to the desk of US Airways, which also had self-check-in kiosks, but its desk was actually staffed. I stood there for about two minutes looking at the guy waiting for a greeting, as he did the same.

Hey US Airways, sorry about that, I mistook myself for the customer; I'll be sure to remember that next time I fly. My mistake.

I didn't even finish explaining my situation (and I was completely sincere and polite, I swear, no sarcasm) before he cut me off and told me to go talk to United. When I pointed down the line clearly showing United's desk was unstaffed, he sent me down to baggage claim. As you can tell, it is very convenient for the airlines to transfer you to a flight on a different airline because their employees can send you back and forth between the two airlines and laugh. It's like a real life version of this:

Now I can't even remember which airline finally helped me out, but I believe it was United because they aren't complete dicks. The nice gentlemen brought me back up to the US Airways desk and actually lobbied for me to receive some help. Either way, he assured me I wasn't flying out of DC tonight and that I would have to get a hotel room if I didn't want to sleep in the airport (which I didn't actually want to). I lucked out and ended up talking to the US Airways' only helpful employee, and we tried to figure out a way to get me to SYR in a timely matter for about 30 minutes. I ended up getting confirmed on a 9 PM EST flight on Friday, and I was put on standby for a 1:30 PM EST flight, followed by another chance at 3:30 PM EST.

I booked a suite at the Sheraton Old Town Alexandria which turned out to be ridiculously nice. I don't need two TVs, as I hardly watch one at home.

I ordered room service, barely making the cut off by 2 minutes. It was 10 PM EST at this point. Boy, was I in for an adventure tomorrow. I actually thought I'd get on the 1:30 PM flight. (read: naive)

Read Part 3, the conclusion.

Why I should have just driven to Syracuse - Part 1

2010-03-02T16:33:00.000-08:00

According to Google Maps, it takes 16 hours and 44 minutes to drive to Syracuse, NY from Minneapolis, MN. I decided to not make the drive, but rather give flying a shot. I was dropped off at MSP at 1:30 PM CST on Thursday, February 25th. I arrived at SYR at 11:20 PM EST on Friday, February 26th. You do the math. (No honestly, doing math with time is tough. Throw in a timezone or two, and not a chance.)

I was sitting in class on Thursday eagerly waiting to head out to Syracuse to see my good friend, Tony Brown. He had Game Day tickets secured for us. Plus, I had never been east of Ohio, so that would be a new experience in itself. (And obviously we would be partying.) My original itinerary was to go from MSP to Chicago to SYR, getting into the SYR at around 7 PM EST on Thursday. In class I received an alert from United saying that my flight from Chicago to SYR was canceled. "Oh, awesome!" I thought to myself in a sarcastic voice. (I actually talk to myself sarcastically in my mind; is this bad?) I have never dealt with a canceled flight, but I just sort of winged it. I called United and the lady I spoke to helped me find a route through Washington DC, meaning I would get into SYR at about 10:30 PM EST. Not too bad, and plus it would mean I would be able to check off another place I have been to.

Wrong; very bad, actually.

Since I'm a novice traveler, I didn't know that checking a bag is a bad idea. At the last minute, my aunt said I should just carry it on. When I went up to the counter to get my new boarding pass, the gentleman obviously said it was too wide, too tall and too 'everything else that would make it impossible to carry.' I told him, "Since I'm connecting twice, my bag isn't going to be in SYR when I get there, is it?" He chuckled and replied that it wouldn't be a problem. However, I was serious.

Quick side note: I hadn't been through airport security in awhile. They really take all of your dignity as a human, don't they? What really made no sense to me was that I was required to place my little bottle of eye drops in a plastic bag, and then place that on my coat. What the hell is the point of the plastic bag?

(A picture at the airport in Chicago with a much needed beer.)

As I was boarding the plane in Chicago to head to DC, I checked my flight status on my phone one last night time. Canceled. Damn it.

When I got to DC, like I mentioned before, I had no idea what to do about a canceled flight. Plus, I was supposed to connect on a US Airways flight, so now I had to deal with two airlines instead of just one, which, in itself, sucks ass.

Read Part 2.

Koozala - Now I don't have to ask mom about my medical history anymore

2010-03-02T15:53:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed just a few things in the news lately about health care reform. Don't worry, this is not an opinion on it. I'm way too young to be worrying about health care. One thing I do like though is technology making my life easier, and that is exactly what Koozala will do.

Founded by Ashish Gadnis in 2009, Koozala is secure place to store your and your family's medical history online. So far Koozala has nearly 6,000 registered members since going live with the University of Minnesota this past fall. Koozala will continue to roll out with Universities around the country to reduce errors in verifying student immunization records. And what's a better state than Minnesota to start a company in the health care industry?

As a 22 year old college student, I basically know nothing about my medical history, much less my family's. Obviously, this is bad. Koozala makes it easy to store all my information online and connect with my family member's health records. So, this is clearly valuable to me.

What about the rest of the industry? According to Ashish, "Koozala is in line with the National Health Information Network requirements, thus making medical doctors' lives a lot easier. Plus, the consumer gets to manage their health care, not the insurance companies!"

Koozala faces some pretty big competition, such as Google Health, but as much as I love Google, it has been known to have a few privacy issues, especially with its recently launched Buzz. Furthermore, Ashish describes Koozala as a consumer-focused site to store medical records. You are in complete control over who has access to your records and whom to share them with. When I logged into Google Health, I saw this which made me a bit uneasy:

Another huge plus is Koozala is already working on an iPhone app to access your records, which is set to be released at the end of March 2010. Finally, you can even store your pet's medical history, although I don't have a pet, but maybe someone can chime in on the usefulness of this.

Ashish Gadnis is the CEO and Founder of Forward Hindsight, Inc. as well as the founder Koozala. He was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2009, plus he has even written a book, Sustainable Disruption.

How Microsoft is going to lose its leverage in the PC industry

2010-02-23T20:40:00.000-08:00

Note: This is all from memory; I will try to get around to looking up exact details with sources some other time.

If you look at the history of the personal computer industry, starting when Apple created the Apple I, you will notice it starts with a bunch of companies trying to push their proprietary hardware and software. From what I know (however I was born in 1987, so I'm still young), throughout the 1980s, personal computers were very complicated and required a lot of additional support to even be remotely useful. There was not really a single platform for software companies to develop on, or even the hardware to support such a platform. Then IBM finally started to get in the game, and by using MS-DOS as the operating system, an industry standard was born.

There were a bunch of IBM clones, but the IBM brand kept IBM with a lions share of the market place. (How many times can I use IBM in a sentence?) Next, along comes Windows 3.0 and Intel processors, and you are left with the "Wintel" era, which means the actual hardware of the PC became a commodity, and this drove prices down. However, Intel and Microsoft were (and still are) sitting pretty, because it does not matter who makes the hardware as long as the hardware runs Windows (and if you wanted your hardware to sell, you better be damn sure to run Windows on it).

In the mix, Dell (obviously running Windows and using Intel) came out and took over the industry. IBM simply could not compete, and by the end of the 1990s, I believe they were around a 7% market share. Along with this, computer hardware prices continued to decline.

So, how is Microsoft going to lose its leverage in the PC industry? You've probably heard of cloud computing and the wonders that go with it. The idea is eventually all you will need is a web browser to access your applications, media, data, etc. A web browser does not require Windows. Because of this, I think we will see a shift back to innovative hardware and computer design. As long as that computer (or more likely, laptop/netbook/small portable thing) can run a web browser, you will be able to access your piece of the cloud. Access to your data should be device neutral.

Here's a thought for a future business idea: rather than worrying about backing up people's data, you should look into helping people "back up" their internet connection (aka. how to make redundant internet feasible for the masses).

I try to use as many web applications as possible to replace local applications. I cannot remember the last time I used an email client (like Outlook, Thunderbird, etc.) because Gmail is so awesome and you never have to update it. (Seriously Adobe, I swear you want me to update Adobe Reader at least once per week.)

But, I also might just be talking out of my ass, so keep that in mind. However, I would really like to hear your thoughts, so please comment away.

Do you have any idea how much money you spend? Mint.com does.

2010-02-12T09:07:00.000-08:00

I linked up my various accounts (checking, savings, credit, etc.) to Mint.com in August of 2009. I was shocked at how much money I spent (I swear, someone else was spending my money or something). Fast forward to now, I have proper budgets set up and I monitor my spending with little effort. Plus, I'm *gasp!* saving money...fancy that. (ING Direct is awesome for that; maybe a post on it later.)

When you first create an account, you go through a pretty quick, guided process of linking your various accounts. Mint has a pretty good selection of autofills for the various financial institutions. Mint uses a pass-through process, so it never stores your login credentials. It basically passes them on to your financial institution's website and then asks if it's okay for Mint to take a peak at your transactions.

After your link your accounts, transactions are imported. This is the point where your jaw drops after you realize how much you spent in the last three months, and more specifically, how much you spent in certain categories (aka. fast food, dining). Mint isn't perfect at automatically categorizing your transactions, but if you see one that is constantly wrong, you can set it up to automatically go in the correct category for future transactions. About once or twice a month, I will log in and sort by "uncategorized" in the transaction listing and manual fix those. (Trust me, it's really simple. If it wasn't, I would've stopped using Mint a long time ago.)

As I mentioned earlier, you can set up budgets, and I recommend you do. The nice thing is Mint will send you an email alert (you can change this) if you go over your budget. For example, around the 20th of the month I get an email saying that I am over my "alcohol & bars" budget. I mean, yeah, I don't really do anything about it, but at least I'm aware how much I spend in that specific category.

Lastly, I look forward to a Mint.com BlackBerry application so when I am bored in class I can do something productive. (If any people from Mint.com read this, please do this. Thanks.)

Oh, by the way, this is a free service. Mint offers up financial products based on your spending habits, but it is very unintrusive advertising, so don't get all worked up about it.

What Twitter (and Buzz) isn't for - I understand no one cares about your boring life

2010-02-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

Rant time. None of my friends regularly use Twitter (voluntarily), and it is always the same argument. "Why does anyone care if I'm eating a sandwich?" Correct, no one cares if you're eating a sandwich, so don't post that.

I started using Twitter to follow people and organizations that post interesting stuff. Before Twitter, I never could get in the habit of reading the news using RSS feeds or something other means. My Google Reader is just a mess, 90% of the posts I don't want to read. This required a lot of effort to sort through and find what I did want to read, so I naturally stopped doing so. Now with Twitter, if it isn't important news, an interesting blog post or some other tidbit of important/entertaining information, I simply ignore it as I scroll through my stream. A lot of what shows up on my stream is something I would be interested in because the people/organizations I follow don't post everything and anything. Combine that with the act of "retweeting" and a lot of crap is "filtered out" automatically. Also, looking at trending topics helps to filter out the non-important stuff even further.

Now with Google Buzz, it is even more convenient because I am always in GMail, so I simply click over to my Buzz inbox and take a quick peak. (However, Buzz still needs to gain some traction.)

Back to my main point, if you have a mind-numbingly boring life, there is still value in Twitter/Buzz. If you have nothing interesting or entertaining to share, don't post anything. You still end up coming across some interesting/entertaining stuff (if you follow the right people... like me... because I'm awesome).

I created this chart to give incompetent (would-be) Twitter users some help (if you have other examples, let me know and I will post them):

	Don’t Post	Post
Tweet	“I’m doing laundry”	“While doing laundry, 4 little green men came out of the washer and started fighting me. I won.”
Comment	No one cares—in fact people hate laundry so you’re just going to piss them off reminding them of it.	Now that’s a discussion starter… go ahead hit that Tweet button.
Tweet	“I’m eating dinner”	“Tracked down a buffalo, killed it, field-dressed it and grilled it over an open campfire for dinner.”
Comment	Okay, sweet. Thanks for that wonderful insight into your life. I’m not a better person because of that.	Nice! Definitely post this. Also, include a picture on this one using services such as http://twitpic.com
Tweet	“Going to the restroom”	“While in the restroom, I fell in—did you know that Elvis, all of the Kennedys and aliens that escaped from Area51 live in the sewer?”
Comment	Don’t ever even think about posting this.	I did not know that, and that is something I for sure would want to know.
Tweet	“Sleeping”	“I woke up in the middle of the night and tripped over a bag of money. Want some?”
Comment	First of all, no you aren’t because you just posted that. Second, no one has ever thought the fact that you are sleeping was interesting.	Yes, I do want some.

BusinessCard2, Findapro and the "Wow!" Expereience

2010-02-10T08:55:00.000-08:00

In one of my first entrepreneurship classes of my college career, my professor told us we should strive to create a "Wow!" experience for our customers, meaning, when a customer uses your product, he or she says, "Wow!" Just the other day I had a "Wow!" experience when I watched the demo video of the newly released Findapro feature from BusinessCard2.

BusienssCard2 in a product developed by Workface, Inc., a Minneapolis based software company. BusinessCard2 is a network of professionals who are their own brands. Lief Larson, President of Workface, Inc., describes it as bringing the business card to the web. It is like having your own virtual billboard all across the web. And now with Findapro, you can literally drop your BusinessCard2 on websites that have enabled the technology. (Go ahead, try it out, drop your card on the "Find a Professional" tab on the right.) Personally, I think there is some "black magic" or "witchcraft" involved in the Findapro technology, because it truly is cool, and it really opens up a lot of possibilities for the future.

The first thing I thought of is for restaurant owners/managers to enable the Findapro technology on their website and create a virtual fishbowl (like you see at the cash registers, in real life that is). Every week, the restaurant could randomly select one of the cards in their Findapro bucket, and offer up a free meal.

The closest thing I can compare this to is Facebook Connect enabled comments, but in order to leave your presence behind, you need to make a comment, and chances are it will be a stupid comment anyway. Plus, your name as a link to your Facebook profile simply does not have the same impact of a mini billboard with your picture and a pitch of what you offer.

[See my BusinessCard2 on the sidebar.]

Versus

As a sidenote: if you haven't met Lief Larson, you should. He has been and continues to be a great mentor to me.

Too Busy to Drink a Beer? Not Anymore!

2010-02-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

I like to enjoy the occasional beer here and there, but lately I have found it quite inefficient to simply drink it from the bottle or a glass. I keep fairly busy with a job and school (and writing these awesome blog posts, here's how I do it), so when I'm really on the go, I just don't have the time to drink a beer as I run out the door. I know what you're saying, "Geoff, just shot gun it." Well, that's messy and potentially dangerous if you cut yourself on the can. Plus, what if I only have bottles, Einstein?

One Minneapolis entrepreneur, Mr. Matt Wilson, had the same conundrum as me, but instead of complaining about it on a blog, he decided to actually do something about it.

I present to you... the BierStick:

"It's like having your cake...and eating it too," says one local Minneapolis resident.

Bier Gear, LLC engineers spent many years on R & D to find the perfect dimensions for maximum beer plunging enjoyment on the patent pending BierStick. And at less than $20, you simply cannot go wrong.

"Thanks to the BierStick, I'm finally on time for my meetings," says Wilson, as he gulps an entire beer in less than two seconds.

Oh, and hot chicks use it too!

So where do you find this modern marvel? Well you have two options:

Governor Doyle Sends Governor Pawlenty a 'Thank You' Card for Extra Tax Revenue

2010-02-03T09:56:00.000-08:00

To get to the point, a quote right from this article:

(Wisconsin’s legal Sunday liquor sales regularly draw Minnesotans across the border: DISCUS’s analysis found that cross-border purchases of liquor by Minnesotans in Wisconsin account for about 3.1 percent of Wisconsin’s taxed liquor sales.)

I have always wondered the logic behind banning off-sale liquor sales on Sundays. I have never been able to think of a rational, logical decision. It clearly must be based on "OMG THINK OF THE CHILDREN" argument.

Now it is easy for me to call Frank Ball (executive director of the MLBA) and other members of the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association incompetent from the comfort of my computer, but I am going to do it anyway because they clearly are:

Ball says the majority of MLBA members object to the idea because they are convinced that it wouldn’t increase sales. They believe that it would merely spread out liquor stores’ revenue streams over seven days rather than six.

According to DISCUS's analysis, Minnesotans are actually making the trip across the boarder on Sunday. One would think that the rest of Minnesota would buy alcohol on Sunday, but they don't want to or aren't able to drive all the way to Wisconsin. People simply do not plan ahead, and I challenge you to try and watch the Vikings while not drinking beer; it is even more frustrating than being sober. Plus, if you think about it (however I have no research to back this up so take it with a grain of salt), if someone wants to have a few drinks on Sunday, he or she would need to go to a bar or establishment that serves alcohol, which means driving for most people. If one was able to grab a six pack of beer at the liquor store and enjoy a few at his or her home, that would not require driving after consumption.

In attempting to garner support for the legislation, Kahn said the state stood to lose $10 million in tax revenue by forbidding retail liquor outlets to open on Sundays. “We take harsh issue with that,” Ball says. “There’s no way they can calculate that in Sunday sales.”

Uh, actually you can, or at least make a very good estimate based on other states that have allowed sales on Sunday. Oh, look:

Total sales figures in those states, which include liquor stores that chose not to open on Sundays, increased between 7.1 and 11.1 percent.

Want your mornings to suck less?

2010-01-20T09:01:00.000-08:00

I am highly critical of any kind of treatment, supplement or alternative (gypsy) medicine, so I am surprised I'm even writing this. I was given a tip from a doctor to try using "light therapy" during the winter months, especially in Minnesota where we do not get much daylight. The term "light therapy" instantly threw up a red flag in my mind, but after a little more convincing I decided to give it a shot. After all, there is quite a bit of research (see below) to back up light therapy.

I ordered the Philips goLITE BLU Light Therapy Device from Amazon.

It really is a slick little (in literal sense, it's like 5.5" square) device with a built in battery so it is easy to take on trips. Plus, it can act as an alarm with both a sound and light. (However, I wouldn't recommend using the light option on the alarm, unless the first thing you like seeing in the morning is a blinding blue light.) Just to be clear, you do not look directly into the light, you just let it shine from the side as you read or whatever you're into. Also, it has a timer option, so it shuts off after a set amount of time (which you choose).

After trying it out for a few mornings, I think it actually does help. As soon as I get up, I get on the internet and flip the goLITE on for about 20 minutes (along with my morning caffeine fix obviously) and I notice I am in a better mood throughout the rest of the day, especially in the morning.

I'm not saying this is a fix all miracle solution, which is why I called this post 'Want your mornings to suck less?' because that is exactly what the goLITE helps with.

I will probably continue to use it quite regularly simply because it isn't a hassle at all. I don't even have to time how long I use it for thanks to the built in timer feature. I also enjoy using it because it gives me an excuse to do nothing but read mindless non-sense on the internet for 20-25 minutes in the morning. (Thanks internet!)

Wondering more about light therapy? Checkout what the Mayo Clinic has to say about it, or Wikipedia, and check the sources cited.

My Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

2009-11-30T16:47:00.000-08:00

Updated for all seasons 3/24/2010.

For Management 3001 (yes, I'm taking introduction to management as a senior), I wrote a review on the book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen Covey. It's a self-help book that is immensely popular, but it contains a lot of fluff. It got me thinking about what I would deem The Seven habits of Highly Effective People are:

Be Awesome - Being truly awesome comes from within and cannot be taught. It is a state of mind that many may never achieve. It takes constant effort in everything you do.
Drink a Ton of Caffeine - Caffeine is a stimulant, meaning you feel less tired and more focused so you can get more done. Whenever you have the chance, always be drinking caffeine. You'll know it is effectively working when you can drink an entire energy drink and still fall asleep 30 minutes later. When you're really in a jam, grab the harder drugs.
Listen to ~~Christmas~~ Music - Hopefully it is during the Christmas season or you may get weird looks. [Update: I have since learned that listening to music in general suffices.] I do not have a theory on this yet, but I can fly through papers when listening to Christmas music. May I suggest Pandora?
Never Fully Commit to Anything - Have you ever told someone you'll definitely go to their party, but then you decide you could use your time more effectively by watching Family Guy reruns? I know, I know it happens all the time. Always wait until the last possible moment to commit to something. Here are a few words you should start using more often:

Maybe
Possibly
I could see that
That has potential
Not sure yet
I'll have to see
I'm pretty busy

Get Two Monitors - You can watch a movie and browse the internet this way. Optional: Get three monitors. Then you can watch a movie, browse the internet and type a paper.
Be Extremely Sarcastic - This sort of goes along with habit number four because if you are always sarcastic, no one will ever know if you are being serious. You can talk your way out of a lot of things this way. A benefit to always being sarcastic is when you are IM'ing or emailing people you know, you can literally say whatever you want and when they get upset, blame your sarcasm. I'm not sure how this helps you be effective though. (or am I?)
Procrastinate - This may seem counter-intuitive, but it really isn't. When you are under the gun, your adrenaline starts pumping and you go into fight-or-flight mode, giving you extreme focus and energy. Think about it: you could work on a paper for hours and hours over the course of a few days and meet the deadline, or you could screw around, browse the internet, watch Family Guy reruns, party and then write that paper in two hours with the adrenaline pumping.

If you implement these habits, let me know how it works out for you.

$288 Million Only Buys So Much Excitement

2009-11-12T13:31:00.000-08:00

Joel Maturi is wondering why student attendance is down, as seen in this Star Tribune article. I don't see what the confusion is. Don't get me wrong, the new stadium is awesome. However, the Gophers football team is not. After going to three games in a row, the novelty of The Bank is gone. So why is attendance down?

Don't be so smug about the stadium
The decision made to check student IDs is so stupid. If someone has a student ticket, there is no reason why they shouldn't be able to sit in the student section. I have friends that would definitely go to a game with me if it weren't for that. Maybe if the Gophers had some outstanding football program that rule would be understandable, but I wouldn't even consider them an average football team. It's like a night club trying to be exclusive, but no one wants to go to it anyway. Also, it doesn't work; I know plenty of people who just use someone's U of M ID that looks like them, and they get in no problem.

Don't be so damn strict
First of all, just sell beer at the stadium. It is completely ridiculous that a legal aged adult cannot purchase an alcoholic beverage while at a football game. It obviously worked in the Metrodome. It's a fact that beer and football go together. Has the U ever considered educating students about alcohol, or are we just going to stick with prohibition? That always works well. And the whole threat of breathalyzing people at the entrance is stupid, too. Deal with people who are too drunk just like anywhere else. Plus, tailgating is just plain lame outside of the TCF Stadium. It was actually fun outside of the Metrodome. Lastly, throwing all that fan code of conduct crap at us is annoying. Its created cheers like "You can't do that!...you can't do that!" when the other team commits a penalty. I just cringe and want to leave the stadium. Trash talking is part of the game. Why are Wisconsin football games so fun? Because of the cheers and chants they do.

Don't suck at football
This one is obvious, but seriously, get a football team that deserves to play in our amazing stadium. I'm sick of being let down in blown games. Getting beat by Illinois? Are you kidding me? Why would I want to go watch that horrible showing, especially when there is no beer? Its time to get a coach like Tubby Smith for football and who can actually turn our football team around.

How is it not obvious for Maturi why students aren't showing up?

Brett Favre Pictures

2009-08-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

Oh god, another post about Brent Farve already. I feel like John Madden. Anyway...pictures:

The Polls:

SO BRAVE. #4EVER

Social Media Stats - This Blows My Mind

2009-08-21T13:06:00.000-07:00

First, watch this:

And now for my commentary: I think the most compelling numbers are the "Years to reach..." statistics. Facebook added 100 million users in 9 months. How the hell?

Also, I like how YouTube is the world's second largest search engine and it is owned by the world's largest search engine, Google.

I took a cultural studies class in the spring of 2009 and we discussed the possibility of our open society shifting towards a closed society. My stance was that because of openess of the internet, instant communication around the world is extremely easy to do, but no single government (or party) can control it. We read articles and watched clips of reporters being marked on special lists when trying to fly because of what they said, as well as one guy who was put in some special prison with no charges (thanks to the Patriot Act) and later released with no explanation.

Here's what I imagine if some secret police ever came for me:

Let's just hope I don't see this:

I'm Not Getting a Favre Jersey

2009-08-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

Ever since there was a slight possibility of Favre coming to the Vikings in 2008, I told anyone and everyone that as soon as he signed I would buy a purple #4. Well, unless you are dead, you have obviously heard that Brett Favre has in fact signed with the Vikings. However, I will not be getting a purple #4.

Why? (I'll just assume you asked)

Because everyone in the world is. People who support the decision of Favre signing with the Vikings will (and probably already have) buy one. People who hate Farve will buy one because they think it's ironic. People who don't care about football will buy one because everyone else will.

The whole Favre saga is one giant marketing ploy between the NFL and the Vikings and I would love to meet the team that scripted it all out.

To honor the arrival of Brett Favre to the Minnesota Vikings, I decided to purchase this: