I consistently get “Nudges” from Erin over IM and since I use Pidgin (freeware multi-platform IM client that is lighting fast to load/connect), I’m never able to nudge her back. In case you’re not aware, nudges are like sounding a gong in your IM window, complete with vibration-conveying visual effects. Great stuff.
After getting three of these nudges in a 31 second interval, I decided to download and install the actual messenger client so I could retaliate. I downloaded the installer, double-clicked on it and got this helpful screen.
Here I thought I was just downloading and IM client, but instead I could get all these cool things at once. Lucky me. I understand some of the business thinking that led to the decision to include these elements but to have them opted in by default is crappy. Needless to say, they were all unchecked and after nudging my colleague back a few times, I un-installed Messenger as quickly as possible. I have no doubt that their strategy drives installs, but I’m not sure that doing it at the expense of user goodwill is sensible in the long term.
I’ve been a huge fan of Dilbert as long as I can remember but for some reason had never read Scott Adams’ blog. Marc Andreessen’s second post on career planning & advice quoted Scott and made me a subscriber.
This post on economics and the mild super powers it confers will always have a special place in my heart. Not for its position on Economics (which I agree with) but mainly for its advice on when to speed. Not that I would ever do that mind you, it just seems like useful information.
When you have a working knowledge of economics, it’s like having a mild super power. For example, I use my knowledge of economics to avoid speeding tickets. I assume the local law enforcement agencies have limited funding and can’t be everywhere at the same time. That tells me, fairly reliably, when I can speed without detection and when I can’t.
Awesome. Simply awesome.
I’m in San Francisco for the weekend, staying at the Hotel Kabuki (formerly Hotel Miyako) in Japantown. It’s a newly renovated Joie de Vivre hotel (modern boutiques at decent prices.) I woke up this morning to the amazing view below.
The hotel’s located at the corner of Post & Laguna and the view is facing south. Just spectacular.
UPDATE: I seem to get a reasonable amount of traffic to this post so I thought I’d provide some more details on the my experience at the hotel.
Pros:
- Cool, spacious, modern interior
- Friendly staff
- Reasonable rates (<$200 night)
- Great location near Japantown mall - think great sushi, good late night dining options
- Location was also fairly central - easy to get anywhere in the city
- Fairly easy to catch a cab (important in SF)
- Great views
Cons:
- Hotel was still being renovated so there were some rough edges
- Street parking can be tricky
I’ve been asked enough times about where we stayed, who we used for the charters etc that I decided to consolidate that information into a blog post. If you’re not lucky enough to be dating someone from Alaska, this list might be helpful to you. In general, we found that you’re better off calling and talking to people than trying to do all your research online. Alaska rocks. Go visit, you won’t regret it.
Books
- Frommer’s Alaska by Charles Wolforth
We used the 2003 edition, but most of the information in there was pretty accurate. A great guide book that had a ton of useful information on how to approach the trip. Another pointer from Alison was that it’s best to get to Alaska, have a general idea of what you want to do and let the trip evolve rather than trying to pre-plan every detail. This way you can adapt to weather, mood etc. It’s great advice - take it.
- Hiking Alaska by Dean Littlepage
Dave and Iva used this book and they seemed to like it. There were a ton of trails on the Kenai Peninsula and the book provides descriptions, elevation maps and difficulty ratings for quite a few of them. Don’t underestimate the bug factor - get some strong, mean bug repellent. Also, a moderate hike in Alaska means really bloody hard from what I can tell. The place operates on a different scale from what you’re accustomed to.
Lodging
- Copper Whale Inn, Anchorage - (907) 258-7999
Great, small hotel in downtown Anchorage. Some of the rooms have a view of the water and the staff is very helpful and friendly. If you’re arriving late, they’ll leave an envelope with check-in instructions taped to the door. Rooms are big, clean and comfortable and at $150/night, not super expensive (not super cheap either.) A continental breakfast is included and it’s about a $15 cab ride (20 mins) from the airport. Highly recommended, I’d stay there again in a heartbeat.
Food
- Sourdough Express, Homer
Great little diner/restaurant near the Homer Spit that bakes awesome sourdough bread on the premises. We stopped there twice for lunch. Prices are reasonable, portions are large. Don’t miss the Reindeer Melt (reindeer sausage, cheese, pepper and onions on a toasted sourdough bun) or the Clam Chowder (New England style - awesome.) Casual, no reservations needed. It is popular though so there might be a short wait.
- Land’s End, Homer Spit - (907) 235-0400
This is a hotel at the tip of the Homer Spit and their restaurant is called the Chart Room. We had a great meal there the last night of our trip. It’s pricey ($25 entrees) but unlike most places with amazing views, the food is pretty damn good. I had the Halibut Ilamna which is a fresh halibut fillet covered with crab and cheese and which is then baked. Yes, it is as awesome as it sounds. The place was packed when we went and I highly recommend reservations. Wednesday is Locals Night (which apparently used to be half off the bar menu, but has since become 40% off select bar menu items.)
Charters et al.
- Smokey Bay Air, Homer - (907) 235-1511
We stopped in here after finding the prices for flightseeing on the Homer Spit outrageously expensive. Most of the brochures will talk about a bear viewing trip that costs $500+ per person. At Smokey Bay, we were able to charter a flight for less than $400/hour and we had 5 passengers.
Make sure you ask for John, our pilot - he suggested our flight route which involved a trip around Mt. Iliamna and Mt. Augustine (which was spewing steam like there’s no tomorrow), a beach landing and a short hike to see brown bears.
Total trip time was 2.5 hours. Well worth it - one of the coolest things I’ve done.
- Mako’s Water Taxi, Homer Spit - (907) 235-9055
Mako’s has been around for a long time. You pay $70 per person and in return they will drop you off just about anywhere in Kachemak Bay State park at a time of your choice and will then pick you up at a pre-arranged time. The boat ride is about 30 minutes long and can get bumpy. When you get to your destination, they just drive the boat up onto the beach, stick a step ladder out and you walk off. The same process works in reverse coming back. They’ll wait about 15 minutes from your pickup time before taking off. Fortunately, cell coverage in the park is great so you can always call and reschedule. Another really cool thing is that you can ask them to meet you on day say 2 of a multi-day trip with kayaks (that you can also rent from them) so you could combine a hike/boat trip. They drop off and pick up the boats so you have a lot of flexibility. The staff was friendly and very knowledgeable about route conditions, good hikes etc.
- Coal Point Seafood, Homer Spit - (907) 235-3877
We stopped in here to buy fish boxes to get our halibut catch home. These are big cardboard boxes with a polystyrene cooler inside them. Conveniently, they have them in sizes that are right at the limit of what the airlines will allow you to check in without excess baggage penalties. A box that will weigh 50lbs when fully packed with fish cost $20. We flew Continental and you can take 2 50lb boxes for no extra charge. The fee for 50-75lb boxes is only $25 extra per piece. This is a much better deal than shipping the fish yourself. This would have cost about $150 to Seattle for 100 lbs. They will also process and flash freeze your fish which is the best way to get it back home. Fish will stay frozen for 24 hours and will keep frozen for well over a year.
- Copper King Charters, Ninilchik - (907) 567-3479
Will and his assistant Quinn, were awesome. Alison’s Dad was generous enough to take the four of us on a fishing charter with Will. The boat was launched from Deep Creek. The way this works is really cool. Basically, a giant tractor pushes the boat (on it’s trailer) into the water at which point you reverse out. When returning, you drive the boat onto your submerged trailer and they pull you back out. You’ll need to buy a fishing license which we bought at the General Store in Ninilchik. It cost $20 for a day and allows you to keep 2 halibut.
Will is incredibly knowledgeable about fishing and the area. He was able to get us catching Halibut in just 50 feet of water. Apparently, 100+ feet is much more common. The advantage of shallow water for us novices was that it made reeling line in much easier. When fishing for Halibut, you need to weight your line so your bait drags across the bottom. Reeling in a 2lb weight that was 50ft deep was tiring. I can only imagine what a 4lb weight at 120ft feels like.
Will and Quinn were friendly, patient, informative and did most of the work but let you take all the credit for your catch. Watching Will slice up halibut was pretty humbling - he was clearly an expert - not a single cut was wasted. I don’t know what he charges, but if you have any interest at all, I can’t recommend him enough. You’ll have a fantastic time. Oh, you’ll also catch a lot of fish. We came back with 80lbs of halibut fillet.
I got back on Sunday night from a trip to Alaska and it was one of the best vacations that I’ve ever taken. If you have any love for the outdoors at all, Alaska will blow you away. We spent a week on the Kenai Peninsula, which is a tiny part of the state, and were completely spoilt for choice in terms of things to do and see. I’ll be posting more on this later. In the meantime, here’s a slideshow of just a few of the pictures from the trip.
Also, if you’re interested, here’s a list of the companies we worked with and their contact information. Enjoy.
I’m off to Alaska for a week and will be disconnecting. Hope everyone has a great start to the summer. I’ll be blogging again when I get back.
This was taken at 12:30am in Anchorage. Can’t wait.
I was at the Apple store in the U-district last week and had picked up the Sims 2 Pets Expansion pack (a great gift for the Sims addict in your life) and was waiting in line to pay. As usual, it was impossible to leave without playing with the iPods and lusting after the Macbook Pro, but my favorite part of the experience was being approached by a sales rep with a wireless credit card reader who came to the back of the line, asked if anyone was waiting to pay with a credit card. 2 minutes later, I was on my way out of the store.
Hats off to Apple for caring enough about the customer experience in their stores to make sure that you didn’t wait in line if you didn’t have to. I’m not surprised they have better sales per square foot than Tiffany’s.
But here’s a little-known fact: Apple’s chic stores don’t just sell more per square foot than even Best Buy, they beat some of the best in the luxury retail world silly, according to a report released Tuesday by Bernstein Research analyst Toni Sacconaghi.
Apple’s stores have hauled in annual sales per square foot of $4,032, compared with Best Buy’s $930, Neiman Marcus’ $611, and luxury store Tiffany & Co.’s $2,666, according to Bernstein.
As Mark Hurst has said (and I paraphrase), customer experience is the sum total of interactions that a consumer has with your brand. On that front, at least for me, Apple has done a phenomenal job.
There’s an interview on John Battelle’s blog with Udi Manber (formerly at A9, now at Google) that discusses universal search and what’s coming next. Udi’s reply to a question about next steps really made an impression on me.
Q: I’m very interested in the next steps. Without telling us too much (if you would like to, why, please do), what are the interesting problems in search right now that you feel well positioned to address?
A: As search gets better, user expectations rise even higher, and we need to improve at a faster rate. Most of our work still focuses on the fundamentals — making results more relevant, more comprehensive, for more users, in more languages. Much of this work involves pure algorithms, deep understanding of search and of the web, and just plain hard work. Just the way we like it. It is not sexy to the outside world and it doesn’t make headlines, but it has the highest impact. Most of the advances in pure ranking that we’re making aren’t obvious to users — they just find what they’re looking for more often and they take it for granted. Just the way it should be.
There’s no question that you have to continue to improve the foundation on which you’re building. I think this holds true for anything you’re trying to master. You’re never done when it comes to getting better at the basics.
Another powerful idea in here is the notion that as the tool gets better and better, it disappears and users start to take it for granted and focus on the task they are trying to accomplish. It’s something we should all be striving for.
I love the stress associated with the day of a big release. You’re running around trying to sort out last minute issues, getting bugs ironed out, making sure your data is in the right place and your marketing team is anxiously waiting for the site to be live so they can start their work. It’s hectic, people are crabby, but it’s really fun.
I went through this last week with the release of couponlooker. It felt great to get it out and to take the 15 minutes to appreciate what we had been working on. Even though I knew there were issues and things we had to fix, I think it’s important to take the time to step back and celebrate the accomplishment.
No matter what task you’ve set for yourself, some days it’s just hard to get focused and get cranking. I’ve been running regularly and loving it, but some days I get up tired and sleepy and sorely tempted to skip the day’s workout. On those days, I give myself the the ‘wuss test.’ I ask myself if I’m being honest with myself about why I’m skipping the workout. Is there an injury, or any good reason for fatigue, or am I just being a wuss? It’s amazing how often this gets me out the door.
Another great motivator is Runners’ World which I read regularly. In the latest issue, I found another version of the ‘wuss test’:
Running is a big question mark that’s there each and every day. It asks you, “Are you going to be a wimp or are you going to be strong today?” - Peter Maher, 2-time Olympic Marathoner.
And here’s another that applies just as well to startups (and reminded me of Andy’s post about urgency):
Somewhere in the world, someone is training when you are not. When you race him, he will win. - Sign on Marathoner Tom Fleming’s wall.
