Aric Monts: Analyst, Triathlete, Human

BarBQ, Airports and Texas

I had to take my brother down to the airport this morning at 3am!  Nothing like driving along the back roads of Texas in the middle of the night, alone, with the illuminated retenas of deer along side the road.  Not exactly ideal, but then traffic was a non-issue.

On our way down to the airport, my brother pointed out that he didn't get the opportunity to have any barbq during his visit here.  I felt for him as you can't come to the Texas Hill COuntry and not enjoy the lucious, juicy, smokey goodness of this fabulous Texas product.  From Rudy's to Bill's, you really can'y go wrong (unless they serve it with the sauce already on it!) with the choices.  He looked at it this way, barbq is the perfect reason to come back to Texas!

We arrrived at the airport shortly after 4am.  Not a soul was in sight.  San Antonio is a small airport and is currently undergoing a major renovation. In fact, the large terminal signs that navigate you around the airport are actually bigger than they need to be as terminal 1 and terminal 2 are within a hundred yards of each other.  Perhaps the airport is trying to be bigger than it needs to be. Either way, leaving my brother at the curb at such an early hour just seemed odd...  almost as if the world had become frozen in time.

Texas is a very large state that is very opinionated and really thinks of itself as its own nation.  It is fully of amazing wildlife, distinct cultures, and an amazingly bloody history.  Texas is an experience that one must have multiple times in their life.  From the joys of cow-tipping entertainment in the ranch towns, to the lively night life in Austin, to the cheap border towns like McAllen, Texas has it all.

This vacation isn't quite over and I plan to enjoy Texas for a few more days.  Can't wait for a beer and more barbq!

 

The Texas Family Boxing Ring

Yes, I am in Kerrville, Texas visiting family.  I flew from the central coast of California to join my aunt, grandmother, uncle and brother (from Seattle) for Thanksgiving.  I love my family, but there are many tense moments that drive us all crazy.

It is like being in a boxing ring, only we don't throw punches at each, just non constructive criticism.  You see, we will all get together in the ring and have a great time, but then someone will get offended by a comment or get grouchy from lack of food. Then it explodes and we all go to our corners for a bit of alone time.  After that, we come back to the center and do it all over again.

Today it was my aunt that pointed out how badly she thought I drove.  Then my brother walked out on us at the grocery store.  Then the dogs wouldn't stop barking at me so my aunt got a little upset (the dogs hate me!).  Then I started feeling exercise deprived and went out for a run which wasn't authorized by the rest of the family so they feel abandoned.

You see, each member of my family is very independent, controlling and opinionated.  We respect each other a lot and we love each other, but when the conditions are just right, look out. 

I am in my corner typing this and updating my other blogs.  I realize that what they say about enjoying all good things in moderation is so true.  It applies to family.  Let's spend two hours as a unit, then split off and have one on one time, and then lets all go to our rooms and relax.  Just because my brother is here for 52 hours, I am not going to spend every minute with him because I respect him and his needs. 

So, there you have it... the family boxing ring.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving with friends and family.

I am having a great time in Kerrville, Texas with my family with lots of food, wine, and embarrassing family stories.

Cheers!

A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood

A view from Mountain Drive above Santa Barbara during my afternoon bike ride.

How A Droid Came Home With Me

I didn't leave the house anticipating that I would have a new best friend upon arriving back at home.

I really went down to get a haircut, but the wait was so long, I moved on.  I parked a fair ways down the street, so I started walking back toward the car. 

Then the Verizon Wireless store jumped out in front of me and wouldn't let me pass without going in.  Fine, I thought, this would be a great opportunity for me to check out the Droid again.  (You can read my first impression here)

It wasn't long before a sales rep found my weak side and started probing with the the right questions.  Before long, he informed me that I was eligible for a phone upgrade and that the contract was a non-issue.

Then he really got heavy, he put a Blackberry Bold next to the Droid and started pointing out the features:

Video:  The Blackberry seemed tiny and not designed for video.  The Droid was theatre like and the sound awesome (it has a real speaker!) Droid won.

Email: The Blackberry wins for execution, but the Droid is designed to work with my Gmail account.  Access to my calendar and email is just a click away.  Droid narrowly won this one.

Web Browser:  The rep informed me that the browser on the Droid was more robust than the Blackberry, which he said was an add-on. Droid was designed for web browsing, so it wins hands down.

Camera:  Droid has 5mp camera vs a 3mp camera on the Blackberry.  I think the Blackberry wins for quality here, the Droid camera just doesn't take as sharp of a picture as the Blackberry, despite the larger censor size.  Blackberry wins.

Apps: The sales rep pointed to the "Market" icon on the Droid and asked me to find a few apps that I liked.  Then he asked me to find a few apps that were similar for Blackberry.  I couldn't and discovered that the open source Android OS has a lot more apps available to it.  The rep smiled.  Droid Wins.

I then asked about price.  For $75/mo, I can have full functionality, including 3G, wifi, unlimited data and text, and email.  Sold!

So that is how a Droid came home with me.  It is my new best friend and I am happy that I adopted one.  In my mind, the iPhone's market just shrunk.

Grab your new friend and buy a Droid!

Note: If the ringer volume is quiet and you miss calls, reboot it.  Turn it off using the power button and then turn it back on.  Ringer volume will be back to normal.

How Smartphones Have Personalities

Today, I stopped by my local Verizon Wireless store to check out the Motorola Droid.  I will tell you that it looks better on paper and in pictures than it does in real life. 

I then looked at the Blackberry Storm2 for comparison.  While it looks really cool, it sings to a different tune that many people may not like.

Then I realized that the three major Smartphone players really have personalities all their own.  Here they are in no particular order:

Droid - A 1980's Apple user that just can't let go of classic boxy styling and clunky interfaces.

Storm2 - Like an Bon Jovi impersonator that really likes to sing the Opera.  One genre trying to look like another.

iPhone - The king of the hill whose personality does it all well. It is not perfect, but well enough that no one comes close to shaking the throne.
This was a rather unexpected pattern that I came across.  The concept of each phone having its own personality is nothing new.  Manufacturer's design their products around buyer personas all the time. 

However, I really can't help but wonder what Verizon and Motorola were thinking when they designed a 1980's clunky PDA and threw a clunky OS it it.  I am sure it will appeal to those that wouldn't mind being caught driving a Volvo 240... after all it is about features and functionality more than coolness and refinement.

Is there a Droid in your future?  What do you all think? 

Ten Rules for Being Human by Cherie Carter-Scott

Which Starbucks Product is the Best Buy?

Recently, the cost of coffee has been at the top of mind. It was put there shortly after Starbucks launched their new instant coffee product called VIA Ready Brew.  You can read a post on why I think it will succeed over at my main blog, Why Starbucks VIA Ready Brew will Succeed.

 

The Drainer: The Overzealous, Not So Positive Facebook User

Facebook is a great way to connect with friends and your peers.  We all know that and we all use it in very different ways.

Recently I was reminded of a particular type of Facebook user that I termed The Drainer.  This user has the following characteristics:

1) Fires off status updates in such rapid succession that your feed is full of their updates.
2) Always comments or likes almost every one of your status updates, links, etc.
3) Their comments are expressing an opinion that criticizes you for your actions (feels like being scolded).
4) They often miss the point of your update which proves they are out of the loop.
5) They often sound like your mother when they offer advice.

These are the people that kill a great conversation.  For Instance, you make a status update about how great a party it was, but that you were feeling a little hung over.  All of your friends are commenting on the fun time they had and then the Drainer hits, leaving a smart-ass comment about controlling your drinking and how stupid it is that you are hung over.  That just kills the conversation right there.

While it is possible to block them, blocking seems extreme since they do, on occasion, contribute some meaningful status updates.  Telling them nicely offline to keep their opinion to themselves might be possible but the drainer might take it the wrong way.  I decided to just ignore them and continue interacting with my "friends."

This really boils down to Facebook etiquette: 

1) I only comment on status updates that I can add value to or offer support of. 
2) If I can't find anything cool to say, I will simply "like" it. 
3) I keep my comments positive and will only criticize if I can offer them a reasonable and meaningful solution.
4) Respect your 'friends' privacy... always commenting/liking on everything is like calling them every ten minutes to tell something, which is a great way to be unfriended.
5) Think of every comment as a broadcast to the entire world, saying negative things only makes YOU look bad to the world.

Has anyone else experienced the Drainer?   Any further etiquette rules to share?

Addicted to Twitter? Get Your Dedicated Tweeting Device

I just came across Twitter Peek, a handheld device that operates off its own mobile network that gives you 100% dedicated access to your Twitter account all the time.  For $199 (or $99 with 6mos and $7.95/mo afterward) you too can solidify your tweeting addiction.

Seriously though, I like the concept of a twitter device.  Unfortunately, in today's world, carrying around multiple devices is not cool anymore. Since you can only tweet from it, it truly is a mono-tasker.

I do like the concept of having dedicated access to Twitter for a flat monthly rate.

Still, I wonder how big the market is for this product.  iPhone users aren't going to buy one.  Droid just came out which has tweeting capability. This device is really for a non-connected, non-mobile user.  Perhaps my grandmother would like one for Christmas?  But then how do you explain the whole twitter thing? And then explain why she needs to be connected 24/7 to it?? 

hmmm....