A friend, who works for Myhrvold’s Intellectual Ventures, mentioned this “hyperdecanting” method in passing — over beers. He had not tried it. I was intrigued.
I now consider myself a budget oenophile and enjoy surprising friends with how good a decanted bottle of Charles Shaw Cabernet can taste. Myhrvold’s hyperdecanting method consists of blending the wine at high speed to maximize the air exposure to the wine. I found that 30 seconds on high greatly improved the wine. I have not done any blind tastings but I would rate a hyperdecanted Charles Shaw Cabernet with a wine that cost ten times as much.
If you have a blender and $2 (plus tax) give it a shot.
I have been fortunate to attend some amazing baseball games. Fenway’s 100th anniversary game last Friday will join that list — not for the Red Sox play, but for the amazing pre-game celebration. Nearly all living, former Red Sox players took the field.
The best seats I have ever been in put the game over the top. Right on top of the “X” on the Red Sox dugout. The game and the players were so close you caught every word. Plus it allowed me to capture this great shot of legends Johnny Pesky and Bobby Doerr. Thanks for the thumbs up, Mr. Pesky!
This video came out just about a year ago. It still is inspiring. Richard Tait on dreams, passions and entrepreneurship. I have been lucky enough to meet Richard a few times. He is nothing short of inspirational. The video will not tell you that he is a huge soccer fan and a recreational player. You can figure out a little bit about what makes Richard tick by reading his favorite book, Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace by Gordon MacKenzie. It is an unconventional book full of drawings and color. It just might make you ask, “Where have all the artists gone?” For me, the book is a useful guide to creativity and the creative processes in the real world. Check it out.
The 4 P’s (Product, Price, Place and Promotion) are the standard Marketing Mix. This is not just MBA “marketing fluff”, the P’s are where the rubber meets the road in CRM, namely quote generation. There is a bigger but untalked about 5th P (Problems) that haunts pricing and quotes.
Product and pricing data are integrated with ERP systems. This data is updated on a variable frequency rate. I have seen a range from quarterly to every 2 days. More frequently is not necessary better in my experience. Place in the CRM parlance is the here and now. Sales is looking to book revenue today. The revenue pipeline needs to flow so that the company can grow. It is amazing to me that 5th P (problems) still exist with product and pricing. Often the integration does not handle changes in frequency well. A pricing update may run well over a weekend, but not complete overnight. How are customer price lists generated? Most are a combination of fixed pricing and percentage. How do you validate that these are correct? These problems existed in CRM a decade ago and are still around today. They are process problems and involve people. No amount of technology will fix people. Companies have this problem and no one really solves it. Why? Likely the P (price) to fix the P (problem) is way to high and no P (product) or P (promotion) have incentives to fix it in the P (place).
Found these awesome Star Wars Millennium Falcon silicon molds. They turned out these detailed and delicious treats over the weekend. Pretty sure on the Kessel Run, these would melt in less than 12 parsecs.
The molds are available at Amazon and other places where Star Wars fans shop…
I have been fortunate to have worked internationally in Mexico, UK, Japan and South Korea. Different places, different faces and different unwritten rules. A few rules have enriched my experiences abroad. Learn some of the language. Learn the power of hierarchy and the cultural norms.
First, always know how to say hello, please and thank you in the local language. This works. In Korea, many foreigners do not take the time to learn Korean. The response was incredible. I have experienced similar responses in places like Morocco and Turkey.
Second, power differences, hierarchical structures and cultural norms vary worldwide. Mexico generally has a strict adherence to hierarchy which I found surprising. Many, many moons ago, I was leading a team of 12 consultants to deliver a customer relationship management system to ATT Mexico on a very tight timeline. One consultant, Carlos, took on the data migration task. It was huge. Everyone knew that it would take time and there would not be results until the very end of the project. Carlos was a very proud father and loved to bring his little girl presents every time he returned home which was every other week. The Friday before Father’s Day, we had a meeting. Carlos was behind schedule but he had been working very hard. I knew that he needed a break. Making him work the weekend, through Father’s Day, was not an option in my mind. Plus I was leaving for the airport to head back to Seattle. If I was not going to be there, I was not going to have any of my team be there. Well, Eduardo, the senior manager, Carlos’ direct boss, did not like that idea. He ordered Carlos to stay the weekend and get back on schedule — without my knowledge. This was Eduardo’s particular style. Carlos was devastated. Without thinking, I found one of my guys, Juan Carlos, and gave him my credit card. I asked him to send $50 of flowers to Carlos’ wife and apologize that Carlos could not be there, but not to tell Carlos. Juan Carlos gave me a giant bear hug and then volunteered to stay as well.
I returned to Monterrey to an unexpected hero’s welcome. Carlos was ecstatic; everyone on the team congratulated me for being a great “Jefe”. The flowers for his wife were a hit but more importantly it demonstrated to them that I understood their hierarchy at work and at home. Our timeline was still tight, but we delivered the project on-time.
Working relationships take longer to develop outside of America. I found in Japan, South Korea and Mexico that co-operation and consensus is highly prized. These countries respective societies were more collective. To be effective, allow ideas to develop from the entire team. Embrace consensus. Avoid assigning individual tasks but assign tasks as a group. Communication is highly contextual. In Mexico, it is unlikely that anyone will outright say no to a disagreement, but rather, “Si perro” or literally, yes but and then outline the concerns. Working abroad will be more common as our world becomes evermore global. Understanding a little language and the culture is important. Use it to your advantage.
The amazing Kiva Systems robots are now part of Amazon.com. Kiva System’s robots already have a place at Amazon’s Zappos. Now Amazon looks to likely take this technology forward in the operations and logistics side of the house. Toys-R-us is a Kiva Systems customer. Maybe this can help the Amazon and Toys-R-Us relationship.
I clipped this article from Forbes in 2001 thinking that someday, I would get a new glove or have to break in a glove for my future kids. The future came to be the other day. I tried this one second hot water dunk on my son’s glove in preparation for the upcoming t-ball season. It worked amazingly. The glove broke-in nicely and he even stands a chance of catching a ball.
As thoughts turn to the rites of Spring, two excellent baseball reads from the early 20th century.
1) The Unforgettable Season by GH Fleming
The National League Championship Season of 1908 was one of the greatest ever. The Cubs, Giants and Pirates battled down to the wire. This is one of Sports Illustrated’s top 100 sports books of all-time which brought it back into print. Copies are much easier to find today than they were when I first learned of the book about 15 years ago.
2) You Know Me Al by Ring Lardner
My brother gave me a copy of this book about 20 years ago. It is a great and fun read as a hayseed pitcher tires to make it with the White Sox in 1916. Copies on Amazon or on the Internet at the link above.
At the start of the year, I made the switch to the iconic, near-barefoot toe shoe. This has been a gradual process. Moving to a minimalist trail shoe about 2 years ago and ditching my orthotics about 18 months ago proved to be easy. I had come across Chi Running during that period and picked it up easily — one hidden benefit of the orthotics was that I was unable to heal strike. I had already changed my stride to a toe-midfoot strike.
Just after New Year’s Day, I was in REI’s Bargain Basement and found many pairs of Five Fingers that had been returned. Bought this solid pair of KSO for $20. REI Bargain Basement Beauties scored for $20!
These at first were great. Lots of stair training to start off the new year. I am psyched to be participating in the Big Climb up Columbia Tower, Seattle’s tallest building, on March 25. The downside of the KSO is running when it is wet. In Seattle, that means all winter guaranteed. After a second soggy 10K the KSO upper fabric had stretched and caused the sole to rub in a few painful places on each foot. Blister city. Thank you KSO, I will see you again in rainless July.
Back to REI, no more Bargain Basement beauties left, so I bucked up and went upstairs to try on a pair of Bikila LS. The improved fabric on the upper and between the toes has made a big difference. The running inspired bottom is awesome. I have put about 70 km on them so far and not a single blister. Interestingly, these are a size bigger than the KSO pair, and overall, more comfortable. I found it worth taking the time to try them on and did not even mind paying full price with the famous REI guarantee. Big fan of the Bikila LS. If you are looking at a pair for running check these out.
Bikila LS after a 10 mile trail, beach, stairs run.
If you are thinking of making the switch, I would recommend the following:
1) Read Born to Run. Great book and will inform and inspire.
2) There is an adjustment with your body. My legs look a few weeks to get comfortable with no drop from a minimal 5-10 mm drop. It was never painful, just working muscles in new ways. Some people consider it a con. Chi Running, Pose Method or even 100 Ups all preach a basic truth: Do not run on your heels. UPDATE: See Comments for more from Chi Running.
3) Vibram Five Fingers are machine washable. Great to know that I can go get wet and dirty. Both pairs clean up well.
Originally conceived to be part of another work, Rodin’s Thinker changed the way we look at modern sculpture. Like most things disruptive, this was not the intent but the result. Something to think about.
by Gordon MacKenzie. It is an unconventional book full of drawings and color. It just might make you ask, “Where have all the artists gone?” For me, the book is a useful guide to creativity and the creative processes in the real world. Check it out.
