Sarah Ayers Was the Star of First Night
Last night we went out on the town of Bethlehem, with our friends Trudy and Graham whom we’re visiting in their spacious new house in Northampton, PA. Like the other events across the US, First Night offers dozens of musical and comedy acts. We began in an old ice house […]
You’re Never Too Old To Be a Porn Star
Debbie, known as De’Bella, has a day job as an administrative assistant in the sex business, but one day decided that she too wanted to get in front of the camera. She’s 50, and still looks pretty hot, so she now makes porn movies joining a large number of oldsters […]
Where Do They Keep the Coffee Filters?
Waking up early after a difficult night’s sleep. We are visiting dear friends down in Pelham Manor NY, and I’m up early with no one else around yet. I try to make some of the coffee I brought from the cafe, but can’t find the filters. You know the feeling […]
Ouch! That Smarts….Good People Move On
Oh that smarts! I’ve just experienced what retail business owners know all too well. Just when you’re happy and feeling like your staff is running like a well-oiled machine, something happens. Oh no, not that conversation. “I have to tell you something,” said Britt, my beloved cafe manager. “I’m going […]
How to Get Three Giants Out of Quicksand
Jason Miller writes on Web Pro news about the ultimate web merger and google killer. “How do you get three giants out of quicksand? The biggest giant eats the other two and makes a boat from their bones. That seems to be Wall Street’s approach to building an apt competitor […]
Don’t You Hate it When the Shingles Give off Shocks?
Up ridiculously early this morning, for some reason five am seemed like time to rise. Jumped on the laptop and read the Boston Herald…a truly scary tale of a man who built his dreamhouse 27 feet from high tension wires. The flourescent lights in the house were going on when […]
Ball Bummer: Why Didn’t They Ask the Players?
The January issue of Business West came by mail, thanks to the Chamber of Commerce whose members now get it free. Inside was a sad story similar to the New Coke disaster of 1985–The Spaulding Ball Bummer of 2006. Local company Spaulding introduced a new basketball to be used in […]
Good Bye Gib
I got the news the other day that Gib Fullerton had passed away. Gib was the guy who hired me for my first newspaper job, back when the Valley Advocate was located in downtown Amherst. I remember applying for the job once, then not getting it, and coming back a […]
Right On Arnold!
Arnold Schwartzeneger has become the most progressive and clear-headed governor on the environment. He was profiled by the Washington Post today. “This year he signed the nation’s first environmental law of its kind, committing the state to lowering its greenhouse gas production to 1990 levels by 2020 and setting up […]
Send a Cone or Tune by Cellphone
We met the bespectacled Andreas in Goteborg, and enjoyed dinner with him and his wife Elin. He develops internet ad campaigns and one of them was fascinating, it was for an ice cream company. He showed us how a Swedish cellphone customer can send a tiny bar code to a […]
Want to Get in the Spirit? Write Cards, Give Money!
Today I took some wise advice from my sister Jenny. I wrote out cards to all of my employees and told them why I value them, and added some crisp bills to make it really feel good. You wanna know how to get into the Christmas spirit? Write cards and […]
Dreams, Goals, and Hope at 33,000 Feet
Winging our way back home from Sweden, in this Airbus 330 I am able to recap all of the things this trip has inspired me to think about. In the internet and cafe business, you meet people and see ideas in action that make you think you should try them. […]
Watching the Planes and the People Down Below
We are sitting in Copenhagen’s airport with our flight delayed two hours. No announcement told us, we just learned this by overhearing another passenger, then seeing it for ourselves on the board. Thanks a lot! I always like to watch the planes come and go and see what the workers […]
Heated Sidewalks and Other Swedish Surprises
Random thoughts on Sweden: One cool thing I saw here were heated sidewalks, that eliminate the need for snow shoveling. And when we went into the cafes (there are almost 700 in Goteborg), no one was working on laptops except us. Our friend Bo told us that people never bring […]
Sleeping in a Castle in Sweden
We’re bunking down in the room called Christina in the Thorskogs Slott Castle outside of Goteborg. This was once a family residence, now it has 30 rooms for lucky travelers to sleep in. No TV, but WiFi and elegant canopy beds and clawfoot bathtubs. Tonight we enjoyed the Swedish Christmas […]
Lunch with Bo at the Busy Downtown Market
Bo Kjellberg is a high tech entrepreneur who lives in Goteborg. We joined him for lunch in a restaurant in a crowded market called called Saluhallen. All around us were shoppers picking out hams, fresh fruit, little lobsters, prawns and hundreds of kinds of cheese. The place has the bustle […]
Dinner With a Swedish Family
Last night we had dinner in the home of a Swedish couple named Elin and Andreas. We took a taxi far out into the suburbs, (the driver didn’t know how to get there) and as the meter ticked and ticked, we finally popped out of the cab $44 lighter but […]
What They Were Watching in Goteborg
God Jul as they say in Goteborg, this is the Christmas video show that is projected on the massive wall of the Kunstmuseum. It is sound, motion and holiday cheer, and three times a night crowds stream up the main avenue to watch it.