Thursday, December 29, 2005
Harvard University Says: WE SUCK
The Economist has published a simply great double edition for Christmas, and the magazine provides very readable stories on China's occupation of Tibet and other serious issues.
However, the most enjoyable article is definitely one focusing on the best pranks in history, and the picture of hundreds of Harvard students unknowingly becoming a bunch of fools is costly. While Harvard and most of America's other Ivy League schools are known for their rich and privileged students, Harvard is still considered to be perhaps the world's top academic institution. It is probably human nature, but few things are more enjoyable than seeing people, that would usually demand your respect, be ridiculed in a magazine published as widely as the Economist. Kudos to the Economist for brightening up my week.
The Economist has published a simply great double edition for Christmas, and the magazine provides very readable stories on China's occupation of Tibet and other serious issues.
However, the most enjoyable article is definitely one focusing on the best pranks in history, and the picture of hundreds of Harvard students unknowingly becoming a bunch of fools is costly. While Harvard and most of America's other Ivy League schools are known for their rich and privileged students, Harvard is still considered to be perhaps the world's top academic institution. It is probably human nature, but few things are more enjoyable than seeing people, that would usually demand your respect, be ridiculed in a magazine published as widely as the Economist. Kudos to the Economist for brightening up my week.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
Morning Meeting Refocuses, Re-Energizes Sales Team | The Onion - America's Finest News Source
This is definitely something that I can relate to. I love Monday mornings, and will even show up on vacation days just to attend:
"I'm so 're-energized,'" Gerber added. "Vroom, vroom. Let's go make some more money for Parnell International."
This is definitely something that I can relate to. I love Monday mornings, and will even show up on vacation days just to attend:
"I'm so 're-energized,'" Gerber added. "Vroom, vroom. Let's go make some more money for Parnell International."
Saturday, December 24, 2005
PCPhrases.com - Politically Correct Terms
It is Christmas for those who celebrate it, but if you are not celebrating Christmas, then today is just another day (unless you are celebrating something else, though the portion of the world's population doing this is absolutely marginal). I hate the political correctness being imposed on Christmas, but I am afraid it is a battle that will be difficult to win. "Season's Greetings" is an absolutely stupid term, at least "happy holidays" works if you know someone is going on a holiday. I gladly wish my Jewish friends a happy whatever they are celebrating, but I will not wish someone a greeting for the season.
pcphrases.com presents the following greeting, though I do not actually think it is copyrighted by them. However, it is a perfect exaggeration of what this stupid planet has come to:
"Politically Correct Seasons Greetings:
Please accept with no obligation,
implied or implicit our best wishes for
an environmentally conscious,
socially responsible, low stress,
non-addictive, gender neutral,
celebration of the winter solstice
holiday, practiced within the most
enjoyable traditions of the religious
persuasion of your choice, or secular
practices of your choice, with respect
for the religious/secular persuasions
and/or traditions of others, or their
choice not to practice religious or
secular traditions at all ...
and a fiscally successful,
personally fulfilling, and medically
uncomplicated recognition of the onset
of the generally accepted calendar
year 2006, but not without due respect
for the calendars of choice of other
cultures whose contributions to
society have helped make America great,
(not to imply that America is necessarily
greater than any other country or is
the only "AMERICA" in the western
hemisphere), and without regard to the
race, creed, color, age, physical ability,
religious faith, choice of computer platform,
or sexual preference of the wishee.
- DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTABILITY -
(By accepting this greeting,
you are accepting these terms.
This greeting is subject to
clarification or withdrawal. It is freely
transferable with no alteration to the
original greeting. It implies no
promise by the wisher to actually
implement any of the wishes for
her/himself or others, and is
void where prohibited by law, and is
revocable at the sole discretion of
the wisher. This wish is warranted
to perform as expected within the
usual application of good tidings
for a period of one year, or until the
issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting,
whichever comes first, and warranty is
limited to replacement of this wish
or issuance of a new wish at the
sole discretion of the wisher.)"
Anyway, being politically correct is not something I am particularly good at, thus I wish you all best for Christmas. If you are not celebrating Christmas, I hope you at least will have a great weekend.
It is Christmas for those who celebrate it, but if you are not celebrating Christmas, then today is just another day (unless you are celebrating something else, though the portion of the world's population doing this is absolutely marginal). I hate the political correctness being imposed on Christmas, but I am afraid it is a battle that will be difficult to win. "Season's Greetings" is an absolutely stupid term, at least "happy holidays" works if you know someone is going on a holiday. I gladly wish my Jewish friends a happy whatever they are celebrating, but I will not wish someone a greeting for the season.
pcphrases.com presents the following greeting, though I do not actually think it is copyrighted by them. However, it is a perfect exaggeration of what this stupid planet has come to:
"Politically Correct Seasons Greetings:
Please accept with no obligation,
implied or implicit our best wishes for
an environmentally conscious,
socially responsible, low stress,
non-addictive, gender neutral,
celebration of the winter solstice
holiday, practiced within the most
enjoyable traditions of the religious
persuasion of your choice, or secular
practices of your choice, with respect
for the religious/secular persuasions
and/or traditions of others, or their
choice not to practice religious or
secular traditions at all ...
and a fiscally successful,
personally fulfilling, and medically
uncomplicated recognition of the onset
of the generally accepted calendar
year 2006, but not without due respect
for the calendars of choice of other
cultures whose contributions to
society have helped make America great,
(not to imply that America is necessarily
greater than any other country or is
the only "AMERICA" in the western
hemisphere), and without regard to the
race, creed, color, age, physical ability,
religious faith, choice of computer platform,
or sexual preference of the wishee.
- DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTABILITY -
(By accepting this greeting,
you are accepting these terms.
This greeting is subject to
clarification or withdrawal. It is freely
transferable with no alteration to the
original greeting. It implies no
promise by the wisher to actually
implement any of the wishes for
her/himself or others, and is
void where prohibited by law, and is
revocable at the sole discretion of
the wisher. This wish is warranted
to perform as expected within the
usual application of good tidings
for a period of one year, or until the
issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting,
whichever comes first, and warranty is
limited to replacement of this wish
or issuance of a new wish at the
sole discretion of the wisher.)"
Anyway, being politically correct is not something I am particularly good at, thus I wish you all best for Christmas. If you are not celebrating Christmas, I hope you at least will have a great weekend.
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
USA TODAY Online - The Birth Of A Newspaper On The Internet
I found another essay that I wrote while in college that I had yet to publish online. By now, of course, it is outdated and of little relevance to anyone, but perhaps it can be of use to a student somewhere for research purposes.
I found another essay that I wrote while in college that I had yet to publish online. By now, of course, it is outdated and of little relevance to anyone, but perhaps it can be of use to a student somewhere for research purposes.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
CNN.com - Iran bans Western music - Dec 19, 2005: "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad"
This Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a complete nut case and needs to have his head checked. His parents must have hit him with a brick when he was young, or he is simply pissed about being poorly equipped. In any event, the guy should be locked up. He is bad news.
This Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a complete nut case and needs to have his head checked. His parents must have hit him with a brick when he was young, or he is simply pissed about being poorly equipped. In any event, the guy should be locked up. He is bad news.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Excelsior Versus Starbucks - A Strategic Analysis Of The Japanese Coffee Market
Tonight, I finally got time to post a strategic comparison I wrote on Excelsior and Starbucks, the two biggest players in the Japanese coffee market. The essay originally contained lots of neat matrixes and graphs, but I quickly discovered that converting these from a Word document to html is rather tedious. Therefore, I posted the document without any graphics, but hopefully it still makes some sense.
I should mention that I love Starbucks, mainly because of their anti smoking policy. At almost all other coffee establishments in Japan, including Doutor and Excelsior, the smokers sit in the same room as non-smokers. Most Japanese coffee shops are rather small, thus sitting in the non-smoking section will make you smell like a tobacco factory after a few minutes.
I spent a short hour in a Starbucks today reading through parts of Muhammad Yunus' book "Banker to the Poor", which mainly is an autobiography on how the author founded the Grameen Bank. My favourite Bangladeshi colleague lent it to me, and I have been reading bits and pieces of the book during the last few months. The main reason he lent me the book is probably that he and Muhammad Yunus graduated from the same Chittagong university, but perhaps he also hoped that I could have some influence on the Nobel Committee. While Muhammad Yunus has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Economics several times, he should also be eligible for the Peace Prize. However, since the Norwegian committee mainly consists of left wing socialists and outright idiots, this is not likely to happen anytime soon. Some random Kenyan tree hugger (Wangari Maathai) won the prize in 2004, while some other completely random people have won it in the past.
Since the objective assessment seems to be that Muhammad Yunus created microcredit, he has probably won a few prizes already. However, if he gives up the principle of actually having poor people repay their loans, the Norwegian committee might consider him. Another candidate I would like them to consider is Bill Gates, who is donating more money to charities than most of us can imagine.
Another very interesting fact I read in Muhammad Yunus' book is that three million Bangladehis were killed in the country's independence war from Pakistan in 1971. This is an absolutely incredible number, and I can not claim to have heard it mentioned at all in newspapers back home. Wouldn't there at least be anniversaries and stuff on tv? While there is still debate ongoing about the exact figure, in terms of human suffering, the recent liberation of Iraq appears like a picnic in comparison.
Tonight, I finally got time to post a strategic comparison I wrote on Excelsior and Starbucks, the two biggest players in the Japanese coffee market. The essay originally contained lots of neat matrixes and graphs, but I quickly discovered that converting these from a Word document to html is rather tedious. Therefore, I posted the document without any graphics, but hopefully it still makes some sense.
I should mention that I love Starbucks, mainly because of their anti smoking policy. At almost all other coffee establishments in Japan, including Doutor and Excelsior, the smokers sit in the same room as non-smokers. Most Japanese coffee shops are rather small, thus sitting in the non-smoking section will make you smell like a tobacco factory after a few minutes.
I spent a short hour in a Starbucks today reading through parts of Muhammad Yunus' book "Banker to the Poor", which mainly is an autobiography on how the author founded the Grameen Bank. My favourite Bangladeshi colleague lent it to me, and I have been reading bits and pieces of the book during the last few months. The main reason he lent me the book is probably that he and Muhammad Yunus graduated from the same Chittagong university, but perhaps he also hoped that I could have some influence on the Nobel Committee. While Muhammad Yunus has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in Economics several times, he should also be eligible for the Peace Prize. However, since the Norwegian committee mainly consists of left wing socialists and outright idiots, this is not likely to happen anytime soon. Some random Kenyan tree hugger (Wangari Maathai) won the prize in 2004, while some other completely random people have won it in the past.
Since the objective assessment seems to be that Muhammad Yunus created microcredit, he has probably won a few prizes already. However, if he gives up the principle of actually having poor people repay their loans, the Norwegian committee might consider him. Another candidate I would like them to consider is Bill Gates, who is donating more money to charities than most of us can imagine.
Another very interesting fact I read in Muhammad Yunus' book is that three million Bangladehis were killed in the country's independence war from Pakistan in 1971. This is an absolutely incredible number, and I can not claim to have heard it mentioned at all in newspapers back home. Wouldn't there at least be anniversaries and stuff on tv? While there is still debate ongoing about the exact figure, in terms of human suffering, the recent liberation of Iraq appears like a picnic in comparison.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Sheraton New York Hotels: Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers - Hotel Rooms at sheraton.com
I enjoyed trashing the Hilton Hotel in Guam in a recent column, so I thought I would share an additional hotel experience that I so far have only shared with the hotel. The Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers did not care much when I sent them a complaint, though I got a brief apology from someone at their customer center. However, they did not do anything to remedy the situation, so I will post the email that I sent them. I stayed at the New York Sheraton in September, 2004, thus my review is not that recent. But, anyway, soon potential visitors to the hotel will be able to find my review when they search google for a review of the Sheraton:
"I stayed at Sheraton Towers in New York last weekend, and had a remarkable check-in experience. First, I tried to get a key just before 8 PM on Saturday, but after 15 minutes in line I gave up due to an appointment. Therefore, I asked to have my luggage stored (for a fee) and was ensured that I could check-in and collect my luggage 24 hours a day. When returning around 3 AM, I checked in and was told to ask the bell captain for my luggage.
(From this point in the email, I changed the verbe tense from past to present, a very potent literary tool that has a powerful effect on the reader... Ok, I just made that up.)
The bell captain is not there, and the reception lady asks me to wait. That I do, for about 15 minutes, when the reception lady says I can wait in my room and that she will send him up. Entering my hotel room, I am astounded to discover an office and a bar, but no bed! As I had a couple of drinks that evening, I search the entire room for any secret rooms or compartments that might store a bed. Perplexed, I return to the reception, and tell the lady the there is no bed in my room. "There is no bed in your room?", she asks, and disappears into the back room. After returning, she lets me know that my room was part of a suite, thus a mistake had been made. She gives me a new key, and again ensures that the bell captain will come shortly. Finally he does, and I was finally able to go to bed, one hour after attempting to check in for the second time.
When I on Monday attempted to check out of room 3636, it soon turned out that I had been registered in room 3638 while actually staying in room 3636. Hopefully, I will never have to check into Sheraton again.
However, please confirm that you have registered frequent flyer number xxxxxxxx under my name. Since about everything you did for me was incorrect, I want to ensure that at least I get mileage for my trouble.
On a positive note, you have fabulous beds".
I never ended up getting any mileage from Sheraton, probably my room charge was too low.
I enjoyed trashing the Hilton Hotel in Guam in a recent column, so I thought I would share an additional hotel experience that I so far have only shared with the hotel. The Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers did not care much when I sent them a complaint, though I got a brief apology from someone at their customer center. However, they did not do anything to remedy the situation, so I will post the email that I sent them. I stayed at the New York Sheraton in September, 2004, thus my review is not that recent. But, anyway, soon potential visitors to the hotel will be able to find my review when they search google for a review of the Sheraton:
"I stayed at Sheraton Towers in New York last weekend, and had a remarkable check-in experience. First, I tried to get a key just before 8 PM on Saturday, but after 15 minutes in line I gave up due to an appointment. Therefore, I asked to have my luggage stored (for a fee) and was ensured that I could check-in and collect my luggage 24 hours a day. When returning around 3 AM, I checked in and was told to ask the bell captain for my luggage.
(From this point in the email, I changed the verbe tense from past to present, a very potent literary tool that has a powerful effect on the reader... Ok, I just made that up.)
The bell captain is not there, and the reception lady asks me to wait. That I do, for about 15 minutes, when the reception lady says I can wait in my room and that she will send him up. Entering my hotel room, I am astounded to discover an office and a bar, but no bed! As I had a couple of drinks that evening, I search the entire room for any secret rooms or compartments that might store a bed. Perplexed, I return to the reception, and tell the lady the there is no bed in my room. "There is no bed in your room?", she asks, and disappears into the back room. After returning, she lets me know that my room was part of a suite, thus a mistake had been made. She gives me a new key, and again ensures that the bell captain will come shortly. Finally he does, and I was finally able to go to bed, one hour after attempting to check in for the second time.
When I on Monday attempted to check out of room 3636, it soon turned out that I had been registered in room 3638 while actually staying in room 3636. Hopefully, I will never have to check into Sheraton again.
However, please confirm that you have registered frequent flyer number xxxxxxxx under my name. Since about everything you did for me was incorrect, I want to ensure that at least I get mileage for my trouble.
On a positive note, you have fabulous beds".
I never ended up getting any mileage from Sheraton, probably my room charge was too low.
Monday, December 12, 2005
Trips To Atlanta, New York, Philadelphia, And Other Sites In The United States
Some pictures from my trip to the United States in November just got posted. I really enjoyed visiting Atlanta, though it is a city I would never consider living in. The city center is tiny, and there are only a couple of subway lines to use if you do not have a car. However, people are very friendly and the climate is apparently nice most of the year. Too bad no one remembers anything from the Olympics in Atlanta other than the bombing.
Since I took great joy in trashing Hilton Guam in my November 23 column/review, let it be mentioned that the Atlanta Marriott Marquis is an absolutely beautiful hotel. I loved the design, it is one of the most architecturally interesting hotels I have ever had the pleasure of staying at. The hotel staff were also friendly during my stay, I can not really find anything negative to say about the hotel.
Some pictures from my trip to the United States in November just got posted. I really enjoyed visiting Atlanta, though it is a city I would never consider living in. The city center is tiny, and there are only a couple of subway lines to use if you do not have a car. However, people are very friendly and the climate is apparently nice most of the year. Too bad no one remembers anything from the Olympics in Atlanta other than the bombing.
Since I took great joy in trashing Hilton Guam in my November 23 column/review, let it be mentioned that the Atlanta Marriott Marquis is an absolutely beautiful hotel. I loved the design, it is one of the most architecturally interesting hotels I have ever had the pleasure of staying at. The hotel staff were also friendly during my stay, I can not really find anything negative to say about the hotel.
Saturday, December 03, 2005
Visiting Micronesian Island Guam - Seeing The Island's Sights And Attractions
I was finally able to post some pictures from my visit to Guam. The review of my stay at the Hilton can be read in my November 23 blog entry, while the rest of my experiences at Guam are summarized above.
I was finally able to post some pictures from my visit to Guam. The review of my stay at the Hilton can be read in my November 23 blog entry, while the rest of my experiences at Guam are summarized above.
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