Travels for Work

Since moving into my new job, I have been traveling a lot more. While we were living in the friendly confines of the Residence Inn, this was a little more palatable, as I was just exchanging one hotel for another. However, now that we are in our place, I dread traveling a little more (mostly because I miss my wife).

Over the past 6 weeks, I have traveled for work to Atlanta, Providence, Rhode Island, New York City, Orange Co., CA and Phoenix, AZ. The Phoenix trip was the highlight of my travels. I got to stay at a very nice resort. While there, we arranged meals with our larger customers who were attending the show. We took two of our biggest customers to Elements, where Chef Beau MacMillan cooks some AMAZING steaks (his claim to fame is that he beat Bobby Flay in an Iron Chef American competition). I typically don't care for high-end food (most of you know I am a meat and potatoes kind of guy), but MacMillan prepared the best Ribeye steak I have ever eaten.

I laid over in Phoenix for the weekend and had the opportunity to catch up with Jeremy Graves. He came up and spent the night on Friday evening, and we joined the Phoenix Chapter of the UT Alumni Association to watch the UT vs. Arkansas game. If you are ever in the area, be sure to join them, as they are a great bunch to hang out with. Their Vice President is a riot.




Reflections - What is this bathroom doing in NYC?



Before Thanksgiving, I rode with one of our Account Managers and Research Chemists to see a customer on the outskirts of NYC. It is amazing to believe that we are so close to "The City" now. We drove through Staten Island, across the bridge into Brooklyn, through Queens and to our final destination, which brings me back to my question - "What is this bathroom doing in NYC?"

The fact is, I don't know. I included this for 3 reasons: 1) I am establishing a pattern. I hope to include at least one bathroom photo of some relevence in this blog every 6 months (you can search my history to find my last bathroom posting); 2) Rachel will not like it. She is fun to annoy; and 3) It is thought provoking. I really have no idea what this bathroom is doing in NYC. Feel free to leave your comments on why you think it may be there.

Sorry For the Absence

On Friday November 16, Rachel and I escaped from Captivity (the Residence Inn). We have finally moved into our place, and it is great to no longer be living out of a suitcase. Well that is not quite true, as I am still traveling quite a bit with work. However, we do have a place to call "home" again.

Now that we have internet access again at our house, I plan on writing several blogs over the next week or so to catch up on what has been going on for the past couple of months.

Mom and Dad came up for Thanksgiving and helped us unpack and situate furniture. Since we didn't have all of our kitchen stuff unpacked, we booked reservations at Maggiano's for Thanksgiving Day lunch. It was a massive amount of food, most of which, we ended up taking home with us for leftovers. We hung blinds, watched football and showed them around the area some. They agreed that the area outside Philadelphis is a little more rural than what they expected.

Vacation - Continued (Final) - Visit With Zo

First, Congratulations and shout out to Zo and Beth on the birth of Jake Lorenzo. Reports are that Jake and Beth are both doing well and that Mike is a little excited, although it would probably be difficult to detect. After finishing our tour of the Hearst Castle, Rachel and I set off towards San Diego. The difficulty in this journey is that there is no good way around Los Angeles. However, we lucked out and made it through LA in about an hour and a half. The highlight of our trip was dinner on our final night with Mike Lorenzo, the proud father mentioned above, and his wife Beth. This was the first time that Rachel and I had the opportunity to meet Beth. She is very nice and has no difficulty keeping Mike in his place. We ate at a great sushi restaurant and then went for ice cream at the beach. For those of you who know Rachel and I very well, you know that we are big zoo-goers. We could not pass up the opportunity to visit the San Diego Zoo while we were in town, so on Wednesday, we visited the U.S.'s most famous zoo. It was really cool, as the habitats were extremely well designed. As you probably know, the pandas are probably the most famous animals at this zoo. We can now say that we have seen them. They really didn't do much. Very lethargic animals. I affectionately named the one in this picture "Larry Wray". I welcome blog-readers to hypothesize why.


My favorite exhibits are always the apes (note that this includes lowland gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees). I have included a video clip (I used Quicktime) of the baby orangutan playing with his father at the San Diego Zoo. Several families with small children abruptly left this exhibit, as two in the clan decided to get intimate. Rachel would allow no video footage of this spectacle.

My favorite of the apes is always the Eastern Lowland Gorillas, or "Silverbacks". They are large and in charge. The alpha-male pictured here was no different. This day was especially good for me, as they actually ran at one point. I had never seen one of them run. I gained a whole new level of respect for them, as they are not only huge, but really fast, much like Tim Tebow (I am watching him shred USC as I write this).

REFLECTION - Airline Price Discrimination
I learned in MBA school that an excellent way to make money is to segment your customers and then price discriminate amongst those segments, charging different prices to memebers of each segment. The airline industry has mastered this technique (I assure you that it is a valid tool and that airline earnings would be even worse without it).

Why do I write this, you ask. I can now say that I was a target of this price discrimination. I conducted a clinical experiment by buying 2 airline tickets from the same airline to different destinations from the same origination with both purchases made exactly 2 weeks in advance of the flight.

Flight #1: I fly from Philadelphia to Phoenix, AZ. I lay-over for the weekend in Phoenix and then fly to Orange County, CA on Sunday afternoon. I then fly back to Philadelphia on a red-eye flight Tuesday evening, arriving in Philadelphia on Wednesday morning. This flight logs over 5,000 miles and costs approximately $400.

Flight #2: I fly from Philadelphia to Knoxville, TN. I lay over for the weekend and then fly back to Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon. This flight logs 1,200 miles and costs about $200 more than Flight #1.

How can this be, you (and I) ask?

1) Knoxville is obviously a more attractive destination than either Phoenix, AZ or Orange County, CA, especially during football season.

2) Phoenix is not nearly as attractive destination as it once was, as most women have heard by now that Jeremy Graves is in fact married and thus is no longer available. The OC has suffered since the cancellation of its critically acclaimed series.

3) Competition - This may be the most plausible reason. Multiple airlines with multiple time slots fly from Philadelphia to both Phoenix and the OC. Prices are driven down further, as Southwest is one of those carriers. You want to fly to Knoxville, you have less options, which means a higher price.

4) Economies of Scale - More people fly to Phoenix and the OC from Philadelphia than to Knoxville. This is likely because they have not heard what a paradise that Knoxville truly is. 300-person flights allow larger planes to be used, achieving economies of scale vs. 50-person flights, which use smaller planes. In competitive markets, prices are driven towards variable cost. Each additional passenger on either flight adds very little variable cost (just the incremental fuel to fly that person's weight and baggage). These total variable costs are more effectively distributed across a larger passenger pool, achieving economies of scale on the larger flights to Phoenix and the OC.

Whatever the reason, it stinks that I have to pay $200 more to go see my parents than to travel coast-to-coast.

Vacation - Continued (Again) - Hearst Castle

Rachel and I spent Monday evening in San Simeon. It was a neat experience, as San Simeon is sort of a throw-back to the 1960's. It is very small, and has no hotels, only motor lodges. It would seem that its only reason for being is to house tourists, like ourselves, who want to visit the Hearst Castle (if you squint, you can actually see it in the picture above).

Situated high on the hill, Hearst Castle was built by media magnate William Randolph Hearst in the early 1920's. Although the house is not as large as the Vanderbilt's Biltmore mansion, the grounds are amazing. It sits on 7,000 acres of land, all originally owned by the Hearst Family (from the castle, almost every bit of land that you can see was owned by the estate). It was home to Hearst, who owned SEVERAL MAJOR newspapers throughout the United States (he was a Rupert Murdoch on steroids). His home was the playground to Hollywood's elite, such as Carey Grant, Randolph Scott and others. Hearst actually owned a DC-3, which transported guests to and from Hollywood to the estate.

The grounds held 4 guest houses, in addition to the main house, each with multiple bedrooms. Guests could stay as long as they wanted, as long as they behaved. Hearst did not believe in telling guests to go home; however, it would be obvious to you if you wore out your welcome. Hearst did not allow drugs on his property, and only allowed drinking in moderation (if you got drunk, you were kicked out).

The grounds contained an extravagent Roman pool, where guests were allowed to swim and play. Hearst was a man of action, so guests were not allowed to sleep late and were encouraged to be active, while staying at the grounds. They could swim, horse ride, visit the zoo on the grounds, or play tennis on the outdoor tennis court.

Hearst was ahead of his time. The castle was designed by architect Julia Morgan during a time when female architects were not given second notice. Hearst was a champion of Women's Suffrage and did not discriminate based on color or religion, although he himself was a religious man.

Mine and Rachel's favorite place was the indoor swimming pool. It was built with bright blue tile enlayed with real gold and was supposedly designed to be viewed at night. As beautiful as it was in the daylight, I can't imagine how beautiful it must be in the evening.

Anyone who is ever in the area should make the Hearst Castle a must.

The Vacation - Continued

Sorry for another longer Blogging absence. Things are still a bit crazy with Rach and I, as we have entered our 3rd week together in captivity - The Residence Inn (I'm now in my 8th week of living out of a suitcase).



Since I needed to organize the pictures from our vacation, I decided to use that opportunity to blog about the rest of our trip in California. After getting drilled in the Cal game, Rachel and I said "Farewell" to Caleb and Mike Johnson and headed off down the California Coast.


The drive was beautiful, and the weather was perfect. It was sunny and 70 for our entire trip. On the first day, we drove from San Fransisco to Monterey, where we spent the night. Remarkably, the picture to the left, is someone's back yard. I would hate to think how much the land is worth, and I certainly don't think I could afford the taxes on it.

Later in the afternoon, we drove 17 Mile Drive and went to Pebble Beach Golf Course. Lots of great pictures, which I have posted at the end of this blog. We bought some souveniers for the dads at the Pro Shop.

We had dinner at the wharf in Monterey that evening. It is a neat little town, but lots of tourists. The next morning, we got up and went to the Monterey Aquarium. The jellyfish to the right is a shot I took at one of their tanks. The otters were our favorite. They are so playful and energetic.


We left the Aquarium a little before lunchtime and went to Carmel by the Sea. This was Rachel's favorite part of the trip. It is a quaint little town with lots of shops. We bought a couple of trinkets for ourselves and then had lunch at Clint Eastwood's restaurant. It was a pretty darn good cheeseburger.


After lunch, we left Carmel and drove through Big Sur National Forest. Rachel was actually successful in getting me to take 2 hikes while we were there. This is an excellent shot of a huge redwood tree. They are really spectacular. Ironically, this trail led to the most pitiful little water fall I have ever seen. The trees were beautiful though.

Luckily, the second hike that we went on had a much better waterfall, pictured here. We then left Big Sur and spent the night in San Simeon.

I am including some additional pictures below, including one of the gas pump at the station entering Big Sur (if I didn't include it, noone would believe that I actually paid that much for gas).

Jackpot - We Have a Place To Live

8th day in captivity - Rachel and I have now officially been homeless for 8 days. However, hope is near. We close on a new place on November 14. After much debate and some solicited help from our blog readers, we went with another townhome. Although not one of the original 4 options listed, this one is in the same development as the townhome that we liked the most (as did the majority of readers) in the original blog.


This one does not have a finished basement, but it does have a finished loft though, so there is still room for an office and "man den". It is also already painted with neutral colors, which was an important criteria this time around, as Bill "Pops" Langston would be unavailable for Alternative Fall Break - Philadelphia and the painting of the Kennedy's home, as he and Erin celebrate the arrival of Carter Langston (see blog links). Congratulations guys!!!

The townhome is 20 minutes from my current work location and 10 minutes from a train station, which will take me to work, once our office moves back to center city.

There is a breakfast area adjacent to the kitchen, which looks out onto the farm. I am excited about this part, as I think it will be a cool place to drink coffee on Saturday mornings.

Another advantage of this townhouse is that the kitchen has more room and counter-space than our townhome in Chicago. It also has dual ovens, which is kind of cool. The selling point for me was that the gas fireplace comes with a remote control (quick, sign Cedric the Entertainer up for more Bud Light ads, cause this has potential).

All readers are invited to come visit when they get a chance. We love visitors!!!

Reflections Part II - Distinctively Southern I am a southerner, and I will always be a southerner at heart and by action. I still do peculiar things that many refined southerners would consider - "redneck". Clark likes to point this out to me on occassion. Still, after living in the north for 3 and a half years, I occassionaly run into things when I visit home that never would have crossed my mind before. Now, I find them "strange".

For instance, during our visit for the Georgia game, I stopped by the bank that I have used since I was a child. I used to take pennies from the piggy-bank there when I was 3 years old. On this visit, it struck me odd that a gentleman at the teller window would be depositing checks, without his shirt on. If this was not funny enough, one of the tellers, who had been in the back room, came by and greeted him, "Hey Ted!!!" Apparently, she didn't think it was that strange.

Even more impressive... Rachel and I marched from our tailgate at the G-10 Garage south of Neyland Stadium to our gate at the north end of the stadium. As we were approaching the gate, we noticed a family of four in front of us - mom, dad, a 6ish year old girl and a 4ish year old boy. Before I continue with this story, I would like to state that this appeared to be a somewhat normal and middle-class family, not someone who wreacked of "redneck".

The mother had the boy by one hand and a "road coke" in the other. As we approached the gate, her husband told her, "You better finish that, or they'll take it away from you at the gate." She quickly turned to Rachel, standing behind her, and replied, "That's OK, I got more where that came from." She then proceeded to tell my wife how she had airplane bottles of liquor stuffed in the 4-year old's shorts waist-band. "I just tell him to keep his arm down as he goes through security. They never check the kids," she proudly explained to Rachel (Bill, at this point, I would like to personally offer to take Carter to his first Tennessee football game as soon as he is able to walk).

Yes friends, this lady was using her own 4 year old son as a liquor pack mule.

Goodbye Chicago... Hello Philadelphia

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated the blog. Thanks to those of you who complained to the management (Rachel) about my delinquincy in updating this page. I will do better in the coming weeks, as our life will hopefully return to some level of normalcy. Here is an update of the past few weeks:

1) Rachel worked in Chicago, while I worked in Philadelphia. It was a bit like dating again. She even thanked me for visiting when I showed up in Chicago for a weekend a few weeks ago.

2) We found a place to live in Philadelphia. I will write more on this in my next entry (complete with pictures).

3) We caught up with many friends the weekend of the Georgia game - Larry and Keri Wray, Salim, Cooney, Kristen, Steve Rodgers, the guys I lived with in college - Kevin Tharp, Brian Bean, Tim Hylund, and the always entertaining Mark Clark. Sorry if I left anyone out here. The only thing better than beating Georgia is taking them out behind the woodshed!!! That was a great Saturday. Following the game, several of us went to Laddy's and Amy's house to watch the LSU vs. Florida game and indulge ourselves into some of Amy's fine cooking.

4) Rachel and I sold our house in Chicago. Thanks to the ridiculous relocation practices of Cartus Corporation (Rohm and Haas's relocation firm), this process was exceedingly painful. With the help of our real estate agent, we were able to hold the deal together, and we received confirmation that our house was sold on Friday. Hopefully, I will not require triple-bypass as a result of this process. If you ever move to Chicago, I can recommend an excellent real estate agent and also give you the name of a home inspector to avoid!!!

5) Please congratulate Rachel on her new job. She interviewed last week and accepted a contract position part-time through Thanksgiving near where we will eventually live. This position has the prospects of moving to full-time after we are fully relocated after the Thanksgiving Holiday.

6) Last night, Rachel and I spent our last night in Chicago. We went to a "Toast for the Fallen", which was a fundraiser for the families of fallen U.S. soldiers. We met, Greg Taunt and Matt Adams (and Matt's "pre-wife" Heather), two of my friends from Kellogg. Heather is his "pre-wife" because they do not like the term "fiancee". It was a great time, and we ended our stay in Chicago, much the way we began it, staying at the same hotel, where we had first visited with Mark Clark 3 and a half years ago, when we began our relocation.

REFLECTIONS
I have decided to conclude my blogs with a segment entitled "Reflections". The purpose of this segment is to spawn deep thought,inform, and hopefully, entertain. I welcome comments on this segment.

This Reflections topic is - Restroom Hand-washing Automation
As I have been traveling more with work lately, I have found myself pondering a technological question, "What is the appropriate level of restroom hand-washing automation?"

There are 3 essential pieces of hand-washing equipment in public restrooms - 1) soap dispenser; 2) sink faucet; 3) drying apparatus (this tool is typically manifested in one of two forms - dryer or paper towel dispenser). Each one of these tools comes in an automated or unautomated form. These options provide 8 (2^3 for those desiring mathematical proof) combinations of automation on this equipment (NNN, NAN, NNA, ANN, AAN, ANA, AAA, NAA, where N = non-automated and A = automated). I am pretty certain that I have seen all of these combinations in my travel over the past month.

I belive that ANSI, OSHA, Congress, the SEC or Nobel Prize Winner Al Gore should take on establishing a standard for this equipment, as I do not believe that all of these combinations meet the logical cleanliness threshold. I will attempt to provide a logical ranking of acceptable practice given the absence of such standards:

1) AAA - complete automation of all devices minimizes the opportunity to spread germs. The travel plaza at milemarker 13 of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) is an excellent demonstration of this high-level of automation.

2) NAA - I do not believe it essential for the soap dispenser to be automated, as one should be able to disinfect germs after charging said soap from dispenser. However, the sink faucet and towels should be automated, as both of these devices are used after the germs should have been cleansed. This appears to be the most frequently used package in modern restrooms. Examples include Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park, IL, Atlanta Hartsfiled International Airport and the travel plaza at Ohio mile marker 235 off of the Ohio Turnpike.

3) AAN & NAN - I believe that the sink faucet is the key automation device. Again, the germs from the soap dispenser will be eliminated with proper scrubbing. Assuming that no "unclean" hands use the non-automated papertowel dispenser, then it should be germ free, as it should only be touched by clean hands. This is the exact setup in the bathrooms at Kellogg. While I believe they should be able to automate all features of the bathroom (and all other aspects of the building for that matter), given the tuition, this setup does achieve my standard for cleanliness.

4) NNA, ANN, ANA - These are all unacceptable standards. Regardless of the level of automation of the other apparatuses, it is essential that the sink have the motion detector. Without it, any germs washed off during the cleansing process will be reacquired when the washed hand is used to turn off the germ-infested faucet, which was recent turned on by the uncleansed hand. Unfortunately, these conditions still exist routinely - Philadelphia Airport and the Travel Plaza at mile marker 135 on the Indiana Turnpike.

5) NNN - while no less safe than the combinations listed in 4, a completely unautomated bathroom lacks any imagination and is "dull" in addition to unsanitary.

Word of advice - when encountering any of the scenarios listed in "4" above, please use the drying towel to shut off the faucet, thus providing a prophylactic barrier for your clean hand. If a dryer is used instead of towels, you must make a decision between your health or abusing mother earth's precious resources.