RTP reset

Yesterday there was yet another massive traffic jam on I-40 in RTP. Commutes that usually take 30 minutes took three times as long. I was fortunate that it was a day that I work from home, but thousands of others weren’t so lucky. I don’t know anything that could have better validated my earlier thoughts on RTP being doomed.

Today’s N&O editorial echoed my earlier thoughts, though I found a contradiction. The N&O says RTP seeks to urbanize, yet it’s still touting its “large amounts of green space.” You can’t have it both ways! You can’t have density and not have density. Right now RTP has little to no density and the odds of it achieving any are slim to none.

In short, RTP is a losing model. RTP may die a slow death, but it will die. After sixty years of service, it’s time for RTP to retire.

The park’s model has become an American classic – large, woodsy, campus-like settings where companies and agencies have plenty of elbow room. Its founders took advantage of the synergy derived from the surrounding constellation of major universities.

Chemicals, computers, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, environmental sciences – these have been the park’s backbone, and its prosperity has driven growth throughout the Triangle, especially in North Raleigh, Cary and southern Durham.

But if companies like IBM, Nortel and Glaxo were the anchors, the park has had to adjust as those companies have evolved or (as in Nortel’s case) faded from the scene in the face of new technologies. And what used to be an attractive sense of isolation from hectic commercial corridors has become, in some people’s minds, more detriment than advantage.

via RTP reset – Editorials – NewsObserver.com.

Cheap thoughts: medical care reverse auction


Joseph Ness’s recent series on profits in supposedly non-profit hospitals in the News and Observer is some great reporting. I was glad to see my neighborhood hospital, WakeMed, was holding its costs down, comparatively speaking.

On my morning walk the other day, I was still steaming about my last doctor’s visit, where my doctor basically sleepwalked through our appointment. Why does it take a medical degree to write a prescription to whatever high-priced drug-du-jour the pharmaceutical companies are pushing? Where’s the curiosity into what might really be going on? If I’m going to pay $150 to see my doctor for all of 15 minutes, what does it take to get his full attention during that time?
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Weather is here, wish you were beautiful


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Futzing around with Google Maps this morning, I noticed that the Mount Weather doomsday facility hadn’t been reviewed yet using Google Places. So I had a little fun writing a review:

I sheltered here during the Armageddon and would never do it again! The cots were way too hard, the rations were somewhat tasteless, my room had NO windows, and it was next to impossible to get the generals’ attention when the sheets and towels needed changing. What you see in the brochure doesn’t match the actual experience. Take my advice: the next time the world ends, steer clear of Mount Weather! Go with a Hampton Inn or similar chain. You’ll be glad you did!

Rocky support from Earthlink

Yesterday I discovered that at least one of Earthlink’s mail servers has been listed on a spam blackhole list, meaning mail sent through that server disappears from the Internet.

I searched in vain on Earthlink’s support page for an email address to a clueful engineer. Instead, I made do with a “live chat” with someone named “Rocky.” Rocky dutifully followed his script but instead of hearing me when I told him that Earthlink’s servers were blacklisted, Rocky had me recheck my email settings.

It’s sad when I know more than the support person who supposedly is there to help me.

Please hold for the next available agent. Your chat should begin in approximately 0 minutes. You may type your question while you wait, but you won’t be able to SEND it until your chat is assigned to an agent.

‘Rocky S’ says: Thank you for contacting EarthLink LiveChat, how may I help you today?

Rocky S: Hello, how may I assist you today?

CUSTOMER@earthlink.net: I just got a bounced email which indicates an Earthlink mail server is on a blackhole list.

Rocky S: Please stay on hold for three minutes, while I go through the issue.

CUSTOMER@earthlink.net: 550 5.7.1 Service unavailable; Client host [209.86.89.69] blocked using Trend Micro RBL+.

CUSTOMER@earthlink.net: Were you aware of this?

Rocky S: Thank you for being on hold.

Rocky S: I am sorry to hear that. I’ll do my best to resolve this issue.
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Cuisinart’s customer service rules

My wife Kelly got a Cuisinart espresso maker as a gift about a year and a half ago and has used it religiously! Every day she happily makes herself a latte. One morning last week her beloved espresso machine began to balk at making her morning coffee. I knew how sad this would make her so I was already determining how much it would cost to buy her a new one.

I needn’t have worried. Kelly called Cuisinart’s (now owned by Conair) support number and, unlike many companies today, spoke to a live person. Not just a live person, but a clueful, live person! After offering Kelly a few strategies to get her ailing espresso maker working, the helpful rep offered to replace the whole thing for free.

Yep. It didn’t matter that it was a gift and Kelly didn’t have the receipt, nor did it matter that it was a year and a half old. Cuisinart is shipping her a brand new espresso maker and taking back her broken one, for free!

At a time when so few companies remember who keeps them in business (ahem, their customers), Cuisinart goes above and beyond. Bravo!

“Force Quit” Yourself to Get Your Sleep Schedule Back

I suppose some people need this.

It’s easy enough to decide to go to bed strictly at a certain time, but actually doing it is another story. We often get carried away in the late hours of the night, trying to knock off just a few more things we wanted to do, whether it’s for work or fun. The next day, we’re tired and filled with regret yet we don’t stop. If this sounds like you, it’s time to start “force quitting” yourself at the end of the day. Here’s how.

via “Force Quit” Yourself to Get Your Sleep Schedule Back on Track and Avoid Another Day of Fatigue.

Time to bus a move

I’ve been looking for a way to take the bus to work and think I’ve found it! There’s a Park and Ride lot just off Blue Ridge Road where a Triangle Transit bus departs at 9:07 AM. It stops at the Factory Outlet Mall at 9:22, from where I can ride my bike over to the office and be there by 9:30. I still have to drive to Blue Ridge Road but it beats driving all the way out to RTP.

I drove over to check out the P&R lot this morning and was pleasantly surprised to see it was almost entirely full! No bike racks, though, which was a disappointment. I would love to have a place to put my bike in the event that the bus bike racks are full and I have to leave it.

I might also consider buying a used bike to leave at the outlet mall so that I don’t have to haul it on the bus every day. As with the Park and Ride lot, there are no bike racks at the outlet mall. I’m not sure why major transit stops don’t have bike racks but I’ll see if I can get an answer.

Oh, and I tweeted yesterday that I could never commute by bus until there’s a bus dedicated to singing. I guess I’ll have to keep quiet or make quick friends with my fellow commuters!

Where I’ve worked: Applebee’s


A thread on Reddit about a restaurant customer leaving two pennies and a nasty note for bad service got me thinking I needed to blog about my time working for Applebee’s. Working as a server was the hardest job I’ve ever had and likely will have.

As I traveled the world in my previous jobs I was fascinated by the different ways different cultures pay their restaurant staff. In Australia there is no tipping as restaurant workers there get paid a full salary. Do you know what restaurant workers here in America get paid? Try $2.13 an hour. Yes, you can’t even buy a gallon of gas for that, but that’s a server’s base pay. The really sad thing is that that rate hasn’t changed since I waited tables at Applebee’s twenty years ago.
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