Famille Du Pentium

First order of business: 100th POST!

I stayed three days at the Sheraton Suites Weehawken at 500 Harbor Blvd.  Having heard from co-workers that I should set my expectations of my room rather low, I was somewhat surprised.  The room was clean, roomy and had a good view of the New York Harbor.  

There were a few things I noticed however:

• They only offer wireless internet access, no wired.  But my WiFi adapter couldn’t pick up their signal until I got one of their WiFi bridges from the front desk.  Also, you can’t charge the WiFi to your room, you have to use a credit card.
• They seem to have a governor in their water spigot in the baths, limiting how hot you can turn the knob.  So I wasn’t happy about the water tempurature in the bath/shower.
• Room service was inconsistent.  Day one I ordered chicken sausage (among other things) and got three links.  Next day, same order, and I got two.  Monday I ordered decaff with cream and sugar and got only sugar, Tuesday I ordered decaff with cream and sugar and got only cream.  Tuesday they forgot to deliver my orange juice.
• The front desk / check-in process wasn’t smooth.  When I arrived, nobody was at the front desk at all.  It took a little while for someone to realize I was waiting to check in.  Later, a hoard of airline crew arrived, and there was only one person at the front desk to deal with them, leaving everyone standing around in the already cramped lobby, blocking most of the access between the elevators and the front doors.

These were all minor annoyances.  The room was big and comfortable, which was my main interest since I was working the whole time I was in town. 

Also I’ve heard that the hotel restaurant was at one time under construction and thus their menu was limited.  That wasn’t the case when I was there, apparently the construction was over.  Still, they’re expensive and there’s a Houlihans and a deli down the street from the hotel.   

I intended to write about this some time ago, when we heard that Milton Friedman died. I’m belated because I found myself actually sad that Milton Friedman is dead, which would be odd on the surface, because his area of education and teaching wasn’t exactly "every man" land.  I studied Milton Friedman as a fresh, gullible Economics student in college, and he had quite an impact on my then as now.  He was an economist, a very good one.  I needed to figure out how to put my impressions of this man into blog form.  After my remarks here, below you can follow a link to information about Dr. Friedman.

I guess what makes Milton Friedman special, as economists go, is his work in "laissez-faire capitalism."  This theory of economics insisted on limited government intervention in free markets, and proposed that all bad things would be made good again by shear market force.  Essentially, in a pure market-driven capitalist economy, everyone will – over time – do as well in the economy as they can possibly do.  We’re not talking about unavoidable destiny here, we’re talking about toughing it out, being the best you can be, and the market (employer, business, whatever) will treat you the best it can in return.  In an odd way, it’s fairness taken to a higher level.

In a sense, I guess that’s the "every man" angle I was looking for, and a theory that has driven my personal ambitions throughout my life.  I came from a somewhat humble economic environment in my childhood, and I have always worked hard to make things better for myself and my kids.  In the Milton Friedman world, by being smart and working hard, my lot in life over time was destined to improve.  And it did. 

The lesson we learned from Milton Friedman is, things will always balance out to the best possible condition that they can be.  Dr. Friedman was mostly concerned with economics, but we can apply this to almost anything, can’t we?  We don’t need someone else to have to make things better for us.  In fact, if we control our destiny, things will probably get better despite external interference, it just might take a little longer.

Here’s more information about Milton Friedman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_friedman

Hannukah is coming up, and I’ll be posting my daily play-by-play here each night of Hannukah, along with pictures, like last year.  If you want to keep an eye on the family related stuff (e.g. you want to ignore Mike’s political rantings and ravings) just go here… http://famille.org/blog/kids_family/

Bookmark that page for easy access 🙂 

So we figured we probably should get Ethan started with some activities now, and Soccer doesn’t start ’till next year for him.  The Skokie Park District offered a special, pre-season skating lesson – three 1/2 hour sessions for 10 bucks.  It’s really a teaser for their 20-week full program, but it’s a nice way to find out if your kid is a prodigy or an ice buffer for less than the usual 60 bucks. 

Initially, Ethan did great on the ice… so great, in fact, that he got himself going too fast and fell directly on his head straitaway.  Since then, he’s been afraid to move around very much on the ice.  

Still we’re going to go ahead and give the full lessons a try.  Marla is going to re-learn to skate with adult lessons at the same time as Ethans, so they can learn together.  

Here’s pictures of his first three lessons: http://gallery.famille.org/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=903&g2_fromNavId=x5abdf8b8 

So did you vote?  I did.  Here’s a recap of what happened in my district.

U.S. Congress: Jan Schakowski vs. Michael Shannon, 9th Congressional District
I’m no big fan of Jan Schakowski.  She’s a fairly typical liberal tax-and-spend Democrat, and this is her perfect congressional district.  I was researching her opponent, because I hadn’t seen one sign or seen any ads or heard anything about this race.  Michael Shannon starts out strong – opposes Bush’s heavy-handed diplomatic policy, wants to at least re-think Iraq if not take a step back, feels we should engage Socialist / Communist regimes in Latin America, yadda yadda yadda.  Then I clicked on a link on his website – “Ideas”.  Boy does he have them.  Too bad he’s nuts.  Turns out he doesn’t like the electoral system, and wants to amend it thusly:

• Remap every congressional district after each election, so that it’s exactly 50% Democrat and 50% Republican.
• Give parents votes on behalf of their children
• Require any person who enters politics whose parent is also a politician to run under a different last name

These are Mr. Shannon’s REAL positions on the electorate system, as found at: http://www.shannonforcongress.com/ideas.html.  These may seem like great ideas on the surface, but once you put the beer down, they are just plain nutty.  So as difficult as it was for me to vote for a tax-and-spend Democrat, even that is better than a nut.  Outcome: Jan Schakowski won the race, 75% to 25%.

Cook County Board President:  When longtime board president John Stroger suffered a stroke just after the primaries, the Democratic Machine in Cook County had a tough choice to make.  No, I guess they didn’t, because they’re a machine, so they chose John Stroger’s son, Todd, to run in his place.  Forget about the other primary candidates like Forest Claypool, who ran a close second to John Stroger.  No.  He won’t do.  Instead, in the finest of Cook County Politics, the Cook County Democratic Organization appointed Todd Stroger to run in the General Election against Tony Peraica.  To Todd’s credit, at least he’s a politician.  To Todd’s detriment, he’s a Chicago Alderman.  Peraica ran a tough race and almost pulled off the impossible – a Republican Cook County Board President – for the first time ever.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be.  Result: Todd Stroger wins by roughly 55% to 45%.

In other races, the sole Republican (center leaning) State Congressman, Elizabeth Coulson, of my district, won easily again against the Democratic challenger, whats-her-name.

The Democratic sweep of the house gives us two opportunities: for those of us who are Goldwater conservatives and Reagan Republicans, it’s a perfect opportunity for our out-of-touch Republican leaders to get back to their constituents (us) and figure out what they are doing wrong.  For Democrats, it’s time to put their money where their mouths are, and fix things like Social Security, Homeland Security, Taxes, and Foreign Policy.

I wish them both luck.

You’ve read my blogs, ranting about the failures of both Democrats and Republicans.  I’ve probably confused you more than anything else.  My political views are hard to nail down.  But here is one very clear opinion tatement I will make now, and stand behind later:

GO OUT AND VOTE!

If you believe that the government is wrong, that the president is wrong, that the war is wrong, or that it’s all just right, go out and cast your vote.  Because if things get worse and you didn’t vote, it’s your fault. That’s right, yours.  And if you do vote, and things get worse, you can always put up a blog, like me!  🙂

I’ll see you at the polls, fellow citizen and patriot.

The political revelution that began roughly 12 years ago is officially over.

Dennis Hastert, speaker of the house, tenaciously holds on to his office despite calls to resign over the Foley sex scandal.  

Mind you, I agree with this decision – but not the reason he gave.

Says Hastert: "If I fold up my tent and leave, then where does that leave us? If the Democrats sweep, then we’d have no ability to fight back and get our message out."

So Hastert will hold on to power for the sake of having power.  

That may cause some to respond, "Well, Duh… of course the Republicans want to hold on to power.   They’re Republicans!"  But that’s not the way it always was.  12 years ago it was the Democrats who were the entrenched leaders of the legislature, and the Republicans (although they’d had equal success as the Democrats in the Executive Branch) were looking to change their message – and their goals.  It wasn’t supposed to be about power, it was supposed to be about the message.  And the message was simple: it was not about power, it was about shrinking government, lowering taxes, promoting entrepreneurial businesses, tort reform, and welfare reform.  

On those counts, since 1994, the US legislature has scored about a C; although taxes for working class families have gone down, so have taxes for the ultra-rich; tort reform has been accomplished (although not quite enough), welfare reform is underway, entitlements funded by the working class are down, but government is growing larger and larger every day.

As an ambtious government project goes, A "C" isn’t a bad grade.  But the contract is dead.  Government is growing, and the areas that needed improvement and acts that weren’t passed in 1994 haven’t been addressed in years.

And now, it’s not about the contract anymore.  It’s about keepng power, so they can get the message out.  Twelve years ago, it was about getting the message out, and gaining power was secondary to that.  It’s officially over.  The revolution is dead. 

I thought I’d give you a run-down of my stopover in Delhi, India on my way home.  It’s interesting because it shows how much time it takes to transfer at Delhi.  My advice: Don’t cut your transfer time short in Delhi. 

AA Flight to Chicago: 12:15 AM Sunday.  This is my target.  I start at about 5:00 PM Saturday, in Hyderabad, which is about 2 hours from Delhi.  My US flight boards at 11:30 PM.

5:00 PM-ish: Flight to Delhi.  Arrives late due to weather, approximately 8:00 PM

Delhi: Get my luggage, and check in at the "International Terminal Transfer Desk", they advise that the hourly bus transfer to Delhi International will leave at 8:50 PM, be there then.  I wait a few minutes.

Getting on the bus, I ask someone who has done this before how it works.  He assures me that it’s about a five minute ride.  

Forty-five minutes later, we arrive at the International airport.  I’d say terminal, but when you have to drive 45 minutes to get there from the domestic arrival, it’s pretty much another airport.

So it’s about 9:30.  I wait in line to get IN to the Delhi international airport.  Then I wait in line to have my luggage screened and strapped and tagged.  Then I go to the check-in desk and wait in line to talk to the airline Security person.  Then I wait in line to get to the Business Class check-in desk.  All this takes about 15-20 minutes, except the check-in itself, which takes seconds, because they’ve already printed my boarding pass and have it waiting on the desk.  You get the feeling that they definately have a handle on who is flying today.

Next, Indian immigration.  This is a grating experience.  Not the people, they’re fine.  And the interminable lines wouldn’t be so bad if they moved uniformly.  The problem is, the Indian immigration folks are very thorogh (good for them!) but they don’t have a very good system for dealing with problems that arise.  So when problems arise, as they do often when immigration officials are being thorough, the line you are in STOPS.  So you move.  Then that line stops.  You move again.  So I arrived at immigration about 9:50 PM, and I’m through by about 10:30.

OK, I have my exec lounge card, and I thought that the check-in desk lady said "past security, turn left".
 I see the security checkpoint just ahead, so I make my way into line.  I can’t complain about the security; the lines are long and slow but it IS security, and this is India after all, so for better or for worse I tough it out.  I’m through by 11:00 PM.

Wow, did I just show how it took three hours to get from a flight arriving in Delhi to a flight departing Delhi?

So I get through security, I figure I’m home free.  Except, this is a small waiting area for about 10 international departure gates.  I must have misunderstood the check-in lady because there is definately not any exec lounges here, just seats and a coffee kiosk.  As a matter of fact, there isn’t even an exit back to the insecure area.  Once you’re cleared, you stay cleared.  Better hope your flight leaves, ’cause that’s the only way you’re getting out of this room.

So I waited the remaining 30 minutes (!!!) and then got called for boarding.  Going through the jetway, we had one more metal detector and a complete hand-check of my carry on bag.  Again, I’m not going to complain about security, not when I fly 60,000 miles a year.  Good for it.  The plane pushed promptly at 12:15 PM and I was ready – for my 16 hour flight back to home Sweet Home, Chicago. 

The biggest problem with this trip report is that I really did not have much time in India.  It was a hasty visit to nail down some action items and then move on.  So I didn’t get much time to see very much of Hyderabad, much less India.  But what I did see, I’ll report here.

Coming in to Hyderabad airport tired, we lined up for immigration control.  Since India requires visas for all visitors, I expected a long line.  Considering it was midnight, immigration officers were doing a very detailed job of looking at everyone’s passport and visa.  The only problem I ran into was, the immigration agent at the desk I approached took my landing card, stamped my passport, and told me to move on.  Later, after collecting my luggage, the exit from the sterile area was guarded, and an entry slip was required to pass.  I was supposed to have gotten this from the first immigration agent, however, he didn’t hand out slips to anyone.  So there were some awkward moments as the second immigration officers tried to figure out what to do about this.  Eventually they let me pass.

I was met by a driver for the Taj Krishna hotel where I was staying this week.  We were escorted out to our car, luggage was loaded up, and off we went.

I’ve been trying to think about a politically correct way to frame my comments about driving around Hyderabad.  There is a lot of poverty.  You see it as you make your way around town to stay in a posh hotel.  There’s no missing it.  Even though Hyderabad is building itself as a hi tech city, their legacy is poverty and they are still trying to deal with it.  You can’t miss the huts, tents, and shanties as you drive around.

There is a positive side, too.  Education is very important in India, and Hyderabad is no exception.  As you are driving around, when you’re near the public schools, you see the children in their school uniforms making their way to school.  Further out, in the shanty towns and poverty-stricken areas, you see the children emerging from their shanties in clean, pressed school uniforms, getting ready to make their way to school.  In America, kids in these conditions would probably not qualify for public school because they simply don’t have an address.  Yet in India, everyone gets a free education, regardless of where or how they live.  It’s no wonder that India is becoming a technical hub of the world.

The only other problem that Hyderabad (and most big cities in India) have is traffic.  The US State Department warns about this, and it’s not an exaggeration.  Roads in India are poorly maintained, there are few traffic controls and even fewer traffic police, and everyone is an aggressive driver.  My next blog entry will include a YouTube video of a typical Big-City intersection in India.

Fortunately, my driver, Javed, was skilled and safe and got me through all of this.  But I would strongly recommend to anyone making a trip to a big city in India:

• Get a private driver who is reputable, safe, and responsible to you or your company for your safety
• Never ever take the 3-wheeled "mini taxies"
• Don’t try driving yourself

Aside from that, India was a beautiful country and Hyderabad was a great city to visit.  Pictures are in the gallery.  I’m sure I’ll think of more to post here later. 

Ah, where to begin.  Well, it was a disaster from the start.

I travelled on business to Zurich from September 4 through 11.  My company has a corporate rate with the Intercontinental, and it’s only two tram stops from the office, so it’s usually OK.  We know the rooms are small, but the proximity makes it a good choice.

Usually.

I arrived at Zurich International Airport at about 10:00 PM Monday night.  Usually I take a cab strait to the office, but since I did not have to be at work until Tuesday morning I figured I’d take the hotel shuttle.  I waited at the clearly marked and appointed location, where a schedule was clearly posted that the Hotel Intercontinental ran shuttles every 30 minutes at 05 and 35.  Since I emerged from the baggage claim and immigration at about 10 PM, I figured I’d have plenty of time, since (again, according to the clearly posted schedule) the shuttles run until 23:35.

After wasting an hour waiting for the shuttle that did not arrive, I called the hotel.  "Oh," they said, "The shuttle is no longer running.  Just take a cab."  Well, a cab will cost me about CHF60, and the shuttle would have been CHF22.  The hotel assures me that they’ll take care of it.  Meanwhile, having waited around for an hour for a ride, a gypsy cabbie had already started stalking me out, hoping for a fare.  I had to give him the slip first (thanks, Hotel Intercontinental) and then find a real taxi to take to the HI.

I finally arrived at the hotel at midnight.  The hotel is 20 minutes from the airport.  

I entered the lobby and was immediately bombarded with the noise from some sort of renovation work being done on the floors.  It was very loud, and almost impossible to hear the hotel staff, who apparently were unaware of the major decibels being emitted from this floor destruction equipment, because they refused to speak any louder to make themselves heard.  At one point, I had leaned so far forward over the desk to hear the front desk staff, I thought about climbing up on the desk.

I asked for a smoking room, I got a non-smoking room.  "No problem," the front desk guy said, he handed me an ashtray.

I booked my corporate rate, and didn’t get it.  It took phone calls from an executive’s assistant to get the rate.  

My priority club membership level gives me free local phone calls, which they charged me for.

I tried to complain about these issues; they always told me the manager was "away", and that they would review them upon his return.  I never heard from them again, nor did I get a credit for the local phone calls.

About half way through my stay, the phone stopped working altogether.  It turns out, they thought I had checked out, so they turned it off.

The Hotel Intercontinental is used heavily by my company.  It’s small, it’s cheap, it’s convenient.  But the mishaps and unresolved issues will cause me to rethink staying there again.  We also have a corporate rate at the Marriott.