Monthly Archives: May 2007

Dave! I have some answers for you!

Dave Winer posted to his blog about his upcoming travel–thanks for the invite to Europe, even though we’ve only met once at gnomedex.  Some answers to your questions:

 1. Will my Cingular Blackberry work in Denmark, Germany and Italy?

Yes!  It will work in all countries but you’ll need to call Cingular to activate international roaming.  You should also call Cingular and have them put you on the Word Traveler roaming package.  Its under $6/month and greatly reduces your per minute roaming / long distance fees.  There’s also a Blackberry international roaming package.  Under $70/month and it will save you *a ton* in international data roaming charges.

2. Will my Sprint EVDO work in any of these places?

I’m afraid not.  Europe is all GSM, for the most part.  Your Cingular phone and data devices will work everywhere.  Your Sprint gear won’t work at all.  However, you can get a data cable for your Backberry and use it as a data card over the GSM networks.

3. Will there be Internet on the KLM flight from SFO to Amsterdam?

I don’t have the answer to this.  But for your sake, I hope so.  Mid-flight wifi is amazing.  So is satellite TV in the seat.

4. Will there be power at the seat, and if so, will it require an adapter?

This depends on your aircraft.  Your reservation should list the manufacturer and model.  Take that information over to this site to find out.

5. Which power adapters do I need to bring?

See #4.  A great reference site for aircraft configurations, where the power is and what adapter is required.  I bought this kit about a year ago and it has worked for me all over.

Latest Saab service update!

So, my ‘spring’ maintenance went very well.  Dropped the car off on time and the shuttle was good to go in less than 15 minutes.  And then 5 or 6 hours later I got the call that my car was ready to roll.  Everything was completed as expected and the car wash was still inexcusably crappy.  I didn’t bring up my warranty issues this time around because I couldn’t risk my car needing to be at the dealership overnight.  So in another 16,000 KMs I’ll be back in the service shop–should be less than 3 months.

If you bring your car in for service at West Island Saturn Saab, I must say the most pleasant experience are the customer service people who greet you and take your information, what needs to be completed, etc.

West Island Saturn Saab

I want to make a couple of things clear, because I’ve received 50+ emails about my experience at West Island Saturn Saab.  Mostly clients who have bought cars there and people who are looking to buy cars.  I consider my experience with the service department a one-off.  Reason being, I have exceptionally high standards when it comes to products and service just based on my companies, jobs, etc.  And it may just be the car that I was given when I showed up to get a new car.  Things happen and we work them out.

The thing that everyone should know is that my sales person, Rejean, was exceptional.  The finance lady, Brooke–amazing.  And to boot, the General Manager at the dealership reads blogs and wants to help and fix outstanding issues.  So add Pierrot Cloutier to the abovementioned list.  I am confident that West Island Saturn Saab will correct the outstanding issues, its just taken them a bit to get rolling.

Saab headed in for service

I’m finally back in town after being on the road for over a month.  And it is time for some car maintenance / servicing.  Winter tires need to come off, the car is asking me to bring it in for main and intermediate service and I need to get some additional warranty work done on the doors (get rid of the rattle–maybe the doors need to be packed with something).

Anyway, May 8th @ 09:30 ET is the date.  Must remember to put this in my calendar.

Higher education for what?

I stumbled across this great article today.  Perhaps this is why small/medium sized business are so agile and progressive–because big business requires a degree whereas small/medium sized businesses care less about degrees and more about real world experience.