If You Think Our Bloomin' Onion is Bad, Try This

I ordered a burger at the Outback Steakhouse in Orlando. A meal voucher had spat out of the Delta self check-in when my flight was delayed, and I took it to this temple of gastronomy to see what I could get. In tiny print down at the bottom, my server showed me that I'd only be getting $7 worth of refreshment. "No medium rare" said the cheerful server, "only well-done burgers here. It's an airport thing." I guess the TSA prohibits consumption of burgers that aren't overcooked.

He asked me if I'd like a shot with that beer, no thanks I said. Then I had to persuade him that I was perfectly fine with a mere 12 oz beer and I could live without the giant 22 ouncer that's "just three dollars more."

I glanced down at the menu that included a photo of the notoriously fattening 'blooming onion.' It is spikey and breaks apart so you can dip the crispy fried onion pieces into more fat, a white sauce. "Oh, that's nothing, hey that one below it, the Aussie cheese fries, are 2800 calories. " Wow I'm glad I missed both. Just to keep me thirsty, my chicken sandie came with fries that were pre-salted, it was hard to enjoy them.

I'd hate to think that people might assume that food in Australia is anything like this. I spent a week in Melbourne last year and never ran across anything as fattening as Outback. I do remember that everything on the menu was pricey, and that if you ordered a glass of wine they'd always ask you if you'd like to taste it first. But no bloomin' onion, and especially no 'oil cans' of Fosters. People love salads and in the stadiums the beers are low alcohol, so you can buy as many as four at a time.

Nobody likes Fosters that I met, they treat it a little like we'd look at an old Miller Lite or a Schlitz. No thanks.

Advice for Hotel Owners About Social Media

I got a lot of good advice for hotel owners today, in a meeting of travel bloggers and tweeters. The question was posed, 'who are some great examples of companies who 'get' social media in 2009?

Elliot Ng, a founder of the large content site UpTake.com, brought up a few non-travel examples, like the 2008 Obama campaign. It wasn't that it was new, it was that the scale was unprecedented. So many people involved, and a recent Facebook poll got more than 3 million people saying they voted for and still support President Obama.

Which travel companies, we were asked, really get it? JetBlue and Southwest got props for their clever Twitter presence, covering each and every complaint quickly and efficiently. But Continental looks like a lumbering stupid gorilla. They've been on Twitter for months yet have only posted 288 times...and what they do post on the Twitter include photos of the CEO posing in front of a plane, instead of relevant and topical information.

Another blogger complained about PR firms sending him press releases without ever bothering to visit his website, so there is no fit...nobody wants to get releases that are irrelevant, do they?

Wendy Perrin, Conde Nast's consumer news editor, suggested that hotels need to concentrate more on the destinations where they are located, and not just on the hotel's amenities and perks. People are going to a place, not just to a hotel, so they would be better off bragging about the great South Florida weather or the proximity to Wrigley Field rather than how soft and plump their pillows are.

Another consensus: hotels and resorts should always answer negative reviews, and respond quickly to anyone who has a beef. Another tip: Hotels should suggest to guests who are happy with their stay to post a positive review. Hey, no harm in asking!

Finally, Ng suggests a really strong social media strategy. Try to develop 1000 devout followers who will be your 'fan boys.' He cited Apple as one company that withstands any online assault because their fans are rabid...they respond quickly and forcefully. Develop your own army by building fanatic fanboys who will do the same for you.

Among the Copycats, Some Real Innovators

Up on stage at Phocuswright yesterday, dozens of travel start-ups vied for our attention, and like the Greek chorus offstage, we bloggers tapped away making comments and asking questions on Twitter. I found myself focusing on the main question of 'what's actually new here?' when so many of the present ideas seemed to be pretty much the same thing.

A few start-ups were basically the same concept that had been tried years before. One in particular was very much like the winner of the innovator's prize a few years ago, an application that could be used to plan road trips. That winner went out of business a year after he won.

But there were notable exceptions, that really caught my attention. One was an iphone application called EveryTrail, and Joost Schreve wasted no time in getting it going for us to see. Instead of using power point like everyone else, he just began using the actual tool on his phone. It creates a map of a place where someone has been, and you can pop in photos of things you did, so you can share the walk, or the drive with your friends. So far they've compiled a database of more than 200,000 trips from 140 countries. Many in the audience downloaded the app to their phones, always a good sign.

Another stand-out was called localyte, which offered local opinions of places travelers could visit. They have amassed a cadre of 40,000 local experts who can speak about where they live, and more than 1000 new reports are uploaded every day. Doug Renert told us that he has about 700 experts in Barcelona, so that anyone who goes to the site can get insider type information from one of these people.

After a Slew of Geektalk, Luggage Was a Relief

After a long line of technical booking solutions and web analytics providers at the Phocuswright conference,I was glad to hear about a less technical travel topic...luggage.

Luggagetag.com allows the customer to design a luggage tag using nice looking photos, graphics, unique fonts and even family photos. Like the programs that allow you to design business cards on line, this systems lets you put text on the luggage tags with customized designs.

The CEO, Richard Warther, calls it a 'cloud sourced' automated site that allows people to move type around and create their tags on top of images. No humans need to be involved, all of the typing is done by the traveler on the website.

He's pitching this to companies with online booking capabilities. Instead of using the airlines paper tags, they sell them for six for $13.95 and split the revenues. So for each luggage tag, the website publisher or tour operator makes $6 and the company makes $6. Plus they can brand the tags so they have a company logo as well as the customer's name.

But their business isn't just about luggage tags. Some time this year, RFID tags can be embedded into luggage tags, and by using a special USB key drive, a consumer can put into the computer when they are booking, which puts the destination info and even your cellphone number on the tag. For now, the airlines don't want to spend the money on putting the tags into the labels they put on bags so this part isn't moving ahead yet. His model is the EasyPass or Fastlane pass, used in vehicles.

So this company is offering two things: a simple way to create a durable nice looking luggage tag, and some day, to make that tag capable of finding your lost baggage. They've got a ways to go to get airlines on board, but it's intriguing and I think the most interesting idea I heard so far today.

ChampionsGate Welcomes Me to Sterile Orlando

I'm excited to again be at Phocuswright, where I'll meet up with dozens of friends I've made in the on-line travel business and catch up with bloggers and other people who make this business so exciting. I walked up to the security desk at Bradley and got a surprise as he examined my license...by God it expired on my birthday. But I was able to board my plane, which flew down here to Orlando half empty, and now I'm in my hotel room groove. I always have the same rituals in hotel rooms around the world...set up my 'office,' hang up my shirts, turn on the TV and settle into my home for the next three nights.

Orlando is still as sterile as a hospital....we dropped off passengers at a gigantic hotel complex called Gaylord that was festooned with white lights...which looked weird since to me, you don't put those things up until after Thanksgiving. But the hotels are huge and so spread apart that once I'm here, well, I can tell I won't be leaving this Omni 'Champions Gate' until I fly home on Thursday.

I'm happy to report, just in time for this show, that GoNOMAD has launched a really nice new airfare, hotel and car rental search engine, and that you'll now be able to search the biggest on-line travel agencies for all of these things on one easy to navigate page. Going somewhere in the next few months? Give our new engine a try, I'd love to hear what you think.

Art Tatum Never Sweated, and So, Wasn't Loved

Art Tatum is a childhood memory, his piano playing was always a part of my dad's very important music collection. Music experts consider Tatum to be the most admired jazz pianist who ever lived. In yesterday's WSJ, Terry Teachout discussed just what it is that makes someone memorable, famous and loved...and it's not their talent.

Teachout writes that Tatum's problem was that he refused to reveal himself. Besides knowing that he liked baseball and enjoyed Pabst Blue Ribbon beer, the few interviews that the jazz great ever gave just didn't say much about him. Like an accountant tapping his numbers into a calculator, Tatum just made it look easy. He didn't have a painful story to tell, he wasn't a man who faced terrible circumstances and bounced back, no, he simply played the piano better than anyone who ever played jazz.

It's a fascinating idea, that to become famous, you've got to let people in. Simple virtuosity "is an insult, a tactless reminder of human inequality that can only be forgiven when the artists makes clear through visible effort how high a price he has paid for his great gifts. Tatum was too proud to make that concession, he did all his sweating offstage."

So the centennial of this the greatest jazz pianist who ever played will not be noted, not celebrated, and will simply not make the news. For a taste of what Art Tatum could do, play this this video.

I Blew an .07, By the Grace of God, and Went Free

My late night ambitions have been proven weak lately. I've contemplated going out on weekend nights, but have found reasons to stay in. Last night we dined in Northampton with another couple who at 9:45 were eager to get over to the Iron Horse for a 10 pm show.

No way we would follow in their shoes....just thinking about staying up past midnight in a club exhausts me, and I can just see myself nodding over, my head bobbing while the music that I paid to hear plays in the background.

It takes a little getting used to, this accepting that my life now exists between the hours of six am and about 10 pm. After that, hey, I just don't really wanna be out there.

I read in the paper about a woman I know who is an upstanding citizen, teacher, and not what I'd consider a big drinker. She got popped for DUI and now faces that terrible littany of hassle: from having to get a ride the long way to work each morning, to facing huge cost increases for insurance, to the scorn inevitably that will be heaped on her for making a poor choice, beginning with that dreaded 'marked lane violation.'

I once had a similar brush with the law...weaving back to the Youth Hostel in Martha's Vineyard in 2000, pulled over and faced those terrible blue lights. After an ordeal involving handcuffs and a wait in the station, I blew a .07, and walked out a free man. But that bullet dodge was long ago, and so, tonight it's unlikely that I will be going out in my car after drinking. It's just too much of a possibility and too much of a bummer if it did actually happen.

Why Google Rules the World

Why does Google have such power over us? Well, how about getting an email like this, where they multiply what they are giving you by eight, and automatically adjust your account with their bonus....wow!

Google storage update: More space for your photos and email

Hi,

We wanted to let you know about some exciting changes to your Google paid storage plan. While storage costs have dropped naturally in the past few years, we've also been working hard to improve our infrastructure to reduce your costs even further. On Tuesday, November 10th, we increased the size of each of our tiers to make storage even more affordable and accessible. For the same $20.00 per year, you’ll now get 80 GB, 8 times as much storage as before. Your current plan will be automatically upgraded and your new quota will automatically show up in your account in the next 24 hours.

We hope you’ll like the extra space, but if it’s more than you need you can always change your storage plan or renewal preferences for next year in your Google account settings: www.google.com/accounts/purchasestorage. Feel free to visit our Help Center for more information.

Thanks,
The Google storage team

What Makes a Great Professor? Here are Three

The Cherry Award provides a $200,000 prize to whomever is judged to be America's best college professor. The WSJ last night ran a story about three candidates for this award, sponsored by Baylor College. It focuses on the really important part of teaching in college which has been overshadowed by the institutions' focus on publishing. Three top professors are in the running:

Elliott West teaches American history at the University of Arkansas. In his class, the students are rapt as he speaks without notes, and doesn't ask for audience participation. He advises: never underestimate the power of dead air. Ask a question and simply wait for an answer. People will squirm and eventually somebody will try. He carries a coffee cup that instead of liquid is full of candy...a good answer will get a piece.

Edward Burger teaches math at Williams College. He has his students rolling in the aisles as he proves, mathematically, that an infinite number of monkeys at an infinite number of typewriters could produce 'Hamlet.' Burger says that emphathy is the key to good teaching. Since much of the math that students learn has little value after college, he focuses on 'the 10 year question...what will my students retain from my class 10 years after they graduate?' So he emphasizes how to think mathematically.

Roger Rosenblatt teaches at Baylor and is a former commentator on PBS's Newshour. He could be doing any number of other more lucrative things, but he likes his students and takes them seriously. He suggests that the most important thing for a young professor is to learn their subject well. "The best professors he had in school 'worried about their subjects in front of us,' almost as if they were thinking aloud....lost in thought.' That made Rosenblatt realize he had a truly engaged and smart professor.

The story detailed that in today's academia, more than 72,000 academic publications came out last year, soaring more than 400% in the past half-century, while more and more classes are taught by adjunct faculty and grad students.Universities subsidize the writing by giving reduced teaching loads to faculty members who publish.

That's Mrs Frisbie to You!

John Bemelmans Marciano tracked down the people whose names stand behind words in the English language. His new book is called Anonyponymous, meaning that nobody ever heard of them despite the fact that things and places are named after them. NPR had a story about the book this morning.

Take Mrs Frisbie, who used to bake pies somewhere in Connecticut. Yale students used to take her pie tins and toss them, and since her name was indented into the tins, they called it frisbie. Later the Whammo Company invented a flying disc they called the Pluto platter. It wasn't selling.

They found out about Mrs Frisbie and renamed their toy a Frisbee, and got a patent. There was once a man named Leotard, and in order to help sell more tickets to dance recitals, he wore the body-hugging outfit that today every girl in dance class wears.

There was also someone named Shrapnel, a Frenchman named Guilotine and even an Arab from whose name we get the word algorithm:Abu Al-Khwarizmi. Another guy was named Etienne de Silhouette, and he was a French finance minister. His namesake pieces of art were cheaper to make than an entire portrait. So his legacy will always be those shadows pictures, because he was notoriously cheap.

Parking Wars: Now That's Drama!

I write a blog for some people I know who run an airport parking website. Although most of my posts aren't about parking itself, last night I stayed up late and watched A&E and found a show about parking which was quite interesting. It's called Parking Wars, and chronicles the daily routines and tribulations of parking meter maids, parking office workers and the people who are in charge of the big bad boot.

The boot squad consisted of a 40-ish dweeb with a weak chin and a younger black woman who ride around together. She pulls up the scofflaw vehicle's addresses on a laptop, and he wields an automatic wrench to quickly affix that dreaded yellow boot to the offender's car. Of course, they hope that the boots are in place before the owners show up, since that's when the action starts. There's always a litany of reasons why they shouldn't be booted. One guy ran up shirtless, saying that he was a veteran of the Gulf war, and that he hadn't worked in months...a good story but the boot was affixed so the booter told him "sorry once it's on there I can't get it off."

Another man threatened to saw off the boot with the hacksaw he had in the back of his work truck. For this, the Boot Squad quickly dialed a tow truck, hey, he who threatens the booters gets towed. Even though the slender, angry man tried to recant his threat, there went his truck full of tools to the pound.

Increasingly reality shows like this prove to be far more entertaining than scripted dramas. What could be more compelling than looking through that bulletproof glass and listening to the heartwrenching reasons why people don't have updated insurance and why it's a travesty that their cars are now locked up?

In another street scene the show's producers played up the sparks between a coy meter maid and a studly violator. Animated hearts popped up on the screen, showing that they both were hoping that after the ticket, they'd get each other's phone number. But she walked away, saying he lived in Florida and she lived in Philly, so why bother?

The New Health Insurance Bill Explained...Simply

My favorite newspaper the WSJ, which of course tilts to the right, presented a quick summary of what is actually in the recently passed health care bill. Below are some of the points the article makes, for those of us whose eyes glaze over these kinds of details I think it is enlightening. You'll see here it isn't as crazy or bad as pundits and the far right are saying.

The uninsured are the biggest winners in the new bill. Beginning in 2013, the government will offer subsidies to low and middle income Americans while expanding Medicaid to cover more of the poor. Families earning $29K a year would not have to pay more than 1.5% of this on health insurance.

For the insured, most would see their out-of-pocket expenses capped at $5000 a year for individuals or $10,000 for families. Children could stay on their parents insurance until age 26. Nobody could be denied for pre-existing conditions. People who earn more than $500K a year or families making $1 million a year would pay a new 5.4% tax on top of income tax.

Small employers with less than 25 workers and average annual salaries of $40K would get tax credits, and employers with less than $500K in payrolls would be exempt from being fined if they don't offer insurance. Big employers would have to pay a fine of 8% of their payroll if they offer skimpy coverage or no coverage.

Big drug companies would lose $125-150 million over the next decade with lower government payments, but would gain business because many more people would fill prescriptions. Insurance companies would have to abandon some of their most profitable practices, like charging older customers more than twice as much as younger ones.

Hospitals would no longer have to give away so much free care, since more Americans would have insurance. Doctors would get an influx of newly-insured patients and a new incentive plan would aim on cracking down on frivolous malpractice suits.

From the looks of it, I think we're on to something fantastic here...I don't see all of the things that Republicans and Glenn Beck are yelling about. It's about time we moved ahead with something like this.

Breaking It to the Kids Always Sucks

Last night I watched the much awaited season-ender of Mad Men, and I relished every one of the 48 or so minutes of this show set in 1963. While all of the cigarette-smoking cast who sip brown liquid all day long kept in 1960s character, one scene was especially poignant to me.

That was when Don and Betty Draper decide to divorce, and have to have that dreaded family meeting to tell their cute little kids what is going on. This scene was written beautifully, with the older of the kids, the girl, storming off in a whirl of rage, disappointment and fear. The little boy clinging with his legs wrapped around dad, hoping to keep him from moving out of the house to that hotel struck hard at the heart of this scene. Sadly, it's been replayed millions of times across the ages between any family that's ever experienced the trauma of divorce.

I thought about that time in 1990 when I too, had one of those discussions, and we had to tell my little cherubs that I too, was moving out and that our family would be splitting in two. Though I was faithful to my end of the bargain, supporting my kids and never wavering in holding up my end of the deal, it's a tough thing to do, and no one doesn't feel guilty about it. Today I am happy to report that we all survived, and despite the financial challenge, I never regret what it cost.

If They Choose Not to Vaccinate, It Makes it Worse

Jenny McCarthy is a well-known celebrity who once posed for Playboy and is married to mega-rich actor Jim Carrey. While most of the public knows her for her looks, she has a cause that some believe is very dangerous to the rest of the public. She's among a growing movement of people who believe childhood vaccines cause autism and are pushing others to reject vaccinating their children.

Dr. Paul Offit was the subject of an article in Wired this month, he is the frequent target of the anti-vaccine crowd's angry wrath. They claim Offit is in the pockets of drug companies, and despite the mountain of pro-vaccine evidence presented in the story, still insist that the country's autism explosion can be blamed on thimerosal and other chemicals in the vaccines.

A sidebar showed a gallery of other celebs who are lined up against childhood vaccines...from Don Imus to Joe Scarborough, Robert Kennedy Jr and Senator Joe Lieberman. But there is a bigger problem, since clusters of disease outbreaks like measles, mumps and pertussis can be created when even as few as two percent of kindergartners refuse the vaccines. In other words, their choice becomes other people's problems, since vaccine effectiveness weakens significantly if there are large pockets of unprotected kids mixed with protected kids.

The story included another sidebar entitled "How to Win an Argument about Vaccines," and here the facts show that since 2001, thimerosal hasn't been included in vaccines, and that aluminum (another anti-vaccine bugaboo) is perfectly safe in small doses. Further, 12 scientific studies have proven the safety of measles/mumps/rubella vaccines.

Listening to the Jazz, I Could Feel Gfld Eclipsing Noho

Everyone showed up; the whole gang of Friday regulars were on the scene in 'Hamp last night, gathered at the very hip Mama Iguana's to share end of the workday tales and catch up on news. But Joe told us he had to leave at 6:20. Why? Because he was heading north to the Next Cooler Place and had a dinner date.

Northampton for years has been the defacto meeting ground for those of us who live up north in Franklin county. We don't have the cool bars and trendy eateries up here, so we have to head 20 miles down 91 to catch up with that kind of action. But tonight I sensed a shift, a seismic shift, from the south to the north. Greenfield has become cooler than 'Hamp.

To bring the point home, you must join the throng at Hope and Olive, set on a sidestreet in this town. We entered and grabbed a corner table, and drank throwback beers...'Gansett anyone?
I had only savored one beer down south and rallied to drive these twenty miles north, to join these friends at this crowded, sprawling restaurant, with tables tucked in sides and nooks and lots of room. Dinner came later, a plate of striped bass, and for others, tiny plump quail with delicious tiny drumsticks.

Half way through this sumptous spread, the music began, the band was called Bok Choy. A man played a compact silver cornet, another played keyboards, a familiar face from the cafe manned a stand-up bass, and a fourth player swished brushes on drums. Good old fashioned jazz, as Bill described it, 'cool California,' like Chet Baker. The tunes were smooth, the players were talented, and I took out my phone to Twitter kudos to the web. No doubt about it, with a big cool place like this, with its unique menu, saavy servers and genuine easy parking, Greenfield has slipped ahead of 'Hamp.

I just wish there was a bistro like this in Deerfield, the world needs and wants more places that take these kinds of risks, offer this creative a menu, and find jazz players as good as this to liven it all up. Come up here on a Tuesday night and it will still feel packed and popular...despite Greenfield's reputation as a backwater, it's surely on the map these days.

Everyone on the Subway Stared in Shock at the Sneeze

When I was traveling down to New York on Sunday, a man on the subway suddenly sneezed--he yelled in a high-pitched wail as he did so--so loud that the entire car looked over at him with shock. It was funny, such a loud noise popping out of someone all of a sudden, and at the next stop he left with a red face. Most of the people on the No. 1 train downtown had just run the New York City marathon, one guy had a medal around his neck, and others wore sponsor-issued ponchos and held bags of runner's swag.

Sneezing has become the new faux pas, as we enter an early flu season with lurid tales of Swine flu deaths and schools closed due to so many cases. I was chastised by a fellow travel webmaster when I coughed uncovered in a meeting; now I am careful to use my elbow and worry about leaking out germs even with this precaution.

I've spent the past few weeks in a house with tiny sick kids, and I'm sure I've shared way too many germs traveling in airplanes, buses and subways. Last night I bundled up with a thick sweatshirt and sweatpants to ward off chills; I feared for the worst today but so far...not that bad. I hope to avoid the worst of it all and am on the hunt for a flu shot to keep the really bad stuff at bay.

Southwest's Green Plane Saves Fuel and More

The Green Plane is Southwest's newest initiative in a company-wide effort to save money and fuel.

OUr friend Johnny Jet flies about 150,000 miles a year and takes fastidious notes of every mile in the air. He recently wrote about Southwest Airlines media day where they unveiled a new plane that will clean up the way airlines do business.

From the nose to the tail, this 737, the airlines only model, will be much greener.It starts with the little things: they've replaced those awful styrofoam cups with eco-friendly paper ones with built-in sleeves to keep the cup from burning passenger's hands..

The plane is equipped with NextGen satellite-based navigation, which means flying more direct routes and emitting less CO2.

The plane's carpet is made of recycled materials, they have lighter fake-leather seats which save 2 pounds per seat.They even use smaller lifejackets to save weight.

They use Pratt and Whitney's eco wash system which removes grime from the engines in an environmentally safe way that saves fuel and makes the engines last longer.

In other news, the conpany's CEO told him flat-out that Southwest won't be charging for bags this year, or even for a second bag. Let's keep our fingers crossed on that.

We're Not Worthy....Ok, I Guess We Are

When I stepped into our two-connected-rooms-with-a-living-room-in-between here at the Kimberly Hotel, I thought, why, we're mere travel editors...are we worthy of these luxe New York City digs? Of course we are, I said again, quickly coming to my senses.

It's tough being a travel writer, especially having to spend the night at such sumptous hotels as this, but hey, we're here to share cool lodgings with our readers and so, I point to exhibit A as the first piece of evidence. That would be this beautiful terrace that has a bird's eye view of the iconic pointed windows atop the Chrysler Building. Boy that's beautiful.

I discovered another pretty cool little part of this suite...a tiny kitchenette tucked away in the side of our living room. In the bedroom there is a Sony Dream Machine where I popped down my iPhone and began playing my tunes right away. We're off tonight to a penthouse apartment where our dear pals from a tourism board have invited us to come and have Chinese.

We met with a bunch of old friends at today's Visit Europe media exchange, and firmed up connections and plans for many travels throughout 2010.

As usual, the city has quickened my pulse and made me feel as alive as I can be...glad to be here at the Kimberly and glad to be in the most exciting city in the world, the Big Apple.