gavinshearer.com

« January 2005 | Main | March 2005 »

February 28, 2005

In Praise Of DMS

Good news this morning, in contrast to my Verizon experience...

I have been doing business for many, many years with an outfit called Data Memory Systems in New Hampshire. They stock all kinds of RAM chips for desktops, laptops, printers, you name it. Their prices are good and their service is great.

One thing I love about DMS is that they have a lifetime memory repplacement guarantee on their certified memory. That means when a chip goes bad (as sometimes happens), they'll swap it out for one that works - no charge, no hassle. You don't even pay shipping.

This has been relevant to me a few times over the years, and DMS has, without fail, been friendly and wonderful each time. This morning, I had to call in to get the Bad RAM chip from my dead PowerBook replaced. Despite the fact that I bought it in July 2002, the DMS people were just fabulous.

My new RAM is on the way right now, second-day air. (It will likely get here before my PowerBook gets back from AppleCare.)

So: if you're shopping for RAM, I can't recommend them more highly. They stand behind the promises they make to customers. Which, I guess, is unusual these days.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 28, 2005 10:54 AM.
Comments (0). Posted to Geek. Permalink for this entry.

February 27, 2005

IM War

In happier, non-Verizon news: Richard sent me one of his funny video links this weekend, and it's pretty good. Anyone with a couple of laptops and WiFi in the house will be able to relate to these three jokers.

(Windows Media required.)

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 27, 2005 7:17 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Entertainment. Permalink for this entry.

Customer Lifetime Value

I have been a pretty happy customer of Verizon Wireless for the better part of seven years. I set up my phone with them when I returned from Texas in January of '98, and, with a brief hiatus in 2001, have kept my service with them ever since. I've been pleased with the coverage, the people, and their Web site (check your minutes, bill pay, and so on).

And, right now, I'm ready to drop-kick them into the deepest, darkest pit of Hell I can find.

Back in October of 2003, I signed a one-year contract. At the time, I was offered a credit against a new cellular phone. Since I was happy with my current phone, I told them that I'd like to keep the credit, but not take advantage of it just yet. I was assured that that was fine, and I could simply use my credit during the term of the contract if I saw a phone I liked.

September 2004 rolls around, and my contract is up again. I talk with the customer service people, and sign for another year. Part of the new contract, again, is the right to get a discount on my nearly-three-year-old model. Again, I'm not ready to upgrade, because I'm in the middle of Direct Marketing Craziness, but I tell the agent that I will likely upgrade this year, and I already have a credit, so it would be great if I could not lose my existing credit and instead accumulate this second credit to go along with it. I was assured this was no problem. The deal was signed.

So Mary recently changed her Cingular service, and they sent her a new, cool little phone - for free - as part of the package. Well, having this new, cute, cool little phone around the house got me to feeling all tech-jealous, and I started shopping for a new phone for myself.

Shopping for a cell phone is a bitch. There's a billion little moving parts in the transaction - call quality, size, battery life, carrier compatibility, technical specification, camera, ringtone capability, yadda yadda. For me, the big issues came down to:

• Compatibility with Verizon's network (remember, I'm happy with them at this point);
• Small form factor;
• Long battery life;
• Other happy users;
• iSync compatibility.

After several hours of Web research, I find that the Motorola V265 is pretty killer. The Verizon site lists the thing as $99.95 with a two-year activation (no problem, I think, because I've got two accumulated years of activation credits), and it also has a $50 rebate attached to it. I can get the phone for $49.95, plus tax.

Wicked.

So I head down to the Verizon store downtown this morning and check out the phone. It's perfect. Sturdy, light. A nice replacement for my V60i.

A nice woman comes out to ask me if I need anything. I tell her I'm interested in the phone, and explain the deal with my accumulated phone credits. She stares. I explain a little more. She stares more. Finally, she asks me for my mobile number and pulls up my file on the computer. After blinking at the screen for a few minutes, she basically tells me that she can't help me. If I want to get the phone, I have to sign another two year contract.

I argue a bit with her about this - I have a contract (she can see that on her screen), re-upped in September (check), re-upped before that in 2003 (check), and my phone hasn't been re-upped since 2002 (check).

"You qualify for an upgrade," she says.

And she then proceeds to try to sell me the phone with a new two year contract. When I'm (understandably) miffed about being asked to do something that I've already done (and, indeed, have done with the understanding that the phone credit was "attached to my account" or whatever), she suggests I call customer service.

Which I do when I get home.

Customer service is staffed by a very, very, very nice woman named Mercedes. Mercedes has clearly been trained to be soothing, funny where appropriate, and in control. She thanks me for calling her, thanks me for being a good customer, thanks me for paying on time, thanks me for waiting, and, ultimately, can't help me.

So she gets me on the phone with her supervisor, James (x. 2101), who is the anti-Mercedes. In our first fifteen seconds together, he manages to convey that he is the rock upon which my will is going to break. He is happy to give me a discount on a phone - as long as I sign another contract. Period.

(James also manages to imply that I'm trying to scam Verizon and that I can't read a contract. Delightful fellow.)

I explain to James (politely, and using small words) that a) I already have a contract with his company, and ) one of the conditions of my signing that contract (as well as the one that preceded it) was that I get a credit on a new phone at some point in the future. Since he doesn't feel like honoring this contract, I don't feel super-compelled to reward this bad behavior by giving them more of my money for a 24-month period of time.

So now I have to kick this up to the next level, I guess, and write a scathing letter to Verizon's customer service department (ala my United Airlines experience), and hope that someone with a copy of Excel and an ability to do a CLV calculation will see the wisdom in keeping their word to a longstanding customer.

In the meantime, my contract is up in September.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 27, 2005 6:45 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Misc. Permalink for this entry.

February 26, 2005

Break A Leg, Jen!

My friend (and fellow 2005 UW MBA) Jen Carter is trying out for The Apprentice this morning in Tacoma. She's got a guaranteed interview (she won a radio call-in show earlier in the week) so she knows they'll talk to her.

Actually, I think she's a shoo-in. Jen's got this quirky thing about her where stuff like this works out. All the evidence is anecdotal, but here's a good one: back in 2003, she and her husband Ben won a contest from "Evening Magazine" (Registration required) and were married. On television. Martha better watch out.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 26, 2005 9:41 AM.
Comments (0). Posted to UW MBA. Permalink for this entry.

PI: Teen's 'stupid' lip-synch video a Web hit

The trend is feeding itself: the PI is running a story this morning about Gary Brolsma (aka, the "Numa Numa" guy):

'Brolsma is not the first guy to rocket out of anonymity on a starship of embarrassment. There was William Hung, the Hong Kong-born "American Idol" reject who sang and danced so poorly he became a household name. There was Ghyslain Raza, the teenage Quebecois who taped himself wielding a mock light-saber and is now known as the "Star Wars Kid."'

UPDATE, June 3, 2005: One or more of the original hyperlinks on this page expired, and has been dereferenced. The hyperlinked text is now underlined.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 26, 2005 9:38 AM.
Comments (0). Posted to Cool. Permalink for this entry.

We Did It!

As of last (but not yet final - numbers are still coming in) count, last night's C4C auction raised more than $110,000 for Special Olympics of Washington and Boys & Girls Club of King County, beating our projection of $100,000.

Wow! Take a bow, everybody!

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 26, 2005 7:28 AM.
Comments (0). Posted to UW MBA. Permalink for this entry.

February 25, 2005

Puttin' On The Ritz

Mary and I are getting dressed up for tonight's Challenge For Charity Auction at the Grand Hyatt.

C4C is a club in the business school that contributes money and hours to two local charities - Special Olympics of Washington and Boys & Girls Clubs of King County.

C4C is also a competition, held between business schools on the West coast. We compete with Berkeley, Stanford, UC Davis, UCLA, USC, and UC Irvine. The winner in per-capital dollars and hours (with a small nudge for athletic performance at a "sports weekend" at Stanford in April) wins the Golden Briefcase.

UW has held on to the Golden Briefcase for the last 5 years. We're aiming for a 6th.

This auction is the centerpiece of our fundraising efforts. We've got everything from a Bay Area Getaway to an Orlando "Roller Coaster and Rockets" trip to firearms training with the Seattle Police Department to a backstage tour of Tom Douglas' restaurants.

Some of my best friends in the program are officers in C4C, and they've really busted their humps to make this event spectacular. So - Jo, Marnie, Andy, Sam, Nathan, Meredith and Kurt - thank you. Very, very, very much.

With luck, we'll hit our goal of raising $100,000. Wish us luck!

UPDATE, July 4, 2006: One or more of the original hyperlinks on this page expired, and has been dereferenced. The hyperlinked text is now underlined.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 25, 2005 4:06 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to UW MBA. Permalink for this entry.

80%

As of right now, two weeks remain in the quarter. I'm at the 80% mark.
(Whew!)

Yesterday was nutty. I turned in a paper for Ethics (and a case for Finance) and then wrapped up my day with a meeting with my Brand Management team. Our survey closed at 4 PM Pacific, and we needed to get together to look at preliminary results, determine a timeline for the next 12 days (the stuff's all due on March 8), and then hash out responsibilities for analysis, report writing, and presenting.

So now begins the winding down - the taking of finals, the writing of reports, the final turn-in of homework assignments.

It's going to be crazy, but not unmanageable.

And then - final quarter!

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 25, 2005 2:47 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to UW MBA. Permalink for this entry.

February 24, 2005

Storm Shuffle

The 2005 Storm season starts May 21, and it looks like Donovan is getting the house in order. The bad news is that we're losing Tully to Indiana; the good news is that Lauren is sticking around. (Big props to Mike Allen, who clued me in to Tully's departure - I'm just now digging out of my e-mail backlog.)

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 24, 2005 5:54 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Seattle Storm. Permalink for this entry.

Ever Wondered About Airline Prices?

Our Spreadsheet Modeling class is doing a lot of simulation right now, using Crystal Ball (and Excel) to forecast values for various problems. It's interesting stuff.

One of the simulations we're working with has to do with airline "overbooking" - computing the optimal overbooking quantity for a specific airline route, given demand forecasts, reimbursement costs, customer-satisfaction costs, fixed operation costs, and whatnot.

Anyhow, all the spreadsheet kung fu reminded me of this hysterical ad from the (fictional) "Sky High Airlines" (Alaska Air) about the "super computer" they use to set their prices...

1.66 MB, QuickTime required.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 24, 2005 2:45 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Entertainment | UW MBA. Permalink for this entry.

Uma, Oprah. Oprah, Uma.

My buddy Jeff (a Lead Planner in Office, a Mac-head, and all-around good guy) is apparently in love with the "Numa, Numa" video.

So much so, in fact, that he sent me the link to buy the silly thing off iTMS.

Turns out the song is actually called "Dragostea Din Tei" and it's from a band called "O-Zone." In case you want to spend $0.99 and make some movies with your iSight, or something...

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 24, 2005 12:21 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Entertainment. Permalink for this entry.

February 20, 2005

Pop-Ups Are Back

Dammit, dammit, dammit. Slashdot has a thread on the return of pop-up advertisements on the Web (MacFixIt also has a thread going).

This is classic biological behavior at work. The pop-up code, so effectively eradicated by blockers in browsers and third-party toolsets, have evolved to find a way around the blockers. Personally, I've seen more pop-ups in the last week (using Safari) than I've seen in the last six months.

Score one for the bad guys. Let's hope some good brains can figure out how to thwart this new code.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 20, 2005 7:32 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Geek. Permalink for this entry.

GetSmarter

Last month's issue of Wired magazine had a blurb about SmarterChild, which is an IM bot that answers your questions. I've been playing wiith it a bit, and it's really cool. Unlike Eliza or other (crappy) AI technologies, SmarterChild uses AI to parse a text-based query into a Web services request.

In English: you can say, "Where is In Good Company playing?" and SmarterChild will respond to you with showtimes in your local area.

SmarterChild can get you movie showtimes, sports team schedules, horoscopes, headlines, weather, and dictionary lookups. When Mary and I went out to the movies last night, I used it to get a quick read on showtimes. I found it to be fast and accurate - unlike the cumbersome experience of using a site like Moviefone.

If you want to try it, just add the AIM handle "smarterchild" to your buddy list. The first time you message the account, you'll get a terms of service and whatnot; after that, give it your ZIP code and it gets a whole lot smarter about how to help you.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 20, 2005 7:31 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Geek. Permalink for this entry.

February 19, 2005

Warhol Was Right

I was IMing with my friend Elaine last night, and we were discussing funny online videos. She said, "have you seen the Numa guy?" to which I intelligently replied, "Huh?"

So she sent me the SWF file.

Oh.
My.
God.

In the same vein as the Star Wars Kid, this guy is basically lip-synching (and doing in-chair choreography) of "The Numa Song" in front of his Webcam. Elaine claims this guy has been on VH1 and is quickly approaching Mahir status. FWIW, I found this article on the New York Daily News site.

Ya gotta check it out. (2.88 MB, Flash required.)

UPDATE, April 1, 2007: One or more of the original hyperlinks on this page expired, and has been dereferenced. The hyperlinked text is now underlined.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 19, 2005 2:41 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Entertainment. Permalink for this entry.

February 18, 2005

Waiting For "Waiting For The Sirens' Call"

My favorite band on Earth - New Order - has a brand-new album (Waiting For The Sirens' Call) coming out on March 28!

In the UK.
Dammit!

One of the singles from the album, "Krafty", is pretty catchy. Its video is available online now.

OneWorld (a show on the BBC) has four of the tracks from the album, along with some other stuff, on their Valentine's Day program.

With luck, iTMS will have it available for download on Game Day. Failing that, it's Amazon's UK operation for me.

[UPDATE] The US release date is April 12. So - do I wait for the domestic release, or order the damn thing from the UK in March? Decisions, decisions...

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 18, 2005 10:00 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Entertainment. Permalink for this entry.

"Yeah, Uh ... I Don't Do Shipping."

From time to time, people will ask me what my single biggest concern was about going to business school. And my usual response is, "Have you seen the FedEx ad?" (QuickTime required.)

Basically, I was afraid that I'd be going to school with that guy ("Tom"). I've worked with him, know people that work with him, have seen him in virtually every company I've ever consulted for or worked with. Nobody likes him. For good reason.

(I'm pleased to report that UW is Tom-free.)

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 18, 2005 4:12 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to UW MBA. Permalink for this entry.

New Column Is Out

My first-quarter column for the Puget Sound Business Journal, "Compromise to accommodate Web audience" is in today's issue, PS Tech section. I'll post a link from the Weblog once the PSBJ pushes the current issue live (I'd expect it on Tuesday, what with the Monday holiday).

[TUESDAY UPDATE] Looks like they're not going to put this quarter's PS Tech on the Web site. No link is available.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 18, 2005 3:57 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Web Doctor. Permalink for this entry.

The Final Countdown

It's all ending.

I registered for my Spring quarter classes today, which means that I'm a short hop from being done with grad school. Spring classes end June 3, finals week ends the 10th, and I walk with my classmates through graduation on the 11th.

I'm taking pretty much all marketing, all the time - Advertising & Promotion, Database Marketing, and New Product Development.

Bing, bang, boom. The real world awaits.

UPDATE, May 13, 2006: One or more of the original hyperlinks on this page expired, and has been dereferenced. The hyperlinked text is now underlined.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 18, 2005 1:03 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to UW MBA. Permalink for this entry.

February 14, 2005

Be My Valentine

A few years back, Mary and I decided to go to the Space Needle for our birthday in January. It was done as a wink-wink, nudge-nudge kind of thing (as Seattle natives, we're not supposed to a) like the Space Needle and b) step foot in the Space Needle unless escorting visitors from Kansas or something).

As it happened, we both had a wonderful time. And the Needle has now become a bit of a tradition for us.

Well, we spend enough time at the Seattle Center (Storm Games, Bumbershoot, etc.) that Mare thought it would be cool to get herself an Annual Pass to the Needle.

Which she did. (Exhibit A: photo, above).

And that is how, tonight, we found ourselves 600 feet in the air, meandering around the observation deck, watching happy couples as they did the Valentine's thing (Stroll. Kiss. Take photo. Repeat as necessary.) and just enjoying one another's company. It was a fantastic, palatte-cleansing sorbet of a mental break from the craziness of my calendar: I left the cell phone at home, switched off the e-mail, and just spent time.

Cuddling at the Needle is pretty fab. If you've got someone you like, take 'em. (Even if they're Seattle natives.)

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 14, 2005 9:07 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Cool. Permalink for this entry.

February 10, 2005

Power Has Returned

At long last, my new PowerBook is here, configured, and purring. It's wicked.

I wrote earlier about how, from a specifications standpoint, this new machine is vastly superior to the one it's replacing (and, of course, this one has the advantage of actually working properly as well). The experience of using it, however, is something altogether different. The engineering on this thing is incredible - it feels smooth, snappy, sleek. In terms of "road feel" it's like going from a 1990 Volkswagen Jetta to a 2005 BMW. There's a qualitative aspect to it that's utterly seductive.

The computer industry in general is pretty poor at conveying the "soft side" of using these machines - the tactile sensation of fingertips on keyboard, the heft of aluminum construction versus plastic, a razor-sharp, bright screen. Given, though, that the industry is trying to figure out its late adolescence, I'm wondering if such issues are going to come front-and-center in the business over the next few years. The automotive industry knows that lots of firms can sell you four tires, an engine and a steering wheel - so instead, they compete instead on brand, styling, color, sensation, snobbery and the smell of "new car."

Does it work? Do the math: people are willing to spend upwards of $50,000 for the "right" car, when a Kia can be had for far less money.

Is there a lesson here?

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 10, 2005 8:39 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Geek. Permalink for this entry.

I Coulda Used A Little More Cowbell

So there's a new video clip sweeping the b-school. (And no, the Aqua Teens aren't being displaced or anything).

It's a SNL sketch from a few years back starring Christopher Walken as a record producer in 1978, working with Blue Oyster Cult as they do "(Don't Fear) The Reaper"

"I'm telling ya, fellas ... you're gonna want that cowbell."

Priceless.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 10, 2005 8:31 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Cool. Permalink for this entry.

February 9, 2005

The Eagle Has Landed!!

Ha!

I phoned FedEx to get a package status on my PowerBook, and found out they'd hung on it at the local depo, flagged for delivery tomorrow morning. That meant, according to the guy on the phone, "I could come get it if I wanted to."

Um, yeah.

Google's Map Service + Flexcar + 1 hour = Happy Camper.

The machine is currently copying the contents of my old hard drive. Tonight should be configuration-a-go-go.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 9, 2005 1:28 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Geek. Permalink for this entry.

Gavin Shearer: Apartment A, Seattle, Washington

Dammit, dammit, dammit.

The PowerBook saga continues. FedEx called me this morning (hi, FedEx!) to get my street address. Seems that Apple shipped my PowerBook to:

Gavin Shearer
Apartment A
Seattle, WA

It boggles the mind. The thing made it all the way from China without having a specific address on it. So FedEx, being the upstanding folks that they are, thought they should call and find out where to deliver it to.

Trouble is, this is classified as a "delivery exception" and now there's no guarantee that I'll see the thing today, let alone by 10:30 this morning.

I repeat: dammit, dammit, dammit.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 9, 2005 9:43 AM.
Comments (0). Posted to Geek. Permalink for this entry.

February 8, 2005

Google Maps = New Hot Toy

Google has a new mapping service!

I saw a link to this killer new toy on BoingBoing this morning. It took me all of 3 seconds of goofing around with it to be convinced that this is my new best friend. A few specific killer things:

First, it uses DHTML to draw its maps, instead of GIFs (as MapQuest uses, for example). A GIF is a static image, and not super-attractive. Using DHTML allows the Google map to be truly interactive. Just click and drag, and the map updates with your mouse, live, on the fly, in real time. Excellent.

Second, the map system allows you to do "local search" at any time. That means you can get a map space (oh, say, of Seattle) and then click the "local search" link. This allows you to search the Yellow Pages for a business within the visible space of the map you're looking at. The search results appear to the right of the map; clicking the result you want will - wait for it - put a cartoon bubble over the relevant physical space, with the name, number, and Web site of the business. Holy crap!

This system just rocks. It's limited to the US for the moment, but - wow! Way to go, Google!

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 8, 2005 9:31 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Geek. Permalink for this entry.

February 7, 2005

When It Absolutely, Positively Has To Be There Overnight

FedEx reports that my new PowerBook is (finally) in America - Anchorage, Alaska, as of 2:33 this afternoon. It's gone from Shanghai to the Philippines to Anchorage, and now is (presumably) winging its way to a distribution center somewhere in the continental 48 states.

They're promising it by 10:30 on Wednesday. (And not a moment too soon!)

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 7, 2005 8:58 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Geek. Permalink for this entry.

Flash! Ah-haaaa! Savior Of The Universe!

We've got a team debate in Ethics tomorrow morning, and I'm reviewing/tweaking the text of the arguments for the folks on our squad. It's what I term "headphone work" - I need to put on the headphones, turn on my music (usually Chicane), and tune out the world.

However, today I put the iPod on shuffle and tuned in to a random playlist. As luck would have it, Queen's "Flash" (the title track from the 1980 Sam Jones football-player-goes-to-space-and-saves-the-world flick) came on and now I cannot get it out of my head.

("Flash! Flash, I love you! But we only have 14 hours to save the Earth!")

How can Kant compete with that? I mean, come on.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 7, 2005 8:52 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to UW MBA. Permalink for this entry.

February 6, 2005

Gordon Moore Is A God

My annoyance over having to buy a new machine has officially given way to wonder.

Moore's Law gets a lot of coverage in the technical and popular press, and often is used as a conversational shorthand for "quick, continuous change." However, when you take Moore's out of the abstract (e.g., "Processing power will double every 12 to 18 months") and put it in to the particular (like, oh, a new machine you've just forked out some cash to obtain) the results go from intellectually interesting to jaw-droppingly cool.

Consider. I bought my old (now dead) PowerBook in July 2002. It was Apple's midrange machine at the time, and it cost me about $2500.

My new computer is the same size (15"), with the same form factor and approximate weight (about 5 lbs.) and the same screen resolution. I'm also spending about $2500 (a little less with the educational discount) for this thing.

Now, let's put the machines under the microscope. Consider the following table:

One word: wow. My new machine is, in every measurable way, the superior to its predecessor. In addition to the metrics that existed in 2002 (like processor speed or hard drive space), I can now also take advantage of technologies that just didn't exist a mere 30 months ago (like Bluetooth wireless networking, or a DVD burner that fits in a laptop computer), as well as other innovations that make the product much easier to use (like keyboard backlighting, which is so cool that it almost makes my teeth hurt).

Do cars get this good, this fast? No.
Does anything?

God, I love my industry.

UPDATE, May 13, 2006: One or more of the original hyperlinks on this page expired, and has been dereferenced. The hyperlinked text is now underlined.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 6, 2005 4:13 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Geek. Permalink for this entry.

February 4, 2005

Coffee With Orin

Three UW MBAs from the class of 2005 - myself, Tara McFadden, and Rich Albrecht - are recipients of the Orin Smith Endowed MBA Fellowship. It's an incredible feeling to be recognized for your work and contribution. It's even more incredible when you get a call one day that asks if you'd be free to "come in and chat" with your donor. Especially when your donor is the CEO of one of the highest-profile brands (in this case, Starbucks) in the world.

And so, I found myself at Starbucks Intergalactic HQ at 8:30 AM this last Wednesday, perched on a sofa in Orin's office. Rich, Tara, Orin and I were all having coffee (natch) and just ... chatting. Surreal.

(I know I got to go to BillG's place, but honestly - this was just as cool).

Let's start with the basics right up front: Starbucks headquarters really kicks ass. If you imagine the decor and feel of your typical Starbucks retail store and blow it out to five or six floors inside a renovated office building, you've got a good idea of what it feels like. Lots of natural light, skylights, windows. Blond hardwood floors, spare metal railings. Art everywhere. Lots of nooks and crannies and couches.The vibe is unbelievably creative and stimulating.

And yeah, there's a coffee machine frickin' everywhere.

Orin is an amazingly down-to-earth guy. The four of us chatted about business (economy in general; Starbucks in particular), MBAs in general, the value of good people, the power of creativity, and Starbucks' various projects (in particular, I wanted to chat about their Hear Music project).

Here's the thing that impressed me the most. Of the senior executives I've met in my life (both through the MBA program and as a working professional), I've been consistently impressed by how human, humble, and holistic these people are. Jeff Raikes talked a lot about the need to give back to the community; Orin talked with great passion about how important culture is, and how it's key to find not just good people, but the right good people and then do well by them. (Starbucks, for instance, is one of the few companies that pay benefits to part-time workers.) I didn't feel like I was being snowed. Instead, I felt energized, and really optimistic. Success in business doesn't mean being a bastard, or a tough negotiator, or someone who screams at his/her people. Instead, success comes from being interested in your people and your community.

It's encouraging, you know?

I thought we'd be in and out of his office in an hour, but we would up staying for a good 90+ minutes. And then (wait for it) - parting gifts! Seriously. Cute little Starbucks bag with a pound of coffee in it and a Starbucks mug with the logo on one side and the phrase, "I Had A Coffee Break With Orin Smith" on the back. No fooling. Check the photo, above.

(Of course, he has to get rid of all of them before he leaves in March, right?)

Just kidding. Orin, if you're out there: thanks. For everything.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 4, 2005 9:03 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to UW MBA. Permalink for this entry.

It's Away!

I just received an e-mail from Apple; my new PowerBook has shipped. According to the FedEx Web site, it was picked up in Shanghai about three hours ago.

Whoo-hoo!

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 4, 2005 6:54 AM.
Comments (0). Posted to Geek. Permalink for this entry.

February 1, 2005

So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish

My trusty PowerBook G4 is terminally ill.

The old boy threw a ... well, something yesterday afternoon, and hasn't been the same since. The machine had been its old, reliable self (no restarts for a good 45-plus days!), and suddenly it just froze. Boom! Solid screen. I wasn't even doing anything strenuous at the time - I was scrolling down on a Web page. Reboot.

The computer came back up, ran for about three minutes, and froze again. Reboot.

Reboot, reboot, reboot.

I tried everything - clean install of the System, (didn't help), hard drive utilities (both lightweight and heavy duty - didn't help), hardware diagnostics (found a bad RAM chip - aha! - but removing the chip didn't help), and so on. I wound up pulling every Mac trick out of my playbook and trying it.

No avail.

The machine is limping along right now - I can get bits and pieces of uptime out of it, and the data on the drive is still good (thank God). However, I'm wholly dependent on my Vaio for schoolwork (short-term crunch), and I'm just totally out of luck when it comes to my Mac-specific applications (like, oh, my calendar, contact management system, password keeper, newsreader, mail application, yadda yadda).

It made for a stressful evening. If you want to see me lose my shit real quick, start messing with my production machine when I'm on deadline. I had Marketing and Finance cases due today, QMETH due tomorrow, Ethics and Finance assignments for Thursday and I'm back to Negotiations for the duration of the weekend. Plus, we've got our brand audit going on and some major team stuff due next week for Ethics. I cannot be without my laptop.

In fact, I was about 0.025 miliseconds from jumping in the car to grab a new 'book from the U Village Apple Store. However, compounding this problem is that the availability of new machines is poor right now. Apple introduced revamped PowerBooks on Monday morning, which means the channel is bone-dry for both old and new product. This left me with little choice but to custom-configure a 15" G4 on the Apple Store and order the sucker. 3 - 5 days to build, 5 days to arrive. (No, they didn't have a FedEx option. Dammit.)

So. 10 days from now, I should have a new machine, at which point I can suck the brains out of my old one and start the repair process (my old PowerBook is still under warranty).

There's a lesson here about the strength of spirit being dependent on the weakness of flesh. I know it.

In the meantime, I've never been so un-excited to get a new computer in my whole life.

UPDATE, May 13, 2006: One or more of the original hyperlinks on this page expired, and has been dereferenced. The hyperlinked text is now underlined.

Posted by Gavin Shearer. Last updated February 1, 2005 8:40 PM.
Comments (0). Posted to Geek. Permalink for this entry.