Awesome experience at the Hartford, CT Marriott
August 27, 2009 [name elided] Hotel Manager Hartford Marriott Downtown Dear Mr. [name elided], I am writing to compliment your hotel and its staff for a wonderful recent stay by my family.
If you’re going to call someone at 11:40pm, get the !*#@? phone number right!
At 11:00pm last night, my cell phone rang, and “Unknown number” (i.e., no caller ID) showed on the screen. I answered it, and whoever was on the other end hung up without saying anything. A minute later, the same call came in, and again, when I answered it the other party hung up. I figured… Read More: If you’re going to call someone at 11:40pm, get the… »
Brief mention in the Boston Globe
From “MBTA announces latest arrival: Google mapping tool for riders“: But not everyone at yesterday’s news conference was trumpeting the partnership. Jonathan Kamens, 39, of Brighton said Google Maps’s public transit routes are faulty because they rely on schedules provided by the MBTA, which are sometimes wrong. Kamens, a software engineer, said his complaints to… Read More: Brief mention in the Boston Globe »
MBTA Transit Police threaten to arrest me for distributing flyers to reporters at Google Transit press conference
As planned, I went to South Station about a half hour before the press conference scheduled to announce that Boston (finally!) had been added to Google Transit. Upon arrival, I started talking to reporters and handing out flyers. I was quickly confronted by Daniel Dombak, a Marketing Director for Equity Office (which manages South Station),… Read More: MBTA Transit Police threaten to arrest me for distributing flyers… »
MBTA routes are now in Google Maps, but they’re still wrong!
MBTA route information has just become available in Google Maps (both Web-based and Google Maps Mobile). Google and the MBTA are planning on formally debuting it at a press conference at South Station in an hour or so. I checked, and the data that the MBTA gave to Google has the same errors I’ve been… Read More: MBTA routes are now in Google Maps, but they’re still… »
MBTA customer service continues to excel (not!)
Last year, when I complained in writing to the T about receiving no response to the email messages I’d sent through their “Write to the Top” program, I received a response from Kevin McGuire telling me that if I continued to have this problem, I should contact James Monahan at a specific email address or… Read More: MBTA customer service continues to excel (not!) »
AVS Video Converter to the rescue
I found a decent tool to solve the video conversion problem I’ve wasted days on which I complained about yesterday. What’s amusing is that the way I found it through a Google AdSense ad that appeared alongside my complaint :-). AVS Video Converter will convert from just about any format to just about any other… Read More: AVS Video Converter to the rescue »
Why is it so friggin’ hard to make trivial changes to a video?
I’ve got a video in WMV format that was recorded from a GoToMeeting session that I hosted. I want to chop a little off the front and a little off the end and otherwise leave the video unchanged. I don’t want to change the format, the resolution, the compression, or anything — I just want… Read More: Why is it so friggin’ hard to make trivial changes… »
A well-deserved rebuke at an appropriate time of year
I’ve recently started bicycling to and from work again after a very, very long hiatus. My route home from work takes me past the Boston Public Garden: Because Boylston and Arlington are both one-way the wrong way, I have to make a loop around the Public Garden by taking Charles to Beacon to Arlington. Or,… Read More: A well-deserved rebuke at an appropriate time of year »
Micro Center enters the junk mail hall of shame
“For two years, I have been attempting to eliminate junk mail from my mailbox. In addition to signing up for the Direct Marketing Association’s “do not mail” list, I have contacted every single entity that has sent me junk mail, literally hundreds of them, and asked them to remove me from their lists. I can count on one hand the number of entities who have been incapable of honoring my request. Same on you for being one of them.
“I’ve spent so much time and effort combating junk mail because it is a huge scourge on the environment, and I actually care about the future of our planet. Apparently, your company does not.
“I will, of course, be posting this letter on my blog and encouraging all those who read it to shop elsewhere. Why should we patronize a store which thinks nothing of ignoring its customers’ wishes and destroying the environment?”