Woo Hoo! We Have Internet

Posted on 26 October 2006 by g

I know you all were hitting refresh on our blog all day long yesterday to see when our internet went live. We were hitting refresh on our DSL modem status page to find out the same thing.

I called customer service first thing in the morning and they said we should go live before the end of the day. We didn’t go live before midnight, so I called again first thing this morning.

As an aside, I hate talking with incompetent customer service representatives. This guy was walking me through configuring the network settings for my computer — which was way off course. He wanted me to configure my computer’s internal modem and insisted that there should be a field to enter the phone number. I politely told him that my computer didn’t have an internal modem, that this was a DSL modem and that my computer didn’t have any difficulty communicating with it — it was the modem’s connection to the internet that was the problem. In any case, in the end you can only humor them until they are convinced that it won’t work and forward you on to the next level. Sigh.

So, he was finally convinced that he couldn’t help me and took my number for technical support to call me back in 3 days. I bet you can imagine that I took that well. I lost my typically polite, yet firm tone that I use with customer service reps and I told him that was crap. In fact, I think I said it exactly like that. He eventually forwarded my call to technical support.

They went through the same checks of what is your name, what is your address, etc. Then, while he was “reviewing my account” it magically turned on. The big red “Not Connected” letters that I have been staring at for a week were replaced by a big green “Connected”. I almost dropped the phone. I did scream out of excitement. I tried to tell the guy on the other end of the line, but didn’t get a response. I don’t know if he was still there or if he had to leave his workstation whil he was “reviewing my account.” Regardless, I got (finally) what I came for, so I was out of there.

Posted in Life in London, Moving to London | 1 Comment

We Need a New Camera

Posted on 22 October 2006 by g
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We first entered the digital photography age three and a half years ago with the purchase of a Canon PowerShot A70. It has served us well. I selected this camera because it was a good balance between a small point-and-shoot camera and a large full-featured one. Being relatively small, it could fit in a pocket (with a bit of a bulge) and had the automatic features typically used when taking snapshots. At the same time, it provided a good deal of manual control for those times when you feel like doing something artistic or take a tricky shot.

Unfortunately, after a tumble on our Japan trip, it has been in steady decline. The battery compartment does not latch closed completely and we have recently noticed that pictures will occasionally have a pink hue or look like they are melting (some of the most severe examples shown here). On our trip to Windsor, these occurences were more frequent. There is no question now that we need a replacement.

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Now the big question is, which camera do we get? In addition to the camera, we have invested in some infrastructure such as memory cards, rechargeable batteries and a zoom lens. Do we replace our current camera with an updated model? Or consider other makes and reinvest in these accessories?

Here are some factors of the decision…

– More Zoom. You can never have enough. We have the tele-converter lens which adds 2.4x to the camera’s normal 3x zoom and works well when the flash isn’t needed. I have seen some of the newer models now have up to 10x zoom — of course there is a trade off with size.

– Standard Batteries. This was an important factor the last time around. Using AA batteries means that we can always get batteries on the road if all of our rechargeables are drained.

– Larger LCD. When taking pictures with other people’s cameras, I have really liked the larger LCD screens that are typical on Sony cameras. I am sure there is a trade off on battery life though.

– Better Low Light Auto-Focus. This is one area that our camera has struggled in at times. Hopefully the technology has improved over the last 3 years to eliminate this problem.

– Size. While our current camera is balanced between features and size, we typically carry it in a camera bag. Should we just get a larger model with more features (i.e. zoom)? K’s new phone includes a 3 megapixel camera with (rudimentary) flash and has a 1 gb memory card — perhaps we can just use that for the pocket-toting snapshots?

We’d like to know what you think. What are your experiences with digital camera? What do you recommend or avoid?

Posted in Life in London, Technology | 7 Comments

The Merry Men of Windsor

Posted on 21 October 2006 by k

Windsor is a little royal town just southwest of London (about 1.5 hrs. from our flat). It’s quite surreal to be in a place that holds so much history — not to mention some of the most powerful monarchs of the past (many are in crypt in the floors and walls of St. George’s Chapel in Windsor). Today, we stood atop the tomb of King Henry VIII and his final bride Jane Seymour (she was the last one, right?). And King George VI and the Queen Mom are also laid to rest here (in a very minimalist alcove of the nave). [Did you know that she (Queen Mom) died 50 years after her husband? I can’t imagine. Granted, she was 102 when she died…]

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But while this chapel and the castle itself are quite large, they are unassuming, as well. As with the other Royal homes, we weren’t able to take photos… you’ll just have to take our word for it and take a look at our photos of the exterior of Windsor Castle, instead. We were lucky today as the Queen was actually in residence. For us, the visitors, this doesn’t really mean too much. It simply means that we saw her flag flying atop the tower and when we saw shuffling behind the glass, we were able to imagine it might be the Queen and her entourage.

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There’s also a great assortment of shops and cafes in this little village. We wandered about, had a picnic lunch, toured the castle and strolled its grounds, and headed off for a cafe break before heading back to London by train.

See photos from this weekend’s trip to Windsor and stay tuned for a review of the Cotswolds next weekend…

Posted in Adventure Travel, Europe, Life in London, UK | Comments Off on The Merry Men of Windsor

The MBA

Posted on 19 October 2006 by k
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The three coveted letters that require an insane amount of work. BUT, leave you wanting more…Going for my MBA has been wonderful. I love learning… and for the first time since entering the working world, I’m left with the answers I’ve always looked to my managers to just “know”.

For years I’ve been learning about profitability, implementing lucrative business changes, infrastructure and heirarchy, IT management, measuring results, etc. within the firms I worked with. But only now am I beginning to develop the confidence to make “gut decisions” based on intuition rather than “knowledge and support”. I’m learning that this is a critical difference between being a leader and a manager. Leaders must be willing to make difficult (and sometimes deadly) decisions quickly despite lack of complete information. Good leaders will call-in individuals who are perceived to be experts and rather than leaving them to make the decision on what’s best — they will sort through the information gathered and make a definitive choice. Getting an MBA is like going back to college to fill your leadership toolkit.

So what tools am I honing? I began a two week orientation on Sept. 11. During those two weeks I learned about my classmates and their cultures (somewhere between 20 & 30 countries are represented on our roster of 65 students). Like most orientations, our time was spent in team-building activities. Fun, fun.

After orientation, we moved into our first “Block” of classes. A four week block during which we’ve studied Quantitative Methods (now, I can help clients to more completely understand the RESULTS of their marketing campaigns), Accounting (analysis of the financial statements in order to understand a company’s strengths and discover their dirty laundry), and Information Management (an overview of modern technology and how best to implement and use it within your company). This week is our last week in Block I. Next week will mark the start of integration week… a week of endless presentations and on the spot assignments to test of our knowledge of the topics covered.

Then, careers week. Interview coaching, CV writing, presentation skills, networking skills, how to stand out among the thousands… that’s the focus of careers week.

Then, on to Block II. Finance, Marketing (yay!) and Economics. A block of four weeks of classes we’ll then have another integration week and, finally, a week of exams for Block I & II. And a bit of a break around the holidays.

Posted in MBA in London | Comments Off on The MBA

Did the London Fog Fade My Wireless Internet?

Posted on 17 October 2006 by g

It happened all of a sudden last Thursday. We started to awake each morning greeted by a think fog — and our neighbor’s wireless signal faded ever so slightly to prevent it from being usable. Coincidence? Or not?

I have been trying to figure out what may have changed to make the wireless signal fade. One day everything was relatively zippy and the next day — nothing. For all we know, our neighbors could have simply adjusted the position of their access point or perhaps set something in front of it.

We have been monitoring the signal strength as it teeters just on the edge of a usable strength. We have searched for a pattern in time of day, weather and other factors and have not been able to determine one. For a short while we thought it may be related to the fogs that have started rolling in over night and staying until mid-morning, but I am not convinced.

It shouldn’t be long until we get our internet connection now. We have our DSL modem plugged in and ready to go. There is a little green light that is flashing — looking for a connection. We are waiting anxiously for it to stop flashing and our connection to go live. The date we have been given is October 25, so we are counting down to the day — and it can’t come soon enough.

In one sense, I am surprised that we have been able to go this long without internet. But, in reality we haven’t gone entirely without — it has just been slow and unreliable. I don’t think I would have made it for two months entirely without internet.

How long do you think you could go without internet access?

Posted in Life in London, Technology | 3 Comments

Where can I buy a briefcase in London?

Posted on 14 October 2006 by k

Part of the London adventure is figuring out where in the city to buy whatever you need. You read the first installment of this drama during our first few weeks here as we searched for housewares. Now, I’m in need of a roller briefcase (despite the fact I just put one given to me in the Spring in storage in the US, angst!). Where to go?

For those of you who are familiar with London, let me know if you have suggestions.

Posted in Life in London | 5 Comments

Where is my $1.50 Dry Cleaner?

Posted on 10 October 2006 by g

We had a bit of “sticker shock” when we first got over here. Most of the prices are about the same number-wise as in the States, but when converting from dollars to pounds sterling, you about double the price. So, £5 lunch is $10; £40 jeans are $80; £70 taxi ride is $140. After a while, in order to maintain your sanity, you stop converting and just think in pounds. Luckily, we have gotten past that point… and then we went looking for a dry cleaner.

Now, back in North Carolina we had a dry cleaner around the corner from our house that charged $1.50 per item for everything. The name of the place was called $1.50 Dry Cleaners. Now, to be fair, they raised their prices from time to time (and changed their name accordingly). I think when we left they were up to $1.99 — still a good deal.

Now I dream of cheap dry cleaning. I went shopping for dry cleaners this week and collected their price lists. First of all, they charge different prices for different items and it isn’t always clear what is what (i.e. women’s shirt vs. blouse or suit vs. dinner suit) — very confusing. And brace your self for the prices.

Shirts, trousers, and such range from £5 – £10 a piece. Suits, coats and dresses are £12 – £20+ a piece. Even if those prices were in dollars I would be sticker shocked. Now double them. I feel sorry for the bloke getting his leather coat cleaned at £65 a pop. I think I could buy a new one for $130.

It is funny talking to people from the States that have been over here for a while. They all say that they used to think Banana Republic was expensive — now when they go back to visit the prices seem reasonable. A shirt that it $70 — ah, that’s only £35.

Speaking of clothing, I think this is a good time to interject another story. Apparantly “pants” in the US are “trousers” here in the UK. “Pants” in the UK actually means underwear. You should ask K about when she was telling her classmates about her pants…

So what do you think is a reasonable price for dry cleaning?

Posted in Life in London, Moving to London | 3 Comments