Boomer Woman Blog: March 2009

30 March 2009

FAQs on COBRA and ARRA

I'm still not used to the new ARRA acronym (for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) but a year ago I couldn't have explained the meaning behind COBRA, either. (COBRA = Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985)

When the two acronyms come together, it is to describe the extension of health care benefits for employees facing lay-off. ARRA provides help in paying the premiums for people who lose their jobs in 2009 or (looking backward just a bit) in the fall of 2008. So, the span of September 1, 2008 to December 31, 2009 is covered. The support is meaningful: 9 months of reduced premiums that will allow many families to keep their insurance.

The U.S. Department of Labor has updated their web pages to explain COBRA and ARRA. I think the fastest way to read about the provisions is through Questions and Answers, and the Labor Dept does that well on their FAQ page. Note the "Printer Friendly Version" link. That permits you to move to hard copy and highlight the portions that apply to your situation.

On a personal note: For my immediate family, COBRA is a frequent topic. Tom Bold was laid off in Spring 2008 and so is on his last several months of COBRA coverage. He was not eligible for the ARRA provision but did receive 9 months of coverage from his former employer; we are humble about that, realizing that it's not the typical support of the newly laid off. I retired from a position in September 2008 and began paying for COBRA at that time. I am not eligible for ARRA support because my retirement was voluntary. One of our offspring was recently laid off and is covered by the ARRA support for COBRA. Our other offspring? Employed. Good!

© 2009 Mary Bold, PhD, CFLE. The content of this blog or related web sites created by Mary Bold (www.marybold.com, www.boldproductions.com, College Intern Blog) is not under any circumstances to be regarded as professional, legal, financial, or medical advice. Or education advice. Or marital advice. Or even a tip.

28 March 2009

Weekend Readers: Your Personal Advisory

If you are reading this on the Saturday it is published, you are the intended recipient for this message: Boomer Woman Blog appreciates your dedicated attention. I track the stats and I know that the weekend readership represents the most consistent readership. So, you're the folks who will notice the change in publication schedule. (Figured I had better explain to you up front.)

Starting this coming week, Boomer Woman Blog will go on a schedule of twice-weekly posts. Look for new blogs on Mondays and Fridays. (Those happen to be the busiest days of the blog.)

Having been current with new posts daily for more than 8 months, Boomer Woman Blog has crossed the mark of 270 posts. That's an adequate backlog of searchable posts, which permits a change in level of entries. Twice a week posting will continue to build the repository at a satisfactory rate.

I could have simply gone to the new schedule and not announced it. But ignore the weekend readers? Heavens, who would dare?

27 March 2009

Personal Technology with Hyatt Technology

An unexpected extra night in Las Vegas led me to the Hyatt Place in that town. I had already enjoyed enough Strip for the week and the Hyatt provided well: straight shot up from the airport, free shuttle for airport transport, and convenient technology support.

Free wi-fi, nifty panel of ports installed alongside the flat-screen TV (see above), and easily accessed electrical outsets throughout the suite. (It's more than a mini-suite but the bedroom does not have a separate door.)

I was momentarily put off by the lack of room service but I ordered and picked up hot spinach and artichoke dip from the hotel lobby. It was worth the small effort and the service was exceptional even if it didn't extend to delivery to my room.

The cost of my stay was reasonable ($109/night) for a very comfortable hotel with free transportation. No, it wasn't Las Vegas on sale and didn't compete with my rate at Harrah's ($85/night) for the previous 3 nights. I rationalized the extra cost with what I paid for cabs between Harrah's and the airport: $12/50 per trip.

The real highlight was conversation with a worker who told me that work was reduced from 40 hours/week to 32, across the board. And that 14 years in the industry was not enough preparation for the current economic downturn because this is a "slump" without even a prediction of an ending time.

26 March 2009

The International Symbol for... No Pigeons!

This image comes from a sign outside the McDonalds on the Las Vegas Strip.

McDonalds is committed to provide a
clean, sanitary eating area.
Please Don't Feed the Pigeons
Help us maintain a clean, sanitary
environment.

25 March 2009

Las Vegas Eateries: BLT Burger a Winner

Live long enough and you'll forget whether you ever knew that bars have built-in video poker.

Some things about Las Vegas I know have changed. From 30 years ago, there is no more 99¢ offer of steak and eggs. But a sign in 2009 promises the same for $5.99 between midnight and 6am. From 5 years ago, the cost of buffet is double or triple. I did not sample a buffet this trip although a young woman at a counter assured me that the Bellagio buffet is the best.

Our find on this trip was the BLT Burger (part of the BLT group and complemented by other versions, such as BLT Fish, in other cities). Installed in the Mirage, this restaurant has moderate costs, ample servings, and a great salmon burger. For the handiest assortment of affordable restaurants, the Mirage wins hands down (is that a gambling reference?). Besides BLT, we spotted California Pizza Kitchen (I think I took underage nieces there 3 or 4 years ago) and Carnegie Deli (surely that's new this trip).

There are more restaurants overall, both on the sidewalks and inside the casinos. I hesitate to suggest, but feel compelled to say, there appear to be fewer bars (with or without video poker).

24 March 2009

Penny Slots Aren't What They Used to Be

I am close enough to the leading edge of the baby boom (meaning, earlier in the 1946 - 1964 span of births rather than later) to remember the original penny slot machines in Vegas and Tahoe and Reno. They were no grungier than higher denomination machines (and most were pretty grungy due to the need to touch all parts of the machine to make it run as well as having to touch all the coinage going in and coming out, well, mostly going in) but the penny slots were almost always in a darker corner of the casino. And there were just a handful, seemingly just enough to serve the old men sitting at them. That's my memory: old men whom I might assume were penniless except they obviously had some pennies.

This week in Las Vegas, I cannot count the number of penny slots in the casinos. They are front and center. They are neon-lit and musical. And a wide demographic occupy the stools in front of the machines.

What I have not taken time to observe (because I have to get over to my quarter slot machine that has the spinning top piece for Bonus Spins, not to be confused with the Wheel of You Know What slot machines that beckon with their chimes but drive me away with their computer-generated crowd cheers) is whether casino waitresses tour the penny slot arenas offering free drinks. Surely that is the best measure of how the penny slot customers are valued by the management.

23 March 2009

Las Vegas: Crowds Returning?

Las Vegas is not the ghost town I was expecting this spring. Having heard from friends that in winter one could see across a casino for lack of crowds, I landed after a long and bumpy (and full) flight to a full hotel (Harrahs) for a conference.

The conference numbers were a little low (frozen travel budgets at many campuses will have an impact on this year's academic conferences, next year's, and then we'll see what happens after that). But the hotel had filled anyway. How can that be?

Well, Vegas is on sale but it's not a fire sale. Just enough discounts are in place to stimulate visitors to plan a trip. And advertising is up. In the month of March I have noticed more ads for city, especially for family-friendly vacations. I became alert to the family focus when I received an email promotion for package deals to Sin City. I mean to say, the text in the email referred to Las Vegas as Sin City. Now, I'm generally a fan of lively and humorous advertising but I'll admit to a double-take at Sin City.

The statue? Casino floor of Harrah's.

22 March 2009

Generational Views on "Be the Best Employee"

About every other cable news show includes a segment on how to weather the economic downturn. The advice is pretty standard: be the best employee in your company. Work harder, faster, and longer than everyone else. Make yourself layoff-proof.

I imagine most baby boomers react the same way I do. We know that layoffs are based on many things besides rankings. First, there's the impact your missing salary will have on the budget. Then, there's the economic outlook and how needed your position is in the short-, mid-, and long-term. Finally, there's the question of how dispensable your position is and how well-suited it may be to outsourcing. Notice we haven't yet begun to address how well you do your job.

Last month, I came to realize that a person of a different generation has a different reaction to the be the best employee segments. I was in a planning session that a Gen Y worker had asked to attend. He was volunteering to put in extra time at work to help with a project. I commented to him that he was really going the extra mile. He answered, "I want to keep my job."

I didn't contradict. I just said, "Good for you."

21 March 2009

Recycling on the road at Doubletree

I haven't been in enough Doubletree Hotels lately... the recycling bins in my room in the Claremont (California) property caught me by surprise. Sure, I can sort my trash. And thank you.

I also liked the door to the bathroom. Partially opaque glass in a pocket door. The sort that slides open and closed. Great design to protect against middle of the night bumps into doors. Yep. Twice in my adult life I have walked into badly designed hotel interior doors and ended up with a swollen lip. So, when I check into a room I immediately start planning how I will light the room and prop the doors during the night.

I suppose you already know how I'm going to end this review of the Doubletree. Indeed, the warm cookie was wonderful.

20 March 2009

Personal Technology: The Jitterbug of Search Engines

Search engines can be overwhelming. And while some people accuse Google of making us stupid, I think the opposite is true. Using Google well is no easier than using a library database well. Strategic thinking is required. But I will admit that sometimes I have wished for a simpler searcher.

And I think that's why so many people go straight to Wikipedia. They want a single source and they don't want the overwhelm of the Google results page. Sometimes, it's just clutter: extraneous sources, advertising, mix of page elements, and scores (or even hundreds) of Next pages.

Here's an in-betweener: a new search engine called duckduckgo.com. Simplicity is its middle name except that would make a really long and difficult URL. You know the Jitterbug commercials for the ultra-simple cell phone marketed to boomer and older generations? Duckduckgo is a lot like that cell phone.

The print is large. Your mouseover highlights the entire block of an entry making for easy clicking. There's no extraneous text on the page. An invitation to more... appears at the end of a short list of results.

The results themselves are pertinent, a lot with Wikipedia straight-forwardness. That's not surprising as Wikipedia is one of the frequent sources. Duckduckgo limits results to sources that are human-edited. So, you'll never (or probably never) find a computer-generated page of links with no content.

19 March 2009

Frugality tips, even though it's hard to impress boomers with these

If you're a boomer, you have probably read scores of how-to-be-frugal guides, starting in your salad days (which is what we used to call being young and poor) and maybe this year, too. So, it's hard to tell a boomer a new trick.

All the same, I recommend the list of 30 frugality tips offered by Ramit Sethi a few months ago on his blog. Sethi set out to find meaningful and useful tips, calling the project the Save $1,000 in 30 Days Challenge. No, you don't have to sign up for the newsletter. And, no, you don't have to watch the video, although I enjoyed it. Just scroll down to the list of 30 hyperlinked tips and settle in for a short surf.

Tips in the first half of the list come from Sethi. Tips in the bottom half were submitted by readers (and edited by Sethi).

18 March 2009

The paper is closing, the sky is falling

Or not. Newspapers are closing and it's easy to fall into, what we call in the trade, decline theorist orientation. That's the impulse and habit to exclaim that the sky is falling, society is going to hell in a handbasket, or people just plain aren't behaving.

The other perspective is called normative-adaptive orientation, whereby we observe societal change and correctly identify how humans and their environments influence each other. The transitions that emerge from that interaction are sometimes awkward. The eventual results are almost always benign. (Notice how I'm not predicting, promoting, or defending "progress.")

This matter of newspapers closing is not so different from the American car industry. (The trend away from print has been obvious for years.) Time to change. But it's much easier to defend the noble pursuit of truth through journalism than the ignoble pursuit of an SUV with a 8-cylinder engine.

And so, last month in San Francisco, at dinner with 4 GenXers, I held my tongue as they tsk-tsk-ed the possibility of the closing of the Chronicle, which lost $50 million last year and may lose even more this year. Well, I used to live in California and I definitely understand the concept of losing the Chronicle. But an old (very old) part of me returns to the first day of Journalism 101 at Syracuse University in 1970. The professor said, "what's the purpose of the newspaper?" And the answers were all that you would expect, including that truth thing. And then the professor chuckled and said, "it's an old joke but it's real: the purpose of the newspaper is to sell the advertising."

Oh, yeah. It's a business. And when a business trend meets an economic downturn, you're going to see change. I appreciate that a reporter facing a lay-off doesn't care a whit about my normative-adapative orientation.

17 March 2009

Personal Technology: Kosmix, Beta-ish

Kosmix is a new search page on the web. Think Google with a broader stroke. Google is a big computer shuffling through matches. Kosmix is looking for a mix of the matches.

The new seach site is really not so new but still calls itself in beta, with a humor attached. "Beta-ish" is the official designation alongside the logo.

What's different about Kosmix searching is that it serves up a dashboard of related information on the web pertaining to your search term. (Excuse me, explore term.) Kosmix presents itself as a guide to the web that then allows you to save your information as a personal guide page, and edit your guide page, and otherwise personalize it for maximum personal use.

The dashboard idea really does work. You can drag elements of the page around to your liking. Once you've created your own guide page, you can edit it as you see fit. All that stays on your computer. That's a step beyond browser bookmarking which, after all, just returns you to someone else's page.

Here's a link to short video that doesn't so much explain the how of Kosmix as communicate the mood of Kosmix. Happily, using the guide itself is intuitive. You don't need instructions.

Kosmix: Your Guide to the Web from Kosmix on Vimeo.

16 March 2009

Sparkly Costuming Off the Stage

If I had a sparkly skirt like that, I'd go see High School Musical, the play. Ah, well, I did, yesterday, but not wearing any of the finery of the majority of the crowd.

I dragged The Sociologist with me, which seemed much wiser than taking Tom Bold. It was a road show of the Disney movie-turned-musical stage play. The actors were far older than high school age, the music was not memorable although I spotted not just girls but their mothers also mouthing the words, and it was probably the shortest play I've ever attended.

But it was fun. Loud and fast (had to be: kids squirmed when the dialog ran longer than 2 minutes) and definitely G-rated. Confetti fluttered at the end of the show. That slowed our exit as children took time to pick up the scraps of memory.

Just to assure that we were thinking throughout the show, I can report that we recognized themes and sounds from Grease and Bye Bye Birdie. And, strangely, from The Music Man.

15 March 2009

Make (It) Work: Entrepreneurs in the Mini Depression

The NYTimes has covered it, scores of web sites are promoting it, and a growing number of employed people are doing it: scaling back and starting up.

We're not all born entrepreneurs. That's a good thing because new businesses frequently fail. A stable society relies on most people preferring to join a group than start a group. But in an unstable society, when work groups are disbanded (another way to describe a lay-off), people move to a new preference: covering the rent.

So, we're developing an economy that includes folks without jobs offering services and products to the folks with jobs. Will the start-ups generate enough income to replace the lost paychecks? Or, as some optimists claim, to re-start the economy? I'm betting that most will happily return to the security of employment when that is possible. But they'll have fond memories of working all hours, chasing contracts, and seeing their effort translate directly to dollars. OK, so, maybe the fondness doesn't emerge immediately.

The other thing that doesn't emerge immediately is confidence. The transition from other-employment to self-employment can take months to develop. First, you have to shift your thinking from "where can I get a job" to "where can I get work?" Second, you have to scale back from "how much money do I like to make" to "how much do I really need to bring in?"

After you gain proof that you can make the money you need, you can begin enjoying the freedom of working for yourself. That's where I am. But a little worry can creep in. I commented to a colleague doing the same thing I am, "we're in the honeymoon phase, you know, and next year might not feel so good."

She was sanguine. "Yeah, everyone knows honeymoons are overrated...but they still go on them."

14 March 2009

Barely Boomeranging

Widespread acknowledgment of boomerang kids emerged in the '90s as the "return to the nest" became statistically noticeable. The statistics are not easily tracked, by the way, and so we rely on estimates. One of those estimates: half of young adults in the U.S. return to a parent's home at least once when employment or housing or marriage doesn't work out.

In the early 2000s, when college graduates had trouble finding work, the number of boomerang kids went up. We can expect something similar in May 2009, as new grads flood a job market that, at best, will be hiring back recently laid-off employees. (At worst, the lay-offs will continue in record numbers, so that new grads will not even have jobs to aim for.)

Boomerang kids have tended to return home for 6 months to 2 years following college, frequently using the time to save money for their "second launch." Future boomerangers will be more diverse. Some will come back with children, having lost a home and needing shelter. Some will come sans paycheck and will not even be able to be under-employed during their time with relatives. If resources have been depleted in the economic downturn, they may rely on family for more than the old standard of a year or two.

The lucky ones will come only to have a home base while they re-locate to new employment. Maybe just needing some storage space or a little help in emptying the last apartment and transporting to the next one. (Note that sometimes the storage requirement is slight; see photo.) The lucky ones will have unemployment checks and good, subsidized COBRA health insurance.

Whether the stay is short or long, the boomerang is often enjoyed by all parties, although admittedly, unemployment can put a damper on the fun. Boomerang kids who appreciate the shelter (and maybe the meals) are not resented by parents, who tend to be pleased to get to spend time with their offspring as adults.

13 March 2009

Boomer Woman's Ageless Avatar

Last night, I spoke in Second Life (SL) for the first time. At right is a screenshot of a previous SL event on the virtual campus of Texas Woman's University. I used it for this blog because in world I never age.

Baby boomers are not exactly racing to virtual worlds (AKA immersive environments) but the concept of the ageless avatar just might lure some new members. SL is populated primarily by people over 30 so that means it is doomed, of course. Only 17 million registered users. Does that number sound like a lot to you? Not when you consider that the SL population is about 1/3 of the pre-teen world of Neopets and 1/7 of the teen world of Habbo Hotel. (Nice stats, huh? My source is the KZERO research center in the UK.)

I won't guarantee that SL will be the environment of choice 10 years from now or even 5 years from now. (Not only is its population lower than some other worlds, its rate of growth is slower, too.) But it's a great place to learn about virtual worlds. And a boomer-friendly place to practice for the future. I recommend going to educational sites like NMC (New Media Consortium) for your start. Safe, non-commercial, and very helpful.

12 March 2009

Boomer Woman Dog-Sits: New Appreciations

I used to care about what got chewed.

I used to care about who/what sat on the couch.

I used to care about a lot of things. But dog-sitting Sherman this week has brought things into focus. I don't really need very many bristles on a broom. There are 3 couches in the dome; surely Sherman can have one of them. And time? I have new appreciation for what I can get done in 5 minutes, in 10 minutes, in (very occasionally) 30 minutes.

11 March 2009

Boomer Woman Feigning Interest in Dog's Bone

If you ever need to keep Sherman busy for 10 or 12 minutes without interruption, you will want to do this:

Put on your dog shoes. These may have been your yard shoes in pre-Sherman days.

Pick up one of his chewing bones, no matter how slippery it feels.

Sit with your laptop, holding any cords and lanyards in your lap.

Place the slippery bone under your dog shoes. Speak softly and convincingly: "Oh, I'm glad I have my bone with me." You must communicate your satisfaction with owning a bone and having it beneath your feet.

Adjust your feet only slightly when Sherman approaches to chew on the bone. Apply enough pressure that Sherman will identify this as opportunity to chew on something of value to someone else.

(I am dog-sitting for Tom Bold. He cannot come home soon enough.)

10 March 2009

Dollar Cars & Penny Pizzas

If yesterday's blog about $100 houses didn't capture your imagination, perhaps today's blog on $1 cars and 1¢ pizzas will....

The marketing concept for "buy one car, get the second one for $1" is not brand new. But this month's promotions appear to be with fewer "gotcha" clauses. The deal is certainly a marketing technique but it also is providing a real benefit to dealers: moving inventory off the lot. Last week, Ford and Chevrolet dealers in Seattle joined in. ($1 deals typically specify what model of car can be chosen and also what other rebates are disallowed.)

For penny pizza? It's Pizza Hut's promotion that started with Lincoln's birthday in February. Get it? Lincoln penny? Not all locations participate, so you need to check Pizza Hut outlets near you. Poke around the Pizza Hut web site and you'll probably find a coupon or two to suit you. (You really do have to poke. Look for a tab for "Deals." Expect to have to enter your street address to access the coupon locator.)

09 March 2009

$100 or $9000 House

It caught your eye, too. Yesterday's Op-Ed in the Times: "For Sale: The $100 House." Admittedly, there is opportunity for urban legend here but there's also something appealing about the thought of creating new communities from "next to nothing." And houses in Detroit ranging from $100 to $1,900 qualify for that descriptor.

Cheap housing is always at hand, of course, even in good times. Location—geographic location—is the crucial factor. Sometime around the year 2002, my sister took me to see the new home of a young friend in Hot Springs, Arkansas. It was the $9,000 house.

Imagine a studio apartment free-standing, stucco on the outside, and the lawn consisting of a strip of grass between the house porch (yes, it had a porch) and the driveway (yes, it had a driveway).

My sister and I admired the existence of such a domicile and cheered for the young people who actually knew how to do the plumbing that the old bungalow required. We should all be so resourceful.

For boomers who can appreciate the history: our first home in 1979 (DFW metroplex) cost $48,000 for a conventional starter 3/2/2. Our third home in 1989 (marking a return to the DFW metroplex) was a better 4/3/2 for the modest cost of $85,000. We told realtors we wanted to see only houses that had been foreclosed upon. We were making a post-lay-off move and wanted to contain our costs to the greatest extent possible. In that season, foreclosures were available but had to be "located" and we had to be firm with realtors that we wouldn't look at any other type of house. Several years later, a friend told me that all the neighbors were tracking our purchase of that house. They were anguished that a house was being purchased below the six-figure mark. There was discussion about what kind of people we might be. The woman next door to us was quoted as saying, "Well, they have a minivan."

08 March 2009

Mud Room Basics with Sherman

Sure, it looks minor now. But imagine about 10 more times out the door, into the kiddie pool, and then back to the mud room. Aha! Now, I know what a mud room is!

I am tending Sherman for a week. This reminds of tending small children except that my children never tried to chew my shoes. Sherman attempts this while I am wearing them.

I have some goals for Sherman.

Montessori Dog. He will learn to put his toys away. Ethan says this is possible but will take a lot of work.

Polite Dog. He will learn to respect humans and not jump on them. The trainer at puppy school says this is possible but will take a lot of work.

Clean Dog. He will learn to clean his paws before leaving the mud room. No one is encouraging me that this is possible. But I once had a neighbor whose small dog walked 10 circles on a rug before entering the house, dirt-free.

This week? The goal is to protect my shoes.

07 March 2009

COP on the job: TARP Transactions

If you've been hanging around the cable news shows, you've heard Elizabeth Warren on her COP job: oversight of the TARP dollars, which essentially means oversight of Treasury. About a month ago, she spoke to Congress as well as many interviewers about the value of the Treasury Department's acquisitions using federal money.

In a short 6-minute-19-second video, she captures the main points (rather, questions) that the Congressional Oversight Panel has about those acquisitions. Even though the video is focused on questions, not answers, I recommend it. Warren is a professor accustomed to teaching; the message is clear and understandable. Her hand gestures in the above screen capture happen to be part of the message: price Treasury paid for assets versus value of said assets.

06 March 2009

Personal Technology: Cleaning the Keyboard

A friend requested that I address sanitizing keyboards. Can you believe the quality of friends I have? You could interpret that question a number of ways but Washington is holding a summit on health care and my friend wants to discuss the germs on her keyboard.

Well, OK. We start with the basic research: most keyboards are no more germy than any other item in the home or office. Workplace studies occasionally turn up one or two incredibly dirty keyboards that can only be thrown away but that's not the norm. (Actually, I can attest to the presence of such extreme keyboards. I was once the "new employee" who received such a board on my first day in the office... by afternoon, a secretary went off to a supply store to buy me a new one. But I'll admit that I still carry an image of that board in my head. Yes, keyboards can get pretty bad.)

My friend protests she is not being finicky. But a number of off-campus people come through her office and request use of her computer "for just a few minutes." Consequently, she is concerned about the wide array of ailments that can come from a mix of people. And she acknowledges that she has no immune system to speak of and therefore.... needs to know about sanitizing keyboards.

The list of strategies actually grew longer than I anticipated.

1. Computer turned off: alcohol wipes—allow to evaporate before rebooting.

2. Computer turned off: Clorox wipes—again, let dry.

3. Computer turned off: rubbing alcohol (90+%) on a terry cloth but only to the damp level—then let dry.

4. Computer turned off: rubbing alcohol on a q-tip. Yep, let dry.

5. "Medical keyboard" or food service style designed to be waterproof and thus soak-able in alcohol, bleach, etc. See Man & Machine for details. Costs go up to $200 but the Cool4kids board is only $50.

6. Keyboard cover/skin made of rubber or clear plastic. Google that.

7. Variation on that theme: keyboard "membrane" made of flexible plastic; a "universal" style is $11.95 from protectcovers.com.

8. Germ-resistant board with a product like Microban in the mix. Available for $30 and up. Good search term: antimicrobial keyboard.

9. Box of rubber/latex/non-latex gloves to make visitors put on before they use your board. (No, I wouldn't do it, either.)

10. Just say no, you can't use my computer.

Great photo is cropped from a larger one at spotcoolstuff.com.

05 March 2009

Homeless concern

A friend in Missouri wrote to me with a concern she and her husband have:

I was reading your blog... Hotel Whitcomb, etc., and speaking about the homeless... For the past few months, a young couple has been coming to our house looking for work/money. They said they are homeless. He is an unemployed construction worker. His wife has health issues and cannot work. He tries to earn $20 a day so they can get a room for the night. There are no couples' shelters in our town—there is nothing for women unless they are battered. I checked with a food bank about that and what they say, is true.

We have given them $20 - $25 from time to time. The other night they came by at nearly midnight. We feel terrible for the couple. However, we feel, it is not a solution to just give them money. So. I got on the Internet and the phone and found some resources for them. They haven't been back, yet. I have the page I printed up right by the door for them. I still feel badly planning on not giving them money the next time; however, eveything I read and everyone I spoke with said, "Do not give them money." I hope things get better for everyone in the near future!

04 March 2009

More Value at Your Fast Food Restaurant

Actually, this blog is more about retreat. We wondered how fast food restaurants could afford to discount food although we understood the purpose. Keep us in the fast food habit, even in tough economic times.

Sonic is keeping its Happy Hour but, at least in my neighborhood, retreating on some other promotions. Of interest, the notice of the change begins with Sorry for the inconvenience, but due to rising food cost, our happy hour, and the addition of the new dollar menu, we are no longer accepting....

Kentucky Fried Chicken found reason to join the dollar menu crowd but with a bit of self-protection. The Ultimate Value Menu features 10 items that begin at 99¢. That causes a let-down for the value meal seeker. Enough so that a friend actually called me to report this menu as not worth the drive-through.

And the retreat that made the news in my town (yes, the news) was a local Quizno's that stopped honoring the free sub intended to be part of the Million Subs Giveaway. This would be akin to Denny's give-away last month of the Original Grand Slam Breakfast during an 8-hour period. The Denny's promotion was a marketing success: the restaurant made Google's top 40 searches list and Twitter's top spots at #1 and #7.

The lessons might be: set your give-aways for a limited time that all your stores can tolerate, sell something for less than a dollar and don't try to lead the customer to slightly higher prices on the same promotional menu, and offer only dollar items that you can maintain for a long while. If the purpose is to maintain the loyal base, hunker down with your customers for the duration.

Actually, I wouldn't mind a Recovery Menu. Maybe tie it to the market. But not yet.

03 March 2009

View from 22D, and E, and F

View from my seats, plural because I had three seats on my flight, for the second time in five days. The seating behind me was even more sparse but also darker and it didn't photograph so well.

From Dallas to San Francisco, I was on a Tuesday evening flight at 7:30pm. I considered the wide open seating a delightful gift from the skies.

From San Francisco to Dallas, I expected some empty seats because that's sometimes what a Saturday afternoon flight affords. But I was still surprised at the number of empties.

Both directions, first class was full. I usually prefer first class. Not this week. But that's my selfish comment about having elbow room on a plane. From the perspective of the national economy, I'm not really rooting for elbow room.

02 March 2009

San Francisco Hotel: Winter's Cheap Deal

Finding cheap hotels: a sign of our times. This one was ultra cheap and still provided a clean environment, a big walk-in closet, and free wireless Internet access. All for $65/night in downtown San Francisco. Oh, with a BART/Muni station literally outside the hotel's front door.

The Hotel Whitcomb is "down Market," meaning a full 4 of 5 city blocks beyond your preferred location. For me, that meant about 4 blocks west of the Westfield Mall but with plenty of food close at hand if I wanted: Starbucks in the hotel lobby, Subway and Burger King across the street, Carl Jr's a couple of blocks on the way to the Westfield.

(Inside the Westfield Mall are full scale restaurants, the country's best food court, full cinema, and the usual collection of mall stores.)

Back to the Whitcomb. It has its share of homeless on the corner; comparable to the level outside the Hilton on nearby O'Farrell. In winter (the cause for the low rental rate), there is no room service although there's still a full-service restaurant on site in addition to the Starbucks. I would call the hotel aging and a little worn in the guest rooms. The renovations are more obvious in the lobby and meeting rooms. Billing itself as an historic hotel is fair. The self-label of "luxury boutique" is marketing, not accurate description. My $65/night rate was an online special. The rate is about double that in summer.

Internet access is just a tad slow but I've suffered through worse (at luxury boutique hotels). Cell phone reception is spotty up in the hallways but that could be my carrier, of course. Clientele includes international tourists and U.S. business travelers. I was comfortable walking alone to the hotel between 8:00 and 8:30pm but recognized that I wouldn't have felt so secure at 10:00pm. Orpheum Theatre is across the street and Civic Center within reach, so there is evening traffic.

City Hall, public market, public library, and other resources are just a block off Market, so a walk to these treats is less than 5 minutes. For reference, my old and slow walk to the Westfield took 20 minutes. You could have done it in 15.

01 March 2009

Zip Cars: Hourly Rentals in 100+ Cities

San Francisco's showcase of green vehicles (with special parking spaces with charging stations) includes zipcars. Those are hybrid cars for rent by the hour or day and, best of all, they are located all around the city for easy access.

You have to plan ahead to get started: register at zipcar.com and wait for your Zipcard to arrive. But then you are pretty well set to travel to large cities and pick up a car at your convenience. Your card is simply waved around the windshield for access and activation. You get in the car. Drive it around. And return it to the parking spot.

To find available cars, you check online or on your mobile phone and "reserve" the car so that it will be unlocked with your Zipcard. Nifty maps. Directions. A child could do it. But can't because you have to be a licensed driver.

Cost is reasonable (roughly $10/hr or $60/day) in that it covers rental and gasoline up to a daily total of 180 miles. Probably best of all, the cost covers insurance.

zipcar cities: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, London, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington DC. There are actually more than 100 cities... and more than 100 college campuses, too.

Personal comment: After seeing the zipcars in San Francisco, I came home and started my sign-up. What made the decision for me? Being able to add/drop family members from my membership. I'm doing pay-as-you-go.