Thursday, January 25, 2007

TerraPass for Metro-North

Walking to the train station this morning on my daily commute into New York City I had a thought that Metro-North could leverage the increased focus on global warming to increase the awareness of it’s services (mass transportation).

I guess it probably was the combination of President Bush’s state of the union address, running into my friend Peter who works for the MTA, and being the owner of a TerraPass for my Honda Element (I would say SUV, but it doesn’t seem to be a gas guzzler).

Here’s what I would do:

1. Calculate the carbon foot print of a rider from each stop on Metro-North into NYC.

2. Calculate the carbon foot print of a driver from each stop, you’d have to use some averages here, but I would assume the difference would be staggering.

3. Prominently post on the MTA website a comparison chart of the carbon footprint along with the cost comparison, and average commute time assuming normal rush hour traffic, and how much oil would be saved.

4. Strike a deal with TerraPass where you could buy an offset with your monthly commuter ticket.

Maybe require that they invest the offsets in the Northeast power grid so it could help with pollution in the tri-state area. If for example they invest in a wind farm, get a live widget on the MTA website showing a real-time electric meter.

My guess with the strong Democratic base in NYC and the suburbs you’d find quite a few people opting in for the TerraPass as well as thinking about the efficiency of mass transit.

Sunday, January 21, 2007

The Family 360 Review

I don't believe I've mentioned that I'm working with an executive coach. This past week he forwarded a link about a family 360 which I thought was interesting. This fits well with the need to include your spouse and family in the 360 process.

In the video you'll learn about a Nike executive who had a 360 performed on his family.

Click here to view it

My Custom Bobble Head Has Arrived

I mentioned in a past Festivus post that I had ordered a custom bobble head doll of myself.

It finally arrived this past Friday.

I've put my blog head shot next to a head shot of the bobble as well as a poll so you can decide if they did a good job.


















How much does the bobble head resemble me?
Not at all
A little
A lot
You're twins
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Is it worth $57 Million for the hassle?

The International Herald Tribune has an article today regarding the sale of surplus US military goods. Normally I would applaud the US government looking at ways to save money or make money, but let's think about the cost versus the revenue.

Revenue:
$57 million fiscal year 2005 (iht.com)

Costs:
US soldiers killed or wounded by enemies using the surplus goods (couldn't find a number, but you have the cost of benefits to family, life insurance, medical bills, loss of a productive citizen and their future wages, impact on lives of people who know the person, etc.)

Cost of customs to actually investigate and track the shipments of the items sold

Cost of administering the surplus program

Conclusion:
I would bet that if you ran the profit and loss on this on, it would be cheaper to not run it. If our allies need the parts, then get ebay to setup a private auction and let them bid. Only ship to valid allies.

Monday, January 15, 2007

Jim Cramer Mad Money Spoof on Wallstrip

I know this is an old episode, but I always get a great laugh from it. If you know who Jim Cramer is, you'll enjoy it.

Sunday, January 14, 2007

Bacon wrapped dates

Our friends Billy and Peter invited us to a party at their house last night. I offered to bring some hors d'oeuvres, something I had before in San Francisco at a business dinner.

Bacon wrapped dates

When I first saw them, they looked odd and having celiac I was immediately suspect. After I confirmed they were gluten free, I tried one and was hooked.

Who could not enjoy bacon and the sweetness of dates?

In my quest to make the perfect bacon wrapped dates, I searched on Google - "bacon wrapped dates"

I was happy to see an AOL owned blog show up, www.slashfood.com, great job with the SEO work. Simple instructions, cut a strip of bacon in half, wrap a pitted date, bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. I was off to the store, two containers of dates, and two packs of low fat bacon (a center cut).

Returning, I tested out the instructions make just two of them. After about 25 minutes in the oven to get the bacon to brown, I tried them. Tasted good, but the look wasn't there, the bacon wasn't browned.

Party time was approaching quickly, so I quickly setup and made up the dates with their raw bacon wrap. Into the oven, I even turned them at the 8 minute mark. I decided to check a different recipe online, at allrecipes.com. It said Broil them. Slashfood, did not say to broil, big mistake, the bacon cooks but looks uncooked.

Back to the oven, adjusted the controls, raised the baking rack, and they started to brown up.

Off to the party, wild success. 80 of them gone, gobbled up.

Sunday, January 07, 2007

Enjoying the warm weather at Navy Road Park in Montauk

With the unseasonably warm weather we were able to enjoy another great weekend in the Hamptons. Today we met up with a few friends out at Navy Road park and mountain biked through the trails. We had a few beginners with us as you can see on the Garmin screen shot. Every time my pace drops dramatically we were waiting for everyone to catch up.

Garmin's GPS is a bit off considering that we did not actually ride in the bay.



It's a great ride and suggest it to both new and old riders.