The cable guy

December 23, 2006

Part of this weekend's activities includes fixing the in-laws TiVo system and getting their home entertainment system working. Since we were to help set it up initially they've moved it to a new cabinet and had the local cable guy out to help troubleshoot.
TIVO

Somewhat unsurprisingly the cable guy's answer is to give up on TiVo and go to the cable company's second rate DVR system. Ultimately the problem stemmed from two cables that the cable guy wasn't sure what to do with and just stuck in the back of the case. Low and behold when the TiVo says it can't connect it is possible that the network connection cable is important. Similarly when the cable guy says "TiVo doesn't work with our system," it really means he wants to sell you something else more than help you. It also means that he won't take the time to read the one-page instruction sheet or think for a few minutes about why the TiVo can't control the cable box without the connectors. Imagine.

Basic advice for everyone. Don't let the cable guy do more than pull the cable to your house. If you need help with your system find a local independent expert and get them to come help you. You'll get a much better deal and you'll have hair left at the end of the process.

Crazy Amazon Cutsomer Service

December 20, 2006

Customer Service note makes no sense The reindeer are running the asylum over at Amazon I'm afraid. Pardon the insult my reindeer friends. I placed an order a few days ago. Amazon said it would ship in two packages. One item was available from several sources but I went to the trouble of making sure it shipped from Amazon and not a third party. I paid extra to buy it from them.

Long story shorter, one item shipped as promised. The others continued to show they would be delivered December 20th. Oddly enough it showed them as not shipped so I sent an email asking about it. Customer service sent back the email pictured above. Funny that something which hasn't shipped by 5:30 p.m. on the 20th will arrive by the 20th. Must be using super fast reindeer to get the packages out. Espresso, check, teleporter, check.

Frosty Fall Morning

December 18, 2006

frosty leavesA frosty fall morning as autumn prepares to yield to winter. The weekend brought the first snow down to the lower reaches of the high southern desert. Watching sunset through the crystal clear air it becomes apparent there is a connection to the high desert that those who have not been a part of it never fully grasp. There are two ways of looking at the mountains of the basin and range. Some look and see barren bland mountains. Those with the place in their blood see a unique beauty.

Skepticim about employees persists

December 15, 2006

Recently I've discussed the December 2006 Harvard Business Review article The High Cost of Low Wages with several small business owners. The article's well supported thesis is "stingy pay and benefits don’t necessarily translate into lower costs in the long run".

Certainly when looking at a counter-intuitive suggestion like this it is comfortable to be dismissive out of hand. What is harder to put aside is that in case study after case study this model holds true. Many business owners, however, are convinced it doesn't apply to their industry. There is certainly support for the idea that pay and benefits are not the only thing that matters in many industries.

While employee pay is not a direct indicator of success, the Costco model certainly suggests it is a part of the puzzle. Further employee compensation plans say a great deal about management's attitudes towards employees. If I as a manager expect an employee will be stealing from me, a short timer and not worth investing in guess what I'll get?

Powerful Television

December 12, 2006

For those series I'm interested in I watch the DVD's when they come out. Since I am in a time-warp in this regard I'm just now getting to watch the last season of The West Wing. There were times in seasons five and six where the program struggled. Some suggested it jumped the shark. Having seen a great deal of the last season now I can definitively say it rivals Deadwood as the greatest show of all time.

Watching the show in a time-warp there was little doubt what would happen with John Spencer's character after he passed away during the production of the last season. Even knowing what was about to happen the show is so well put together that it seemed to reach up and grab the viewer and be completely realistic all at the same moment. It is hard to believe that it has been a year since Spencer's passing. That has more to do with how fast the arms on the clock are racing forward and is the topic of a different post.

Mystère continues to impress

December 10, 2006

We went to see Mystère last week. I'd seen the excellent show thirteen years ago when it was in its opening run at the tent theater outside the Treasure Island. Over the years the show has been moved into a custom-built theater but it has not lost the magic. Often people who have not seen a Cirque du Solei show ask what it is about. Truth be told it is a bit hard to explain. Cirque's website says the following:

Mystère is an overwhelming sensory experience. It is in constant motion and features high-energy acrobatics, evocative dances, colorful costumes and vivid lighting. It is a feast of colours and passions, of beauty and frailty which recalls a distant past and speaks to the future. It breathes rhythm and music.

In this day of marketing hype it would be easy to believe that "overwhelming sensory experience" is typical hyperbole. It is not. Each of the two times I have seen the show I have had the impression that it would take at least a dozen careful, planned, trips to become relatively sure one had caught most of what is going on.

Hiding things in plain sight is one of the trademarks of the great Cirque shows. The set changes and rigging are handled as much by the actors and actresses as they are the offstage magicians pulling strings and levers. Mystère remains a great show and if visitors to Las Vegas get to see just one this could easily be the one to see.

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