blog.shrub

“No graphic in human history has saved so many lives in africa and asia.”
— Nicholas Kristof, The New York Times

LinkedIn tells me Fact: Harvard Business School graduates have 58 connections each (average)

I have 270, and it didn’t cost me $83,000.

In 2007, I visited many cities — including Los Angeles, San Diego, Austin, Boston, Washington, DC, New York and Toronto. I used the transit systems in the last four and, of course, the San Francisco bay area. Over time, a few questions emerged:

• Why do I have to have a different card for each city?
• What transit systems offer good deal for visitors?
• How do the prices and features compare, generally?

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If I’m the smartest guy in the room…

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Everyone’s favorite lexicographer — Erin McKean — had a great piece in the New York Times last Sunday. In her article, she dives in to the Oxford English Corpus, explaining how we migrate (north), who we chide (the president) and what’s edible (fungi and seaweed, among others).

Newer-model iPods give this message when you attempt to connect them to a computer via FireWire:

FireWire connections are not supported. To transfer songs, connect the USB cable to dismiss.

This demonstrates key elements of a good error message:

• A reason for the error
• Suggested corrective action

Sure beats “connection failed, -2819,” doesn’t it?

My friend Doug and his buddy Heath have embarked on The Tuxedo Travels — a four-month trip by “two fools who barely know each other” from Hong Kong to London entirely overland, wearing only tuxedos.

Of course, they’re blogging the whole thing.

Jeff’s yellow potatoes

miniature potatoes
paprika
cumin
oregano
salt & pepper
a little bit of cayenne pepper
turmeric

wash potatoes. cut into chunks. coat with mixture. cook over low heat in frypan until potatoes are tender.

The Chandler, AZ SpringHill Suites has both the Gideons’ Holy Bible and The Book of Mormon in the desk drawer.

How about they place a copy of The God Delusion in each room instead?

A few years ago, Charles Fishman wrote a fantastic article on Whole Foods for Fast Company. There’s a lot of information on and insight into their philosophy and business practice.

I want to draw your attention to one thing:

Each store had a book in the office that listed the pay of every employee for the previous year. The book was available to anyone — and was especially valuable if you were promoted or if you relocated, and wanted to see how your pay compared with your colleagues’. The pay book, surprisingly little used, set a tone of what Mackey called “no secrets management.”

It’s too bad more companies aren’t like this. Randy Cohen, The New York Times Magazine’s “Ethicist” columnist also thinks salary disclosure is a good idea:

The one who benefits most when such information is suppressed is your boss, not you or your colleagues. It can help an employee to know that the person at the next desk makes twice as much money for performing the same task. If salaries are reasonable, employees will understand and accept them. If they are not, secrecy helps only to sustain that injustice.
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In money matters as in many others, knowledge is preferable to ignorance. Thieves are the ones who operate under cover of darkness.