August 30, 2005
Positioning is everything
Referring to the tip just sent out in my newsletter (see below) we got this great email today:
Loved the tip for getting all of your miscellaneous items through airport security. My husband has ridiculed me for years for doing that very thing, and now I am vindicated. Though perhaps with the label "Plane Carry File" it will command more respect - I've always called it "Purse." - Dee Carrell
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Tip in my newsletter:
[From a Canadian in our network, who sent this tip about navigating airport security. – DA]
“I typically carry a cell phone/PDA, portable MP3 player, keys, loose change, gum, itinerary, watch, upgrade certificates, wallet, photo ID, boarding pass, reading material, and pens on the plane. I need to get these through the security check quickly and securely. There is nothing worse than doing the Airport Macarena (i.e. the painfully dopey self pat down) after clearing security to ensure that nothing has been forgotten. My solution is simple. I carry a clear, closable folder labeled "Plane Carry File" and place all of the above in it. I close it and put the folder in the tray provided (except for the boarding pass) before I proceed through security. The laptop goes into a separate tray. When I have cleared inspection, I can retrieve the folder and its contents quickly and with peace of mind. Before I board the plane, I put everything back except the photo ID/boarding pass which I need to board the plane. The first time I used the above method, the security guard was impressed and suggested that I “get the word out”. I hope this is useful to the group.” - Pierre McClelland
Posted by David at 12:53 PM | Comments (11)
May 30, 2004
London culture week
Flying back yesterday, reflecting on how we really had fun in London. Gotta mention how cool it was to have stunning weather, no horde of tourists yet, and we walked all over great little neighborhoods we hadn't known before. And great cultural hanging out, too. Kew Gardens, the Design Museum , the Tate Modern gallery, Chelsea Flower Show, an exhibit of Charles Waite's photographs, and the National Portrait gallery with a fabulous exhibition of Cecil Beaton's photo portraits. While in between lovely hanging out in cafes on the Thames. Gotta say, I love London... Now, if the dollar would just pick itself up vis-a-vis the pound...!
Posted by David at 04:10 AM
May 29, 2004
London stuff, BBC interview
Finished a lovely week in London, doing work with CreditSuisse and our first public seminar. Stunning weather, my sweetie Kathryn accompanying me, great food and drink, new neighborhoods explored, etc. And my office got a call from the BBC for an interview (turns out I was in London anyway - fun serendipity). Apparently Blair's press secretary has kept them focused on advance planning by reviewing things upcoming regularly. Hmmm. Rocket science, indeed.
David
Posted by David at 07:35 AM | Comments (1)
April 06, 2004
Misc travel notes, esp. for foodies
One of the things I love about my lifestyle is the huge range of interesting and rich environments and people (and food) I get to experience in such a short span of time. Last Friday I ended a fabulously fun GTD public seminar in Chicago, with 75 people from a huge range of organizations - Fortune 50 to local churches to universities to national ad agencies. And we were, as usual, just folks together, dealing with the same stuff. And great food and drink and schmoozing with Anne and Jodi at Trattoria 10 and then Blackbird.
Then down to St. Louis, at the relatively new Westin, right next to Cardinal stadium. Very hip restoration of an old downtown building, with a nice gym, and terrific restaurant, Clark Street Grill. Try their sea bass and asparagus salad. Did a one-day seminar for Ameren, the large and newly merged energy supply company in St. Louis. Had to thread through barricades to get to Ameren Monday, as Bush was tossing the first ball at the stadium right next door to me!
Then to Los Angeles today, ready for one of my one-day's for IMS (Institute for Management Studies) here downtown tomorrow. (I'm doing more than a dozen of these a year for this very nice group of folks who provide a pre-marketed and organized window into the corporate training world for me). And I just had one of the finest meals I've had in quite a while at the Water Grill right in the middle of downtown (Chilean turbot, yumm). I still don't "get" downtown L.A. (I mean like, who actually goes there, and when? ...though I'm always tickled when something new and terrific shows up on my radar that makes it seem that central L.A. is getting hipper and more energetic, instead of degenerating into some Kurt-Russellian future sci-fi nuclear waste garbage heap.
Posted by David at 09:42 AM | Comments (2)
March 20, 2004
Interested in Japan...?
We had a fun dinner last night with an old friend, Steve Beimel, and his lovely wife Ritsuko. Steve runs the most amazing tours of Japan through Esprit Travel, and, as he mentioned, they're a "12-year overnight success". His tours are receiving top ratings from the Smithsonian, and have now come onto the radar of some of the major tour operators in the U.S. I can say from personal experience (Kathryn and I spent two weeks last October in zen temples, gardens, and visiting artists and potters with Steve) they are in a class by themselves. A most unlikely-looking tour guide for Japan (a funny, tall, New York Jewish guy), Steve's not only totally bilingual but lives and breathes Japanese history and culture. If you've ever had a hankering to do the Japanese thing... I highly recommend you take advantage of Steve and company before they get as popular as they're going to become. Lovely preamble to our dinner was an ikebana lesson I got from Ritsuko (see my "masterpiece" below!)
Posted by David at 07:29 AM | Comments (1)
