Waxing Philosophic » Travel

Andrew Lahde’s goodbye letter (and what’s wrong with our country)

jguttman — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 20:01:24 +0000

One of my next posts, that has been coming together in my head for a while, will be on the role hedge funds play in our economy and what responsibility, if any, they should assume for current conditions.

This farewell letter was sent to me recently by a friend in the industry. Andrew Lahde is a guy who formed a relatively small hedge fund, made an enormously successful bet on subprime (his fund is up 1,000% this year) and is now calling it quits. His insights are simple, yet profound and I find his comments about our government and legislation policy of particular interest.

Andrew Lahde’s Farewell – Get more Business Documents

DC in May….some thoughts

jguttman — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:09:57 +0000

Alleyways and nooks of Capital Hill are charming. Wonderful and diverse neighborhood. I love it.
Site lines from Lincoln to WW2 to Washington Memorials are stunning. Well done.
Cold war era signage and graphics around federal buildings downtown need updated. They’re dated both visually and politically, though not surprising given current administration’s foreign policy outlook.

London – why is everyone so uptight?

jguttman — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 09:19:14 +0000

I got back from London last night, after a 4-day trip evaluating a business that a colleague and I are considering launching. We had eight interesting and informative meetings with various prospective partners, and I ended the trip with an impromptu get together with Yahoo folks to discuss local media/blog concepts (they were interested in Bergen Carroll), but for most of the trip, I found myself in a slightly irritable mood. At first, I couldn’t figure out exactly why. I thought it could be the rain and perpetual cloudy weather in London, but having visited a few times, I already expected this. I found the ~~subway~~ tube kind of annoying (and inferior to NYC), from the slanted octagonal design that creates a cramped and claustrophobic feel to the escalating, three-toned, mechanical kitten purr that the train makes when it leaves each station, but this wasn’t enough to change my mood either. By the end of the trip, I’m pretty sure I figured out what was causing my ill mood. I realized it was the mood that pervades every person and thing in London. There is a certain buttoned up, prim and proper, uptight sense of self-importance that I perceive of most Brits. It’s the opposite of the laid back, casual, nonchalant attitude in San Francisco, an approach I much prefer. The fact that I was wearing a suit for our meetings, trying to fit into the London style probably didn’t help either. From this trip and previous encounters with Brits, some of whom I consider good friends, I sense souls screaming "let me out!"; pent up emotion that’s been suppressed far too long. This brings me to Shalom Auslander’s recent article in the NY Times where he calls for the world to go casual in 2008. I couldn’t agree more. It’s time we let personal comfort dictate our dress and therefore, express ourselves freely. London will be a far less stuffy place when this day arrives.

Westin’s heavenly shower is…heavenly

jguttman — Wed, 09 May 2007 00:05:00 +0000

I stayed at a Westin in Savannah two weeks ago and fell in love with the Heavenly Shower that I found in my bathroom. Its the first time I had seen their double shower-head and thought it was a brilliant idea. From a business perspective, it’s a simple inexpensive thing to add, but one that probably pays off many times by making the customer feel good. Westin has extended their "Heavenly" branded products, which began with the plush Heavenly Bed a few years ago, to all sorts of luxury branded items that make staying in Westins a somewhat unique experience and give Starwood a great opportunity to sell products for home consumption. If a customer purchases a feather bed or shower head for their home, that surely increases the probability of them staying in a Westin on their next trip. I think this is one of the most innovative and well-executed brand extensions in recent memory. And I’ve seen several imitators – Four Seasons, Ritz Carlton and others – following suit. Other Starwood brands like The W are also taking pointers, selling W-branded products. To the Westin marketing team: Well Done!!

Healthy gene pools, exotic wildlife and delightful people….thoughts from a visit down under

jguttman — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 01:04:00 +0000

Nearly two weeks have passed here in Australia, and its been a whirlwind trip….I may need a vacation to recover from this vacation. I started in Melbourne, where I arrived off an 18-hour flight from LA to friends who swiftly took me on a 4-hour bike tour of the city. The pace of these travels hasn’t slowed since. Three days in Melbourne was enough to see the spectacular Twelve Apostles by helicopter, drive the Great Ocean Road, hike through coastal rainforests, tour the harbour by yacht, swim in the bay, log some QT on the beach and taste a bit of the city’s nightlife. On to Sydney, friends and I found ourselves house-sitting a beautiful apartment in Darling Point overlooking the opera house and harbor bridge. We hiked the Spit to Manly and dipped in the water at stunning secluded beaches along the way. We kayaked from Rose Bay to a national park on Sydney Harbor, and walked barefoot on dirt trails through rich tropical vegetation. On the way home, as winds picked up, we found ourselves competing with 50 ft sailboats and playing chicken with jet powered racing boats. From Sydney, we flew north to Hervey Bay and traveled by ferry to Fraser Island, a mostly uninhabited island where the only method of transport is 4×4 over sandy roads and beaches. I finished the trip in Byron Bay, a town on the northeastern coast that is the Australian version of Berkley (on the ocean), though with far more attractive people, most of whom are blonde and bronzed.

While the vegetation and wildlife in Australia are totally unique and awesome (I watched a rosella land on our balcony in Sydney, saw kangaroos, koalas, echidnas and dingos roam wild and anticipated the nightly arrival of flying foxes to Sydney at sunset), the most amazing part of Australia is the people. There is a certain friendliness and cordiality that you experience unlike other places in the world that I’ve visited. Australians have a positive outlook that trumps every other culture I know. They are so encouraging, supportive and respectful towards each other, I began to feel intimidated towards the end of the trip and ashamed of my relatively cynical ways. It’s as though they see the world as one big happy family traveling on a voyage together, helping each other along the way. Australians are also extremely laid back, light and not at all dramatic. While the country certainly lacks the intensity of the USA and specifically, NYC, their unique outlook and perspective made me consider, on more than one occasion, what life there might be like. I couldn’t help but wonder if life in Australia might be a happier, less stressful existence overall. Upon arriving back home though on Sunday, I quickly remembered what I liked so much about Brooklyn and designs on life in Australia were postponed for another day.

Supermodels, fast cars and movie stars…now to Oz

jguttman — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 00:05:37 +0000

LA is a trip. I’m here for two days en route to Melbourne tonight. In one day in LA, I’ve seen more Bentleys and Ferraris than probably exist on the entire East Coast. Last night, I went to dinner with my friend and colleague Andre Leb and his fiancé, Leanne. He brought us to Brentwood’s hottest sushi restaurant, Katsuya. A few feet from us were Tyra Banks, Naomi Campbell (both of whom are so gorgeous, it’s hard not to stare), Quincy Jones and my favorite of the bunch, Cameron Diaz. By the way, Cam looked far better than she did at the Oscars…in case anyone was wondering. When Tyra walked out the front door, so many paparazzi flash bulbs went off, the restaurant lit up like Christmas. Cameron and Naomi slipped out the back door, while, as you might expect, Quincy was still comfortably reclining in his seat, sipping a cocktail, when we left around 11:30. Today, we saw Kevin Bacon. I’m not complaining, but NYC is not star-struck like LA. When I do see celebs in NYC (usually a view of their backside after a friend nudges me on the shoulder, myself still in oblivion), they are wearing jeans and a t-shirt and are pretty chill. What does all this mean? I guess it makes visiting LA novel and fun, but I still prefer NYC.

I’m off to Australia tonight for two weeks. Next up….”I blog from a land down under….”

The digitization of money…and passports

jguttman — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 01:23:55 +0000

The Economist wrote an article in this week’s issue about the digitization of money over the next few years and how the U.S. presidents and British prime ministers assigned to new currency may have short-lived circulation (something perhaps well-deserved of our current leader). The EU estimates that it spends $65 billion a year to service cash transactions!! And I’m sure this doesn’t include the $20 bills that fall out of our pant pockets or disintegrate in the wash. This digitization may be one of the most
significant advancements enabled by the internet yet. With the added convenience,
however, also comes significantly increased tracking of our spending behavior and possibly less anonymity, something that cash provides. This is great for marketers, but not so good for Tony Soprano. Somewhat ironically, Citibank has been at the forefront of the movement from my perspective. I was impressed by the digital subway token called PayPass that automatically debits your bank account which they distributed to customers earlier this year (pictured here). A few months later, they sent me a radio frequency random password generator to login to my business account. I read this week that Paypal is following their lead. For a company that I generally associate with poor customer service and antiquated technology, this was a nice surprise.

Another area that is long overdue for digitization is immigration and specifically, passports. The concept of carrying a little book around with stamps from each country you visit seems completely ridiculous in this age. How much more efficient would it be to create a token or card that stores your personal information in a central database and tracks your every move? America, along with most countries, still issue paper visas that are glued into non-citizen passports. For my upcoming trip to Australia, I applied for a visa online. It was not only granted, but also applied to my passport electronically. When I recently called to confirm my seat assignments (its a long flight), the Kiwi on the other end (I’m flying Air NZ) checked and confirmed that the visa had been attached (virtually) to my passport. That’s efficiency!!

Tags: currency+digitization+passports+immigration+australia

Jah live in Jamaica – Musings from a “buck’s weekend” and Smile Jamaica Concert

jguttman — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 22:27:24 +0000

Spent the weekend at a buck’s night in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Buck’s night is Australian for bachelor party. We flew down Friday morning and were back for dinner Sunday. All six of us on the trip had a phenomenal time, something not easily accomplished on these quick group getaways. We logged some quality time at the pool/beach and ate some yummy home-cooked Jamaican meals courtesy of the lovely staff who worked at the home we rented. The highlight of the weekend, however, was undoubtedly the Smile Jamaica Concert that we stumbled upon Saturday night. After a few phone calls earlier in the day by one of the group who had some connections in the music biz, we spent the night as VIPs mingling with the Marley brothers and other celebs backstage. Bob Marley died February 6, 1945 and this concert is held annually the same week in tribute. The location was Nine Mile – a town in St. Ann parish, a solid 75 min from the coast in Northwest Jamaica. It was not a touristy bunch. In fact, we were some of the few tourists among the several thousand in attendance and virtually the only ones backstage, save a few photographers. This made the night all the more special. I’m still amazed that from a three-hour flight and two-hour drive, it’s entirely possible to experience extreme diversity of culture. I think most of us felt like we were in some sort of dream most of the night, fully awestruck by the environment. There is a lot about Jamaican culture that I find fascinating. For instance, Bob’s 80–something year old mother sat sidestage until the final performer began at 4:15am!! That’s just not something I can imagine seeing in America. I’ve also been intrigued by rastafarians since I discovered reggae around 6^th or 7^th grade, although it’s the type of lifestyle that I wasn’t convinced actually existed. Well, guess what?….it does.

This photo is with the first guy we met at Nine Mile. The second is backstage with some guys who sat there the entire show rolling these funny cigarettes.

Slugging it out on “the road” – Business Travel 101

jguttman — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 09:09:30 +0000

I’ve been traveling for the past week on the West Coast – part for work, part for pleasure. This is the first official business travel I’ve done since 2002 and I’ve quickly been reminded of a few essentials out here on the road which I thought worth sharing:

1. As a business traveler, all transactions with airport personnel must be easy, pleasant and ultra-efficient. When, after waiting in security line for 10 minutes, luggage is flagged for being too large for carry-on, thus requiring me to re-enter counter line, then I am flagged again for random search at security not even five minutes later, this may contribute to a mood in state of decline.
2. Business travelers should be treated well on flights. If, as a former 100,000-mile traveler three years running, I arrive on an airplane only to find my seat assignment in the very last row next to the lavatory and this location provides access to a uniquely blended scent of jet fuel and urine, this may lead to a less than optimal flying experience.
3. If customer chooses to spend extra money renting from premium car rental service (Hertz) and takes time to make reservation, checkout procedure needs to be ultra-efficient with zero delay. This means car is waiting in the stall number listed next to name on electronic billboard. If billboard is not working properly, then customer is asked by cheerful self-proclaimed "face of Hertz" to wait 20 minutes in line, as European backpackers analyze pros and cons of each available vehicles on the glossy brochure, this may lead to anger and frustration.

The one redeeming aspect related to travel over the past few days has been a new hotel discovery in San Francisco. Not wanting to deal with the hustle and bustle of downtown, I found a darling hotel in Pacific Heights/Presidio called The Drisco. The hotel appears to be a converted old mansion or apartment building. It’s located at the corner of Pacific and Broderick Streets. For $169/nt, you get a large luxurious room with big marble bathroom and walk-in closet plus free breakfast. High speed internet is free (as all hotels should be). Best of all, I’m staying a few houses away from Larry Ellison on one of San Francisco’s most desirable blocks. The Drisco is a keeper!!

When the Levees Broke – Spike Lee HBO Joint

jguttman — Fri, 22 Sep 2006 19:22:04 +0000

I caught one act of When the Levees Broke on HBO last weekend. Despite visiting New Orleans in the
past year and driving through the decimated Ninth Ward, the film’s content and the way it was presented still amazed me. My reaction was one of anger and tremendous disappointment towards our country and government. The federal response has been disgusting and FEMA, part of that response, has shown complete incompetence. The response from corporations involved – mostly insurance co’s and local industry (oil) – has been one of apathy. It’s interesting that these same industies are typically connected with Republican groups. Coincidence? I doubt it. After discussing it with several government loyalists, I have still yet to hear a strong argument to the contrary. If ever there was a clear signal that the leadership of our country is in disarray, this event should be it. New Orleans is one of America’s truly special cities and this makes the situation even more tragic. I’m currently researching Katrina relief organizations and determining what help I can provide.