Category Archives: Uncategorized

Each of the many times I flew to an international destination for business—more than 100 times over the years—I went through the exact same ritual. As soon as I stepped onto the plane, I would manually change the time on my watch, mentally placing myself in the time zone of my destination. Like so many […]

As one who loathes to check a bag I use an expandable 22-inch rollerboard as my main suitcase. It’s become the standard of all the luggage companies because it’s the maximum size allowed that fits most overhead bins. The challenge for me has been finding the ideal second bag, especially when travelling internationally where it’s […]

Having flown millions of miles, I thought I had experienced most everything when it comes to the airlines.  But a week before my wife and I were scheduled to fly from to South Africa for a long-planned tour/safari, Lufthansa pilots and cabin personnel went on strike. Our outbound (non-refundable but reuseable) United tickets were for code-shared […]

It’s becoming obvious at how badly disconnected the U.S. tech industry has become from the rest of us. Day after day we’re told how amazing AI is and how it will solve the world’s problems. The press parrots the PR releases from the AI companies explaining how AI is about to accelerate medical research and […]

The World of Coffee trade show is in San Diego this week hosting visitors from around the world. Here are some thoughts after touring the exhibit hall filled hundreds of companies displaying their products. San Diego is home to more than 80 independent coffee roasters, surpassing larger coffee capitals like Portland, Los Angeles, New York, […]

If you’re frustrated with all of the ads popping up while trying to read the news, check out this article about how totally out of control the situation has become. This is such a great expose, that I am showing some excerpts below. Link to the article for the entire piece on Shubham Bose’s blog. […]

There is a question that skeptics of electric vehicles love to raise every time I write a positive column about EVs. It sounds reasonable when you hear it: “Sure, your EV uses no gas — but what about the oil used to create the energy to charge it? How is that any better?” It’s a […]

One of my favorite designers and manufacturers of bags for travel and work is WaterField Designs in San Francisco, where all of ther products are designed and produced. The company just announced an update to one its best-selling products, the Air Porter Carry-On, a personal item underseat bag that pairs perfectly with a rollerboard. It’s […]

If you’ve been putting off upgrading your smartphone or laptop, you’ll want to understand the impact on pricing due to a combination of recent issues — artificial intelligence, trade policy, and memory chip shortages — issues that are raising the prices of many consumer tech products. Analysts are calling this RAMageddon, the sudden demand for […]

The electric vehicle market is currently undergoing a major recalibration. While this may be a crisis for the industry, it’s the best thing that could have happened for those in the market for an EV. The landscape for EVs today looks nothing like it did two years ago. We’ve moved past the early adopter phase […]

Ever wonder if the high cost of a premium credit card is really worthwhile? This week I discovered the answer when Chase Travel made an honest but costly mistake. My wife and I bought one-way business class tickets from LAX to South Africa for later this Spring on Turkish Airlines. (Our return trip is on […]

A friend just alerted me to a dealer selling the new Chevy Equinox, a $40K 300-mille range EV, for $25K, a huge discount off it’s list price. The car has generally received good reviews and seemed on the surface to be a terrific deal. However, doing a little digging, it does not have Apple Car […]

This week I received a survey from Lexus asking about a new feature they’re considering. The questionnaire began by asking how often I park my car on the street, in my driveway, and in a parking lot. It went on to ask how worried was I about car theft, a car break-in, or someone hitting […]

The idea of combining your phone with your wallet has led to a a phone accessory category filled with different approaches. The idea began with plastic phone cases having a compartment to hold a couple of cards, and have expanded to include cases that can hold five or ten cards. The concept makes sense if […]

Over the years, my wife and I accumulated a decent wine collection—nearly filling a 300-bottle capacity wine cabinet. What started as a modest hobby evolved into something more substantial. But with growth came chaos. Our first tracking system was very low tech: wine racks with wine organized by varietal, When the collection outgrew that approach, […]

If you travel often enough, you learn to lower your expectations. Airlines shrink the seats and call it efficiency. They leave a few seats unshrunk and call it premium class. Hotels tack on resort fees for amenities that used to be included, even if they’re not used. Rental car companies charge surprise fees for cleaning […]

I moved my family plan from Verizon to T-Mobile and Verizon has made it particularly difficult, well beyond what’s needed to prevent fraud. I hesitated for years. We have seven phones and two watches spread across two cities five hundred miles apart — exactly the kind of family account carriers love. The bigger and more […]

The companies that once sold themselves as engines of freedom— empowering individuals, bringing people together, and helping the world—are becoming something else entirely. I understand only too well; I moved to Silicon Valley in 1996 to join the many that wanted to use technology to make the world a better place. But it’s become clear […]

Sony’s decision to place its iconic Bravia television business under majority control of China’s TCL is not just a corporate reshuffling. It is a clear signal of how far China has come from just being a low cost manufacturer to becoming an innovator. Under this new arrangement, TCL will own 51 percent of the joint […]

As noted in my previous column, online reviews have become one of the most powerful tools we’ve had to make informed purchases of products and services. From choosing a tradesman, contractor, or restaurant to buying appliances and electronics, user-generated reviews give us visibility into other people’s experiences. They help democratize information and hold businesses accountable […]