Improve My Business

Courtesy of our friends at 825Basics, this post:

Technorati Tags: communication, efficiency, managing your time, Time Management

I recently got the opportunity to spend time with Glenda Watson Hyatt when she was in Austin presenting at SXSWi.  We chatted via email ahead of time and set up a time to visit on the day she was departing; I also told her to list my phone number if she needed a local contact or assistance.  [If you don't know Glenda, she has CP which makes her speech difficult for those not familiar with Glenda-ish.]

Since SXSW tends to overwhelm the taxis, Glenda asked me to call a cab for her early in her stay.  I called for one at 10:30 or so; and was surprised to get a note back at 11:15 saying the taxi, promised in 20 mins, hadn’t shown up yet.  I re-called for the cab, and was told that they were backlogged because of SXSW, and to continue to call every twenty minutes to keep in the queue. HUH?? I understand that folks may decide not to wait for a taxi, and so the taxis want to verify you’re there prior to driving over to pick you up; however, when ordering an accessible taxi (Glenda is in a scooter that she drives into the cab), I’m pretty sure she’s going to wait for the taxi.  I resigned myself to dialing every 20 minutes.

In addition to remembering to do this, I also had to sit through hold for 10 mins at a time, before talking to a dispatcher.  I stressed that she was waiting outside her hotel (and it was pretty warm outside) and that they really should go pick her up.  At one point, about 2.5 - 3 hours into this, she politely asked me again for status (we chat via email - her iPad), and mentioned she was parched.  I called the hotel to have them bring her out some water, and then decided to make the 30 min cross-town ride myself to bring her some food.  Luckily, by the time we got there, the taxi had already come and brought her downtown, so we left the food for her at the front desk.

It’s inconceivable to me that it would take almost 4 hours for an accessible taxi to pick up a passenger.  I know that there are constraints during large music festivals such as SXSW and ACL in Austin; but something needs to be done to help those who need specialized transportation to get that transportation in a reasonable amount of time.

This is just one small cog in the travel hell that Glenda unfortunately experienced during her latest visit - to read more, you can click on this link.

As a result of knowing Glenda, I now notice hotels that claim they are accessible, and mentally rate them.  There are some good hotels out there - and some that are not so good.  I now speak to front desk personnel (and encourage  you to do the same) if you are in accessible room that does not have handrails near the toilet, does not have accessible entry to the shower or tub, etc. and encourage them to upgrade their rooms.  Something as basic as using the bathroom should not be a trial for a traveler.

Technorati Tags: accessibility, Austin, Glenda Watson Hyatt, SXSW, travel

All four of my grandparents came to America from Ireland (counties Leitrim, Antrim, Cork, and Donegal).  I’m Irish through and through - and last year went to Ireland for St. Patrick’s day with my children - here we are in a pub drinking a Guinness draft:

In the pub on St. Patty's day - Dublin

and of course we had to visit the Guinness brewery, where we learned all about  the beermaking process, and why Guinness tastes so good!

Mary at her visit to the 'mothership' of breweries - Dublin

In many other parts of the world, Guinness is not available via tap (quiet sobbing in the background by lovers of Guinness); so we are relegated to cans.  In order for the cans to work properly, they have a small plastic widget inside containing pressurized nitrogen, that allows the stout to be infused with nitrogen (vs. carbon dioxide for most lagers, etc.), contributing to its smoothness/creaminess.  Anyone who’s had their first can of Guinness will invariably try looking at what’s rattling around the can after the beer’s been poured - and they see something like this:

plastic widget inside Guinness cans

However, according to this article, some enterprising Irish mathematicians have figured out a way for cellulose to produce the same volume of nitrogen while being biodegradable - eliminating the need for the plastic widget.

Showing that, once again, the Irish can combine their passions (in this case, science, beer, and the environment) into one concept, for the betterment of Guinness drinkers worldwide.

Images:  Mary McDonald; and the Guinness widget (cc) by Flickr user slworking2, via Wired.

Technorati Tags: beer, environment, guinness