Bud Bilanich | The Common Sense Guy

Kindle -- The Future of Reading?

I like to read.  When I travel, I usually have a couple of books with me because I am afraid of spending a night in a hotel room with nothing to stimulate me but the TV.  Carrying books around can be a little tough on my back (not too mention my over stuffed briefcase). 

That’s why I have become interested in Amazon.com’s new Kindle wireless reading device.  According to the folks at Amazon, Kindle (http://amazon.com/kindle) is a portable reader that wirelessly downloads books, newspapers, magazines and blogs to a crisp, high-resolution electronic paper display that looks and reads like real paper, even in bright sunlight.

Kindle customers in the US supposedly can wirelessly shop the Kindle Store and download new content -- without a PC or a WiFi hot spot. Amazon pays for Kindle’s wireless connectivity.  They should.  They will probably sell a lot of e books on Kindle. 

The Kindle Store contains over 90,000 books that can be purchased and delivered wirelessly to a Kindle device in less than a minute. All New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases are priced at $9.99, unless marked otherwise. Amazon.com also says that customers can choose from hundreds of top newspapers, magazines and blogs and have their subscriptions auto-delivered wirelessly.

At 10.3 ounces, Kindle is about the same size as a paperback book.  It can carry two hundred books; that means I’ll never run out of things to read.  Kindle also includes built-in access to The New Oxford American Dictionary and wireless access to the Earth’s Wikipedia.

The November 26 issue of Newsweek feature Kindle and Amazon.com founder, Jeff Bezos, on the cover.  A Kindle reader costs 400 bucks – that’s a lot, and they are currently sold out.  Amazon.com cannot get you a Kindle reader by Christmas.  But I’m a delayed gratification guy.  I’ve asked for a Kindle reader for Christmas.  I can wait until January or February to get it.

I’ll keep you posted on my experience once I have an opportunity to use my Kindle reader.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be and to get a copy of my new ebook Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Sonny Lubick -- A Good Guy Who Got a Bad Deal

Today I’d like to pay tribute to a good guy, who I think has gotten a bad deal. 

Sonny Lubick resigned the other day.  If you don’t live in Colorado, or you’re not a college football fan, you probably don’t know who Sonny Lubick is.  Sonny Lubick was the head football coach at the Colorado State University.  He coached his last game the Friday after Thanksgiving; a 36 – 28 victory over CSU’s archrival, The University of Wyoming. 

He didn’t want to resign.  He did so because the Athletic Director asked him to.  He could have forced the issue and made the AD fire him, but he resigned because he though that was the best course of action for the university and the football program. 

Sonny coached CSU for 15 years.  He had a 108 – 74 record.  His teams went to nine bowl games.  When he arrived at CSU, he took over a program that was a mess.  He made it a perennial winner.  However, his teams had three losing seasons in a row.

Many people – me included -- thought that, despite the recent tough go, Sonny Lubick should have been allowed to leave on his own terms. 

An editorial in The Denver Post said it quite well.

• “Lubick’s farewell touched often on a word that sounds old fashioned in today’s world of big time sports: loyalty…The coach who always tried to prepare his student athletes for life after football had special praise for the faculty of CSU and proudly confided that he had never asked them to pass a player who was doing poor classroom work – urging them instead to flunk athletes who neglected their studies… Lubick said, ‘I’ll be a Ram to the end of time.’  Indeed you will, Sonny.  You were classy on the field, and classy in retirement.  It’s too bad CSU officials couldn’t have handled the situation the same way.”

I admire Sonny Lubick.  I liked the way his teams played.  I liked the way he took over a second rate program and mad it a big time program – often beating the much larger and better funded University of Colorado teams.  I liked the fact that he chose to remain at CSU when he was offered the Head Football Coach job at The University of Miami (FL), one of the most prestigious programs in college football.  I liked the fact that the welfare of his assistant coaches was one of his biggest concerns when he was forced to resign.

I liked the way he groomed others – like Urban Myer, Coach of the National Champion University of Florida -- to be head coaches.  Even Joe Paterno, the coach at my alma mater Penn State, hasn’t done as good a job as Sonny Lubick when in preparing others to become head coaches.

Sonny Lubick is a winner and a man of integrity.  He deserved better from the CSU Administration. 

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be and to get a copy of my new ebook Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers in the US.

I’m posting these greetings one day early because I am going to take a few days off over the weekend.  My next post on this blog will be Monday, November 26.  I hope you all enjoy the holiday.

I have a lot for which to be thankful:

• Cathy, my wonderful wife.
• My health.  I have been cancer free for close to 10 years.
• You, my readers.  I love getting your comments.
• My friends – too many to mention here, but you know who you are.
• My clients (many of whom are friends) – you make it possible for me to live the life I love.
• I’m thankful for people like Brian Kiernan.  Brian lost his younger sister, Christy to brain cancer a few years ago.  He was a loving big brother.  His love continues past Christy’s death.  Last weekend, Brian and his Sigma Nu fraternity brothers at the University of Central Florida sponsored a “Volley for Christy” volleyball tournament to raise funds for Children’s Cancer Clinic in Jacksonville.  Here are some great pictures of the event www.mupsisigmanu.org/vfc.
• Did I mention I’m thankful for Cathy?
• I’m thankful for the people who smiled at me on the street in New York City this morning.
• I’m thankful for Helen Whelan, CEO of Success Television (www.successtelevision.com) who believes in me and what I do.
• I’m thankful for having had the good fortune to be blessed with a wonderful career.  I get to help people while doing what I enjoy.

I hope you have lots of good things in your life for which are thankful.  I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.  I'll see you on Monday.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be and to get a copy of my new ebook Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Gino the Shoe Shine Man -- A Model for What's Good In This Life

Last week I was in Las Vegas for the BlogWorld Expo.  You can hear a recording of an interview I did with Blog Talk Radio by clicking on this link:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/LATE/2007/11/08/Nov-8-2007-404pm.  If you decide to listen, please let me know what you think.

On Friday, as I was leaving, I had a great experience at McCarran Airport.  I stopped for a shoe shine -- and met Gino.

Happy Labor Day -- Get A Free Book Written by One of My Friends

Today is Monday, September 3.  Happy Labor Day to all of my readers in the US.

I have many friends who written interesting business and career books.  Several of these friends have given me extra copies of their books.  Since today is a holiday in the US, I have decided to give away a few of these extra copies that my friends have been good enough to send me. 

I will send a copy to you if you send me your snail mail address and tell me which book you want.  While it is not necessary, I would appreciate it if you would make a contribution to Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation if I send you a book.  You can read more about Alex’s Lemonade Stand by clicking on the link at the bottom of this post. 

Here are the books:

Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand; William Arruda and Kirsten Dixson; 5 copies available.

Six Disciplines for Excellence; Gary Harpst; 5 copies available

180 to Walk the Recognition Talk; Eric Harvey; 10 copies available

Future Tense; 21 Personal Success Strategies for An Every-Changing Business World; Karl Schoemer; 10 copies available

I Wish You Would Just…; Todd McDonald and Kyndra Wilson; 5 copies available --  (This is an interesting book, in one half Managers speak to employees on what they want from them as employees, in the other half, employees speak to manager on what they want from them as managers.)

QBQ! The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability in Business and in Life; John Miller; 3 copies available

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be and to get a copy of my new ebook Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

It's Never Too Early to Register Your URL -- Or Is It?

The other day, I saw an article in The Denver Post entitled, Newborns Entering Internet Domain.

It seems that some parents, like Mark Pankow, checked with GoDaddy to make sure that the url BennetPankow.com was available before naming his son Bennet.  Mr. Pankow said, “One of the criteria was, if we liked the name, the domain had to be available.”

The article went on to say, “The trend hints at the potential importance of domain names in establishing one’s future identity.”  Warren Adelman, President of GoDaddy, the largest domain name registration company says, “It (your domain name) is the starting point for your online identity.  We believe the domain name is the starting point on which all the other internet services are based.”

Some parents who haven’t gone as far as registering a domain name for their children have set up a Hotmail or Gmail account for them.  Melissa Coleman set up a Hotmail account for her two kids.  The kids’ grandparents send e-greeting cards to these accounts.  Ms. Coleman sends thank you notes for gifts in her kid’s voices.  She logs in once a month to keep the accounts active, and plans to save the messages for when her kids get older. 

I don’t know about you, but this seems to be a little much to me.  Of course, my name is Bud Bilanich.  There wasn’t a lot of competition for the BudBilanich.com url. 

When I look at this from a common sense perspective, I am of two minds:

1. Factoring in the availability of a url when naming your child, sounds a little crazy, and somewhat obsessive to me.  Not everyone will need nor want a url in their name.
2. Setting up free e mail accounts for your newborns is kind of a cool way to store a lot of early childhood memories that are likely to get lost otherwise. 

That’s my take on this.  What’s yours?

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be and to get a copy of my new ebook Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

No Wonder Health Insurance Costs So Much

It’s Friday, and I’m off on another rant -- this time about a lack of common sense on the part of my health insurance carrier.

I’m self employed.  Health insurance is one of my biggest expenses.  We have pretty good coverage, but we pay for it.  I don’t dwell on the amount of money I spend on health insurance every year – ok maybe I pout a little when I write my monthly check.

However, the other day, I got a piece of mail that really upset me.  It was a large envelope from my insurance carrier.  Inside, there was a single sheet of paper that had information the carrier was required to send me.  When I looked at the postage, I saw that it was 80 cents.  A first class letter is 41 cents.  In this case, my insurance carrier spent 39 cents more on postage to send me this information than they needed to.  They also incurred a slightly larger expense on the envelope in which the information came.

Now, an additional 39 cents to mail me a letter is not all that much money.  However, when you multiply 39 cents times by the total number of participants in their plan, I’m sure it was quite a large dollar amount.  When I consider that the company doing this mailing is in the health insurance business where premiums are sky high, I have to wonder what other inefficiencies they have in their system that contribute to the high cost I pay for health insurance.

Skillful execution of the things that matter is one of the secrets in my book 4 Secrets of High Performing Organizations (By the way have you downloaded your free electronic copy yet?  If not, just click on the picture of the book cover to the left.)  In this case, my insurance carrier has not passed the execution test.  Paying an additional 39 cents to mail something to every one of their customers is just not common sense. 

I realize that sending this information as a first class letter is not going to significantly reduce my insurance company’s expenses, but it would be a start.   I would hope that they would realize that spending 80 cents to send one sheet of paper just doesn’t look good to policy holders like me, who already thing we’re paying too much for our health insurance.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be and to get a copy of my new ebook Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Common Sense and the TSA -- Mutually Exclusive?

I travel a lot, so I get to observe a lack of common sense in action at least twice a week.  I’m talking about our friends at the TSA.

The other day is a fine example of what I’m talking about.  I arrived at the airport and volunteered for the extra screening – the kind where they shoot you with air for some unfathomable reason – because there was no line there.

When I got to the place where the screening was to begin, I went through the usual process – took my laptop out of the bag, put it and my plastic bag of toiletries in a bin, and was taking off my blazer to put into a second bin when the TSA guy informed me that the toiletries had to be in a bin separate from the computer.  This was news to me, as I always put my toiletries and computer in the same bin.  I asked two questions: “why?” and “when did this rule go into effect?”  The answer to both questions: -- “you have to put your toiletries into a bin different from your computer.”  Neither of my questions were answered, but I chose not to re-ask them as there was another person behind me.

I went through the machine that shot me with air, and got up to the metal detector.  As I began to walk through it, one of the TSA folks said something to the woman who was working there.  She turned and answered her.  From what I could tell, the conversation had nothing to do with screening.

By this time I was through the screener and standing in front of her with my boarding pass in hand.  She said, “you have to go back through.”  I was a little confused by this as I had just walked through the device and had not set off the alarm.  I did as she asked and then asked “why?”  She said “because I need to see you walk through.”  I thought to myself “if you had been doing your job instead of b-sing with your co worker, you would have seen me walk through.”  But I said nothing.

As I was waiting for my bags to move through the scanner, the woman running the machine said “you have to have all of your stuff in a quart sized bag, this is a gallon sized bag.”  I told her that I grabbed the first bag I saw at home when these regulations went into effect and have been using the same bag ever since.  She had a quart sized bag in her hand.  I said, “if you give me the bags, I’ll transfer my toiletries to the quart sized bag.”  Her response, “someone else has to do it.”  Again, I asked “why?”  She said “someone else has to do it.” 

I was beginning to wonder if TSA personnel have some sort of intelligence problem, as they all seem to answer the question “why?” by repeating what they had just said.

Another TSA woman walked up and took both bags.  She transferred about half of what was in the gallon bag into the quart bag and then handed me both bags.  I was getting smart by this point – instead of asking “why did you transfer only half if everything is supposed to fit in the quart bag?”  I said “what did we accomplish just now?”  She looked at me as if I had asked her an extremely difficult questions, thought for a couple of seconds and said “all of your toiletries need to be in a quart sized bag.”

I already knew that.  Also, from what I had been told, I was not allowed to transfer the toiletries from one bag to another.  Yet, she handed me two bags, one quart sized, one the original gallon sized bag that started this bizarre little episode.  Both had toiletries in them.  I saw no logic nor common sense here.  I took the quart sized bag and placed it into the gallon sized bag – while she watched.  I put both bags, one inside the other, into my suitcase, smiled and said, “have a nice day” and walked away.

As I was walking to my gate, I was thinking, “I need to blog about this”.  From what I can tell, we are allowed to bring toiletries in containers of 3.5 ounces or less on board the plane in our carry on luggage.  For some reason, the TSA seems to think that 3.5 ounces is more safe than 7.0 ounces.  I don’t know why, and when I’ve asked, no one else seems to know either.

Second, these toiletries need to be in a quart sized bag.  Again the reason for this is not clear either.  My toiletries that were in the gallon sized bag fit into a quart sized bag, so what was the big deal?  I don’t know, and probably never will because whenever I ask a simple question like “why?” TSA personnel merely repeat the rule, they don’t answer the question.

As I said, where is the common sense in all of this?

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be and to get a copy of my new ebook Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

A Rant on Counter People and How They Give Me Change

A little rant today – sorry.

I am in the San Diego airport as I write this.  After I got through security, I made two purchases.  I bought a bottle of water and I bought a book.  I paid for both in cash.  I got the change in a way that really irritates me.  In both cases, the counter person took the bills, placed the receipt on top of them and then the coins on top of the receipt and handed the whole precarious package to me.  This seems to be the new way of giving change to customers – it’s not just the San Diego airport – it’s everywhere.

When I was a young guy, I worked a few retail jobs.  I was always taught to first give the customer the coins, saying “that’s 32 cents”, then to hand the customer the bills, saying “and three dollars” and then to hand the customer the receipt.  To me, this is common sense.  It is easy for the customer to verify the change, and to put it into his pocket or her purse.

The way counter people give change today doesn’t make sense to me.  First of all, the coins often fall during the hand to hand transfer.  And, even if they don’t, I now have a handful of coins, bills and a receipt which I need to separate and count before I put them in my pocket. 

For some reason, this really annoys me – mostly because it is not common sense.  It may be easier and quicker for the counter person, but it is more difficult for the customer – at least when the customer is me.

There, I’ve gotten that off of my chest.

Am I crazy?  Am I a curmudgeon?  Do I worry about things that don't really make any difference?

Does it make any difference to you how you receive your change from a purchase?  Please comment, I’d really like to know.

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be and to get a copy of my new ebook Star Power: Common Sense Ideas for Career and Life Success.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.

Don't Drink and Drive -- or Fax and Drive, or EMail and Drive, or Play Video Games and Drive

I’m in New York today – actually I was this morning, I had to drive to some meetings in New Jersey.  As I was driving, I heard a Donald Trump minute on the radio. 

He was talking about the fact that several states are in the process of enacting legislation that would make it illegal to send e mails and faxes and play video games while you are driving.  Mr. Trump pointed out that we’re in pretty bad shape when we have to pass laws to keep people from doing really stupid things.

I agree.  Common sense says that driving is tough enough – without the distractions of electronic technology.  Cell phones are bad enough, but e mails, faxes and video games take the lack of common sense while driving to a whole new level.

Whether or not your state passes a law, I suggest that you use your common sense while driving and pay attention to the driving – not your electronic tools and toys.  Or, as the bumper sticker I saw recently said:

Hang up and drive!

That’s it for today.  Thanks for reading.  Log on to my website www.BudBilanich.com for more common sense.  Check out my other blog: www.SuccessCommonSense.com for common sense advice on becoming the career and life success you are meant to be.

I’ll see you around the web, and at Alex’s Lemonade Stand.

Bud

PS: Speaking of Alex’s Lemonade Stand – my fundraising page is still open.  Please go to www.FirstGiving.com/TheCommonSenseGuy to read Alex’s inspiring story and to donate if you can.