Golfing in Paradise

I was in the Dominican Republic this past weekend at Punta Cana. It was very relaxing. I was last in the Dominican Republic in 1988 with the Harvard Jazz Band – things have certainly changed.

I was fortunate to get in a few rounds of golf, the first on Punta Espada – a new Nicklaus design in the Cap Cana resort area. Talk about spectacular! At 7,396 yards from the tips and 6,800+ from where we played it was tough. The thirteenth is most likely the signature hole – a 230 yard par 3 over the ocean. Despite a bail out area to the right, my ball is currently “sleeping with the fishes!”

So, having started the golfing season on a high note (and yes – my score was high too) – I’m ready to get out there and work on my game.

Wireless Made Easy

The other day I discovered a great wireless store out in Framingham – imo – independent mobile. The simple idea is that one store offers all the phones, all the carriers and all the plans in once store. Right now there are two stores, one in Ohio and one in Shoppers World in Framingham (where Cambridge Soundworks used to be).

I found the store to be clean, bright, with a clear layout. The staff were knowledgeable and helpful. The had every phone you could possibly imagine on display along with a plethora of accessories. They had even set up laptops with wireless mobile cards from both Sprint and Verizon so you could compare the speed of the two networks.

Finally, there was a computer that displayed the company’s “Wireless Advisor” – a great program that allows you to compare all the plans from all the different carriers. They will even do a detailed analysis of your existing mobile plan and your usage patterns to determine if you can save money by changing your plan or changing carriers.

Given the massive number of different cell phone plans – even within a single carrier let alone all the carriers – it is no wonder that a lot of consumers express confusion regarding wireless plans. It seems to me that there is job to be done that isn’t being satisfied very well today: “Help me choose the a wireless plan that I can understand and be confident that I am not getting ripped off and paying for things I don’t need.”

imo may just be on to something….

The Magic of Disney

I just spent a long weekend at Disney Word with the family and we had a great time. We went to EPCOT, Animal Kingdom and the Magic Kingdom and managed to hit all of the major rides. After this weekend, I think I can sum up the magic of Disney in one word – LOGISTICS.

Sure the rides are fun, the themes are vibrant, and the sounds, smells and smiles are something only Disney can create. But what really makes everything click is Disney’s mastery of logistics. We stayed at the Saratoga Springs Resort, which is a few miles away from the parks. Not once did we have to wait more than 5 minutes for a bus to pick us up and take us where we wanted to go.

And once we got to the parks, it was clear that Disney has things down to a science. The openings were on time with “cast members” there to ensure there was no mad dash to the most popular rides. FastPass machines at the most popular rides made it easy to void lines (although I was amazed at the number of people who would rather wait 35 minutes in a line instead of going away, doing something else, and coming back an hour later to a 5 minute wait).

Of course all of the lines are set up so that people have something to look at as they wait. The winding paths and the different rooms for the line make it so that no one looks at the line and gets discouraged. Finally, the estimated wait times posted at the end of the line are probably a bit on the high side, so that patrons are pleasantly surprised when they get on the ride in 10 minutes rather than 20.

So – what rides were the big winners with our family? Amazingly the classic Space Mountain seems to have withstood the test of of time – I can recall riding on it when I was 10 – and it was the favorite ride. Other winners were:

• Thunder Mountain
• Splash Mountain
• Kali River Rapids
• Expedition Everest
• EPCOT’s Test Track
• Dinosaur

The biggest disappointment: Pooh’s Adventure. I guess the kids are just a little too old…

Into Thin Air…

As May begins, I am reminded that this month is the prime month for summiting Mt. Everest. Due to the weather patterns, April and May are the best months to do any climbing in the region. Any earlier and the Winter cold is too much, any later and monsoon season brings heavy storms.

I find it fascinating to watch the progress of the various teams as they mount their assault on the world’s highest peak. Even more interesting is following the progress of teams looking to summit K2 – the second highest mountain, but significantly harder to climb. I follow the Everest climbs here and the K2 climbs here.

This season has started off well. Five sherpas achieved one of the earliest summits ever, climbing from the North and setting ropes all the way. A very impressive achievement. At the same time, Maxut Zhumayev and Vassily Pivtsov from Kazakhstan also summited (without supplemental oxygen). This amazing duo plans to attempt K2 later this summer. It will be fun to track their progress.