Roger Dow: Obama Sees the Importance of Travel

I am finally in my hotel at the Omni Hotel, high above CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta. I walked a few blocks to a party sponsored by Google and quickly fell into a fascinating conversation with an industry big wig. Roger Dow, President of the U.S. Travel Association, chief lobbyist for our industry, was holding a drink next to Rob Torres, Google's head of travel advertising.

Dow, a big man with silver hair and a relaxed demeanor, said he was just back from an interview with Donny Deutsch on CNBC, who was playing devil's advocate acting as if business travel was somehow unreasonable in our age of AIG bonus outrage. People in our business are still angry over the president's remark about how executives shouldn't be jetting off to Vegas or to the Superbowl. To this, the mayor of Vegas is said to have remarked "hey we gotta eat too!"

Of course, Dow spends a lot of his time defending travel, and talking up the value of both inbound tourism to the US and of the culture of travel to distant business meetings and conventions. I told him about how important I felt when Tim Armstrong, Google's ad chief in 2007, told an assembly at PhoCusWright that "here in this room was 2 percent of the world's GDP." I think he liked that line.

Dow said that he had recently visited the White House and it turned out much better than he expected. He had scheduled a meeting with Lawrence Summers, a top Obama adviser, and eventually he was told that Obama himself wanted to meet. So he ended up with a 30-minute sit down with the President and spoke about the need for the US to encourage visitors and prom0te our lagging inbound tourism industry.

"He has huge hands," said Dow. "I didn't vote for him but I've gotta say, he was a great listener and made excellent eye contact. Very tall, and very in touch with the topic" Dow contrasted Obama's interest in promoting tourism with 2008's presidential loser, John McCain, who he's also met. "McCain isn't a good listener," Dow said, "It was much different meeting with him than with Obama. Hillary too, knows a lot about this issue and is really on target with what she wants to do."

Dow's wife joked that he sounded like Neville Chamberlain, who after meeting with Hitler said that he was a good guy. "But really, even though I was on the other side, I admire his grasp of the issue, and how interested he was in what we are proposing." The idea is to charge a fee to foreigners exiting the US, to fund promotions and marketing to bring in more visitors to the US.

I think it just might fly, now that we've got a good listener in the White House, who understands our concerns in the travel business.

The Myine Wi-Fi Internet Radio Is Real Entertainment

Last night I came home late and plugged in a new gadget that we're testing out in the GoNOMAD labs. It's called the Myine Wi-Fi Internet radio, by Ira, and it's a blast. I have been a big fan of streaming music on sites like Pandora and Last.fm, so I was excited to try this one out. It's so simple, just a sleek five-inch long black box, and it needs a powered speaker like a radio to play.

I hooked it up with its two-headed red and white connector into the auxilliary jack of my Tivoli table radio and began choosing stations from the 11,000 different selections.

I tuned into Dominican salsa, tried out Cindy's favorite contemporary Italian, and played some Iranian dance tunes. But the real fun came when I discovered Comedy 104, a 24-hour stand-up comedy station out of Topeka Kansas. It's X-rated and the most remarkable entertainment box ever.

I teared up with laughter listening to Jerry Seinfeld do a routine about the Olympics, riffing on the silliness of luge and silver medals. George Lopez cracked me up with his Mexican stereotypes; then an old Flip Wilson riff on Columbus discovering America as a jive talking modern black guy; and Lily Tomlin did one of her ringy-dingy telephone operator raps. Now Chris Rock is doing his thing mocking the 'million-man march,' and Marion Barry the mayor on crack. I left it on all night and when I got up I came down and listened to stand-up at 4 am.

Though the cursing might keep me from using this at the cafe or around the grandkids, this little box is a lot of fun, and it's the most entertaining device I've ever tested. This one's a keeper!

A Paying Market: What A Concept!

It's big news in the publishing world when somebody changes their rules and offers to pay money for travel articles. Sadly, content in our arena has become a commodity of plenty, so many outlets like Bootsnall never have paid writers for stories.

But today on Matador, a big headline, Paid Travel Writing from Bootsnall!

I think the Boots folks are going to benefit from putting out the dough, if for no other reason than writers will become very enamored of them, and submit a cascade of content their way. We have been paying writers since our inception, and we already get a huge amount of great stories and photos sent in. it's just good kharma to pay out a little bit, even if web real estate is so plentiful it doesn't command a very high price any more.

Here is the announcement on Matador.

The Dam Cafe Will Open Soon in Holyoke

We drove down to the Flea Market on Rte 5 in Holyoke today. What a depressing scene. The reason it depresses me is that so many of the vendors seem downtrodden, and they look like life has gotten the better of them. We passed by one booth and a guy was saying to another vendor, 'this morning at 4 am, my worker didn't show up...then my babysitter didn't show. Oh well what are ya gonna do?'

He wore a watch cap over gnarly hair and his beard tailed down into a goat-like point at the end, with a rubber band on it. He and his wares, bric-a-brac and junk from tag sales, looked very sad. While at the market I visited another stand that featured a bunch of WWII paraphernalia, including some knives with swastikas on them. The description said 'New German' meaning that they were made in our time, presumably by neo-Nazis or Nazi sympathizers.

Then our spirits brightened when we got to the corner of Rte 5 and Myrtle Street. A newly-remodeled former convenience store is being made into a great looking new cafe! We pulled our car around and went in to say hello. The man behind the counter was Tony Keane, Holyoke Ward 3 City Councilor. He said he bought the building and they'd be opening soon. That's fantastic news in cafe-starved Holyoke. They will serve coffee from Blue Moon Roasters in Springfield, and make sandwiches and fare similar to what we offer at GoNOMAD Cafe.

Holyoke only has one place to get coffee, and I refuse to go there, it's the ubiquitous DD. This new cafe will be called the Dam Cafe, and I think residents here will flock to check it out. People love a good cafe, and in a city of almost 50,000, it's amazing that there aren't more of them.

Podcamp Gave Us a Taste of the Future...and It Was Good!

I sent out emails to my friends the editors at the Daily Hampshire Gazette. I thought that they would want to know about the Podcamp, and either send a reporter or join us. To me, this event and the vibrant group of people who showed up, are the future of news and of how people connect. It's really a shame that the newspaper missed the boat.

My friend Joe a certified geek was very interested in the proceedings. He wanted to follow our twitter stream and hear about all of the video podcasting, social media networking and advanced blogging techniques. I hope he can find just a bit of the results on the wiki page we are creating from the event blogs and tweets.

I am still reeling from all of this information, and I'm very appreciative of Jackie, Morris and Trish for making it happen. Thanks!

Joining My Fellow Podcampers at Open Square

I've joined a group of local people who want to learn more about using the tools of the web. It couldn't take place in a more logical place--Holyoke's Open Square. The high ceilings, polished wood floors and huge space is a perfect venue for this confab.

I began by hosting an informal session about search engine optimizing. I went around the room and asked people what they wanted to get out of their websites. One guy runs an appraisal service on line, another offers paid podcasts to teach Indonesian language to Australians. Some of the women worked in real estate, another maintained health care websites.

I ran through my regular list of tips and tricks...more sensible advice than tricks. Joining me at my table was Val Nelson, a web designer. It was nice having her there since who really knows the answers here. All I can do is dispense advice, but there is no final word on a big topic like how to do better in searches.

Other sessions offered advice on location blogging, and how to use social networks to generate business. Best-selling author John Robison presented on how to promote your book on line. He has done very well with his book about mental illness as a youth.

I found out about a service that sends instant blasts if anyone mentions you on twitter, and that using OpenID is a better way to leave comments on blogs.

One man who works in an alumni office said he got ten good prospects for his university annual fund from being on Linked In. "They don't read anything that we send them, but they do relate to on-line marketing like Linked in."

Taking the Piedibus to School Gives Life Lessons

During my day of airport delays on the way home from Alabama, I got a chance to read a NY Times story datelined Lecco, Italy. It was about a new kind of bus called a Piedibus. That's a fancy way of describing walking to and from school, with the assistance of volunteers and a 'bus driver' all wearing flourescent vests.

It's a trend that's catching on not only in this town on the southern tip of Lake Como, but across the UK and in Marin County CA. Kids who used to rely on their mom-mobiles to get them the quarter mile to school now gather with other kids and they all walk.

The story details how much transportation to places like school contributes to global warming and fuel use. The story said that though sometimes the Italian kids are reluctant to walk during rainy days, they actually want to walk more during snowfalls. The route they take goes right by some kid's houses who still rely on mom to drive them. Some mothers said that the kid's backpacks are too heavy, and with up to ten notebooks, it is too hard to walk.

But most of the kids who take these piedibuses enjoy both the idea of being green and the socializing that goes along with walking the route. In France, other parts of Italy, and the UK they're trying this idea out. One big benefit, say supporters, is that children whose parents drive these short distances instead of walking become adults who will more likely prefer to drive than walk. Learning early seems to make a big difference.

Once Again the Dolphin Sighting Guarantee Comes Through

As we set out on a cruise on Alabama's Intracoastal waterway, captain Ritchie Russell began the patter that marks every voyage. He joked about his first-mate Alan, and how he'd have to don a dolphin suit if no dolphins showed up.

He talked about how his wife says he eats dinner like the dolphins do, swallowing the fish whole. Up on the top of the boat's tower, he told us some of the habits of the creatures they chase around all day to earn their living on the Dolphin Express 2.

When the cute mammals did appear, you could sense the captain's sigh of relief. What a bummer it would be to take all of us out on a dolphin cruise and see no dolphins. There they were, bobbing and jumping beside the boat. Then he sped the boat up to a level where it produced a big wake and soon he had the dolphins jumping through the wake and making high pitched squeals.

There are a lot of dolphins in this part of Alabama's coast. And nearly as many boats that take people like us out and gawk at them. It was a nice way to spend an afternoon. We met a couple who had just married and were on their honeymoon down from Fort Smith Arkansas. She beamed as he shot minute after minute of dolphin footage on his video camera. "I got 'em baby, I got 'em good," he shouted with delight.

Model Trains and Sweet Pie in Foley Alabama

Foley has an attraction that fascinated me during our visit this week. It's a complex and detailed array of O gauge model trains that is located inside a former train station downtown. The set up is a model train lover's fantasy--sixty feet long, twenty-two feet wide, multilayered and full of neat little details like tunnels, a whole miniature town, and a bunch of freight trains and passenger lines. There's even a little streetcar that rolls up and down the tiny town.

It's all run by a team of train aficianadoes who wear engineer's caps and control the animated displays and keep the trains rolling. At a miniature drive-in restaurant, tiny car-hops flit from car to car; at the scene of a fire, a ladder trucks roars to the rescue, up in the hills, a tiny still is in operation. Not only the visuals are here but there are sound effects the men can turn on, and our guide shined a light on the action as the fire raged and the carhops hopped.

The set up was donated to the town and in turn, Foley built a big building to house their new treasure. There's also a history museum in the building that was the former train station.

After we enjoyed the model trains, we got a chance to sample some mighty fine pie at Sweetie Pie's. I asked Tammy Mason, the boss, which pie was the most popular. Coconut creme, she said, pointing at one of gravity-defying slices.

But Southern Living magazine that her pecan pie was the best. She proffered a plate with three different pecan pie varieties for me to enjoy. How can you not love pie!?

Foley Alabama Brings their Heritage On the Road

The town of Foley Alabama is truly a little engine that could. Kathy Danielson joined us on our bus and introduced us to this vibrant and creative town about 30 miles south of Mobile. She runs the visitor's bureau for the town of about 10,000 and talked about some of the ways she's managed to get more than five million visitors there every year.

One idea that really put Foley on the map was when they began Heritage Harbor days. Instead of just having their own festival, they reached out and brought an Oklahoma town to Alabama and show people all about chuckwagons, cowboy songs and cattle. Then they did the same up north, driving a shrimp boat and bringing Foley's gospel choir a long day's drive north to Oklahoma. The next year, they did the same thing with Grapevine Texas, then Ozark Missouri, and other faraway towns. They set up their visitor's attractions in Foley and then sent Foley's attractions up in Texas and Missouri and Tennessee.

It gave Foley national attention and jazzed up the festivals for both home and away participants.

Then they sent out emails to everyone on Google they can find with the last name of Foley and invited them to come to town for the festival. Many families did. And when the terrible hurricanes Ivan and Katrina hit the towns, their festival exchange friends came through with truckloads of supplies, reaching out to help Foley in their darkest hours.

They bring in a truckload of snow every December to show their kids what it's like to play in the white stuff. They're working on a father's day balloon festival. In short Kathy and the people here may be tight on money, but they're full of great ideas that really bring people to town and get the town working together.

For our visit they rounded up interesting local people to share their lives with us. One was 96-year-old Gus Schultz, who still mows his big five-acre lawn and is walking around spry and lively. His brother-in-law his him beat, he's 98 and still going strong.

Roll Tide or War Eagle...In Alabama You've Gotta Make Your Choice

In Alabama you've got to make your choice at a very early age. Unless you're bound by your family tradition, it's never too early to decide whether you love Auburn or The University of Alabama. Here, there is no doubt about which camp anyone is in. It's refreshingly unambiguous.

I asked our bus driver Doug where he stood. "Alabama!" he thundered.

Our guide from Orange Beach Gulf Shores, Kim, said she was a Tiger. That's the mascot for Auburn, they're the Tigers. Alabama is the Tide. The Crimson Tide. One of the writers we traveled with is a lifelong Alabamaian who graduated from The U of Alabama. She still recalls the absolute shock and awe that her and her cheerleader friends experienced once when they were practicing in a gym and Coach Bear Bryant walked in. "We all just stopped and our jaws dropped, it was so amazing, nobody said anything, we were speechless."

Such was the power of the legendary coach, who won more national championships for 'Bama than any other mere mortal ever since.

To Auburn fans, the way you greet them seems a little odd. You say "War Eagle." For their rivals, the way to address a fellow fan is "Roll Tide!" It's nice to hear how certain and solid these constituencies remain, and that there's absolutely no grey area at all. It's one or the other. You gotta choose.

On Mobile Bay, Hurricanes Are a Regular Visitor

It looks like rain for the next three days. That's always a bummer on a press trip to a beach community that likes to brag about the great weather. Oh well. Tonight we'll stay at some condos in Gulf Shores, the beach community where you can walk down the beach and step over the border between Alabama and Florida.

Last night the chef here at the Grand Hotel Marriott Point Clear Resort and Spa used his own vegetable garden for much of his herbs on the food. He created what he calls a 'fossilized' chip, two super thin potato slices with herb leaves inside. His Kobe Beef was as ruby red and tender as it should be since the cows live their lives being massaged and drinking big bottles of Kirin beer.

This resort is right on Mobile Bay, so hurricanes are a common occurance. Our host Bill said that they just rebuild when a 'cane blows in and tears up the place. That explained the new wooden fence along the bay and the remodeled dining room in the hotel.

Hurry Down to the Beach--it's a Jubilee!

We drove south toward the Gulf of Mexico and on the bus we met Alex Robinson, the pretty and young chamber of commerce representative from the town of Fairport, population 16,000. She said that when she was young she used to come to Fairport to visit her grandparents, now she and her attorney-husband make it their home with their five-month old son.

"You know there's one thing we have here that only happens in one other place in the world," she said tantalizingly. "It's called the Jubilee!" It turns out that this is a natural phenomenon in Mobile Bay that's not easily explained, involving the oxygen levels in the gulf during the summer. At certain times it gets so low that all of the fish, crabs, eels and shrimp make a beeline for the shallowest water near the shore, and begin beaching themselves frantically, trying to get more oxygen.

The locals then pounce on all of this fresh free seafood and scoop them up to bring home in ice chests to their freezers. "It could be four in the morning, or four in the afternoon, you get a call and then you all run down to the beach and there are thousands of flounder, shrimp, all sorts of crabs, and people make gigs, long strings to collect as many as they can. It's a really neat thing," said Alex. "One woman one time grabbed a handful of shrimp and then just drove off, one hand on the wheel the other holding six or seven shrimp!"

This Jubilee, so named because of the joy the old timers used to get out of picking up all of this free fish, is easier now in the age of cellphones. You can get a call any time and when you hear about it--bam, you're down at the beach ready to pick up whatever you can find. "And the fish don't even flop around, the crabs don't wriggle," said Alex. "It's like they've accepted that it's time to go."

Cajun and Creole Cottages in Mobile

I love these houses down here in Mobile. Among the names for these beauties are Creole and Cajun cottages. Or bungalow and mini-mansion. These are in some of the city's historic districts.

I also couldn't resist this little cutie in a park.

A Day In Mobile

Random scenes from a day in the deep south. Above AJ's Peanut shoppe, where they roast fresh peanuts in the shell in a 30-year old roaster. The shop was once owned by Planter's Peanuts. Next the green scenery of Bellingrath Gardens, on the Fowl River.

Deco 'man' symbol on the door of A Spot of Tea, the most popular place for lunch featuring their signature gourmet chicken salad and seafood bisque, on Dauphin Street, downtown Mobile.

Sweet Home Alabama...In a Good Way!

Just as I suspected...Mobile Alabama is full of upbeat people who have a great city to show off. I knew it and laughed when I was met with derision in the cafe when I told people my next destination. They'd start singing "Sweet Home Alabama," and mocking my choice of a trip.

But hey...today we toured a gorgeous old plantation called Bellingrath Gardens, where a rich local who owned the first Coke bottling plant decided to build a beautiful old house that he had his wife stock with priceless antiques. The grounds are stunning, even in this early time of year.

Then we got a chance to see the city's downtown arts center. Dauphin Street is lined with wrought iron balconies and wonderful beaux arts buildings. There is a cathedral that looks out on a grassy square, and the city's neighborhoods are full of 'pocket parks,' one dedicated to the English, another to the Spanish. Oakley, Church Street East, they are both full of streets with huge sagging limbs of live oaks, spanish moss flowing off of them with stately clapboard mini-mansions and Creole Cottages. I love the shady lanes and the way the houses are so close to eachother. The architecture has definitely been a highlight here.

People are pumped up because the unemployment rate is still at 5.5% and there are huge developments like a contract to build navy ships, a potential contract to build airforce tanker planes and a definite commitment to a new steel plant that will employ 2600. It's all good news here in this sleepy state we don't think about much up north.

Sweet Home Alabama indeed!

Closed for 31 Years, The Battle House Is Alive and Well

The Battle House Hotel is a gem that was closed for 31 years. Two years ago the retirement systems of Alabama, (in other words the pension funds of state workers), invested heavily into many tourism facilities such as cruise ship terminals and hotels in the region. That makes sense I'm sure to people who live here, keeping their money in the state doing good.

This hotel's lobby has a round glass ceiling and up at the top you can walk around and look down from wraparound balconies. Debutantes make their debuts strolling down the wide staircases of the Chrystal room, and the balconies that face North Royal Street are cherished especially during the Mardi Gras parade. We toured the Presidential Suite, with its own outdoor firepit and hottub, with views of the river and the vast downtown. We were told that when the CEO of the retirement system first saw this elegant suite, he said no, no, no, it's not good enough. So he made them redo it to be even more dramatic and Presidential.

At an elegant dinner, we were served a sumptous meal including Kobe beef, diver scallops, and fish flown in from Europe. We got to know eachother and talked about our business and laughed about press trips we have been on.

This city is looking at the future with shades on...they're pumped up about the new steel mill and excited about these hotels that now provide more than 6200 rooms in the city. Perfect to house people who are coming to their new convention center, right on the Mobile River.

Ask the Driver to Find Out What's New in Mobile

We touched down in our needle-thin regional jet at Mobile's airport, where drive Bill Hyde met me and the group. It's all women, I noted, and as I sat up front, I kept my attention on Bill, peppering him with those questions I like to ask when I first arrive at a new city. Behind me the women talked about Media Bistro, and NATJA and press trips to Dallas and Ireland.

How far is the ocean, I asked. "Gulf shores is about and hour fifteen from here. Beautiful sand, gorgeous beach, he said. "Who's the biggest employer here in Mobile?" He said that there are two shipyards here, one called Austal where they are building a new class of stealth ships for the navy. I saw one right outside my window, it looks like something Darth Vader would like if he wanted a ship...grey and sinister. Next to the stealth ship is a 2nd Hawaii car ferry. A court battle in Honolulu has temporarily docked the first ferry that was operating between the islands now.

Bill took us on a detour down a lovely street lined with Live Oak trees, their branches spreading out and providing shade up and down the street. The houses were Victorian gems, ornate with fancy latticework and turrets, and he pointed out a rare yellow Azalea bush. The bush behind it was an orange Azalea. "You won't see many of those," he said.

The big news, he told us, is that 12 miles from here, Thyssen Krupp is building a new steel plant, which will open this year and bring 2600 jobs. "I might be applying for one of those jobs," he joked. He pointed out another street called Government Boulevard, that runs all the way down right to the Mobile River. It too was lined with huge houses many of which had been converted into law offices.

It's time for a hotel tour this property has been lovingly restored, and we met the PR chief Bill Lang in the lobby. He's proud of the place so I better not be late for my tour!

Alabama's Small Towns Might Just Be Charming

Unlike other times when I am about to travel, I'm not feeling like I'm forgetting something or feeling disorganized. Part of this comes from flying out at a leisurely time, I depart for Alabama at 12:30 pm and tonight we'll stay at the historic Battle House Hotel in Mobile. I remember well a visit to Atlanta for a tradeshow and asking my old friend Harry if we could go out and see some of the small towns nearby. "There ain't any," he said, and it was true. The whole area outside of the city is wall-to-wall suburbs, strip malls and nothing resembling a small southern town.

But this week's trip is titled "Small Towns and Downtowns Tour," so I am expecting to see some of these cherished small towns that I love. That's why I like South Deerfield so much...a little burg with everything you need, from pharmacy to video store, hardware store, general store and of course, cafe. On Friday night when we assembled at the Paradise City Tavern, among us was a man who doesn't own a car. He walks to work and pops around the city on foot, and seems to have a great time doing it. His life is lived almost exclusively in the bubble of Northampton.

I have no idea if these small towns like Fairhope, Point Clear and Monroeville will be as charming to me as my home village, or if they'll be strip malled like Hadley. As always I hope for the best and expect that they will be better than I think. I'll shoot photos and video to share with you along the way.

On a Sunny Playground, A Grandson Finds Bliss

I've written before about how little joys make life worth living. Today I got a chance to go back in time, spending five joyful hours with my grandson Nathan. It brought back the days when I was in my early twenties and raising my daughter Kate. My son Sam came around when I was 25, and I remember taking him around Greenfield, doing chores and going to the playground.

This morning I watched as Nathan ran with glee to the slide, and ran around playing on every piece of aparatus, swinging from rings, running up and down ramps, running full force to the swing and asking for a push. That pure joy, in the March sunlight, of a child playing alone on a playground brought me a rush of happiness. It made me glad to think that I get these opportunities to watch him play, and to be part of his growing up.

We stopped by the cafe on our way to the dump and a customer told me that he had knocked on our door at 8:10 and nobody let him in. It turns out my employee thought we opened at 8:30! Omigod, give me a break!

We've got an ad on Craig's list, and have pulled out the help wanted sign for the window. Please, Craig, bring me competant and responsible workers who know what time we open and can bake. That's not too much to ask, is it?

Colon Cleanse? White Spackle Coating? Rubbish!

I'm a regular listener to talk radio, and sometimes I hear ads that make me wince. "Some doctors say that the inside of your colon has a layer of spackle or paste lining the inside. Colonclense removes this, and you'll also lose weight the announcer screams. I've heard this ad again and again and have always doubted its veracity. Still, that image lingers, that spackle, that terrible build-up, and the idea made me uncomfortable. What if they're right?

Today I am happy to say that I've seen the inside of my colon on video, and no such spackle or paste exists in there. In fact my colon is healthy, pink and in great shape. I asked the nurse about this, and she said that she'd been asked that before and laughed at such a thought.

But that leads me to wonder how does the radio station continue to run ads, and how are those quacks allowed to run TV infomercials touting these ridiculous "colonic irrigation" schemes? They even go as far as to say that it's a weight loss secret! Hey, everybody wants to eliminate polyps, but that notion that our insides are coated with white stuff is not remotely true--I've seen it!

Just wanted to clear that up for you all.

Tidbits from a Night of Reading

Last night I sat reading and reading every section of the WSJ. As we lay in bed, Cindy asked me what it was that was getting such rapt attention. I ticked off just a few of things that fascinated me more than even the Idols results show.

*General Electric is the world's largest property owner. The giant company owns a staggering $80 billion worth of buildings, shopping centers and apartment complexes around the world. The buzz in finance lately is speculating just how much they've actually lost in value. The company says just 1.5%, but the sector is down way, way more, like 25%. An amazing fact about GE's real estate portfolio is that 80% of it was purchased with cash...so they don't have many mortgages.

*In New Hampshire, the flood of out-of-staters who have moved there is turning around the electorate...and now they are considering a bill that would force motorists to, gasp, wear seat belts. The Granite State remains the only state where this isn't the law. And old timers are fighting mad that the legislature is even thinking about putting this law on the books.

*In Iraq, the business sector that's trying to develop is getting hammered by imports--from Iran. A photo showed a brick-maker who has had to lay off staff due to cheap bricks that are undercutting his price. While the US is trying to exit, but still leave a working economy in place, they had hoped that by easing up on import restrictions, they could help. But now it seems like with the oil-dependent country being killed by low crude prices, jobs are being lost by cheap food and other goods from their neighbor.

So that's what was keeping me glued to the page. On Sunday I'll be reporting from Mobile, Alabama. Hope to show you pictures, video and words that will give a good impression of this place I've never been before.

Mridula's Taj

Mridula Dwivedi is a friend and photographer who writes for GoNOMAD and blogs regularly. Here is her Taj. She has a big following for her Travel Tales from India blog.

We Love It When Our SEO Pays Off

My funky ringtone woke me up way too early this morning. Out of a sound slumber with Mama cat by my side, I sprang out of bed to hear that Sara isn't coming in. Ugh! So here I am having my first cuppa after opening the cafe. I must admit that I like it here at this time of day...it's peaceful and the customers who are up and going at 6:30 am are a mellow lot. I made sure not to crank the tunes too loud in consideration.

A few days ago two women came in and looked around...it was clear that they were out of towners. "We found you on the Internet!" one of them said brightly. "We were visiting Magic Wings and then we found your cafe site. Those photos of the food made us want to come in!" It is always nice to see that people use the 'Net to find us, and then it's better when the search lands them on our door. I work with companies in Search Engine Optimizing, SEO, which is what this really is.

Hey that's one thing you can say about us: We probably have the best position in search of any cafe in Massachusetts! Now if I could only figure out how to fix this decaf coffee urn that just died on me.

When Reader's Digest Calls, I'm Ready for Our Close-up

It doesn't take a whole lot to make me very happy. I think that's one of the secrets to a great life...letting tiny joys fill up your life and content you. Today I got an email that led to a call from a writer named Cathie Gandel from Bridgehampton NY. She was writing a story on assignment from Reader's Digest about summer travel and trends. She found us and wanted some comments on niche or experimental vac ations. Of course I was eager to help.

I told her about a few trends we've seen....volunteering, either around the world or in the US. I showed her the many opportunities that are listed on GoNOMAD's volunteering directory, including programs to help native Americans out west. Then I told her about how women's travel was becoming more and more popular...women traveling together and enjoying the hell out of it.

At the end I told her that despite our tough economic times, people are still taking vacations, and that they should not stop going. I told her I think the best education you can give a kid is to take him somewhere cool, out of the ordinary, and view amazing things like the Grand Canyon or the red rock mushrooms of Goblin Valley Utah together. That's real education, I said.

She said she liked that quote, so hopefully, so will Reader's Digest.

Late Night Pitchmen's Claims Debunked

Today began with me watching a little slice of Good Morning America. There the lovely Diane Sawyer had a frenetic blond woman on the show who was debunking the claims made by loud-mouthed TV pitch artists for dubious products.

First they tried that glue that supposed to glue back your bluejeans, and in the commercial is said to withstand gale force winds, a flapping flag in the background with the guy screaming about how tough it is. When GMA tried to repair jeans, the goo left a stain on the pants...and then easily came apart.

Next up was the device that is supposed to shave you, and eliminate body hair all over your bod. It's like sandpaper, and is supposed to leave it 'baby smooth." NOT. The animated blond showed how after she applied the device to her leg a few days later was ewwww....stubble.

Finally they tried out a hair straigthener, using a black GMA producer who had very nappy hair. The crimping device was supposed to straigthen it all out, and turn tangled mops into dreamy straight locks. This one actually got a better grade, a B-, because it sort of worked. But the producer said that if you get this done in a salon, it's much silkier.

The moral of the story? If a late night pitchman is trying to sell you something that's amazing, incredible, and sooooo cheap, then it's probably a good idea to skip it. Even if the guy keeps screaming about how great it is.

For Every Buck Casinos Make, They Owe Seven

One thing I've learned from a year or so of reading the WSJ...it's debt that makes it hard in business, not just sales. One of the worst-hit sectors of our buckling economy is the casino business. In Vegas and Atlantic City, debt is taking down Donald Trump and now, Kirk Kirkorian.

Today I read about MGM Mirage hotel being sold off in pieces. I remember staying once in a cheap Vegas hotel across the street from the gargantuan MGM Grand, with more than 5000 rooms. You could see this giant green collosus light up the strip. She is about to be sold, along with the elegant Bellagio since the owners are desperately trying to shed debt.

One thing that stuck out in the story was how casinos now, on average, owe $7 for every dollar they project to earn. The biggest casino company, Harrah's Entertainment, has $65 billion in debt! They owe $9 for every buck that comes in from the slot machines and baccarat tables.

In the city of Las Vegas, things are going to get worse. More than 17,000 new hotel rooms will be added over the next two years, when City Center and Planet Hollywood Towers are finished. This number will exceed the maximum capacity of planes that could come in to McCarran airport. "In other words you'd need a whole new airport to fill the demand of new rooms," the article said.

Our New Home Makes Us Yearn for the Old One

There is a commercial for Target Stores that's running on TV lately which captures the zeitgeist of today's tough times with an appealing zeal. The catchy tune with the words "this is a brand new day," contrasts the old and the new in our time. "The new bakery" turns out to be mom's oven; the new nightclub is revealed as a couple's wild gyrations holding a Wii controller; the new tropical vacation is a do-it-yourself tan. What I love is the way this ad accepts what's happening, and embraces the positive.

I approach life like that--refusing to knuckle under to despair and doubt, but taking what we have and making it work. This ad always brightens my day because it espouses my sensibilities. As Don says, "I'm not participating in this recession."

Every week I read Peggy Noonan's column in the WSJ, and almost always, it is spot on and full of clarity and wisdom. She wrote a pretty depressing column this week that tried to pin a label on the uncertainty and scariness of today's recessionary feeling. I read it to Cindy, it was so telling and seemed to really have a handle on how it feels in 2009. She compares this to America moving from the old into the new homes--the old being prosperity, high stock values and wealth, and the new, well that's where we live now.

Noonan cites figures that show people are scared, they are buying a lot more guns, and now it's hard to find gold Eagle coins, production has been suspended due to unprecedented demand for gold bullion. People are looking for things on the web, like places they can move, houses in small towns, looking for the olden days. The more practical advice comes not from Noonan but from the people who say we ought to plant more gardens, and try to grow more of our own food.

My old pal Bill Hewitt has been at that for some time...and I bet that there will be more gardens planted this year full of vegetables than ever before.

Ten Penny Opera: Is It Me, Or Is This Really Bad?

Last night my friends and I gathered at Mama Iguana's, a Mexican joint in downtown Noho. Cindy was meeting us there. When she showed up, I felt a great burst of pride when I introduced her to Jim Neal a friend who had never met her. I had told her about my blogger compatriot, Jim, and having Cindy show up with her warm smile and gracious manner made me feel great.

After some s0-so Mole, we repaired across the street to the Academy of Music where Commonwealth Opera was putting on "Three Penny Opera." The show was awful...you couldn't understand the words, the musicians were amateur and the whole thing just stunk. I wondered if I was the only one who didn't like it, with the hard to decipher lyrics, dull music and people reading from scripts. It turned out my distain was shared by my seatmates. We headed for the door after the first dreadful act.

I went into the cafe early to help out Matt, a newbie behind the counter. Here I read the Recorder, a sad story about one of Greenfield's best assets...the nine clay tennis courts free for the public to use. Kathryn and I used to bat the ball back and forth on these lovely clay courts when we lived in the town in the '80s. Now the town's DPW has announced they are no longer going to maintain them, and a bunch of volunteers are trying to fix up the courts by reusing the tape for the lines. It turns out that the labor to do this by volunteers is way cheaper than paying DPW workers, so for now it will take tennis lovers to keep these courts open.

Sending the Little Mermaid Statue to Shanghai...Really

This just in...wow sending a city's symbol all the way to China! Shoul and I got a chance to view her a few years ago while we toured the harbor in a boat. She was surrounded by Asian tourists, and soon she will be seen by up to 70 million people who visit China's bustling city.

"She has been beheaded twice and has had her arm cut off, but The Little Mermaid has never left her spot on Langelinie pier since 1913. Until now. This evening Copenhagen City Council voted to send her far away from home to be staged in the Danish pavilion at the world exhibition EXPO in Shanghai from April – November 2010. This ends a long controversy about Copenhagen’s symbol that has flourished since the idea was born.

The Little Mermaid will be situated in the Mermaid Pool in the centre of the Danish pavilion. Here visitors get the opportunity to try some of the best aspects of Danish city life themselves. They can ride around The Little Mermaid on a city bike like a true Copenhagener or have an organic picnic in the roof garden.

While in Shanghai, The Little Mermaid’s place in Copenhagen will be temporarily taken over by a sculpture created by a Chinese artist. Also, a long list of activities is being put together, so tourists visiting the waterfront of Copenhagen won’t be disappointed.

Arts in Franklin County? Or How To Promote Your Book?

I took some time out from my day to go up to Greenfield, where a meeting was starting at 10:30 am to promote Franklin County as an arts destination. The room was full of artists, the chamber rep, and other people who run museums and care about the topic...I was invited because I helped start Deerfield Attractions, and manage to get my name in the papers quite a bit.

The conversation was lively, a back and forth dialogue about how much we love our area and how we might promote arts and culture to visitors. The general consensus was that a big part of our solution lay in Facebook. Yep, we were all in agreement that creating a fan page for The Arts in Franklin County was a good way to knit us all together and create more awareness of our diversity and the variety of endeavors we all pursued. The web, ultimately is how we can achieve the kind of recognition and awareness we seek.

At 11:20 am, a familiar face walked in, holding sheaves of papers and bookmarks. She impatiently raised her hand, asking to be allowed to introduce herself, and finally she did. Then she held forth for an uncomfortably long time about her new book and all of the ways she was promoting it. She then proceeded to pass out tw0-page copies of all of the events where we could go and hear more about this book, and then passed us all, unasked, copies of her specially-made bookmark.

I kept thinking, 'wow' you have big cahones coming in an hour late and then hijacking the discussion to promote your book. Despite what I felt was an incredible display of rudeness, the meeting was a good start. Now I'll become a facebook fan of the arts here and pass it along with all my might into the cybersphere.

Obama "Gets It" on High-speed Rail & Other Necessities

As the snow swirled around me this morning, I got a lot done here in my office alone. It's funny because I used to think of how sad I was that Cindy before she had her assistant, would have to be by herself in the office. Today Í love it, conversing with people around the world, talking about traveling to far-flung places. But in the newspaper today was a story that made me excited. It's about the quantum leap and true progress that we've made regarding high-speed rail and other transportation options.

I wrote about this in the Valley Advocate last August...and now part of my hopes are coming true. I talked about how lamentable our trains and other transports are...and how the $4 gas was getting everyone juiced up about changing. Neil Peirce wrote "High-speed Rail an Obama Issue,"about how our new president made sure that $8 billion for railway work was included in the stimulus bill. The change in attitudes at the White House, he writes, couldn't be more dramatic. We had Bush suggesting we 'zero fund' Amtrak, now we "have a president who absolutely, positively gets it." gushed James RePass, of the National Corridors Initiative.

Obama, said Rahm Emanuel, 'wanted to have a signature issue in the bill, his commitment for the future. This is it.' I can't wait to ride America's trains some day.

Chip Tracks Down the Dog Owner and the Realtor

I love my routine on the 'Net, the same as my regular route in newspapers. Saturday I usually look at the Recorder to see if Chip Ainsworth has a column...he did yesterday and it was a beaut. He starts off at a Red Sox spring training game, and mentions all of the people from Franklin County he saw in the stands and around the park. Later he takes us with him as he sits eating alone in a old hotel south of the Everglades called the Clewiston Inn.

He reads the whole paper, even the classifieds, where he sees an ad for a missing bulldog with a $5000 reward. He calls the dog's owner up and find out the story, that a big ole mean guy named "Thai-Rod had bought the stolen hound, but that the dog's owner had decided it wasn't worth the risk of getting beat up or shot by the guy.

He drives on, through a foreclosure-ridden, windswept neighborhood. He finds an empty house with the door wide open, and a rock that somebody threw, breaking a door window. He calls up the local realtor, and finds out that the place is for sale for less than $50,000. He finds out a lot about the blighted area, inquiring how long the man thinks the recession will last--18 months, he thinks.

Few reporters have Chip's knack for following up interesting leads, and getting the story right. He's the best writer on the Recorder's pages, and I enjoyed catching up with him the other day when he phoned my office.

Facebook Crushes Myspace, Which Once Ruled

Uh oh. The trade press is buzzing over the possible demise of once-powerful Myspace. Below is a snip from Jason Lee Miller, staff writer for Web Pro News, and his thoughts echo my own. I used to update a Myspace page, now I hardly ever bother to go there. Facebook seems to have zoomed way ahead. This will be like what happened to Friendster, remember them, before Myspace and Facebook?

"High school student Jacob Ruffman, quoted today by McClatchy, has his own more teenage reasons. "I can go to the Facebook home page and see what's going on with my friends. Then I flip over to MySpace and I get kicked in the face with colors and flashing penguins."

Jacob's at odds with my stepson, who's 15 now and recently lamented that all his friends, like Jacob, had switched to Facebook. He could really customize his MySpace profile they way he had once customized his abandoned Gaia profile. And his parents and grandparents weren't on MySpace the way they were on Facebook. Coincidentally, about the same time he told me that his friends had all switched, a friend my own age had worried he'd not hear important news from home if he wasn't on Facebook like everybody else.

About that time too Facebook had started to overcome MySpace in terms of visitors. Compete.com shows the shift began late last year. Facebook equaled MySpace around December, and by January had surpassed it, a huge feat considering how MySpace dwarfed Facebook this time last year.

Compete says MySpace traffic is down by 5 percent for the year, though it still attracted over 58 million unique US visitors. Facebook on the other hand is up 125 percent for the year, and grabbed over 68 million visitors. On an international level, Comscore says Facebook is outdrawing MySpace by 110 million monthly visitors."

The Johnny Cash Show: He Deserved the Accolades

I got invited at the last minute by Marc for some steaks and salad at a big house in Florence. Then we repaired to the basement where on a giant flat screen, we popped on a DVD. It was "The Johnny Cash show", a musical variety show that ran from June, 1969 to March 1971 on ABC. Johnny you could tell had the country in the palm of his hand, he was able to get just about everyone to come on and play with him.

So we watched Louis Armstrong, grinning and playing his trumpet, and Eric Clapton, at about 23 with his Dominoes, and when Carl Perkins got up to do a number well you could see the excitement in Clapton's eyes. Then it was a sexy young Linda Ronstadt. She wasn't wearing any panties beneath her tiny little long-sleeved dress, and it was said that June Carter made her put some on. She was as sexy as anyone I've ever seen on TV as she sang on the show with Johnny about how she'd never get married.

Imagine there being a musician with that kind of pull todayl. Back then there were only 3 networks, yet one devoted a whole hour to this country wiseman, who got Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles to come on, and do a twisted re-invention of "Ring of Fire." Then there was Neil Diamond, so thin and young, and Joni Mitchell and Roy Orbison, I thought that during the break they most likely showed a Marlboro commercial, with a man riding the range with a butt. That was the year just before they banned advertising smokes on TV.

Johnny did one song that was a long, drawn out version of "This land Is Your Land," with a video montage that you can tell he must have helped create, of iconic American scenery that was touching in its patriotic bent. The men and women he gathered up there on his stage were the biggest musical names of our time...And Cash comes across as the confident 'good man' that June his wife sings about. He truly was the Man in Black, and deserved his accolades.

From Kentucky Come Photos of Redneck Things

My friend and ex-wife Kathryn once lived and worked in Kentucky. That's why she is now a source for incredible and hilarious redneck photos. She sent these today. We have here a Redneck cat carrier and a redneck bbq grill.

Yeehaw!

The Churn Continues...Help Wanted at the Cafe

I talked on the phone the other day to a nice woman who asked me for a job reference for one of our employees. I told her that I'd miss her terribly, and that she should hire her. Bam! Now we're back to needing more people!

Turnover is an integral part of owning a cafe, people come and go and you've just gotta not allow yourself to get too attached to any one, since you never know. I got the news in a text message from my manager. Thank God she's staying put at least.

The last time we put an ad on Craig's List we were bombed with more than 50 applicants. But part of what I like about Tama, the employee who is leaving is that she's grown up, in her mid-forties versus someone who is just out of school. I've learned how much differently people of 'a certain age' treat their jobs....they take it more seriously and are more hestitant to call out.

The other day when it snowed, like clockwork, an employee called out, saying she was stuck in her driveway. But, I complained, we all KNEW it was gonna snow on Sunday night, and this is the third time a snowfall has kept her from coming to work. It doesn't make me comfortable to know that snow=call out, and this made me think of how much I want older, more mature help.

We'll see what Craig's list will bring us...can we advertise that we want only people over 40?

An Ancient Lady In a Mink Beefs About Her Travel Writing Career

I got an email from a traveler named Diane Letulle, who attended the NY Times Travel Show. She recalled a funny incident at the travel writing seminar we gave there.

It's from Eight Million Stories, a New York city website.

My day at the Travel Show ended in a writing seminar hosted by Max Hartshorne, editor of the GoNomad travel website. At the end of the session, an ancient lady about 4 feet tall stood up. She was dressed in a full length mink, a dapper brimmed hat, and huge glasses that gave her face an owl-like quality. “I circled the world eight times, always on ships. We traveled four to a room with no bathroom.”

She continued her reminiscences until Max interrupted, “Do you have a question?” Undaunted, she continued, “No, but I used to write travel stories for years. They were never published. Now I’m too old.” But the panel encouraged her: “Keep writing.” As I watched her hobble away clutching what appeared to be one of her stories, I got the feeling that she would keep writing. And, I thought that she, and all the rest of us, would also keep traveling, as Rick Steves said, “come hell or high water.”

Trying to Give the Mom a Little Time to Sleep In

I met fierce resistance early this morning as I tried to be a helpful grandpa and give my daughter Kate a little more time to sleep. As often is the case, I heard my grandson Nathan thrashing around in her bed in the room next door and heard that familiar muffled cry..."Daaad!"

At this point (it was 6:06 am) I usually spring out of bed and come get Nathan, who is 3 and who likes to annoy his mother and refuses to go back to sleep once he's woken up. Since I don't have the responsibilities of childcare, diaper changing and daily minding, this little gesture of mine seems fair. So I usually swoop in, pick him up and we go downstairs to make pancakes or play PBS Kids on the laptop. It's often a nice time to spend with him, me drinking coffee and Nathan enthusiastically helping make pancakes or delighting in the games on the 'puter.

It's a 20 or 30 minute rescue and it makes all the difference to his sleep-deprived mom. But today, the resistance got the best of me. We went downstairs in a torrent of tears, him fighting with all his might, he writhed and thrashed and tried mightily to flee back upstairs. After a struggle, with me clasping his small but sturdy limbs in my hands, he fought and fought enough to get away, and run back upstairs. Sigh. I tried to help her out, but my quarry eluded me.

In our extended family, everyone has a job to do. Mine didn't go well this morning, so now it's time to get on with our day, a little sleep deprived, but ok.

Going to Mobile, Alabama to See What I Can See

Another snowstorm has come and gone, today we are left with the glimmer, shine and colder temps that make it all even more beautiful. I had a busy day yesterday in the office, making plans to travel to Atlanta to the Travelcom show and finalizing my trip the week before to Mobile Alabama.

I've never set foot in the state of Alabama...I will be hosted by the tourism dept who will take me to this gulf coast city with several other journalists. I am sure that there are cool things there that I don't know about yet...and that the downtown is lively and fun. I am always optimistic that there will be neat things to write about on any trip...and my trip last June to Pittsburgh proved that even places that to some are down and out can be revealed as having a lot to do and beauty to behold. I like that I am optimistic about places...hey, how could I be a travel editor and not be?

This morning I was jolted out of bed by the wails of baby Sophie. Kate was giving her a bath and with outside temperatures in the low teens, this 2-month old gal was cold and not happy. So she wailed like I've never heard her wail. I often think about contemporaries of mine who have their own tiny babies to raise at my age. Thank God that when I was young I had my own little ones so now I can turn back over and sleep when the baby cries. It's Kate's baby and a grandpa doesn't have to do anything except hold her every so often...and I like that.

Eastern Flicker Chows Down on Suet in Holyoke

This is an Eastern Flicker, a great big bird with a spotted chest who surprised us today on the snowy feeder. He liked the suet and came back repeatedly, we found him in our bird book.

Working Less Brings Many Benefits

Yesterday I got a chance to watch an excellent movie and read almost the entire NY Times. Watching movies on Sunday afternoon is far more enjoyable than falling asleep during a nighttime screening. Among the interesting articles in the Times was a piece in the Week in Review about the benefits of the slowdown. We're finally getting more time off!

Americans are famous for working too many hours a week and not taking enough vacation. Well, the recession of course is changing that. Now, furloughs and slowdowns are giving many of us a lot more time off. A friend who works at a New York City ad agency was told last week that he'd be working four instead of five days a week. After the initial shock, and the cold calculus of losing 20% of their weekly income, it occurred him that now he could get back to his freelance jobs, and hopefully make up the difference that way.

More and more in these tough times I suggest that the answer to a slowdown or a layoff is to start your own business, or develop side businesses to augment ones income. In the article, Shaila Dewan mentions the historical precedent, during the Great Depression when Kellogg's instituted a 30-hour workweek. The workers reached the same productivity in two years that they used to get in 40 hours and 85% of them liked the change despite the drop in pay.

Many people are hoping that this trend of shorter work weeks outlives the recession. In Atlanta where many city workers now go in four days a week, there have been fewer sick days, and other savings. I say this is progress, and hope that we all work a little less regardless of what the economy does.