Many years ago I was sharing a cab with a friend who had too much to drink. As we were getting out of the cab she stumbled directly in front of an on-coming car. I jumped out of the cab and pushed her out of the car’s path. When I was sure that we were safe I turned around and noticed that the cab we were in had taken off. About a half-hour later I received a call from a man asking if I had “lost anything?”. I responded “no” and the caller proceeded to describe the contents of my attache case. My shock was audible when he mentioned my day timer (life before a PDA) and my plane tickets (life before etickets) for my flight the next day. Fortunately the caller was honest and realized the bag he found in his cab was accidentally left there. Rather than rely on the cab driver to return it to me he left the cab with my bag and called the number on the name tag. I was able to pickup the bag from his doorman the next day on the way to the airport. The good Samaritan refused to accept any sign of my appreciation. I am still very grateful by his act of kindness.
It was this experience that made me pause when I read Tech Crunch’s latest public services announcement reminding everyone to double check for their personal belongings when exiting a cab. According to a Telegraph survey, 10,000 phones are left in the back of a cab every month. From my personal experience I can tell you how easy it is to do. Especially when we are increasingly forced to multitask while traveling.
A colleague I know recently left their laptop in a cab on the way to the airport because he was too focused on his conference call. It wasn’t until he was going through security before he realized his bag with his laptop was missing. Fortunately he had the cab receipt and immediately called the cab company # and reported the item missing. His and my story are some of the few stories I know of where a person’s property were returned to them, laptop included!
Since it is hard to simply “refrain” from focusing on only traveling when traveling, it is important to take a moment when getting out of a cab, limo, bus, plane, rental car, etc. and double check that you have all your belongings with you. As Smokey the Bear always says, “Only you .. can make sure you have all your stuff”.
UK’s The Sun newspaper pokes a few friendly jabs at Apple and other handheld devices as it celebrates it’s 40th year of publishing. In the video The Sun highlights that they have built in games (with “pen” interface), 26″ color display and easily shareable content. The video is very humorous and reminds us all that print isn’t completely dead .. yet.
CBS News NY reporter Hazel Sanchez recently ran a story about “Friends of Animal Receue”, an organization devoted to helping individuals and organizations save pets from death at the hands of over crowded city run animal shelters. Since their founding they have saved over 50 animals who are not united with loving families.
For more information about Friends of Animal Rescue, or to make a donation please visit their website.
Interested in getting a MacBook Pro as a first your first laptop or a second machine as a backup? I just posted my MacBook Pro 15.4″ 2.33 GHz for sale on eBay (Auction #250467093464).
This MacBook Pro 15.4″ 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo has been my primary work machine for the past 1.5 years. I have upgraded both the RAM (3 GB) and hard drive (320 GB). Original display and both batteries were replaced 3 months ago under AppleCare warrantee.
The MacBook Pro specifications are a MacBook Pro 15.4″ 2.33 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo w/:
3 GB RAM
320 GB Hard Drive
Dual Layer Super DVD Drive
Built-in iSight Camera
Built-in 802.11n Airport Extreme (WiFi)
Built-in BlueTooth (v2.1.6g8)
Package also includes:
2nd battery w/ black battery carrying case
Mac OS X Leopard installed (disks not included) and upgraded to 10.5.7
Original restore DVDs
Apple iLife ‘09 installed (disks not included) and upgraded with latest updates
Original Box and documentation
Applecare TechTools disk
Remaining AppleCare service (coverage expires on 11/25/09)
Speck “see-thru” hard shell case (plastic case that protects your Mac)
Marware leather wrist rest
The machine is in great condition but does show signs of being used; Command, Shift and N keys are slightly worn, exterior case shows some scratches.
AppleCare coverage includes telephone and in-store Apple Genius hardware and software support.
Reason for selling: Recently upgraded to 17″ MacBook Pro
I help customers build a lot of commerce web sites; Panasonic, Maghound, eTopps; WSJ, FT to name just a few. So for that reason I spend a lot of time online looking at various commerce web sites. Most of the time I don’t really focus on the particular products but the user experience around how a given product is presented. Then I saw this little gem on Amazon.com.
Now I’ve thought of many “do-it-yourself” projects over the years. Norm Abrams is like a god to me. But I have never considered building a coffin for myself or a loved one. While it is really just another wood project I would have to think you can’t just show up at the funeral home with your own box. If you could, we’d all do it. Hell, Home Depot would have a whole section devoted it to it. Could you just imagine the in-store workshops!
I’ll do some research to see if this is legal in my area. If it is I’m going to order the kit and schedule it as the next “father/son” project. We can cover proper use of hand tools and death at the same time!
BTW .. take a moment to read through the user generated comments posted to this product. They are well worth taking a moment to read!
