FollowJohn.com

I’m at Newark Airport and wanted to give you an update on the current situation…

I’ve decided to extend my stay in St. Thomas for one more day. I’m getting quite a bit of work done without the distractions of home. The perfect-white-sand beaches and silver-moon-lit nights might have persuaded me a bit as well.

A measly 3hr 45min flight to St. Thomas today felt like childs-play compared to trips I’ve made to Asia. Again, I find myself spoiled by the asian airlines and less amused by the inefficiencies of U.S. airlines and airports.

While I’m on airlines, I’d like to add another airplane design flaw that I skipped over in the last design and user experience post. The bathroom sinks! Why is it that I could fit my entire head (yes, it’s shaped like a watermelon) in the sink if I wanted, but the spout is so short that I can only get my index finger wet? So, I do a contortionist maneuver to twist one hand so all of it gets wet while using the other to hold the lever to force water out. During this process I’m sliding my hand all over the back of the sink - probably just like the last person in there… if they actually washed their hands.

Ok… just one more and I’ll stop ranting. How about them there seats? I’d like the company who made the airplane seats to know that my back arches towards my bellybutton. I’m not sure how they overlooked this one but the seats are arched completely the wrong way adding more discomfort to the current sardine state.

Although, I’m venting and making this sound like a “poor me” story, life is absolutely wonderful and I’m always grateful for what I have and get to do. It has rained on and off today probably due to the tropical storm that went through a couple days ago. I took a nap by the pool and enjoyed some sun before heading inside to work. This island is a little over 31 square miles and the view’s spectacular from the room. I got a little freaked out by the 15 iguanas staring at me as I walked down to the pier but they’re normal around here.

Hope to see some more sunshine but looks a bit like rain for the next few days.

Since the crazy flight into Paris things have gone extremely well. Saturday, after Peter and Joyce (his wife) arrived, we ate dinner at a wonderful Lebanese restaurant a few blocks from the Arc de Triumph. Falafel, hummus, and other other beautiful Mediterranean dishes topped off with delicious Lebanese sweets from their pastry shop next door. We walked down the street, stood at the River Seine, and enjoyed our baklava and nougat while watching the Eiffel Tower flash its 20,000 lights as it once an hour in the evenings.

Much of my time the next couple of days was spent giving our computers tune-up so I didn’t get to bed until 4:00 am Monday night. It’s sort of put a damper on my evenings since I’m still exhausted but the sun doesn’t got down until 10:00 pm so I have to take advantage of it.

One of the many beauties of Paris is the easy pedestrian access. Large parks, sidewalk cafes, shopping, architecture, art galleries - you name it, you can do it, and easily get there. Tuesday, I took a walk to unwind and passed many artistic sculptures, buildings, fountains and then came to a clearing with the Eiffel tower and Arc de Triomphe both in view. Everything here, new and old, catches your eye.

Yesterday, after work, the three of us took a walk through the courtyards of the Louvre and the Jardin des Tuileries - another spectacular park which, if you keep walking, leads directly into the Champs Elysees and through the Arc de Triomphe.

Tonight, we enjoyed dinner at a tiny vegetarian restaurant with one long table - booth style setup on one wall, one single row of small tables, and then a span of chairs on the other side. The tables were completely flush against each other so you actually had to pull out the table to sit on the booth side. Interesting experience but cozy and a great treat.

Tomorrow’s the last day of the event and I hope to head to the Louvre in the evening. More info and pictures to come!

I arrived safely in Paris (my second time here) this morning after a not so restful flight. The economy class exit row seat had extra legroom but people still insisted on bumping my arms, chair, and stuffing their pillow between me and my armrest (what’s that all about?). Not to mention the icicles forming on my nose. So, the first thing I did after arriving at the hotel was take a nap.

I’m always baffled by the simple things that could make the experience so much better on flights. I know the seat recline is always an issue but I’m interested in other things. For example, I typically try to sleep during a flight in accordance with the time at my destination (if it’s bedtime I try to sleep). It helps my internal clock adjust sooner so there is less jet-lag upon arrival.

So why do people insist on elbowing you; flight attendants smashing their carts into your seat; announcements blaring over the speaker; the air-conditioning blowing at freezing temperatures (when it’s already well below freezing outside the plane); the idiot behind you slamming their tray table down so your seat bounces; the person (flight attendants included) using your seat as leverage and then launching you to a startling alertness?

As much as I’d love to change people… it’s not going to happen. Which takes me to the topic I’m really leading into - design and user experience. These concepts are something I’m always looking into whether it’s designing a web application or taking a plane ride.

Much, if not all, of my experiences could be helped by changing the design of the plane. Have a temperature setting for flight attendants that says “comfortable (25 C)” and it constantly monitors the cabin temperature and adjusts accordingly (this happens in your home, right?); make the bottom railing of the chair sit out an extra inch into the isle so that when the cart hits it instead of the arm of the chair; have the arms of the trays connected to your chair in a way that doesn’t distribute its movement directly into your head. I’m sure there are many simple and creative design changes that could make the experience better for the passenger as well as the flight crew (and hopefully giving some of them an attitude adjustment).

If only I knew someone with influence in this area… Grandpa!

If you’ve been to the site recently the photos are down. Flickr, which is where my new photos are hosted, had a storage glitch. All of the photos are automatically pulled into my site and added to the Photos section. Hopefully, they’ll be back soon.

Update: Photos are back online.

We arrived home a few hours ago after a great family reunion in Canaan Valley, West Virginia. I don’t remember anything from the previous reunion 21 years ago (since I was 4). Last night we counted 41 people at dinner and some of the family didn’t even make it to the event. Just goes to show that the Ford family will continue its legacy for years to come.

Canaan Valley is a wonderful area with lots of national park areas, waterfalls, trees, land, deer (must have seen at least 10 per day) and other wildlife. There are options for mountain biking, white water rafting and the cabin where we stayed is right next to Timberline, a great ski slope.

Hope we get to visit again in the winter for some snowboarding!

I arrived home Sunday morning from my first around-the-world trip. It consisted of U.S. -> Dubai, United Arab Emirates -> Islamabad, Pakistan -> Guangzhou, China -> U.S. - not including the many layovers in other countries.

Rumor about Guangzhou was that it’s mostly industrial and not very beautiful. We must have done it right then because we saw a gorgeous part. The last day before our flight home I blindly lead my colleague on a tour of Yuexiu Park. It’s 868,000 square meters of park and consists of a massive collection of trees, plants, water, flowers, bamboo, sculptures, an art gallery, amusement park, dance area, lawn bowling and anything else you might want to enjoy outdoors. Entry into the park cost 5 RMB which is about $0.63 USD. We spent a few hours and could have spent a few more but needed to get back to prepare for our departure.

When I’m traveling I tend to notice funny (at least in my mind) circumstances, such as my plate of food one night at the hotel buffet. My American style fries and ketchup were sitting right next to my dragon fruit and rice. Where else can you do that?

Four evenings during my stay I went for a massage at the hotel spa. How can you pass up an hour massage when it only costs $12.50 USD? That ought to give a clear perspective on the labor costs in China. I sure got spoiled.

Another note about my stay in Guangzhou was the language barrier. Typically, the staff in these hotels speak quite good english. However, this time only the upper level management and a few people could speak fluently. And forget about the stationary shop across the street. The rest of the staff knew typical greetings but that was all. Guess I need to brush up on my Mandarin… no, wait, Cantonese… but only for Hong Kong or Guangzhou? But Mandarin everywhere else? Geez…

First, I know the family worried about my safety in Pakistan. I never felt threatened or unsafe the entire time. Pakistani’s are extremely hospitable and love having guests. This hospitality can get them in trouble at times too. As my friend put it, if Osama bin Laden is in Pakistan then they will not give him up because he is their guest. Also, if I am in Pakistan and Afghanistan says they want me the Pakistani’s would not give me up. This idea seems quite ingrained in their culture and it’s lovely to experience their warmth.

As in many religions and cultures there are extremists. The Muslims I talked with in Pakistan don’t consider al-Qaida to be Muslim at all. They don’t believe in killing humans and don’t believe in groups like this who only act out of selfishness. In fact, my new friends would all like to visit the United States. Narrow-minded Americans still negatively label entire groups and religions so I wanted to bring you this news from Pakistan soil direct from a Pakistani’s mouth. Just so you know, Islam isn’t evil - people are.

I wasn’t supposed to leave the hotel so most of my extra time was spent in a downstairs rug shop talking with the 2 men who ran it. For hours we would drink green tea and discuss life, family, relationships, religion, politics, rugs and just about anything else you can think of. These types of experiences on my trips are the most fulfilling.

Ok, don’t tell my colleagues, but I snuck out for a short car ride. I ended up buying two rugs from my friends and got some cash from an ATM to help save them credit card fees. I figured it would be my only chance to see a bit of the city. Some government buildings and regular shops lined the long road we drove. I’m told that the beautiful areas of Pakistan lie in the north with the more simple living people. Hopefully, one day I can take the time to visit.

Just a quick note to let you know all is well in Guangzhou, China. We arrived safely from Pakistan on Saturday and have been working ever since. I’ll be uploading photos and posting on Pakistan in a day or two.

I’m off to work some more!