Geek troubleshooting: Having trouble reconnecting to the Internet after a power outage?

Due to a heavy storm this weekend, the power was out in my San Francisco neighborhood for much of the day today.

Luckily, thanks to a battery backup system, I didn't lose any documents I was working on on my computer, but after the third outage recovery of the day, I found I was no longer able to connect to the Internet. Grrr! So of course, the first thing I thought to do was to go to support.earthlink.net and check for the status of their network. Oops... d'oh, no Internet! So I realized, of course, that I'd actually have to *call* Earthlink to get information on their network status, and I fired up Firefox to do a search for "Earthlink 800 number" and... d'oh again! Damn, it's amazing how second nature Internet info lookups are!

Anyway, lame admissions aside, I figured I could share with you the resolution that could ultimately save YOU a lot of time in the future!

As it turns out, after waiting quite a bit on hold, I found out that there WAS no Earthlink network outage.

Now of course, as any self-respecting geek, I had already tried the whole power-cycling bit (turning off the modem & router & computer, turning them back on, blah blah blah, to no avail).

But when the Earthlink rep suggested that I try hooking up my DSL modem directly to the computer (bypassing my wireless router), that's when I had an ah-ha moment!

Duh, it's the router!
I discovered that, lo and behold, I *could* connect to the Internet directly. Whew!

Okay, so then what?
First, I worried about a worst case scenario: was my router fried? It wasn't just an issue of me being able to lazily surf the Web from my couch using my laptop; my roommate depended upon my wireless connection for her work using her own laptop, so I HAD to get this working.

I stuck a pin in the reset slot, but still no Internet juice.

That's when it finally dawned on me...

Somehow my router's config had reverted back to the factory default
So, after more than an hour of agonizing and troubleshooting (cables all tight? Modem working? etc...), I finally solved the problem in 3 minutes by simply re-adding my Earthlink info into my router's config screens, and -- voila -- blissfully connected once again!

* * *

Anyway, I decided to blog about this tale not to highlight the cracks in my geek cred, but rather to help others whose routers might in the future get reset due to a power spike or other related issue following a power outage.

My experience with the Yahoo Publishing Network on my blog

I'm sorry I strayed. AdSense may not be the sexiest CAS (contextual advertising service) in the bunch, and occasionally she's a bit stubborn, unpredictable, and even cheap... but she's a lot better overall than my most recent fling.

I had heard so many great things about the mistress I recently shacked up with. Miss Yahoo was apparently far more generous, and she sure put out a lot more (cash) than AdSense did for a bunch of my blogger friends. And hey, though she initially played hard to get, once I had her, she was an easy lay(out job). I mean, with her live previews, I was even able to see what I was gonna get from her before I took her out on the town on my blog. Not only that, she came bundled with some pretty snazzy accessories, including handy RSS, Y! Maps, and Y!Q stuff.

* * *

At first, I thought she was a clever free thinker.

I read her a story about Song airlines.

"Vonage" she cooed back at me. How creative, I marveled... she knows that the airlines are looking to expand telephony options... and that some e-jetsetters may be able to use voice-over-IP services while flying to communicate with landlocked buddies.

Then I read her a story about a recent theatre production I saw.

"Vonage" she whispered back, coyly. Hmm. I was admittedly puzzled. I mean, you're really not supposed to have phone conversations while watching musicals!

I tried reading her a few other stories. And while she'd occasionally offer a minor new tidbit, she always managed to say something about Vonage.

* * *

The relationship was already getting stale. I invited some friends over for a blog reading and said, initially with pride, meet my new mate, Miss Yahoo P.N. But she just stared dully ahead and muttered "Vonage."

My friends were brutally honest with me when they took me aside. "Um, Adam" they insisted, politely but firmly, "She's not exactly the sharpest tool in the e-shed."

"She's still young!" I protested, "She'll learn! She's not even out of beta school yet!"

From around the corner, I heard again "Vonage. Vonage. Vonage."

* * *

It was about then that I realized that even though my old blogfriend AdSense was a bit miserly, at least she wasn't a moron and I wasn't embarrassed to be seen with her in public.

"Vonage. Vonage Vonage. Vonage, Vonage. Mortgages vonage. Vonage your mortgage. Vonage Vonagevonagevonagevon..."

"Yahoo. YAHOOOOOOOO!!!!" I yodeled in frustration, trying to get her attention. "I think we should see other people. Or rather, you should see other blogs."

"Vonage?"

I opened the door... pointed to the great beyond, and Yahoo was but a distant memory.

Then I called up AdSense. And like an annoyed and proud but still subtlely loyal cat, she returned.

AdSense, I'm really sorry. Welcome back!

The satisfaction of mentoring

I recently got an e-mail from a former workmate, asking if I'd be willing to join him for a coffee or a meal to give "some career advice [...] and honest opinion[s]."

I'm very flattered and I like doing this sort of thing for many reasons.

First of all, this particular guy is someone I have a lot of respect for... smart, driven, and clearly sincere. Helping someone like that is fodder for great karma and just a pleasure overall.

But the "help" isn't a one-way street. While I've unfortunately gotten very little direct mentoring in my work life so far, I've learned a great deal from those I've mentored... from interns to colleagues in different departments and so on.

That may seem cliched -- the mentor becoming the mentored -- but it's quite true and much appreciated. In particular, when giving career advice, I'm forced to do some deep thinking and soul searching on my own.

- How did I get to where I am? How much of it was planned vs. serendipitous?
- What are some of the mistakes I've made? How can I recognize the warning signs in the future and avoid future pitfalls?
- If I could go back in time, what would I tell a Past Adam careerwise?
- What do I have to be thankful for in my career?

And, despite an untraditional and often challenging, aw hell, even oft frustrating set of career experiences... I have an enormous amount to be thankful for. Reflecting upon my blessings in this context not only provides me with guidelines and encouragement to give to others... it also serves to consciously remind me of what makes me happy and motivates me in my career.

Some thoughts about Kaiser Health Services

I've had Kaiser health insurance for about three years now, and I thought I'd share some thoughts for those of you who are deciding amongst health insurance plans... and even those of you on Kaiser looking for a few tips.

Quality varies greatly by location and by doctor!

The first primary care physician I had was lousy.

Useful corporate autoreplies

I just got an autoreply after submitting a suggestion to a company:

Thank you for your note. We appreciate your helping us test out [...]

This is just an autoreply to let you know we received your email.
We're putting most of our energy into improving [widget], so we can't
promise a personal reply to every question.

That said, user feedback is very important to us, and your comments and ideas will be used to improve [widget].

That's actually not so bad... but it could be better. Here are my thoughts on what makes for a good autoreply:

1) Have one!
Okay, that's the simplest but most important. I know some folks disagree with me, and find autoreplies to be annoying. However, particularly in the area of HR, I think autoreplies are essential.

2) Acknowledge and show appreciation for the note.
If it's HR, include something like, "We appreciate your interest in [companyname] and thank you for taking the time to apply for a position with us." If it's a customer-service-reply note, then "We appreciate you using [product]..."

3) Set expectations.
Don't plan on replying to feedback notes? State that. Got a backlog due to a recent huge product release? State that, too. Be specific, if possible... e.g., "For simple tech issues, we're typically able to reply in one business day. More complicated tech issues may take us 2-3 days; thanks for your patience!"

4) Explain what happens next.
For HR, let the applicant know that their resume will remain on file for [x] months. Explain how long the process may take ("Selected applicants will typically be notified within 2-3 weeks"). Note whether or not they can expect to receive a rejection letter if they aren't chosen for the position.

For customer service, note whether the person can expect a call or an e-mail. Give the knowledgebase URL (your company DOES have a knowledgebase, right?!).

5) Sign it from a person!
In the note I received above, there was no closing whatsoever. Blah. At minimum, have something like:

Regards,
The [widget] team

or

Regards,
WidgetCo Inc.

But much better than that would be:

Regards,
John Smith
Product Manager of the WidgetCo Widget Team

Yes, a real name. Maybe it's just me, but I feel a lot more affinity for a product, a company, a process when I have a greater sense that there's a real person or persons behind it, not just some monolithic MicroWidgets Inc. label.

* * *

As noted earlier, I know that not everyone loves the concept of autoreplies... but I firmly believe that good autoreplies can solidify a consumers' relationship with a brand, make them feel better about what might be a frustrating situation, and so on.

Best Buy has Worst Survey (and more)

I swear, don't companies bother actually putting ANY of their stuff through QA? Or even CSF (Common Sense Filters)?

I recently bought something at Best Buy locally (darnit, I needed the item immediately, or I would have amazon.com'd it), and while that immediate experience was generally decent, the followup has been so bad it's laughable.

The checkout process was actually delightful, in whole part due to the cashier being swooningly charming and funny. I'm used to a surly and/or robotic attitude, whereas had this woman been a waitress, I'd have given her a 30% tip. And as I've done in the past with other servicemen and women, I had planned on writing a quick note to Corporate praising an employee... but weirdly this person didn't have a nametag. That's strike number one: service folks in nearly any industry (credit card, restaurant, hotel, etc.), IMHO, should always introduce themselves by their first and/or full name or wear a name tag to foster accountability. (consumers should also, ideally, take 5 minutes a week to write or call in notes of praise for sterling bus drivers, waiters, nurses, etc... since these folks typically only get COMPLAINTS in this context, but I digress).

* * *

On my receipt, there was a huge portion dedicated to bribing me to take an online survey. Here's what I noticed:

1. It included a Web site but not a phone number. That's likely a barrier for many folks (not everyone likes filling out surveys on the Web... heck, not EVERYONE, believe it or not, even has Web access... even folks shopping at Best Buy).
   
2. Best Buy follows in the footsteps of other lamebrained companies by procuring a separate domain (not just a subdomain) for a help/survey site. I admit that this might be a smidgen more customer-friendly, but it is, IMHO, a really bad practice overall (what next... bestbuyreturns.com? bestbuysaleitems.com?) Among other things, the proliferation of extra domains per company makes it more difficult to tell which domains are legit (and makes it easier for phishers to ply their viruses and spyware and such).
   
3. It includes three "groups" of numbers that I have to add in, Group A, Group B, and Group C. Maybe I'm really missing something, but how hard would it have been for them to have algorithmically created a simple hash of sorts like "plays43deck" or "spicy19book" etc. That's a LOT more user friendly than asking a survey taker to input three separate sets of 4-7 digit numbers!

* * *
When I made it to the survey site, I had a choice of selecting one of four cute colored blocks:
- Purchased an item
- Purchased an item AND visited the customer service desk
- Visited customer service desk
- None of the above, just shopped

Aside from the minor possibility that it's too easy for someone to quickly see "visited customer service desk" and click that without viewing the other options, I have no major gripes about this opener.

* * *

But on one of the (too) many pages of this survey, I'm asked:
"If you visited the Customer Service & Returns counter, please rate your satisfaction with this experience:" [satisfied, very satisfied, etc.]

Well, as I noted in the very first screen, I only "purchased an item" so I left this section blank (there was no option for "n/a")

Of course -- you guessed it -- the system complained that I hadn't answered the customer service & returns counter questions and insisted I did so before continuing. So I'm putting "extremely dissatisfied" for all of those questions, just out of spite.

* * *

In fairness, Best Buy did a few things right:
1) They're conducting a customer service survey.
2) They're offering a (ridiculously small but still something) prize to a random lucky sap who takes the survey.
3) They have a free-form box at the end for letting us write comments. A perfect place for me to leave them the URL to this blog entry :D

* * *

So why am I so annoyed by what's seemingly such an minor issue? Because, as someone who has worked in customer service before, I'm sick of customer service being often treated like a money sinkhole, something to be "dealt with," a grudging necessity. Customer service is the lifeblood of a company, and deserves to be addressed front and center... on at least equal footing with Product, Development, R&D, Engineering, etc. And, along those lines, customer service surveys should not be an oft-untested afterthought, dangit. Too often, it's clear that few if any folks have reviewed the questions being asked... the surveys are too long, too unfocused, and feature too many ambiguous questions or questions for which the answers will not and cannot drive smart policy decisions.

In other words, I'm sick of customer service being second fiddle. It's time for companies, large and small, to realize that they need to structurally and financially plan for top notch customer service needs from the get-go, not the day after a crisis or the day before a major roll-out.

Whew. Thanks. Now I feel better :-)

Secrets to maintaining a full life and not going too crazy

I just had a very enjoyable and productive job interview, and the interviewer asked me an interesting question that I had not encountered before. He wanted to know how I manage to successfully juggle such a wide variety of disparate personal and professional tasks and responsibilities.

The answer: It's a combination of discipline, luck, support and understanding from friends, family and clients, and also really invaluable tools.

Here are a few tips and tools I'm happy to share. Undoubtedly some you'll find appropriate for you, others you'll view as incompatible with the way you want to work or live... but hopefully some of them you'll find useful :-) And as always, remember that there are no absolutes. Absolutely, positively, NEVER any absolutes. Oops. :-P Anyway, on with the list...

Document everything!
I can't stress this highly enough. Unless you have an absolutely perfect memory, I urge you to write down almost everything you think of. To-do items, notes about people you meet, stuff you'd like to blog about, birthdates of friends, etc. Structure is important, sure, but content is by far more important. Even entering a bunch of stuff freeform into Notepad is far better than keeping it on stickynotes or trying to squeeze it all into your head. And remember, this isn't just for you to remember important things: it's also a superb CYA (Cover Your Ass) technique. This way, you *know* and can prove that a client or a business partner or even a roommate promised [x] when they later protest they said [y].

Handle daily stuff and urgent/disgusting stuff
Every single morning and, if possible, every single evening, glance over your todo list. Try tackling a combination of urgent and disgusting early in the morning. What do I mean by disgusting? The stuff that, when you see it on your list, makes you go "ewww... I so do *NOT* want to make that call / wash that trash pail / write that rejection letter." Do it. The rest of the day will only get better :-).

Make goals for the long term (and I don't just mean financially!)
This is far from my original idea, but it's a great one nonetheless :-P Don't ever let the Urgent completely overtake the Important. And by important, I'm referring to things that will give you long term stability and -- most critically -- happiness. For instance, I have a great amount of admiration for friends who are not only disciplined enough to write a book, but actually specify a set number of pages to finish each week... and then accomplish this goal. Sure, these are shorter-term goals in a way, but they lead to a greater achievement in the long term, and -- I'd guess -- greater self-satisfaction.

Make backups!
Your hard drive will crash or your laptop will be stolen or lost or completely unusable. It's just a matter of when. Learn more about backing up your stuff.

Never forget that it's all about people!!!
Meet people, even when you're tired, even when you're unemployed. Take notes on people. Read peoples' blogs. Offer to help people. Watch people. Use people.

Yes, I said "use." That's a bit blunt, and admittedly not quite the most complete way of putting it, but seriously... don't be shy about asking for help, for advice, for leads. Just be willing to *listen* to them and give something back... either now or later.

For too long I was shy about asking people for help, asking to pick their brains over lunch, etc. Until I realized, damn, I have a lot to offer back... both quantitatively and qualitatively. Aside from geek skills, I'm good at introducing folks to each other and I'm often contagiously cheerful, for instance. That may not sound like a hell of a lot to give, but it come right back to "People" and connections.

And let me recount a brief story here. A while back, when dancing with an acquaintance, I happened to mention that I was really hoping to get hired by Acme Corp. "Ah ha!" she said, "I know someone there... a fellow dancer! Do you know Sheila?" I didn't, and this woman introduced me to her.

I went on to befriend Sheila... and I mean *sincerely* befriend her, after realizing that she not only could get me a foot in the door of Acme, but she was also someone that I enjoyed spending time with. She and I chat frequently now, go out to shows, dance together, and so on. My originaly guilt about "using" someone to get something has faded by realizing that I have a lot to give back AND that business connections can actually be leveraged into true friendships. So the lesson is... worry not about why or how you meet people... just do right by them.

Focus on a happiness-and-worth quotient
Before adding something to your todo list or alloting time in your calendar for it, ask yourself two overarching questions:
1) How important is this?
Hint: Paying a credit card bill is very important. Blogging, in most circumstances, is not. Fulfilling a promise to help a friend move -- gotta do it! Meeting a client deadline -- critical. Categorizing your CD collection -- not that essential.

2) What's the pleasure-to-cost ratio?
This actually is one of the key questions I ask not only about to-do items and calendar items, but food, too. I almost never turn down a dessert offered to me if it's something I REALLY LOVE, even if it's something horrible for me like cheesecake. But if it's just something that's yummy-but-really-bad-for-me, I can pass on it. Same with to-dos and appointments. I ask myself: how much pleasure will I get from this now and in the future vs. how much pain or cost will I experience as a result of the choice? I know, I know that sounds so obscenely technical, and like any normal human, I often just go with my gut... act spontaneously... and throw caution to the wind.

And the pleasure isn't just pleasure-for-me directly, but pleasure for friends. I'm not fond of ballet, for instance, but the moment a friend of mine is in a ballet, I'll go see the show... because I know it'll make her really happy to see me in the audience. In that case, the small inconvenience/cost to me is vastly offset by the happiness my friend experiences.

Boost your confidence regularly
I know, I know, this sounds Saturday Night Live Stuart Smalley cheesy, but I swear, it's helpful! Especially when I'm slogging through a time with a difficult client, depressed about having half the women in my weight lifting class lift more than I do, frustrated about not being invited to a party... it's so refreshing to have active reminders that I am talented, I am loved.

I have actually bookmarked, printed out, or taped to the corner of my desk notes of affirmation, both social and professional. I say to myself, damn, if [a person I majorly like and respect] thinks so highly of me, I need to once again boost my confidence to that level. Or, thinking about it another way, oh Lord, help me to be the kind of person my dog thinks I am [stolen from some brilliant but unknown pundit online].

Even from a purely professional perspective, this can work wonders. At any company I've worked at, and from home with my independent clients, I keep an Outlook folder call "Praise." It's here that I place all e-mails from my bosses, colleagues, clients, etc... that reflect upon a job well done. Some of those quotes end up on my Testimonials page, and I have no doubt that they've helped win me new clients and even new full-time contracts.

Take care of your body
If you body is sluggish and crying out, your mind will be like mush. Exercise... ideally by doing something you love (horseback riding, dancing, swimming, etc.). Personally, I've found that gym classes are fun enough to make the gym enjoyable rather than a chore for me, because they offer a combination of group pressure ("Hey, Adam, where were you last week?!"), socialness (sort of like a bar, but without cost or calories of beer), and so on.

A fitness instructor (a both smart and hot one, to boot!) once told me her secret to physical and mental success:

"Do 25 pushups a day. Maybe twice a day, if you can. Do them well. Do them EVERY day."

This exercise works your abs, your back, your arms, your CORE. Keep your head aligned, your form perfect.

I'll be frank: I don't always remember to do this every day. But I should. Along with stretching, I'm convinced that just these two things alone will help keep me feeling more vibrant, toned, and energized. And it'll probably improve my posture, too :-).

* * *

And now for some specific tools I use and love:

My Life Organized ("MLO")
Personal to-dos, professional to-dos, long term goals, short term projects... this program helps you balance all of it in a streamlined, no-nonsense interface. I haven't fully set up priorities for all my tasks yet, but simply putting them under layered categories has been a great help to me (Financial, Webmaster, Social, etc.). You can try out this program for free, and it costs $46-$60 to buy.

EverNote
This long electronic tickertape of sorts allows you to quickly and easily jot down notes of all kind, grab Web snippets, and more... and find stuff ridiculously fast. Perfect for jotting down meeting minutes, client conversations, stuff-to-blog lists, software serial numbers, and so on. Best of all, you can download and use it permanently for free! And, as with MLO, the folks working on this program have maintained a friendly online community to share tips, note bugs, and get help.

OneNote
It's like a spiral notebook on steroids. It's also the most outstanding outliner I've ever used. Already easy-to-use and intuitive, I've seen that great things are to come in the next version (OneNote 12). You can learn more about the program here, but I recommend that you buy a legal copy off of ebay... you'll save a lot of cash with the typical $15 vs. $99 purchase price (make sure you're getting an original, unregistered CD, though!)

Outlook with Plaxo
While other programs do e-mail and tasks better, I've not yet found any software that handles contacts and calendaring in a more intuitive and third-party-supporting way than Outlook. When linked with Plaxo, your contacts will also stay up-to-date; you don't even have to use the controversial "Update my info, please" feature, since you'll find that many of your contacts already use Plaxo and will be automatically updated in your address book for you. Also, Plaxo seamlessly backs up your calendar, contacts, tasks, and notes to their secure server... invaluable in the case of a hard drive failure, and also enormously useful for keeping your desktop and laptop in sync. DISCLAIMER: I've worked for Plaxo in the past (but this has also given me insight into the company's intense and genuine attention to privacy. Really good people there.)

* * *

Whew! I guess that's quite enough for one blog post. I hope you've found some of the insights and suggestions here to be worthwhile, and I'd be delighted to see your feedback in the comments below. Are there other programs you use that help keep your life ordered and on-track? Other life-philosophies that help keep you sane and happy? Speak out :-D