Shelley's Coffee Blog

We all know that Shelley has been a long-time coffee drinker, and she always has been excited to try new coffees. Doug and I realized a while back that this is a good thing, because it gives us an easy theme to center holiday gifts around.

One problem that I've come across a couple times now is nobody exactly remembers which coffees Shelley liked, or even always which ones she has tried.

Thankfully, it is possible to attach strings to gifts. This year, I brought Shelley a selection of coffee beans to try from Toronto, Portland, and San Francisco, but there is a condition on the gift: she must record which coffees she tries, and she has to write down her opinions. With this, her new coffee blog was born:

http://shelleycoffee.blogspot.com/

She follows her traffic numbers, so please visit the blog on a regular basis. And of course, if you're looking for an easy gift that Shelley will like, bring her some good coffee that hasn't already been reviewed on her blog.

How old is too old?

A couple of months ago Branden forwarded a message that was an invitation from a small research firm in Chicago, called GravityTank, to participate in a 'study in Portland on people who own the latest tech devices.' They were asking friends and family to help find people who own and regularly use one of the following:
-iPhone4
-iPad
-Android or Blackberry

Well, I/we own an iPad and absolutely love it and use it all the time for all sorts of things. We've downloaded apps and have it at the ready at all times for recipes, watching TV shows, checking the weather, looking up restaurants, directions, phone numbers, shopping, and more. It's so convenient and I was so excited to participate in this study.

Yes, they offered $175 for two hours (and Branden would get a $25 referral thank you), but that was not the main draw. Being a marketer myself, I was mostly curious about how they were going to administer the study, and what questions they were going to ask. And, okay, who wouldn't want an extra $175 in their pocket??

So, for over a week I played phone tag with a local Portland research firm that was hired to perfom this research on behalf of GravityTank. Then, finally one morning, I was walking through the Portland airport to catch a flight to Chicago and my phone rang. YAY, it was the lady from the research firm. Finally I was going to be able to schedule my appointment. I was so looking forward to it and told many people about it. The first question she said she has to ask was 'how old are you?" I didn't even think twice about saying my real age. That's when she said "I'm sorry ma'am, but we have a cut-off of 45, so I'm sorry but you won't be able to participate". So sad and so funny!!! I've never really been too old for anything, and this was a bit shocking. And I was so sad, and felt so dejected. I am NOT TOO OLD!!! Rob and Branden found it pretty funny. Ha Ha

I recently sent an email back to the original person I corresponded with at GravityTank expressing my disappointment. Today I received a response from Shelley Sather. Shelley basically said that the reason they ruled me out was not totally because of my age. They have and do make exceptions on that qualification. It was because I was given the iPad as a gift and also because I shared it with my husband that I wasn't eligible. They were looking for 'deeply engaged' individuals who made the 'leap of purchase' on their own. Funny thing though -- the lady that called me from the local research company ONLY asked me my age and disqualified me immediately. She did not ask me ANY other questions. Oh well, I guess I should just appreciate that I received a response!! And be happy that we are lucky enough to have our really awesome iPad.

The New Political Bumper Sticker: Renaming your Wifi

We live in a large apartment complex in a somewhat urban area of Portland. Many WiFi networks are visible.

So, with the upcoming election, I decided to rename my WiFi network to express my support for my favorite governor candidate (Kitzhaber) and against my least favorite measure (No on 75, for profit casino).

How do you think this compares to a yard sign? Good idea or worthless?

Start using Mint.com to manage your money today!

"I've been using this service for over a year now and I'm a big fan. It's safe, and secure (unlike those emails that Larry forwards). Let me know if you have any questions"

With Mint, you can:

* Get set up in minutes
* See all your accounts in one place
* Set and track your budgets & achieve your goals
* Find hundreds of dollars in personalized savings
* Stay safe and secure...and it's free!

View >>

Portland streetcar to close for 2 week

The streetcar will close for two weeks starting on September 13th and be replaced with buses. The system has to close entirely because they are extending the track to go over the Broadway bridge.

Will the buses drive at half the speed of traffic to give the true streetcar experience?

EDIT 9/13/10.....

So, I stopped and talked with the trimet bus driver who is driving the Portland streetcar route for the next two weeks during the construction. I asked if he has to drive his bus a lot slower to keep on the slow streetcar pace. In fact, he does. He said if he drove the route like a normal bus it would take him 10 to 15 minutes less each way (ie 23-33 minutes instead of 38 minutes to NW). His instructions are to spend extra time at the bus stops and hit more red lights so that they can keep on the same streetcar schedule.

I hope the impracticality and inconvenience of the streetcar is taken into account when Metro considers extending the street car to Lake Oswego. My vote, of course, is to simply put the "enhanced bus line" at a huge savings.

Mary Tarlow & Robert Ochs Married Today

Mary Tarlow and Robert Ochs, both of Portland, Oregon, were officially married today in a family ceremony at the home of Sharon & Larry Tarlow. An amateur photographer captured the following video of the event:

The Simpsons on PhD Programs