Things I've Noticed

Not Being Tall Gets You The Short End of The Stick

The last time I checked, my height was 5’8 and some fraction of an additional inch. By American standards, this is slightly below average for a male. But I like my height. I’m tall enough that I can see over my office cube walls, I’m taller than most women, (except maybe here in the Twin Cities), I can fit in any car, feel comfortable on any plane seat, and I never hit my head on a door frame. To clarify, I have nothing against my taller friends, coworkers, and acquaintances. I’m not "heightist". But we live in a world that judges people on height. Society in general doesn’t share my affinity for not being tall. I and many others pay the price every day.  Research shows that taller people make more money, and get elected more often than shorter candidates. They’re often seen as better leaders just because of their physical stature. But, everybody knows that some short people, like Napoleon and Gandhi were great leaders while some tall people like George W. Bush were clearly not.

Heightism is especially apparent on the dating scene. I can understand that a woman would want a guy at least a couple of inches taller for that whole protector masculine male / feminine female effect, even though a lot of short guys can kick taller guys’ butts. And many of them want to wear heels without appearing taller than the guy, but I’ve come across women that are scarcely above 5 feet tall who only want to be with guys that are 6’0” and taller. That’s like being prejudiced against your own kind. Perhaps they’re just trying to compensate. Regardless, wanting a guy over a certain height constitutes filtering a potential mate over one purely physical trait. I thought women wanted nice guys that could make them laugh. I’ve been mistaken all along. Sociological research shows that height is the number one factor women use to judge a man’s suitability as a mate. I could ask for a minimum measurements of a certain female physical feature, (if you know what I mean), and that would totally not be OK. (For the record, I wouldn’t do that.) I’m not sure where this double standard came from. I know that not all is roses for tall people though.  In my research, I've found that shorter women are preferred by men.  Tall women have to compete with the short women who only want tall guys. (They must really hate that).  And to be fair, tall men can be discriminated against too. Certain jobs don’t have the space for too much height.

In the athletics arena, height is an asset in almost every sport. Us shorter people resort to playing soccer which still holds advantages for tall players when it comes to headers. One can make up for being short by running fast, or having good jumping ability or long arms, but it’s not the same. I always used to joke that if I was as tall as Shaq, I could be a great basketball player too, (and I would have a much higher free throw percentage). There’s also interesting research that shows that taller people are slower to react to their surroundings, so maybe we have one slight advantage. I tend to root for the underdog, so I’m often cheering for short people like Spud Webb and Muggsy Bogues who played professional basketball in the NBA and were 5’7” and 5’3” respectively. We need to develop a new sport where being shorter is an asset, one besides horse racing.

In a way, I’d like to congratulate tall people for having won a kind of genetic lottery. I envy tall people without wanting to have their height. Maybe guys should be the ones who wear shoes with taller heels.  Contrary to what one might think, I don’t have a complex about my height. But height is obviously an issue with others, so I have to be aware of what factors might be working against me.  I’m lucky I’m not shorter.  Perhaps I’m just jealous of the free pass tall people get in so many avenues of life.

+ Atul

Quick Quote on Time Management

If I managed my time better, it would work harder and get a lot more done for me.

+ Atul

The Auto Industry Has Been Turned Upside Down and Twisted Around

With all the news about the hurting auto industry, loans from the government, bankruptcies and acquisitions, people tend to lose sight of the fact that the whole automotive world, (something which has been a big part of my life and the lives of millions of others), has been turned on its head.  Sure it may not seem like a big deal, but this is arguably the largest and most important industry on the planet.  The products people buy from it touch our lives daily, inspire us, and allow us the ultimate freedom, mobility.  Cars and trucks are aspirational objects that we often depend on do to just about everything else in life, we judge people by the vehicles they drive, and some people dedicate their lives to careers or hobbies revolving around vehicles.

From the corporate perspective, let’s put it this way, there is hardly a single manufacturer or automotive brand that hasn’t gone through substantial change in the last 5 years, and the pace has recently accelerated.  GM, the formerly largest corporation on the planet that sold almost half the cars we bought in the U.S. is a much smaller version of itself and in financial desperation.  There are a lot more competitors and other factors that made this happen, but that’s just the beginning in describing our upside down automotive world.  The second largest American car company, Ford will probably take over as first, the third largest is now mostly owned by Italian auto company, Fiat, part of which GM owned in the 90’s and sold at a major loss before turning it around.  Fiat, (or its Alfa Romeo division), hasn’t sold vehicles here in more than 20 years and now they have control over many of Chrysler’s old dealers.  Even crazier is the fact that GM used to own part of Subaru, and now Toyota owns part of them.  BMW used to own Land Rover, sold them to Ford and now Tata, (a huge company in India that sells everything from tea to telecom to steel), bought Land Rover and Jaguar from Ford.  So a company from a country that was a British colony now owns one of Britain’s historical car brands.  Had enough craziness?  Well, BMW owns MINI which was purely British, but even more importantly, they own the British ultra luxury brand Bentley while Volkswagen owns Rolls Royce.  Then there are the Swedish car companies.  Saab had been owned by GM for quite a while, but they just sold the brand to a small Swedish supercar maker Koenigsegg.  And now it’s reported that Geely, a Chinese company with a not-so-great safety record is looking to buy the Swedish brand Volvo which is known for safety.  In the last 10 years, we’ve lost the brands Eagle, Geo, Oldsmobile, and Plymouth.  What’s going on?  I feel like I’m in a blender.  GM has closed down Pontiac, also sold Hummer to a Chinese company, sold Saturn to Penske who’s associated with racing, Hertz, and AutoNation.  The latest news says they plan on selling cars from many different international companies under the formerly all-American Saturn badge. 

As if this wasn’t all enough, another Indian motor vehicle manufacturer, Mahindra and Mahindra is going to start selling cars here and Tata is planning on bringing the groundbreakingly low-priced Nano over.  GM’s European division Opel has been sold to both a Russian investor and Magna, a Canadian parts supplier.  Think about it.  A parts company owns a car company.  I don’t know whether I want to buy a Chinese Volvo, an Italian Chrysler, a Malaysian Saturn or an American Chevy.  I do know that I would rather support the U.S. auto industry to keep more jobs and profits in our country.  So, now that my beloved Saab brand is Swedish again and not owned by GM, I doubt that I will buy another new one.  I think I’ll be buying a Cadillac, Chevy, Ford or Mercury.  But those Fiats and Alfa Romeos do look pretty cool.  And I could support my home country a bit more by buying an Indian Jaguar, but Jaguar is not really my style.  Mercedes, BMW, and Volkswagen are doing alright with their government-sponsored health care and pensions that reduce costs to the company for vehicle production.  But there’s news there too.  Mercedes dumped Chrysler and Volkswagen is largely owned by Porsche.  Honda is doing OK given the circumstances while Toyota is hemorrhaging from perhaps trying to grow too fast.  At least the Japanese car companies can thank their government for not only health care and pensions, but for currency manipulation and trade restrictions.  All we need now are for the French to bring Citroens or Peugeots to the U.S. and the car market free-for-all will get more confusing.  As it is, I’m in an automotive daze.  I’m waiting for the dust to settle and I don’t know what to make of it yet.  Maybe I’ll just build my own car, (or buy a bicycle).

Quick Quote on Cleveland Sports 2

"For Cleveland fans, instead of saying, 'There's always next year,' we've started saying, 'There's always never.'"

+ Atul

When Traveling, It’s Better to Overpack than to Underpack

I’ll be the first to admit that when I travel, I tend to overpack.  People sometimes make fun of me for it, (as if guys aren’t supposed to do this), but I don’t let that change my ways.  There are definite advantages to overpacking and they far outweigh the advantages of underpacking.   In a way, I admire people that can travel for a week with only one carry-on bag, but they’re giving up a lot.  First there’s the preparedness.  No matter what the weather or what activities I may take part in, I’m prepared.  Others shiver, boil, or have to sit on the sidelines while us overpackers have fun.  Then, there’s the free work out I get by having to lift heavier, larger bags.  It’s hard to get to the gym while I travel, and some places don’t even have gyms.

I know that overpacking can lead to inconvenience, especially when you travel to unfamiliar places.  You have to lug the bags around awkward spots, put them in cabs, carry them on trains through adverse situations.  But that builds character and lets people know that you're a tourist not to be messed with.  With more clothes, you can wear a larger variety while you travel so that you don’t look like you have no fashion consciousness.  You won't be the guy in tennis shoes and khakis.  Of course, you can’t be an inconsiderate overpacker.  If you’re taking a road trip with three other people in a car, you can’t use up half the trunk space.  But there have been many times where, the overpacking guy was the one with the entertainment or the tools that saved the day.  Things like extra chargers, music, umbrellas, and medicine all take up space but are completely functional.   Overpackers can be heroes.  Think about the worst case scenario.  Who’s going to be the guy you can count on?  It’s the person who packs the most stuff in his or her luggage.

We still get the ridicule from underpackers.  Sometimes we make people have to wait for our luggage to come on to the carousel, but if you’re going to check in a bag, (and pay for it), you might as well get your money’s worth.  That way, you’re not the guy taking up all the overhead space inside the plane.  Those people are even worse than overpackers.

A hidden benefit to overpacking is that you learn how to fit things into available space.  This is immensely helpful in the case of moving or packing a car for a long trip.  I consider myself an expert at space utilization, and although I may get some of the skill hereditarily from my father, practice makes me better.  After all, you want to use the stuff you have as much as possible and taking it with you makes you feel more like you’re at home while you’re away.

So to the rest of you overpackers out there, keep at it.  Fight for your right to be the one with the stuff that can make your trip more enjoyable, even if it might take extra effort.

+ Atul

Quick Quote on Weather

"The weather is news we can always count on as continually being news."

+ Atul

Fortuitous Domain Naming - The Noticer and Andy Andrews

A while ago, I had bought the rights to the domain name thenoticer.com because I was considering changing the name of my blog to "The Noticer", (that would be me).  Then I decided against it temporarily, but held on to the domain name.  As good fortune would have it, motivational/inspirational writer/speaker Andy Andrews happened to decide to name his latest book The Noticer.  I had never heard of him but he is a New York Times Best-Selling Author who has also been on PBS.  The nice folks at the publishing company contacted me to see if I wanted to sell the domain, but I thought it would be best to hold onto it and leverage their referral program to help fund my web operations.

I should also mention that the company gave me a copy of every book, (signed by Andy Andrews), CD, and DVD that he has published.  That was really nice of them.  I'm almost done with The Traveler's Gift which is hard to put down due to its mix of poetic language and life lessons.

What's also interesting is that Andy Andrews has started a site called "The Noticer Project", (thenoticerproject.com), which allows people to write notes to the five most influential people in their lives. Those notes will be delivered in the regular postal mail and published on the The Noticer Project website.  If you're interested in buying some of Andy's books or multimedia materials, please click on the ad to the right to buy them.

+ Atul
(The Original Noticer)

Quick Quote on Problems

"He who seems to have all the answers often has the most problems."

+ Atul

Things Nobody Tells You That You Should Know Before You Go to Europe

I just came back from Germany for the second time and I've noticed a lot of minor things that make travel less enjoyable and some things that make traveling there better than home (for us Americans).  I wrote a post about Rome when I went there a little over a year ago and I've been to France since then, so I'm basing this post on a mixture of European, but mostly German experiences.   So I apologize if some of what I mention doesn't apply to most of Europe.  Anyway, in case you haven't been there, here's some advice nobody tells you (but that you should know), before you go to Europe…

Pack the following things
- International Electric Adapter: Their plugs are way different than ours and without an adapter, you won't be able to plug in anything electric that you take over from here.
- Shampoo and Bar Soap: Europeans like this all-purpose hand & body soap/shampoo in dispensers which is good for the environment but not that great on your hair, (and you don't get extra travel sized containers to take with you)
- Travel Iron: hotel rooms don't each have irons and boards, you have to borrow one from the front desk and that can only happen in the morning when housekeeping is in
- Alarm Clock:  Whether you use a travel alarm clock, your phone, or your watch, keep one handy because many European hotels don't have alarm clocks, although sometimes they're built in to the TV.
- Euros: many places don't take credit cards, so use an ATM to get Euros out whenever you can.

At a minimum, learn how to say these phrases in the native language(s)
- Hello and goodbye
- Good morning, good day, good evening
- I would like… please… thank you
- Where is… and more specifically, Where is the bathroom?
- The numbers
- Can I please have the check: the Europeans wait staff are rarely in a hurry
- How to ask if a menu item has something you don't like or won't eat

Peculiarities
- Ground floor is floor "0", the U.S. second floor is "1"
- Many escalators don't start moving until you approach them, (motion sensor)
- Stuff is just plain expensive, especially clothes.  Even some European things are sometimes cheaper to buy in the U.S.
- You can't get a glass of tap water anywhere, have to buy a bottled water, with or without "gas" (carbonation)
- If you rent a car, most of them have manual transmissions because that's what 95% of Europeans drive
- The switch to the bathroom light is often outside of the bathroom which makes one highly vulnerable to pranks
- They play a lot of American music on some of their radio stations
- You need Euro change to use some public bathrooms
- The hotels there do not have gyms, so with all the good food, beer, and wine, walk a lot or expect to gain some weight.

Good things
- The food just tastes more wholesome (and probably is)
- Breakfast buffets are amazing
- You usually don't have to bus your table at a cafeteria style place
- Coffee is way better, especially in Italy
- Beer and wine are generally better
- The bread and cheese are better
- Sweets are not over-sweetened like in the U.S. and they probably don't use corn syrup
- You don't have to tip nearly as much, not sure how much though
- They really like soccer
- More variety of cars to look at
- You get to drive fast on the highways
- Most people usually know at least a bit of English
- They sell cooler toys
- People are thinner
- People take time out to eat and don't work while eating
- On the business side, customers treat you like guests will usually buy you lunch, coffee, water

+ Atul

Presumptuously Taking Ownership of Colors and Letters

I have a three name full name for a reason.  The combination of my first and last name is ridiculously popular not only in India, but even here in the U.S.  Using as much detail as possible helps to specify who I am.  My first name starts with the letter A, but so do the names of about 200 million other people.  In this internet age, one practice I've noticed is people signing their emails with just the first letter of their first name, (as if they own that letter).  I find the habit to be kind of annoying.  At least people should use their initials, or better yet, just use their given first name or their nickname.

Many institutions are also described with letters or colors, but people should take into account that when they get too general, most people in the country don't have any idea of what they're talking about.  Michigan State University is known as "State" in Michigan, and their flag is green with a big white 'S' in the middle.  That's really presumptuous considering that there are so many state colleges in the country.  I know it's meant to differentiate the school from the University of Michigan, but still.  And what is OSU?  To me, it's The Ohio State University.  But some people think it stands for Oklahoma State University.  That would be fine except that the Ohio school was formed first, (and it's bigger).  In this case, the Buckeyes should get to uniquely claim OSU amongst other colleges.  By the same logic, the University of Michigan is the real U of M, not the University of Minnesota.  (I know that that statement is going to upset some Minnesotans.)  Since I moved to Minneapolis from Michigan, it has been really hard to get used to comprehending what is meant when I hear "the U of M".  I also remember when I used to wear a yellow blue and white rugby shirt in the 90's, while I lived in the Detroit area.  Whenever I wore it, people assumed I was a University of Michigan fan.  I had to tell them that I wasn't.  I would get responses from people telling me that I should only have worn it if I was a U of M fan.  But that school doesn't "own" those colors.  I can use those colors without pronouncing my allegiance to anything.

With this being St. Patrick's Day, I'm reminded that we tend to associate green with Ireland, red with China.  The downside of this is that we're attributing characteristics to colors, ones that might have inadvertent and sometimes negative connotations.

It's all no big deal, but people need to consider others outside their world when they try to attribute certain very common things to people or institutions that they're familiar with.  When meeting people from other circles or traveling to other parts of the world, interpretations can vary drastically.  That causes confusion.  Confusion isn't good; and neither is presumptuousness.

+ Atul