Stars on Thars

My good friend Scott Lomond earned his MBA from that bastion of southern intelligencia, Vanderbilt. Business school is all about case studies that are used to teach students to learn from others' mistakes. Despite his fancy schooling, he recently cited Dr. Suess’s “The Sneetches” as the relevant case study for an interesting and very real business dilemma.


The Sneetches!

The wisdom of Dr. Seuss is timeless, and goes well beyond the realm of children. So, if you don't know the story, read it here. If you do, ring me up sometime and I'll tell you the story about a real-world case of the Sneetches.

SightSpeed is a life line to the deaf community

Many people in the deaf community use SightSpeed to connect with each other. They also use SightSpeed to reach to the hearing using relay services. Deaf-to-voice used to mean clumsy text messaging systems. But now, the deaf are using SightSpeed to reach video relay service LifeLinks interpreters to provide sign language interpreting services.


I'm Your Connection

The concept is pretty simple. The deaf call an interpreter using SightSpeed. The interpreter calls a hearing person on the telephone. The interpreter uses ASL – American Sign Language – to communicate with the deaf person, while using their voice to communicate using sound over a traditional telephone.

This service is provided free of charge to both parties. The government pays for it. If you are deaf, you too can call LifeLinks video relay service free of charge. Simply highlight and copy & paste any or all of these addresses to your SightSpeed contact list, and you can ring them on SightSpeed:

3fsignlanguage@lifelinks.net, 213msignlanguage@lifelinks.net, 121msignlanguage@lifelinks.net, 104FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 105FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 106FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 107FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 108MLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 109FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 110FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 111FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 112FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 113FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 114FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 115FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 116FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 117MLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 118MLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 119MLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 120FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 121MLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 122FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 123MLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 198LLVRS@lifelinks.net, 199LLVRS@lifelinks.net, 201FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 202FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 303MLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 301MLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 302MLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 303FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 304MLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 401MLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 402FLLVRS@lifelinks.net, 500fllvrs@lifelinks.net

Here is a video of LifeLinks interpreter Diana explaining how it works.

The Last Train to Baltimore

Well, not really, but Last Train to Georgia is one of my favorite songs. So as I headed out of New York City today back to Baltimore, I shot this video mail from Amtrak 137 to Baltimore.


Keep on Rolling, Roll on, Roll on
It's not really the last train, but it is the last daylight train at this time of year. That's good enough for me. Big wheels, keep rolling. Roll on, roll on.

Video Bloggers Unite!

Eventually, there is a convention for everything. Video blogging has now joined the ranks.

I am not sure if I will be in attendance yet, but the upcoming video blogging convention in San Francisco looks like a fun event.

Videos From I-95

If was a beautiful day on the east coast. I was driving from New Jersey back to Baltimore, and grabbed a few video mails from the road.

Through the Windshield Glass


I am using the new NationalAccess, Verizon Wireless' national wireless Internet service. It works great! The quality is so good I can have SightSpeed video calls from almost anywhere, including a video mail taken while driving across the Susquehanna river bridge and another video mail at the 7 Eleven near Havre De Grace, MD.

My Mother Always Thought I Drove a Train

Ever since I went to college to earn my degree in mechanical engineering, my mother has thought I was either a mechanic or a train conductor. Unfortunately, I am not currently pursuing either profession. But that doesn't mean I don't love trains!


It's just like being the conductor!
I got to sit in the very front of the New Jersey Transit train this morning. It was just like being the conductor. Watch my video mail message from NJT, and you will feel like a train conductor too!