I write very few personal checks, since most of my purchases are made with a credit card or electronic debit. But at work, I’m involved in a fair number of transactions that involve sending or receiving checks. It’s no secret that checks suffer from some drawbacks, including the long delay between when you write a […]

Today my BlackBerry crashed when I plugged in a headset. This is the same headset I’ve been using with it for years. Since the headset is analog, I didn’t even realize that such an interaction was possible. Perhaps the BlackBerry software changes the audio input and output when it senses a new device. All I […]

Don’t fly very often? Here are some tips from the trenches: – Leave your two-pound belt with the stainless steel hawk head buckle at home. Believe it or not, metal detectors will beep when you put metal through them. – Southwest has open seating. The sooner you check in online, the earlier you’ll be able […]

A few months ago, I noticed a neat looking noodles place that opened up a few blocks from me. I checked out their menu online and it looked promising. Then I went to Yelp and looked at the reviews. Apparently, a lot of other people noticed the place too, since there were quite a few […]

I’ve been seeing a lot more advertising for toilet paper lately. Maybe it’s just a Chicago thing, but these marketers have significantly increased their presence on billboards, bus shelters, and other out-of-home media. I’m guessing this campaign is running in other big markets too, like New York and LA. Cottonelle seems to be the brand […]

If you aren’t sure how a certain feature works, and nobody else in your company knows, and there’s no way to find out one way or the other, here’s a radical idea: just leave that feature out of the documentation. The same goes for product specs that nobody can certify as accurate. Simply put, it’s […]

For the past six months, my local Target has dedicated an endcap display to foldable utility carts. This sort of thing can come in really handy in the city: you take the folded-up cart with you to the store, unfold it during checkout, put all your bags in there, and wheel it home. And since […]

I’ve been thinking about the time-saving features that I take for granted in everyday products. Here’s a few that come to mind: – The way my BlackBerry remembers which email account I used to send a message, and selects it automatically next time. – The “Cancel” button on laser printers that instantly deletes the job, […]