Getting stuff done is at the root of any business venture.  It may sound trivial, but many start-ups strategize themselves right out of business because they don’t get stuff done!

Launching a business and turning it into a revenue-generating enterprise is daunting. Becoming self-sustaining and profitable all the more so.  However, that is just the warm-up drill; the real chore is to stabilize, manage and grow that business in an ever-changing world.

The post Get Stuff Done appeared first on Brie Austin.

The day the world changed was captured in Hit The Wall. But it was about more than the igniting spark of the famous Stonewall Riots on that sweltering night June 28, 1969; it was a moment of conscious awakening.

The post Hit The Wall appeared first on Brie Austin.

The first cell-phone I purchased was in 1986. The receiver looked a lot like a home phone, but cradled into a large 5lb battery pack.

1985

It cost $3,000 and $1 per minute.  The technology has evolved and advanced  quite a bit since then.  Yet service remains inflexible and unaccommodating, and I can’t help but wonder how we’ve all been lulled into a state of hypnotic willingness to accept it.

The past few months I have been in India, and it was there that I bought my first Smart phone: great technology! And all-in-all, the service was good.  I could walk into any cell-phone store and buy talk and data minutes as needed. And, I could use my phone as a Hot-Spot to connect my computer to Internet.  being on the Internet daily, I  would buy 3G-data minutes in packs of 10GB; talk-time I would buy in much smaller increments. There were no imposed limits to whatever combination of talk, text, and data minutes I could purchase.

A T-Mobile customer servicenightmare  awaited me upon my return to New York City

When I arrived back in New York City for a one-month on business, my first order of business was to get a local SIM for my phone.

 I stopped in at the T-Mobile store on 6th ave at 16th street.  I explained that I had a Mi-Fi Hot-Spot account in NYC with Clear Communications that gave me unlimited 4G internet for $50 a month (I bought it a year earlier when I was still living here), but wanted to compare what T-mobile offered to see if I could avoid using two services by combining voice/text/data and hot-Spot tethering.  For “unlimited talk, text & high-speed internet we have a plan for $70 a month.”  Seemed like a no-brainer.

I swiped my card, activated the account, installed the SIM  … and the Hot Spot didn’t work.  The girl who recommended the plan was miffed.  Being pressed for time, I requested she simply cancel the plan, switch me to a simple voice plan and I’d go have my Clear Hot Spot activated.

She THEN informed that the plan was “Non-Refundable.”

After a few minutes of back and forth it was clear [to me] that she was clueless to the irrationality of the situation. Is it being unreasonable of me to expect that since the product I purchased minutes before didn’t  work that I should be refunded? Apparently, according to T-Mobile, the answer is YES!

I headed out into the cold to attend to take care of other errands, still fuming that I wasted $70.

Uptown I stopped into the T-Mobile store on the corner of 54th and 3rd avenue. The girl there seemed eager to help, and more importantly, actually capable to do so.  She knew right away that my Sony-Erickson Xperia Arch wasn’t compatible [to tether as a Hot Spot with my computer] on their network, at least at speeds beyond 2G.

She shook her head, “She should have known that this phone was incompatible with our network.”

So now what? The plan was nonrefundable, but noted that I could use the money already paid and simply apply it to a different plan. Progress! So I said I wanted to just buy X minutes, text and data. Turns out T-Mobile, or anyone that I am currently aware of for that matter, doesn’t provide that.  They have a variety of plans, all grouped packages of minutes, text and data combinations.

None of those accommodated my needs.

Here is an industry that enjoys the luxury of charging the third highest rates in the world, without having to provide us the flexibility we require. Instead they herd us into their prepacked products, forcing square pegs into round holes.

What other industry would we tolerate this from? Any? So why do we allow it from cellphone companies?

I chose the best option available to me and had the plan switched to a 1500 minutes talk/text plan, with not enough data to mention. The balance [from my first $70 payment] would be on account to use towards this new plan in the future I was assured.

I had my Clear Hot Spot activated at Best Buy and was back in business. I thought.

When the T-Mobile minutes were used up you’d think that the money I had on account would cover the rollover. Nope. The phone simply stopped working.  I went back to the store. After a lot of confusion they eventually had it reactivated.

Fast forward eighteen days. My minutes again ran out. There was no plan between the one I had and the $70 a month for unlimited everything, including the data plan I couldn’t use.  I was stuck. I was racing to make a meeting and stopped in at 54th and 3rd again; swiped my card, received an instant receipt via text, and was told “all set.”

However, en route to one meeting — while attempting to call and confirm the meeting place for the one to follow — my calls wouldn’t go through.  The second appointment was blown.

I returned to the store and waited, annoyed but patient, for all the customers before me to be served. When it was my turn I stepped up and explained that I paid to recharge the phone thirty minutes earlier, received a confirmation text, but every time I attempted a call I heard an auto-message telling me that the call was not authorized on the network.

“What’s problem are you having?” I was asked. “The message that the call was not authorized on the network!” I repeated, feeling like I had again been returned to the land of the stupid — in a far off galaxy known as T-Mobile.

She took the phone, and had begun  typing on her computer. Minutes later, after some testing, she handed it back to me and said “OK, it’s working now.”

“And what was the problem?” I inquired  “Oh, it was a problem on our end; it’s fixed now,” — as though somehow because they fixed their error, that they had done me some great favor –, completely ignorant to the wasted time and effort I incurred from the incident.

Am I alone, or should we as consumers demand better?

The post A T-Mobile Customer Service Nightmare appeared first on Brie Austin.

Oz The Great and Powerful Review

Director Sam Raimi and his cast (James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams) provide answers to  Who is the Wizard?, where did he come from, how did he get to Oz, and  why did he go?.  Also revealed is the essence of who the witches are and what motivates them.

What the film lacked however, was Raimi’s ability to pull us in.  To fully engage his characters to extract the rawness required from them to carry us along on their adventures and make us believe.  There was a disconnect between the characters and their circumstances  challenges, and each other.  

The romance wasn’t that romantic, the adventure more like a walk through pretty scenery, and the perils tame and un-moving.

While elements of the 3D jumps off the screen, the essence of the characters never does.

Franco, though likable as a circus magician  con man — that is forced to flee Kansas in a hot-air balloon to save himself from an enraged strong man  –, establishes Oscar Diggs (Oz the Wizard) early on as the skirt-chasing, double-talker that he was.

He is a man who wrestled with being ordinary with the girl he adored, or losing her in the pursuit of the greatness (= fame  and glory) he desired.

The film holds our attention. But its more utilizing our own curiosity than the grip of the storytelling: we all want to know the back-story of the witches, the Wizard and the wonderful Emerald City.

In that regard the film fares well, giving us just enough to keep pulling us along.  The Wizard of Oz, whom the people of Oz believe to be the savior that was foretold in prophecy, comes to recognize quit early that he is over his head. He finds himself doubting.  But belief is a powerful force, and his support comes from the least likely, considering that they alone know he is a fraud. They keep his secret for their own ends. “You’re not the Wizard I had hoped for, but you’re the only one we have,” Glinda tells him. In the next moment however, we do believe her when she tells him “but you’re also more than you know.”

After a rather laid back adventure, the near-ending does provide a clever punch to stimulate a“Ohhh, that’s how that came to be!” moment.

If you’re a fan of the 1939 masterpiece, its hard not to find something you’ll like about the prequel — as long as you’re expectations are not over-the-top. You will neither be disappointed nor overwhelmed, I dare say you will be entertained.

Oz The Great and Powerful – Official Trailer

The post Oz The Great and Powerful Review appeared first on Brie Austin.

Bannerghatta National Park

Outside the main gate there are plenty of vendors, selling nick-naks, hats, T-shirts, and food items — both made fresh and packaged.

There are several attractions there, plus a small amusement park for kids.  The options are the Safari, Butterfly House, Zoo and boat rentals.  We opted for the safari and Butterfly house. For the former, the air-conditioned bus was 500 Rupees ($10 U.S.), but it wasn’t available, so we took the smaller bus with caging across the windows, which cost 210 Rupees ($4.20 U.S.).  As it turned out, that bus was the better choice because (a) there were little holes large enough to stick a hand out and get unobstructed photos and (b) it provided a more rustic outdoor experience.  Between Jacqueline and the driver (who often would take the photos for her from his vantage point), the photos were amazing.

The ride took about 45 minutes. And as we left one zone of the reserve — headed into another –, a large electric door would slide open and we’d drive through only to nose up to another in front of us.  When the one behind was fully closed, only then would the one in front be opened: It felt a little like Jurassic Park … only without the man-eating dinosaurs.

There was an area for Black Bears, Lions, Bengal Tigers — one of which was albino, snow white, deer and other non-carnivores. The driver and his assistant were terrific, always adjusting to anticipate where the animals were headed and positioning the bus in the best spot to capture memorable photos.

Inside the Butterfly House (25 rupee charge, 50 cents U.S.) was visually beautiful. There is a path that winds around the enclosed 100-foot high, Eden-esque man-made ecosystem, complete with a waterfall and rolling brook.  And of course, lots of butterflies fluttering all about, from flower to flower.

At the end of the path, we were led into an exhibit area; there are illustrations showing many of the Butterfly subgroups, life-cycles, and where they fit into the planets evolution, as well as many other interesting facts. There is also a running video in the mini-theater.

Outside we had a lovely stroll along the nature trail back to the main entrance.

A nice day; recommended for those that like adventure without the exertion.  A good value.

See the photos gallery here

The post Bannerghatta National Park and Safari of Southern India appeared first on Brie Austin.