On the way back from Vegas to Raleigh (Southwest 4.5 hour nonstop), I pulled out my Dell Latitude notebook over Kansas to get some class work done for the week ahead. What else would one do over Kansas? :)
Of course, my wireless card was still enabled. To my surprise, as I prepared to disable the card to save battery life I got the "Wireless Networks Available" bubble. Huh? I thought I must be dreaming...
I viewed the network list and it said I could connect to the network "JetBlue - JFK WiFi" (full strength). I wasn't able to connect but it got me thinking. JetBlue has been rumored to be rolling out WiFi. Maybe one of their planes was in the airspace and they are testing WiFi. Who knows?
JetBlue To Offer Wi-Fi In The Sky!
Monday, October 30, 2006
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
WEMBA Term 3 : Weekend 1
The 3 week break between terms went by WAY too fast!
This weekend started on Thursday (a bonus day) with a great guest lecture by Martha Rogers, co-author of Return on Customer. The lecture was optional but I'm definitely glad I attended. It provided valuable insights into understanding the value of a customer and using this to make decisions.
Thursday afternoon was dedicated to "team switching" activities. First, I said goodbye to my old team (Bruce, Chad, Holly, Karthik and Manish) and then met my new team (Baoshu, Chris, Michael and Reneta). It was definitely hard for the old team to "end" our time together, but such is life...new relationships are inevitable!
Friday it was time to meet the new professors and experience Term 3 classes - Managerial Accounting, Global Financial Management and Global Economic Environment of the Firm. It's still early to tell, but Global Financial Management course may be the hardest course this term.
This was definitely a transition weekend - a new team and new courses.
This weekend started on Thursday (a bonus day) with a great guest lecture by Martha Rogers, co-author of Return on Customer. The lecture was optional but I'm definitely glad I attended. It provided valuable insights into understanding the value of a customer and using this to make decisions.
Thursday afternoon was dedicated to "team switching" activities. First, I said goodbye to my old team (Bruce, Chad, Holly, Karthik and Manish) and then met my new team (Baoshu, Chris, Michael and Reneta). It was definitely hard for the old team to "end" our time together, but such is life...new relationships are inevitable!
Friday it was time to meet the new professors and experience Term 3 classes - Managerial Accounting, Global Financial Management and Global Economic Environment of the Firm. It's still early to tell, but Global Financial Management course may be the hardest course this term.
This was definitely a transition weekend - a new team and new courses.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Fall Getaway 2006
This weekend, Stacey and I made our annual fall pilgrimage to the NC/VA Mountains. The time away was especially valuable this year since it came between Terms 2 and 3 of my MBA program at Duke!
Friday
On Friday, we both took the day off from work and drove to Ararat, NC (near Mount Airy - aka Mayberry...about 2 hours west of Raleigh). Before heading to the Vineyard Cabin, we stopped for lunch at Steak n Shake off I-40 in Greensboro for our favorite Frisco Melts and shakes. SNS never disappoints!
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the cabin, but hoped it would be a nice place to start our trip. Little did I know that we were about to be pleasantly surprised!
Upon turning into the private driveway of the cabin, our first reaction was being frightened it was so secluded. This fear was soon erased, however, as we approached the cabin to the sound of jazz music playing via satellite radio (Watercolors - XM 71). Yes, the music was playing *outside*! The cabin was wired with a complete indoor/outdoor speaker system.
After entering the cabin, we quickly realized that the music was only the beginning. A bottle of Gallo Cabernet Sauvignon and a cheese Danish (for breakfast) were waiting awaiting us on the kitchen counter. A remote-controlled gas log stone fireplace was ready to warm us up in the living room. White terry cloth robes were arranged in the bedroom. A Jacuzzi tub was ready for use in the bathroom. And on, and on, and on...! I will save some of the details from this post, but let's just say we can't wait to go back!
Friday night, we searched for dinner in Dobson (about 10 miles from the cabin). We couldn't find the restaurant we were looking for, so we drove to Mount Airy instead, figuring it would offer more choices. We stumbled upon the Autumn Leaves Festival (a small annual street fair). We ate some BBQ from a vendor and then walked around a bit before sampling a funnel cake for dessert.
Saturday
We woke up, had a nice breakfast, and (sadly) checked out of the cabin before heading to Pilot Mountain. We spent about an hour at the overlook while enjoying the crisp, sunny fall day.
After leaving Pilot Mountain, we headed to Rag Apple Lassie Winery, where we planned on eating lunch. The food options were limited, so we decided to only stay for a tasting (reds only). We left the winery and ate a quick lunch at Arby's in Jonesville. After that, we decided to jump on the Blue Ridge Parkway ASAP to take advantage of as much daylight as possible before heading to the bed and breakfast where we would stay.
On the parkway (for a total of about 60 miles), we stopped at several overlooks where we (hopefully) got some great pictures before pulling over at Mabry Mill just before sunset. We walked around a bit there before heading to the Mountain Song Inn to check in for the night.
Upon arriving at the Inn (following poor GPS guidance along a two dirt roads), we checked in to our room and drove to Floyd, VA to have dinner at Oddfella's (recommended by the owner of the B&B - Audrey). It was a great restaurant featuring live music and innovative cuisine.
Sunday
We woke up and had a great breakfast (blueberry French toast stuffed with cream cheese, fresh fruit, bacon, and coffee). After checking out of the Inn, we drove back to the parkway (about 15 miles) to the Chateau Morrisette winery near Meadows of Dan. We spent the rest of the day here before heading back to Raleigh. We started off with a great tour of the facility (about 30 minutes) followed by a 14-wine tasting (the largest of any winery thus far). Chateau Morrisette had the most impressive facility of the three wineries we have visited during the past two months in NC/VA. They also have a great restaurant on-site. Definitely make a reservation, though! We had a great lunch there but found out the hard way (90 minute wait) that we should have called ahead!
Friday
On Friday, we both took the day off from work and drove to Ararat, NC (near Mount Airy - aka Mayberry...about 2 hours west of Raleigh). Before heading to the Vineyard Cabin, we stopped for lunch at Steak n Shake off I-40 in Greensboro for our favorite Frisco Melts and shakes. SNS never disappoints!
I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the cabin, but hoped it would be a nice place to start our trip. Little did I know that we were about to be pleasantly surprised!
Upon turning into the private driveway of the cabin, our first reaction was being frightened it was so secluded. This fear was soon erased, however, as we approached the cabin to the sound of jazz music playing via satellite radio (Watercolors - XM 71). Yes, the music was playing *outside*! The cabin was wired with a complete indoor/outdoor speaker system.
After entering the cabin, we quickly realized that the music was only the beginning. A bottle of Gallo Cabernet Sauvignon and a cheese Danish (for breakfast) were waiting awaiting us on the kitchen counter. A remote-controlled gas log stone fireplace was ready to warm us up in the living room. White terry cloth robes were arranged in the bedroom. A Jacuzzi tub was ready for use in the bathroom. And on, and on, and on...! I will save some of the details from this post, but let's just say we can't wait to go back!
Friday night, we searched for dinner in Dobson (about 10 miles from the cabin). We couldn't find the restaurant we were looking for, so we drove to Mount Airy instead, figuring it would offer more choices. We stumbled upon the Autumn Leaves Festival (a small annual street fair). We ate some BBQ from a vendor and then walked around a bit before sampling a funnel cake for dessert.
Saturday
We woke up, had a nice breakfast, and (sadly) checked out of the cabin before heading to Pilot Mountain. We spent about an hour at the overlook while enjoying the crisp, sunny fall day.
After leaving Pilot Mountain, we headed to Rag Apple Lassie Winery, where we planned on eating lunch. The food options were limited, so we decided to only stay for a tasting (reds only). We left the winery and ate a quick lunch at Arby's in Jonesville. After that, we decided to jump on the Blue Ridge Parkway ASAP to take advantage of as much daylight as possible before heading to the bed and breakfast where we would stay.
On the parkway (for a total of about 60 miles), we stopped at several overlooks where we (hopefully) got some great pictures before pulling over at Mabry Mill just before sunset. We walked around a bit there before heading to the Mountain Song Inn to check in for the night.
Upon arriving at the Inn (following poor GPS guidance along a two dirt roads), we checked in to our room and drove to Floyd, VA to have dinner at Oddfella's (recommended by the owner of the B&B - Audrey). It was a great restaurant featuring live music and innovative cuisine.
Sunday
We woke up and had a great breakfast (blueberry French toast stuffed with cream cheese, fresh fruit, bacon, and coffee). After checking out of the Inn, we drove back to the parkway (about 15 miles) to the Chateau Morrisette winery near Meadows of Dan. We spent the rest of the day here before heading back to Raleigh. We started off with a great tour of the facility (about 30 minutes) followed by a 14-wine tasting (the largest of any winery thus far). Chateau Morrisette had the most impressive facility of the three wineries we have visited during the past two months in NC/VA. They also have a great restaurant on-site. Definitely make a reservation, though! We had a great lunch there but found out the hard way (90 minute wait) that we should have called ahead!
WEMBA Term 2 : Complete!
Final exams for Term 2 are now a thing of the past!
Decision Models featured a take home final that took me over 30 hours to complete, but was very interesting (one problem each - decision trees, Monte Carlo simulation, and optimization). I learned a lot while working on these exam problems and I would say that overall, it was my favorite course this term.
The exams for Marketing and Managerial Economics were given in class. The Marketing final was entirely based on a specific case handed out two weeks prior to the exam (for team discussion). It covered most of the main concepts taught throughout the course, applied directly to the specific case and was a work of art (read: not easy)! The Economics final was about what I expected, very similar to the format of the mid-term exam.
Decision Models featured a take home final that took me over 30 hours to complete, but was very interesting (one problem each - decision trees, Monte Carlo simulation, and optimization). I learned a lot while working on these exam problems and I would say that overall, it was my favorite course this term.
The exams for Marketing and Managerial Economics were given in class. The Marketing final was entirely based on a specific case handed out two weeks prior to the exam (for team discussion). It covered most of the main concepts taught throughout the course, applied directly to the specific case and was a work of art (read: not easy)! The Economics final was about what I expected, very similar to the format of the mid-term exam.
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