Disqus - Latest Comments for smikolay

Re: SPG Hot Escapes (Bye Bye Starpicks & Beat The Timer)

smikolay — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 06:15:43 -0000

that's a real pitty - the beat the timer rates have saved me lots of money, and helped get some hotels into corporate policy that otherwise were out of budget like the Milan Westin for €112 rather than €250+ per night (esp. as one could use the SET code to search for them, rather than the revolving list on the website).
Let's hope the "hot-escapes" offer similar deals

Re: US Airways Status Match: Dividend Miles Silver, Gold or Platinum Trial Preferred

smikolay — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 07:03:23 -0000

Many thanks - that's quite encouraging!

I'm more of an AA flyer, so one other US Airways beginner question;

The T&C state:
"Only elite qualifying flights earned on flights operated by US Airways and US Airways Express can be applied toward the Trial Preferred program."

Is there anyway to check what is considered a US Airways Express flight (e.g., Air Wisconsin flights)?

Appreciate the insight!

Re: US Airways Status Match: Dividend Miles Silver, Gold or Platinum Trial Preferred

smikolay — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 05:40:30 -0000

In the T&C:

" Only bookings made after member’s status has been upgraded reflect member’s new status."

but you state that:

"If you have purchased US Airways tickets, you need to call reservations and request them to remove/reinsert the DM number for the new status to refresh."

so that is to say flights booked before starting the 90 day trial period can both count towards the mileage required and benefit from the trial status?

Many thanks!

Re: Destination of the Week: Las Vegas

smikolay — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 17:35:38 -0000

Any tips on helicopter tours?

Re: Why you should wear a bow tie - weblog.masukomi.org

smikolay — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 11:13:45 -0000

I do enjoy wearing a bow-tie, but always remember the quote from State and Main as I tie it:

The truth is you never should trust anybody who wears a bow tie.
A cravat is supposed to point down, to accentuate the genitals.
Why do you want to trust somebody whose tie points out to accentuate his ears?

- David Mamet State & Main (http://www.script-o-rama.co...

Re: Fun Friday: Favorite Productivity Hack

smikolay — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 05:41:03 -0000

How safe do you feel with it? I have a few second factor IDs go through sms... Using mightytext would mean there are ways to get at them, no? Very keen on the idea, just still having 2nd thoughts

Re: Cause & Effect

smikolay — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 03:55:54 -0000

Along the same lines, http://www.thebaffler.com/p... - capitalism as it is in the US has resulted in the big innovations becoming infeasible.

Re: Dropbox to Google Drive Sync

smikolay — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 05:50:24 -0000

I was thinking much the same - here's a good overview on how to make it work (setup once then done): http://lifehacker.com/51546...

Am currently using this to sync my docs to dropbox so that the next time my hard drive gives out I have an automatic back-up. Should be just as easy to sync the folders from the two apps.

Re: Top 10 Tips For Visiting Angkor

smikolay — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:14:57 -0000

I'm glad you found this useful Amer! Enjoy your trip, and consider visiting Laos if it fits into your plans

Re: 2011, Where in the world to go?

smikolay — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 18:06:23 -0000

Great link - thanks!

Re: Successfully Ported Number to Google Voice

smikolay — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 08:05:19 -0000

Yes, yes, it's not the most straight forward thing in the world... but it
works. I should probably have shared a bit more on how the setup overall
functions, but I was over eager.

My old setup was:

T-Mobile -> google voice -> GChat meaning anyone who called me would find me
even while abroad. The problem became that when in the US, I had two numbers
(T-mobile and google voice) which confused a lot of people.

The new setup:

Google voice -> GChat & T-Mobile. Reachable abroad and only one number,
hence problem solved (hopefully).

For any of you who are curious, my number hasn't changed. Give me a bell
whenever - always good to catchup.

Re: Building Better Social Graphs (continued)

smikolay — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 07:52:18 -0000

I completely agree - with google contacts the phone book has become something else. It used to be every number was deliberately added, meaning you really wanted it there. Now with gmail, people I trade a few messages with are given a spot in my contact list without me thinking about it - very convenient but not very intimate.

I wonder whether the telco could step in as well. Who I call, and how often, does provide an insight into my network. Then again, there are lots of relationships that I maintain without phone calls.

Re: Why You Should Care About People That Visit Your Site But Will Never Buy Anything

smikolay — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 07:03:43 -0000

I recently launch TuskFairy.com. Initially the only option I had on the site was to purchase (or leave without purchase). Realizing that many good leads might be leaving with interest, but might never return, I opted to include a mailing list sign-up. This offers a "no cost" option to to people who aren't yet ready to buy, but might have interest in the product. I think it is a very important point that you somehow follow up with these people, as it should be an easier conversion than a "cold" sales lead.

Re: Skype Android app review

smikolay — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 05:11:28 -0000

On the marketplace in the UK it says that WiFi is only supported in the US. From the above it seems you had success with WiFi in the UK - did Skype provide any more information on this?

Re: http://thegongshow.tumblr.com/post/1197874145

smikolay — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 12:57:37 -0000

interestingly, the peek 9 launched just recently and according to the company one of the reasons they are doing well in a crowded space is that they offer a similar option with a "lifetime" plan that makes it cheap enough to give all employees mobile email - http://bit.ly/bUNyiB

also add the fact that many consumers are getting over burdened with subscriptions (cable, phone, internet, mobile, ipad, etc) that this element of control could come across as a welcome change.

looking forward to watching this develop.

Re: http://thegongshow.tumblr.com/post/518355526

smikolay — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 17:09:50 -0000

Enjoy it - it's a wonderful place. Check out some of the temples a bit removed; there's one made from red stones, and one up in the hills where the spring is, which then fills the moat around Angkor Wat. Also, the floating village is worth a stop, although the "boat drivers" are children trying to get you to "donate" to their "schools" - which drives home some of the economic differences...

Re: Google Buzz's Location

smikolay — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 11:02:05 -0000

Very much agree - didn't start really taking to twitter until I found twitter gadget and was thereby able to incorporate it into my normal flow (in gmail). Users will seldom adapt to a service - unless it eases some significant pain - and thus adapting to them is critical.

Re: Please help me survive: The Android Experiment!

smikolay — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:07:23 -0000

My must haves:

Bump - easy contact sharing

Google apps (gmail / finance / maps / voice) - push email is great, maps are quick, just works well together. Even though I'm in Europe, I use google voice to txt people in the US for free and get voicemails.

Fring - haven't fully tested VOIP over WIFI, but should come in handy (over 3G I've had some stutters)

Skype - again, good for international interactions

NetSentry - data usage monitor if you're not on unlimited data

Foursquare

Get Me Home (London) - tube map with real time status updates

Shazam

Sports Tracker - maps and monitors runs / bike rides

Peep - HTC's twitter client; twidroid kept crashing on me.

These work well for me. The only thing I truly miss from the iPhone is the ability to watch rented movies.

Re: Bootstrapping Technology For Eight Bucks a Day

smikolay — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 01:16:11 -0000

godaddy is always running discounts - google promo codes if you're looking for one; has consistently saved me ~20%

Re: Celebrating Aggregation

smikolay — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 21:33:13 -0000

The benefits of aggregation are certainly becoming clear, as you say sites like hacker news or new mogul facilitate the discovery process. An interesting development, in my mind, is the advent of white label services that facilitate this kind of aggregation site (like slink set), which mean that anyone can create a niche aggregator.

Having in the last few weeks felt a bit overrun by a lot of the green washing news that comes out on environmental topics, I slapped together an environmental aggregator in the hopes of bubbling up the better stories on the topic. Even with just a handful of people using it, my discovery process has changed and I'm finding things I otherwise wouldn't have.

I suppose the ease of creation raises the possibility of a downward spiral - where initially people were willing to read a dozen (or so) blogs everyday, but became overwhelmed when the reading list grew into the hundreds, they may now be willing to use a dozen or so aggregators, but could have a similar response if that number grows too large.

Fred, as you say you use about dozen, I'd be curious to know what the other ones are.

Re: Krabi, Thailand

smikolay — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 09:29:22 -0000

the geographic features are amazing, the rocks rise straight out of the water, and the sky stretches forever. when were you there?

Re: In The Front of Your Mind

smikolay — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:00:26 -0000

i wish you hadn't pointed that out, now i'm going to have to wear one of those masks all the time

Re: To Splurge Or Not To Splurge

smikolay — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:11:52 -0000

Just a thought here, be curious for some other views on this: by purchasing the "toxic" assets, does the government not become the owner of the underlying mortgages (yes, I realize that all tranches would need to be purchased, but at $700bn it seems possible that this could happen)? If the government then owns the mortgage, foreclosure is left up to its discretion. Another alternative would be to help the homeowners and restructure the mortgages, allowing them to keep their home, propping up home values, and start to reverse the trend.

Interestingly, Buffett's investment costs Goldman up to 17%, meaning this could be used to offset the restructuring costs, and by propping up home prices would result in a benefit for all, solving the "redistribution" question.

Re: 25 exclusive invites for business cards-killer Project E (and another 25!)

smikolay — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:38:48 -0000

guess i'm out of luck?

Re: Secret hot new Music startup. We have invites

smikolay — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:46:20 -0000

i'm curious