Monday, March 24, 2008

Laptop LCD Screens & Traveling

We do a good amount of traveling for our business and that requires traveling with our laptops. Traveling puts additional stress on the computer – especially the laptop LCD screens. When we're in the office, we're able to better care for our computers, but in and out of airports, hotels and business meetings – there is less time to care for the LCD screens and other fragile parts of the laptop.

Also while traveling; our laptops are at the mercy of the friends and colleagues that we're visiting. And, even with the best intentions when others use our laptops they may not be as careful as we'd like. This is part of our business and we need to plan accordingly.

The better quality the LCD screens of the laptop seem to be, the more want to touch the screen. There are some products that can be used to clean the screens, but they never are fully the same as before the fingerprints. We are fortunate that we can use our laptops as a business deduction and any repairs or replacements are part of doing business.

Our next trip – Singer Island, Florida - is rapidly approaching and we'll take the necessary precautions to care for our laptop LCD screens and other essential components that can easily be damaged.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Holiday Inn Grantville

I recently had to stay at the Grantville, PA Holiday Inn when my son's hockey team participated in the Hershey Jr Bears Post Season Hockey tournament. See the post on the Reading Jr Royals Hockey blog for details of the hockey tournament and my evaluation of the end of season tournament.
I say I had to stay there because in the tournament rules(which were really bogus) the team had to stay at a selected hotel, and if team members where found to be staying at another hotel, they would be kicked out of the tournament...sound like BS to you too?
So begrudgingly, I told the coaches' wife to make the reservations for Saturday night only. Since this was the end of the 2006-2007 hockey season for my son, it would be kind of like the end of season party.
The Holiday Inn in Grantville has both and indoor pool and outdoor pool, a game room, banquet facilities, a bar, and a restaurant. It is also located within 10 miles of the Hershey attractions as well as within a mile of Penn National Race track and a new casino.
The hotel as it turns out is a fine hotel for families with kids. My son and two of his team mates who staid with us had a splendid time. I on the other hand, had a terrible night due primarily to the uncomfortable bed. In addition to the substandard bed, the room did come with what they called "High Speed Internet", which consisted of a cable that was long enough to only allow my lap top to be used on the bed. Sadly, had I been staying here for an extended time, this limitation would have really annoyed me.
My overall rating for the Grantville, PA Holiday Inn would be 2.5 stars out of 5. It is an ok hotel to stay if you have kids, and you don't mind a mattress that offers weak support. Two things to improve the hotel that I would suggest...in room wireless and memory foam mattresses.

Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Singer Island - Our Next Trip

Its been a while since Lizzie and I have gotten away, I believe our last trip was our Atlantic City Getaway.

Whats been happening?

  • We are in the middle of buying a house, and we are also selling our current house, so there is quite a bit of time involved with these transactions.
  • Our Online Marketing Business has been growing by leaps and bounds, and requests for proposals, and actual new accounts require a lot of the time that we would usually be using for travel. (this is temporary)
  • Other family obligations(not temporary)

Our next Trip


Lizzie and I will be traveling to Singer Island West Palm Beach, Fl at the beginning of April for a short little trip. We have an appointment to watch one of those time share sales meetings at the Marriott Ocean Pointe Resort. Other than going to the Time Share presentation, Lizzie and I are planning on doing little more than hanging out. This trip will be primarily R&R, but some blogging will occur as well of course.

In preparation for the trip, I will be doing some research which will include:
  • Where to eat on Singer Island
  • What to do on Singer Island
  • Surf spots on Singer Island
  • Cheese Cake on Singer island
  • Good desserts on Singer island
  • Other places to stay on Singer Island
  • The History of Singer Island
If you have been to Singer Island or any of the communities in close proximity to it, please leave a comment and let me know. Feel free to leave links to any related sites or blog posts as well.

Updates:
I just found a groovy post about places to eat on Singer Island on Chowhound(love the name).