Today, I attempted to use my American Express card as a replacement for an old card that had expired. I entered the card info, hit “renew,” and was told it was declined. Within a minute, I received an automated phone call from a toll-free number. The automated message stated (paraphrasing here) that this was the American Express Fraud Department and that I needed to call the 800 number to confirm card activity....

I had an interaction with American Airlines this morning that made me realize why I choose American (even though they cost more than others). Bottom line: I choose American Airlines because their service is worth the price I pay. The same holds true with almost any business. In telecom, I can choose the cheapest carriers… but instead I choose great carriers (such as .e4 and flowroute) that offer high quality and great service....

I loathe drama. If there’s a simple way to do something, it’s generally also the best way to handle a task. Ah, the wisdom we can learn from imgur. 😉 To sum up the photo: Why Complicate Life? Miss someone? Call them Want to spend time with someone? Invite them Want to be understood? Explain Have questions? Ask them Don’t like something? Say something Like something? Say something Want something? Ask for it Life is better when we keep it simple....

From either the bakery or VoIP consulting, I get to sift through “feelers” on a daily basis. Some come from people who have an exact idea of what they want, are familiar with market pricing, and have realistic budgets. These are educated potential clients. Generally, these clients want quality and will pay (within reason) for good, quality work. They are rare gems, and we act on them very quickly. Most feelers come from people who want the best — but have no knowledge of what pricing may cost....

This week, I spent a day in Seattle. Since I live 3,000 miles from Seattle, that single day cost me 3 (one day there, one day to fly there, and one day to fly back). I’m an East Coast guy. I’m not saying this as a negative to Seattle — I’m just saying that there are major differences in the way East Coast and West Coast people go about their lives....

I love when Yeni creates sculpted cakes at the bakery. Click on the photo for more pics.

So last night, the Mrs, her parents, and I headed to Blue Water Bay in Melrose to celebrate our 5th anniversary. We’ve had a lot going on these past years… moves, starting a bakery, job stress, fun with immigration, family, money — you know… the same kind of crap everyone deals with. It comes down to this… life has challenges. Some are harder than others– but the reality remains that we all have our own fights....

You love her But she loves him And he loves somebody else You just can’t win J. Geils Band – Love Stinks I absolutely hate the blame game. Even more than my disdain for the word hate is my absolute hatred of those who partake in this ridiculous exercise of disservice through finger-pointing. “The blame game” (in this context) occurs when business A points to business B as the owner of your problem — and vice versa — leaving you stuck with no resolution....

This morning, as I was reading Collin Austin’s post on sweating the small stuff, I couldn’t help but think of how David Lee Roth changed the way I make contracts. David Lee Roth changed the way you make contracts? Yes. Mr. David Lee Roth. First, I don’t want to get into a discussion of why contracts are important. We use contracts both at the bakery and in consulting. Bottom line: either you believe in contracts, or you’re wrong....

So, while I was discussing pricing regarding a Kamailio support request, the potential client responded with: we got an Indian company they just asked $10/hr and they have good experience in this field So, I’m definitely not billing at $10/hour. A good Kamailio tech with experience will be almost 20x that price. So who really wins on this type of pricing competition? Granted this potential client threw down the gauntlet with an extremely low price — there’s no real way to respond on my end (other than the good, fast, cheap diagram)....