Vesuvius has got something to say

Hello travelers, I can’t say ‘fellow travelers’ because I’ve never been anywhere. I'm pretty much rooted to one place.  Remember me? I’m Vesuvius. Yes, the volcano.  Here's my yearbook picture on the left. I see there are a couple of people in the back who look like they never heard of me.  Well, my name is Vesuvius and I’m all powerful. Back in 79 AD I wreaked some havoc, here let me show you…

See, you should all fear me. I deserve respect!  And I’m not getting it.  Here’s the thing, now that I have internet access I Googled myself - yeah, I did, so what? I bet you’ve done it too! Anyway, here’s the thing, you know when you pose for a picture and the moron on the other side of the camera chops off the top of your head? Or your entire left side? Then you look at the picture and you think ‘damn that would have been a great picture if I had a head’.  Well that’s what’s happening to me.  You morons are chopping off my right side on all your pictures.

This is half of me! There is a whole other side on the right. Apparently you see a peak and you think that’s the whole mountain, but I’m not a mountain, I’m a volcano… don’t make me show you. There’s a left side with a crater and then a right side.

See! There just behind the column in the temple of Apollo, a whole right side!

 There! See, a left side, with a crater and then a right side! Sheesh! In my yearbook picture above you can see I was one mountain.  So if you draw the lines extending from my right and left side you get an idea of the power of the explosion in 79 AD and devastation I am able to cause when I'm angry.


Well, I just wanted to say that I’m getting angry at all the pictures of me without a right side.

Don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.

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I’m responsible for what I say, not for what you understand

I saw a tweet that read “I am responsible for what I say, not for what you understand” and at first it seemed like an irrefutable axiom. Our western culture prizes individual freedom and with that freedom comes certain responsibilities, like the responsibility for our own actions. My action is to say something so I am responsible for what I say your action is to hear what is said, so you are responsible for what you understand. It makes sense.  In a free society this is a true statement… Or is it?

There’s a scene in an old Peter Sellers movie where Sellers is standing next to a dog and a man approaches him:
Man: Does your dog bite?
Sellers: No.
Man reaches to pet the dog and is mauled.
Man: You said your dog doesn’t bite!
Sellers: That’s not my dog.
The scene is funny because there is an underlying assumption that our responsibility extends no further than the words we utter. The man asked a question and received an honest reply.  Sellers is not responsible for any conclusions or assumptions the man drew based on the honest reply he received. Sellers is only responsible for his completely honest reply. Or is he?

If a man tells a woman “hey, I can only meet you once a week, because I’m very busy and I have a wife.” And the woman walks away thinking “Well he can only meet me once a week because he keeps busy trying to avoid his wife.” He’s not responsible for the assumptions she made.  However, six months later when his life turns into a remake of Fatal Attraction, it won’t matter much who was responsible for the communication at the start.  You are responsible for what you say, and you are responsible for what is understood because you share in the consequences of that communication.  Your responsibility does not stop at the words you say, it must continue through the consequences of the exchange. What is understood by the other person matters in the communication. You are responsible for what is understood.

You are responsible for what you say, you are responsible for what is understood and you are also responsible for what you intend the person to understand. By saying “Honey, I was with the guys from church last night” the intent is to communicate something completely different from “we went barhopping and ended up at a strip club”.  When that person is accused of lying, it will be a valid accusation. The intention was for the person to understand something different from the truth, though the words used were true the intent of the communication was a lie. Remember the whole “I did not have sex with that girl” fiasco. Intent matters.  You are responsible for the intent.

We have laws that make you responsible for what you intend the other person to understand.  By law an advertiser is responsible for what it says and for what it intends people to understand. When an advertiser says ‘Buy this product, it will grow hair on your head’ its intention is to make people believe the product will grow hair. When people discover it doesn’t grow hair, there is a lawsuit. The advertiser’s responsibility does not end with what is said, it extends to the consequences of the communication.  The consumer spent money on a product that does not work.  By the way, that’s why we invented fine print, to get around our intentions.  ‘This product will grow hair on your head”- and in fine print - “if you’ve recently had Dodo skin surgically grafted to your right buttock on a Friday.” Now it’s caveat emptor baby!

You are responsible for want you say. You are responsible for what is understood.  You are responsible for your intention in the communication. There is no way around it, the responsibility is yours!  So next time you are walking your dog and your elderly neighbor smiles at you and says “Good Morning, fine day for a walk isn’t it?” Just kick the cane out from under her and run like hell! It’s not worth it!

put your money where your ass wants to be

Am I alone in complaining about the leg room and general comfort of airline seats these days? Probably not.  Everyone who has traveled coach in recent years had less than stellar evaluations to make about the comfort of air travel in modern times.  It was not always so.  When I was a little girl my mother would ship my brother and me to the grandparents’ for summer vacations.   Back then there were two airline options in Brazil, Varig and Vasp there were few other players in the market and though both airlines provided great service, Varig was renowned for its onboard service.  You always had plenty of space, a hot savory meal with dessert, actual stainless steel flatware and dishes, a glass made out of glass, a cloth napkin complete with a button eyelet in case you wanted to protect your garment without tucking. The meal always gave you a choice between two entrees and the drink cart had everything from water to whiskey.  Sugar, salt and pepper were in with the flatware.  There was an individually wrapped wet wipe for you to freshen up before lunch, though it seemed redundant since the attendants distributed hot towels before serving the meal.  And oh, the leg room and the comfortable seats that reclined were things of beauty. Pillows and blankets galore.  The bathroom had little soap bars that were individually dispensed, feminine hygiene products, and multiple little compartments with personal care items.  Each seat pocket had a magazine, safety instructions and an individual zippered pouch with a toothbrush, comb, toothpaste, socks and other items to ensure your comfort. Yes, this was coach.

Then new players entered the market.  Varig and Vasp eventually went out of business and now we have dozens of airlines crisscrossing the skies. Competition is fierce. I don’t have to describe the current onboard conditions to you reader.  You know they are dismal.

New players entered the market providing less service and comfort for reduced fares. And we consumers voiced our opinions with our willingness to give up comfort to keep our money in our wallets. We complain about the airlines.  We say “charging for luggage is an outrage!” and we are outraged.  We say “charging for stale sandwiches is a slap in the face of the customer!” and we are offended. We say “My knees touch the chair in front, there is no room!” and we suffer.  We say “I will not stand for this” and then we buy the lowest fare we can find.  As a group we consumers opt for the cheaper fare.  People don’t purchase airline tickets because the airline offers them more service, comfort and food.  We compare prices and we purchase the lowest priced ticket. A few years back an airline advertised “hey, we have more legroom” did we the consumers flock to that airline and pay the few extra dollars for the additional comfort and service? No, we opted for the cheaper fare without legroom. So what did the airlines do?  They removed all service and reduced the fare.  Our behavior told the airlines that no service and low fares was in fact what we wanted.

Consumer behavior is at odds with consumer demands.  We demand great service and comfort, but when it’s time to put our money where our mouth is our behavior is just the opposite. We buy the lowest fare, not the best service. Every single time!

There are two choices people: 1 Stop complaining! Airlines are completely in sync with consumer behavior. They provide exactly what the consumers are willing to buy: no service, low fare.  2. Put your money where your ass wants to be. Pay for service, comfort and leg room. Well of course, there is the third, illogical and irrational choice that only leads to despair…. keep demanding service and opting the lowest fare without those services.  My guess is that consumers will flock to that third choice. If consumers were reasonable creatures marketing survey companies would be out of business.

Gramado, RS

I spent the weekend with an aunt in Gramado.  She had fascinating stories to tell and we had the opportunity to walk around town.  As a child I used to come here with my grandparents on day trips and I'm extremely fond of the city.  It has grown and changed over the years, but it managed to maintain its quaint appeal and characteristic architecture.Oh, among its many charms Gramado is also famous for its chocolate... no need to ask if I had a good weekend.





And for those who would like to know more here is some wiki information on the town:
Gramado is a municipality and small touristic town, southeast of Caxias do Sul and east of Nova Petrópolis in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, in the Serra Gaúcha region. Most of the population of Gramado are of German or Italian descent. Gramado is one of the towns along the scenic route known as Rota Romântica.

Gramado hosts the Festival de Gramado, a major South American film festival and Gramado's most important event. Gramado is also known by hydrangeas blossoming in late spring. Another key event in Gramado is Natal Luz, when Gramado is decked out in lights and wreaths made of recycled material by local residents.
Gramado was originally settled in 1875 by Portuguese immigrants. Five years later, the first German immigrants arrived and these were followed shortly after by Italian immigrants from the Italian settlements in Caxias do Sul.

In 1913, the town seat was moved to Linha Nova, where now is the town center. At this time, Gramado was an unincorporated township within the municipality of Taquara. Railway arrived in Gramado in 1921, boosting the local economy. Gramado became officially a village in 1937, when Gramado was already known as a summer holiday resort. Gramado became a municipality on December 15, 1954 by force of State Act 2,522. [from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramado]