Tim Cimbura

Technology, Speaking, and Entertainment

Lost Productivity to Pac Man?

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Some web sites and blogs are now calculating the lost hours of productivity cost by the recent PacMan tribute offered by Google in honor of the 30th anniversary of Pac Man on May 23rd, 2010. They calculated the cost at over $120 million!

These calculations don’t take into account that the time spent on Pac Man would take away from a 100% productive work hour. Instead of the time going to some other activity, it happened to go to a minute of PacMan that provided joy, a smile, a laugh, and lowered stress.

Studies show that increasing play (even at work) can lead to increased productivity and better health. The official term of “Workplace Internet Leisure Browsing” (WILB) is used to refer to activities that can actually increase productivity by about 9 percent according to one study.

In another way of looking at the event, Google provided a lot of free entertainment. TV and Facebook can account for a lot of unproductive activity, too…depending on what your’re watching or what you’re doing with Facebook. Actively connecting with friends and family and sharing photos en-masse can actually save you time or make you more productive. Watching an educational program on TV (and fast forwarding through the commercials with Tivo) could be considered quite productive as well when you put that knowledge to use.

Fun at work involves taking the ordinary and making it enjoyable. It can be a reward for commitment and hard work. Adding fun lowers stress and gives us a common bond with team members. When we are having fun we develop new brain cells in areas devoted to learning and memory.

Some people might consider playing a game to be childish behavor…but there is a difference between “childlike” and “childish”. Childlike behavior leads to creativity and innovation while childish behavior can interfere with work. Distinguishing between the two is important.

Just for future reference, you can play Google Pac Man it any time by going to  http://www.google.com/pacman

To begin a game, click the “Insert Coin” button. If you want to play with two people, click the “Insert Coin” button twice and Ms. PAC-MAN will join in. PAC-MAN is controlled with arrow keys or by clicking on the maze. Ms. PAC-MAN is controlled with the WASD keys. You can mute the sound by clicking on the button in the lower left corner of the game.

If you have FileMaker Pro, download fmPacMan to play Pac Man in your database!

Just use it as a short break…not an addictive past time. Have fun!

Mother's Day

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Yesterday, I had the opportunity to visit with my daughter’s kindergarden class. I got to ask the kids some questions about their moms and record their responses. As you can imagine some of the responses were quite entertaining.

How old is your mom?
That’s tricky. 5 is too young. 100 is too old. Maybe she’s 68?

What’s your mom’s favorite TV show?
American Idol. It’s on every Tuesday.
The Biggest Loser.
The Weather.

What would you give your mom if you could give her anything in the world?
I’d give her 10 million 860 kisses, 2 hugs, 5 roses, and 3 tulips.
The girl asked if she could write it down…sure. She began writing. FLU… and paused. You want to give your mom the flu? No! How do you spell FLOWERS?

What’s your mom’s favorite food? Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and mac and cheese.
Same girl: What is your mom’s favorite thing to do? Cook. (I’m thinking not so much if she’s making her favorite foods.)

What is your mom’s favorite thing to do?
Catch frogs and toads in the garden and by the window well.

Like kids, we often project what WE like to do best on others. When we do, it can cause relationship issues. Even if we’re trying to be nice to someone in the way that we like to be treated, it’s like we can be speaking a different language that they don’t understand. I’ve written before about Dr. Gary Chapman’s great books that identify the five languages of love as: quality time, words of affirmation, gifts, acts of service, and physical touch.

Maybe the book would make a good gift for mom’s day…if gifts are her love language. Otherwise, you might tell her how much you appreciate her, do something special for her, spend some quality time together, or just give her a hug. In any case, I’m sure one of the above would be appreciated.

Here are several of the “love language” books to help you understand and make use of these ideas:

DisneyWorld!

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Visiting DisneyWorld in Florida can be an ultimate Child at Heart experience for anyone. Around every corner is something new and fun that you’ve never done before. It’s a world that was created to appeal to kids but also to the child at heart. If you can’t enjoy something about Disney, then you may have a condition that requires medical attention. (Kim & Jason call this “adultitis”.)

On the other hand, I’ll admit that it is easy to fall out of your great Disney experience and into a meltdown if you’re not careful. Crying and tired kids, long lines, bad weather, and other factors can make Disney a difficult place to be in spite of being the most magical place on earth. Here I’ll share some tips to ensure that will NOT happen to you. If you’re going to Disney, it can be the most wonderful trip ever.

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN

When you’re spending a lot of money to make your Disney trip happen, you want to make sure you’re getting your value out of your investment. Spending time to plan your vacation time before you actually get to Disney will help make it will go well. It will also help you to build excitement and anticipation for what is to come. It’s part of the full experience.

We began telling our girls about seeing Cinderella’s castle and meeting all the characters nearly one year in advance. We watched movies so they’d know the characters. In fact, we used the trip as motivation for our youngest to get toilet trained. She had it down “Daddy, When I go potty in the toilet every time I get to go to DisneyWorld!”. I can see a new commercial for Disney.

Here are some steps in planning your Disney vacation:

1. Choose which of the four parks you want to see: The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. For each park you choose, plan at least one day to see some of the major attractions. (They’re all great…so you can’t lose.)

2. Choose how many days you’ll be there and the time of year. If you can, choose to go in the off season when you’ll have fewer lines and lower costs.

3. Sign up for Unofficial Guide to Disney site. http://touringplans.com

4. Choose the least busy days for your particular parks according to their web site advice.

5. Buy a couple of books about Disney. Read them and take some notes so that you have the info in at your fingertips. When you’re actually at Disney is not the time to start reading about it.

The Complete Walt Disney World

Fodor’s Walt Disney World with Kids

The Unofficial Guide Walt Disney World

6. Choose your dining options. If you want Disney dining to be a part of your experience (and it can be very fun), make your ADRs (Advance Dining Reservations) for character meals and special meals at specific restaurants you want to eat at for each day. That reservation will be an anchor spot for the day determining which park you’ll need to be at for a specific time. Arrive for your reservation 15-30 minutes early, and you may be able to get in earlier or on time. Arrive late and you may have a more difficult time getting in. We did the Disney Dining plan and it saved us a lot of money and made things easy once we got to understand the system.

7. Buy your tickets and reservations online through The Magic for Less Travel or Disney’s web site.  Having a travel agent (no cost) to help and answer questions is invaluable. Depending on your budget, you can choose from value, moderate, or deluxe accommodations.

Tip: When purchasing your Disney tickets, add the water parks as an option after you arrive IF the weather is nice. We ended up spending $200 extra for the water park option that we didn’t get to use because the weather was too cool for swimming.

8. Listen to Disney planning podcasts. This builds excitement, anticipation, and your knowledge about the parks. Here are a couple I found useful and fun:

MISCELLANEOUS TIPS

Make a packing list. Here’s a list I use to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything.

Check your ADRs, flights, hotels, and car rental at least 1 month before the trip.

Clean your house before you leave. It’s really nice to come home to a clean place.

Set Some Ground Rules:

  • While you’re at Disney, don’t do anything or eat anything that you could do or eat easily when you’re at home. Make your trip full of new and full experiences.
  • Even though planning is important, don’t plan it all. Live in the moment. Take time to smell the roses.

Rent a Stroller

If you have any kids under 50 pounds…rent a stroller. We thought our 3 and 5 year olds were pretty active and wouldn’t need them. We were so wrong. Disney is a lot of walking. We rented one from Magic Stroller and it was a great investment of $125 for 1 week. The stroller was delivered to our hotel when we arrived and we just left it there for pickup the day we left. The Disney strollers are expensive and quite utilitarian (not so comfortable for the kids). I also suggest paying $25 more for insurance and piece of mind that if it is stolen, it’s covered. Amazingly, we had no problems leaving our strollers in various places in the parks. Disney has people there to keep them in neat rows and assist you. We just never left anything valuable in them when they were by themselves.

The stroller worked great for reserving a place for us to watch a parade or fireworks, carrying kids and other essentials around, and giving the kids a warm, dry, out of the sun or rain place to rest their feet. The stroller also allowed our youngest to sleep through portions of the trip while we continued enjoying ourselves late into the night.

Car Rental

We rented a van from National Car Rental. It was convenient to drive to the Publix grocery store, the Animal Kingdom, and some dinner events at other resorts. We took Disney transportation (busses or boat) to the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. We stayed at the Beach Club resort so we walked to Epcot since it was so close.

If you’re using all Disney transportation you can supplement with Uber or Lyft rides occasionally between resorts or parks for convenience.

AT DISNEYWORLD

Here’s a big tip: You CAN’T see all of Disney in one trip. Admit it. We were there for 7 very full days and we saw a lot…but we could have seen more parades, characters, fireworks, rides, restaurants, etc. We didn’t even get to go to one of the water parks due to weather. The important thing was that we had a ball. Everything we did was fun and we were enjoying the moments together as a family. At minimum I’d suggest spending 1 day in each major park: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios.

So promise yourself that your will come back to Disney in the future. It will help you avoid killing yourself from exhaustion when you realize and become so frustrated that you can’t do everything in one trip.

We were surprised at how important meeting the Disney characters was to our trip experience. Watching our children look up with wide eyes upon meeting Minnie and Mickey was incredible. Several times it even became so emotional that little tears of joy appeared. Arianna loves to dance. One evening at Hollywood Studios she had the opportunity to dance with Minnie at the Clubhouse Mickey. She was so star struck holding Minnie’s hand that she forgot to dance just reveling in the moment. Disney has made it much easier to see characters, get great photos, and autographs than when I was a kid.

Food

We took care of a light breakfast each day with some bars or muffins that we got at the grocery store. That allowed us to get going earlier and take advantage of the parks when they were least busy. The Disney Dining plan offered plenty of lunch and dinner food and snacks.

Use Amazon Prime Now to deliver some essential groceries like water, snacks, etc. directly to your resort within 2 hours at a reasonable cost. This can save you some money and is very convenient.

The Disney Dining classifies food as (1) Quick Service – A place where you stand in line and get your food. (2) Table Service – A sit down restaurant (get reservations or ADRs for these). and (3) Snacks – Fruit, popcorn, drink, etc. Nearly anything under $6 at participating restaurants, gift shops, or food stands is considered a snack.

In fact, we ended up having extra snacks on our plan at the end. We stocked up on Minnie’s Cookies which we found in the gift shops. They’re individually wrapped so you can even bring them home. My favorite was chocolate chunk peanut butter. Yum!

Among all our amazing dining experiences, a few stood out…

  • Cinderella’s Happily Ever After character meal at 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian resort, Magic Kingdom) – Here there was an great buffet meal that almost got lost because the entertainment was so fun. There was a processional of Cinderella, Prince Charming, and her evil step sisters. The step sisters were a hoot. They were bossing everyone around and making funny faces when they posed for photos.
  • Princess Storybook Dining at Akerhus Hall (Norway Pavilion at Epcot) – Here the girls had the chance to meet almost every Disney princess at one meal.
  • Les Chef de France – We felt like we were really in France. Everyone spoke French, the food was amazing, and the surroundings replicated Paris. It was incroyable.
  • Ohana at the Polynesian Resort – Great bar-b-que food served family style with entertainment and joy.
  • Boma  at the Animal Kingdom – An amazing buffet with unique foods.

Being Princesses…

Everyone at Disney addressed our girls as “princess” (especially when their hair was styled and they were wearing costumes). Some people even called them “your highness”. One time we were having lunch at Epcot and Arianna spilled chocolate milk on her shirt. Being tired, she began to melt down. A new friend from a nearby table chimed in…”I saw Sleeping Beauty do the same thing the other day. When a princess spills something, it’s OK. It won’t matter in the long run. You can just wash it later and everything will be OK. In fact, it looks kind of nice.” It saved the day.

It turns out she was a Disney employee in training. We had a great conversation. It was meeting people like that that made our trip so special. We also met a new friend from Africa at the Animal Kingdom lodge. We learned a lot from him about the country he’s from and had fun interacting with someone from the other side of the world. Disney employs people from all over the world. At the France restaurant at Epcot, I had the chance to speak French with several of the wait staff. It made the experience authentic…just as if I was in Paris.

Celebrating Everything…

Use the “extra magic hours” if you’re staying on site. This is when you can go into the park early or late if you’re staying on Disney property. It’s a great way to enjoy the rides with less people.

Use Genie+ (formerly FastPass)

Disney has special ways to get through lines faster with Genie+ that allow you to skip the wait on select rides throughout the day. It’s worth it to experience more during your day.

If you can’t get a FastPass for a favorite ride, be at the park gates at least 30 minutes before opening to do “rope drop”. See the opening ceremony and head directly for the most interesting attraction in the farthest reaches of the park.

TECHNOLOGY

I used technology effectively to help make the trip better. Since I was on vacation and I work with computers every day, I purposely did not use my laptop. My iPhone provided all the essentials to make the trip work. The best resource I found was “The Unofficial Guide to Disney World” and their mobile Lines web site that tells how long the wait is for each ride as well as park hours, etc. http://m.touringplans.com. It cost $8.95 for a year membership. Sign up at http://www.touringplans.com

Fall back is Disney’s paper maps. They don’t need batteries and are easy to read in the bright sunshine. All my dining plans were made well in advance to get ADRs…and I thought the wait times were not as accurate or easy to read as the Lines mobile site listed above.

I checked the Weather and the time of the Sunrise Sunset using free applications on the iPhone.

Ordering all your meals and looking at your phone all day will take a toll on the battery. Put your battery into low power mode. Order a back up battery and take it with you to carry in a fanny pack or purse.

I also used the iPhone keep up with Mail so I wasn’t overwhelmed when I returned. I had two specific rules for minimizing technology interrupting the fun: (1) If it was an important e-mail, I would file it in a folder for “Action When I Return”. (2) Anything else I would simply delete it. This really helped. I made the decision that I could do without most e-mail for 2 weeks without anything coming crashing down. It’s a good idea to keep backup copies of your travel documents in your e-mail InBox if you need to reference them or if you have a Mobile Me account, you can store copies of your travel documents on your iDisk.

Another technology bonus came via Facebook on the iPhone. I happened to see a friend I hadn’t seen for years post a photo with his kids in front of a ride I had just been to the day before. I didn’t have his contact information with me, but Facebook had his mobile number and so I was able to contact him. Turns out he was staying at the same resort and we were able to meet up and talk for a while.

MUST SEES

Here are the attractions that we felt (as a family of two young girls, mom and dad, and sometimes grandma and grandpa) were the must sees for each park. (Updated rides 2/5/22)

ANIMAL KINGDOM

  • Avatar Flight of Passage
  • Kilimanjaro Safari
  • Expedition Everest
  • Festival of the Lion King
  • Finding Nemo The Musical
  • Tree of Life – It’s Tough to Be a Bug

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

  • Tower of Terror
  • Rise of the Resistance
  • Smugglers Run
  • Mickey’s Runaway Railway
  • Slinky Dog Dash
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Rockn’ roller Coaster

MAGIC KINGDOM

  • Big Thunder Mountain
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Peter Pan
  • Jungle Cruise
  • It’s a Small World
  • PhilharMagic

EPCOT

Future World…

  • Soarin’
  • Test Track
  • Living with The Land
  • Mission: Space

World Showcase…

  • Frozen Ever After ride – Norway
  • Ratatouille – France
  • The American Adventure – Voices of Liberty, Fife and Drum
  • Grand Fiesta Tour – Mexico boat ride
  • O Canada – 360 degree movie

FREE THINGS (no tickets required)

  • Check out Disney resorts – Try the hammocks at the Polynesian Resort
  • Shop in Disney Springs
  • Visit the city of Celebration

MEDIA

And now for some photos and videos to give you a flavor of the fun…

WRAPPING IT UP

You’ll have many memories from your vacation. Anytime you want a little reminder, take out your photos and videos or listen to Magical Mouse Radio. The music will bring you back there in a moment.

We had such a great time together, we know we’ll be back to Disney. Got to get to planning…

RESOURCE SUMMARY

Why You Want an iPad Soon

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This weekend Apple will launch the next great thing. I recommend you get your hands on an iPad soon.

The iPad will be a game changing device. Here are a few reasons why consultants, coaches, and speakers will want to be on the front end of getting this technology:

  • You immediately garner attention and look successful by having one. Just as it was cool to have an iPhone, it will be cool to have an iPad. What a great conversation starter that can lead to new business. You never know who you’ll meet.
  • You can actually use the iPad on an airplane. For most people that are not always in first class, you’ll know that it is nearly impossible to use a laptop of any kind when you’re in your seat…especially if the person in front of you leans back to take a nap. The iPad will lie flat and provide a large keyboard onscreen, making it ideal for creating text-based content, answering e-mails, writing on your blog, etc.

Even though the iPad does not have a camera, a phone, USB ports, or the ability to use Flash, you don’t need those things on this device.

  • You’d look and feel ridiculous holding up a large device like the iPad to take a photo or video of someone. Have an iPhone in your pocket? That’s perfect for those tasks.
  • The iPad shouldn’t be a phone. Again, the size prohibits the practicality of it being a phone.
  • Who needs USB ports? Nearly all files can be transmitted electronically and wirelessly.
  • Flash isn’t necessary. There are better ways to write apps that fully handle the multi-touch gestures and performance obstacles of the software better than any web browser could today.

So let’s concentrate on what the iPad is. It’s an awesome content delivery tool…in the form of movies, text, images, etc. If you’ve written a book, it needs to be published on the iPad soon…along with more than just text and photos. Think links to web sites, videos, and other content that will make your material a richer experience.

I can imagine taking the iPad in the kitchen to view recipes, having it on the couch to check some quick emails or surf the internet, or simply relaxing to watch a movie or play a game. These are places I might take my laptop today but would prefer not to. I love the thought of always having an awesome book with me wherever I go in a format that is extremely readable.

The iPad is not a laptop, camera, netbook, phone, ebook reader, or anything else you’ve seen before. It’s a whole new category. If you’re thinking outside of the box at all, you’ll start to see some incredible new possibilities.

In addition, this will be the first device of it’s kind to have an awesome suite of productivity tools in Keynote (like PowerPoint), Pages (like Word), and Numbers (like Excel). You can even use it directly to power your projector. Coupled with the ShowWX Laser Pico Projector, you’d have quite the amazing portable presentation.

Personally, I’m going to wait until the 3G version is available so that I have the option to have internet access where there is no WiFi…but that’s only a few weeks away. : )

Ice Skating

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We took the girls to ice skating lessons for the first time yesterday. Ever since the winter Olympics they’ve been dreaming about skating. In the parking lot, Brielle was demonstrating how you skate with one leg up in back and arms gracefully poised. It looked a little different when she actually got on the ice.

It was fascinating to see how they taught them. Brielle had a little walker (minus the tennis ball feet) and she shuffled along timidly not wanting to wipe out like the other kids around her.

Arianna being older and having experience roller skating one time was a little more confident.

They tossed stuffed animals out on the ice and had the kids retrieve them. They also had them move stuffed animals to another location. It was a struggle with a goal that could be attained with some perseverence. One time Arianna took the easy way out and just tossed the toy into the pile ahead of her. That surely saved a few steps.

In a sing song tone similar to Dory in the movie Finding Nemo, we tell the girls “Just keep trying. Just keep trying.” You’ll get it if you don’t give up.

Overall, it was really fun to watch them learn. With plenty of encouragement they didn’t quit. In a few more lessons they’ll be on their way…and probably teaching mom and dad a few things.

Good Bye Hollywood Video, Hello Netflix

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As we were checking out a DVD at Hollywood tonight, my daughter Arianna proudly announced to the cashier “This is the last time we’re getting a movie here! Now they come in the mail!” He responded with a smile “Netflix?” “Yeah.” I said somewhat sheepishly, “Thanks for spilling the beans Arianna.”

So this week marks the last time I’ll step inside a Hollywood Video store to rent a DVD. I’ve been a loyal customer for many years. A while back I even used their web site to help select movies…then overnight they changed the web site making it worthless for all but purchasing DVDs.

I’m a very satisfied Tivo customer. It’s made watching television an enjoyable experience. We can see the programs we want whenever we want and fast forward through commercials.

Recently, Netflix teamed up with Tivo…and it became an option to view Netflix videos streaming through the internet directly on our TV or computer without even needing the DVD. This opens up about 12,000 movies (currently) for instant viewing.

Netflix had a free membership offer for a couple of weeks and so I gave it a try. Now…I’m a satisfied customer. Here are some of the advantages of Netflix that drew me in:

  • Netflix has an awesome web site that makes it easy to find movies I like. It will even suggest movies that are similar to those I like. This experience is so much better than randomly wandering the aisles in a video store and reading the back of DVD boxes. 
  • Netflix keeps a list of movies I want to see for me…even if they’re not out on video yet. 
  • I can have DVDs out for as long as I want. 
  • DVDs and streaming come directly to my home without driving out to a video store to waste my time. This is a great advantage in Minnesota during the winter when you want to stay home to stay warm. 
  • Netflix tracks movies I’ve already seen so I don’t need to waste time going over old movies. 
  • Netflix comes for about the same price as a video store subscription. 
  • If I want to purchased used DVDs, I can do this easily through Amazon.com 
  • Netflix shows viewer ratings of films. 

Give it a try. It may save you time, money, and give you better service. The old video stores are on their way out.

Take a Wii Sports Resort Vacation

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Wii Sports Resort is quite possibly, the best Wii game ever. Even if the Wii only had Wii Sports (the original game that comes with the Wii) and the newer Wii Sports Resort, it would be worth the price. Sports Resort is full of fun games that are challenging, engaging, and fun! It’s great for a party or creating a party any day. Being from Minnesota during winter, it’s also great that Sports Resort is set on an island with palm trees and ocean! During the wake boarding competition, I’m tempted to turn on a fan and have someone spray water into my face for added realism.

Sports Resort requires the use of the new Wii MotionPlus controllers…an extension module for the original Wii controllers that adds motion sensitivity so games can be played with more accuracy. For example, MotionPlus makes it possible to play ping pong which requires smaller actions when before the new controllers, when you could only play tennis with larger swings.

My favorite game is Sword Play. You can play against an opponent and try to knock them off the platform (Duel) or attempt to beat them in a timed slicing match (Speed Slice). In the Showdown play game you go against tons of sword fighters and attempt to knock them all down as you travel through interesting environments on the island.

Here are some tips for Sword Play: Hit your opponent from the top if their sword is straight up and down. Otherwise, wait for them to move their sword so they are unprotected on a side for a moment and strike! Use quick hit motions to to knock one person into another. Don’t forget you can block using the B button. If your opponent strikes and you block them successfully, they will be vulnerable for a few seconds so you can hit them more easily. The beauty of this game (especially for kids or kids at heart) is that it is fun but essentially non-violent. People you hit do not die or bleed, they just fall over and disappear. Even people you might accidently (or intentionally) knock off the suspension bridge get rescued from their fall by little hot air balloons.

Take a fun vacation to Wuhu island with your friends and family right in the comfort of your own home and get the added bonus of burning some calories at the same time.

Check out the official Sports Resort site.

Christmas/New Year Greetings

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When I was a kid, I watched the local Minneapolis kids TV program “Casey Jones“. Lynn Dwyer played Roundhouse Rodney. One of his regular bits was being an upside down chin person called Oswald McGum. That inspired this little experiment with my girls Arianna and Brielle. Enjoy!