Monday in (Cold) Atlanta

Before it really gets started in earnest, I’m done with the cold weather. It reminds me how much I like wearing shorts and flips. It’s 34 with a stiff wind in Atlanta, and it feels like the dead of winter.

On my flight today, I was introduced to a frequent flier website (www.flyertalk.com) by my seatmate. It has all kinds of information about promotions offered by the various frequent flier programs out there. Looks very useful. Tons of information. She also showed me an iPhone app called GateGuru. It’s like Yelp for airports, and I’m anxious to see a blackberry version become available (supposedly in the works). A quick way to find where the Sky Clubs are would be very helpful.

I continue to have a love/hate relationship with online shopping. Thumbs down to Sears today for not making it obvious how to edit the contents of your cart. Not to mention that in a promotional email, they advertised 10% off on tools (today only). Only after spending way too much time investigating, I learned that the particular tool I was interested in was not covered by the promotion. That’s why I like to shop at Amazon. They have their act together when it comes to ease of use and customer service.

Hotel internet service is working like it should in every hotel at this week's Fairfield Inn. Turn your computer on, open your browser, access the web. No logging in, no agreeing to terms, just browse. And a fast connection to boot! Yep...this is how it's supposed to work!

Shout out to Panera Bread. Friendly service, free WiFi, decent coffee, and the best salad anywhere - Fuji Apple Chicken Salad.