Mind you, Google provides the following disclaimer for its walking maps (which is still in Beta right now): Use caution – this route may be missing sidewalks or pedestrian paths.

Ignoring any shred of common sense and apparently not being in the possession of the least bit of human intelligence, the woman was struck by a car on Utah State Road 224.  Rather than admitting her stupidity, she sued Google and the driver of the car to cover her $100,000 in medical damages, as well as punitive damages – ostensibly for emotional and mental injuries (which may be pre-existing conditions – Google’s lawyers and insurance company may want to check for that.)

I bike.  If I get a bike map from Google Maps or MapMyRide.com, I have the common sense to check them out and adjust them according to my comfort level with the roads suggested.  Sometimes it means back-tracking to a safer road.  Funny how that seems like the better option to me compared to biking along or across dangerous roads.

This reminds me of a 27-year-old that hid in Sea World until they closed, then jumped in the whale tank to swim with the whales.  He got eaten.  His parents sued because Sea World didn’t have the right signage.  Yeah…that’s what caused him to get eaten, alright…poor signage.

Taking responsibility for one’s actions.  There’s a concept!  Too bad there are way too many knuckleheads out there that would rather sue than admit they’re…well, knuckleheads.

Paige is a history student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and brings to this a fascination with the study of other cultures, particularly the study of her own Italian roots. She is currently on staff at Quixote Group, a market research and communications firm located in Greensboro, North Carolina. This is the first of many potential travel journals in her future.

While working with the legendary Italian cooking-school owner and chef, Mamma Agata, and her daughter, Chiara Lima, on the promotion of their newly-released cookbook, Mamma Agata: “Simple and Genuine” Italian Family Recipes, our family was able to experience the true, local culture of the Amalfi Coast, through their eyes. Almost immediately after informing Chiara of our plans to travel to her neck of the woods in Southern Italy, she eagerly began to assist us in developing our itinerary. Not until we got over there did we find out that what Chiara had really done was openly invite us into her close-knit circle of friends, filled with bakers, chefs, boat drivers, luxury hotel owners, tour guides, and chauffeurs, all natives of the region and committed to serving visitors from the town of Maiori to the city of Positano. What was the one thing they all have in common? A tremendous love for the area, and a passion to share it with everyone they meet. Here is what we found:

Amalfi Coast Destination, owned and operated by Roberto Di Palma
Roberto always knew he was destined to be involved with the tourism industry, specifically in the Amalfi area, because of the great pride he holds for his hometown. For this reason, he opened his company, which is based in Amalfi and provides car service, tours, and transfers all along the coast. However, a ride with Roberto is not your typical dull cab ride; instead, Roberto fills you with information, on everything from the history of the region and quick lessons in Italian to how to find the best gelato and his personal recommendations on restaurants. He is overflowing with information on his beautiful homeland, and his eyes light up with enthusiasm when he gets the opportunity to share it with his clients.

The slogan for his company is, “Come as guests, Leave as friends”, and I cannot think of a more accurate description of my family’s experience with Roberto! His personable nature brings out a true desire to get to know his guests and to develop a commonality with them: a love of the Amalfi Coast.

Dolceria Antico Portico, located in Amalfi and run by Tiziano and Mafalda Mita
When my father and I travel to Italy, I like to think that the two of us make one of the best teams when it comes to consuming, and therefore rating, anything related to desserts, from the commonly-known gelato to the more unfamiliar pastries like sfogliatella and baba au rhum. Because of our expertise in eating anything sweet, Chiara recommended our family visit the Dolceria Antico Portico while we were sight-seeing in Amalfi. Not only did we visit the pastry shop to try a little bit of everything they had on display, but we also attended one of their cooking demonstrations, where we learned how to make gelato, pastry fillings, granita, and sorbet. While in this class, the chef, Tiziano, delighted in sharing his love of cooking and baking that developed him and his wife’s pasticceria years ago.

One of the main qualities of the bakery that makes them stand out among others is their emphasis on fresh, local ingredients. When speaking with Tiziano, he commented on how ridiculous it seems to import things like lemons and almonds, which are both produced in abundance in the Amalfi region, simply because importing from mass-producers is cheaper. For this reason, Tiziano buys whatever ingredients he can locally. He doesn’t believe in sacrificing quality, taste, and freshness, thus creating this local piece of heaven. He has found a very happy medium between his creativity and his love and respect for traditional Italian desserts, presenting every dish he serves with perfection by paying close attention to every detail.

Hotel Villa Fraulo in Ravello, with majestic views from every room!
Situated in the quaint town of Ravello, the newly renovated hotel is perched directly on the mountain-side, offering views unlike anything my family had ever seen before! One of the main goals my family has when we travel is to avoid the cramped, commercial sites in cities and instead dig deeper to find the true culture and lifestyles of the locals. Ravello quickly became an example of a town that made it easy to do just this! The history of the 12th century town is neatly integrated with decadent luxury, which is apparent everywhere, from the intimacy of its local cathedral to the beautiful terrace full of spectacular vistas at the Villa Cimbrone. The city’s charm only increases as you walk through the main town square to find shops that sell intricate cameos and authentic pieces of expertly-developed ceramics.

Therefore, it was guaranteed that the hotel would have a history of its own as a renovated villa handed down through generations of family, accompanied by a breath-taking setting and local charm. The owners describe the view as, “Overlook[ing] the Amalfi Coast: Where the green of the mountains melts harmoniously with the blue of the sea and of the sky”. The rooms of the hotel do not resemble the typical small rooms of European hotels; instead, they are spacious, open, and bright with large bathrooms and a balcony attached to every room. The staff is wonderful, helping us with anything we needed and always professional and polite.

Ristorante Falalella, where the Chioffi Brothers serve delicious local dishes
For a meal consisting of local favorites from the Mediterranean diet, Chiara explained to our family that we would find nothing better than the creations at the Falalella. The restaurant is located on the side of the road between the main cities of Maiori and Salerno. To clarify, however, being on the side of the road does not mean nearly the same thing on the Amalfi Coast as it would anywhere else; it means being cliffside along the road that connects all of the major cities of the coast as it winds along the mountainous coastline. The views that one is afforded from the road are the most picturesque views in all of the area! It was a great privilege, then, to dine at the Falalella, as it allowed us to experience cliffside patio seating that puts all others to shame. Even the view from the parking lot is spectacular!

And Chiara was right; the meal was an unforgettable experience. The Chioffi brothers pride themselves on freshness and they ensure the dishes they serve reflect this. For example, their specialty seafood dishes vary daily depending on what fish the local fishermen were able to catch. Not only did we try this seafood specialty, but we also enjoyed delicious cheese-filled Italian crepes, local tuna grilled rare to perfection, and gnocchi with a carrot essence. The service was superior, as every waiter had a professional and attentive nature. Overall, the setting combined with the food and the service makes the Falalella one of the best fine-dining restaurants my family has ever experienced.

Mamma Agata’s Cooking School on the Amalfi Coast, run by Mamma herself!
Using vegetables from her own garden and lemons from her own trees, combined with all kinds of homemade pastas, olive oils, wines, and sauces, Mamma and her daughter Chiara Lima dazzle their guests with the simplicity, yet elegance, of their dishes. While watching them cook, it amazed our family how they could use so few ingredients, and still get such vibrant, delicious tastes! The best thing about their cooking school was that Mamma truly wanted to share all of her cooking secrets with her guests, with no hidden ingredients or unexposed techniques. The class even takes place in the family home in Ravello, a true indicator of how Mamma and Chiara invite all of their guests into their home as friends. Like others who came before us, we quickly transformed into part of the family in the course of one meal.

Following the class, the guests are invited to the family’s patio, which overlooks the Gulf of Salerno and thousands of lemon trees. A true Italian meal is served – the kind my family dreams about! With at least six courses and all-you-can drink homemade wine, the meal was a delicious feast. It’s amazing how such great food can bring complete strangers together, and make them feel as if they have been friends for years. The conversation flowed up and down the table between guests from all over the United States, and even some from Australia.

All of these experiences and the tremendous amount of memories they brought to our family were the result of one woman’s deep love for her home and desire to share it – could there be a more generous soul? Not only were we sent home ten pounds heavier and with more than 300 pictures each, but we also brought home a love for the land that had been so kindly shared with us.

For more information on any of the sites we visited, log on to:

Amalfi Coast Destination
http://www.amalficoastdestination.com/

Dolceria Antico Portico
http://www.dolceria-amalfi.com/

Hotel Villa Fraulo
http://www.villafraulo.com/en/

Ristorante Falalella
http://www.ristorantefalalella.com/

Mamma Agata’s Cooking School
http://www.mammaagata.com/

Starbucks, knowing no bounds, has introduced a new beverage size, the Plenta, which rivals a bucket of chicken and takes two hands to hold.

Conceding that it might be a huge headache for municipal dump sites, the Seattle-based company suggests re-purposing as a rain hat, lampshade or yoga block.

Or, you can just try out their new tiny Micra — also issued on April Fools’ Day — that could serve afterward as a soft boiled egg cup or paper clip holder.

If you buy that, you’ll also probably believe that Google‘s announcement that it has changed its name to Topeka.

Or take a look of possibilities opened up by a new app for the Nokia N900 that allows ground-based cellphones users to control a helicopter. (Not recommended for use after downing a Plenta.)

The spoofs, however, pale beside offerings in Britain, where April Fools’ Day is a cottage industry.

Google’s British home page, for example, announces a new service, Google Animal Translate, promising to let you know exactly what your pet is thinking.

The British press, as usual, weighs in heavily:

The Sun reports it has developed the world’s first flavored newspaper page and invited readers to lick a square of newsprint “to reveal a hidden taste.” Just below the spot to be licked was the fine-print warning: “May contain nuts.”

The Daily Telegraph says an Internet service provider plans to use tunneling ferrets to deliver broadband services to remote areas.

BBC radio’s Today program ran an item claiming William Shakespeare’s mother was French.

So far, none have reached the heights hit by the BBC news program Panorama in 1957 that aired a story on the unusually bountiful spaghetti harvest that year in southern Switzerland.

Straight-faced and convincing, the Associated Press (really!) calls it a classic April Fools hoax.

With tongue firmly implanted in cheek, LSUSports.net says LSU is teaming up with an artificial turf company to install purple turf in time for the home opener against Mississippi State. The key quote from the “junior executive strength and conditioning coach” is this: “It is really going to prompt muscle confusion in the other team as the brain wants to run on a green surface.”

Top Army officials unveiled plans to relocate the massive Pentagon building to the western part of Kansas sometime this summer. “This move will be a huge undertaking, but we determined it was a necessary step as we realign our force structure,” said one of the Army’s top generals.

Mr. Pitts’ states the following:  “The fact that on a message board — unlike in an old-fashioned letter to the editor — no one is required to identify themselves, no one is required to say who they are and own what they’ve said, has inspired many to vent their most reptilian thoughts.”

Amen to that, Mr. Pitts.  It seems those with a clever screen name believe they can write whatever they want without impunity simply by hiding behind their screen name.  Like the person with the really clever (sarcasm duly noted) screen name of ‘jackabassalope’ that replied to Mr. Pitts’ column today.

A while back, a local cyclist was killed by a hit-and-run driver.  The anonymous comments posted on the newspaper’s website were downright scary – including several people that said that he deserved to die because cyclists are a menace to cars.  Would these people have been so cruel and uncaring as to make these public comments if they had to use their real name?  No way – and you can’t convince me otherwise.

We are free to say whatever is on our minds – that’s a fact.  But we should all ‘man up’ to our thoughts and opinions by signing our real name to them.  If you must seek the safety of hiding behind your screen name, then I can only deduce that you are too cowardly to let family and friends know what you really think and believe.  Perhaps they’d be shocked at your true feelings and opinions??  What would your mother think if she knew you were the one who wrote that a cyclist deserved to die because you consider him to be a menace??  My guess is she wouldn’t like it very much…

Thank you, Mr. Pitts, for advancing this debate.  I hope something positive comes of it.

Until then, I’ll steer clear of message boards and the anonymous wing-nuts that spew their nonsense on them.

Let me get right to the point, lest I bore you too early and you click on to something else: We are a society that no longer knows how to be bored.  We are uncomfortable with it.  We may even feel less important if we are the only one who’s head is not constantly bent in the BlackBerry prayer.  The pressure to be constantly connected to noise and information is overwhelming, and we’ve lost an extremely important art – the art of being bored.

I grew up in the dark ages.  Rabbit ears to get VHF and UHF channels.  No such things as video games.  Research was done at the library – or, if you were lucky, you had encyclopedias in your home, purchased from the door-to-door salesman.  Landline phones.  Snail mail.  Needless to say, we knew how to be bored, because we were bored a lot!

Research has shown that children fill times of boredom with creativity.  In other words, we made stuff up.  Faced with boredom, we created things to do.  We made up plays.  We invented hybrid sports that had an ever-changing set of complex rules.  We built forts out of anything we could find and made up epic battles.  We were comfortable being alone with our thoughts.  What a concept!

The explosion of information and ‘noise’ that mobile technology, the Internet and video games  have brought means that we never have to be bored.  We fill the natural pauses in our lives with email, texts, phone calls, TV or downloads.  We squander away the opportunities to ponder, reflect, cogitate and create.

I love my time on my bike because of the obvious lack of email, phone calls or noise.  It is my time alone – time to think big thoughts, time to consider the universe, time to create new solutions to vexing problems.  Time to have a great conversation with no one other than myself, and all in my head.  Who gives themselves permission to do that anymore?!

So my advice – no, make that a plea.  Power down.  Carve out some time to be bored.  And let the creative juices inside you flow once again.

Be bold.  Be bored.

You just may learn to like it.

OK, I admit it – I am among the few that notice and acknowledge Groundhog Day.  Actually, my friend Ben is a big fan, and we’ve spent many a Groundhog Day in furry Phil hats and watching the classic Bill Murray movie (we know most of the lines by heart).  Heck, one year I even wore a groundhog costume to honor the event – although I was accused of looking more like a chipmunk.  But that’s another story…

Enter the fine folks from PETA, who are obviously not true believers of Phil or Groundhog Day:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it’s unfair to keep the animal (Phil) in captivity and subject him to the huge crowds and bright lights that accompany tens of thousands of revelers each Feb. 2 in Punxsutawney, Pa. PETA is suggesting the use of an animatronic model.

Replace Phil with a robot??  Seriously, don’t they have more important things to do?  Like protecting the Easter Bunny, perhaps?  And why aren’t they screaming their heads off and coming to the aid of poor Dasher or Prancer or Comet or Vixen?  Talk about some harsh working conditions for those guys!!

So let’s leave Phil alone to do his job.  He seems to like it, and I don’t imagine his living and working conditions to be all that bad.  Heck, I might dig out that old costume and apply for the job myself – although I can only imagine what PETA would do if I put poor Phil on the unemployment line!!

So don’t worry, Phil – Ben and I will look out for you, and, as always, we’ll see you on the 2nd!

“Take me out to the ball game…Take me out to the crowd…Buy me some ‘roids and HGH…I don’t care if I ever come clean…cause it’s root, root, root for the cheaters…I don’t care ’bout the truth…’Cause it’s one, two, three drugs and you’re in…the ‘ole record book!”

An athlete’s body is his or her ticket to fame and fortune.  Without it, they are on the sidelines, on the bench, or out of the game.  You can’t convince me that any athlete who is paid millions of dollars to perform could or would ingest or inject anything into their body without knowing what they were doing.  The ignorance card – “I had no idea what the (fill in the blank – trainer, doctor, etc.) was having me take” – is just plain BS.  It should insult the intelligence of anybody who calls themselves a fan of sport.

Likewise, Mark McGwire’s assertion that he took steroids simply to heal a hurt or “breaking down” body is BS.  There is no way possible that he did not know the other effects that steroids would have on his body and performance.  Does he really think we are that stupid that we’d believe this excuse for cheating?  If he doesn’t think his record is tarnished, then why did he call Roger Maris’ widow?

Some say we should be lenient on guys like McGwire, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa because their home run race ‘saved’ baseball when it was dying.  Would the government be lenient on a business owner that cheated on their taxes because their business was dying?  I don’t think so.  Logic like this is a slippery slope – it condones cheating if the cheating results in something seemingly positive.  Baseball at that time had some serious problems (it still does, in my opinion), and guys on steroids setting inflated hitting records should be seen as they really are – cheaters, not saviors.

Shame on the St. Louis Cardinals for wanting to hire Mark McGwire to be their hitting coach.  It’s like hiring a fox to guard the henhouse.

And shame on Tony LaRussa for praising him for coming clean.  Hey, it only took nearly 9 years since he boldly lied about steroids in front of Congress.  But I guess Tony doesn’t put a premium on the truth.  Don’t tell the truth when it would be inconvenient (Congress), but do tell the truth when it is convenient (getting a job).  Stand up guy, that Mr. LaRussa.

And shame on Bud Selig for not cracking down on the cheaters and wiping their records from the books.  Say what you will about the sport of cycling, but they stripped Floyd Landis of his Tour de France title because they believed he cheated.  No asterisks, no title, no nothing.  I guess Bud’s excuse is that steroids weren’t officially a banned substance at the time – a logic which simply challenges cheaters to figure out how to always be one step ahead of the rules.

Get some stones, baseball, and take a stand against the cheaters.  Until it does, I’ll discount it as a legitimate sport worthy of my hard earned dollars and attention.

To demonstrate the concept of inattentional blindness, respondents are shown a 75-second video of people passing a basketball back and forth.  They are asked to keep track of how many times the ball is passed and caught.  In the middle of the video, someone walks across the screen wearing a gorilla costume.  The gorilla is in view for a full 5 seconds.  Less than half of all participants report seeing the gorilla at the end of the exercise.

The implication of this is that we perceive and remember only those objects and details that receive our focused attention.  In other words, we do not notice anything happening in our surroundings while being absorbed in the inspection of something else.

How many organizations do you know that are inattentionally blind?  Step back and you’ll see plenty of organizations that are so focused on cost cutting, technological advances or some other aspect of their business that they fail to see what their customers really wants.

Ironically, today’s consumers are also inattentionally blind.  We are all so focused on making ends meet and getting through the recession that we do not see the gorillas around us.  That’s the challenge that all marketers face today – getting the target audience to notice their gorilla.

From now on, whenever a prospective client asks what we can do for them, I’m going to tell them that we’ll find the gorillas in their midst.

And from now on, I’m going to ask my daughter about her classes far more often – because she helped me see a gorilla that I’ve been missing all along.

Unless, of course, we’re talking about denture cream.  Most of the 35 million denture wearers in the U.S. seem to understand a general rule of thumb – too much of a good thing can’t be a good thing.  But it does appear that there are some that just don’t get it, and want to abdicate personal responsibility onto someone else.

Here’s the crux of the matter – a tube of denture cream is supposed to last about six weeks, give or take.  According to an article in my local paper this weekend, it appears that some denture wearers have used 2-3 tubes per week – or 15 times the normal (and seemingly logical) amount.   The result?  Excessive levels of zinc, which is a serious health problem and no laughing matter.  But what do they do? They  SUE!  What else?!

Common sense should tell you that 15 vitamins a day is probably not a good idea.  It probably isn’t a good idea to brush your teeth 15 times a day, either.  I’m guessing that pretty much anything good for you done at a factor of 15 times the normal or recommended amount is not a wise thing.  So at what point does someone using 2-3 tubes of denture cream per week realize that something is terribly wrong – and not with the denture cream, but the fit of their dentures??  Go to the dentist, for heaven’s sake!!

The article struck a chord because it seems that we’ve become a society that has completely walked away from any sense of personal responsibility – for the bad stuff, anyway.   We take credit for the good stuff (I got an A in the class!) but put the bad stuff off on someone else (the teacher gave me a C).  We put hot cups of coffee between our legs (while driving, no less), and sue when we get burned.  We leave the house with toaster pastries in the toaster oven and sue when we get back to a burned up kitchen.  We go into a haunted house amusement, and sue because…we got too scared!

Yes, companies that misrepresent or make defective products should be held accountable for the damages they cause.  But should a denture cream manufacturer be held liable for problems incurred by people that use 15 times the directed amount of denture cream?  I just don’t think so…

We’ve got to figure out how we can get back to a place where everyone takes personal responsibility for their own actions.  Ignorance is not and should not be bliss – or the basis of a lawsuit.  Maybe the first step is to have the class action suit dropped…one can dream.

There cannot be too much of a good thing – when that thing is personal responsibility.

The local newspaper established a new policy the other week that really makes me wonder.  It seems that you must include your name, address and phone number if you wish to have your letter to the editor published in the newspaper.  However, if you want to add your two cents worth to any one of their umpteen blogs, you can do so under your screen name – BUT, you need to submit your real name (won’t be published) and the comment will be posted for only 24 hours.

It seems that the ability to hide behind a screen name gives some people the courage to violate the paper’s rules for taste and foul language.  Would these same rule breakers be so bold (and perhaps inconsiderate, boorish or hateful) if they had to post with their real name?  I wonder if they’d have the guts…

Then there is the model who filed a lawsuit against Google because the company would not reveal the name of the anonymous blogger who described her as a “skank,” “old hag” and a “ho” on a Google-hosted blog titled “Skanks in NYC.”  It seems the blogger believes that she can write whatever she wants without impunity simply by using her screen name – would she have written these things had she been required to post them under her real name?  Extremely doubtful.

Here’s the issue that I have – just because the Internet created the concept of screen names should not give people the ability to post whatever the heck they want using it.  And since when did we start equating the ability to create and use a screen name with the right to privacy?  That seems like a huge line to cross.

It’s a big difference to me when I read a comment from a real person using a real name than one from RahRah, Panacea or Loyaltee.  If you have something to say, do so – we still have the right to free speech.  But use your real name and own up to what you post.  Otherwise, I’ll assume you’re too chicken to own up to your opinions, which makes them worthless to me.

Anyone want to join me in calling for a ban of screen names?