Welcome to Denver, Colorado. Thursday was a beautiful drive day across Colorado. The mountains were a blend of snow, sand and mind-boggling tunnels:
We navigated the high altitude and curving roads past snow sites like Vail. There were very direct signs for truckers to be ready for the steep descents and braking challenges:
And, our Tesla passed it’s 5,000 miles on this journey mark on the way to Denver!
CLO Family & Pizza: It has been a delight to meet up with fellow Learning and HR colleagues along the way. The CLO of EY, Tal Goldhamer and I have never met in person, but shared several video calls and webinars. He and his family were heading west from Denver on I70 for a weekend of skiing and we arranged to meet in Idaho Springs, CO for a Pizza. Great conversations!
Bamboo Sushi? Plant based foods are on menu’s across the country. Plant based burgers and chicken wings were offered at a truck stop. And, last night, in Denver, we encountered Plant Based Tuna Sushi. Hmmmm?? We asked the ingredients of this non-animal/fish food and learned that it was made from Bamboo Extracts. So, we ordered a Bamboo Sushi and Tuna Sushi piece to compare:
Can you pick out the Bamboo One? It had an almost identical appearance and texture of the fish one. Taste? Fairly good, especially with a small dot of soy sauce. Price? Was 20% more expensive for two pieces. It is intriguing to see the growth and response to Plant Based Products. (Puzzle solution at the end of this blog post!)
A Railroad Station to Admire: Our hotel is right next to the Denver Union Station that has been restored with a striking neon sign and new tracks. The sign at night says “Union Station - Travel by Train”! In addition to this cross country car trip, one of my favorite journeys is to take multi-day train trips. The modern and welcoming station in Denver is a smile producer:
Keynotes & Bandwidth on the Road: In a few minutes, I will be doing a Keynote for Mt. Sinai Hospital System in New York - focusing on the role of storytelling. This one will be from a desk in a hotel room with Wifi. But, bandwidth is not a easy predictive factor. In fact, I have three options and alternatives for connecting:
Use the Hotel Wifi on my MacBook.
Use my Tablet that has anAT&T Cellular Connection.
Use my iPhone T-Mobile 5G Hotspot to my MacBook.
I always have redundancy during a keynote from the road - with 2 systems ready to go and checking the real time bandwidth using SpeedTest App:
So, which to use?
Turns out that the best bandwidth is the AT&T Tablet connection, if near the window in a steel structured building. 92 MPS Download and 16 MPS Upload.
The hotel Wifi was OK but only 7 MPS Download and a risky 1.2 MPS Upload - varying based on other guests use.
The phone is my backup with 11 MPS Download and 10 Upload.
As 5G grows, our video connections will be easier - but when doing a keynote, always good to have a few options.
Puzzle Answer: The Bamboo was the sushi on the top over grown rice.
An extra day in Denver to see colleagues and friends and explore the city. Then, on to Omaha. Wish me well on the Keynote.
Yours in Learning and Travel,
Elliott Masie
emasie@masie.com