There’s less than 24 hours left until Christmas arrives, and you still need to get someone a gift. As they use the Internet, why not get an Amazon Gift Certificate?

Amazon Gift Certificates can be redeemed for anything from Amazon.com. The recipient enters the code when they check out to apply the gift certificate value. They make a great gift for anyone – including yourself for doing more of your shopping online.

Merry Christmas!

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This is from The Hot Iron, a journal on business and technology by Mike Maddaloni.

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On a recent trip I flew United Airlines out of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. When I checked in online, a message on my boarding pass said I could use a dedicated bag check counter to skip the normal e-ticket check-in. Sweet! When I did so, I asked the attendant at the counter how long this service has been in place, and she said almost 2 years.

Then it hit me – I had not flown in or out of O’Hare for well over a year, if not longer. All of my flying had been out of Midway Airport, Chicago’s second, smaller airport.

And let me add more convenient, which was the real reason. With reconstruction of the Blue Line subway to the airport slowing down service, the further distance outside of the city plus how ginormous O’Hare is, Midway’s small size, 20 minute trip from downtown Chicago by the Orange Line subway not to mention streamlined security and better food and retail offerings makes Midway my preferred choice.

So why then was I flying out of O’Hare? AirTran Airlines “discontinued” for several months a direct flight I took many times in the last few years, and as there was no other direct flight from Midway, I was forced to fly through O’Hare, where I could get a direct flight. Maybe forced is too harsh of a term, as my experience with United was all-around good and the staff and crew were all pleasant, and the extra legroom in Economy Plus was more than worth the extra $29.

This is something I will observe more as I make more purchasing decisions, and as I offer my own products and services to clients and potential clients.

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Heritage travel is a term relating to vacationing while discovering and learning history. One of my clients, Kira Gale, is the author of Lewis and Clark Road Trips, and excellent book on the trail and travels of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark over 200 years ago. Her Web site is an extension of the book, with detailed maps and destinations along the trail.

Just in time for the holidays, she is featuring several items for sale related to Lewis and Clark. You can get a personally autographed copy of her book, a comic book titled, “Jefferson's Lewis and Clark Expedition: Heroes Unlimited” by a Native American author, and two stuffed animals – Biddle the Bear and Lynch Dawg. All of these items are pictures and detailed on the home page of the Web site, and are good reading (and companions!) to the person who is a history buff, or for the kid you may want to be one.

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With most larger hotel chain charging at least $15.00 per day for in-room Internet access, I was pleased to find on a recent stay at the Sheraton Boston several computers available in the lobby called “Link @ Sheraton” with free Internet access.

But as they say, you get what you pay for. A couple of the machines did not work at all, and the ones that did required me to go thru the authentication process similar to if I was in my hotel room, but there with no charge. Once I did get online, I found a stripped down version of Windows and the Internet Explorer browser worked though did not handle pop-up windows as I would expect.

Another thing I expected to see that I did not was Google Ads – on several sites I visited that I had been to before, there were blank spaces where Google Ads would normally appear. I then did an unscientific experiment to prove this was the case, first visiting one of my own sites, About Iceland, and as you can see in the accompanying photo (click it for a full, larger view), the right side is blank where there should be ads and Google Maps does not appear at the bottom of the page either. Next I tried a parked domain name page, which did show paid ads. But upon clicking on an ad, I got a warning from the browser that the URL, which is to Google’s Ad network, was blocked. There was a text box on the page where I could “appeal” for the blocked URL to be displayed, and I put a short note in there about not blocking ads.

Why would they do this? Does Sheraton not want ads for Marriott to be displayed? Do they want to ensure inappropriate ads are not displayed? Or do they want a cut of the ad revenue for this “free” service they offer their hotel guests? Whatever the reason, I see this as an all-around disservice. Web site visitors may find the ads useful and blank spaces on a Web page awkward. And don’t forget the Web developer who may not have counted on content not appearing on a Web page.

Where I do send kudos to Starwood Hotels for offering these kiosks – I was able to find train and travel information using the PCs – I also recommend people invest in a broadband mobile card or tether their own computers to their mobile phone (as I did) to ensure you get the real, open Internet.

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With the cold winter months upon us in the northern hemisphere, longing for getting out and exercising outside will be in our thoughts until the spring. In the meantime, stationary bikes and treadmills will have to do.

To help you through this time, get DVDs from the Ultimate Bike Training series from Energy Fitness Coaching, one of my clients. In these programs, Coach Kelly takes you through an intense workout focused on your tempo or time trial ride. Filmed along Lake Michigan in Chicago on a nice sunny day… that in itself will motivate you even more!

This is a great gift for the triathlete on your list or for yourself if you need extra motivation any time of the year. Read more about and order the DVDs on her Web site and view a preview of the DVDs as well.

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