Discover the wonders of the Oslo-Bergen railway

In 2009, the Oslo-Bergen railway celebrated its 100th birthday.

Still the highest mainline raillway in Northern Europe, the Oslo-Bergen line stands as a monument to the power of perseverance. Critics said that the terrain and climate were too extreme to support a railway, but men of indomitable will carved out a path and proved the naysayers wrong.

Today, the Oslo-Bergen line not only provides a vital and convenient link between Norway’s two largest cities, it also offers travelers a chance to view fantastic scenery, including the longest fjord in the world.

Come along for the ride in this cover story for Viking Magazine, a publication of the Sons of Norway.

Facades of some guildhalls on the Grand Place in Brussels, Belgium (photo by Aaron Dalton)

Poor Belgium often gets overlooked by European travelers jetting off to Paris, Berlin or Vienna.

But those who take the time to explore the charming cities of Brussels, Antwerp and Bruges will find artistic and culinary delights without battling the tourist hordes.

So admire the Chagall paintings  in the Brussels Royal Museums of Fine Arts, have yourself a sugar-dusted waffle topped with whipped cream, visit the Antwerp studio of Peter Paul Rubens and see why picturesque Bruges is called the Venice of the North.

Get all the details in this travel feature for the Jewish Exponent.

Corporate blogging for Dollar Days since September 2009

Looking for a case of flip-flops, sunglasses, candles, socks or hand sanitizers?

You’ll find them all at wholesale distributor Dollar Days, along with practically every other consumer product under the sun.

In September 2009, Dollar Days began publishing a blog with weekly promotions plus Small Business Advice and Frugal Living Tips.

As corporate blogger for Dollar Days, I update the Dollar Days blog three times per week. Not only am I much informed these days about how to live frugally, but I also know exactly where to go if I suddenly need 60 sets of fleece gloves, scarves and hats!

Of course, it helps that I have more than a year of experience writing my own personal eco-friendly product review blog over at 1GreenProduct.com, but each blog has its own voice and personality. 

In comparison with 1GreenProduct.com, my Dollar Days blog posts are a bit more formal and much more succinct.

Corporate blogs can be a great way to add value for your current or existing customers by giving your company a real human voice and mixing information with promotional content. You can use corporate blogs to announce new products, solicit feedbacks or run contests. You can even include audio or video content of speeches, tutorials and product demonstrations.

Get in touch today to find out how a corporate blog could benefit your company.

Hiking near the Flatirons just outside of Boulder, Colorado (photo by Aaron Dalton)

Wilderness weddings? Back-country bar and bat mitzvahs?

All in a day’s work for the Adventure Rabbi who epitomizes the spirit of her Boulder, Colorado hometown where nature transcends the scenic to enter the realm of the spiritual.

Take a mental trip to Boulder in this travel feature for The Jewish Exponent.

The world according to Wikipedia looks like a puzzle with a few pieces missing

In many ways, Wikipedia is a journalist’s best friend. The site provides copious and often entertaining information about many of the most obscure or technical subjects.

Loads of journalists – probably far more than would admit it – use Wikipedia as a major source of information for our stories.

But as one Irish student demonstrated, the wiki model of gathering information from a crowd leaves the site prone to inaccuracies, either intentional or accidental.

(Incidentally, companies should keep these shortcomings in mind as they develop internal wiki sites for knowledge sharing and problem solving purposes.)

In the  Case of the Irish Student (which sounds like a Sherlock Holmes case, but isn’t), Wikipedia actually caught and removed the fake quote the student had submitted to a recently deceased French composer Maurice Jarre’s biographical page, but news outlets around the world integrated the quote into their obituaries of the composer nonetheless.

The moral of the story? Factchecking is key.

Using Wikipedia is fine for getting familiar with the background of a subject, particularly a technical or obscure one. But journalists – whether professional or respectable amateurs – have a responsibility to dig deeper and look for secondary sources with which to check their facts.

Theoretically, Wikipedia can even serve as a guide to factchecking, since many Wikipedia pages have footnotes leading to primary sources. Of course, the authenticity or authority of these sources also needs to be considered carefully by any researcher.

In the 24/7/365 nonstop news cycle, accuracy and precision often get short shrift. Something tells me this won’t be the last time journalists get egg on their faces due to a Wikipedia (mis)quote.

Spring 2009 cover, IN Mind Body Life magazine

Every minute a patient  suffers  from an untreated stroke, nearly two million brain cells die.

A clot-busting drug called tPA can reestablish blood flow and reduce brain damage – but only if it is administered within three hours of the stroke’s occurence.

Time is of the essence, which is why Medical City Dallas Hospital has developed a “Code Stroke” process to administer all necessary tests as quickly as possible and administer tPA if appropriate within 60 minutes of the time a stroke patient enters the emergency room.

Get the full story in this feature article for the Spring 2009 issue of Medical City’s own IN Mind Body Life magazine.

Feature on Alliance Data for Watson Wyatt's Strategy@Work publication

How did Alliance Data achieve more than 97% employee satisfaction with its new benefits call center?

By working with Watson Wyatt to implement a system that combined technology with old-fashioned excellent customer service.

Find out more in this case study from Strategy@Work, a Watson Wyatt publication.

March 2009 cover of This Active Life magazine, published by the National Education Association

Retired teachers are heading back to college with hundreds of thousands of Americans age 55-and-older.

Find out what it’s like for these teachers to be on the other side of the desk, and how thanks to generous state programs, some of them can pursue their higher education goals at little or no cost.

Read about this trend in the March 2009 cover story of This Active Life magazine, published in print and online by the National Education Association.

The Velib bike-sharing program has helped turned Paris into an Emerald City (photo by Kenn Wilson)

You don’t have to walk a yellow brick road to find an Emerald City.

Not when ‘Emerald City’ refers to the urban centers of Europe or Latin America that offers residents and visitors a plethora of eco-friendly options for eating, sleeping and touring.

Discover all the details in this cover story travel feature for IN, the in-flight publication of Chile’s national airline.

Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt, Austria (photo by Istvan)

In earlier times, the Jewish community of Eisenstadt, Austria would draw a chain across the street to symbolically separate itself from the rest of the city on Shabbat.

The community is gone now, but the chain survives as a relic of that earlier time – along with a hidden synagogue on the second floor of a mansion.

What else can you find in Eisenstadt – both Roman mosaics from the ancient Amber Road and a wealth of musical history linked to favorite son Joseph Haydn.

Get the full story in this feature travel article from the Jewish Exponent.