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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In a world where many people work from home or in remote locations where they are by themselves, many things that they normally would be conscious of in an office environment are often not considered. For example, many entrepreneurs get up in the morning and ease into work, forgetting to shower until late morning or even later! Not to mention the line between the home and office becoming blurry or even non existent.

On my monitor I have a dot-com relic – a “rear-view mirror” given to people in the cubicle world to see who was coming up behind them. Stamped on the mirror is “Planet Direct,” a personalized Web portal once part of CMGi now called MyWay.com and owned by another acronym holding company, IAC.

Why would I have a mirror when I work at home? Before you write it off solely to vanity (though I won’t deny it isn’t some part of it!) it is there so I can look at myself when I am in conversation with someone. It reminds me there is a person on the other end of the phone, and if I was in front of them, I would be concerned about my facial expressions – something that can unconsciously carry over into a phone conversation.

The next time you are about to make a phone call – smile first, and be aware of it while on the phone. A positive attitude going into it can help the outcome of the conversation. And who knows – maybe the person on the other end of the phone will somehow realize you are smiling and may be smiling back?

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You have to admit it; the idea of going to the driveway and seeing a new or pre-owned car with a giant red bow on it would be a nice present. If you need a replacement for your current vehicle that is sporty, stylish and fuel efficient, allow me to suggest the line of Hondas, and the place to get them is Silko Honda on the Route 44 Automile in Raynham, Massachusetts.

Silko, who is a client of mine, features the complete line of new Honda vehicles, from the Civic Hybrid to their other models of Accord, Civic, CR-V, Element, Fit, Odyssey, Pilot, S2000 and Ridgeline. They also feature a variety of certified pre-owned Hondas and other quality pre-owned vehicles, as well as complete service and parts departments.

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