My interview with M.O.

“I’m very well aware of the life lottery I won. And I know I didn’t do anything to deserve it – could’ve just as easily been born to another set of parents in another time or place. Sure, I’ve worked hard as hell for what I’ve achieved, but that doesn’t make me special when countless others have triumphed over much more with much less to show for it.”

via mo.com

Thanks for interviewing me, Kevin. Sorry it took so long to happen!

Personalizing Your Hotel Search and Riding the Rail (Hipmunk.com in back-to-back @NYTimes articles!)

Best feature: The color-coded heatmaps, which go beyond Google’s “tourist spotlight” by showing users which areas of the city are best for their individual interests. For example, by zooming in on the Mandarin Oriental in Washington, you can clearly see that it is not near many restaurants, bars or attractions.

This week, Amtrak ticket information began to appear alongside airfares and flight schedules in the search results on Hipmunk. A test search on Hipmunk for a mid-October trip between Washington, and New York City, found that rail, not air, was the cheapest round-trip option. The score? Amtrak, $98, versus American Airlines at $119.

Woohoo! Thanks for loving the 'munk, New York Times!