Tag Archives: companies

Places

Impressions from Walt Disney World – Part 2

Our recent trip to WDW was also an attempt to document the place and our experiences through serious photography, and it was a worthwhile learning experience. Some questions that I asked myself as I set out to do this were:

  • Am I prepared, equipment-wise?
  • How do I manage to capture worthwhile photos given that I only have two days and there’s so much to photograph?

I thought I was prepared in terms of equipment. I had an anti-glare hood, an external flash, a tripod, an extra camera battery and the charger, extra memory cards and a lens-cleaning kit, not to mention a great camera case. The second question was a bit harder to answer, but things worked out okay because I relied on the following guidelines. I listed them below in no particular order, as they occurred to me:

  • Never try to capture too much in a single photo
  • Focus on what’s important or representative first
  • Proper composition always pays off
  • Walk, don’t zoom, when you can help it
  • Use mid-range zoom and large aperture for portraits to blur the background
  • Innovative angles sometimes add extra flair
  • A clean lens means clear photos (for a DSLR, you can add a clean sensor to the list)
  • More photos are a good thing
  • Extra batteries are a must-have
  • External flash beats internal flash any time
  • Holding the camera steady equals clear photos
  • A tripod is annoying but much needed in low light situations
  • Don’t use high ISO unless your camera can handle it well
  • Know how and why to adjust shutter speed
  • Know how and why to adjust aperture
  • Know how and why to adjust strobe strength
  • Know your camera’s limitations and know how to work around them
  • Avoid boring photos
  • Frame subjects off-center unless the situation specifically calls for a symmetric composition
  • Know where your camera’s focusing, or adjust the focus manually
  • Too much light is a bad thing
  • Too little light is a bad thing
  • Use burst mode when you’ve got only precious moments to get a good photo
  • Use the viewfinder instead of the LCD screen. Resting the camera against the forehead provides an extra point of support and reduces camera shake. It also saves battery life.
  • Use the flash in daytime to fill in unwanted shadows
  • Get a flash with a pivoting head, so you can vary the strobe angle
  • Read the camera’s manual thoroughly. Read it again. And again. And again.

So what did I learn on this trip? Well, I learned that you can never take too many photos, especially with a digital camera, where you can easily delete what you don’t want. It pays to be well stocked with memory cards. And it really pays to have a camera that can take many shots on a single charge. My camera, currently a Panasonic Lumix FZ20K, goes (or it did anyway — more on that later) through a battery charge at 250 shots, give or take a few. Even though I had a spare battery with me, I still found myself running out of juice. It also pays to have a camera that can take photos at 400, 800 and 1,600 ISO without significant noise. There were so many beautiful shots I missed because my camera could only take shots up to 200 ISO without noise, and it could only go up to 400 ISO, period. When the lights turned on at the parks, everything was more beautiful, but my camera couldn’t capture it because I would have needed to set up my tripod for every shot. That’s a bit hard to do with throngs of people around you.I also learned that my external flash and glare hood were worth purchasing. My external flash helped me immensely with people shots at night, and even with large-scale illumination of buildings and walls. The glare hood was definitely useful during the day, especially when the sun came out from behind the clouds. I counted my blessings when I discovered I could tie my camera bag around my waist instead of carrying it around my shoulders. It was immensely helpful to have easy access to my accessories as I held the camera in my hands.

It cost me nothing to throw my lens-cleaning kit in my bag alongside my camera, and it paid off tremendously during my visit. My camera’s lens got pretty dirty during heavy use. I either touched the lens inadvertently as I fiddled with the lens cap, or the camera got splashed by water drops from fountains and various rides as I took photos. I had someone sneeze right as they passed me and my camera… Regardless of what happened, having the lens cleaning solution right there was a huge help. I just sat down on a bench, squirted a drop or two of the solution onto the lens, and wiped it with the special cloth. In about a minute, I was back in business with squeaky-clean lens, ready to take more great photos. When you take event photos, and you’re only there for 1-2 hours or so, you can always go back home or to the hotel to do some maintenance work on the camera (clean the lens, wipe the body a bit, charge the batteries, etc.) When you’re out in the field the whole day, things are a little bit different (and harder). That’s why it pays to be well-prepared.

A little bit about my camera. I used a Panasonic Lumix FZ20K on this trip. I purchased it back in October, as I decided to move up to a bigger camera from my current compact digital, a Kodak EasyShare Dual Lens v610. I’ve always been a fan of small cameras that I can tuck away in my pocket and carry anywhere, but as I got more serious about photography, I found myself always bumping against the various limitations of my cameras and getting frustrated. Still, I couldn’t justify getting a bigger camera, because of two reasons: price, and more importantly, portability. I didn’t want to lug around a camera case all the time.

I got the FZ20 as a stepping stone. I wanted to see if I’d be happier with a bigger camera that wasn’t as limited as my compact, and if I could handle carrying around a case on my trips. Things turned out well. I liked it, and I was happy with the quality of the photos it took as well. I didn’t mind carrying around the camera case, and enjoyed being able to pick from a variety of accessories as needed. I looked forward to using the FZ20 for another 6 months or so, then transitioning to a DSLR. Unfortunately, the FZ20 started malfunctioning during this trip. The zoom stopped working properly, and didn’t respond when I needed to bring it back to wide from tele shots. I’d have to turn the camera off, then back on. It wasn’t fun, and after only a couple of months of use, I was disappointed to see it malfunction. Thankfully, I’d purchased it from Costco, which has an amazing return policy. Other than computers and laptops, you can return merchandise at any time. That’s fantastic! I ended up returning it yesterday, and now I’m back to my Kodak v610, which still works great, but has certain frustrating limitations and no image stabilization. 😦

I’m now saving up for a DSLR. I don’t want to buy an entry-level DSLR, because I know I’m going to be frustrated with its limitations sooner or later. I’d rather get a full-featured model that will cost more but provide me with the features and quality I need. While I was at WDW, I noticed that most of the photographers at Disney (the ones that offered to take portraits) were equipped with Nikon D70s, but those are already more than 2 years old. I’m looking at the Canon EOS 5D and Nikon D200.

I’ll post some of the photos from Walt Disney World this week or next week. There are a lot of them and I need to do some post-processing work to get them ready.

Standard
Places

Impressions from Walt Disney World – Part 1

Ligia and I, together with my parents, made a two-day trip to Disney World in Orlando, FL this past weekend. The trip was wonderful, and we really enjoyed ourselves. Along the way, I learned a few valuable things, which I thought would be good to share.

An airline that lets you board the plane even though there are only a few minutes left till the scheduled departure time is a company that deserves my money. I’m talking about US Airways. Sure, their seats may not be leather, and their planes may not be shiny new, but when it comes down to it, they let you board the plane, not turn you away like Spirit Airlines, a full half hour before the scheduled departure time. I’ve been using US Airways, on and off, since my college days, and that’s over a decade. I don’t remember any bad experiences, only nice flights, sometimes bumpy, particularly on their express connecting flights to Burlington, VT, but nice, and often not crowded, which is a great way to fly.

Four parks in two days is a LOT to see, but it’s enough to let you know whether you want to come back for more. I’d seen WDW before, but Ligia and my parents hadn’t. We purchased two-day Disney Hopper tickets, which let you go to any of the four theme parks as often as you wish while you have the tickets. We certainly hopped, from Disney/MGM Studios to Magic Kingdom, then Epcot, then Disney/MGM (again), then Animal Kingdom and Epcot (again). It was tiring for everyone, and at the end of the day, we were exhausted, but it was worth it.

If you stay away from the most popular rides, you avoid stress, discover beautiful places and actually get to enjoy yourself. By this I mean the various popular roller-coasters or other such attractions where kids and teens alike crowd. Tower of Terror at MGM, Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom and Everest at Animal Kingdom are some of the places we avoided. As a result, we didn’t see the crowds, enjoyed some peace and quiet, and got to see some unexplored corners of the theme parks, which were much more enjoyable than crying brats and long lines.

I visited Disney World twice in the past, some 4-5 years ago, and on both visits, I made the mistake of planning my time around the popular rides. I was stressed because of the crowds, didn’t really get to enjoy the rides that much, and actually felt let down. Let’s face it, Disney roller coasters aren’t Six Flags or Busch Gardens roller coasters, nor should they be. If you go there expecting some terrifying ride, you’re going to be disappointed. Even the Six Flags and Busch Gardens coasters get pretty boring after you ride them seven or eight times. It really all depends on what your mindset is. You’ve got to ask yourself: am I there to find radical excitement, with its inevitable high and let down, or to see some beautiful things and walk around in a surreal, more-beautiful-than-life environment? As Walt Disney once said, I needed to “use my imagination”.

Now that I’m a little more grown-up, I see Disney World as a platform, a wonderful foundation upon which I can build dreams. I can go there and escape reality. I can feel like a kid even though I’m definitely not one any more. I can imagine those many picturesque spots populated by lovable characters from the Disney cartoons and get immersed in the tales I loved so much as a kid (and still do). That’s the beauty of it all. As Walt Disney put it, he built a place where kids and adults alike could go and enjoy themselves.

I think there are some shows/rides that people shouldn’t miss. There’s a wonderful exhibit on Walt Disney’s life at the Disney/MGM Theme Park, and it includes a short movie as well. I highly recommend seeing this, as it provides incredible insight into the life of the man that made Disney. The Art Deco architecture at this park is beautiful. Take the Backlot Tour and see Walt’s personal plane, as well as memorabilia from various movies. Even though I avoided the big rides, I did go to the Lights, Motors, Action! show, and I recommend you see it as well. It’s a wonderful behind-the-scenes look at automobile and motorcycle stunt work in today’s movies, and it sure is exciting to see the stunts in person, not on the movie screen.

At Magic Kingdom, go on the ride called “It’s a small world”. The song will stick in your head, and you may or may not like that, but the nice, clear decor and attention to detail in the puppet costumes are a sight to behold. Plus, it’s cool inside and not crowded, so it’s just the ticket for a hot, sunny day. Also get on the Mad Hatter Tea Party teacup ride. It’s fun and there aren’t usually long lines. Don’t forget to walk around the castle. Even though you can’t go inside (which I would have liked to do), you can still admire the architecture and its surroundings. It’s rumored Walt Disney had an apartment built inside the castle for his family. Maybe someday that’ll be open to the public, who knows. You shouldn’t miss the Swiss Family Robinson tree, and you should also take the boat ride on the lake (no, I’m not talking about the ferry ride from the transportation center to the park, which is nice in itself.) And definitely take the train ride around the park, you’ll regret it if you don’t. The Carousel of Progress show is also a must-see.

At Animal Kingdom, don’t miss the “It’s tough to be a bug!” show, which is always great fun. This was the third time I saw it, and it was still very enjoyable. Take the safari tour there as well, and don’t miss walking around and spotting the animals and birds. Animal Kingdom is a great place to take great photos of wonderful, wild animals up close, so bring a good camera with you. At many zoos, it’s hard to take photos because the enclosures are tiny. The photos end up looking bad, because anyone can tell those animals aren’t in the wild. But at Animal Kingdom, each animal’s enclosure is made to look so natural that you’d be hard-pressed to tell the difference in a photo.

When I first visited Epcot, I thought it was the lamest of all four parks because it had no dangerous rides. I don’t know what I was thinking… Now I know it’s the coolest of them all. There’s so much to see! There are exhibits from many countries of the world, and everywhere I looked, I found beauty. There was beautiful architecture, beautiful landscaping, and beautiful decoration. I was surprised to find the buildings were real stone when I knocked on them. Many of the buildings at attraction parks are pretty much just cardboard and stucco. Not so at Epcot!

Three of the parks have their own fireworks show, but the Magic Kingdom and Epcot shows are the most accessible. The wonderful thing about them is that serious thought and planning went into each show, and they are all infused with their own character. I can think of no other word to describe them but SPECTACULAR. What amazes me is that they happen daily! Given the cost of fireworks, that’s a lot of money! Think about it: Disney World uses the equivalent of a typical 4th of July fireworks show every night at two of its parks (Magic Kingdom and Epcot). I would have liked to go to the Fantasmic! show at Disney/MGM but didn’t get the chance.

When I think about the Disney World experience, two words come to mind: abundance and quality. There’s an abundance of things to see at all of the parks, and it’s all quality-made. Walt Disney wanted to make sure people got their money’s worth, and I think they do. One of the tram operators wished us well as we got off to enter Magic Kingdom, and something he said stuck in my mind: “All 58,000 Disney employees wish you a wonderful time here at Disney World.” I don’t remember the exact phrase, but the number definitely caught my attention. Whether that’s just Disney World employees or employees of the Disney Corporation, I don’t know, but regardless, there were a LOT of employees at Disney World, and a lot of machinery, and a lot of lights, and a lot of everything else that requires maintenance and people to operate. Add to that the infrastructure, which was built from scratch: roads, lines, pipes, landscaping, buildings, etc., and the expenses really add up. I shudder to think what the daily operating expenses of Disney World are. In light of this, the $75 ticket price to see one of the parks is not a bad deal, and the Park Hopper ticket is a great value indeed.

Ligia and I look forward to our next WDW visit.

Standard
Thoughts

13 arguments for telecommuting

I thought I’d put together this list of arguments you could use to make the case for telecommuting at your workplace. No, there’s nothing special about the number 13. That’s how many reasons I came up with. If you know of more, please let me know and I’ll be glad to publish them here.

First, I should say I’m all for telecommuting, and I think it’s unfair to make people come into work when most jobs — in particular tech jobs — can be readily converted (with little or no effort) to allow employees to work from their homes.

Reduced office space

Leased office space can be less (significantly less) when employees are allowed to telecommute, since most people won’t need dedicated offices at company headquarters. All that’s needed are offices for the employees that need to be there: phone operators, receptionists, facilities, help desk, and meeting rooms. You’ll need the latter because employees will probably need to come in for meetings or other tasks that need to be performed on-site once a week or every two weeks. In addition, sales folks may need to come in to meet with clients, etc. An unexpected benefit will be that you’ll actually be using the conference rooms a lot more than before. Management will be happy, since the space they’re paying for will be well utilized.

Reduced business utilities

Utilities and other bills, like communications, will be much, much less. With most of the workforce staying at home, and much less office space, electricity usage will be slashed. None of those things that really rack up the bills, like A/C, computers and lights will be anywhere near their previous figures. People will use IM and video conferencing tools (like Skype) to communicate with each other, and will use home phones when needed. You’ll be able to ditch expensive phone system, or scale them down significantly.

Less crowding during rush hour

Businesses that allow their employees to telecommute are doing a greater good. They’re directly contributing to solving today’s serious traffic problems. When employees don’t need to come into work, they stay home and their cars stay in the garage, not on the streets, clogging up avenues and highways, causing traffic delays and accidents. Let’s not also forget the added benefits of burning up less fossil fuels.

Less pollution

When cars stay in the garage, there’s less pollution. I’m not just talking about greenhouse gases, I’m talking about traffic noise as well. Those of you who live near busy streets know this.

Contribute to national security efforts

Businesses that allow employees to telecommute are indirectly contributing to the safety of our country, by reducing our dependence on foreign oil. The less gas employees burn driving to work, the less gas that we’ll need to purchase from countries that finance terrorism. That’s always a good thing. And police and fire trucks will have an easier time driving on our streets during rush hour with less cars on the roads.

Less stress for everyone

I don’t know about you but traffic is very stressful. Sitting in traffic, knowing you can’t go anywhere and you’re stuck there, sandwiched in between other cars, puts one in a very helpless mood. Don’t even get me started on how much time is wasted on commutes, because that’s completely ridiculous and unnecessary. And let’s not forget the people who are actually trying to go shopping or must make it to an event during rush hour. They’re stuck in there too, and they’re not going to work.

Higher job satisfaction

Wasted time makes productive people unhappy. Time and energy gets wasted in traffic. Hence, allowing employees to work from home makes them happy. It’s logical, isn’t it? Besides, I don’t need to analyze things to know that if I could sit at my computer in the morning, right after having breakfast, and get right to work, instead of having to find clothes, get in the car, waste my time on the road, get out of the car and settle in my office, I’d be a lot happier. Why go through all that when I’ve got everything I need right at home?

Less expenses for employees

What do we spend on gas every month? C’mon, add it up! I spend about $100, but I’m one of the luckier ones, because I only have a 25 mile round-trip commute. I’m sure other people spend more. And we’re not even counting the wear and tear on our cars. And how would we value the time we waste in traffic, time that could be spent working productively? I suppose we could calculate our hourly rate, then come up with a total for the time wasted on the road.

Less expenses per employee (business-wise)

Managers, count up the costs to get an employee in a chair at your place. Add in furniture, supplies and equipment (and make sure to include the computer as well). Well, now slash all those costs by about 70%. Happier? An employee that works from home won’t need an office, won’t need a phone, won’t need a desk or a chair or a bookcase or a filing cabinet or even a computer. Okay, there might be some leeway with the computer. You could let them sign out company equipment if you desire, or sponsor the whole or part of the cost of a computer, considering that they’ll use it for work now in addition to their home chores. And you might need to supply them with work-related software as well. But think about it, all of the other costs will go away. When employees come in, they can use terminals set up in the conference rooms, or bring their own laptops. And they’ll use common desks set up near conference rooms to do work that needs to be done at work, not dedicated offices.

Improved management practices

When employees telecommute, work becomes objective and goal-oriented for everyone. It has to, in order for telecommuting to work. Employees get treated as adults instead of babies that need to be micromanaged. Clear monthly and weekly objectives get set, and employees produce status reports or track their objectives online. When tracking is enabled, it’s easy to see who performs and who doesn’t perform. Non-performers can be let go. This is efficient management. Employees are enabled to do what they need to do, and the good ones will go out there and do it.

More family time

Those of you who are married or have significant others, let me ask you this: if you had two hours a day, extra, would you spend them in traffic, or would you spend them with the person you love? That’s an easy answer, right? So okay, you don’t have a spouse. Wouldn’t you rather pursue a hobby or read a book rather than waste your time in traffic?

Safety, safety, safety

People without time constraints are more laid back when they drive. When you work from home, you don’t need to rush into work. This means we’ll have less aggressive drivers on the streets, and our lifestyles will be more relaxed on the whole. Businesses who allow their employees to telecommute are indirectly decreasing the number of accidents and costly traffic tickets.

No more workplace annoyances

This may be more of a pet peeve of mine than anyone else’s, but I’d rather use the bathroom at home than the one at work. I don’t want to go to the bathroom and see (or smell) someone else in there. Why? Because people are disgusting. I want to be able to relax, at home, in my own bathroom, where I’m not in danger of contracting other people’s germs or be subjected to other people’s gross bathroom habits. I’m sure there are plenty of things that annoy you about your own workplace or co-workers, so we probably don’t need to get started down that path. Well, wouldn’t you be happier if you could see less of those annoying people, and only deal with them through email, from time to time? I thought so.

Hope this helps you make the case for telecommuting at your own workplace. Or, that it helps business managers realize the value of this wonderful practice, which is a fantastic way to attract motivated and valuable employees to one’s organization.

Standard
Thoughts

A doctor's view on "free lunches" and politicians

The following open letter from Dr. Sanford Siegel, President of the Chesapeake Urology Associates, to Rep. Henry Waxman (R-CA), was pointed out to me this morning. I asked Dr. Siegel’s permission to post it in its entirety on ComeAcross, and he agreed. I’m struck by how true this letter rings. My father is a doctor. He works hard, seven days a week. He wakes up at 5 in the morning and usually works till 10 or 11 at night. Whatever “free lunches” he gets when he goes to get CMEs (Continuing Medical Education) or to attend conferences and seminars in order to become a better doctor are well deserved. On the other hand, I’m not so sure how well deserved the salaries of our politicians really are, considering their work ethic, isolation from public sentiment, and openness to lobbyists. But then again, the tactic of distracting the public has been employed by politicians for ages, so this should be no surprise. Read Dr. Siegel’s letter, it’s an eye opener!

Dear Mr. Representative,

On Saturday July 29, 2006, there was an article on the front page of The Baltimore Sun entitled “Medical Salesmen Prescribe Lunches.” This article describes how the pharmaceutical representatives use free lunches to gain access to Doctors. In this article, you are quoted to say, “It’s obvious that drug companies provide these free lunches so their sales reps can get the Doctor’s ear and influence the prescribing practice. That’s not the way it should be done. Physicians should get their information from peer review and objective sources.” I am a physician, and we do get our information from peer reviewed journals and continuous medical education meetings. We are required to have 50 hours a year of continuing medical education. The reps simply supply valuable prescribing information about the use of the
drugs and their benefits.

Instead of insinuating impropriety on the part of Doctors and Pharmaceutical reps, maybe you should look into how your Congress functions. You are a member of the most abusive Congress in history. You are a member of Congress that will only work 76 days this entire year. That is the lowest number of days in history. They call this Congress, affectionately, the “Tuesday to Thursday Club,” as the Representatives come to work on Tuesday and leave Thursday afternoon. The lowest salary paid to a Congressman is $165,200/year. If you think I am misinformed, please refer to the ABC news report done on Saturday July 29th. They did the piece on, “Are we getting our monies worth?” Obviously, we are not.

The average salary for a Pediatrician is less than $100,000/year. They work 7-days-a- week, 48 to 50 weeks a year. They have not had a pay raise in 15 years. When was your last pay raise? We get “free” lunches from these Pharma Reps so we can learn about new drugs, their benefit to our patients, and where they will be harmful. Most of us will take 10-15 minutes a day for lunch, and most days we do not get lunch. We cannot see them during office time. Our days start at 7-8 in the morning and don’t end like other people’s work days. When we finish office hours, we go to the Hospital to see patients, and it does not end there, either. We then can go home and make phone calls to patients for an hour. We do this every day, 5-6 days a week. That is a far cry from your 76 days a year.

Your quote makes reference to the influence they have on us to use their drugs. Are you so naive to believe that a turkey wrap or a piece of dried out chicken parmesan will make us use a drug which we do not feel will be beneficial to our patients? Why is it legal for the airlines to give frequent flier miles for inducement to people to use that airline or for the restaurants who provide these Doctor lunches to have “frequent buyer” programs where “each dollar spent earns points that can be exchanged for movie tickets, gift certificates to Home Depot or Nordstrom or an ‘executive spa treatment,'” for the Reps who buy them? Should I believe that the junkets to Scotland for your colleagues to play golf, the lavish dinners they throw for members of Congress, the free airplane tickets or Super Bowl tickets, etc., do not influence you and your votes? Are you getting your information from, as you said, those “objective sources, the highly paid lobbyist?” How can you be so self-righteous? I am so insulted by your comments.

Like most Congressmen, Doctors are honest, hard-working people and dedicated to the people they serve. We do not abuse or take advantage of the system. Tell me what you would do without us? There may be a few bad apples, but the medical care in the United States is second to none. Is it made worse by these lunches? We have been hammered with 40% to 50% cuts in our reimbursement over the last 15 years. The Doctors share of the health care pie has shrunk from 30% to 8%. Overhead continues to soar. Healthcare insurance rates to my employees rose 24% this July. Two weeks later, I got a letter telling me this same company was reducing our reimbursement by 21%.

Dr. McGuire, the CEO of United Healthcare, was paid 1.6 BILLION (yes Billion) dollars last year. You must know that because CALPERS was so incensed they have filed a grievance with United Healthcare. Have you looked at them? Don’t you think that is just a tad more egregious than chicken parmesan?

This article has stirred a fire in me. I am angry that people of such influence, such as you, could attack us for something like lunches. There are so many important issues to address. Fix health care for the poor; bring peace to Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Middle East. Do something meaningful about these problems, and the historically low approval rating (26%) for this Congress may improve.

If you’d like to contact me to discuss this matter further, I can be reached at ssiegel585 [at] gmail.com or 410-581-1600.

Very Sincerely,

Sanford Siegel
President, Chesapeake Urology Associates

cc. Members of the 109th Congress
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Examiner
Baltimore Business Journal
Washington Post
Washington Times
The New York Times

Standard
Reviews

The Insider (1999)

The Insider (1999), is a thrilling, suspense-filled movie depicting the events that surrounded the 60 Minutes Interview with Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, a former tobacco executive. He was the first to give public testimony that the addictive properties of nicotine were well known, and manipulated, inside tobacco companies.

I saw it last night, and it was my first time seeing it. All of the actors in it were really good. I understand that the movie fictionalized some of the events that took place, for dramatic effect, but the general gist of what went on is certainly portrayed.

This is a wonderful movie to watch, because it portrays one man’s struggle with his conscience. Should he do the right thing, and risk losing his job? Then, should he continue to do the right thing, and risk losing everything, including his family, and possibly incur jail time? Those were tough times for Dr. Wigand, and because he chose to do the right thing, people are much more aware of the negative health effects of nicotine. The backhanded tactics used by tobacco companies are now common knowledge, and consumers are safer because of it. Millions of people can probably thank him for motivating them to stop smoking, and this movie played no small part in that.

Standard