Bryan's Ramblings...
Feel free to comment on anything and everything I say!
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Enjoy!
Thursday, 17 February 2005
Prejudices...
Topic: thought provoking
I was talking with a member on the phone when something interesting hit me (mentally not physically...)
She gave me her name and asked a question and while she was talking I just happened to pull up her account. I answered her questions and when she got off the phone I noticed that she had over $7,000 in her account. I remembered back to hearing/reading about cases done where pyschologists have studied how people act differently based on preconceived judgements. For instance, if you bring a "new kid" to school and tell the teacher that the kid is not the brightest kid, the teacher usually treats them differently than the other kids. If you use the same child with another teacher and tell her he's a genius, then she tends to treat him that way.
I then wondered if I treated customers at work differently depending on how much money they had. My first thought was "no I tend to treat them all the same."
But I'm not so sure that's really true. Although I treat everyone with respect who calls, there are some who deserve more than others. For instance, my boss's husband calls up or someone who has quite a bit of money and you HAVE to treat them with extra respect. To not do so might very well cost me a job.
Someone who calls with $5 in their account and/or no political ties whatsoever to anyone I work with is different. I've had far too many people with little to no money try to act like they're the shit and that I should bend over backwards to make them happy. Frankly I don't care if they take their $5 (and most importantly all the grief and problems they cause us) to another institution. In fact, I'll even print out driving directions if they need it.
It's not to say I treat them like crap, even if they do so to me. I keep a smile the whole time, don't raise my voice, and don't return any swear words. But at the same time, I'm not going to worry nearly as much about how they might perceive me as to someone who is, let's just say, more important financially.
Hey, let's face it: like it or not, money does a lot of talking at financial institutions. If you have it you can get away with a lot more than if you don't. So please, if any of you out there have $5 in your account, don't expect the world from your financial institution...unless you just want to be made fun of...
Wednesday, 16 February 2005
Tombstone Technology and Cost-Benefit Analysis
Mood:
lazy
Topic: thought provoking
I was watching OPB (Oregon Public Broadcasting) last night and saw a very interesting show on airline crashes and the people who investigate them. They brought up something called "tombstone technology."
It's the name given to technological advances that are the direct result of deadly accidents. The airline industry is basically run by this technology. Whenever an accident happens, investigators determine the cause of the accident and suggest means in which to prevent it from happening again.
Not all the time, however, are the corrections made. See, major corporations run on what is known as "cost-benefit analysis." Basically, they calculate the costs to prevent the problem (i.e. $1,000 to put in a particular computer chip to monitor something new) and compare them with the benefits (i.e. 100 lives being saved). Only if the benefits outweigh the costs would the company change things. How can you calculate the true value/benefit of a human life though, you ask?
Well, the airline industry does it by how much it would pay out per death. The OPB show said that it's usually $2-$2.5 million per person.
One example I can remember was reading about Ford and their Pinto model car. In the late 80s, early 90s (I can't remember exactly when) they determined that the Pinto's gas tanks were not properly shielded from rear collisions. Several people sued Ford because their cars exploded after being rear ended. Ford calculated the costs of placing a $7 "shield" in each existing Pinto or just paying out the lawsuits: the lawsuits were calculated at being cheaper. So instead of saving lives they simply went the cheaper way of paying hush-money.
Gotta love Corporations always worrying about maximizing profits huh?
Tuesday, 15 February 2005
Yet another reason to put an end to Valentine's Day...
Topic: ramblings
Valentine Balloon Blamed for Power OutageFeb 15, 5:16 PM (ET)
MISHAWAKA, Ind. (AP) - A Valentine's Day balloon caused an electrical outage affecting more than 2,100 homes and businesses, power company officials said.
The outage occurred Sunday night when a heart-shaped metallic Mylar balloon drifted into an electrical substation, said Phil Miller, the general manager of Mishawaka Utilities.
"It said 'I Love You' on it," he said. "It looks like someone didn't hold onto their Valentine's gift tightly enough."
Miller said the balloon, trailing a wet string, drifted into the substation near the University Park mall in the city just east of South Bend.
The string caused a short circuit in a bank of capacitors, which are components that store electrical charges within the city's power transmission network.
"(The balloon) didn't look too pretty when we pulled it out of there," Miller said.
Power was restored to most customers within an hour, he said.
Monday, 14 February 2005
Topic: pictures
Ironically, the clock's batteries have died...
Wednesday, 9 February 2005
Smallest surviving baby ever born...
Topic: ramblings
Well I posted articles on some of the largest babies ever born, so why not post news of the smallest one to ever be born and survive, right?
***************************************************
Baby Said to Be Smallest to Survive Goes HomeFeb 9, 1:51 PM (ET)
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A baby who may be the smallest child ever to survive has been discharged from a hospital more than four months after she entered the world weighing about as much as a cell phone.
Loyola University Medical Center said Rumaisa Rahman was discharged on Tuesday weighing 5 pounds, 8 ounces (2,520 grams), a far cry from her 8.6-ounce (260-gram) weight at birth on Sept. 19, 2004.
The hospital said she is "the smallest surviving baby in the world known in medical literature." She joins her fraternal twin sister Hiba who was also born on the same day in a Caesarian procedure and who weighed 1 pound, 4 ounces (566 grams) at birth. She was discharged a month ago and now weighs 8 pounds, 8 ounces (3,700 grams).
Doctors said her prognosis was very good and expected that she would have normal physical and mental development.
The babies were born to an Illinois couple originally from Hyderabad, India. They are the couple's first children, the hospital said. Rumaisa means "white as milk" in their native tongue while Hiba means "gift from God."
Heading to Cali tomorrow!
Mood:
happy
Topic: ramblings
Wow, I haven't actually rambled on my own in a long time. Recently it's just been pictures and articles that I've been posting on here...
Anyway, tomorrow morning I'm heading to Sacramento for a wedding. A friend of the family is getting married tomorrow. My parents have known him longer than they've known me, so what does that tell you?
Well, I suppose that just tells you that he's older than I am...
Anyway, I am trying to plan a meeting between myself and my friend, Joe, from Cali as well. We were bestest buds when I lived in California a decade ago. We haven't seen each other in like 6 or 7 years. He's living in Fresno right now, so hopefully he can make the trip up to Sacramento on Friday and we can hang out.
I have been a little under the weather since getting back from Seattle last weekend. Hopefully I'm feeling better soon so me and Joe can hang out without any problems...
--Bryan
Tuesday, 8 February 2005
Self testiclularectomy
Topic: people who need help
Well, at Least He Won't Be Fathering More Fans...Feb 8, 8:27 AM (ET)
LONDON (Reuters) - A Welsh rugby fan cut off his own testicles to celebrate Wales beating England at rugby, the Daily Mirror reported Tuesday.
Geoff Huish, 26, was so convinced England would win Saturday's match he told fellow drinkers at a social club, "If Wales win I'll cut my balls off," the paper said.
Friends at the club in Caerphilly, south Wales, thought he was joking.
But after the game Huish went home, severed his testicles with a knife, and walked 200 yards back to the bar with the testicles to show the shocked drinkers what he had done.
Huish was taken to hospital where he remained in serious condition, the paper said.
Wales's 11-9 victory over England at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was their first home win over England in 12 years.
Giant Shoe
Topic: why others hate the US
Company Marks Centennial With Giant Boot Feb 8, 8:05 AM (ET)
RED WING, Minn. (AP) - Red Wing Shoes will take a big step with a giant boot next week, when the Minnesota company celebrates its 100th anniversary.
Using ladders, cranes and special rigging, company employees and retirees have built a supersized "638-D" replica of the company's classic workboot No. 877.
The boot stands 16 feet tall and is 20 feet long. It required 80 cowhides, 1,200 feet of rope and 300 pounds of adhesives. The shoelace is 104 feet long. It has been recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world's largest shoe.
The boot took more than a year to build. Employees said everything about the massive replica was properly scaled, so if a 12-story-tall man came to town they would have a roughly $100,000, ready-to-wear boot for him.
Saturday, 5 February 2005
A Picture Share!
Topic: pictures
And here's how they decorated Jason's desk soon after...
A Picture Share!
Topic: pictures
Here's how they decorated my desk at work one day...
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"Mr. Madison, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
-- from the movie "Billy Madison"
"Do not compute the totality of your poultry population until all the manifestations of incubation have been entirely completed."
-- William Jennings Bryan
(In other words, don't count your eggs before they hatch)
"When seeking a companion, become the type of person you would like to attract!"
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Posted by Bryan
at 8:49 AM PST
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