Bryan's Ramblings...

Feel free to comment on anything and everything I say!
There is a "post your comment" link below each entry where you can submit your own comments.
Enjoy!

Thursday, 3 March 2005

The $50 billion question...
Topic: thought provoking
The $50 billion Question

Suppose you were given $50 billion. You are to spend it on projects that would best foster global development and alleviate human suffering. How would you spend it?

Posted by Bryan at 4:53 PM PST | Post Comment | Permalink

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...

Posted by Bryan at 1:23 PM PST | Post Comment | Permalink

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?

Posted by Bryan at 11:52 AM PST | Post Comment | Permalink

Friday, 4 February 2005

16 lb baby born
Topic: thought provoking
Well aparently the 16 lb baby was born due to the mother having diabetes. But I definitely know of some women who have large babies due to overeating...

***************************************************

Woman Gives Birth To 16-Pound Baby
Mother's Diabetes May Have Increased Child's Size

POSTED: 1:32 pm EST January 21, 2005

SALVADOR, Brazil -- Doctors at a Brazilian hospital have delivered a boy weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces. The baby is the fifth child born to a 38-year-old woman.

AP Image
Ademilton dos Santos weighed in at 16 pounds, 11 ounces when he was born.

Doctors say the baby was delivered by Caesarean section Tuesday at a hospital about 900 miles northeast of the city of Sao Paulo.

The baby is the largest born in the hospital's 12-year history.

A hospital spokeswoman said the mother is diabetic and women who suffer from the condition often have large babies.

The woman's other four children ranged in weight from 7 to 11 pounds at birth. But the hospital spokeswoman said the size of this newborn surprised everybody.

Posted by Bryan at 9:40 AM PST | Post Comment | Permalink

14 lb baby born in Oregon
Mood:

not sure
Topic: thought provoking
Something tells me that women in most countries wouldn't be able to feed the baby enough to get him/her this big, let alone give birth to it. You'll notice this baby was born via Caesarean section. I'm sure vaginal birth wouldn't be possible in the case of this large of a baby. Just kind of goes to show just how bad our eating habits have become: it's now leaking into the next generation in utero.

Then again, birth weight doesn't guarantee the size the baby will continue to be into the future. Just look at me...

****************************************************

Ore. Women Gives Birth to 14 Pound Baby

Feb 3, 8:12 PM (ET)

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (AP) - Jacob Aaron Ryon is the size of a healthy 3-month old. Only problem is, he's less than two weeks old. Jacob weighed 14 pounds and 1 ounce when he was born to Wendy Bullock, 24, on Jan. 21 at Pioneer Memorial Hospital. He measured 24 inches.

"The whole hospital was a buzz," grandmother Aaron Miller said. "He's just a little man."

Jacob, who was delivered by Caesarean section, was so big he busted out of newborn-sized diapers and his one-piece sleepers. A nurse had to run to the store to get him bigger clothes, Miller said.

Jacob is one of the biggest newborns in Central Oregon in recent memory.

Doctors at Mountain View Hospital delivered an 11-pound girl in 2000, administrator Rick Nader said. At St. Charles Medical Center-Bend, a 13-pound baby was likely the largest ever born there, spokesman Todd Sprague said.

Proud mother Bullock, who is 6-feet tall, doesn't mind the extra load.

"I'm just happy he came out healthy and strong and I made it through," she said. "He's perfect."

Last month in northeastern Brazil, a 38-year-old woman gave birth to a 16 pound, 11-ounce baby boy named Ademilton.

Posted by Bryan at 8:23 AM PST | Post Comment | Permalink

Wednesday, 2 February 2005

Here's a thought...
Topic: thought provoking
I heard on the radio earlier today that a petition has been started to convince Ashley Simpson to stop singing altogether. So far they had gathered over 275,800+ signatures begging her to stop singing...

Then it hit me. It's obvious that her family (and specifically her famous singer sister, Jessica), not her talent, got her foot in the door and got her a record deal.

And then another thought crossed my mind. How much better off our whole world would have been...how much less pain and suffering would exist in this world...if only Simon Cowell was her brother or dad.

* smiles and dreams about what "could have been" *

Posted by Bryan at 10:07 PM PST | Post Comment | Permalink

Monday, 10 January 2005

Perspectives...
Topic: thought provoking
How's this for perspective...

A woman calls to make a transfer on her account. She tells me (and I quote) "I need to make a transfer. Boy these holidays are killing me!"

I pull up her account...between a savings, checking, and money market account she has over $145,000 in her accounts. She has a Visa with less than $300 due and (considering she's 88 yrs old and has so much money) I'm sure she doesn't have a mortgage to worry about. I'd be curious to see what it takes for her not to be "killed" by the holidays...

Posted by Bryan at 3:46 PM PST | Post Comment | Permalink

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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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