Sheep - South Island, New Zealand
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Rural - the photofriday.com Challenge
Well a bit of motivation, I figured I would
enter the Photo Friday Challenge where they
post an "assignment" or theme each Friday.
the current theme is "rural". I will try
to enter each week. Most of the time, like
this week, I will use photo's I've already
taken. I had four photos I thought met the
current theme pretty well, but you are only
allowed one entry... I chose "Fields"
enter the Photo Friday Challenge where they
post an "assignment" or theme each Friday.
the current theme is "rural". I will try
to enter each week. Most of the time, like
this week, I will use photo's I've already
taken. I had four photos I thought met the
current theme pretty well, but you are only
allowed one entry... I chose "Fields"
Motivation... or lack thereof
The last few weekends I've lacked motivation
to do anything. I haven't shot but half a
roll of film. I need to get the checkbook
back on the computer and updated. But even
with gorgeous weather and some free time, I
end up doing not much of anything. Today,
got up at about 9 am, made some cookies we
needed for something, and fell back asleep
until 2 pm. The weather is beautiful, a nice
breeze, clear skies, upper 70's I'd guess.
There are heaps of photographic opportunities
in Guatemala, I mean with the colors and all
why am I not out there more often? Above is
a taste of what is availble for my camera.
to do anything. I haven't shot but half a
roll of film. I need to get the checkbook
back on the computer and updated. But even
with gorgeous weather and some free time, I
end up doing not much of anything. Today,
got up at about 9 am, made some cookies we
needed for something, and fell back asleep
until 2 pm. The weather is beautiful, a nice
breeze, clear skies, upper 70's I'd guess.
There are heaps of photographic opportunities
in Guatemala, I mean with the colors and all
why am I not out there more often? Above is
a taste of what is availble for my camera.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Looking Forward to Lightning
photo.net has a great "picture of the week"
Check out the photo
It is a night shot of lightning over a city
in black and white. Sort of makes me look
forward to rainy season and another chance
to get good shots of lightning over Pacaya.
Above is one decent shot I have of lightning...
Check out the photo
It is a night shot of lightning over a city
in black and white. Sort of makes me look
forward to rainy season and another chance
to get good shots of lightning over Pacaya.
Above is one decent shot I have of lightning...
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Back to the present...
I think I mentioned I shot about 30 rolls of film in
December and January. 20 Sensia 100 and 10 Reala if
anyone is interested. I'm sort of in conflict on the
Reala. It gives good greens, especially in overcast
or misty conditions, but with my scanner (Minolta
DiMage Scan Elite 5400), I find Reala more difficult
to scan than the Sensia. It is getting easier as I
get more practice, and it probably has better dynamic
range and more latitude than slide film. None the
less, my latest film order did not include Reala. I
stuck with the Sensia 100 and also decided to try
Provia 400 for those times when I feel the need for
speed... like chasing the elusive Quetzal.
* see 19 Jan entry, which was done is grey conditions
with Reala and a slow zoom. (70-300 4.0-5.6 Canon)
Above are a few more shots from the Coban area, all
shot with Reala, in the rain and with a tripod...
December and January. 20 Sensia 100 and 10 Reala if
anyone is interested. I'm sort of in conflict on the
Reala. It gives good greens, especially in overcast
or misty conditions, but with my scanner (Minolta
DiMage Scan Elite 5400), I find Reala more difficult
to scan than the Sensia. It is getting easier as I
get more practice, and it probably has better dynamic
range and more latitude than slide film. None the
less, my latest film order did not include Reala. I
stuck with the Sensia 100 and also decided to try
Provia 400 for those times when I feel the need for
speed... like chasing the elusive Quetzal.
* see 19 Jan entry, which was done is grey conditions
with Reala and a slow zoom. (70-300 4.0-5.6 Canon)
Above are a few more shots from the Coban area, all
shot with Reala, in the rain and with a tripod...
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Photos in the mind's eye
Looking through some old slides and looking for some
good ones to scan got me a little nostalgic. The
nostalgia and the problems with color balancing
sort of came into play with one another. I scanned
a slide of a beautiful valley - Gindelwald Swizterland
It came out kind of green. So of course I have to
mess with "curves" and saturation etc. My goal is
to make the picture look nice....like I remember it.
Maybe the sky was not so blue....
Maybe the grass was not so green...
But this is how I'd like to remember it.
good ones to scan got me a little nostalgic. The
nostalgia and the problems with color balancing
sort of came into play with one another. I scanned
a slide of a beautiful valley - Gindelwald Swizterland
It came out kind of green. So of course I have to
mess with "curves" and saturation etc. My goal is
to make the picture look nice....like I remember it.
Maybe the sky was not so blue....
Maybe the grass was not so green...
But this is how I'd like to remember it.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Digital Photography
I've pretty much been scanning all day. Slides old
and new, many dated to the early 90's. You'll see
some results above. But in the meantime a little
mild rant about digital photography.
First, for many types of quality photography, once
you get beyond simple snapshots, digital photography
is far too expensive.
My EOS-3 costs about $850 new, a full frame (for
wide angle, landscape etc) DSLR with similar
capabilities such as the EOS-1Ds goes for about
$5000 on cheatbay. Add computer power, digital
storage to include both cards for the camera and
harddrive space for the computer, add a DVD-writer
and you're quickly approaching $6000. If I (a
film shooter) want to scan my slides or negatives,
to be fair, add the cost of a good film scanner
to the film side of the equation, such as a Minolta
DiMage 5400, about $650. Using film I don't have
the same backup requirements...I have the actual
negative or slide. The $4500 difference will buy
a lot of film and processing.
Second problem is the file manipulation and
arrival to a final "product."
It's time-consuming in a big way. If you want to
get beyond mere snapshots, you need to learn and
then use a photo editing package. If you want to
make decent prints, you need a printer (actually
I think the ink is more expensive), photo paper,
and most of all, you need to understand color
management and profiling....unless of course you
send photos out to be printed. The only way any
of the printing process for digital is cheaper than
film, is if you are a lousy photographer and most
of your shots aren't worth printing, or a lazy
photographer and you never get around to printing
your photos.
All that said, I suspect that in a few years when
the price of a full frame DSLR such as the Canon
1Ds Mark II falls from the current price of about
$8000 to something in the neighborhood of $1500,
I may bite the bullet and make the switch, or do
both, picking what is best for the job at hand.
and new, many dated to the early 90's. You'll see
some results above. But in the meantime a little
mild rant about digital photography.
First, for many types of quality photography, once
you get beyond simple snapshots, digital photography
is far too expensive.
My EOS-3 costs about $850 new, a full frame (for
wide angle, landscape etc) DSLR with similar
capabilities such as the EOS-1Ds goes for about
$5000 on cheatbay. Add computer power, digital
storage to include both cards for the camera and
harddrive space for the computer, add a DVD-writer
and you're quickly approaching $6000. If I (a
film shooter) want to scan my slides or negatives,
to be fair, add the cost of a good film scanner
to the film side of the equation, such as a Minolta
DiMage 5400, about $650. Using film I don't have
the same backup requirements...I have the actual
negative or slide. The $4500 difference will buy
a lot of film and processing.
Second problem is the file manipulation and
arrival to a final "product."
It's time-consuming in a big way. If you want to
get beyond mere snapshots, you need to learn and
then use a photo editing package. If you want to
make decent prints, you need a printer (actually
I think the ink is more expensive), photo paper,
and most of all, you need to understand color
management and profiling....unless of course you
send photos out to be printed. The only way any
of the printing process for digital is cheaper than
film, is if you are a lousy photographer and most
of your shots aren't worth printing, or a lazy
photographer and you never get around to printing
your photos.
All that said, I suspect that in a few years when
the price of a full frame DSLR such as the Canon
1Ds Mark II falls from the current price of about
$8000 to something in the neighborhood of $1500,
I may bite the bullet and make the switch, or do
both, picking what is best for the job at hand.
More parenting...
My sister-in-law visited us for a couple weeks last month.
She's just getting into photography, so she was a little
enthusiastic with the colors here, the different scenery
and sites. Enthusiastic to the tune of shooting more than
30 rolls of film...
I've also been more active in the photo arena since we've
moved here. I guess our enthusiasism was contagious, because
Shelby and Carl decided to SHARE a new 35 mm camera. I
ordered if for them and it should arrive early next week.
I've been thinking about how to teach them. They say, and
I'd like, that they learn and understand photography as
opposed to just snapshot-ing. I'm hoping to teach them
about depth-of-field, shutter speed, film speed and a little
about composition. Is a parent capable of doing something
like this without boring them to death? I hope so. Like
many good hobbies, photography is something that they can
take with them through a lifetime.
Anyway, above is a shot I took in Monterrico a couple weeks
ago in response to Carl asking:
"What is a double exposure?"
She's just getting into photography, so she was a little
enthusiastic with the colors here, the different scenery
and sites. Enthusiastic to the tune of shooting more than
30 rolls of film...
I've also been more active in the photo arena since we've
moved here. I guess our enthusiasism was contagious, because
Shelby and Carl decided to SHARE a new 35 mm camera. I
ordered if for them and it should arrive early next week.
I've been thinking about how to teach them. They say, and
I'd like, that they learn and understand photography as
opposed to just snapshot-ing. I'm hoping to teach them
about depth-of-field, shutter speed, film speed and a little
about composition. Is a parent capable of doing something
like this without boring them to death? I hope so. Like
many good hobbies, photography is something that they can
take with them through a lifetime.
Anyway, above is a shot I took in Monterrico a couple weeks
ago in response to Carl asking:
"What is a double exposure?"
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Not many people
get to see an active volcano from mere feet away
and a week later see and photograph a Quetzal,
the rare national bird of Guatemala. I've been
a photographing fiend this past month or so.
I've gone through at least 12 rolls of 36 exp film.
I've ordered myself a new lens too, the first in
almost 15 years. My disk came for the computer
today, so I could be up and scanning some of these
photos in the next few days.
and a week later see and photograph a Quetzal,
the rare national bird of Guatemala. I've been
a photographing fiend this past month or so.
I've gone through at least 12 rolls of 36 exp film.
I've ordered myself a new lens too, the first in
almost 15 years. My disk came for the computer
today, so I could be up and scanning some of these
photos in the next few days.
Saturday, January 08, 2005
Cimbing an active volcano
My son was here a few months back and never saw it
due to clouds. Other friends saw very little.
Well lately Pacaya has been active, I can see the
lava go up in the air at night with my binoculars.
Today I climbed it, up close and personal. It
is the "easiest" of the volcanos to climb people
tell me...which also tells me that I'm currently
in no shape to climb the others. It was a great
time, shot over 100 pictures with my film camera.
Hopefully they came out, it was a beautiful day
and off in the distance, Fuego belched a big bunch
of grey ash and steam. Enjoy the snaps I took
with the digital camera.
due to clouds. Other friends saw very little.
Well lately Pacaya has been active, I can see the
lava go up in the air at night with my binoculars.
Today I climbed it, up close and personal. It
is the "easiest" of the volcanos to climb people
tell me...which also tells me that I'm currently
in no shape to climb the others. It was a great
time, shot over 100 pictures with my film camera.
Hopefully they came out, it was a beautiful day
and off in the distance, Fuego belched a big bunch
of grey ash and steam. Enjoy the snaps I took
with the digital camera.
Thursday, January 06, 2005
Hemo the Magnificent
where have I been....(and where have YOU been?)
I'm finishing the 9th week of a cold/sinus/ear infection.
I thought I was getting better, but today my sinuses are
hurting again.
I've had a CAT scan, and twice a fiber optic camera
wiggled up my nose and took a lighted tour of my
sinus cavities. I got to watch, live and in livng
color, on a 15 inch or so color monitor a mere 2 ft
or so in front of my face. It reminded me of the
movie in grade school science class...Hemo the
Magnificent...which is a clue to my age.
The first tour, the sinuses were clearly infected,
even to the layman. This Tuesday, they appeared to
be a picture of health, but my left ear is still so
clogged (and possibly the ear drum ruptured) that I
can't hear out of it. So I started yet two more
medicines. I'm sick of being sick though. The
second camera tour was also a little worring...Doc had
that thing jammed a good three inches or more in
there, he went left, right, up, down and all around...
and you know what...I never noticed any brains at all.
In other news, Pacaya has been very active of late,
last night and this evening I could see the lava
shooting up. I'm scheduled to climb it on Saturday
with a group, but if the lava is actually flying into
the air, we may have to cut our hike short...its
pretty hot if the rock is melted!
Despite feeling terrible, we've seen a bit more of
the country, I'm waiting to get my slides back, but
we've been to Chichicastenago, Queztaltenango, and
spent 4 days at Lake Atitlan (see "she married me?"
for photos) where we spent time hanging out as well
as a little time in Santiago Atitlan, and walked
around Panajachel for almost a whole day. Just watching
the colors and light on the lake and San Pedro (volcano)
could have occupied all my time though.
My computer died again a couple weeks ago. Waiting
for a harddrive. I killed it when I tried to fix it.
It had problems either because I was overzealous in
keeping junk off of it, or because the significant other
used Internet Explorer on it.
Hopefully I'll post more soon...like that book parents
could write, or my New Year's resolutions. (I actually
have a history of keeping some of mine...have any of
you seen me wear a watch in the past 7 or 8 years?)
I'm finishing the 9th week of a cold/sinus/ear infection.
I thought I was getting better, but today my sinuses are
hurting again.
I've had a CAT scan, and twice a fiber optic camera
wiggled up my nose and took a lighted tour of my
sinus cavities. I got to watch, live and in livng
color, on a 15 inch or so color monitor a mere 2 ft
or so in front of my face. It reminded me of the
movie in grade school science class...Hemo the
Magnificent...which is a clue to my age.
The first tour, the sinuses were clearly infected,
even to the layman. This Tuesday, they appeared to
be a picture of health, but my left ear is still so
clogged (and possibly the ear drum ruptured) that I
can't hear out of it. So I started yet two more
medicines. I'm sick of being sick though. The
second camera tour was also a little worring...Doc had
that thing jammed a good three inches or more in
there, he went left, right, up, down and all around...
and you know what...I never noticed any brains at all.
In other news, Pacaya has been very active of late,
last night and this evening I could see the lava
shooting up. I'm scheduled to climb it on Saturday
with a group, but if the lava is actually flying into
the air, we may have to cut our hike short...its
pretty hot if the rock is melted!
Despite feeling terrible, we've seen a bit more of
the country, I'm waiting to get my slides back, but
we've been to Chichicastenago, Queztaltenango, and
spent 4 days at Lake Atitlan (see "she married me?"
for photos) where we spent time hanging out as well
as a little time in Santiago Atitlan, and walked
around Panajachel for almost a whole day. Just watching
the colors and light on the lake and San Pedro (volcano)
could have occupied all my time though.
My computer died again a couple weeks ago. Waiting
for a harddrive. I killed it when I tried to fix it.
It had problems either because I was overzealous in
keeping junk off of it, or because the significant other
used Internet Explorer on it.
Hopefully I'll post more soon...like that book parents
could write, or my New Year's resolutions. (I actually
have a history of keeping some of mine...have any of
you seen me wear a watch in the past 7 or 8 years?)
Sunday, November 14, 2004
some inconsistencies I've noticed...
I heard on TV the other day about "50 million Americans who
don't have access to health care". The statement is simply
a lie. By law emergency rooms can not deny access.
I think what they were trying to say is 50 million Americans
aren't covered by health insurance. That though, is also
not what it seems. Many people don't want health issurance,
they self-insure, others decide it is too expensive and take the
risk themselves, and still others decide they would rather their
kids have $125 Air Jordan shoes, cable TV and flip-top camera
cell phones.
Since the election, I've noticed a number of Democrat losers
whine that Bush voters are ignorant or don't know the "facts".
The implication being that if they just knew, they would have
certainly voted for Kerry.
These same losers earlier complained that their voters are to
stupid to know how and when to register, where to vote and
how to vote or even read the ballot.
My take then is that no matter who you voted for, many
Democrats think you're stupid.
Yassar Arafat lived and died a terrorist. He was corrupt as
well, but that didn't start until the money start flowing his way.
How can one "pay their respects" so such an animal?
What is there to respect? That he lasted long enough to
die of natural causes instead of dying from "lead poisoning"
long ago? That he sent others to kill women and children at
bus stops? That he denied "his people" peace and security?
The only person the civilized world should have sent to his
funeral, was someone to make damn sure the monster was
dead.
don't have access to health care". The statement is simply
a lie. By law emergency rooms can not deny access.
I think what they were trying to say is 50 million Americans
aren't covered by health insurance. That though, is also
not what it seems. Many people don't want health issurance,
they self-insure, others decide it is too expensive and take the
risk themselves, and still others decide they would rather their
kids have $125 Air Jordan shoes, cable TV and flip-top camera
cell phones.
Since the election, I've noticed a number of Democrat losers
whine that Bush voters are ignorant or don't know the "facts".
The implication being that if they just knew, they would have
certainly voted for Kerry.
These same losers earlier complained that their voters are to
stupid to know how and when to register, where to vote and
how to vote or even read the ballot.
My take then is that no matter who you voted for, many
Democrats think you're stupid.
Yassar Arafat lived and died a terrorist. He was corrupt as
well, but that didn't start until the money start flowing his way.
How can one "pay their respects" so such an animal?
What is there to respect? That he lasted long enough to
die of natural causes instead of dying from "lead poisoning"
long ago? That he sent others to kill women and children at
bus stops? That he denied "his people" peace and security?
The only person the civilized world should have sent to his
funeral, was someone to make damn sure the monster was
dead.
comments on parenting
I think we should write a book...you know if you are part of the we...the title...
"Good Advice Your Kids Could Use, Since Mine Just Ignore It"
Let's start with some of the things I have learned over the years.
First there are three levels of intelligence.
1. Stupid, you don't learn from your mistakes
2. Average, you learn from your mistakes.
3. Smart, you learn from other's mistakes
Of course level 2 breaks down into sub-levels A and B.
A. You generalize what you learn, i.e. "Hey, I put my hand on the burner,
it was hot, maybe the other burner could be hot too"
B. You only learn the specific lesson at hand, i.e. I put my hand on the
burner, it was hot. I put my hand on the other burner, it was hot, and in
the case of our stove, there are four burners, so the lesson is learned
four times.
I suspect my oldest son is in category 2B. I'm not sure, but I also suspect
that a lot of other 18 year olds keep him company in that particular
category.
One of the reasons I believe many kids fall into the 2B category, no matter
how many times their parents are proven right, the teenagers continue to
1. think we're stupid, and therefore
2. ignore our advice.
This proves that they are not in category 3, Lord knows we've made heaps
of mistakes, but the kids sure don't seem to want to learn from them.
I think it also proves that the kids aren't in category 2A, you'd think they
would see, "hey my parents were right about that, maybe they are right
about this..." In fact, it might be more accurate to say, "hey my parents
were right about these 10 things, maybe they are right about this thing
here". Nope. I guess they think we're just lucky...EVERY DAMN TIME!
If I was that lucky kid, I'd be buying lottery tickets!
I'll get to the actual advice in another blog...
"Good Advice Your Kids Could Use, Since Mine Just Ignore It"
Let's start with some of the things I have learned over the years.
First there are three levels of intelligence.
1. Stupid, you don't learn from your mistakes
2. Average, you learn from your mistakes.
3. Smart, you learn from other's mistakes
Of course level 2 breaks down into sub-levels A and B.
A. You generalize what you learn, i.e. "Hey, I put my hand on the burner,
it was hot, maybe the other burner could be hot too"
B. You only learn the specific lesson at hand, i.e. I put my hand on the
burner, it was hot. I put my hand on the other burner, it was hot, and in
the case of our stove, there are four burners, so the lesson is learned
four times.
I suspect my oldest son is in category 2B. I'm not sure, but I also suspect
that a lot of other 18 year olds keep him company in that particular
category.
One of the reasons I believe many kids fall into the 2B category, no matter
how many times their parents are proven right, the teenagers continue to
1. think we're stupid, and therefore
2. ignore our advice.
This proves that they are not in category 3, Lord knows we've made heaps
of mistakes, but the kids sure don't seem to want to learn from them.
I think it also proves that the kids aren't in category 2A, you'd think they
would see, "hey my parents were right about that, maybe they are right
about this..." In fact, it might be more accurate to say, "hey my parents
were right about these 10 things, maybe they are right about this thing
here". Nope. I guess they think we're just lucky...EVERY DAMN TIME!
If I was that lucky kid, I'd be buying lottery tickets!
I'll get to the actual advice in another blog...
Friday, November 05, 2004
Why companies who outsource overseas lose money
Companies can't possibly be saving money outsourcing their tech support
overseas.
No way, no how.
Here is my story, part of which is a continuation of the computer dying.
I will pick on two companies, HP and VONAGE, but rest assured that they
are not alone.
HP- Our family has 3 HP laptops, a HP digital camera and one of their
desktops, which has been the subject of earlier blogs.
You could correctly guess that I have been generally pleased with HP
products.
In the course of trying to get the desktop up and running (its still not
in case you care) I have had to deal with HP support via telephone. The
first instance, when I finally talked to a human, she was what I say (euphamistically) a "non-native english speaker", henceforth NNES.
Speaking plainly...she could barely understand american english, and she
could barely speak english at all. Having travelled a bit, I'd guess she
is from (and may still be there) the asian subcontinent...Pakistan,
India or Bangladesh. The conversation took a long time, probably a little
over 30 minutes. I needed to have HP send me recovery disks.
A few days later, the FEDEX package arrives...it is labelled with the correct
address, but a person who is not me. Bottom line, I can't take delivery of
the package. So now I wade through voice automated hell to get the privilege
of speaking with another NNES. I'm trying to explain the problem, after a
while, again I'd guess 30 minutes or so, the NNES gives up and passes me on
to a american speaking...AMERICAN! Holy cow! and everything was
straightened out in just a few minutes.
VONAGE a IP phone company that competes with Packet8 (which after this
experience I HIGHLY recommend over VONAGE if you just want simple phone
service). Friends of ours got the VONAGE phone. I spent a couple hours
at their house a week ago trying to get it working with no real luck. Last
night, I went back to finish the task. At my wits end, I call VONAGE tech
support (ironically using my Packet8 phone:). It takes a couple tries to get
through at all, when I get a NNES, probably from the same part of the world...
maybe HP and VONAGE share a call center... I spent well over an hour on the
phone with this guy. His pronunciation is so bad, I can't understand him when
he asks me to do a 'tracert' so he spells it...I can't even understand him
saying the alphabet (and he thinks I don't know what a 'tracert' is, after
I've already ripped thru various commands, IP settings etc.without his
prompting). I'd guess just the tracert thing lasted at least 10 minutes.
Anyway, after 2 1/2 hrs, of which at least an hour was on the phone
with this guy, I get the thing working.
Now, here is why these companies can't possibly be saving money with these
out-sourced call centers. In HP's case, they used about 1 man hour to do
something that with a native english speaker took 10 minutes...they have to
be paying the NNES a mere 16% of what they pay an American to break even...
and that is not counting...
- they incurred the cost of the incorrect shipment
- they lost some of my "goodwill" which is hard to put a value on.
- the expense of setting up an overseas call center
- including risks inherent in basing operations overseas, such as:
- political instability
- currency/banking instability
The numbers for VONAGE work out similarly, I think we could have solved the
problem in about 15 minutes with a native american english speaker as the
tech. Plus, in this case the goodwill costs are measurable and HUGE!
I recently wrote a small article in a newsletter about the great success
we've had with our IP phone. A few people that have bought IP phones as a
result and a large number have asked more specifically what to get etc. I
have recommended the Packet8 over VONAGE in all cases. I know at least 2
people have bought Packet8 and another 2 or 3 are seriously considering it
because of my article and after talking with me. Each one of those people,
if they end up having the sucess with Packet8 that I have had, is very likely
to recommend the service to others, especially as they rotate to other overseas
assignments. VONAGE lost real business, real money for 2 simple reasons,
their product is difficult to install compared to the competitor, which makes
it likely you will have to talk to tech support...and they barely speak
english.
overseas.
No way, no how.
Here is my story, part of which is a continuation of the computer dying.
I will pick on two companies, HP and VONAGE, but rest assured that they
are not alone.
HP- Our family has 3 HP laptops, a HP digital camera and one of their
desktops, which has been the subject of earlier blogs.
You could correctly guess that I have been generally pleased with HP
products.
In the course of trying to get the desktop up and running (its still not
in case you care) I have had to deal with HP support via telephone. The
first instance, when I finally talked to a human, she was what I say (euphamistically) a "non-native english speaker", henceforth NNES.
Speaking plainly...she could barely understand american english, and she
could barely speak english at all. Having travelled a bit, I'd guess she
is from (and may still be there) the asian subcontinent...Pakistan,
India or Bangladesh. The conversation took a long time, probably a little
over 30 minutes. I needed to have HP send me recovery disks.
A few days later, the FEDEX package arrives...it is labelled with the correct
address, but a person who is not me. Bottom line, I can't take delivery of
the package. So now I wade through voice automated hell to get the privilege
of speaking with another NNES. I'm trying to explain the problem, after a
while, again I'd guess 30 minutes or so, the NNES gives up and passes me on
to a american speaking...AMERICAN! Holy cow! and everything was
straightened out in just a few minutes.
VONAGE a IP phone company that competes with Packet8 (which after this
experience I HIGHLY recommend over VONAGE if you just want simple phone
service). Friends of ours got the VONAGE phone. I spent a couple hours
at their house a week ago trying to get it working with no real luck. Last
night, I went back to finish the task. At my wits end, I call VONAGE tech
support (ironically using my Packet8 phone:). It takes a couple tries to get
through at all, when I get a NNES, probably from the same part of the world...
maybe HP and VONAGE share a call center... I spent well over an hour on the
phone with this guy. His pronunciation is so bad, I can't understand him when
he asks me to do a 'tracert' so he spells it...I can't even understand him
saying the alphabet (and he thinks I don't know what a 'tracert' is, after
I've already ripped thru various commands, IP settings etc.without his
prompting). I'd guess just the tracert thing lasted at least 10 minutes.
Anyway, after 2 1/2 hrs, of which at least an hour was on the phone
with this guy, I get the thing working.
Now, here is why these companies can't possibly be saving money with these
out-sourced call centers. In HP's case, they used about 1 man hour to do
something that with a native english speaker took 10 minutes...they have to
be paying the NNES a mere 16% of what they pay an American to break even...
and that is not counting...
- they incurred the cost of the incorrect shipment
- they lost some of my "goodwill" which is hard to put a value on.
- the expense of setting up an overseas call center
- including risks inherent in basing operations overseas, such as:
- political instability
- currency/banking instability
The numbers for VONAGE work out similarly, I think we could have solved the
problem in about 15 minutes with a native american english speaker as the
tech. Plus, in this case the goodwill costs are measurable and HUGE!
I recently wrote a small article in a newsletter about the great success
we've had with our IP phone. A few people that have bought IP phones as a
result and a large number have asked more specifically what to get etc. I
have recommended the Packet8 over VONAGE in all cases. I know at least 2
people have bought Packet8 and another 2 or 3 are seriously considering it
because of my article and after talking with me. Each one of those people,
if they end up having the sucess with Packet8 that I have had, is very likely
to recommend the service to others, especially as they rotate to other overseas
assignments. VONAGE lost real business, real money for 2 simple reasons,
their product is difficult to install compared to the competitor, which makes
it likely you will have to talk to tech support...and they barely speak
english.
Saturday, October 16, 2004
Letter to the editor
The internet and technology are great...have I said that before?
Anyway, I get to read newspapers from all over the world, and
one I frequently read is the Cincinnati Enquirer...I grew up there.
When I first connected up to the internet (1997), I'd read papers
from places I'd lived, I'd visited, or where something interesting
was happening. Frequently an article would catch my eye and
ruffle my feathers, and I'd quickly (well for me, 30 wpm is quickly,
Elesa probably doesn't think so at 100+ correct spelling and
grammer wpm). Anyway, I eventually got a life, or the novelty
wore off, and I can't remember the last time I wrote to an editor.
Although, thinking about it, I have written Senators, congressmen/
women , a couple of radio talk show hosts, and an occassional individual
newspaper columnist in the past year.
Well today an article caught my eye
<http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/15/loc_islamic15.html>
It's not the first time I've seen articles, or pieces on television with
this general tone. If you don't feel like reading the article, the
general tone is, Islam is so misunderstood, its a peaceful religion etc.
The news pieces generally use a U.S. source and examples. This time,
"I couldn't take it anymore", and I wrote the following letter...(another
cool thing about the internet, if they don't publish my letter, I can!)
Letter to the Editor, Cincinnati Enquirer:
I was born and raised in Cincinnati, but as an adult, I have travelled
extensively throughout the world. Unfortunately this article (and the
Islamic Center) aim to perpetuate the myth that Muslims and Islam
in the U.S. are representative of Muslims and Islam the world over.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The average Muslim is dirt poor by U.S. standards, is far younger than
the U.S. average, and so poorly educated, they are likely to be illiterate
(far more so if female). The average Muslim lives in a country like Pakistan
(about 13% of world's Muslims), Indonesia (over 17%), Bangladesh (over
10%), not the U.S. nor even the Middle East (another myth). The most
populous Arabic country, Egypt only accounts for about 6%. But in ANY
of these cases, the per capita GDP is in the neighborhood of $2000 or in
some cases far less. Literacy rates are reported as less that 50% for
Pakistan and Bangledesh (and that is being generous).
Abaya (the robe part of the clothing) is essentially required in Saudi Arabia
(1.5%) even for visiting western Christian women. Once you add in the
number (a number that is growing) of women wearing Burqa in Afghanistan
(2.4%), Pakistan, Turkey (5.6%), Malaysia (1.3%, and where after a string of
rapes and murders in 2003 there were calls for all women to be covered),
Iran (5.7%) and Iraq (2%), its quite evident that significantly more than
"less than one-half of 1 percent of Muslim women worldwide wear the burka"
as the article states. In many cases, but unfortunately not all, the article is
correct when it states "Those who wear a hajab - scarf - do so for modesty".
In far to many countries and cases these days, the abaya, burqa, and hajib
have become symbols of totalitarian oppression.
Islam in the United States may be a "non-violent religion that respects peace",
I've never been to a mosque in the U.S. to be able to say otherwise. However,
in a number of the countries mentioned above, I have personally heard the loud
speakers from the mosques blare, I've read the newspapers, and seen their TV
...it was not "peace love and understanding" blaring, they were not kind
words that I read, and it was not a pretty picture on the television.
All percentages after a country name are the approximate percentage of the
world's Muslim population in that country.
The United States accounts for less than 1/10 of 1% of the world's Muslim
population.
Last, I'd like to point out that Islam does not have a monopoly on illiteracy or
poverty. Illiteracy and poverty abound in much of the world, no matter what
the religion.
Sincerely
John Labanz
Anyway, I get to read newspapers from all over the world, and
one I frequently read is the Cincinnati Enquirer...I grew up there.
When I first connected up to the internet (1997), I'd read papers
from places I'd lived, I'd visited, or where something interesting
was happening. Frequently an article would catch my eye and
ruffle my feathers, and I'd quickly (well for me, 30 wpm is quickly,
Elesa probably doesn't think so at 100+ correct spelling and
grammer wpm). Anyway, I eventually got a life, or the novelty
wore off, and I can't remember the last time I wrote to an editor.
Although, thinking about it, I have written Senators, congressmen/
women , a couple of radio talk show hosts, and an occassional individual
newspaper columnist in the past year.
Well today an article caught my eye
<http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/15/loc_islamic15.html>
It's not the first time I've seen articles, or pieces on television with
this general tone. If you don't feel like reading the article, the
general tone is, Islam is so misunderstood, its a peaceful religion etc.
The news pieces generally use a U.S. source and examples. This time,
"I couldn't take it anymore", and I wrote the following letter...(another
cool thing about the internet, if they don't publish my letter, I can!)
Letter to the Editor, Cincinnati Enquirer:
I was born and raised in Cincinnati, but as an adult, I have travelled
extensively throughout the world. Unfortunately this article (and the
Islamic Center) aim to perpetuate the myth that Muslims and Islam
in the U.S. are representative of Muslims and Islam the world over.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
The average Muslim is dirt poor by U.S. standards, is far younger than
the U.S. average, and so poorly educated, they are likely to be illiterate
(far more so if female). The average Muslim lives in a country like Pakistan
(about 13% of world's Muslims), Indonesia (over 17%), Bangladesh (over
10%), not the U.S. nor even the Middle East (another myth). The most
populous Arabic country, Egypt only accounts for about 6%. But in ANY
of these cases, the per capita GDP is in the neighborhood of $2000 or in
some cases far less. Literacy rates are reported as less that 50% for
Pakistan and Bangledesh (and that is being generous).
Abaya (the robe part of the clothing) is essentially required in Saudi Arabia
(1.5%) even for visiting western Christian women. Once you add in the
number (a number that is growing) of women wearing Burqa in Afghanistan
(2.4%), Pakistan, Turkey (5.6%), Malaysia (1.3%, and where after a string of
rapes and murders in 2003 there were calls for all women to be covered),
Iran (5.7%) and Iraq (2%), its quite evident that significantly more than
"less than one-half of 1 percent of Muslim women worldwide wear the burka"
as the article states. In many cases, but unfortunately not all, the article is
correct when it states "Those who wear a hajab - scarf - do so for modesty".
In far to many countries and cases these days, the abaya, burqa, and hajib
have become symbols of totalitarian oppression.
Islam in the United States may be a "non-violent religion that respects peace",
I've never been to a mosque in the U.S. to be able to say otherwise. However,
in a number of the countries mentioned above, I have personally heard the loud
speakers from the mosques blare, I've read the newspapers, and seen their TV
...it was not "peace love and understanding" blaring, they were not kind
words that I read, and it was not a pretty picture on the television.
All percentages after a country name are the approximate percentage of the
world's Muslim population in that country.
The United States accounts for less than 1/10 of 1% of the world's Muslim
population.
Last, I'd like to point out that Islam does not have a monopoly on illiteracy or
poverty. Illiteracy and poverty abound in much of the world, no matter what
the religion.
Sincerely
John Labanz
Friday, October 01, 2004
still bummed...
it's the hard drive...wouldn't be too big of deal except my computer
did not come with "recovery disks". I don't know that they still do
it, but in the early days of XP, you were never going to need recovery
disks again, so manufacturers did not supply the disks and instead
hid a recovery routine and the basic load of software on the computer's
hard drive....which is now dead, on an otherwise decent computer,
512 Mbytes RAM, 19" monitor etc. all useless without a harddrive
and an operating system.
I've started the process of trying to get recovery disks from HP.
Its a long tedious process...the web page ends up sending you in
a loop, if you need recovery disks, you click on a customer service
link, its link for recovery disks sends you back to the page about
recovery disks, where you can click on a link that sends you to
customer service...and back....and forth. The "voice activated"
customer service phone line is not much better...I think at the
4th or 5th level I spoke to a human, unfortunately she wasn't in
this hemisphere, and English wasn't even her second language.
She seemed to know what to do though...forwarded my call to
a section that is only open "business hours", and the recording
was kind enough to tell me so before it cut the line. I'm now in
the midst of step 3 of this process, I tried to email tech support,
all I want is recovery disks...
In the meantime, Elesa was kind enough (or unfortunate enough)
to take a nap at one point this weekend, at which point I loaded
my scanner software on her laptop. It has been lots of fun :)
anyway, I'm posting one of my scans...in memory of the hard drive.
did not come with "recovery disks". I don't know that they still do
it, but in the early days of XP, you were never going to need recovery
disks again, so manufacturers did not supply the disks and instead
hid a recovery routine and the basic load of software on the computer's
hard drive....which is now dead, on an otherwise decent computer,
512 Mbytes RAM, 19" monitor etc. all useless without a harddrive
and an operating system.
I've started the process of trying to get recovery disks from HP.
Its a long tedious process...the web page ends up sending you in
a loop, if you need recovery disks, you click on a customer service
link, its link for recovery disks sends you back to the page about
recovery disks, where you can click on a link that sends you to
customer service...and back....and forth. The "voice activated"
customer service phone line is not much better...I think at the
4th or 5th level I spoke to a human, unfortunately she wasn't in
this hemisphere, and English wasn't even her second language.
She seemed to know what to do though...forwarded my call to
a section that is only open "business hours", and the recording
was kind enough to tell me so before it cut the line. I'm now in
the midst of step 3 of this process, I tried to email tech support,
all I want is recovery disks...
In the meantime, Elesa was kind enough (or unfortunate enough)
to take a nap at one point this weekend, at which point I loaded
my scanner software on her laptop. It has been lots of fun :)
anyway, I'm posting one of my scans...in memory of the hard drive.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)