Science, News, Philosophy, etc ...
Just wanted to let everyone know that this blog is officially closed now. I am currently serving my own blog at http://blog.globalparadigm.info/ and maintaining a copy at http://elronsviewfromtheedge.wordpress.com/ ... I will likely not be updating this location very much, so please check in at one of the above locations for my current posts :)
posted by Elron @ 3:51 p.m.
0 comments
Pavilion Lake -Home - Carbonates and Mars in a BC lake
Posted by batemanl on July 5th, 2006
I saw this on CBC's The National last night, so I did a bit of research into it today and wanted to share with everyone. Apparently, these microbialites are unusual in fresh water, though to me they appear to be very similar in form to salt-water reefs and coral growths.
At the same time, the different types of carbonates found in Pavilion are fascinating as well. As they got into deeper depths, 'chimney' like structures that were reminiscent of similar structures near deep-sea thermal vents, though much smaller that the thermal vent variety.
The correlation to Mars is in the fact that these carbonates appear to be a very ancient form of life. They are similar in structure to fossils of carbonate structures that many scientists think formed the first examples of life on earth. Because of this, many also feel that carbonate like structures are some of the most likely forms for life to take in places like Mars, where conditions are inhospitable, and/or life had an abortive beginning.
I'll be following this for sure … until I saw this report, I was unaware of any fresh-water carbonates like this. I thought they were a specifically salt-water creature, and just for that reason I am fascinated by these discoveries.
posted by Elron @ 1:55 p.m.
0 comments
Amherst Times - AOL SAID, ‘IF YOU LEAVE ME I’LL DO SOMETHING CRAZY’
I must admit to getting a good laugh out of this article. The whole notion of “up-selling” is one that goes WAY into the extreme here … its one thing to try and convince paying customers to spend a bit more, but something else entirely to be forcing cancellations to spend so long on the phone.
The original blog article is fascinating, but I think the Amherst piece delves a it deeper into things. Interestingly, this is a practice that AOL is not only known for, but have been legally chastised for in the past …
In 2004, AOL signed an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission about problems related to — care to make a guess? — subscriber’s requests for cancellation. That was followed last year with an “assurance of discontinuance” reached with Eliot Spitzer, the New York attorney general, concerning — yes — subscriber’s requests for cancellation. In both cases, investigations had revealed that AOL practiced a strange form of customer service, continuing to bill subscribers who had called to cancel, and had thought that they had done so, but who were marked down as “saved.”
Further, even after this incident, AOL made no moves to change this policy. They did institute some cosmetic changes to the amount of annoyance they will subject cancelling customers to, but the fact that they refused to explicitly rule out annoying the customers is key. AOL defends the practice by saying “The customers’ calls to cancel provide the company with an opportunity to lead customers to services or features they had not known about, enabling them, Mr. Graham said, to “find their Eureka moment” or to accept a tempting offer of a lower price.”
While all that is admirable from a marketing perspective, its simply bad business to FORCE your customers to take an exit interview when they call to cancel. Its worth noting that, as pointed out in the Amherst piece, other ISP’s seem to do fine with customer retention even with providing a “Cancel” button that allows them to cancel quickly, easily, and without the required interview from AOL. One wonders how many times it will take of customers saying on the exit interview that being forced into an exit interview is bad customer service, before AOL takes the hint and actually uses the data being collected from their customers to change their system for the betterment of those customers.
In the end, its worth noting that AOL has received a clear and definite bit of data from their exit interview with Vinny … customers like simple ways of cancelling things. One wonders why an upstart company like Netflix can get away having an easy to use cancellation policy, when AOL can’t? The difference is, Netflix is relying on the fact that if you offer customers a good product at a reasonable price, they will tend to buy it and not cancel … AOL needs to take a page from that book and look at what its offering existing customers as a way of learning how retain leaving customers. Forcing the customers who are already upset and wanting out to answer your questions isn’t going to win you any points, either with the person you are specifically annoying at the moment, or the millions who will read or listen to their account after they hang up.
Remember … the customer is always right. Even when you know the customer is wrong, you have to treat them like they are right. Even if that means letting them go … when you start to assume your customers are wrong, you have a lot more problems than an exit interview will solve.
posted by Elron @ 12:18 p.m.
0 comments
Recently, I wrote something about why the Geneva Conventions (also here) are important, and why they need to be applied to combatants in all armed conflicts, including the one we are currently in. Go here for the original post, sparked off by a discussion I was having in one of my Yahoo groups at the time.
It’s somewhat heartening to hear the SCOTUS agree with me on the status of prisoners in the war on terror. John Paul Stevens, at least, seems to agree that the status granted under Geneva is relevant at LEAST to the trials of those detained at Guantanamo. Its hard for me to find reason to allow Geneva in one instance, but not in another, and so if Geneva applies to these prisoner’s trials, it seems clear it should also apply to their detention and treatment during said detention.
None of this goes as far as I did … essentially, I think recognizing Geneva is a human rights issue, and that the kind of conflict is irrelevant to status. The reason for the conventions is about recognizing the need to treat all humans in a certain basic way, and about recognizing the inherent value in simply being human. The SCOTUS decision doesn’t go nearly this far ofc, but that’s far too much to ask … just seeing SCOTUS recognize that Geneva applies to people captured in this conflict was a helluva first step, IMO.
posted by Elron @ 1:55 p.m.
0 comments
Today’s astro pic is another Mars-scape courtesy of the Spirit Rover. These shots always fascinate me … perhaps its just the geek in me, but the idea of looking out over alien horizons is something that has always fascinated me.
Its the same urge that drives explorers, I think. There is always lust for power, for independence, for wealth, that drives us to expand our borders, to push into the unknown. But its more than that too, IMO … the unknown beckons to us in very fundamental ways. As rational creatures, we crave to know the unknown as a fundamental function of who we are.
Part of exploration is always earthly .. staking out new territory to expand our available resources. But there is also an overwhelming urge for us humans to stand on top of the hill to look into a valley we have never seen. Enjoy the new vistas on Mars …
posted by Elron @ 8:05 a.m.
0 comments
