Call Center Information

When calling 911, you actually are reaching a call center! That's right, all of them aren't filled with people that call you during dinner selling everything from music to life insurance. No, call centers are todays customer service centers of yester-year. These centers are an interconnected group of dispatchers ready to handle almost any emergency.

You've got to admit that dialing just 3 numbers and getting connected to all types of emergency services is pretty darn neat!

Oakley dokelys and other overprices sunglasses

ok, reality check here. Once a set of sunglasses have been identified as having the ability to filter out ultra violet rays and are comfortable, the rest of the details are fluff. That's right! FLUFF.

The cost of making a set of sunglasses in Mexico, even for the most expensive company is well under 10 bucks. That 10 1 dollar bills folks, so the logical question is why does the same pair of sunglasses cost over 100 dollars here in the US? The answer is because YOU'LL PAY IT! They market the heck out of this crap and we so want to believe that our lives will get better if we only have the right sunglasses, or clothes or shoes or use the right deodorant for Pete's sake. Have we become so insecure that we allow ourselves to be manipulated by BS marketing people selling smoke and mirrors.

here's a tip:
Most people don't really care what you do or do NOT wear, smoke, drive, or drink. sure, you're friends may like you having this type of stuff as it validates their stupid purchase from last week of the same or similar thing. Pity!

Driving Miss Daisy

Ever notice that many of the jobs today are service related? Ever notice that when younger, that is, those under about 35 are involved, there are distinct attitudes and traits that can be identified.
I recently was involved with what passes for health care here in the US. The health "CARE" workers were competent but lacked the consideration and care factor that anyone having their bodies poked, prodded and cut would naturally expect. sure, they took blood pressures etc. but did absolutely nothing to allay the fears and concerns of the work to be done.

This in turn lowered my confidence in their medical ability if only because they were unable to recognize that health care is more than the physical piece of a body being worked on at that moment. I am happy to report to the insurance companies however, that everyone had a very focused and intense involvement with making absolutely certain all the paperwork was completed and signed.

next time I need health care, I'm going as a form. At least that way, the people working in this field would care about ME at little

Anxiety and Worry

Personally, I believe that what we define as crazy are actually people who understand more clearly than the rest of us. This is not to say that all mental health is a misunderstanding, rather, some people see the world different and that may be the real reality.

Anxiety and worry in today's society might possibly be considered a healthy state when considering how the world is going. Consider: Mad cow disease, sky high oil prices, increases in natural gas to stay warm in the winter by companies that do not care if their customers can afford it. War. Terrorism. Political Correctness. Lies. Unscrupulous business practices, Criminal CEO's. Teenage gangs. No job security. social Security. national Debt. personal debt. . .and the list goes on.

It's to easy to say that there is a marked increase in fear, anxiety and worry and not recognize that just maybe that increase in worry is warranted. Although we can medicate ourselves, the reality of the world is much more dangerous, less caring and definitely less tolerant. Now where's my Prozac?

Give me a Break Time

Metrics and measures are interesting things. They're the way we measure success or satisfaction or even how well our children are learning in school. The reality however is that these metrics, if not correctly and carefully designed can give us a false solution or answer to questions like how well we do at work or how well our children are learning.

The sad thing is that many metrics and measures used today are based on assumptions that haven't been validated or tested. Take for example body temperature. Almost everyone knows a body temperature of 98.6 is considered "normal." What about the guy who's body temperature runs a few degrees warmer of colder? Are they considered abnormal? No becuase there's a range or band that's considered normal. The problem however is that many people don't realize the existence of that band of normalacy and would consider my body temperature of 97 degrees simply wrong. This type of thought process is very evident when someone is trying to justify their position or point of view. I think Mark Twain once said: figures don't lie but liers can figure. Good evening folks

Toyota: Japan understands quality and names quality man to lead Toyota

Katsuaki Watanabe made his name at the company with a cost-reduction program. As the new president, he's not about to slow down now

If Toyota Motor's recent growth is any guide, it seems more a question of when rather than if the Japanese giant will overtake General Motors to become the world's No. 1 car producer. It's easy to see why. Next year, Toyota (TM) is expected to sell some 8.5 million vehicles -- just 400,000 fewer than GM's (GM) projected sales.

Meanwhile, industry-busting earnings -- $10.7 billion in the year through March, 2005 -- are being reinvested in new production facilities the world over. Toyota's newest factories are in such far-flung places as the Czech Republic, China, and Texas, while further expansion is planned in Russia, Thailand, and Canada

from Business Week Online
Updated: 1:56 a.m. ET July 22, 2005