We shouldn't allow those using plain corruption to call it "free market." They, and their talking heads, seek to do so in order to prevent sensible actions being taken to address the corruption. It is much better for them if people think what they are doing is capitalism instead of just being criminals. That is the same as allowing kleptocrat dictators to call what they do "democracy."
Corruption destroys the potential value to the public. It does that when it corrupts free markets. And it does it when it is used for other purposes (corrupting the rule of law, etc.).
If we call corruption - "free market" - it makes it difficult to design the correct counter measure to address the damage being done to society.
Those practicing corruption win if those that what to have society address the damage being done think the problem is free markets instead of focusing on the real problem which is corruption. There may well also be some issues with how free markets work and therefore putting in place political adjustments is sensible to discuss in terms of "free market" adjustments. But most often people complaining about the failures of "free markets" are complaining about straight up corruption. And failing to address the problem for what it is results in what we see now - those problems growing instead of being addressed.
Related: We Need to be More Capitalist and Less Cronyist - Political and Corporate Cronyism are not Capitalism - Monopolies and Oligopolies do not a Free Market Make
Friday, April 14, 2017
Sunday, January 29, 2017
The Continued Fall of the USA's Political Leaders that We Give Power To
A few days into the new President's administration and it is as bad as anyone paying attention would have expected. It is very sad the USA elected Trump and the Senators and Representatives standing with him. The consequences of electing Trump and the others that support his actions and that are choosing not to protect the USA constitution will be very damaging.
Photo of the White House by John Hunter. This house should be a place worthy of respect (even for those with political differences) but the current occupants are straining that hope.
As a kid in high school I couldn't understand how the USA could fail as badly as McCarthyism; Japanese internment; Nixon's enemies list, watergate etc.. Other failures I would witness later, while a shockingly abhorrent, such as the Iran-Contra scandal flaunting of the rule of law and the failure to do anything about it I saw as sad but not surprising.
The USA we created isn't a binary no-Trump = good v. yes-Trump = bad. The current situation was created by us voting for who we did for decades. The actions of the people we put in power, created the system where Trump could be elected and have huge support from the others we elected.
There were many warning signs of how bad it was during the last 2 administrations. True, it is much worse now, but we were on the path here. But we have created a toxic system that was intentionally shaped by those we granted political power. They shaped a system that ignore facts, devolve discussion into 1984 News Speak, ignore the rule of law when it was convenient for whoever was on your side in the battle for power, pretend complex realities have simple solutions, badly distorted democracy with unconscionable gerrymandering, etc..
The current president and his leadership team certainly are taking the toxic situation created by those we elected for the last few decades and are taking it extremes even more damaging than those that designed it wished for it to be. But when you create and promote a dumpster fire in order to get whatever your short term desires are you can't disown responsibility for the damage that dumpster fire continues to do after you.
Photo of the USA capital by John Hunter. If those elected officials voting in this building the next few years continue as they have done in the few decades we are going to suffer greatly for the mistake of electing them.
The kids of kids today are going to be wondering the same thing about us that I did about our McCarthyism, Japanese internment... supporting ancestors. It is devastating that for decades we allowed our political parties to destroy the fundamental aspects of what the USA should stand for.
The challenges we face as a society are great enough without continuing to put in power the people that have lead the USA to the extremely sad state of affairs we see today with the actions of the current president and his supporters in the White House, on Capital Hill and in the State houses and legislatures around the country.
Sure the current president is a huge mistake we will suffer greatly for voting into office. But the problem is much deeper than just him. The political leadership has been allowed to rot to the core. He is merely a symptom of how bad we have allowed things to get.
We need to fundamentally change who we give power to if we want change. We need to provide power to those that seek to fix problems. We need to give power to those that acknowledge scientific and economic reality. We need to elect people that appose hate. We need to elect people that care more for the country than for personal aggrandizement and reward. We need to elect people that care more for the country than following the orders of their party.
Things are much worse today than a year ago but if we believe the problem is the current president we will fail to address the real problem. He is just a symptom of how messed up our country is. Replace him with his Vice President or most of the other leadership of his party and maybe a few of the most extreme embarrassments to the country would go away but the core of what they stand for doesn't change. The president is not a King or Dictator. The Courts, House and Senate can (and the Constitution depends on them doing so) block actions that damage the country. But the House and Senate are not doing so.
As the current system has evolved the politicians state a few words about they believe in such and such and don't support this other thing and then they go ahead and vote for this other thing while undermining such and such. They have created a system in order to promote the belief that what they actually do isn't what matters but what they say. That way they can fully support actions that they claim to not support. Sure the current president is even less concerned with the truth but he is just extending the policy of News Speak that became the standard practice for both parties over the last few decades.
If we are lucky a few Republicans will stand with the USA and the Constitution and join Democrats that mainly will appose just because the current president isn't from their party and we will avoid some of the worst of what we can expect. But we may very well not be lucky for a several years. Being stuck in a position where we have to hope for a few politicians to be courageous is not a good position to be in given the poor performance of our politicians the last few decades.
Related: Living Through Your Society Becoming a Police State (2013) - Security Theatre Thinking is Damaging the USA (2013) - Freedom Increasingly at Risk (2008) - The Aim of Modern Day Political Parties is To Scare Donors Into Giving Cash (2014) - Selling Out the Country: We are Electing the Wrong People to Control Our Government (2015) - SWAT Raids – Systemic Failures? (2007) - Anti-Market Policies from Our Talking Head and Political Class (2011) - We Need to be More Capitalist and Less Cronyist (2011) - Preaching False Ideas to Men Known to be Idiots (2010) - Adding More Banker and Politician Bailouts is not the Answer (2012) - Failure to Regulate Financial Markets Leads to Predictable Consequences (2009) - Don't Excuse Immoral Looters (2009) - Lobbyists Keep Tax Off Billion Dollar Private Equities Deals and On For Our Grandchildren (2007)
Photo of the White House by John Hunter. This house should be a place worthy of respect (even for those with political differences) but the current occupants are straining that hope.
As a kid in high school I couldn't understand how the USA could fail as badly as McCarthyism; Japanese internment; Nixon's enemies list, watergate etc.. Other failures I would witness later, while a shockingly abhorrent, such as the Iran-Contra scandal flaunting of the rule of law and the failure to do anything about it I saw as sad but not surprising.
The USA we created isn't a binary no-Trump = good v. yes-Trump = bad. The current situation was created by us voting for who we did for decades. The actions of the people we put in power, created the system where Trump could be elected and have huge support from the others we elected.
There were many warning signs of how bad it was during the last 2 administrations. True, it is much worse now, but we were on the path here. But we have created a toxic system that was intentionally shaped by those we granted political power. They shaped a system that ignore facts, devolve discussion into 1984 News Speak, ignore the rule of law when it was convenient for whoever was on your side in the battle for power, pretend complex realities have simple solutions, badly distorted democracy with unconscionable gerrymandering, etc..
The current president and his leadership team certainly are taking the toxic situation created by those we elected for the last few decades and are taking it extremes even more damaging than those that designed it wished for it to be. But when you create and promote a dumpster fire in order to get whatever your short term desires are you can't disown responsibility for the damage that dumpster fire continues to do after you.
Photo of the USA capital by John Hunter. If those elected officials voting in this building the next few years continue as they have done in the few decades we are going to suffer greatly for the mistake of electing them.
The kids of kids today are going to be wondering the same thing about us that I did about our McCarthyism, Japanese internment... supporting ancestors. It is devastating that for decades we allowed our political parties to destroy the fundamental aspects of what the USA should stand for.
The challenges we face as a society are great enough without continuing to put in power the people that have lead the USA to the extremely sad state of affairs we see today with the actions of the current president and his supporters in the White House, on Capital Hill and in the State houses and legislatures around the country.
Sure the current president is a huge mistake we will suffer greatly for voting into office. But the problem is much deeper than just him. The political leadership has been allowed to rot to the core. He is merely a symptom of how bad we have allowed things to get.
We need to fundamentally change who we give power to if we want change. We need to provide power to those that seek to fix problems. We need to give power to those that acknowledge scientific and economic reality. We need to elect people that appose hate. We need to elect people that care more for the country than for personal aggrandizement and reward. We need to elect people that care more for the country than following the orders of their party.
Things are much worse today than a year ago but if we believe the problem is the current president we will fail to address the real problem. He is just a symptom of how messed up our country is. Replace him with his Vice President or most of the other leadership of his party and maybe a few of the most extreme embarrassments to the country would go away but the core of what they stand for doesn't change. The president is not a King or Dictator. The Courts, House and Senate can (and the Constitution depends on them doing so) block actions that damage the country. But the House and Senate are not doing so.
As the current system has evolved the politicians state a few words about they believe in such and such and don't support this other thing and then they go ahead and vote for this other thing while undermining such and such. They have created a system in order to promote the belief that what they actually do isn't what matters but what they say. That way they can fully support actions that they claim to not support. Sure the current president is even less concerned with the truth but he is just extending the policy of News Speak that became the standard practice for both parties over the last few decades.
If we are lucky a few Republicans will stand with the USA and the Constitution and join Democrats that mainly will appose just because the current president isn't from their party and we will avoid some of the worst of what we can expect. But we may very well not be lucky for a several years. Being stuck in a position where we have to hope for a few politicians to be courageous is not a good position to be in given the poor performance of our politicians the last few decades.
Related: Living Through Your Society Becoming a Police State (2013) - Security Theatre Thinking is Damaging the USA (2013) - Freedom Increasingly at Risk (2008) - The Aim of Modern Day Political Parties is To Scare Donors Into Giving Cash (2014) - Selling Out the Country: We are Electing the Wrong People to Control Our Government (2015) - SWAT Raids – Systemic Failures? (2007) - Anti-Market Policies from Our Talking Head and Political Class (2011) - We Need to be More Capitalist and Less Cronyist (2011) - Preaching False Ideas to Men Known to be Idiots (2010) - Adding More Banker and Politician Bailouts is not the Answer (2012) - Failure to Regulate Financial Markets Leads to Predictable Consequences (2009) - Don't Excuse Immoral Looters (2009) - Lobbyists Keep Tax Off Billion Dollar Private Equities Deals and On For Our Grandchildren (2007)
Monday, January 16, 2017
Government Debt - How Safe or Costly is It?
My comments on: Debt’s a Funny Thing // Plus: Why We’re Not Prepaying Our Rental Mortgage
Government debt is indeed different than personal debt. It is true some of the USA debt we owe to ourselves (we also owe a lot to China, Japan and others). The situation is fairly odd now for the USA in that the interest rates are extremely low. That makes the huge amount of debt less painful - but even now 15% of the spending by the government is just paying interest. And that could easily double without interest rates really even getting high. That is a real problem. To the extent we owe it to ourselves it is less of a problem but we owe lots to people overseas which means we are going to be paying back hundreds of billions of dollars to people in China, Japan... At these rates it might be fine (or even a good deal) sometime in the next 20 years it is likely to be very costly.
I wrote about the issue of government debt and the different impact of it being held overseas or within the country.
Japan has far more debt than even the USA. But it is also much more owed to themselves than is true in the USA.
The USA also has significant advantages over other countries. We can hold more debt safely than other countries due to the perception of the safety of the US$ and the size of the USA economy.
Related: Chart of Net Government Debt from 1980 to 2013 by Country - Which Currency is the Least Bad? (2012 - USD) - Who Will Buy All the USA’s Debt? (2009) - USA Federal Debt Now $516,348 Per Household (2007)
There’s also the national debt, which it turns out is not really like debt you or I might have at all, and — this was mind-blowing to me — most economists don’t even think the national debt is bad, and some actually think we should have more national debt...
Government debt is indeed different than personal debt. It is true some of the USA debt we owe to ourselves (we also owe a lot to China, Japan and others). The situation is fairly odd now for the USA in that the interest rates are extremely low. That makes the huge amount of debt less painful - but even now 15% of the spending by the government is just paying interest. And that could easily double without interest rates really even getting high. That is a real problem. To the extent we owe it to ourselves it is less of a problem but we owe lots to people overseas which means we are going to be paying back hundreds of billions of dollars to people in China, Japan... At these rates it might be fine (or even a good deal) sometime in the next 20 years it is likely to be very costly.
I wrote about the issue of government debt and the different impact of it being held overseas or within the country.
Japan has far more debt than even the USA. But it is also much more owed to themselves than is true in the USA.
The USA also has significant advantages over other countries. We can hold more debt safely than other countries due to the perception of the safety of the US$ and the size of the USA economy.
Related: Chart of Net Government Debt from 1980 to 2013 by Country - Which Currency is the Least Bad? (2012 - USD) - Who Will Buy All the USA’s Debt? (2009) - USA Federal Debt Now $516,348 Per Household (2007)
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Most Popular posts on the Curious Cat Comments blog in 2016
The most popular posts on our blog (by page views in 2016):
The publication year of our most read posts this year:
2015: 1 post
2013: 3
2011: 2
2010: 2
2009: 1
2005: 1
Related: Most Popular Post on the Curious Cat Comments Blog (2011) - Most Popular Posts on the Curious Cat Comments Blog (2015) - Most Popular Posts on the Curious Cat Comments Blog (2014)
- Utopia (Dreamland in the USA) is an Amazing TV Program (2015), available on Netflix
- Security Theatre Thinking is Damaging the USA (2013)
- Liberty and Support or Control and Hate (2013)
- Blog Readers (for Reading RSS Feeds)
- Netflix is Well Managed - People are Overreacting (2011)
- Society is being shaped for us while we are busy making other plans (2011)
- Curious, Joyful, Happy Kids Grow Up: Unfortunately
- Why Copyright Extension is a Very Bad Idea (2009)
- Bikinis For Liberty (2010)
- Manufacturing Job Losses: USA 2 million, China 15 million (2005)
The publication year of our most read posts this year:
2015: 1 post
2013: 3
2011: 2
2010: 2
2009: 1
2005: 1
Related: Most Popular Post on the Curious Cat Comments Blog (2011) - Most Popular Posts on the Curious Cat Comments Blog (2015) - Most Popular Posts on the Curious Cat Comments Blog (2014)
Wednesday, December 07, 2016
Subscribe to blog posts by John Hunter
I have added an RSS feed to the blog posts I add to JohnHunter.com. I add items there for some, but not all of my posts, from my various blogs.
There is a list of blogs I author on my Curious Cat blog site. I write on several topics including
I am currently in the process of adding items for the past few years (as I stopped updating this part of the JohnHunter.com website for awhile).
I believe RSS feed readers are one of the most valuable tools for those learning online. I wrote about what RSS feed readers are and how to use them previously.
There is a list of blogs I author on my Curious Cat blog site. I write on several topics including
- Management and Leadership
- Money, Investing, Lifestyle and Personal Finance
- Travel
- Technology, Computer Programming, Engineering and Science
- Society
I am currently in the process of adding items for the past few years (as I stopped updating this part of the JohnHunter.com website for awhile).
I believe RSS feed readers are one of the most valuable tools for those learning online. I wrote about what RSS feed readers are and how to use them previously.
Wednesday, July 27, 2016
The Worst Aspect of TPP That Gets Nearly No Attention
Sadly among the worst aspects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership TPP (and also the TTIP) is the promotion of the copyright cartel's agenda along with very bad patent policy. Almost no one with political power is even talking about these huge problems with it.
I support free trade. I don't support the politically motivated trade agreements that impose the USA political donors' wishes on citizens of the USA and other countries.
The point that I most agree with, that those with power who are opposing the TPP mention, is the ludicrous abdication of national rights expressed in the trade deals (allowing companies to sue countries, say for enforcing their reasonable patent rules that the company doesn't like and has bought differing rules from the USA political parties).
It is true that we have to work together, and in doing so we need to reach agreements between countries that require making compromises. The TPP just has many horrible provisions paid for by USA political donors that are being imposed on other countries (and those countries are being paid to give the USA donors the favors via promises of USA military protection, access to USA markets etc.). It is a bad deal for nearly everyone. But the favors create a few huge winners that can pay to grease the wheels to buy passage in the USA (and elsewhere).
We need free trade that removes barriers to trade not that gives payoffs to USA political donors. Along with removing barriers a few conditions are justified but they should be kept as small as possible (things like no child labor, no slave labor, environmental requirements, safety requirements on exported material, etc.).
Related: Money Is Corrupting Our Political Process - Why Copyright Extension is a Very Bad Idea - We Need to be More Capitalist and Less Cronyist - I Can Spy on You, But You Can't Spy on Me
I support free trade. I don't support the politically motivated trade agreements that impose the USA political donors' wishes on citizens of the USA and other countries.
The point that I most agree with, that those with power who are opposing the TPP mention, is the ludicrous abdication of national rights expressed in the trade deals (allowing companies to sue countries, say for enforcing their reasonable patent rules that the company doesn't like and has bought differing rules from the USA political parties).
It is true that we have to work together, and in doing so we need to reach agreements between countries that require making compromises. The TPP just has many horrible provisions paid for by USA political donors that are being imposed on other countries (and those countries are being paid to give the USA donors the favors via promises of USA military protection, access to USA markets etc.). It is a bad deal for nearly everyone. But the favors create a few huge winners that can pay to grease the wheels to buy passage in the USA (and elsewhere).
We need free trade that removes barriers to trade not that gives payoffs to USA political donors. Along with removing barriers a few conditions are justified but they should be kept as small as possible (things like no child labor, no slave labor, environmental requirements, safety requirements on exported material, etc.).
Related: Money Is Corrupting Our Political Process - Why Copyright Extension is a Very Bad Idea - We Need to be More Capitalist and Less Cronyist - I Can Spy on You, But You Can't Spy on Me
Sunday, June 19, 2016
Active Photos
I don't know how I did this but I am looking through some photos I took a few weeks ago and I have a video that is a string of photos with a few seconds of video on each side. I believe some version of Apple iPhones have added this active photo mode with a second of video or something. I managed to do it with my Canon PowerShot SX60 HS Digital Camera.
I have occasionally managed to turn on the video without noticing so I get a bit of video instead of a photo. But this is weird it is a video that jumps from place to place. It is really weird. I have no idea how I would make it do this if I tried. If it was one long video I could understand but it isn't it is like it started and stopped when I tried to focus for a photo and then a bit after the photo was taken.
In addition to that video I have the individual photos that I took while the video was recording.
See Curious Cat photos.
I have occasionally managed to turn on the video without noticing so I get a bit of video instead of a photo. But this is weird it is a video that jumps from place to place. It is really weird. I have no idea how I would make it do this if I tried. If it was one long video I could understand but it isn't it is like it started and stopped when I tried to focus for a photo and then a bit after the photo was taken.
In addition to that video I have the individual photos that I took while the video was recording.
See Curious Cat photos.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
Netflix Throws Users Under the Bus
First Netflix was an awesome streaming service that just worked and was focused on providing users a great experience.
Even at the beginning (or at least my beginning) they through Ubuntu users under the bus and just said we won't serve you. So I didn't use it. Later I got a Mac and then I decided to give it a try and it was wonderful, it just worked (well after requiring you install Microsoft Silverlight).
But most large companies just expect users to fit themselves into whatever constraints the big companies wish to impose (see Comcast, United Airlines, Verizon etc.). So compared to these really bad companies using Netflix was wonderful.
There are many issues with bad connections etc. and Netflix while not perfect (they would often only buffer a short amount and fail when the bad connection failed or got to slow) but they were much better than others at just working.
The last 6 months though it is more and more like the typical experience of some huge company that just expects you to cope with whatever they force you to do.
They continually won't work when I forget I have to sign off my vpn to use them. They blame others for this bad service (blaming others for treating customer badly is of course what all the companies people originally sought to escape the Time Warners, AT&T, etc. of the world by using Netflix. Oh well so one more time Netflix is selling us out.
Then then continually degraded the usability of the website. They seem intent on reducing the usability so that they can only bother to design as if we all were limited to smart phones. So if you have a computer and want to have more information available on your screen too bad, we are going to force you to pretend you are limited to a smart phone interface.
I found it frustrating. Netflix had gone from one of the few companies I really enjoyed dealing with (Trader Joes's is one on that short list) to the typical company that I could tolerate. Instead of the joy of it just working it became a relief when it just worked and if I was surprised it wasn't because of something good but yet another annoyance as they moved from a company that was a joy to yet another Comcast of the world.
And the latest disgrace from Netflix they won't play the show at all. They break the playback with one of their typical "we are treating you now just like Microsoft treated people in 1995" you are doing something we decided to not allow you to do. We now have the market power where we can just have you jump through whatever hoops we want and you can't do anything about it.
The latest message "Please ensure your monitor is HDCP compliant and is not mirrored using Airplay."
Why am I being bothered with this junk. Just like dealing with Microsoft decades ago when they would just have you jump through hoops try and figure out what they would let you do in order to use what you paid for. Netflix now justing just not "just work" it is constantly a struggle for how they are going to break things now.
I have never had a company I found to be really good fall so fast and completely lose any concern for their customers experience.
The shows they pay others for (including most of those they brand as Netflix but many of which they don't even own - they just are licensing certain rights to them) are decent. A few are really good. And Netflix is cheap for what you get. But I am very disappointed I now have to feel like I do using the typical disaster customer service companies (Comcast, any USA airline, Verizon, etc.). Every time it isn't a disaster I feel relieved (but having anxiety every time I use a service that the company is going to annoy me is not what I want). My expectations are just please don't torture me or completely block my ability to use what I pay for since you do that so often all I can hope for is the absence of lousy treatment. Actually getting good treatment is a distant illusion.
It is so sad. As I say the content isn't bad if you can fight through the lousy roadblocks they have put in the way of getting to it in the last few years. And the price is cheap. I would gladly pay double the price to just go back to the "it just works" Netflix instead of the current we are going to make it hard for you to do what you want Netflix we have now. And while I wouldn't be as happy I would pay 3 or even 4 times to get that back.
But this lousy treatment is moving me closer and closer to just dropping them. Something I never thought would be possible 2 or 3 years ago.
I actually tried to get a preview of Amazon Video (or whatever they call their thing) but couldn't find how to do it. I tried to use their help system but it failed (I know from experience they have a poorly coded website that has fragile code and breaks in the help area and that happened again so I gave up. I might try HBO. I really am amazed Netflix has managed to make using their service so annoying I don't want to put up with it.
I hardly see any commercials anymore (only when watching sports) but there is one where one company makes fun of the takeover by some horrible cable company making all sorts of idiotic steps. I know that didn't happen to Netflix but as a customer that is exactly what it feels like. Some bozos took over and just decided to drop any care about the customer experience.
It is annoying that so many companies have this attitude but often I can just avoid dealing with them. Though sometimes you have no real choice - you need to fly someone there is a good chance Southwest Airlines [the only non-horrible USA airline in my experience) might not fly there or you have to choose Verizon or Comcast or even have no choice for an ISP... But Netflix was something I had really grown to enjoy. I fear Amazon's isn't likely to be very good for Ux. But I think I will try it. And even if that doesn't work I may still drop Netflix just to avoid the pitiful Ux practices they have adopted in the last few years.
Related: Utopia (Dreamland in the USA) is an Amazing TV Program (2015) - Netflix is Well Managed - People are Overreacting to Short Term Issues (2011) - Curious Cat List of Super Useful Websites (2012), Netflix wouldn't make the list now, but it did then
Even at the beginning (or at least my beginning) they through Ubuntu users under the bus and just said we won't serve you. So I didn't use it. Later I got a Mac and then I decided to give it a try and it was wonderful, it just worked (well after requiring you install Microsoft Silverlight).
But most large companies just expect users to fit themselves into whatever constraints the big companies wish to impose (see Comcast, United Airlines, Verizon etc.). So compared to these really bad companies using Netflix was wonderful.
There are many issues with bad connections etc. and Netflix while not perfect (they would often only buffer a short amount and fail when the bad connection failed or got to slow) but they were much better than others at just working.
The last 6 months though it is more and more like the typical experience of some huge company that just expects you to cope with whatever they force you to do.
They continually won't work when I forget I have to sign off my vpn to use them. They blame others for this bad service (blaming others for treating customer badly is of course what all the companies people originally sought to escape the Time Warners, AT&T, etc. of the world by using Netflix. Oh well so one more time Netflix is selling us out.
Then then continually degraded the usability of the website. They seem intent on reducing the usability so that they can only bother to design as if we all were limited to smart phones. So if you have a computer and want to have more information available on your screen too bad, we are going to force you to pretend you are limited to a smart phone interface.
I found it frustrating. Netflix had gone from one of the few companies I really enjoyed dealing with (Trader Joes's is one on that short list) to the typical company that I could tolerate. Instead of the joy of it just working it became a relief when it just worked and if I was surprised it wasn't because of something good but yet another annoyance as they moved from a company that was a joy to yet another Comcast of the world.
And the latest disgrace from Netflix they won't play the show at all. They break the playback with one of their typical "we are treating you now just like Microsoft treated people in 1995" you are doing something we decided to not allow you to do. We now have the market power where we can just have you jump through whatever hoops we want and you can't do anything about it.
The latest message "Please ensure your monitor is HDCP compliant and is not mirrored using Airplay."
Why am I being bothered with this junk. Just like dealing with Microsoft decades ago when they would just have you jump through hoops try and figure out what they would let you do in order to use what you paid for. Netflix now justing just not "just work" it is constantly a struggle for how they are going to break things now.
I have never had a company I found to be really good fall so fast and completely lose any concern for their customers experience.
The shows they pay others for (including most of those they brand as Netflix but many of which they don't even own - they just are licensing certain rights to them) are decent. A few are really good. And Netflix is cheap for what you get. But I am very disappointed I now have to feel like I do using the typical disaster customer service companies (Comcast, any USA airline, Verizon, etc.). Every time it isn't a disaster I feel relieved (but having anxiety every time I use a service that the company is going to annoy me is not what I want). My expectations are just please don't torture me or completely block my ability to use what I pay for since you do that so often all I can hope for is the absence of lousy treatment. Actually getting good treatment is a distant illusion.
It is so sad. As I say the content isn't bad if you can fight through the lousy roadblocks they have put in the way of getting to it in the last few years. And the price is cheap. I would gladly pay double the price to just go back to the "it just works" Netflix instead of the current we are going to make it hard for you to do what you want Netflix we have now. And while I wouldn't be as happy I would pay 3 or even 4 times to get that back.
But this lousy treatment is moving me closer and closer to just dropping them. Something I never thought would be possible 2 or 3 years ago.
I actually tried to get a preview of Amazon Video (or whatever they call their thing) but couldn't find how to do it. I tried to use their help system but it failed (I know from experience they have a poorly coded website that has fragile code and breaks in the help area and that happened again so I gave up. I might try HBO. I really am amazed Netflix has managed to make using their service so annoying I don't want to put up with it.
I hardly see any commercials anymore (only when watching sports) but there is one where one company makes fun of the takeover by some horrible cable company making all sorts of idiotic steps. I know that didn't happen to Netflix but as a customer that is exactly what it feels like. Some bozos took over and just decided to drop any care about the customer experience.
It is annoying that so many companies have this attitude but often I can just avoid dealing with them. Though sometimes you have no real choice - you need to fly someone there is a good chance Southwest Airlines [the only non-horrible USA airline in my experience) might not fly there or you have to choose Verizon or Comcast or even have no choice for an ISP... But Netflix was something I had really grown to enjoy. I fear Amazon's isn't likely to be very good for Ux. But I think I will try it. And even if that doesn't work I may still drop Netflix just to avoid the pitiful Ux practices they have adopted in the last few years.
Related: Utopia (Dreamland in the USA) is an Amazing TV Program (2015) - Netflix is Well Managed - People are Overreacting to Short Term Issues (2011) - Curious Cat List of Super Useful Websites (2012), Netflix wouldn't make the list now, but it did then
Tuesday, April 05, 2016
Moz Page Authority and MozRank History for Some of My Web Sites (April 2016)
MozRank compares to the previous interesting Google pagerank (a measure of the pages linking to the page, with greater value given to links from high ranking pages). Moz Page Authority is meant to more closely measure the importance of links by considering not just the number but also the quality of the links. This is oversimplified but essentially can be seen as if a page had a high number of links (even from other pages with high numbers of links to them) but those links were not deemed to be high quality the Moz Page Authority would be lower. So things like having links from trusted authority sites would pass on that trusted authority (a bit) to the linked site. And things that are seen as lower quality (could be lots of different things: poor links from that page, text that seems spammy or not of high quality, lots of pages without much content, slow loading site or things like Moz detailed in the Spam Flag Score, etc.) would harm the Moz Page Authority number.
Therefore, the Moz Page Authority number is more important than MozRank. MozRank however is closer Google pagerank.
In the chart below the MozRank is shown inside ( ) after Aug 2014. [] indicate Google PageRank measures. Those without parenthesis are Moz Page Authority divided by 10 (because SEO Moz also decided to scale MozPA up to 100 while Google PageRank tops out at 10 and I already been listing the data listed in the 10 scale the last few years).
* internal pages
** new url or old url forwarded (so Google losses track of the page rank for awhile)
- didn't exist yet or google didn't rank it for some reason
[blank] I don't know what the pagerank was, sometimes the site didn't exist yet.
Related: Moz Page Authority for Various Sites (August 2014) - Historic PageRank and MozPageAuthority for Various Sites (December 2013)
Therefore, the Moz Page Authority number is more important than MozRank. MozRank however is closer Google pagerank.
In the chart below the MozRank is shown inside ( ) after Aug 2014. [] indicate Google PageRank measures. Those without parenthesis are Moz Page Authority divided by 10 (because SEO Moz also decided to scale MozPA up to 100 while Google PageRank tops out at 10 and I already been listing the data listed in the 10 scale the last few years).
| Site | Apr 2016 | Sep 2015 | Aug 2014 (MozRank) | Dec 2013 [GPR] | Oct 2011 | Dec 2010 | ||
| MozPA > 5 | ||||||||
| The W. Edwards Deming Institute Blog | 5.7 [6.6] | 6.4 (6.2) | 5.2 (6.0) | 5.5 [5] | - | - | ||
| Curious Cat Management Blog | 6.1 (5.8) | 6.0 (6.1) | 5.9 (6.0) | 6.1 [5] | 5.5 [5] | [4] | ||
| Curious Cat Engineering and Science Blog | 5.8 (5.7) | 5.6 (6.0) | 5.5 (6.0) | 5.8 [5] | 5.3 [6] | 4 | ||
| Curious Cat Investing and Economics Blog | 5.7 (5.9) | 5.5 (6.1) | 5.5 (6.1) | 4 [5.7] | 5.3 [4] | [3] | ||
| @CuriousCat_com | 5.6 (4.3) | 5.8 (4.4) | 5.8 (4.6) | |||||
| My Kiva page | 5.5 (4.4) | 5.8 (5.1) | 5.6 (4.7) | 5.8 [-] | 4.0 [-] | [3] | ||
| Curiouscat.com | 5.1 (5.8) | 4.9 (6.1) | 5.0 (6.0) | ** | 5.6 [4] | [3] | ||
| Curious Cat Travel Photo Blog | 5.3 (5.8) | 5.1 (5.9) | 5.0 (5.9) | 4 [5.0] | 3 [4.9] | - | ||
| John Hunter | 5.0 (6.1) | 6.2 (6.1) | 4.8 (6.1) | 5.0 [5] | 5.4 [4] | [4] | ||
| MozPA > 4 | ||||||||
| Curious Cat Management Improvement Connections* | 4.7 (5.5) | 4.6 (5.7) | 4.6 (5.6) | 3.3 [**] | 5.5 [5] | [4] | ||
| Six Sigma Management Resources* | 4.6 (5.3) | 4.8 (5.7) | 4.7 (5.6) | 4.9 [**] | [4] | |||
| Investment Dictionary* | 4.5 (5.5) | 4.7 (6.0) | 4.6 (5.9) | 4.8 [**] | 5.2 [4] | |||
| The Aim Should be the Best Life – Not Work v. Life Balance* | 4.5 (5.2) | 4.3 (5.3) | new | |||||
| Living in Singapore | 4.4 (5.7) | 5.1 (5.8) | 4.0 (5.7) | 4 [4.1] | 3 [4.0] | |||
| Curious Cat Gadgets | 4.4 (5.6) | 4.7 (5.7) | 3.9 (5.5) | 4.1 [4] | ||||
| Management Dictionary* | 4.4 (5.4) | 4.3 (5.6) | 4.0 (5.4) | 2.6 [**] | 5.4 [5] | [4] | ||
| Curious Cat Travel Blog | 4.3 (5.9) | 4.0 (5.8) | New | |||||
| Living in Malaysia | 4.3 (5.7) | 5.2 (5.8) | 3.9 (5.8) | 4.0 [4] | 4.1 [3] | |||
| Curious Cat Code (programming) | 4.3 (5.4) | 4.8 (5.6) | 3.8 (5.5) | 4.1 [4] | 4.2 [4] | - | - | |
| Architecture and home design inspiration | 4.2 (5.6) | 4.5 (5.6) | 3.9 (5.5) | 4.0 [3] | - | - | ||
| Curious Cat Management Comments | 4.2 (5.3) | 4.2 (5.3) | 4.1 (5.0) | 3.9 [3] | 4.5 [3] | |||
| Multi Site PageRank Checker | 4.2 (5.2) | 4.2 (5.2) | 4.1 (4.9) | 4.1 [4] | 4.7 [3] | [2] | ||
| Management Articles* | 4.1 (5.5) | 4.0 (5.6) | 4.1 (5.5) | 3.9 [3] | ||||
| The Future is Engineering* | 4.1 (5.2) | 4.2 (5.8) | 4.3 (5.7) | 4.3 [4] | ||||
| Life and Legacy of William Hunter | 4.0 (5.4) | 3.9 (5.6) | 3.7 (5.5) | 4.0 [4] | 4.5 [4] | [4] | ||
| Management Matters (my book)* | 4.0 (5.3) | 3.8 (5.6) | 3.5 (4.6) | 3.8 (5.4) | 3.5 [4] | - | - | - |
| Economic Strength Through Technology Leadership* | 4.0 (5.4) | 4.1 (5.8) | 4.1 [5.8] | 4.2 [-] | 4.7 [4] | [4] | ||
| Curious Cat Comments (this blog) | 4.0 (5.3) | 3.9 (5.3) | 3.8 (5.1) | 3.9 [3] | 3.8 [-] | [3] | ||
| Site | May 2015 (MozRank) | Aug 2014 (MozRank) | Dec 2013 [GPR] | Feb 2013 | Oct 2011 | Dec 2010 | ||
| MozPA > 3.5 | ||||||||
| W. Edwards Deming quotes | 3.9 (6.5) | 3.3 (5.7) | new | |||||
| Curious Cat Travel Destinations | 3.9 (5.7) | 3.6 (5.8) | 3.4 (5.7) | 3.2 [3] | - | |||
| Good Process Improvement Practices* | 3.9 (5.2) | 4.0 (5.2) | 4.2 (5.2) | 4.0 [3] | 4.1 [3] | |||
| Management and Leadership Quotes | 3.8 (5.4) | 3.7 (5.8) | 3.6 (5.7) | 3.7 [4] | 5.2 [2] | [2] | ||
| Statistics for Experimenters | 3.8 (5.3) | 3.6 (5.7) | 3.7 (5.7) | 3.9 [4] | 4.5 [3] | [3] | ||
| Curious Cat Travel Photos | 3.7 (5.2) | 3.2 (4.7) | New | |||||
| Curious Cat Travel Destinations: Marina Bay Sands (Singapore) | 3.6 (5.3) | 3.2 (5.3) | 2.9 (5.3) | 2.9 [2] | - | - | ||
| The Engineer That Made Your Cat a Photographer | 3.5 (5.2) | 3.8 (5.8) | 3.9 (5.7) | 4.1 [3] | 4.7 [4] | [4] | ||
| Freelance Lifestyle, Finance and Entrepreneurship Blog | 3.5 (5.1) | 4.5 (5.2) | new | |||||
| MozPA > 3 | ||||||||
| Justin Hunter (my brother) | 3.4 (5.1) | 3.4 (5.4) | 3.3 (4.8) | 3.4 [-] | 2.9 [2] | [2] | ||
| CuriousCat Wordpress | 3.4 (3.9) | 3.6 (4.4) | 3.4 (3.8) | 3.5 [1] | [-] | |||
| Improving Your Search Engine Ranking Blog | 3.3 (5.3) | 3.1 (4.1) | New | |||||
| Management Improvement Resources | 3.0 (5.1) | 3.1 (5.1) | 3.0 (4.7) | 3.1 [3] | 3.8 [3] | [3] | ||
| Johor Bahru Real Estate | 3.0 (5.0) | 3.0 (5.4) | 2.8 (5.3) | 3.0 [2] | - | |||
| MozPA < 3 | ||||||||
| Public Sector Continuous Improvement Site* | 2.9 (4.8) | 4.8 (5.5) | 4.8 (5.4) | 5.0 [**] | 5.0 [5] | [4] | ||
| Hexawise.tv | 2.4 (5.3) | 2.8 (5.4) | 2.8 (4.9) | 2.8 [2] | - | |||
| W. Edwards Deming on Management* | 2.0 (4.4) | 4.7 (5.5) | 4.7 (5.3) | 4.9 [**] | 4.5 [4] | [4] | ||
| Curious Cat Travel Destinations: France | 1.9 (5.2) | 2.0 (5.2) | 1.4 (5.1) | 1.3 [-] | [-] | |||
| Curious Cat Travel Destinations: Australia | 1.9 (5.0) | 2.1 (5.1) | 1.5 (4.9) | 1.3 [-] | [-] |
* internal pages
** new url or old url forwarded (so Google losses track of the page rank for awhile)
- didn't exist yet or google didn't rank it for some reason
[blank] I don't know what the pagerank was, sometimes the site didn't exist yet.
Related: Moz Page Authority for Various Sites (August 2014) - Historic PageRank and MozPageAuthority for Various Sites (December 2013)
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Stopping Selfish Jerks From Abusing Society
Fake service animals would be criminalized under a bill that just passed the Colorado House
It has taken decades, Walpole said, for service animals to be respected and understood by society. He fears any trust that has developed is in the process of crumbling due to posers who slap a vest and phony credential on their animal to sneak it into restaurants, shops and other public places.
Exactly right. If you allow selfish people to abuse society you risk society deciding that accomadations for those with needs isn't worth the costs of selfish people.
In a similar way those that abuse handicaped parking have resulted in handicapped parking being seen by many people as just parking for selfish bozos. Most people in society want to provide accomadations for those that need service animals, special parking etc.. But if what happens is society is taken advantage of by selfish people society will eventually just decide the accomodations are mainly just for selfish bozos and eliminate them.
What we need to do instead is stop selfish jerks from screwing over society and those with real needs.
Sadly, while the number of people so obnoxious they would abuse the idea of service animals is very small. The abuse those few jerks subject society to is so great their selfishness risks the tolerance of society for those with real needs.
Related: Appeasing Rude Selfish People Just Makes them Behave Even More Selfishly - Reasonable Accommodations Becoming Unreasonable - Acting Considerately
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Prioritizing the Important over the Urgent
I put a priority on blocking all time grabbing activities that I don't place a high value on. That way I make sure I have plenty of time for what I most care about.
But I see most people get overwhelmed with what they feel is urgent and fail to do the things they talk about being important to them. They would benefit greatly from making sure they don't allow the "urgent" items to crowd out those items that are most important to them (non-negotiables).
If I did look at things as non-negotiables one would be the NCAA basketball tournament and another would be hiking and also using the internet.
response to: Do you think a non negotiable list could help you?
Related: The Aim Should be the Best Life – Not Work v. Life Balance - Working Less: Better Lives and Less Unemployment - Chomphet Hike, Luang Prabang, Laos - Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) and Location Independent Working
But I see most people get overwhelmed with what they feel is urgent and fail to do the things they talk about being important to them. They would benefit greatly from making sure they don't allow the "urgent" items to crowd out those items that are most important to them (non-negotiables).
If I did look at things as non-negotiables one would be the NCAA basketball tournament and another would be hiking and also using the internet.
response to: Do you think a non negotiable list could help you?
Related: The Aim Should be the Best Life – Not Work v. Life Balance - Working Less: Better Lives and Less Unemployment - Chomphet Hike, Luang Prabang, Laos - Financial Independence Retire Early (FIRE) and Location Independent Working
Sunday, February 28, 2016
An Advocate for Open Access and Privacy Has Been Nominated to be the Librarian Of Congress
The Librarian Of Congress sounds like an unimportant position but it actually is very important for the influence they have over copyright policy in the USA (and the world because of how the USA prioritizes copyright over important national interests).
President Obama Nominates New Librarian Of Congress Who Supports Open Access, Fights Against Surveillance
This is very good news. The broken copyright system is a deadly diseases for the USA economy and has done great damage for a long time. This is a one small step that could reduce the damage that is done. It is good to see President Obama taking a good step in this direction given how much damage he has done with his many other policy decisions, including Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and TTIP.
Not blackballing someone because they believe in privacy is also somewhat remarkable given the consistent efforts of President Obama to greatly enhance the survailence state in the USA.
In President Obama's statement he says
This is a good step. I hope she is confirmed. But it is one decision moving the right direction compared to a huge number of initiatives making copyright more damaging to the USA and globaly economy. So while I am glad for this one step, it doesn't come close to erasing all the damage his adminstration has done.
Related: Why Copyright Extension is a Very Bad Idea (2009) - Librarians Standing Up to the Madness (2009) - Library of Congress in Washington DC - I Strongly Support Elizabeth Warren and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
President Obama Nominates New Librarian Of Congress Who Supports Open Access, Fights Against Surveillance
Hayden was one of the leading voices speaking out against surveillance. As President of the American Library Association at the time when the PATRIOT Act was being debated, she was vocal in opposition, especially to Section 215, which was used to create the phone metadata program that Ed Snowden revealed. What many people forget is that it was the librarians who were most vocal about Section 215 when it was first proposed, as many people thought it would be used to demand things like library records to see what was being checked out -- and librarians are big supporters of privacy.
She's also spoken out for years about the value of free access to information. Here's a 2003 profile of Hayden in Ms. Magazine (where she was named Woman of the Year) in which she notes:
“Libraries are a cornerstone of democracy—where information is free and equally available to everyone. People tend to take that for granted,” says Hayden. “And they don’t realize what is at stake when that is put at risk.”
This is very good news. The broken copyright system is a deadly diseases for the USA economy and has done great damage for a long time. This is a one small step that could reduce the damage that is done. It is good to see President Obama taking a good step in this direction given how much damage he has done with his many other policy decisions, including Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and TTIP.
Not blackballing someone because they believe in privacy is also somewhat remarkable given the consistent efforts of President Obama to greatly enhance the survailence state in the USA.
In President Obama's statement he says
Her understanding of the pivotal role that emerging technologies play in libraries will be essential in leading the Library of Congress as it continues to modernize its infrastructure and promote open access and full participation in today's digital world.
This is a good step. I hope she is confirmed. But it is one decision moving the right direction compared to a huge number of initiatives making copyright more damaging to the USA and globaly economy. So while I am glad for this one step, it doesn't come close to erasing all the damage his adminstration has done.
Related: Why Copyright Extension is a Very Bad Idea (2009) - Librarians Standing Up to the Madness (2009) - Library of Congress in Washington DC - I Strongly Support Elizabeth Warren and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
The Agony of Dealing with Lyft
Lyft messed up my ride, which was annoying but tolerable. I care about helping companies improve so I try to provide feedback when they do a lousy job. Many companies treat you so disrespectfully that they throw out your email without reading it. I even had a health plan send me an email that said: add us to your white list because otherwise you might not see the emails we send you. In the same email they said they would throw away any replies to the email they sent me.
It is very common for companies to treat customers that disrespectfully. Last week I replied to an email from Uber and they provided a reply that was not only not disrespectful (such as throwing the email away unread) but was actually great customer service.
Well anyway, I still didn't like the numerous reports on how Uber treats drivers. I believe that companies should show respect for people, both employees and customers. So I continued to try Lyft (that seems to treat employees better). Anyway with a bunch of hassle then sent me an email so I wrote my reply and right at the end noticed even after all the extra work they put me through by disrespectfully throwing away my first email they were going to do the same again this time. So I'll post here what I wrote, both because I really dislike them treating with with such disrespect and so I can point them to my actual email reply in Twitter (which of course is a stupid way to provide support when more detail is needed than 140 characters but is the only way they have responded to me):
Thanks. I don't know why the gps map showing the cars movement isn't shown, maybe only Uber does that? But if it was it would obvious how crazy it was.
We went 15 minutes out of the way due to GPS failures. Finally the gps went the right place. I don't think it is appropriate to bill me for the GPS added miles. I don't think the driver did anything wrong I think the gps was just totally lame for some reason.
Using the Dulles toll road was my request as it goes right by the location. I am fine with those tolls. Uber cost within a $1 of $25 the 3 times I have taken the trip (not the $38 you charged). This was the first time I tried you all (for this trip) so I don't know exactly what the cost is suppose to be if GPS didn't take us way out of the way.
I wanted to try you all out not because I have had any problem with Uber but because I believe (though really what do I know?) that you all treat your drivers better and I care about how employees are treated. I figured I would at least try you all out some.
This wasn't a great experience. First, I was scheduled to get there 20 minutes early (because it was an important meeting), instead I got there 1 minute late. Second, I didn't get any reply to my earlier emails... oh holy hell after all this I see you failed to give me an email reply here either and are just going to throw my email away again. I can't believe how poorly you treat my responses...
Lyft did follow the tweet to here to read about what they threw away when I emailed them and address the issue with more Tweets. Significantly better than nothing, but still their policy is extremely disrepectful and the time it took to deal with a lousy interface for addressing it due to them throwing away email while claiming to be friends is ludicras. We need competition so that customers have options to avoid companies that provide such disrepectful service - sadly we rarely do: Monopolies and Oligopolies do not a Free Market Make. Even if Lyft manages to survive it will be at most an oligoplistic market (most likely).
It is very common for companies to treat customers that disrespectfully. Last week I replied to an email from Uber and they provided a reply that was not only not disrespectful (such as throwing the email away unread) but was actually great customer service.
Well anyway, I still didn't like the numerous reports on how Uber treats drivers. I believe that companies should show respect for people, both employees and customers. So I continued to try Lyft (that seems to treat employees better). Anyway with a bunch of hassle then sent me an email so I wrote my reply and right at the end noticed even after all the extra work they put me through by disrespectfully throwing away my first email they were going to do the same again this time. So I'll post here what I wrote, both because I really dislike them treating with with such disrespect and so I can point them to my actual email reply in Twitter (which of course is a stupid way to provide support when more detail is needed than 140 characters but is the only way they have responded to me):
Thanks. I don't know why the gps map showing the cars movement isn't shown, maybe only Uber does that? But if it was it would obvious how crazy it was.
We went 15 minutes out of the way due to GPS failures. Finally the gps went the right place. I don't think it is appropriate to bill me for the GPS added miles. I don't think the driver did anything wrong I think the gps was just totally lame for some reason.
Using the Dulles toll road was my request as it goes right by the location. I am fine with those tolls. Uber cost within a $1 of $25 the 3 times I have taken the trip (not the $38 you charged). This was the first time I tried you all (for this trip) so I don't know exactly what the cost is suppose to be if GPS didn't take us way out of the way.
I wanted to try you all out not because I have had any problem with Uber but because I believe (though really what do I know?) that you all treat your drivers better and I care about how employees are treated. I figured I would at least try you all out some.
This wasn't a great experience. First, I was scheduled to get there 20 minutes early (because it was an important meeting), instead I got there 1 minute late. Second, I didn't get any reply to my earlier emails... oh holy hell after all this I see you failed to give me an email reply here either and are just going to throw my email away again. I can't believe how poorly you treat my responses...
Lyft did follow the tweet to here to read about what they threw away when I emailed them and address the issue with more Tweets. Significantly better than nothing, but still their policy is extremely disrepectful and the time it took to deal with a lousy interface for addressing it due to them throwing away email while claiming to be friends is ludicras. We need competition so that customers have options to avoid companies that provide such disrepectful service - sadly we rarely do: Monopolies and Oligopolies do not a Free Market Make. Even if Lyft manages to survive it will be at most an oligoplistic market (most likely).
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Alternative to Proof of Onward Travel
It seems to me that a business should step into the desire of countries for proof of onward travel. There are many times an onward ticket is not sensible. The countries are worried about people staying and/or become drains on the economy it isn't that they care about having a piece of paper saying you have a ticket out. A business could step in to aid travelers and vouch for people's financial well-being. A long time ago I believe American Express offices were actually used a great deal by travelers. It could start with companies like American Express.
They could provide a financial guarantee. Countries mostly would be thrilled to encourage visitors who are "wealthy" (globally wealthy people may well not think they are wealthy). Credit card companies could make it a feature of gold cards for example...
Digital nomads and location-independent workers often travel one country at a time, without onward travel confirmed. When I was I didn't know how long I would want to stay or where I would go next. The way things normally work, they are much looser with passports from rich countries, and since I have one, I didn't have problems. But as rules get more demanding it could become more annoying and it already is if you have a passport that isn't desired.
Related: Location Independent Living Can Be In Your Comfort Zone and a Good Experience - Economics: Digital Nomads, Visas, Foreign Currency - Transfer Money Between Currencies Using New Providers Not Banks And Save
They could provide a financial guarantee. Countries mostly would be thrilled to encourage visitors who are "wealthy" (globally wealthy people may well not think they are wealthy). Credit card companies could make it a feature of gold cards for example...
Digital nomads and location-independent workers often travel one country at a time, without onward travel confirmed. When I was I didn't know how long I would want to stay or where I would go next. The way things normally work, they are much looser with passports from rich countries, and since I have one, I didn't have problems. But as rules get more demanding it could become more annoying and it already is if you have a passport that isn't desired.
Related: Location Independent Living Can Be In Your Comfort Zone and a Good Experience - Economics: Digital Nomads, Visas, Foreign Currency - Transfer Money Between Currencies Using New Providers Not Banks And Save
Friday, December 04, 2015
Paypal Hamster Wheel for Customers
I have been trying to add a bank to my paypal account for a week now. This is a long time paypal account. They force you through a time consuming system (because after all, who cares about wasting customer's time - this is super common for nearly all large USA companies, treating customers as if wasting their time is no big deal). So even though I am signed in, they require a extra verification to add a bank (ok, not horrible, if it works). But it doesn't.
I do that extra step. They thank me for completing it.
Then then just tell me to do it again.
Yup, that is exactly the same as before they wasted your time to verify it and thanked you for completing the verification. They seem to like it so much they just repeatedly run you through the same thing, I guess forever though maybe if you do it 7 times they then let you succeed?
I have explained this to them at least 5 times still no fix. In the latest one, they said they adjusted the account and just try again poor sap. I did, exactly the same result. Enter your info on the bank (which is not at least the 7th time I have done so, beyond all the rest of it they delete your entry each time their system thanks you for completing their extra verification - what joy).
I do that extra step. They thank me for completing it.
Then then just tell me to do it again.
Yup, that is exactly the same as before they wasted your time to verify it and thanked you for completing the verification. They seem to like it so much they just repeatedly run you through the same thing, I guess forever though maybe if you do it 7 times they then let you succeed?
I have explained this to them at least 5 times still no fix. In the latest one, they said they adjusted the account and just try again poor sap. I did, exactly the same result. Enter your info on the bank (which is not at least the 7th time I have done so, beyond all the rest of it they delete your entry each time their system thanks you for completing their extra verification - what joy).
Thursday, December 03, 2015
Democrats and Republicans Have Failed the USA on Health Care for Decades
It is so sad that Democrats and Republicans have played games for decades while those of us in the USA are stuck coping with the disaster of a health care system those two parties have created. A good health care system is very close to the most important feature of a modern society. Yet those two parties have bungled for decades and left us to suffer.
Many Flexible Health Plans Come With A Costly Trap
This kind of thing should result in health care providers (insurers etc.) going to jail. It is intolerable that someone has insurance and is expected to police the health care provided to them in such a way. Costs must be detailed up front or they should not legally allow to be billed.
I realize emergency situations will create some complexity with providing all costs in advance, fixing that part can be delayed. This behavior of billing after the fact for huge expenses has gone on for at least a decade. It should have been stopped after a year. It is intolerable that our political parties just make excuses and sacrifice our lives to disreputable business practices by health care providers. This needs to be fixed now. Not after another decade or two of the parties not fixing it. Now.
If you have insurance and use the insurance, the insurer must be expected to deal with the games hospitals and doctors chose to play to try and stick USA citizens with bills after the fact. This isn't about making the USA system close to as good as the second worst rich country heath care system this is about fixing an intolerable hardship placed on citizens by the medical care system the Democrats and Republicans have put in place over the last 20 to 40 years.
Related: Medical Debt Increases as Economy Declines - Out of Pocket “Maximum” – Understanding USA Health Care Costs - USA Health Care Spending 2013: $2.9 trillion $9,255 per person and 17.4% of GDP - USA Spends $7,960 Compared to Around $3,800 for Other Rich Countries on Health Care with No Better Health Results (2009 data) - Our Failed Health-care System (2008)
Many Flexible Health Plans Come With A Costly Trap
Vince Hess of Grandview, Mo., racked up about $800 in costs related to surgery for a broken hand in 2013. Hess, an actuary, first checked that his surgeon was in network. He had the operation at an in-network surgical center, but only learned later when he was billed that the two anesthesiologists who assisted in the surgery were not.
This kind of thing should result in health care providers (insurers etc.) going to jail. It is intolerable that someone has insurance and is expected to police the health care provided to them in such a way. Costs must be detailed up front or they should not legally allow to be billed.
I realize emergency situations will create some complexity with providing all costs in advance, fixing that part can be delayed. This behavior of billing after the fact for huge expenses has gone on for at least a decade. It should have been stopped after a year. It is intolerable that our political parties just make excuses and sacrifice our lives to disreputable business practices by health care providers. This needs to be fixed now. Not after another decade or two of the parties not fixing it. Now.
If you have insurance and use the insurance, the insurer must be expected to deal with the games hospitals and doctors chose to play to try and stick USA citizens with bills after the fact. This isn't about making the USA system close to as good as the second worst rich country heath care system this is about fixing an intolerable hardship placed on citizens by the medical care system the Democrats and Republicans have put in place over the last 20 to 40 years.
Related: Medical Debt Increases as Economy Declines - Out of Pocket “Maximum” – Understanding USA Health Care Costs - USA Health Care Spending 2013: $2.9 trillion $9,255 per person and 17.4% of GDP - USA Spends $7,960 Compared to Around $3,800 for Other Rich Countries on Health Care with No Better Health Results (2009 data) - Our Failed Health-care System (2008)
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Golden State Warriors 14-0, Philadelphia 76ers 0-13
The Golden State Warriors are starting their season after winning the championship last year in a near records fashion so far. They need 1 more win to tie the best every 15-0 start (by Michael Jordan's Bulls).
Stephen Curry (last years MVP) is one again leading the Warriors. So far he is making his MVP last season look like a mediocre one. Stephen Curry set the record for 3-pointers last season, with 286. He's currently on pace for 415.
The Philadelphia 76ers box score last night shows one of their starters in last night's game didn't even play. I would think they would be better off playing all 5 players. They fell to 0-13 with a 113-88 loss to Charlotte Bobcats (owned by Michael Jordan).
Ok, maybe this was a misprint, but with Philadelphia this year that isn't a sure bet. They really did send 6 players onto the court 2 days ago.
Related: Frank Kaminsky - College Basketball Player of the Year 2014-2015 (he is playing for the Charlotte Bobcats now, by the way #2 Jahlil Okafor is playing for Philadelphia) - Davidson Students Get Free Sweet Sixteen Trip (when Steph Curry was playing for Davidson and Wisconsin was the opponent - Kaminsky later played for Wisconsin) - Universities Again Abandon Fans/Mission to Increase Pay to Administrative Staff/Coaches - Why Don’t Football Players Just Thrown the Ball Out of Bounds to Stop the Clock
Stephen Curry (last years MVP) is one again leading the Warriors. So far he is making his MVP last season look like a mediocre one. Stephen Curry set the record for 3-pointers last season, with 286. He's currently on pace for 415.
The Philadelphia 76ers box score last night shows one of their starters in last night's game didn't even play. I would think they would be better off playing all 5 players. They fell to 0-13 with a 113-88 loss to Charlotte Bobcats (owned by Michael Jordan).
Ok, maybe this was a misprint, but with Philadelphia this year that isn't a sure bet. They really did send 6 players onto the court 2 days ago.
Related: Frank Kaminsky - College Basketball Player of the Year 2014-2015 (he is playing for the Charlotte Bobcats now, by the way #2 Jahlil Okafor is playing for Philadelphia) - Davidson Students Get Free Sweet Sixteen Trip (when Steph Curry was playing for Davidson and Wisconsin was the opponent - Kaminsky later played for Wisconsin) - Universities Again Abandon Fans/Mission to Increase Pay to Administrative Staff/Coaches - Why Don’t Football Players Just Thrown the Ball Out of Bounds to Stop the Clock
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
The Art of a MacBook Pro Crash
I was watching this video, listening to Hank Green talk about how he appreciated art (even if he didn't always understand it of feel comfortable with it and how it is often presented) and was grateful for the largely unnoticed things in our lives.
He had just said
Sometimes it seems like everything is broken and nothing works at all. But when things work we don't tend to notice. There is nothing quite like knowing, as I have my entire life, that there will be food at the corner store. I don't spend enough time being grateful for that...
And then the playback of the video went crazy and my first thought was oh isn't that a neat artistic touch to show how we take for granted how amazing it is we can watch this video he shot himself and uploaded online and billions of people across the globe have instant access to it...
But instead, my MacBook Pro was crashing again :-/
When I restarted my computer his continued words continued his very worthwhile thoughts.
and not just grateful that I can always get food. But grateful that so many people come together to work hard to make sure that all of the people in New York City can continue eating and drinking and everything can continue to function. Thats not something that just happens. Thats something that people do.
Related: Appreciating Health - Action Is More Important Than Sympathy - Quitting, Habits and the Examined Life - Synchronicity
As soon as I posted this the MacBook Pro crashed again. It has been crashing a lot but this is the first time it did it within 10 minutes.
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Our Diets Are Greatly Changing the Ecosystem Inside Our Bodies
We still have so much to learn about human health. The rich interaction of our bodies and our microbiome is amazing and important and complex and not very well understood.
Some posts I have made on these topics on the Curious Cat Science Blog: Waste from Gut Bacteria Helps Host Control Weight (2008) - Tracking the Ecosystem Within Us (2007) - People Have More Bacterial Cells than Human Cells (2007) - Microbes Flourish In Healthy People (2010) - Human Gene Origins: 37% Bacterial, 35% Animal, 28% Eukaryotic (2013)
Here is a recent article looking at variation in human microbiome.
Burgers and fries have nearly killed our ancestral micro biome.
It is a very good idea to learn much more about this area. And it is also wise to learn what microbes we have co-evolved with for so long - before that information is lost.
Some posts I have made on these topics on the Curious Cat Science Blog: Waste from Gut Bacteria Helps Host Control Weight (2008) - Tracking the Ecosystem Within Us (2007) - People Have More Bacterial Cells than Human Cells (2007) - Microbes Flourish In Healthy People (2010) - Human Gene Origins: 37% Bacterial, 35% Animal, 28% Eukaryotic (2013)
Here is a recent article looking at variation in human microbiome.
Burgers and fries have nearly killed our ancestral micro biome.
A group of Italian microbiologists had compared the intestinal microbes of young villagers in Burkina Faso with those of children in Florence, Italy. The villagers, who subsisted on a diet of mostly millet and sorghum, harbored far more microbial diversity than the Florentines, who ate a variant of the refined, Western diet. Where the Florentine microbial community was adapted to protein, fats, and simple sugars, the Burkina Faso microbiome was oriented toward degrading the complex plant carbohydrates we call fiber.
...
The Western microbiome, the community of microbes scientists thought of as “normal” and “healthy,” the one they used as a baseline against which to compare “diseased” microbiomes, might be considerably different than the community that prevailed during most of human evolution.
...
a remarkable and somewhat quixotic effort has begun to catalog and possibly preserve, before they disappear, the microbes of people who live in environments thought to resemble humanity’s past—people whose microbiomes may approximate an ancestral state. Researchers are motoring down rivers in the Amazon, off-roading in the East African savanna, hiking into the mountain villages of Papua New Guinea. They see themselves as rushing to catalog an ecosystem that may soon disappear.
“It’s really our last chance to harvest a lot of these microbes from around the world,” Rob Knight, a microbiologist at the University of California, San Diego, told me. “We have to do it before it’s too late—and it’s very nearly too late.”
It is a very good idea to learn much more about this area. And it is also wise to learn what microbes we have co-evolved with for so long - before that information is lost.
Sunday, November 01, 2015
Security - Verification of Change
Many web sites will now notify you if a change is made to various aspects of your account, say you change your address or email or phone... Every one I have ever received says if you made the change do nothing, if you didn't then call us.
My guess is this is because it provides some security and is super easy for them. But if security were the priority I think you would do more. Why not require them to affirmatively agree to the change? The main reason I can see is that it would create more work. You would need a process for the case where they failed to affirmatively agree to the change.
Still for very important matters it seems like this would be wise. Yet I have never seen anyplace do this.
One thing I can think of does has this process in place. For a long time (15 years?) if you get a new credit card you have to call and activate it (usually they use caller ID to auto approve if you call from the phone number on file, if the call isn't made from such a number you are asked other details to verify who you are).
Such a system could be opt-in, so only people concerned about security could participate and someone that didn't want to bother could continue as things are today.
Related: Protecting Your Privacy and Security (Curious Cat Investing blog) - Protect Yourself from Credit Card Fraud - Governments Shouldn't Prevent Citizens from Having Secure Software Solutions - Making Credit Cards More Secure and Useful (2014) - Bad Security on Government Required RFID e-passports
My guess is this is because it provides some security and is super easy for them. But if security were the priority I think you would do more. Why not require them to affirmatively agree to the change? The main reason I can see is that it would create more work. You would need a process for the case where they failed to affirmatively agree to the change.
Still for very important matters it seems like this would be wise. Yet I have never seen anyplace do this.
One thing I can think of does has this process in place. For a long time (15 years?) if you get a new credit card you have to call and activate it (usually they use caller ID to auto approve if you call from the phone number on file, if the call isn't made from such a number you are asked other details to verify who you are).
Such a system could be opt-in, so only people concerned about security could participate and someone that didn't want to bother could continue as things are today.
Related: Protecting Your Privacy and Security (Curious Cat Investing blog) - Protect Yourself from Credit Card Fraud - Governments Shouldn't Prevent Citizens from Having Secure Software Solutions - Making Credit Cards More Secure and Useful (2014) - Bad Security on Government Required RFID e-passports
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