Bonuses and numbers in context
Wow. Bonuses are big news at the moment. The most recent example is AIG’s proposed bonus payments in the US. I understand the backlash: the government is bailing out a mis-managed business to the tune of $30bn, and the tax-payer doesn’t want to see the money squandered.
In a similar vein, Citibank is planning to spend $10m on a suite for its CEO, Vikram Pandit, having been bailed out to the tune of $45bn. On this latter example, WXYZ says the following:
Plans and instructions call for the installation of at least one Sub-Zero refrigerator and icemaker in the renovated space, along with "premium grade" millwork and Madico Inc. "Safety Shield 800" blast-proof window film. The project includes 17 private offices, each with space for administrative assistants, as well as two conference rooms and open areas with "soft seating," according to the plans.
Pandit told Congress that he "get[s] the new reality and [will] make sure Citi gets it as well."
I’m not sure he does.
While I understand the need in AIG to continue to provide HR policies that keep attrition at an acceptable level, the Citibank example spanks of greed and a lack of remorse. As well as doing the right thing, more so now than ever before, these companies need to be seen to be doing the right thing. Which means Zanussi instead of Sub-Zero, Formica instead of millwork, and maybe a limit on administrative assistants to one per executive or, call me radical, shared resources for multiple executives.
That said, working in the government sector I am more aware than many of the press’s ability and tendency to use huge numbers to make a point. $165m in bonuses is a huge number. But if you compare this to the $30bn bailout, it’s 0.55%. Or the equivalent of $550 on a $100,000 bailout. The company should certainly think about whether the bonuses are warranted and necessary, but at the same time the press does not help by bandying about such large numbers without context.
I’ve thought about the issue of context for many years, but this cartoon from xkcd prompted me to start typing. That, along with this revelation on what a trillion dollars looks like. Wow!
Is personal blogging dead?
This morning, Kevin Rose, of Digg fame, questioned whether personal blogging was dead, what with the advent of Facebook :and Twitter.
is personal blogging dead? w/my facebook page/twitter, I’m not sure I need a blog anymore.. thoughts?
I’d hope not.
Twitter is brief—140 characters brief. I’d wager that I’ve never written a post under 140 characters. Well maybe one or two. But the point is that Twitter could never replace my blog because the content is so different.
As for Facebook, it’s useful for connecting with people, sharing photos, and sharing things of interest (although the market for the last of these is being eaten up by Twitter). It’s not used for ramblings, musings, and general thought.
Maybe the important word in Kevin’s tweet is personal. Maybe the personal blog has been replaced, if he means blogs telling their audience what the writer is up to. But I’ve never been a subscriber to such blogs, so from a selfish perspective my subscriptions won’t be affected. Meanwhile, hope you’re enjoying post 1,442, and I look forward to writing the next 1,442. And the next. And the next.
Twitter’s 140 characters: enough?
The 140 character limit imposed by Twitter is a stroke of genius.
I guess that the limit was imposed because of the 160 character limit of SMS messages—allowing for a 20 character wrapper, I expect—which were (and probably still are) a big source of updates to Twitter. Yet this 160 character limit is itself artificial.
Irrespective of its history, getting tweets down to 140 characters has become an artform. While people complain about its limitation, I think relaxing the limit would generate uproar from Twitterers. Increasing it would change the way in which people use the medium, turning it into more of a platform for blogs than one for tweets, and making sifting and reading of updates much more unwieldy.
Long may brevity reign.
Good and bad
My daughter has started saying .NET. No prompting from me, honest.
And I was slightly disappointed by the following extract from her report card from nursery today:
We had a few tears when Dad dropped her off [at 7.55am] but by 8.10am she was fine, smiling and laughing.
I have feelings too, you know!
Got the keys?
I expect Shuttle launches are planned a lot better than my family’s trips out of the house. Often, I’ll run back from the car to the house having forgotten my daughter’s juice, my iPod, or to check whether I’ve turned the gas off. (That last example is entirely fictional, intending to give the reader a stereotypical view of my forgetfulness.)
It would be refreshing to read about a Shuttle launch that was delayed because the pilot had forgotten the keys, or had forgotten to take the lunch that her husband had prepared (very PC, me) out of the fridge. Or to read of a short delay for one of the crew to have one last wee before the long journey.
Are we nearly there yet?
Designing glasses
I’m intrigued as to how people design glasses. Of the wearing variety.
As previously posted, I recently bought a pair. (A pair that I love, btw.) But the range of different styles was astounding. And always is.
I wonder what decision-making process spectacle-manufacturers go through in deciding what type of frames to manufacture, how many to go for in total, and how to divide their total between the different styles. Specifically, I wonder what the business requirements document looks like.
Not sure why I wonder this. But I do.
(As an aside, during the 48 hours since donning the new glasses, I have been compared to Chris Evans, Frankie Boyle, Ronnie Barker and Joe 90. I think it’s because I’m generally considered to be a funny kind of guy. My wife’s response? "Did you try them on in the shop?" Ho hum.)
Point within Zone 1 furthest from an Underground station
Draw the largest polygon possible by connecting Zone 1 stations on the London Underground. All Zone 1 stations will lie within said polygon.
Now find the point within the polygon furthest away from a Zone 1 station.
I’m interested to know the answer.
Where are all the maps?
After dipping my toes into the world of online mapping, I’m thinking there’s a market out there for organisations with some distributed presence (i.e. more than one location) but little web knowledge. And indeed, for organisations that just haven’t seen the value of online maps.
There are a bunch of organisations for which I’d like to be able to see a map of all locations, with the locations listed and be able to zoom in or out, or find directions to and from, any one of those locations in a Google Maps kind of way.
But no one does this.
Marks & Spencer: how on earth have you missed this? Starbucks: same question. Boots: ditto. B&Q. Church of England: map those churches. English Heritage: you should offer this for all of your blue plaques.
All it takes is a bunch of postcodes, full addresses to display on clicking, and some store details to appear in the resulting bubbles.
Would anyone be interested in a site that offered all of these in a single place, irrespective of the buy-in of the parent organisation? (After all, the data is generally available if you look for it.)
Geek-chic
I invested in some new glasses on Wednesday. The type that will help with my eyesight as opposed to those that contain liquid. The incumbent pair are scratched-to-buggery. This, along with a slightly deteriorating prescription, means that it’s time for a change.
The trouble with buying new glasses is that you can’t see what the hell you look like when you’re wearing them, given that they sport plain glass, somewhat ineffective to those challenged in the sight department.
Which is why the modern advances in digital photography are a godsend. Here’s a picture I took of me, looking rather serious, in Dolland & Aitchison.
On showing the picture to my colleague, her immediate reaction was: "Oh my god, geek-chic."
I had no idea what she meant, so on looking up the phrase, I found the following definition:
the embracing of stereotypically unpopular "geek" characteristics such as glasses, comic books, and computer games
Oh dear. Still, no one’s ever called me chic before. I pick the glazed artefacts up tomorrow.
James Corden giving England team a pep talk
I watched Comic Relief on the BBC on Friday night. All in all, above average comedy for a good few hours. The highlight? James Corden giving a motivational talk to the England football team.
If you didn’t see it, it’s worth watching. Catch it here.