United Airlines Sucks!

When it comes to hating on airlines, United is my favorite poster child. I had several problems with United a few years back (here). They were so bad, I vowed not to fly them anymore, unless, of course, it was absolutely necessary. I also stopped using my United credit card. All of this was over a $150 charge. Was it worth it United? They probably thought so at the time.

So it wasn't much of a surprise yesterday when my big bro called me and told me he had a story that was better than mine. He's supposed to go to Chile in a few weeks with my dad. They've been planning this trip for a while. Almost 8 months. They were supposed to fly United.

My dad called United two days ago to ask about changing their seats. What seats? United had canceled the flight and failed to notify my dad or my brother. If they hadn't called, who knows what would have happened? Imagine showing up at the airport for a two week vacation to another country, only to find out the airlines took it upon themselves to cancel it and not notify you? It's not like they didn't have email addresses and phone numbers for them. The trip was on Untied mileage. So of course they did. And this wasn't some puddle jumper that flies every hour on the hour. It's an international trip. What about hotel reservations, rental car reservations, dinner spots... all the plans they've put together? Then I asked myself, why would United care about anyone but themselves? And I realized, this was par for the course.

Now what? Well, not only did they not have an alternate flight or plan, but in typical United fashion, they outsourced the problem. The plane they were flying was Air Canada - one of their code share partners. And they just placed the blame on them even though United was handling the trip. In addition, my brother could only talk to outsourced customer service and couldn't get anyone with authority on the phone. Livid doesn't begin to describe how they felt.

They had to re-book their flight on American because, well, they didn't have any other choice. Leaving the same day but coming back a day later. Not perfect, because now my dad has to scramble to get someone to give him coverage for yet another day. What if American didn't have an available flight? A canceled trip for sure.

If my family's experiences with United is any indication of their performance at large, I don't see United lasting much longer. And good riddance at that.

I have read some rumblings recently about the deterioration of customer service and people who were in favor of it. They claimed that complaining customers can sometimes be a greater burden than they're worth. Sure, in some cases, where customers do nothing but hassle and heckle. But when you turn your backs on your long time customer base (my family has flown United and American our entire lives), that just lacks common sense. Your customers are your evangelists. They will live and die by you. They are the best advertising you can get. And the worst. I can never stress enough that without your customer, there will be no business.

Vyoo Quick and Dirty Scoring - Done!

I've come a realization today and I'm not sure I like the results. See, I've been programming for a while. Ten years now. And I'm always awed by those people who can pick up a programming book and learn how to code. It really blows my mind. I can't. I'm one of those visual people I guess, where I need to see some examples in order to learn. And then I can extrapolate further. So it takes me a while to get up to speed. It's the reason I shied away from coding this website, initially. I just knew it would be a lengthy endeavor.

Fortunately for me, I have a trusted sidekick. Fajar, a co-worker from the Gap back in the days when I worked there. He's since moved home to Indonesia to be with his family, and to help start his own consulting company, after attending school and working here for a few years. He got fed up with the Gap like I did and decided it was time to move on.

He's been coding Ruby a lot longer than I have and can provide me with the support I need. Though having a 24hr turnaround is a bit of a nuisance sometimes. It also requires a healthy dose of IM'ing in the late hours of the night or early morning when we're both awake.

He's one of those low level coders. He loves to hack away on Unix. He lives and dies by the command line. I live and die with the GUI. In any event, he's great at the infrastructure. Setting up the servers, setting up the Rails environment. Coding our framework.

I am good at solving the the data manipulation problems - the mathematical stuff. The bigger picture stuff.

Yesterday I finished part of the scoring for our algorithm. So it was a big win for me. There's another component I'm hoping to finish in the next several days. And this is going to allow us to open up our alpha to a wider range of people.

Now - there's a caveat here. We call this algorithm the Quick and Dirty (Q&D) algorithm. Because our algorithm maestro is working away on the real algorithm, which uses far more computational know-how and power. While I'm good at the big picture, using spatial geometry and intricate statistical modeling methodology will be left up to Mark.

Winners Announced

Today was the day we finally ran our raffle. Sorry for the delay. You gotta know that things take a whole lot longer than you think they're going to take.

So, using a nice little random number generator, we picked our ten Starbucks gift certificate winners and our iPod Nano winner - out of 222 (completed) survey responses. I sent the emails out already, so make sure it's not in your spam folder.

It's always strange when some of the winners are your friends, but when you send something out and lots of the respondents are your friends, there's obviously a high likelihood that it's going to happen. One of my boys in New York City won. And I just know that I'm never going to hear the end of it.

Bloggers Unite For Human Rights: Refugees

A few times a year, Blogger's Unite asks us to write about an issue of global importance. This year, it's a discussion about helping refugees.

It comes at a time when tempers are flaring in Easter Congo as rebel and government forces are on the verge of seeing their cease fire wither and die. The implications are far more than just political. They become personal. For the 50,000 people living in the Kibati refugee camp near Goma. There's a cholera outbreak. They can't leave or shouldn't. Can't work. They sit and wait for the world to come to their aid. And who knows if it will? There was a genocide just a few years back in Rwanda. And it's looking eerily similar to the situation we have today (here). And these refugees will certainly suffer the most.

Living in a refugee camp can be sheer hell. Patrolled by troops, many of whom are unsympathetic to the plight of his/her own countrymen. Or the country he's invaded. Drunken soldiers firing their guns. Torturing, raping, and killing refugees at will.

It's an overlooked issue. I know there are lots of issue plaguing our world, but refugees get very little attention. So take today to think about refugees. Think about your own experiences learning about the plight of refugees. And if you don't know anything about it, read up a little on it today. It only takes a few minutes to get educated. And that alone can make a difference.

UK Refugee Services
http://www.redcross.org.uk/TLC.asp?id=81617

Lutheran Refugee Services
http://www.lirs.org/

Aotearoa-New Zealand Refugee Services
http://www.refugeeservices.org.nz/

United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrant Children
http://www.refugees.org/

Church World Service Immigrant & Refugee Program
http://www.churchworldservice.org/Immigration/index.html

Women's Commission for Refugee Women & Children
http://www.womenscommission.org/

Additional Links/Resources
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/protect?id=3b8265c7a
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refugees
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statelessness
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/road_to_refuge/default.stm

The US Automobile Industry - To Save it Or Not? That is the Question.

Now they're asking for a $50 billion bailout. It was just $25, but why not double it?

I was talking to my roommate last week about this and initially, I thought the industry should be saved. The big 3 are icons in America and across the world. Ford and the assembly line. Muscle cars. The Corvette and Mustang. Like a Rock. All iconic. And all American. But he said something that resonated with me. Haven't they had enough opportunity to save themselves? I reluctantly agreed. And now, after thinking about his rationale, wholeheartedly agree.

And here's why?

3 Strikes

In my lifetime, the US auto industry has gone from bad to worse. To maybe a little bit better in recent years. In the 80's, American cars were built like crap. And Japanese auto makers began to erode the market for US autos. Japan built cars that lasted. The US built cars to sell. It was obvious to me then and obvious to me now that either the US automakers didn't care or couldn't create them. I think they didn't care, because, like the financial institutions, they didn't have to. They were still selling lots of cars (and making money).

When US automakers finally started improving on quality, the Japanese were one step ahead with style. While just a minor point, if you look at cars over the last twenty years, you'll notice that US cars lost their iconic advantage. The Ford Taurus? The Dodge Neon? Even the Mustang suffered during the 80's and 90's. The T-Bird? US cars were built like crap and looked like crap. Whose fault was this?

When US automakers finally started improving aesthetics to entice new buyers, the Japanese were building more efficient cars. Efficiency is both fuel efficiency and manufacturing efficiency. Obviously, the Japanese are way ahead in mileage efficiencies. Take a look at hybrids or electrics. All pushed to US consumers by Japanese automakers. What did the Big 3 do? Nothing. They didn't have to, because they were still selling cars. Big cars. SUV's and Hummers.

How about manufacturing efficiencies? Well, that's a no brainer as well. The Japanese began building plants in the United States and even engaged in joint ventures with US automakers to build plants here in the States. I guess the US couldn't keep up or didn't know how to. Or didn't want to. Because they were still selling a few cars. Not as many. But still making money.

It's Finally Caught Up

For years Congress has been lobbied by the Auto industry not to pass higher MPG standards. Why? Because that would cost them money. Or they've lobbied Congress not to force them to include air bags or other safety systems. Why? Because that would cost them money. Take a look at the MPG regulations in the image above. It's ridiculous. China, a developing country, has higher fuel efficiency regulations than us. And yes, I did see this in an Inconvenient Truth (I was forced to watch it on Friday night even though I have a rampant distaste for Al Gore. But I have to say, it did it's job - and I'm glad he made it. I'm a huge fan of saving the environment, so if it raised awareness, I'm in.)

Well sure, things do cost money. But in the end, complying or willingly improving your product will provide a higher ROI. Competition never ends. If your successful, you'll always have people gunning for you. And, as the US auto industry has proven, you can certainly run out of luck. If the US were building great, fuel efficient, reliable automobiles like they should have been, we wouldn't be in this predicament.

Save them? Why? Will we lose jobs? Yes. But we're resilient. And innovative. And I'm sure we'll create jobs elsewhere. If we don't, well, maybe we'll have to.

And I'm certainly looking forward to the demise of the UAW union. Unions were great during industrialization. Now? They just seem like they hamper progress.

Selfishness vs. Selfessness

I originally wrote this post on 10/12 - but just realized when I published it last night that it didn't show up as the first post here, so I've had to update the date.

I've had quite a few conversations over the last several weeks that all converged around a central theme. They weren't related, contextually, but they were all tied to how people live their lives – and whether people are generally in it for themselves? Well, let me tell you this. From my research, there’s a much larger cluster of people who are selfish. And this begs yet a further question. One which I'm afraid I don't have a good answer for yet. Is the reason because people think it pays better to be selfish? I'm going to lean towards a yes. So what about you? Generally selfish or selfless?

THE SELFISH ECONOMY
Lots of conversations have revolved around the economy. Because, shit, who isn't thinking about it right now? It started with tracing the root of the current mess. And it all led back to selfishness. Big, fat, corporate greed. Remember Enron? Nobody gave a crap about Enron until they collapsed. Why? Because everyone was making money, hand over fist. And nobody pursued further investigation of corporate America, beyond firms tied to Enron. Sure, maybe it was naivety and maybe nobody thought it was widespread. But how could the people involved with, say, the global financial markets, really not know there were problems in their industry? Or maybe, just maybe, there were happy making money.

I was watching Jim Fuld, CEO of Lehman brothers, get grilled before Congress. And at no time did he appear to be genuinely apologetic about his actions. He said a few things, like it was weighing on him. But if you looked in his eyes, you knew he didn't give a shit. And it was pathetic. Because he walked away with about $450 million after running Lehman into the ground. I'm sure he was bummed it went bankrupt, not because of his employees or his clients, but because his legacy will now be tarnished.

In a world where CEO's can pull in half a billion dollars, I think it speaks volumes about priorities. Especially when you get paid regardless of your performance. Where's the incentive there? On the other hand, I'm more than ok with someone like Jack Welch getting paid a gazillion dollars. He ran an incredibly successful ship at GE and created tons of real shareholder value. But when you're making gobs of money creating fake wealth or bilking investors, or not even making money for your company, I have issues with that.

I had a different conversation about Alan Greenspan, the man who was Chairman of the Fed for almost 20 years. I have to admit, I've been a fan of his for a while, but I remember thinking that his departure from the Fed was a little suspect. Why would you want to leave that job if you're an economist? That's the peak. The Mt. Everest of jobs. And then he continued to make public comments about the economy after he left. Anyway, if he was such a great economist, didn’t he see this mess coming? Did he see an impending failure of the global economy? And if he did, is that why he got out? Because he knew his legacy would take a beating? Selfishness? Just something to think about. And...while I've been thinking about it for a while, he came out recently and said that just maybe, he screwed up a little (here).

Next up: The US Auto industry.

A Vyoo Update

I just arrived on the East Coast. This isn't a vacation - but at times hopefully it will feel like one. I came out to visit an old friend of mine but find myself in my usual location - a Starbucks. Yup. I've chastised Starbucks a lot. But I find their free wi-fi (since I'm an AT&T customer) unbeatable. And I like to do work places where there's some ambient noise (customers, music) and minor distractions. If I work at home - I tend to get cabin fever rather quickly and find anything to do to distract me. Like eating. Or whatever.

As promised, we've launched our alpha site several weeks back. We're not really open for business for anyone (because our algorithm isn't entirely plugged in), but we've got a dedicated server and full build/deployments going on. We're testing/fixing bugs and moving along. I've come to find that my obsessive nature in dealing with the website will need to take a backseat or at least chill out at some point. I cringe at releasing a product that has bugs. It's inevitable, but it scares me. I feel like a new website has pretty much one shot at capturing its users - otherwise, they ain't comin' back (or at last it'll be pretty hard to get them back). For a large company with marketing dollars behind them, well, it's a whole lot easier. I've even thought of trying Chrome again, because, well, Google is behind it. And I'm sure it's working better now. But there are more than a few startups/products I visit or try, with high hopes, never to return to.

One of our current issues that we're dealing with is handling the data interchange between our algorithm and our database. Our algorithm guru works in Python while we're in Rails. Problem 1. He also works with CSV files and we work with relational databases. Problem 2. Running our algorithm on the fly - quickly. Large problem 3. This will be the most challenging. And it has nothing to do with Rails - so stop your drooling over thinking you can call us out on that.