zilele de azbest se opresc

cuiele vorbesc ca lupii

fanioanele cer îngăduință

corpul alb vulpea lăuntrică

dorul formal

ceas de odihnă

Satisfactia clientului are o ecuatie simpla: este rezultatul scaderii performante percepute minus asteptari. Daca rezultatul e pozitiv cumparatorul este foarte satisfacut sau incantat. Daca rezultatul da valoarea zero, clientul e satisfacut. Daca insa e negativ clientul e nemultumit.

Sa luam exemplul cazarii la un hotel. Daca unitatea de turism il trateaza regeste cand vizitatorul se asteapta la un tratament decent, e normal ca el sa plece incantat de la hotel. Daca nimic nu-i displace dar nici nu-l uimeste atunci starea lui e constanta, primeste ce-a asteptat. Iar daca pleaca dezamagit inseamna ca hotelul nu si-a facut temele.

Totul se reduce astfel la standarde: ale clientului si ale furnizorului. Cu cat clientul e mai putin informat cu atat gradul lui de satisfactie este mai mare. Dar cine isi doreste clienti neinformati? Pe de o parte nu apreciaza lucrurile importante pentru ca poate nu le sunt vizibile, neavand asteptari, pe de alta parte sunt cei mai lipsiti de loialitate fata de produs, fata de brand. Un client informat apreciaza calitatile pentru care furnizorul a muncit sa le puna in practica sau sa le promoveze.

Informatia aduce insa putere apoi aroganta si se ajunge in extrema cealalta, a clientilor permanent nemultumiti. Firmele trebuie deci sa comunice complet si onest asa incat cumparatorii lor sa plateasca in cunostinta de cauza. Se evita neintelegerile si nemultumirile si prin excludere ramane satisfactia.

Lucrurile nu sunt chiar asa de simple in realitate iar firmele ar trebui si ca pe langa standardele de calitate si reguli operationale sa stabileasca si metode de masurare a satisfactiei clientilor: formulare, chestionare, focus-grupuri, linii telefonice speciale, mistery shopping, chestionarea clientilor pierduti, etc. Imbunatatirea serviciilor ar trece din stadiul de deziderat intr-unul de imbunatatire permanenta din care toata lumea ar avea de castigat.

melodie fără refren

semn gîndul fals

tumoarea ochiului stîng

inima bate urlînd

Best book in the series. And that is sad.

Eclipse is the third instalment in the bestselling supernatural-romance hybrid saga Twilight. Taking place just a few months after the events of New Moon, in this book a killing spree has begun in Seattle, to try and offer some fear into the story. Now, I could list all the things that are wrong with this book. And here they are. True to Twilight form, the story takes ages to rev up, about one hundred pages, and it is all about the feelings that Bella has for Edward. We get it; you are obsessed with a freaking vampire. No need to tell us for a century-worth of pages in every single book. Secondly, there is very little sense in Bella’s decision to put off her inevitable vampirism, considering there is the very real possibility that the vampires doing the killing in Seattle are after her! Really, if bloodthirsty vampires were after me, I would embrace vampirism as soon as (in)humanly possible. God, that pun was terrible.

          However, for everything that Eclipse does wrong, it does a thing right. The writing is a Titanic-like spectacle – a romance set against a conveniently epic background – and attracts both romance and supernatural-lovers alike. The exchanges between the werewolves and the vampires are brilliant and suitably amusing, and it is good to see that Stephanie Meyer knows her modernist vampire mythology (for those of you who do not: Vampires hate werewolves and vice-versa.). And without revealing too much, we finally get a full-on battle scene! I was starting to lose faith in the idea of a good fight scene, which would have been disappointing (vampires and fight scenes were made for each other), but Eclipse finally puts in that missing piece.

          There are people who do not like the Twilight quartet, and it is easy to see why; Twilight has reduced the modern vampire to a non-threatening “lover-boy” creature, with very little to no blood-thirst whatsoever. Eclipse finally changes that, revealing to us the bloody back-stories to some characters, and showing to us that Stephanie Meyer actually can retain some modicum of vampiric dignity in the Twilight Saga, and the book is all the better for it. I am giving it a decent 7.5 out of 10.

The English language names of Tokyo apartment buildings are funny. So few have Japanese names. Whether upmarket or downmarket, the names are often so strange. Who can forget “Cram Place“?

This is one of my most recent favorites: the upscale “Park House Decent” building. Have you seen any funny building names in Tokyo?

Productivity will come to me sometimes in waves, gallons, buckets. It’ll just swamp me and overwhelm me and all I can do is ride it out and leave a trail of finished things in my wake.

Today I am having One of Those Days, and it’s great. I was just outside with the dogs, and did horse/cat chores; one benefit of my dad being away is that I have the roam of the land. I can do my mother a favor and do chores, which I like to do when it’s nice outside.

It’s great to do what I like in my own house. My mom is less stressed because dad isn’t here dirtying up the house, and I can be relied upon to keep our living space decent-looking. With dad here, it’s like, it’s going to get shitted up anyway, so what’s the point of picking up?

But that’s neither here nor there, because I am having a Productive Day.

I’ve got the card table set up in front of the couch and am going to put some of The Wiz on so I can hear my thoughts without singing them. I’m going to memorize some more as I finish my English assignment with the New Yorker and then chop away at my Kite Runner essay. Then it’s lines, for the rest of the day, and once Michelle and mom get home I’ll put away groceries.

I’m going to get my coffee and get started. I’ve got a lot to do– laundry and dishes on top of school and college essays, too– but I’m ready for it.

It’s just another One of Those Days.

Ziua de 22 noiembrie,zi in care vor avea loc alegerile prezidentiale,este din ce in ce mai aproape…ma uit cu mirare,dar privesc cu o oarecare teama,la sondajele de opinie,realizate de diferite ziare,pagini de internet,etc…Vad cum Traian Basescu,ramane preferat in continuare de alegatori,la sefia statului…Inca 5 ani de guvernare “Basesciana“,inca 5 ani in care nu se va vedea nimic,ba mai mult,inca 5 ani in care vom suferi din ce in ce mai mult pe toate planurile…desigur,daca va fi reales presedinte,argumentele “neputintei“ domniei sale vor fi din nou faptul ca e criza si ca nu sunt bani…Vesnica criza din Romania nu va mai trece in stilul acesta,nici in urmatorii 15 ani cu Basescu la putere…Se intelege de aici faptul ca atata timp cat Traian Basescu va fi presedinte,va fi tot “Criza“ in Romania…E drept ca nu s-a vazut nimic in 20 de ani “democratici“,nici cu PSD la guvernare,nici cu PNL,insa ca acum,nu a fost si nu cred ca va mai fi niciodata…Votati Basescu,si vor urma inca un val enorm de somaj,vor avea ei grija sa dea niste legi prin care vom avea niste salarii minime pe economie de 2 ori mai mici decat acum,niste legi prin care vom iesi la pensie la doua decenii dupa ce vom muri,sau mai stiu eu ce tampenii de genu`…Asadar,dragi romani,votati Traian Basescu pentru ca o vom duce “bine“ rau de tot,vom ajunge si noi ca bietii profesori,sau ca angajatii CFR,sa iesim cu totii in strada sa ne cerem salariile nemaiprimite de 3 luni,si micsorate intre timp printr-o “ordonanta de urgenta“ marca Emil Boc…

Nu va jucati cu viitorul vostru pentru ca mai apoi sa va plangeti de mila…I-au ajuns 5 ani de zile in care si-a construit vile,si-a luat masini,l-a improprietarit pe frate-su si a facut-o pe fii-sa “Europarlamentar“…i-au ajuns 5 ani de zile in care tot ce a facut a fost sa se gandeasca sa legalizeze drogurile usoare si prostitutia…I-au ajuns 5 ani de zile in care si-a batut joc de fiecare om din tara asta,fie el sarac sau bogat…I-au ajuns 5 ani de zile de suete,petreceri,paranghelii cu Bercea Mondialu si altii din cercul lui…

Acum a venit momentul sa alegem…Sa alegem dreptatea,sa alegem sa traim macar decent,sa alegem sa nu mai putem fi calcati in picioare,sa alegem sa putem avea o batranete,sa alegem sa putem asigura un viitor copiilor nostrii…

A venit momentul schimbarii…Nu s-a vazut nimic in 5 ani de zile,asa ca nu vad de ce ar trebui reales…treziti-va dragi romani…Nu vreti sa stiti ce se va intampla in cazul in care cel ce ne ureaza “Sa traim bine“ va fi reales in fruntea statului…Nu va mai lasati pacaliti de niste discursuri siropoase,de niste vorbe false spuse cu zambetul pe buze…

Nu mai lasati tara asta,si asa vai de ea,pe mainile unor incompetenti…

Daca esti roman,du-te la vot,dar sa ai un singur gand…Spune NU TRAIAN BASESCU!!!

Alegerea iti apartine…Viitorul sta si in mainile tale…Fa ceea ce trebuie si spune NU TRAIAN BASESCU!!!

I made a far journey
Earth’s fair cities to view,
but like to love’s city
City none I knew

At the first I knew not
That city’s worth,
And turned in my folly
A wanderer on earth.

From so sweet a country
I must needs pass,
And like to cattle
Grazed on every grass.

As Moses’ people
I would liefer eat
Garlic, than manna
And celestial meat.

What voice in this world
to my ear has come
Save the voice of love
Was a tapped drum.

Yet for that drum-tap
From the world of All
Into this perishing
Land I did fall.

That world a lone spirit
Inhabiting.
Like a snake I crept
Without foot or wing.

The wine that was laughter
And grace to sip
Like a rose I tasted
Without throat or lip.

‘Spirit, go a journey,’
Love’s voice said:
‘Lo, a home of travail
I have made.’

Much, much I cried:
‘I will not go’;
Yea, and rent my raiment
And made great woe.

Even as now I shrink
To be gone from here,
Even so thence
To part I did fear.

‘Spirit, go thy way,’
Love called again,
‘And I shall be ever nigh thee
As they neck’s vein.’

Much did love enchant me
And made much guile;
Love’s guile and enchantment
Capture me the while.

In ignorance and folly
When my wings I spread,
From palace unto prison
I was swiftly sped.

Now I would tell
How thither thou mayst come;
But ah, my pen is broke
And I am dumb.

Book: ‘Persian Poems‘, an Anthology of verse translations
edited by A.J.Arberry, Everyman’s Library, 1972

Great post!  Lots of details and plenty of pictures.  Very useful info.  Click here to read more

The Job Paradox

Graph by: dunno source via Graph Jam Builder

The event poster

UPDATE: Beyonce has postponed her concert due to ‘personal reasons’. Marctensia spokesperson Siong has confirmed that the reason was that the baju kurung she had ordered two weeks ago could not be ready in time.

KUALA LUMPUR — Organisers of the Beyonce concert scheduled this October 25 at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium have agreed to the Home Ministry’s directive that the American pop superstar ‘remains decent’ throughout her concert. According to Tony Siong, spokesperson for Marctensia, the singer herself, full name Beyonce Knowles,  is “thrilled at the prospect of performing her ‘I am’ World Tour for the Malaysian public, while keeping a close check on the local sensitivities”.

“Miss Beyonce will no doubt be leaving all her skimpy clothes in her native land of sin and evil, America,” said Siong, enthusiastically. “Heaven knows she understands that she cannot be bringing such vile things here and corrupt our pure and innocent youngsters.

“While other event organisers and performers don’t pay much attention to such matters, like how the Satan-worshipping band, Michael Learns To Rock, came to Genting and bared their super-sexy chests and straying the crowd into the path to Hell, we at Marctensia care about the moral state of Malaysians,” he continued. “In fact, the only way we could agree to bring Miss Knowles here was for her to agree to perform without any element of naughtiness or sexiness. And that includes her dance moves, which, we all know, would drive any normal human being to having wild and promiscuous sex.”

Siong added that the un-sexy concert directive would not only cover the singer’s attire and suggestive dance moves, but also her alluring and arousing make-up.

SINFUL: Miss Knowles will be leaving such eye-popping, sex-inducing attire out of her KL performance

“Her make-up is dangerous. It’s almost like a prostitute displaying her wares and calling for you to sample the dish. For free. It’s that powerful.

“I’m afraid we cannot let that happen. We have to protect the Malaysian men from suddenly having erotic fantasies as Beyonce bats her long and mascara-ed eyelashes. So it’ll be make-up free that night. In fact, we’re considering other ways to protect the audience from this powerful temptation, perhaps by playing with lights to hide her face, or maybe even get her to sing behind a wall,” said Siong, sternly.

“It goes further.”

“We realise that the sexy part about Beyonce is not just her revealing clothes, curvaceous figure, stunning ‘thunder-thighs’, angelic face, fiery hair and killer gyrating moves. It’s also her voice. It can melt hearts and, honestly, make people have sex, take drugs and commit suicide.

“So we’re taking every step to minimise the damage she could inflict,” said Siong. “We’ll be feeding her microphone input through a digital voice altering processor, so she would sound less sexy.

“The final product would still be essentially ‘Beyonce’, but with a ‘Transformers’ and robotic feel to it, so it’s all still good. And oh yes, there’d also be a two-second delay for the audience to hear it. Minimal disruption, really.

Siong says that he hopes the concert will run smoothly, without problems or sinful things.

“I would advice the audience members to dress accordingly, as we would be conducting dressing checks at the entrance. Show too much skin, and you’ll be denied access. Wear suggestive clothes and you’ll be arrested for counselling sessions. What do you think this is, a sex fest?

“Other than that, have fun!”

I want one!
Major Lazer = Diplo & switch, in case you didn’t know…

Who are my Sisters?
She is that Muslimah you walk past on the street, she is the one you sit next to on the bus, and she is also the one that shares your cubicle at the office. She is the one that stands next to you in salat at the Masjid, the one that shy away from the front rows.

Where do I find my Sisters?
The sisters are all around us, wanting to be identified, needing a hug and a smile. The next time you see that sister, on the street, at the supermarket, or on the bus offer her salaam, introduce yourself, tell her about the mosque where you offer you salat. Plant the seed of sisterhood and friendship, and let Allah, The Sustainer, sustain it and when it blossoms and fruits you shall benefit from it.
The Sister is not her hijab, she is not her clothes, she is one like you, and like you she strives and struggles. Maybe she is yet to prevail over her desires, so tell her about your experiences make du’a with her, join hands with her, together we are stronger.

What do I say to my Sister?
Say salaam alaikum, and wait to receive an even more beautiful response. Tell the sister your name and remember her name for the next time you will say salaam to her.
Don’t tag a sister with names like Hijabite/alhaja, she has a beautiful name you can use. She is just as nervous as you are; together we can explore and expand unchartered territories for the muslim women insha allahu.

Actually looks pretty decent.
Out 4.30.2010

HA NOI — Asia-Pacific governments should focus on creating the conditions for good jobs and social protection programmes for those unable to find decent work as they face slower economic growth in the coming year.

The Asian market which is export-driven has been hard hit by the recent economic slowdown as the demand for exports has largely declined, forcing job cuts and slashing the incomes of thousands of people in the Asia and Pacific regions.

Ursula Schaefer-Preuss, Vice President of the Asian Development Bank said “Before the crisis, in the context of high growth rates, only half of the region’s young labour entrants could find decent jobs, while the rest had to sustain themselves and their families through the informal sector.”

She spoke at the conclusion of a three-day conference titled “The impact of the global economic slowdown on poverty and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific.”

As the Asian economy was forecast to sharply decline from an average 8% over five years before the crisis to only 3.9 per cent this year, the need for social protection strategies to address the post-crisis labour market would become more urgent, she said.

This crisis struck different countries in different ways. According to Ayumi Konishi, country director of ADB’s Viet Nam Resident Mission, Viet Nam had 1.57 million new entrants coming into the labour market. Unless the economy kept growing, those people would remain jobless.

“That’s why the stimulus package is largely being spent on infrastructure, because construction involves creating a lot of new jobs,” he said.

“The conference is a good opportunity to exchange experiences between countries”, said Nicholas Rosellini, UNDP Deputy Director for Asia and Pacific Region, “Viet Nam has good experiences to share in poverty reduction. We also discussed the quality of growth and the need of countries in the region to protect social expenditure and to invest in the areas that benefit the poor.”

Ursula Schaefer-Preuss said the large stimulus packages have provided fiscal space to address immediate social effects, but social spending has represented only a small share of such packages. Governments should act to improve their targeting of social spending by undertaking structural reforms and directing resources.

She also said that the ASEAN Secretariat intended to take proactive measures based on the conference findings. —

Source: vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn

ATTENTION!!!

i put together this cover for a contest on Mad Decent (Diplo’s label) and i NEED for you to vote for me so i can win.  pleeease repost this everywhere you can because im dope and it would be great to get Rok The Spot ’s name out there.
for serious, a reblog or post to the link on your facebook, myspace or twitter would be super duper.

i dont think you have to actually create an account to vote either.

by: Flipz5 of Rok The Spot

if you dont know who Major Lazer is, well, I’d keep that to myself. Thats one bad dude.

Yeah, yeah — “decenter” isn’t a word. Okay, “more decent.” Happy now? “More Decent Photos.”

Anyway, I managed to get my hands on some new batteries over the weekend, so there won’t be any more crap cellphone photos on here. For a while, anyway. Here are my bento lunches from the past two days:

Here you can see my handmade sushi again, which didn’t turn out so well. They weren’t very tasty, either — all they had inside were carrot and cucumber sticks. Dipped in Dollar Tree soy sauce, which is pretty gross in the first place, they’re less than a delicacy. Anyway, I’ve also got a couple pickles and some leftover cucumber and carrot sticks. For some reason, the cucumber sticks tasted nasty, too. Maybe I just have the power to make things taste bad without doing anything to them.

In the other container is a little fruit salad (mandarin oranges, apple chunks, and peach chunks) covered up by my pretty starfruit slices. That actually ended up tasting pretty good. And of course, my little onigiri is tucked in beside it, still a part of the mandarin-orange-filled series. I’m out of mandarin oranges, now, so hopefully I can come up with something more interesting to put inside next time.

On the top, you can see my container full of Dollar Tree soy sauce that seems to be becoming progressively more nasty. I’ve got a 100-calorie pack-full of fudge cookies and the last of the mandarin orange onigiri in there, as well. On the bottom is the rest of my crapsushi and yet more apple chunks and mandarin oranges. I imagine I’m starting to repeat myself… I need to find more interesting things to pack.

Anyhoodles, I made some tuna helper for me and the folks tonight… Not much to say other than it wasn’t bad. Ate a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Stephen Colbert’s Americone Dream ice cream on Sunday, of which I want more. I made some coconut macaroons in Foods on Friday. They stuck to the aluminum foil and weren’t fully golden brown on the outside due to time constraints, but they were delicious. I also ate at the local Tokyo Buffet with my best friend over the weekend, which is probably my current favorite place to eat. I’m writing a review of it for the school newspaper, so there’ll probably be more on that later.

Well, that’s enough outta me. G’bye!

Kinky Boots

Once we’ve made our perceptions, we need to evaluate them. For example, is a customer nervously looking around because the customer is impatient and wants to be served, hyperactive, or a potential shoplifter? By evaluating customer behavior against the following factors, you can then determine a course of action.

• Past experiences you’ve had in similar situations. If it is 90 degrees outside and the nervous customer has on a long winter coat, you may be justified in being suspicious.

• Beliefs about human behavior. Personal beliefs that people are basically decent or evil, pessimistic or optimistic, happy or sad, can influence the way you interact with others.

• Awareness of information about a person that can impact your reactions. For example, if you know one customer enjoys talking in detail about features and warranties of a product while another only wants the features highlighted, you may structure information accordingly.

• Expectations of the outcome of an interaction. For example, if you are optimistic about making a sale, you may subconsciously send nonverbal messages that positively influence customers or encourage them to do business with you.

My Consultancy–Asif J. Mir - Management Consultant–transforms organizations where people have the freedom to be creative, a place that brings out the best in everybody–an open, fair place where people have a sense that what they do matters. For details please visit www.asifjmir.com, Line of Sight

Inainte de a vorbi despre film tin musai sa fac o precizare: m-am saturat pana peste cap de seriile facute de-a-ndoaselea. Adica, se face un film, e bun si geniile de la productie pentru a specula valul incep sa toarne pre-povesti. Batman si Razboiul Stelelor sunt doua exemple care imi vin in minte acum si care m-au dezorientat complet…

In primul rand, filmul nu este, in niciun caz si la nicio varsta, pentru copii (prea multe personaje inspaimnatatoare sau oribile care ar putea lasa cu traume un micut). Povestea e incurcata rau daca o pui in legatura cu celelalte batmanuri de pana acum… In filmul actual se nasc o serie de personaje care vor fi prezente in diferite alte ”episoade”, deja facute de ani buni. E interesant sa vezi cam de unde vin personajele negative, ca pe cel pozitiv tot s-au straduit sa ni-l explice in vreo 3 filme.

Despre filmul in sine ar fi cateva lucruri de spus: distributie buna (am mai vazut asa ceva prin Ocean’s Eleven/Twelve), actorii joaca bine in general, efectele speciale decente, dar nu de ultima generatie. Actiunea este centrata, evident, pe eterna lupta intre bine si rau dar, de data asta mi s-a parut mult mai naturala. Au existat elemente mai umane in scenariu, nu a fost totul doar alb sau negru ci s-au intrevazut multe nuante de gri. Spre deosebire de celelalte Batmanuri de pana acum, eroii secundari chiar au un rost.

Coloana sonora e cumva seaca, doar insoteste actiunea fara a o ajuta. Durata filmului mi s-a parut un pic prea mare, m-am plictisit in cateva momente. Nu am inteles de ce a trebuit introdus un personaj asiatic si turnata o scena pe la ei… Si apropo de acest aspect, filmul este jenant de politicaly correct… Toate personajele cu functii inalte sunt negri, unul chiar femeie de culoare, responsabilul cu inalta tehnologie este la fel un geniu de culoare (interpretat bine de Morgan Freeman)… lipseste un homesexual declarat si un est-european (ca sa nu spun roman).

Filmul e cam de nota 7.5, in opinia mea, punctajul de pe IMDB (8.9) imi pare exagerat. Intra in categoria “De vazut si comentat cu prietenii, cu multa bere si chipsuri”.

No one can deny it, the App Store is full of junk and this junk is even flourishing.

In many blogposts and articles Apple has been blamed. In its turn Apple blames the developers for making junk and dismisses a few as an example. But nothing ever happens and the apps just filled with pictures, fart apps and single function apps keep multiplying. So who started it and who can fix it? The user.

People visit the App Store check the 2 front pages and download anything that has a flashy icon and some nice screenshots, without reading anything or without caring about the reviews. The first 2 pages are usually filled with new apps, which features 60% junk from developers that have thousands of useless apps for 99 cents. Then they find out half of it is useless and they remove it. Should it end there? No, users should write a review or give at least a rating for every app they download.

Does it mean you have to be hypercritical when reviewing each app?

Certainly not, many apps give added value to the App Store or bring competition, so be mild with these. It are the fart apps, the completely malfunctioning apps, the picture or sound collections and the travel guides that deserve a 1/5 rating. A functional app that does as it is supposed to do should get at least 2 or 3 points. If you follow these simple rules you degrade the junk and give extra momentum to the decent apps.

So why is the huge collection of junk a problem? As you know one of the only chances for an iPhone app to get some extra popularity or become known to the public is the “Release Date”-listing. This release date listing is always crammed with junk and the decent apps don’t benefit from this anymore. When a developer is releasing a decent app, the app is in the listing for about five minutes before being replaced by 200 apps from the same developer with names as “Rome Traveling Guide”, “Athens Traveling Guide”, … or “Cat Wallpapers”, “Puppy Wallpapers”, and so on.

The problem also is that the top apps in this listing are most of the time the 1-function apps so in this way a “Picture Grayscale”-app of 1,99$ will get downloaded and a 0.99$ full functional photo editing tool for the iphone with multiple filters which is only updated once every few months will not be downloaded at all.

So as the users behave now, the App Store only gives benefits to people who make bulk applications of low quality. Hundreds of good working functional apps are in the back of the popularity listing and hundreds of junk apps are in the middle.

Maybe this is partially the fault of Apple, they should review apps at some times and place these in a front page listing or while they are reviewing an app for listing in the App Store, just give a small review as well and if this is positive place them on the front page in a listing, hence filtering all junk. Just to the right of the window where I’m writing this I see a 0.99$ app on the top of the photography listing just providing “Animal Wallpapers”, is this an image editor or camera app where the photography section is ment for?

So to Apple:
Filter out the junk apps and add flood control to developer’s accounts.

To the people:
Review apps each time and wisely, trash junk apps and think twice when reviewing a functional app. Suggest things to developers before reviewing and search further than just at the front of the listings, many amazing bargains are in the back.