SciNZ's recent activity
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Comment on Tildes Book Club discussion - March 2025 - Hyperion by Dan Simmons in ~books
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Comment on What have you been listening to this week? in ~music
SciNZ LinkA friend put me onto the band Kalandra and they’re not normally the preferred genre (Nordic folk/prog) but they are so well composed they’ve become my latest obsession.A friend put me onto the band Kalandra and they’re not normally the preferred genre (Nordic folk/prog) but they are so well composed they’ve become my latest obsession.
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Comment on HP ditches mandatory fifteen-minute wait time policy due to 'feedback' in ~tech
SciNZ Link ParentAs mentioned in my comment, yes, I’ve noticed that by implementing a small delay people sometimes take the extra moment to resolve the issue themselves or change their mind.As mentioned in my comment, yes, I’ve noticed that by implementing a small delay people sometimes take the extra moment to resolve the issue themselves or change their mind.
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Comment on HP ditches mandatory fifteen-minute wait time policy due to 'feedback' in ~tech
SciNZ LinkA silly way to do it but I get it. I’m the director of a small business in resident building management. We are perpetually on the receiving end of calls and emails taking up our time by people...A silly way to do it but I get it.
I’m the director of a small business in resident building management.
We are perpetually on the receiving end of calls and emails taking up our time by people who could solve issues themselves. This sucks up our staffs time and takes them away from things that actually need to be done.
Some of these requests/demands are bonkers and we now have to state for all new residents “this is not a hotel and we are not your concierge” and I’ve had some resident demands get to the stage I’ve had to explain “I’m not your dad, you’re an adult, you need to do things for yourself”.
But we are very responsive, I’ve set KPI’s for clearing the inbox, having client maintenance requests resolved or into a workflow ASAP.
However high responsiveness sometimes gives people the impression that we have nothing else to do than be contacted for everything no matter how silly.
So we’ve started implementing delayed responses for time wasting communications.
Emailed to complain about a spider in the garden? (I wish I was joking).
If I even bother to reply, I’ve set it to delay by 3 business days before it sends.I’ve found now a bit of a drop in time wasting communications and there is less of a back and forth of the communications going on and on and on.
Often people hit a tiny issue and get themselves worked up in that moment and really just want to vent, making them wait has them cool off a bit and usually things just stop immediately.
This new policy along with informing all residents that we reserve the right to terminate abusive phone calls for the sake of my staff was well worth it.
Simply, you might be smart but there is a percentage of the population who are basically unable to think for themselves or will immediately rely on demanding somebody else’s help rather than even attempting to consider the problem; and just get themselves totally worked up in the moment when if you just make them wait for a bit they realise they’re being silly and move on.
So I could see how making somebody wait 15 minutes could be in the hope to trigger the person thinking a little bit while on hold and going “oh shit I haven’t pushed the ON button” and then hanging up and saving HP wasted staff time.
I wonder how many calls they get that come down to “sir you need to replace your toner”. I imagine it’s a lot.
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Comment on The shape of a Mars mission in ~space
SciNZ (edited )LinkHey remember how Mars One was going to do it and be funded by sponsorships and a reality TV show? I recall getting mocked by friends for saying it’d never happen (for some of the reasons in this...Hey remember how Mars One was going to do it and be funded by sponsorships and a reality TV show?
I recall getting mocked by friends for saying it’d never happen (for some of the reasons in this article amongst other issues).
A lot of the plans for mars missions reminds me of when I was doing PE in my final year of high school.
As a project we had to come up with a goal and a training regime, then do baseline exercises/measurements and then train and compare against the baseline.
Most chose fairly straightforward things. Like a 3 minute plank or whatever so they could swim better or do better on a beep test to get into police training.
I realised the goal was totally arbitrary, so long as after the 8 weeks you did better on the exercises than at the start.
So I said my goal was to kayak the pacific rim…
The achievability was about the same.
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Comment on The Witcher IV | Cinematic reveal trailer in ~games
SciNZ LinkSo is this going to be like Cyber Punk where it’s another 8 years before it comes out? Regardless, I’ll enjoy returning to that world. It’ll be interesting to see where they go with Ciri.So is this going to be like Cyber Punk where it’s another 8 years before it comes out?
Regardless, I’ll enjoy returning to that world.
It’ll be interesting to see where they go with Ciri. -
Comment on Man suspected of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO is ordered held without bail after brief court appearance in Pennsylvania in ~news
SciNZ Link ParentBut if it was a white 8 year old girl randomly shot in the street… I’d expect a fair bit of coverage. But perhaps not this much. Hard to say, it’s a bit of a chicken or the egg situation.But if it was a white 8 year old girl randomly shot in the street… I’d expect a fair bit of coverage.
But perhaps not this much.
Hard to say, it’s a bit of a chicken or the egg situation.
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Comment on US ultrarunner Camille Herron involved in Wikipedia controversy in ~sports
SciNZ LinkMessing with your own Wikipedia page should be added to your Wikipedia page. Write it in the appropriate neutral language of course but that’s certainly something I would want to know if...Messing with your own Wikipedia page should be added to your Wikipedia page.
Write it in the appropriate neutral language of course but that’s certainly something I would want to know if researching a person; and would serve as a deterrent to doing it.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~tech
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Comment on Donald Trump whisked off stage in Pennsylvania after apparent gunshots rang through the crowd in ~society
SciNZ (edited )LinkWell a shocking event like this will certainly get people across the political spectrum to seriously consider their prior beliefs and maybe dial back their vitriol as the see others as human once...Well a shocking event like this will certainly get people across the political spectrum to seriously consider their prior beliefs and maybe dial back their vitriol as the see others as human once again. I look forward to political debates being rational and in good faith. /s
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Comment on 29% of global, 46% of US, EV owners likely to switch back to ICE cars per McKinsey consumer survey in ~transport
SciNZ Link ParentIn Australia they saw this and so made EVs exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax. So everybody with their own small business bought one for themselves. Companies needing to replace their work fleet if...In Australia they saw this and so made EVs exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax.
So everybody with their own small business bought one for themselves. Companies needing to replace their work fleet if an EV was suitable did the same. Very quickly got a lot of EV’s onto the road and will create a fairly quick used market for them too bringing them more closely into line with ICE’s so it’s definitely working as intended.
Though there’s always a few wanting to label it as some sort of government hand out but I can confirm I bought one specifically because of it as our old 2009 car was ready to drop dead. Without it it would’ve been another cheap ICE for us.
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Comment on Denver gave people experiencing homelessness $1,000 a month. A year later, nearly half of participants had housing. in ~society
SciNZ Link ParentThere are lies, damned lies, and statistics.There are lies, damned lies, and statistics.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~life.style
SciNZ Link ParentIt’s the Guardian. It’s Fox News for the other political end but just as pandering to a specific view. Imagine seeing a dude in shorter shorts than is currently the fashion, but in line with the...It’s the Guardian.
It’s Fox News for the other political end but just as pandering to a specific view.Imagine seeing a dude in shorter shorts than is currently the fashion, but in line with the style a while ago, and deciding to write an article and both rail against gender norms while also massively reinforcing them?
The article is just gross.
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Comment on <deleted topic> in ~finance
SciNZ LinkExcellent read, fascinating stuff and demonstrates a really impressive commitment from the FT folks.Excellent read, fascinating stuff and demonstrates a really impressive commitment from the FT folks.
I believe it’s supposed to similar in structure to The Canterbury Tales.