Archive for category Economy
The Death of UKIRT
Some say that now is not the time to invest, but the bottom line is that the downturn is no time to slow down our investment in science but to build more vigorously for the future. And so we will not allow science to become a victim of the recession – but rather focus on developing it as a key element of our path to recovery.
From 2010-11… a 10% reduction in support for future exploitation grants and a managed cessation of lower priority areas, 25% reduction in the number of new studentships and Fellowships…
…the programme includes the managed withdrawal from a number of projects and programmes including the Gemini telescopes, the NLS, and UKIRT.
- UK Science & Technologies Facility Council, December 15, 2009
The Joint Astronomy Centre, for whom I’ve been working for the past eight years, runs two telescopes on the summit of Mauna Kea, the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope and the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. The JAC is funded mostly by the UK’s Science & Technology Facilities Council. STFC funds 100% of UKIRT and 55% of JCMT (the other 45% is funded by Canada at 25% and the Netherlands at 20%).
The STFC has had a rather extreme funding crisis over the past couple of years, which has lead to many program prioritizations and studies and cuts. They had put off the majority of the cuts until now, as the funding crisis has come to a head. They need to somehow save £40 million for the 2010-2011 financial year.
They released their Science Programme Prioritisation today. Amongst the press release nonsense was a line about UKIRT:
the programme includes the managed withdrawal from… UKIRT.
There is no note about a timescale, but friends on the inside said STFC had initially stated a pullout date of April 2010 and have since backpedaled.
Obviously this comes as a huge blow to the Joint Astronomy Centre. If UKIRT is closed permanently and removed from Mauna Kea, numerous staff will lose their jobs. UK astronomers will lose access to one of the best infrared telescopes in the world. Hawaii’s economy will take a hit as staff members will likely leave the island, and astronomers from around the world will stop coming to Hawaii for observing runs, spending money while here.
This will probably not save STFC very much money as UKIRT’s budget had already been slashed to roughly £1 million per year, and STFC would have to pay a shedload of money to have UKIRT removed from Mauna Kea. Agreements in place state that the site would have to be restored to a pristine condition. Also, because the JAC runs two telescopes, a high number of staff support both telescopes. This staff would largely remain in place, which would increase the budget of JCMT by about 30%. This cost would undoubtedly be borne by STFC, as the two partner countries would most likely balk at having to clean up STFC’s mess for them.
It’s a decision that makes no scientific sense and makes very little financial sense. Then again, when have we ever expected anything else from STFC?
Greedy Hawaii County Council
The Hawaii County Council has voted not to turn down a 22% raise given to them a year ago. Their reasons?
The desire not to politicize the salary process, poor timing, the need to boost spending to help the economy and personal financial hardship.
Emily Naeole says she buys gas for stranded motorists, food for the hungry, and donates to other charitable causes. She also points out that she’s a single mom and feels she deserves every penny.
Kelly Greenwell says that “it’s not belt-tightening time.”
These days, when thousands upon thousands of people across the country are being laid off, when health insurance costs are rising, when employees are being asked to take furloughs and pay cuts, these are not the times to be taking more money from the people who pay your salaries. Kelly Greenwell is completely wrong. These are belt-tightening times. If you cannot see this, Mr. Greenwell, then it’s high time you pay attention to the world around you.
The six council members who voted for this bill, Naeole, Greenwell, Donald Ikeda, J Yoshimoto, Dennis “Fresh” Onishi, and Guy Enriques, ought to lose your vote in their next elections. Unless, of course, they support similar raises for county employees. After all, what better way to boost spending to help the economy than to give people raises? What better way to help prevent personal financial hardships?
Aloha Kona Kids’ poor customer service
Note: this post was originally posted on March 7. I pulled it shortly after the first comment was posted, below. I’m adding an update which addresses some points made in that comment.
On January 7 I called Aloha Kona Kids to order a stroller. At that time I was told that the stroller would be in in about five weeks. The next week I received a receipt for the stroller, and that receipt says “your stroller has been ordered & will be here in approx 5 wks.”
Five weeks from January 7 is February 11.
On February 23 I called Aloha Kona Kids. Having not heard from them, I was curious to find out what happened. They did not answer their phone, so I left a message.
On February 24 I called Aloha Kona Kids twice. They did not answer their phone either time, so I left two messages.
On February 25 they called back, leaving a voicemail saying that the stroller was held up because it had to be tested for lead. This probably refers to the testing mandated by the CPSC and the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which set a February 10 deadline for testing products.
However, this February 10 deadline has been known about for a while. This story is dated January 8, one day after I ordered the stroller. And regardless of when they found out about it, Aloha Kona Kids surely knew about this deadline on or just before February 10 as their orders stacked up.
When did I find out about it? February 25, two weeks after this deadline and two weeks after the approximate delivery date of February 11.
I called Aloha Kona Kids back on February 27 and was told that the stroller had passed testing and was shipped. They couldn’t give me a delivery date as they hadn’t received the manifest from the shipping as of yet, but would call back the next Monday or Tuesday to let me know.
The next Wednesday, having not received the promised call, I called them back. I was told that FedEx said it shipped but the manifest they’d received didn’t have the stroller on it. However, this apparently happens frequently, and a second half of the manifest would show up. Aloha Kona Kids said they’d call back by Friday, March 6, to let me know if the stroller would show up on March 10 or March 17.
Having not received that phone call by Friday, I called them this morning. The stroller wasn’t on the manifest but it could show up March 10, 11, or 17, and they would call when it arrives.
I’m not holding my breath. Aloha Kona Kids has shown time and time again that they are extremely hesitant to call with any sort of news. When the originally promised five week deadline passed, they should have called. After I left a voicemail the first time, they should have called. After I left a voicemail for the second time, they should have called. After promising they’d call “Monday or Tuesday”, they should have called Monday or Tuesday. After promising they’d call “by Friday”, they should have called by Friday.
We only purchased this stroller from Aloha Kona Kids because they’re a local business, and keeping money within your community is a good thing. This stroller even cost $30 more than it would have cost through Amazon, and we have to pay state tax on it as well. But to pay more money to get shoddy customer service? No thanks.
Next time we need to purchase something big and expensive for our daughter, we’re skipping Aloha Kona Kids. We’ll order from Amazon instead.
Update: After my order was cancelled, I ordered the stroller from an online retailer. Here are some points I would like to make to address Philip’s comment:
- I don’t actually know who Philip is. I only dealt with a woman named Lori. I only spoke once with a man on the phone, and that conversation consisted primarily of him saying that Lori was out for lunch and would call back when she got back to the store (which she did).
- “We have contacted you several times regarding this matter.” I was only contacted after making repeated phone calls.
- “I told you when you ordered the stroller it would not be sent until after Feb. 10th.” The receipt dated January 7 clearly stated that the stroller would arrive at Aloha Kona Kids approximately five weeks after it was ordered, or on or around February 11. Unfortunately I’ve since recycled the receipt, or else I’d show a picture of it demonstrating that Philip’s statement is incorrect.
- “I gave you the option of “will call”. That is when we call you when it arrives. No deposit is required for this. You wanted to pay for it “NOW”.” Actually, when I ordered the stroller I inquired about putting down a deposit. I gave my credit card details and only found out when I received the receipt that I had been charged the full amount.
- “Our prices are the same as anywhere in the mainland.” For full disclosure, I ordered the BOB Sport Utility stroller (MSRP $299) and the Infant Car Seat Adapter (MSRP $59). I was charged $329.99 for the stroller and $59.99 for the adapter. Adding tax of 4.166% my total was about $406. Everywhere I looked online for the stroller had it for $299, thirty dollars cheaper than Aloha Kona Kids. I eventually ordered the stroller from Toys ‘R’ Us for $316.90 ($299 for the stroller, free shipping, handling of $14.24, tax of $12.67, and $10 off for paying with PayPal) and the adapter from REI for $67.99 ($59 for the adapter, $8.99 for shipping) for a total cost of $384.89.
Now I’m not saying that Aloha Kona Kids is a horrible place to shop. Shopping at the actual store is great. There’s loads of interesting products that you can’t get at other Big Island stores. The in-store customer service is quite good as well. However, I received poor customer service when dealing with orders over the phone. I can’t understand this drastic shift in customer service.
I very much prefer to do as much shopping at local businesses as I can. We love Bellies, Moonsprout, and the Village Toy Shop. We do the vast majority of our grocery shopping at Island Naturals, KTA, and Sack N Save. But there comes a point when being a local business isn’t enough to keep the customer satisfied. All of the businesses I’ve mentioned here have given us excellent customer service, so we continue to shop there.
And Sandy makes the point that consumers generally have to pay a little more at local businesses than at nationwide chain stores. This is completely correct. The corollary to this is that local businesses have to justify this extra expense, and they usually do so by offering unique stock and through improved customer service. In the days of a global economy where nearly everything can be ordered online, it is difficult for local businesses to offer truly unique stock, as is evidenced by this BOB stroller example. Thus the local business has to justify the extra expense through improved customer service. When that customer service is lacking, the business should not be surprised with the customer turns to another option. Why should I pay more to get frustrated with a local business?
Hey blind people! Look at this!
Surely I can’t be the only one who find irony in the U.S. Mint announcing a coin that has Braille on it by unveiling a big picture of it at the National Federation of the Blind‘s annual convention?
[tags]us mint, braille, coinage, national federation of the blind[/tags]
Par.
From the CBC:
The Canadian dollar closed above parity Friday for the first time in almost 31 years, as the U.S. greenback continued its dramatic fall against major world currencies.
According to Bank of Canada data, the loonie closed at $1.0052 US, up two-thirds of a cent from Thursday’s close.
Expressed another way, it means that a U.S. dollar is now worth a little less than 99.5 cents in Canadian money.
No more calling Canadian money “Monopoly money”, Yanks!
[tags]dollar, loonie, economy, canada[/tags]
John W. Snow: Whine a little more, please.
Posted by Brad in Economy, Environment, United States on 12 July 2007
Someone call the whaaaaaaaaambulance, we’ve got a terminal case in John W. Snow, the chairman of Cerberus Capital Management, the company that’s buying Chrysler. According to him, a Senate bill that would raise the fuel economy standards to 35mpg for cars and light trucks by 2020 is
a set of standards that are so one-sided that they can’t be met and which have the risk of sinking the U.S. auto industry.
Oh do shut up, Mr. Snow. Your industry is slowly killing the environment, and you have the technology to easily meet these goals. Your bad business decisions are sinking the U.S. auto industry. Why is it that Japanese auto manufacturers aren’t crying about this bill? Why just the U.S. auto manufacturers who insist on building gas guzzling Hummers and Escalades instead of pushing hybrids and alternative-fuel vehicles? Maybe you might want to take some lessons from Toyota or Honda on how to run an auto manufacturing company instead of putting your head in the sand and saying “whaa the government is trying to kill us whaa”.
via the new york times
[tags]chrysler, fuel economy, john w snow, automobile industry[/tags]
DON’T BELIEVE THEIR LIES
Posted by Brad in Economy, Environment on 11 June 2007
Together we can save millions of gallons of water from chlorine and detergents.
You Decide
Leave towels you wish to re-use hung up or on the rack.
Towels you leave on the floor will be washed.
Conservation takes care of everyone.
Help us make a world of difference.
This sort of thing is all the rage in hotels these days. Go to almost any chain hotel and you’ll see a card hanging from the towel rack asking you to help the hotel save water and energy. The above words came from the Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Tucson, Arizona.
I like to conserve water. I hung my towels over the shower curtain rod every morning after having a shower.
But when I went to have a shower the next day the towel seemed different.
So I tested them. One morning after having my shower I marked the tag on the towel I’d just used with a pen. Hung it up from the shower rack and went on my way.
When I got back from the conference that night I checked the towels. None of them had the mark!
I wrote “DON’T BELIEVE THEIR LIES” on the back of the card.
[tags]hotel, sheraton, conservation, environment[/tags]
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