Category Archives: Relationships

Acquired tastes

August 20, 2013 1:36 PM , Leave a Comment ,

In style I tends towards the simple nondescript clothing.  In foods, the spicier the better.  I don’t just love movies but I like to analyze movies as far as how they relate to the books they were based on or how they relate to the genre in general.  In reading I go more towards science fiction and alternate history type of stories and as far as music goes I’m an old fogey and like 70s progressive rock.

What I like is not mainstream.  I don’t think I even want the things that I like becoming mainstream.  I find that when ideas, concepts, and trends go mainstream that they start becoming derivative and stray off the path that they once traveled just to conform to the market forces and inevitably they lose their distinctiveness.

Thing is that most of my friends don’t like or appreciate what I like.  But you know, that’s okay.  They don’t have to.  Lord knows I don’t like all the things that they like or obsess over either.  Some folks get put off by that.  Why do we all have to like all the same things?

I have people in my life from all sorts of interests in my life.  Sometimes they enter my life through the slimmest of threads and only share one interest with me and we may be polar opposites on all other issues.  But I don’t care.  As long as we can share and discuss that one interest. that’s fine by me.

These acquired tastes make us who were are, they have guided and shaped our character and we shouldn’t be ashamed or hide them.  Rather celebrate them, share them.  But don’t get upset if not even one other person shares them.  They are after all your interests.

I have come to realize that if I ever get together with that one special person in my life that I can’t expect that person to appreciate everything that I like.  But I hope that she can appreciate that I do enjoy these things and that really that these are not big issues and that all that really matters is how we feel about each other.

 

Posted in: life in general, relationships

must like cats

June 7, 2013 1:52 PM , Leave a Comment ,

Have you ever used online dating?  I haven’t been on a dating website in awhile.

My profile is still on a couple of sites but I never check on them and over the years even the automated emails from the sites have stopped coming.

None of the sites were ever satisfactory.  What I found was that these sites mainly tended to boil down the matching experience to what people looked like on their profiles and that most people there were on the site to score some quick dates.

People come on the sites and have the most extremely rigid requirements for a partner.  Must be so tall, weigh no more than this, like nutella but not peanut butter, like cats and hate dogs, and so on.

I suppose that people have a faith in technology that tells them that if it’s being handled by computer then there must be a match for them somewhere because in its own way technology can do anything.

But it really can’t.  These sites use slightly different versions of the same matching programs and the only difference might be in the database pool that they have to draw upon.

Worst of all are the matching functions that tend to match better looking people together.  Facial recognition software does this in the background and is based on some standards that only the programmers know and suggests people to talk to based on looks.

The last site I tried was about four years ago.  I gave it about six month till I realized it was the same experience as the others.  However this site had a blogging function and a forum function where people could meet and chat away on any subject.

I quit actively looking for dates but couldn’t get enough of the forums and the blogs which were much more interesting to read.  As a dating site it was unsatisfactory, as a source of friends and online companions it was great.  Like all good things though people drifted off the site.  I still maintain contact with several of them through Facebook though.

Have you ever tried these sites?  What was your experience?

Posted in: internet, relationships

First contact

May 7, 2013 1:34 AM , 1 Comment ,

me:  Hello, how can I help you?

Faceless voice on the phone (FVP):  What are your prices?

me: Can you tell me your name and a little bit about your project?  I could give you a much more accurate price estimate if you told me where your project was, how large of an area you want to cover and what field you’re in.

FVP: that doesn’t matter.  Tell me your prices and how much profit do you make after paying for data and how much do you pay your consultants?

me: What?!?

<click>

Competitors are always trying to get a feel for how well their prices stack up against the rest of the field.  However this guy was a little more desperate than most.  Most sales calls of course don’t go this way.

Our company mainly does business on the internet.  The average first contact is a person that suddenly finds a need for maps or for satellite imagery or other remote sensing applications.  That person could be anyone from a property owner that wants a view of their property from above to a GIS (geographic Information Systems) specialist with 20 years experience who is shopping around.

With a diverse range of people I have had to develop over time a “voice” to engage each and every one.  I cannot sound too technical and I cannot sound as if I am being condescending.  I have to strive to reach a balance in all my communications while I try to figure out their level of expertise.

First I have to assess what I have been presented with.

Did they use technical jargon and does that mean that they understand what they are talking about? Some people will cut and paste information from RFP’s (request for proposals) without really knowing what they want.

What can I tell by their contact information?  Sometimes they use company email addresses and I can look up the relevant company and get some idea of what they are after.  Increasingly however, people will make first contacts using generic email accounts like hotmail or gmail.

I then have to decide what I can present to the client that will be most beneficial to further the conversation.

If the person is not very well versed in technical matters I can present a wide range of example data and links to our website to help explain what we offer.  I might give them a call to engage more personally and coax more information from them.  Walk them slowly and carefully to the point where I can present a price for the product or service that they need.

On the other hand if they are technically knowledgeable then they just want straight answers.  No need for long explanations and no real desire on their parts for long emails.  They want plain and simple answers presented in a professional manner.  If they want a full proposal then I oblige them but most of the time they want a short and clear answer.

Knowing how to deal with people on different levels is very useful for dealing with new contacts.  You may not always get a sale out of the experience but they will remember the fact that you dealt with them in a courteous manner and that you gave them the information that they needed in a way that they needed.

Posted in: business, relationships