Lurie column feb 1- groundhog day is tomorrow

GroundHog Day is tomorrow

Last night we heard all about the new agenda in Washington, and how well the war against terrorism in Iraq is going (although CBS anchorman Bob Woodward did not report that news to us).

We were reminded again and again that spying on Americans in time of war is perfectly legal and was all but mandated by Congress when they authorized the attack on Iraq. Although the phrase �we don�t need no stinking warrants� was not spoken per se; the implication was more than overt. Since terrorists don�t respect laws, we can�t let pesky constitutional protection stand in the way of our relentless pursuit of evil-doers.

The world was introduced to the next supreme court justice, one of 15 selected ten years ago by a secret cabal of Washington donors and party faithful to be weaned and watched; they may have succeeded in re-shaping the court to their desired mold.  

We heard about the wonderful benefits the Medicare drug program is bringing, even though only 1% of the eligible folks have figured out the donut hole, caveats and complexity. I�m not sure why it wasn�t put together as simply as the tax cuts that the President wants to shove through Congress this year. Those were easy to calculate; If you earn a lot, keep more of it.

The speech covered a broad range of tepid initiatives to be tackled by Congress in this election year. He glanced about the room when he talked about the token moves to limit lobbying, He was cheered from the Red side when he applauded the budget cutters� efforts that will save a few billion by slicing back college loans, education, job training, and medical aid. Seldom was heard a discouraging word about last years� major push to privatize Social Security.

The applause lines were clear and simple. We need to open the Alaska wilds to drilling, and assure more tax breaks for the leasing rights to Exxon and company. (Their profit increased by $11 Billion over last year- That means every American family contributed $110 to Exxon�s bottom line last year). Although conservation and better CAF� gas mileage standards would cut energy imports by 25%, we heard not a peep in the hour long speech.

We heard that the city of New Orleans is getting ready for Mardi Gras; but didn�t hear why reconstruction monies have been cut, tens of thousands are still homeless, or requested papers on what went wrong been withheld under �executive privilege�.

The world is no safer today than before we embarked on a trillion dollar (when long term veterans health care is factored in) foray into regime changes and nation building, but you wouldn�t know it from last nights� speech. Sure we heard about Iran and North Korea- two nations determined to let the �nucular� genie out of the bottle on their terms; but we didn�t hear anything about the six way talks with Korea that were so prominent in the Bush debating points in 2004. So much for consistency and statesmanship.

I am in full agreement however with his pledge not to fund the Palestinian Hamas leadership while they espouse terror and the destruction of Israel. Yet I fear that that powder keg will blow in ways we least expect it, and another intelligence failure will be the nig story.

Yes, it was a rip roaring speech, the wounded veteran in the balcony, and the uprooted New Orleans family sitting next to Laura Bush gave the speech a touching poignancy.  

This year, both Groundhog Day and the State of the Union Address fall on the same week, It is an ironic juxtaposition: one involves a meaningless ritual in which we look to a creature of little intelligence for prognostication, and the other involves a groundhog.

Spring may be just around the corner, but when will we see sanity in our government?

 

Leib Lurie is a Troy Civic Theatre Board Member, Optimist Club member and CEO of phone message service OneCallNow.com. You can reach him at Leib@Lurie.net

Or see these columns on his blog at www.llurie.blogspot.com

Lurie column Jan 25- Technology gets too complex

A few years ago our company handled thousands of technical support calls from customers around the world every month. We dealt with many languages, handling people of all types and all levels of experience with a computer and our software.

We constantly faced a frustration for users and our staff. When an experienced user was routed to an inexperienced technical person, they were asked a string of elementary questions that left them  upset and angry. Often a super-user might know more about the particular area of the software than the newbie tech who was embarrassed and flustered with the users� frustration.

On the flip side, a new user might get paired with an experienced tech, who�s brusque shorthand style left them bewildered and frustrated. So often, we had everyone upset.

We needed to route calls better. We went looking at technology solutions. The endless stupid queries some firms put you through to get through their maze of auto-attendant routings were far too complex to set up, and conversely, when we walked through the process manually, we found that it would fail to route calls based on user experience and knowledge.

How could we determine if a caller was bright or dumb? PC literate or a techno novice? And do it quickly and efficiently- without insulting anyone?

The solution came to us in a �flat forehead� moment (when you slap your hand on your forehead and shout �Oh! How dumb!�)

We added a single question after the ubiquitous �please hold� message. We simply asked callers to while away the few moments on hold to help us with a marketing survey for a fellow company here in Toronto, by pressing a key and tell us if their VCR is blinking Twelve. Press 1 for yes, 2 for no. Research in Motion, the neighboring firm used that data to help design a better remote control (and subsequently the popular Blackberry). We used the answer for a more nefarious purpose. One meant routing the call to an entry level tech, those pressing two were shunted off for more advanced help. 85% of the time, the question worked and everybody was happy.

Last year, when our old VCR died, we got a new VCR/DVD combo that can play either one. So on  Monday night when my wife called and asked me to tape a show on PBS, I felt confident. Although I rarely watch TV and haven�t taped a show in years, I am the CEO of a high tech company. I live on e-mail and thrive on complexity and technology. I attend trade shows and conferences, and read voraciously to keep abreast of the latest in neat cool stuff. Besides, my mother in-law, petrified of anything that contains a microprocessor or that has a keyboard, has three vcr�s and can manage to tape three things at once throughout her home. How hard could this be?

I found a blank tape, and approached with ease. The thing wasn�t blinking twelve- I must have set it at some time. But no, the clock on new ones defaults not to a blinking midnight, but a few steady yet barely perceptible dashes. Hmmm. Let�s turn on the VCR, and turn on the TV, and set the stations in synch. Snow and static. Fiddle with channels and buttons. Nothing. Seek to make head or tails of the 87 buttons on the remote. Darn, being over 50 means none of those teeny legends in gray on silver are legible, much less logical. Twenty minutes of dickering later, with nine o�clock approaching I finally figured it out�

�Hey Mom? I effused when my mother-in-law answered, can you tape the Dickens thing on PBS in five minutes and send me the tape?�

Complex technology can be really very simple, if you can�t deal with what you have, go with who you know.

 

Leib Lurie is a Troy Civic Theatre Board Member, Optimist Club member and CEO of phone message service OneCallNow.com. You can reach him at Leib@Lurie.net

Or see these columns on his blog at www.llurie.blogspot.com

Do you like big fonts and small words?

The Troy News made a big change last week. My boss changed the font size used on this page to be a big one. The old, small one is in the dust heap. I was told to slice the size of my piece each week. It is a harsh and stark choice.  This means I need to cut out words to make my thoughts fit, or use short words to cram them in to this space. Oh woe, the pain.

The font size and style on a page can speed the read. My boss can also stuff more words in less space. On the flip side, he can push few words around to fill a big dead white space.

Some friends think it�s cool. That I will be forced to talk in plain, short, small words. Make�s it a clean look. But I think it�s a bad idea. Yes, small words and big fonts make for less eye strain. True, folks with bad eyes or those who skim this page may seek words on a fourth grade plane.

Yet, in my book, this is a bad gaff. We live in a tough world with folks from left and right who do their own deeds and try to tell us what to think.  This is the page to air and share their thoughts, those of our own and reach out to your mind. We should and could (and did) write long, strong stuff.

I love the time I spend to pen in depth on news of the world, seek out a few weird things, or have the chance to probe bribes in the House, spies in our phones, or wars in the East. We need space to seek the truth, and to poke at the thoughts and deeds of folks named George or Dick or Tom or Don.

Close to home, we should be free to probe at things folks do in Troy. We can tell what we think, and write what we see. Our kids, schools, stores and jobs are all good things to write on. But with few words and small terms it can be very hard to get strong points to pop on this page.

Just last week we had a great First Night Blast here in town. Bands, plays, jokes, rides, and a big yelp and pop at the clock at twelve. Kids, grads, moms, dads, gramps and gran�s all came and had a cool time. They lit lights, dreamed and wished for love and stuff to come this year. We built as great night, and there�s more to tell how it went off, or came to be, and what we plan to do next year; but the tale is made far too weak when we must make the words shrink to fit.

Mark Twain once penned a note to a friend. He had strived to write a short note but found that long ones flowed so fast. His friend had no time to read a long note, so Twain kept those. He pledged to find time to cut down the word count and make a short note but it was not to be. The friend died years hence with just a few notes from Twain.

It is hard to cut out words, to make thoughts tight and crisp, it can lead to �graphs that twist and turn and blur the thoughts.  

We here on this page should be free to use more words, and yes, big words � not all the time, but some of the time; and be able to give all our thoughts and views to you. That�s what we do. Big fonts make it hard to do our job.

But you should have the last choice. You pay for this page, and thus you pay me. So I�d like you to vote. Write your thoughts to my boss, who�s name is on the mast head of this page. Tell him if you want more words or less. Long words or short. A fast read or more depth.

My pen has big words, long words, fun words, trite words and yes, at times, harsh words. What do you want to see and read here? How say you? Monosyllabic or polysyllabic columns?  

 

Leib Lurie is a Troy Civic Theatre Board Member, Optimist Club member and CEO of phone message service OneCallNow.com. You can vote at editorial@tdnpublishing.com

Or see these columns on his blog at www.llurie.blogspot.com

Lurie column Jan 4- Out of refills, out of synch

I use a variety of tools to synchronize my calendar and manage my appointments and to-do�s. After years of trying every conceivable electronic widget, I keep returning to my paper pocket Day-Timer. Every day is a clean sheet, and every month visible for planning.

My company keeps its� calendar in a Microsoft web based application called Sharepoint; where we can see everyone�s schedule, vacations, travel, and shows. We keep tabs on customer commitments and reminders using Goldmine, a way for us to be reminded of upcoming sales calls, call-backs and to-do items.

My wife uses a home-grown calendar system showing a week at a time.

Yet no matter what I have tried, keeping track of prescription drug refills is a fruitlessly frustrating fouled-up mess.

As a fifty something type II diabetic (blame the genes) I take a variety of prescription drugs every morning and evening. When the bottles get low, I call the automated refill system at Kroger, and pick up the refill in a day or two. When all goes well, it�s smooth. Yet it usually does not go well.

When one drug�s �script� expires, the pharmacy will try and call my doctor for refill approval. This can delay the process by a few days. When I try to re-order early, in anticipation of a long business trip, my insurance company stymies the order and delays the refill. When my doctor changes a dosage, I get a new bottle with a different date from the others.

Pretty soon, instead of a monthly trek to the pharmacy to pick-up five refills, I find myself making the trip 5 times a month at various times, and struggling to keep the process flowing while keeping my glucose and cholesterol in check.

I tried to �scam� the system, re-ordering drugs on the 26^th day of a 30 day prescription, to get a few days extra, that would help me move the refill calendar back into synch. BUZZZ! The insurance company computer let me get 10 days ahead and then shut down refills. Forcing more trips to the druggist or having empty bottles staring back at me.

I tried the mail-order pharmacy solution, but could never reach a real person, waited for weeks for stuff to arrive, and then got confusing labels, stickers and forms that even I, a former forms designer, found incomprehensible.

I�m not alone. Many Americans taking a long term maintenance drug will miss their medication dosage. In a recent study, 64% of people missed a daily required drug more than 70 days in the year due to not having a refill.

The impact is substantial. Emergency Room visits are more than 3 times as likely for those missing 20% of more of maintenance drugs in the study period.

In my case, drugs are mostly covered by our prescription drug plan. So the only excuse for missing my meds is not taking the time and effort to manage the refills; and paying the $60.00 per month co-pay. Yet being out-of-synch is frustrating and time consuming and there doesn�t seem to be a solution. I could purchase a partial month supply out-of-pocket in a feeble attempt to consolidate dates; but the next dosage change will put me back in the refill run-around again.

Yet for many Americans, the issue is not so simple. 65 million Americans lack prescription drug coverage (45 million have no health care coverage at all) for these folks, even emergency drugs such as an antibiotic to fight an infection must be balanced against the need for food, rent and heat.

The confusing new Medicare drug program has spawned over a hundred different commercial plans with such a bewildering array of choices, caps, limitations, �do-nut gaps� and Byzantine rules that only 5% of those eligible have signed up. The balance will continue to miss �meds�, or miss meals.

Canadians have this problem licked. With universal health care coverage, everyone is covered, everywhere, every time. Prescriptions are refilled easily and quickly. The timing is easy to adjust, as a druggist has the authority to change the refill date to make sure maintenance drugs stay in synch.

There are many new and wonderful drugs constantly being developed and introduced. They can take years to wend their way through the FDA approval process, and then suppressed studies surface to force recalls such as Vioxx, which leaves us befuddled about what medical miracles we thought we had.

Yet by simply improving the way refills happen, or are allowed to happen, we would reduce the complications and emergency room visits more than enough to offset whatever picayune savings the insurance companies achieve with their cost saving procedures.

Of course, providing Universal Health Care coverage would be even better, but I�m going to make this my year to lobby for little yet significant victories.

 

Leib Lurie is a Troy Civic Theatre Board Member, Optimist Club member and CEO of phone message service OneCallNow.com. You can reach him at Leib@Lurie.net

Or see these columns on his blog at www.llurie.blogspot.com