Hashemian Blog Web Tools, Financial Markets, Technology Sunday, October 26, 2008 Certified U.S. Based Technicians  Here is an interesting banner ad from AT&T I saw tonight while browsing a news site. I'm not sure what the certification process for U.S. based technicians is, but the ad addresses the angst Americans have had dealing with representatives with thick accents, unfriendly attitudes, or low qualifications. Personally, my experience with foreign agents hasn't been too calamitous. Most have been helpful, and relatively articulate. But I must admit that for those times when I need critical and immediate help, there is no substitute for state-side assistance. Being an Iranian expat, I know something about foreign cultures and I can say that with some exceptions, U.S. companies offer some of the best customer service around. Not to disparage Iran, but over there you have a snow ball's chance in hell of getting prompt and courteous customer service, unless you're personally known to be a lucrative and loyal customer. It’s the reality of that culture. And the reality in the U.S. is that customers expect and rightfully deserve to be coddled. I think it's a smart move for AT&T to highlight their state-side operations in their campaigns. If I were shopping around for such a service, I would surely take that into consideration. tech support,call center,call center agents,at&t Labels: business, technology <Certified U.S. Based Technicians> // posted by rh 0 comments Wednesday, October 15, 2008 For Update, Update to Update  Recently after installing Windows Server 2008 on a new server at work, I noticed this interesting message from Windows Update. I'm not sure, but I think it had something to do with update :) windows,microsoft,windows update Labels: Microsoft <For Update, Update to Update> // posted by rh 0 comments Sunday, October 05, 2008 Half Marathon 2008  Ran the ½ marathon today and as expected my performance was dismal. I ran the course in 2:14:58, at the pace of 10:18/mile. Last year I finished the race in 2:02:32 and the year prior to that my time was 1:55:52, and the one before that at 1:54:05. Beginning to see a pattern here. But this was my first race with a herniated disc, so I guess I can cut myself some slack here. The race started at 8:30 AM in a cold rain. I absolutely hate running the rain, but not much can be done about that. Some people had bundled up to face the cold and wetness, others (myself included) were going to brave it with only a t-shirt. My rationale was that extra layers will get heavy in the rain and besides the running will warm me up anyways. I hadn't taken any painkillers this morning so I was expecting back discomfort. The discomfort was there, some radiating pain and tingling down my left leg, but eventually it subsided enough that I was barely aware of it. I had decided early on to pace myself in this race, as in, go slow and steady to avoid any potential aggravation of my back. I pretty much stuck to that the whole way through. While I knew this would hurt my finish time, I had no idea about the positive side effect. In the few years that I have run in this ½ marathon, this race was by far the most pleasant and enjoyable of them all. Ironic, considering my fears of back pain flare-ups. The rain was a nuisance, but unlike past races, I finished the course barely tired and in no pain. In fact I could probably continue for another 5 or 6 miles with ease. I never downshifted to a walk, nor did I stop at any water stations. It was as if I wasn't even in a race. I was paying more attention to my surroundings (beautiful, scenic nature) than to the race itself. I feel a bit conflicted over my time in this race. I guess I should be disappointed, but I'm really not, and here's why. As recently as a week ago I didn't even think I could handle the course and here I was crossing the finish line. To top that off, it went smooth and steady and it turned out to be the most enjoyable ½ marathon ever. For the first time ever, I actually began entertaining thoughts about running a full marathon. marathon,running,jogging,back pain, Labels: herniated disc, running <Half Marathon 2008> // posted by rh 0 comments

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