I was looking at this picture earlier tonight and it just shows how far back North Korea really is.
That’s a comparison of North and South Korea and how the two countries look at night-time from the sky.
Where Did The Snow Go?
So there was finally some snow accumulation today… not that it lasted very long. Oh well, On to December we go with little to snow at all — pretty mild winter so far. Can’t believe it is December already.
This is from about noon today:
This is from about 2-3 hours after the above picture was taken (huge glare too):
Social Media’s Impact on Customer Relations
Last week I attended KPMG’s 20th Annual Insurance Issues Conference and one of the opening speakers was Dr. Cindy Gordon who is the Founder of Helix Commerce International Inc., a company specializing in business innovation, collaboration commerce, and social media. I was amazing listening to her speak about not only where the insurance industry might be headed but the role that technology will play in terms of dealing with customers and how companies will need to adapt to the constantly changing environment.
Speaking to a room full of several hundred industry professionals, she discussed the need for the industry to step up its game in the field of social media. She mentioned how the banks have much deeper pockets, it is a smaller risk to invest into new ideas compared to insurance companies but indicated that social media isn’t a very expensive route for companies to invest in. When she asked the room how many people used Twitter on a daily basis, only one other person besides me, raised their hand. When asked about who knows of/uses Foursquare, this time it was only me. It drove home her point of how the insurance industry is now lagging behind the times of the new wave of customers who interact, research and make decisions — all online.
Just think about it: most of us do our banking transactions online, pay our bills and transfer money between accounts all from the comforts of our own computer. In terms of getting an insurance quote whether it be life, auto or for your home, we may do some research online but ultimately when it comes do to making a final decision, we still have to pick up the phone to directly talk to someone to complete the transaction.
Overall it was a pretty good conference to learning more about Solvency II, Risk Management and M&A Deals but ultimately it was the least finance intensive session showing the greatest potential for the industry for me.
Storing The World’s Nuclear Weapons
Pretty cool infographic on where nuclear weapons are found around the world and here in the US. Not surprised to see the decline in the number of weapons in stockpile but I did not expect to see such a sharp decline over the last two decades.
Via: Mozy
Painful Reminder
Being in a different country, away from family and close friends, for the little things doesn’t bother me as much any more as when I first moved but for the bigger things in life, they still get to you.
After hearing some terribly sad news from a very close friend of the passing away of his mother, I wanted to write something but simple words just don’t do it justice.
She was a wonderful person from the few times I had gotten the chance to meet and talk to her. She was funny, caring, and always wanted to see how you were doing.
It is painful how we are reminded just how fragile really life is and that we all have to go at one point or another.