Employee Equipment Checkout: Fill & Download for Free

Just this morning, I felt it creeping up inside of me.I have always done my grocery shopping early Saturday morning. I’m a nurse, and pre-COVID I would do this to avoid people asking me to look at their athlete's foot or ask for a refill. (Both real-life examples.) Now I still go to avoid people, but for different reasons. I have a greater-than-average risk of contracting COVID-19 by virtue of my job, so I therefore also have a greater-than-average chance of passing it to others. Add in the fact that while I’m not high-risk, I am not low-risk either. My patients, on the other hand, are generally at very, very high risk of death from COVID-19. In fact, we lost another last week.COVID-19 has been slow coming to my out-of-the-way city, but it’s here now. Our numbers continue to rise at a slow, deadly pace. Testing is sparse, an indictment of my country’s culture that I feel is utterly unforgivable. This is Trump country too. Denial is strong, as is ignorance. I have seen patients in a geriatric practice say loudly how the pandemic is not that bad, and how it is more political than deadly, and I hear frequently how those who died were going to die anyway.Just last week a woman had a fit over our screening process. She had a fever and muscle aches, and reported that most of her family tested positive. She wasn’t allowed in the building, but was instead directed to a tent outside. I had to put on a plastic gown, two masks, and two gloves, cover my hair, put on a face shield, and bring dedicated equipment out to her to take her vital signs. It was hard to get those, because she was complaining the entire time about being inconvenienced and how coronavirus wasn’t that bad.This morning, at the Harris teeter here in town, double-masked for the public’s protection, I saw employees without masks, or wearing them on their chins. I saw one who removed their mask to sneeze into their hands, not wash their hands, and then continue their task of packing single-serving portions for sale.A 50-something woman with a special-needs teenager confronted me over wearing a mask. She went out of her way to tell me on three different occasions that I was being “fooled,” etc. I told her the first time that I was a nurse who treats COVID-19 patients. She didn’t care. She was rude, condescending, and dared me to take my mask off. I’d walk away and she'd follow me.At the one open checkout lane, guess who was there—but now she’s coughing quite a bit.So I went to self-checkout. I didn’t have much.I was being as conscientious as possible when a store employee (unmasked) used the area next to me. He purchased his items, and walked through the produce department. Uniform and name tag visible. No mask.So yes, I felt that rage creeping up. Some very good people have died. My coworkers and I risk our lives, and our families' lives. We are not, thank God, front-line workers, but it’s been in my office. I have talked to people a few days before they died. I talk to their families.For what? So some Trumpster can harass me while I’m grocery shopping?Yes, I feel rage. Lots of it sometimes. But I keep it to myself.There’s enough around without me adding to it.And BTW, I’m a Publix girl from now on.

IBM is 3 times the size of Microsoft by employee count.Microsoft makes more money though.However, the question belies a few misunderstandings.IBM didn’t start off on DOS, IBM existed long before DOS did.Secondly, companies don’t succeed or fail based on products from 30 years ago, they constantly change and shift, and move with the marketplace.Microsoft’s explosive success wasn’t really about DOS, it was about Windows.IBM’s success is more about large computers like mainframes in large companies, AS/400, and AIX. They also make a lot of computing equipment you don’t notice like ATMs and checkouts. IBM is “International Business Machines” and IBM do indeed make machines, not just the personal computers you see DOS on.The main take home here is that companies don’t start on similar products and simply grow in the same way, if they did, Atari would be making iPhones right now.

Moving out at 18 is less common than it used to be in the USA. However, it happens because of two major factors.Firstly, the US and India have almost opposite economies.In the US, capital (as in cash or bank loans) is cheap and labor is expensive. In India, capital is very expensive and labor is cheap.This has certain advantages and disadvantages in each country.As a result, technically sophisticated products and services tend to be cheaper in the US (like a TV or specialized tools), but labor intensive products or services (like a bespoke suit or household cook) are cheaper in India.So let's pretend we are setting up a field service center in the US and India.In the US you use a small number of these:Capital (a loan) is cheap, interest rates can be less than 3% APY for large businesses; espically when there is something like a truck for the bank to repossess as collateral. The land to park and service the trucks is also a low interest capital expense.With this nice truck and tools a single employee (who is expensive labor) can complete more jobs faster and can quickly reach jobs in a very large area.In India you use a lot of these:Two people on a motorcycle are less efficient, so you need a lot more people, but in India that's fine because labor is cheaper. The motorcycle also minimizes the expensive capital costs; motorcycles are cheaper and can be parked almost anywhere.In a cheap labor economy, the people performing the “labor” are not making a lot of money (that's why they are cheap!), and there is much less of a desire to spend more money to hire or retain “skilled” or “specialized” labor. So no matter how good a job you do, you're unlikely to get a significant raise or promotion.However, in an expensive labor economy the specific results of that high cost labor are usually closely tracked. For example, at costco employees who work in the checkout line must scan an certain number of items per minute or they will be demoted/let go. High performers are given raises to make them want to stay at the company (to prevent them from going to another job).So the short and long term potential income for employees is very different in the US compared to India.The major disadvantage of the US system is that it's relatively easy for employees to be replaced with automated capital equipment. Especially if that equipment reduces costs or increases productivity by more than the interest rate of the capital loan…Secondly, the US has an abundance of land that is physically and legally easy to develop. As a result, new homes can be quickly added to the market whenever demand increases.This has lead to an entire class of homes in the US called “starter homes.” These are usually smaller and older homes that are available relatively cheaply for first time home buyers. They may require some minor or cosmetic repairs and renovations, but many young people can do that themselves in the US. In many major US cities a starter home can be purchased for $60,000 to $250,000.Combined with the cheap cost of capital (discussed above) many first time home buyers can buy a home by putting down as little as 3% of the value and signing a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage at 3%-5% APY (without any penalties for early/excess payments).That means in the US, home ownership can start as soon as you have a job that pays enough to make the monthly mortgage payments and you have saved ~$1,800 for the down payment. Depending on where you live (and your credit rating) that can be quite achievable.Update: I wanted to include a third relevant factor based on a recent conversation I had…Dating: Unlike in India, a person (especially a man) living with his parents after 18 in the US is regularly mocked or avoided by potential mates. It's such a common concept there was a popular US movie based around that idea!In the US the cultural logic is that if someone cannot manage and sustain a household of 1 single person why would you believe they will be able to manage and sustain a household of 2 (or eventually even more)??? Living at home does not demonstrate any of the required skills or access to the resources required to support a family.