Free Republic

If you have ever owned a smartphone, shopped online, bought an airline ticket or used a credit card, you are being secretly scored in ways that can impact your wallet. The scorers are businesses we buy products and services from every day. They are called Customer Lifetime Value or CLV scores. All sorts of retailers and businesses use them to judge our value as consumers... most businesses will not tell you what your score is. “It’s not your right as a consumer right now,” Thomas said. “Nobody has legislated that it’s your right to see it and to have input...

Individual passengers may like to think that they are more than numbers to the airlines they patronize, but it turns out that this may not be the case, The Economist reports. As with many other businesses, carriers give individuals a “customer lifetime value” or CLV score. This metric is used to essentially predict how profitable a customer could be to an operator throughout the length of an individual’s relationship with a particular company. Airlines and carriers then utilize these scores to help inform their future interactions with their customers. “When it comes to flying, a CLV score takes into account...

A huge step up from NASA administrator's 'Apollo on steroids' tag, the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) has been christened 'Altair' - named after a variable double star in the constellation Aquila. ... Greek mythology comes into play for the LSAM (Lunar Surface Ascent Module), which receives the name 'Artemis' - the virgin goddess of the hunt and the moon. Fittingly, Artemis is also the twin sister of Apollo. ... The Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV) gains the name 'Ares I' - as NASA's name choices move into a historical parallel with the previous launch vehicles to take astronauts to the moon....

November 3, 2005 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. 2318 Rayburn House Office Building Purpose On Thursday, November 3, 2005 at 10:00 a.m., the Committee on Science will hold a hearing to review the status of plans and programs of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NASA Administrator Michael Griffin will provide a comprehensive update on all facets of NASA's plans and programs. When Administrator Griffin last testified before the Committee four months ago, on June 28th, he described several reviews he had recently initiated, including: - the Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) to define NASA's plans for returning to...