Driving has become such an everyday occurrence that we (drivers and passengers) have all become complacent. But some are more complacent then others. Some think they are sitting in front of their telly at home. They do all the same things; eat, drink, smoke, answer the phone, change channels, change the CD, turn and talk to passenger, shout at the kids, and day dream. If we found the pilot of an aircraft doing any of these we would want them sacked. Yet the aircraft has many features that prevent the pilot making mistakes, there is a strict pre-flight check list to run through and there is a co-pilot.
So complacent have some people got that they think their car is an arm chair, they never check the tyres or tyre pressure, they never look under the bonnet and check the oil, they treat it at best the same as their washing machine, switch it on and it works until it doesn’t. At worst they treat it like their arm chair, where they can fall asleep without any danger.
I believe that to drive should be a natural progression from pedal cycle, to motorcycle, to car and I some experience of HGV or PSV.
Why can cyclists drive without any proven knowledge of road craft? Why do they not need to have passed a test, obtained insurance? They can easily attain speeds above urban limits and cause extensive both physical and property damage, even death. These “green” people with their responsibility to the “earth” lack any responsibility to their fellow road users.
Motorcycling, a way to travel moderate distances cost effectively. Often the first vehicle of the young, as it’s cheaper than a car. New to driving they ride beyond the capabilities of themselves, their machines and the road conditions. At least if they had to have a cycle licence for a year they would have some experience. As well as an appreciation for the lot that is the cyclist.
Sitting in your car, even if you have done come cycling and motorcycling, it’s easy to forget how cold it is in the winter, how unstable the road or weather conditions can make travelling on these vehicles, but you at least have some memory over those that have never done it.
Van, coach and bus drivers that stop to let cars turn right across them, think they are doing a good turn, being knights of the road. But seem unable to open their window and hand signal a passing cyclist or motorcyclist of the impending roadblock that is about to appear in front of them.
Driving an HGV and or a PSV is surely the only way to appreciate what rear and side visibility restrictions. Even if this was an off road “experience” type training it has to be a plus in road safety.
Testing at various stages and compulsory stages will make it more expensive for the driver. But will increase sales of pushbikes motorbikes, create employment not only in manufacture but in training and testing, reduce road accidents.
More people die on the roads every day, on average, than die in air accidents in a year. So why are politicians afraid of doing something about it?
Saturday 31 October 2009
Friday 30 October 2009
Is internet piracy is problem that cannot be ignored?
The music industry claims they have lost £200m in the UK. The UK Government’s proposal to make the ISP police their users will cost £365m. OK so not all piracy is music. How do they calculate the £200m? Well they assume that every download is a lost sale. Not true as much is down loaded just to try and deleted. If it is all downloaded and kept – how often is it played? People that accumulated vast libraries would need to burn hundreds of DVD or purchase massive hard drives. Down loading files takes time and file away catalogue etc. Now with Spotify and other services you can try most music for free. You can play it any time and as often as you like and managing the library is someone else’s problem. Where music has gone maybe TV and films will follow.
Making ISP’s responsible is like asking them to become a form of censor on your activities. Why not making the council responsible for preventing muggers using the streets? Or make public transport responsible for shoplifters getting to the shops?
Making ISP’s responsible is like asking them to become a form of censor on your activities. Why not making the council responsible for preventing muggers using the streets? Or make public transport responsible for shoplifters getting to the shops?
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Murdoch doesn’t dominate the media
I wonder what it’s like to live in a country where Murdoch doesn’t dominate the media. On the downside you have a questionable Prime Minister in control – I use the term “control” loosely.
Oct 26, 2009 Mediaset (BIT:MS), the commercial broadcaster controlled by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said Monday a Milan court had rejected claims by Rupert Murdoch's satellite unit Sky Italia accusing Mediaset of not letting it buy advertising time on its free-to-air channels. A request to order Mediaset to immediately resume providing advertisement time to Sky Italia has been dismissed, Berlusconi's company said in a statement. The request to ban Mediaset from broadcasting spots for its pay-TV offer Mediaset Premium on its channels has also been rejected, Mediaset said.
In 2009 alone, 3,107 Sky spots were hosted on Mediaset's channels, the Berlusconi company added.
Sky Italia, part of News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS), had filed a lawsuit against Mediaset units RTI and Publitalia.
Oct 26, 2009 Mediaset (BIT:MS), the commercial broadcaster controlled by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, said Monday a Milan court had rejected claims by Rupert Murdoch's satellite unit Sky Italia accusing Mediaset of not letting it buy advertising time on its free-to-air channels. A request to order Mediaset to immediately resume providing advertisement time to Sky Italia has been dismissed, Berlusconi's company said in a statement. The request to ban Mediaset from broadcasting spots for its pay-TV offer Mediaset Premium on its channels has also been rejected, Mediaset said.
In 2009 alone, 3,107 Sky spots were hosted on Mediaset's channels, the Berlusconi company added.
Sky Italia, part of News Corp (NASDAQ:NWS), had filed a lawsuit against Mediaset units RTI and Publitalia.
Working from home good idea or bad?
I have mixed feelings about working from home. While without distraction I can get 10 hours work done in five I also not that a spend more time perfecting my work if no other priority is pressing. I usually also start and finish my day an hour earlier and later than I would if I travelled to work. However if I need to get my hair cut rather than wasting 90 minutes on a Saturday sitting in a barbers I can popup at lunch time and 20 minutes be back home. Take away all the stress, lost time travelling, cost of travelling etc and overall it looks like (and feels like) I’m doing OK.
From the companies perspective they (according the this article in the FT) have saved £220m over 10 years. £22m a year is not to be sniffed at but at what cost?
One of the things missing in this sterile working from home environment is the loss of that social interaction. The tea break and water cooler chats with people you would not have any work related reason to talk to. The innocent “so what are you up to these days” is that butterfly/chaos moment when worlds collide, ideas are shared and innovative sparks are made.
Without a doubt many of the changes have been good. Almost every telephone exchange had a bar in it, each would have a kids Christmas party, you could get a reasonable quality and priced meal at the staff canteen. Now no booze – probably a good thing, no kids Christmas party – probably a bad thing, no staff canteen – probably a bad thing. I say no staff canteen, but there are cafés where you can pay more for food than you can in M&S, but there is no reason to sit down and chat with anyone anymore.
The £220m not just less buildings it’s less innovation, evolutionary products rather than revolutionary. The company that has become defensive and reactive rather than the technological leader it was. They will probably end up paying a consultant more to tell them how to put it right.
From the companies perspective they (according the this article in the FT) have saved £220m over 10 years. £22m a year is not to be sniffed at but at what cost?
One of the things missing in this sterile working from home environment is the loss of that social interaction. The tea break and water cooler chats with people you would not have any work related reason to talk to. The innocent “so what are you up to these days” is that butterfly/chaos moment when worlds collide, ideas are shared and innovative sparks are made.
Without a doubt many of the changes have been good. Almost every telephone exchange had a bar in it, each would have a kids Christmas party, you could get a reasonable quality and priced meal at the staff canteen. Now no booze – probably a good thing, no kids Christmas party – probably a bad thing, no staff canteen – probably a bad thing. I say no staff canteen, but there are cafés where you can pay more for food than you can in M&S, but there is no reason to sit down and chat with anyone anymore.
The £220m not just less buildings it’s less innovation, evolutionary products rather than revolutionary. The company that has become defensive and reactive rather than the technological leader it was. They will probably end up paying a consultant more to tell them how to put it right.
Monday 26 October 2009
How much is a good merchant banker worth?
Immigration enables farmers (and other industries) to employ cheap labour. That is cheaper than they would have to pay a local. The local lose their job and the immigrant get it.
The farmer gets his crops picked cheaper and is able to make a bigger profit, or pass the saving on to the supermarket and maybe the consumer (that has lost his job) see some saving. The logic goes that if you won’t work for the pay then we’ll give the job to someone that will.
OK move up the skill scale to a plumber. Think about it… Yep the logic holds and so the creation plumber is good. What about a nurse or a doctor – yep seems to be OK but suddenly the medical council is there (a trade union by a different name) and they insiste on standards, and pay, well at least for the “consultants”
Move back down the skill level (how many years do you spend in merchant banker school) to the humble banker. One of those who if they weren’t in charge in 2008 they were pretty close to the top. They should have been able to see what was going on (especially as they are so highly skilled) but chose to do nothing about it.
Cut their pay and low and behold they would leave the country to get a job. Where are all these vacancies for bankers? I seem to remember being told that this is a Global recession. I don’t think Germany, France the USA or anyone else is crying out for banking skill. Like the millennium bug and the kings new suit IT’S A CON’. Call their bluff let them take ther kids and sell their mansion (ooh wait a minute not a good time to sell..) and bugger off. The displaced doctor, nurse or farm worker could take it on or at very least the Estonian banker would do the job for less and a lot more graciously…
The farmer gets his crops picked cheaper and is able to make a bigger profit, or pass the saving on to the supermarket and maybe the consumer (that has lost his job) see some saving. The logic goes that if you won’t work for the pay then we’ll give the job to someone that will.
OK move up the skill scale to a plumber. Think about it… Yep the logic holds and so the creation plumber is good. What about a nurse or a doctor – yep seems to be OK but suddenly the medical council is there (a trade union by a different name) and they insiste on standards, and pay, well at least for the “consultants”
Move back down the skill level (how many years do you spend in merchant banker school) to the humble banker. One of those who if they weren’t in charge in 2008 they were pretty close to the top. They should have been able to see what was going on (especially as they are so highly skilled) but chose to do nothing about it.
Cut their pay and low and behold they would leave the country to get a job. Where are all these vacancies for bankers? I seem to remember being told that this is a Global recession. I don’t think Germany, France the USA or anyone else is crying out for banking skill. Like the millennium bug and the kings new suit IT’S A CON’. Call their bluff let them take ther kids and sell their mansion (ooh wait a minute not a good time to sell..) and bugger off. The displaced doctor, nurse or farm worker could take it on or at very least the Estonian banker would do the job for less and a lot more graciously…
Good on the BBC
The BBC seems to have upset most people but for different reasons. Murdoch and Sky because their iPlayer is such a success and the BBC’s success is one less place News Corp can milk the population of out money. Just look at how they are managing this year to extract another £39 per subscriber during an economic down turn. Still back to the BBC.
The Labour Government isn’t happy promising a series of actions, but I suspect they will start with reviews (on which their cronies can sit and get paid taxpayers money for pontificating) on the future of the BBC.
The Conservative party is promising to equally curb the excesses of the BBC. And now the BNP are threatening to sue them too (not likely to get into power I suppose). But if everyone hates then, they must be being even-handed, doling out praise and criticism in to all. Probably a little too much criticism for many. But if BBC is not to stand up against these organisation then who?
Apparently I’m competent to vote, but may be corrupted by the wicked BNP. For my own protection I must not listen to them, in case… Now the BNP in their innocence or their ignorance have policies on things like immigration. That the other parties in their knowledge or secrecy chose not to discus. Someone comes on the telly and says “immigration is not a problem” “immigration is good for the country”. Yet any working class person (not many of them left as the immigrants have taken over) and even second generation immigrants will tell you that isn’t what it feels like on the front line. Just like the Tommy in the first word war just because the idiots in charge think they are winning doesn’t make the cost easier to bear.
As it turns out the BNP look in decidedly unfit to govern the country. However, I suspect that the fastest runner will look out of shape if he has to outrun a pack or rapid dogs.
I would really like to see a well mannered and civilised debate with the BNP and more importantly for the main political parties to take the overcrowding, lack of housing and lack of jobs seriously.
The Labour Government isn’t happy promising a series of actions, but I suspect they will start with reviews (on which their cronies can sit and get paid taxpayers money for pontificating) on the future of the BBC.
The Conservative party is promising to equally curb the excesses of the BBC. And now the BNP are threatening to sue them too (not likely to get into power I suppose). But if everyone hates then, they must be being even-handed, doling out praise and criticism in to all. Probably a little too much criticism for many. But if BBC is not to stand up against these organisation then who?
Apparently I’m competent to vote, but may be corrupted by the wicked BNP. For my own protection I must not listen to them, in case… Now the BNP in their innocence or their ignorance have policies on things like immigration. That the other parties in their knowledge or secrecy chose not to discus. Someone comes on the telly and says “immigration is not a problem” “immigration is good for the country”. Yet any working class person (not many of them left as the immigrants have taken over) and even second generation immigrants will tell you that isn’t what it feels like on the front line. Just like the Tommy in the first word war just because the idiots in charge think they are winning doesn’t make the cost easier to bear.
As it turns out the BNP look in decidedly unfit to govern the country. However, I suspect that the fastest runner will look out of shape if he has to outrun a pack or rapid dogs.
I would really like to see a well mannered and civilised debate with the BNP and more importantly for the main political parties to take the overcrowding, lack of housing and lack of jobs seriously.
Thursday 8 October 2009
Just how good are these high flyers?
Just how good are these high flyers?
Logically I can’t believe in God. There is so little tangible evidence to support his/her existence. That doesn’t mean that in times of need I don’t say a prayer. This is most likely to be along the lines of “Don’t let it be true…” than “Thank you!” Although when I have asked for something not to be true, or to turn out OK, when the outcome is in the balance and outcome has been what I desired I have said thank you.
In this same way that I don’t believe in god yet seem to acknowledge the existence I have this same twin belief in senior managers.
From observation the best that truly make a difference (not 100% guaranteed) seem to be those that: -
1) Have been in and worked their way up the industry in a largely non-financial role.
2) They understand both the micro and macro needs of their customers
3) They have a clear simple (not simplistic) vision that all their employees can get behind.
4) They drive the business for the benefit of the customers and as a by-product the employees and shareholders
5) They are not remote from the front line, often value front line opinion above middle management.
Also from observation MOST senior managers swan in as CEO or Chairman sit back and let the momentum of the company carry them forward for 3-5 years before moving on. Often they move on just before some really bad news emerges. They are already in their new role when some really bad news emerges about the last job. By the time they are ready to move on again everyone seems to have forgotten.
There is so much empirical evidence about that I wonder why “we” still believe in them. Ignoring successes is someone really worth multiple - millions of dollars or pounds. When the lowest of their employees can barely afford to live. Who is creating the value when the management chain is so long that decisions at the top never reach the bottom unless it involves cutting jobs.
They play games with financial figures moving cost on and off balance sheet to hide what is really going on. They buy back shares so that the share price goes up, they get their bonus and their share options are more valuable.
And when there is a real challenge like ITV no one wants either the CEO or Chairman’s job. Are they not offering enough money? £4m p.a. seems good to me. Trouble is you will have to do something and no one knows what that is. At least no one in the circle of the “in” crowd. If there was a magic wand solution others would be waving it already. ITV needs not only to reinvent itself but to blaze a trail. Without a doubt if ITV can do something different enough to turn its fortunes around sustainable everyone else will be following.
They’ve tried all the “city” and accounts tricks, cutting cost, cutting jobs, outsourcing, selling of divisions and still it doesn’t work. Did you notice anything in the last sentence that remotely put the customer first?
Therein lays the problem. ITV is for the shareholders. Do shareholders care about customers? And who are ITV’s customers? ITV customer services department talks to advertisers, not consumers.
In the UK, in 2009, if someone is earning more than £1m year they are being paid too much by people that believe something that is only true as long as they believe it. Tulip bulbs, dotcom companies, house prices and stock market. Sure most people couldn’t do these jobs, some wouldn’t want to and others will never get the chance. The top 1% of the population earn more than the bottom 50%.
Logically I can’t believe in God. There is so little tangible evidence to support his/her existence. That doesn’t mean that in times of need I don’t say a prayer. This is most likely to be along the lines of “Don’t let it be true…” than “Thank you!” Although when I have asked for something not to be true, or to turn out OK, when the outcome is in the balance and outcome has been what I desired I have said thank you.
In this same way that I don’t believe in god yet seem to acknowledge the existence I have this same twin belief in senior managers.
From observation the best that truly make a difference (not 100% guaranteed) seem to be those that: -
1) Have been in and worked their way up the industry in a largely non-financial role.
2) They understand both the micro and macro needs of their customers
3) They have a clear simple (not simplistic) vision that all their employees can get behind.
4) They drive the business for the benefit of the customers and as a by-product the employees and shareholders
5) They are not remote from the front line, often value front line opinion above middle management.
Also from observation MOST senior managers swan in as CEO or Chairman sit back and let the momentum of the company carry them forward for 3-5 years before moving on. Often they move on just before some really bad news emerges. They are already in their new role when some really bad news emerges about the last job. By the time they are ready to move on again everyone seems to have forgotten.
There is so much empirical evidence about that I wonder why “we” still believe in them. Ignoring successes is someone really worth multiple - millions of dollars or pounds. When the lowest of their employees can barely afford to live. Who is creating the value when the management chain is so long that decisions at the top never reach the bottom unless it involves cutting jobs.
They play games with financial figures moving cost on and off balance sheet to hide what is really going on. They buy back shares so that the share price goes up, they get their bonus and their share options are more valuable.
And when there is a real challenge like ITV no one wants either the CEO or Chairman’s job. Are they not offering enough money? £4m p.a. seems good to me. Trouble is you will have to do something and no one knows what that is. At least no one in the circle of the “in” crowd. If there was a magic wand solution others would be waving it already. ITV needs not only to reinvent itself but to blaze a trail. Without a doubt if ITV can do something different enough to turn its fortunes around sustainable everyone else will be following.
They’ve tried all the “city” and accounts tricks, cutting cost, cutting jobs, outsourcing, selling of divisions and still it doesn’t work. Did you notice anything in the last sentence that remotely put the customer first?
Therein lays the problem. ITV is for the shareholders. Do shareholders care about customers? And who are ITV’s customers? ITV customer services department talks to advertisers, not consumers.
In the UK, in 2009, if someone is earning more than £1m year they are being paid too much by people that believe something that is only true as long as they believe it. Tulip bulbs, dotcom companies, house prices and stock market. Sure most people couldn’t do these jobs, some wouldn’t want to and others will never get the chance. The top 1% of the population earn more than the bottom 50%.
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