One of those funny sayings that emerge in 'folk-culture' as a counter to some of the 'management speak buzz phrases' that infect our communications. One I stumbled across recently says it really well - "Eagles may soar - but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines." It's one of those truisms that really leaps off the page and describes so well some of the passengers who climb onto every gravy train.
In any organisation where the Politically Correct or the Management Culture has been imported and imposed by the Management, you rapily find that soaring with the eagles is a bad career move, being a weasel is a good one. The Management Culture we now have seeks out a rewards "Yes Men", mistaking them for "Team Players". Geerally they're not, they're weasels and weasels are self interested predators. So are eagles when you come right down to it, but an eagle generally has a much better view of reality as he soars above the scuttling weasel slinking along close to the ground.
Ce la vie, given the choice, I'll take the eagles as team mates anyday. I've never liked weasels, so I'll take my chances on being sucked into a jet engine sometime.
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Friday, 16 July 2010
Problem ICE
It seems, according to todays papers, that the ICE trains "Climate Control" plant is unable to deal with sustained temperatures of over 32*C. The investigation has also revealed that the decision to install this plant, rather than a more robust system, was made by the accountants on the basis of cost. For me this is yet another proof that "Cost/Benefit" analysis is often deeply flawed and fails to consider all the factors which may be in play in any extreme situation.
Such considerations are often simply reduced to a "number" in the assessment which is supposedly considering two of the factors involved - Likelihood/Frequency and Impact/Severity. This is put into a sort of scale, so the assessor decides that an event may only occur once in every thousand journeys and yet it may have an impact, when it does, of crippling an operation. So a "score" is assigned of - say -9 on the Impact/Severity Scale and perhaps a 3 on the likelihood. Now the assessor has a choice. Likelihood is low, though severity of the event is high. The choices are spend the money on reducing the likelihood or simply put aside money to meet the possible damage/repair costs. This is where the accountants that infest Boardrooms step in. These gys can tell you the cost of every paperclip, but not the value to be gained by using one.
Now the questions are reduced to "How much will it cost?" Once they have decided that the frequency of an event, such as days when temperatures are above 32*C, is low and the number of people likely to be affected is relatively small, the accountants will insist that "compensating anyone affected" is less than investing in installing more expensive and more robust equipment, the dice are caste. This is what decided a small reduction in the overall length of a major family car in the US. It saved the manufacturer $200 per car, but it put the fuel tank into the crumple zone inside the luggage space. In a rear end impact the tank could be ruptured, dousing the interior and the occupants in petrol.
The manufacturer reasoned that only about 12,000 people might be killed or injured out of sales totalling half a million world-wide. The $200 per car saving, they reckoned, was worth the risk. Pity about the 12,000 of course, but profit came first. That manufacturer was almost put out of business by the subsequent lawsuits and has only recently been saved by further the US Taxpayer from the results of further bad decisions based on "Cost/Benefit" analysis.
I wonder when we will learn?
Such considerations are often simply reduced to a "number" in the assessment which is supposedly considering two of the factors involved - Likelihood/Frequency and Impact/Severity. This is put into a sort of scale, so the assessor decides that an event may only occur once in every thousand journeys and yet it may have an impact, when it does, of crippling an operation. So a "score" is assigned of - say -9 on the Impact/Severity Scale and perhaps a 3 on the likelihood. Now the assessor has a choice. Likelihood is low, though severity of the event is high. The choices are spend the money on reducing the likelihood or simply put aside money to meet the possible damage/repair costs. This is where the accountants that infest Boardrooms step in. These gys can tell you the cost of every paperclip, but not the value to be gained by using one.
Now the questions are reduced to "How much will it cost?" Once they have decided that the frequency of an event, such as days when temperatures are above 32*C, is low and the number of people likely to be affected is relatively small, the accountants will insist that "compensating anyone affected" is less than investing in installing more expensive and more robust equipment, the dice are caste. This is what decided a small reduction in the overall length of a major family car in the US. It saved the manufacturer $200 per car, but it put the fuel tank into the crumple zone inside the luggage space. In a rear end impact the tank could be ruptured, dousing the interior and the occupants in petrol.
The manufacturer reasoned that only about 12,000 people might be killed or injured out of sales totalling half a million world-wide. The $200 per car saving, they reckoned, was worth the risk. Pity about the 12,000 of course, but profit came first. That manufacturer was almost put out of business by the subsequent lawsuits and has only recently been saved by further the US Taxpayer from the results of further bad decisions based on "Cost/Benefit" analysis.
I wonder when we will learn?
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Another rejection...
Well, I suppose you have to collect a few. Another "Rejection Slip", this time from Acorn Press, for my latest "Harry" manuscript. I guess there's no alternative but to keep plugging away and trying to get an acceptance from someone.
Though they haven't offered any critique as to why they didn't feel it was their market, I get the feeling it may have been outside of the genre they are looking for - fantasy/adventure seems to be their mark even though they knew from the outset this book did not fit that mould.
Ce la vie. Continue the search!
Though they haven't offered any critique as to why they didn't feel it was their market, I get the feeling it may have been outside of the genre they are looking for - fantasy/adventure seems to be their mark even though they knew from the outset this book did not fit that mould.
Ce la vie. Continue the search!
Monday, 12 July 2010
Superheated ICE....
The ICE (Inter City Express) high-s[eed trains are the pride of the German Rail system, Deutche Bahn, and usually they are the last word in comfortable rail travel, even the "Standard" Class having comfortable seating and all the amenities. However, the heatwave we are having here has evidently exposed a small design flaw or equipment deficiency. Passengers have had to be treated for dehydration and heat exhaustion on a number of these super trains in the last day or s as temperatures inside them soared to above 50*C.
The cause is simple. The airconditioning plant cannot deal with sustained high tempertaures in the 40*C range.
Worst affected were several school parties. Their train ended up stopping in Hannover where some of the children needed to be treated in hospital for dehydration. Other trains have also had to stop running in various cities and the passengers transfer to the Regional trains which seem to have been better able to deal with the heat.
Having travelled on one of these Regional trains on Saturday, I can tell you that its A/C system functioned extremely well.
We now need the predicted thunderstorms to cool us down and wet the ground, our garden needs it.
The cause is simple. The airconditioning plant cannot deal with sustained high tempertaures in the 40*C range.
Worst affected were several school parties. Their train ended up stopping in Hannover where some of the children needed to be treated in hospital for dehydration. Other trains have also had to stop running in various cities and the passengers transfer to the Regional trains which seem to have been better able to deal with the heat.
Having travelled on one of these Regional trains on Saturday, I can tell you that its A/C system functioned extremely well.
We now need the predicted thunderstorms to cool us down and wet the ground, our garden needs it.
Sunday, 11 July 2010
Busy and hot!
The last couple of days we've been busy showing the Postulant a bit of this corner of Germany. Our vist to Mainz took in the Gothenburg Museum, the Dom (Of course) and would have included the Museum of Roman Ship Transport - except it was closed for renovation of the roof and apparently is being re-organised as well. We had planned to spend some time in the cinema as it's airconditioned and the temperatures were soaring, so we went early to see Shrek 3. It was hilarious, even though it was dubbed in German, the 3D really gets it going and brings it right out to the audience.
Great stuff. Supper at a Cafe called Alex just off the Romer completed the day and then it was home in the heat to the Taunus.
Saturday we planned to spend on the Rhine, catching the ferry cruiser from Rudesheim. It calls in at Bingen and one or two other places before passing through the Lorelei passage and reaching St Goar. Here we had lunch and visited the Museum of Dolls and Teddy Bears, the Evangelical Church which has some stunning windows and a decorated interior. Then, in temperatures now in the very high 30's, caught the train back along the Rhine to Bingen. A short walk from the station saw us on the passenger ferry across the river and back in Rudesheim.
Travelling further along the Rhine towards Wiesbaden brought us to Eltville where we had a fabulous supper in "Das Gelbhaus", a terrific restuarant on the edge of the town. The building is medieval, half timbered and decorated and flanked by the old town, the former monastic buildings with their fabulous rose gardens and a vineyard. Sitting on the open verandah next to the vineyard we all tucked into delicious salads washed down with cool drinks, Apfelschorle and a grape juice "schorle". The "schorle" is a mix of pure fruit juice and sparkling water and on a hot day, is very refreshing.
When we arrived home our little weather station informed us that, while it was 25*C inside, the outside temperature was 37*C. The news advised us that it had hit 44*C in Frankfurt and over forty in Wiesbaden. We eventually managed to fall asleep with the windows wide and the covers as light as we could manage. The clear skies suggested no change in the weather overnight, but a storm woke us with the flicker of lightning at around 2am, necesitating closing the window partially. The lightning and the thunder though stayed some distance away, giving us only a short shower and a lot of wind.
Today has been slightly cooler, it's 34*C as I type, but we have high hopes of somerain or a storm to cool it down a tad for the next few days. Now I'd better get the BBQ going!
Great stuff. Supper at a Cafe called Alex just off the Romer completed the day and then it was home in the heat to the Taunus.
Saturday we planned to spend on the Rhine, catching the ferry cruiser from Rudesheim. It calls in at Bingen and one or two other places before passing through the Lorelei passage and reaching St Goar. Here we had lunch and visited the Museum of Dolls and Teddy Bears, the Evangelical Church which has some stunning windows and a decorated interior. Then, in temperatures now in the very high 30's, caught the train back along the Rhine to Bingen. A short walk from the station saw us on the passenger ferry across the river and back in Rudesheim.
Travelling further along the Rhine towards Wiesbaden brought us to Eltville where we had a fabulous supper in "Das Gelbhaus", a terrific restuarant on the edge of the town. The building is medieval, half timbered and decorated and flanked by the old town, the former monastic buildings with their fabulous rose gardens and a vineyard. Sitting on the open verandah next to the vineyard we all tucked into delicious salads washed down with cool drinks, Apfelschorle and a grape juice "schorle". The "schorle" is a mix of pure fruit juice and sparkling water and on a hot day, is very refreshing.
When we arrived home our little weather station informed us that, while it was 25*C inside, the outside temperature was 37*C. The news advised us that it had hit 44*C in Frankfurt and over forty in Wiesbaden. We eventually managed to fall asleep with the windows wide and the covers as light as we could manage. The clear skies suggested no change in the weather overnight, but a storm woke us with the flicker of lightning at around 2am, necesitating closing the window partially. The lightning and the thunder though stayed some distance away, giving us only a short shower and a lot of wind.
Today has been slightly cooler, it's 34*C as I type, but we have high hopes of somerain or a storm to cool it down a tad for the next few days. Now I'd better get the BBQ going!
Thursday, 8 July 2010
Titanic Exhibition
Today we met the Postulant and then went inti Wiesbaden for lunch. Seated in the Markt, in one of the open air cafes we enjoyed a wonderful lunch, then turned our attention to the Titanic Exhibition in the Markt Kelder beneath our feet. It proved to be an excellent choice in the heat.
The exhibition brings the ship and the story to life in a fascinating manner as you follow the route through it. From conception through building and fitting out you are led gently through the passneger fittings, through the artefacts - some genuine and some replicas - interlaced with photographs of the people. The whole is explained on a recorded commentary as you go and you can, of course, stop and consider aspects or replay a bit of the commentary.
By the time you reach the end you have realised that this was a truly international tragedy. Almost every nation in the Northern Hemisphere lost people on this ship and the complete passenger list and the entire crew list is there at the end of the exhibition for you to see and consider.
Well worth the money and the time spent viewing it.
The exhibition brings the ship and the story to life in a fascinating manner as you follow the route through it. From conception through building and fitting out you are led gently through the passneger fittings, through the artefacts - some genuine and some replicas - interlaced with photographs of the people. The whole is explained on a recorded commentary as you go and you can, of course, stop and consider aspects or replay a bit of the commentary.
By the time you reach the end you have realised that this was a truly international tragedy. Almost every nation in the Northern Hemisphere lost people on this ship and the complete passenger list and the entire crew list is there at the end of the exhibition for you to see and consider.
Well worth the money and the time spent viewing it.
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
Visitor
The Monk and Mausi have been busy preparing for a visit from The Postulant. The next few days will be busy and posting may be very intermittent.
Do bear with us!
Do bear with us!
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