Early Risers.

[Grizz]

29 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

They are highly replaceable - that's the point. If something goes 'wrong' they are fired and someone else from 'industry' gets paid a comparable salary to replace them.

 

Now many of them don't want to take the fall, and might try to shift blame but they are nonetheless easily replaced - unlike unpaid volunteers.

I agree, what I meant was that they don’t think that the system can run without them.

They are usually surrounded (deliberately) by like thinking people, who all support each other in their multi incompetence levels…

they stumble from cluster fudge to cluster fudge and often just end up getting promoted to the height of their own incompetence, as the gravy train rolls on.

 

Unpaid volunteers are the back bone. I’ve been one before a few times. Where I last worked as one we had a fantastic team of volunteers and we operated as a team, we were safe, efficient, adaptable, professional (yeah I know that we weren’t paid) and we had over lapping skill sets that meant, with effective planning, we could tackle pretty much anything.
 

Above all, they were a just nice bunch of blokes and I enjoyed working with them. I truly consider it to have been a privilege to have known them. Every day is a school day, I want to learn something new every day. That was the best thing about those guys, they were always happy to share their knowledge, experience and skills. Where I work today, I try to take a leaf out of their book and do the same. 
 

Lead by example. Anyone can manage. Leaders are what we need. 
 

 

 

 

 

[Ozexpatriate]

Chuggers ...

 

There is a scene in Office Space where a door knocker appears. This is a parody of a particular charity trope common in the US - for magazine subscriptions to provide a hand-up to people.

 

I get people doing this every year.

 

The only missionaries I see are the occasional JWs. I live not far from an LDS Ward Meeting house, and there are a lot of LDS members who live in the neighbourhood - so no LDS missionaries, though I think most of their proselytizing is overseas these days.

 

Edited 6 hours ago by Ozexpatriate

[Chris Snowdon]

8 hours ago, monkeysarefun said:

 

 

 

....Theres a period in March when we let it all hang out.

 

 

 

 

 

I think @chrisf was here for it  when he was down here,  I hope he was because its the happiest time to be here, everyone is just ... happy!  (I'd say that everyone is just... Gay! but that would be misleading!)

From Chris S not Chris F (so, sorry if hijacking) but... 

 

I think that looks OK actually.  Better than I would have imagined if someone had tried to explain to me.

 

BTW in my vocabulary "gay" = "cheerful", "carefree", and similar.  But I'm also the sort of dinosaur who still holds that "lol" is a familiar expression meaning "lots of love".

[Chris Snowdon]

8 hours ago, KeithMacdonald said:

 

There once was a young lady from Japan

Who met with a railway modelling man

She asked if he liked Buddhists

He replied he preferred Bulleids

And they never crossed tracks again

 

 

That's a very good point, so to speak, because I need to try my Spam-Can on points...

[Ozexpatriate]

21 minutes ago, Chris Snowdon said:

BTW in my vocabulary "gay" = "cheerful", "carefree", and similar.

It still does. Gertrude Stein used the other common definition in print 1922 and the OED apparently included it in 1951.

 

The first filmed appearance is a reference in the Cary Grant movie "Bringing up Baby" in 1938. (Wikipedia)

 

It would seem to be in more common usage in the first half of the 20th century than perhaps most of us might guess - but in a 'closeted' way.

 

Edited 5 hours ago by Ozexpatriate

[Grizz]

Suitably stuffed full of meds I chanced it and accompanied Mrs Grizz and Number 1 Cub to process at East Grinstead’s bonfire celebrations this evening (technically yesterday evening). 
 

Considering that this was only the second year that they have ever held this event, it was superb. Well organised and thoroughly professional. Top quality torches, tightly wrapped hessian and wired in well. 
 

Got back to Grizz Castle just after 22:15. Hot shower and a mug of hot chocolate to take up to bed, before another loads of meds. Bit wheezy after my shower, so I’ve had to hit the inhalers hard.

 

I’m listening to a Will Hay film (Ask a Policeman) on YouTube whilst typing on here and messing around on my iPad. Seen it hundreds of times, it is one of my favourites and I’ve never tired of watching it. If anyone has never seen it or is not familiar with Will Hay, he was a British actor, who made a bunch of films just before WW2.
 

Probs his most famous amongst those with interests in r@!|¥¥@7$ was called ‘Oh Mr Porter’…. another great black and white film. 

Edited 5 hours ago by Grizz

[iL Dottore]

2 hours ago, Grizz said:

Unpaid volunteers are the back bone.

AKA “amateurs”

 

But let me tell you something about “amateurs” - some of the greatest scientific discoveries where made by “amateurs”  - people whose income was from another profession (often clergymen) whose scientific work was done as a hobby (all all engrossing, time consuming and definitely demanding, but still a “hobby”).

 

Being something of a pedant, I would argue that there is a BIG difference between “amateur” and “amateurish”. I have seen work done by amateurs that is every bit as good as, and sometimes better than, that done by “professionals”. Equally, I have seen work by “professionals” that was laughingly, clownishly “amateurish” - leaving one wondering how such individuals manage to “keep the day job”.

 

One final thought on the unpaid volunteer vs paid “professional”, for many of such (ahem) “professionals” the unpaid volunteer is often more informed, more experienced and more knowledgeable about a subject than some of these “professionals” can ever hope to be. Thus unpaid volunteers represent a threat - to be contained using every management trick in the book. 

Edited 4 hours ago by iL Dottore

[Ozexpatriate]

45 minutes ago, iL Dottore said:

... some of the greatest scientific discoveries where made by “amateurs”  - people whose income was from another profession (often clergymen) whose scientific work was done as a hobby

Science, as a profession, is relatively new. Paid professional research dates largely from the late 19th century. Who are you thinking about that made one of the "greatest scientific discoveries" as an "amateur"?

 

The "Bachelor of Science" degree dates only to the middle of the 19th century.

 

I'm sure there are many astronomical discoveries by people with their own telescopes, but I'm stumped to think of recent "amateur" discoveries.

[Ozexpatriate]

7 hours ago, pH said:

We are under a meteorological phenomenon ... now known by the more general, and appropriate, expression “atmospheric river”. From Friday evening to Sunday evening, we’re expecting up to 5 inches of rain, with 7 inches on the local mountains across from us.

Dry here. We're supposed to see some of that (not nearly as much) starting Sunday afternoon.

[iL Dottore]

Everyone has at least one book in them?

 

OK, I'll bite....

 

The Bear smiled grimly to himself, the neuronic whip provided by CCI GmbH was everything he could have hoped for, and then some. He leisurely extended a paw and turned the dial up to 10, pointing it at the bedraggled pain wracked figure hanging from chains in the soundproofed cell. "Tell me again" asked The Bear "why you thought skimming off 99% of your dogs' home charity donations to buy yourself a champagne lifestyle was a 'necessary management decision'?"
 

A claw hit the transmit button and the figure in chains writhed and screamed in pain. "I'll have to commend Captain Cynical on this device" thought The Bear "to stimulate pain nerves to more than they can tolerate and yet leave no physical damage is a stroke of genius"

 

The figure in chains raised his head, face streaked with sweat and tears: "let me die" moaned the figure, "please let me die"

 

"Oh no", said The Bear "we are not done, not by a longshot. We are not going to give you the beautiful and merciful release of death. No, before we are done we will empty your bank account, reduce you to penury  and then release you, naked, onto the streets with the knowledge that we can come back and repeat it all over again whenever we want"

 

The Bear once again hit the transmit button on the neuronic whip and wondered if CCI GmbH could come up with a version that dialled up to 20. As the figure forced a scream out of a lacerated and tortured throat, The Bear smiled and said "and that one's for the doggies.

 

From "Revenge of Bear" by iD 

 

Edited 3 hours ago by iL Dottore
Formatting

[iL Dottore]

10 minutes ago, Ozexpatriate said:

Science, as a profession, is relatively new. Paid professional research dates largely from the late 19th century. Who are you thinking about that made one of the "greatest scientific discoveries" as an "amateur"?

 

The "Bachelor of Science" degree dates only to the middle of the 19th century.

 

I'm sure there are many astronomical discoveries by people with their own telescopes, but I'm stumped to think of recent "amateur" discoveries.

It does seem that the days of the pioneering amateur are long gone. I think they were almost exclusively in the late Georgian to Mid-Victorian era.

[Hroth]

1 hour ago, iL Dottore said:

Everyone has at least one book in them?

 

OK, I'll bite....

 

The Bear smiled grimly to himself, the neuronic whip provided by CCI GmbH was everything he could have hoped for, and then some. He leisurely extended a paw and turned the dial up to 10, pointing it at the bedraggled pain wracked figure hanging from chains in the soundproofed cell. "Tell me again" asked The Bear "why you thought skimming off 99% of your dogs' home charity donations to buy yourself a champagne lifestyle was a 'necessary management decision'?"
 

A claw hit the transmit button and the figure in chains writhed and screamed in pain. "I'll have to commend Captain Cynical on this device" thought The Bear "to stimulate pain nerves to more than they can tolerate and yet leave no physical damage is a stroke of genius"

 

The figure in chains raised his head, face streaked with sweat and tears: "let me die" moaned the figure, "please let me die"

 

"Oh no", said The Bear "we are not done, not by a longshot. We are not going to give you the beautiful and merciful release of death. No, before we are done we will empty your bank account, reduce you to penury  and then release you, naked, onto the streets with the knowledge that we can come back and repeat it all over again whenever we want"

 

The Bear once again hit the transmit button on the neuronic whip and wondered if CCI GmbH could come up with a version that dialled up to 20. As the figure forced a scream out of a lacerated and tortured throat, The Bear smiled and said "and that one's for the doggies.

 

From "Revenge of Bear" by iD 

 

 

Hmmmmm...

A sort of expanded variation on "So we meet again, Mr Bond..."? 🤔

 

All a bit hands (or paws) off.  Where's the bludd..., etc?  The unbearable playing with the tortured nerve cells is exquisite, but ITS NOT ENOUGH for such scrotes!

 

Actually.

Have you ever encountered "Complicity" by Iain Banks? 🤔

 

Your book might have a similar construction, with The Bear visiting various "charitable" creeps with a different CCI GmbH collection of corrective instruments to apply to each one...

 

 

Edited 2 hours ago by Hroth
extra thort

[zarniwhoop]

2 hours ago, Hroth said:

 

Hmmmmm...

A sort of expanded variation on "So we meet again, Mr Bond..."? 🤔

 

All a bit hands (or paws) off.  Where's the bludd..., etc?  The unbearable playing with the tortured nerve cells is exquisite, but ITS NOT ENOUGH for such scrotes!

 

Actually.

Have you ever encountered "Complicity" by Iain Banks? 🤔

 

Your book might have a similar construction, with The Bear visiting various "charitable" creeps with a different CCI GmbH collection of corrective instruments to apply to each one...

 

 

I was going to say it sounded a bit derivative. But then, almost all novels (or disguised biographies) tend to be derivative. So I'll settle for 'standing on the shoulders of giants' (without asking where the rest of the giants were disposed of.